Anvil Discussion Group – Discussion Topics in Philosophy, Science and
Current Affairs for 2025.
January 24th: “The Far Right Convicts” – the rise of extreme far right groups in
Australia. – John Highnam
February 28th: Debate between Jonathan Robinson (retired vicar) and David
Warden (Chair of Dorset Humanists). “What is the point of religion”.
March 28th: Emergence as a philosophical concept – Ed Lorch.
April: no meeting.
May 23 rd : Trophy hunting as a conservation measure – John Grainger.
June 27 th : Keeping bees without fuss or chemicals – Joe Bleasdale.
July 25 th : Ivan Illich; a much-lauded maverick thinker in the seventies, now
almost forgotten, may have ideas which are useful for the times we now face.
August: no meeting.
September 26th – Emergent infections: we’ve had COVID, what can we expect
next? – Greg Atkins.
To join, come to a meeting (advertised in Martock Chat, Nextdoor and Martock
Online) or contact Prof Greg Atkins:
gatkins@nulltcd.ie
to be put on the mailing list.
More information regarding past meetings and our current programme can be
obtained on our website:ANVIL in MARTOCK
Past Programme for 2024
Meeting in Martock at the George Coffee House upstairs meeting room from 10 – 12 am on Fridays. North St., Martock TA12 6ZD
23rd February. John Baxter, the founder of Anvil in Wincanton, spoke about the Israel/Hamas conflict with a contribution from David Warden. Chair of Dorset Humanists. Followed by an excellent discussion.
26th April: Ian Winkle, a retired Senior Lecturer in Marine Architecture at Glasgow University, talked about The Sinking of the Lusitania. This occurred in May 1915, and as well as being a great tragedy for those involved, it had huge historical consequences. Ian has a new theory on this.
24th May: Don Reed will talk about a recent best-selling book by David Graeber and David Wengrow “The Dawn of Everything”. This sets out new ideas on the history of humanity which run counter to conventional theory.
28th June: Greg Atkins (Martock) and Graham Stride (Wincanton) will put the arguments for and against the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia (assisted dying).
July 26th:? We are planning a trip to the Met Office in Exeter for a tour and a talk. To be organised.
27th September: Jules Reilly, a retired physiotherapist, will give a talk entitled “Old Age, Don’t Take it Lying Down”. She has presented this talk before to the u3a Science Group, but says she has a lot more to say.
25th October: John Highnam will give a talk entitled “The Far Right Convicts”. This is based on the rise of extreme far right groups in Australia. Could it happen here?
22nd November: Paul Reilly, a retired Consultant Rheumatologist, will give a talk entitled “ The Treatment of Rheumatic diseases and how that changed during my professional lifetime”.