Wednesday, January 11, 2023 at 5:00 PM (EDT)
Port Wines with Dr. Phil Williams
Take a journey with Dr. Phil Williams, President of the ESU Charlottesville Branch, and share a life-long fascination with Port wines, the nectar of the gods, and some of the grand stories which make it taste all the more wonderful. Whether one prefers White, Ruby, Tawny, Late Bottle Vintage, or Vintage Port, the history, politics, and traditions of Port are the stuff of legend.
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at 4:00 PM (EDT)
Weird Moby-Dick with Dr. Hester Blum
Moby-Dick has a monumental reputation. Less well known are the novel’s unexpectedly weird, funny, tantalizing, messy, and wondrous moments. Hester Blum will discuss her new Oxford edition of Melville’s best-known novel, which is designed to be an edition for the 21st century: one that recognizes that each generation of readers will remake classic novels anew.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 4:00 PM (EDT)
Architecture in London, 1066-1800 with Dr. James Glass
Join architectural historian Dr. James Glass for an illustrated review of the major themes in architecture that appeared in London between the beginning of Norman rule in 1066 and the end of the 18th century. We will explore Norman, Gothic, Tudor, Renaissance, Baroque, English Palladian, and Neo-Classical architecture and meet architects who designed leading palaces, churches, houses, and public institutions in London over 700 years, including Inigo Jones, Sir Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor, James Gibbs, Lord Burlington, William Kent, Sir William Chambers, and Robert Adam.
Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 4:00 PM (EDT)
Churchill Mobilizing the English Language and Sending It Into Battle with Allen Packwood
Allen Packwood BA, MPhil (Cantab), is a Fellow of Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was awarded an OBE for services to archives and scholarship in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honors. His book, How Churchill Waged War, was published by Pen & Sword in 2018 and he has recently edited the Cambridge Companion to Winston Churchill. The Churchill Archives Centre is located on the grounds of Churchill College and is home to the papers of Sir Winston Churchill, Baroness Thatcher, Sir John Major, and almost seven hundred of their contemporaries: politicians, diplomats, civil servants, military leaders, and scientists of the modern era. It is still collecting. Allen likes to joke that it is the equivalent of four American presidential libraries! He is responsible for the overall management of the team and collections.
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 4:00 PM (EDT)
Kipling’s Kim: The Great Game and Real Spies with David Richards
Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim (1901) introduced the reading public to the romance of the international spy, a story of the Great Game, the contest between Great Britain and Russia for the control of the Indian subcontinent. But was the spy network real, or made up, and what impact did the story have on actual spies such as “Kim” Philby, CIA Director Allen Dulles, and Theodore Roosevelt’s grandson, “Kim” Roosevelt? And how did its themes influence literary successors like John Buchan, Ian Fleming, and Le Carré? The long shadow of this story of this Anglo-Irish-Indian orphan falls far forward into international and literary history.
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 4:00 PM (EDT)
Flora Macdonald: Scottish Heroine, American Loyalist and My Namesake with Flora Fraser
Join our next ESU Happy Hour on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 4:00 pm ET hosted by ESU Chairman Dr. Quinn Peeper. Dr. Peeper will be introducing Flora Fraser, a historical biographer specializing in 18th century women. Fraser invites you to raise a Highland Whisky or whisky-less sour to Scottish heroine, Flora Macdonald, the subject of her latest book.
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at 4:00 PM (EDT)
A Bourbon Tasting: Evan Williams Virtual Bourbon Experience
Learn about the history of Evan Williams and Louisville, Kentucky. We will taste 3 award-winning Bourbons from the Evan Williams family of products [Evan Williams Signature Black Label, Evan Williams 1783, and Evan Williams Bottled-In-Bond]. We will end by making an Old-Fashioned cocktail using a recipe from another famous Louisvillian, Tom Bullock.
One of our award-winning Bourbon Educators from Kentucky will be leading you through this historical tasting and cocktail demonstration!
Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 5:00 PM (EDT)
A Special ESU Happy Hour of Coronation Tributes and UK Memories
Join us for a special ESU Happy Hour as ESU Branches across America share Coronation events and tributes to a King and Queen. ESU members and Friends of ESU are cordially invited to submit short stories, videos, Coronation events, greetings, and memorabilia as a tribute to King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II.