Mike Lambert

Western literature begins with Homer's great epic poems. This lecture examines why these poems matter in a post-modern world in decline.

CFI LECTURE THEATRE

60 MINS

SUN 1000

R 40

In 1974 local farmers digging a well near present-day Xian in China unearthed parts of clay figures, thus opening the way to one of the greatest archeological discoveries of all time. The Terracotta Army was a total surprise. The 6 000 plus life-size clay warriors and horses had been buried in 210 BC as a ‘spirit army’ to stand watch over the body of the First Emperor, and had been lying hidden for over two thousand years.

Mary Perry lived in China for a year and gives a compelling account of the figures and how they were made, as well as of the life of the First Emperor. The talk is richly illustrated and is a fascinating account of a world heritage site that attracts more than two million visitors a year.

CFI LECTURE THEATRE

50 MINS

SAT 1000

R 40

Mary Perry

Mary Perry gives a fascinating and often hilarious account of the year she and her partner, Ted Garner, spent teaching English in China. They were the only two Westerners in Gaoyou, a city where English was virtually unknown and Westerners were never seen, so were the objects of intense scrutiny and curiosity. In her highly entertaining talk Mary tells of having to cope with shopping, cooking unknown ingredients, being constantly stared at, travelling with no knowledge of Chinese, dinner parties, their students and teaching, festivals,  and the friends they made.

The talk is enhanced with fascinating pictures of every aspect of their daily life.

CFI LECTURE THEATRE

50 MINS

SUN 1200

R 40

Darryl Earl David & Philippe Menache

David chats about the book ....

The churches in this country have the most fantastic assortment of architectural styles, they provide sometimes striking landmarks, yet hardly ever feature in guide books and tourist books – just the odd mention here and there.

The co-authors of this book, 101 Country Churches of South Africa, realised that here was a long-neglected aspect of our country’s heritage that needed to be shared with an appreciative audience. We specifically focused on churches in country areas, as these are generally more prominent and tend to occupy pride of place in the town square or serve as a focus to one of the main streets or side streets.

Many of our most striking church buildings are generally well off the tourist track – very few guides extol the architectural virtues of rural towns in provinces such as Free State, N.Cape, N.West, etc. This book seeks to redress that imbalance by presenting a sample of country churches in all nine provinces, albeit some more than in others.

Come and join us on a wonderful journey.

CFI LECTURE THEATRE

45 MINS

SUN 1400

R 50

The school museum will be open during the festival:

Sat & Sun 10am to 12 noon