Charlie is a tireless performer with a commanding stage presence. He has a number of different shows and talks, including his classic all evening, “Eccentric Look at Suffolk”. He has other popular shows that you might wish to book him for:
The Dig!!!
Charlie was personally chosen by the great Ralph Fiennes to be the dialect coach for the wonderful Netflix film The Dig. Charlie has created a fascinating new talk about his experiences preparing Ralph and the cast for their roles and Charlie will reveal the extraordinary lengths Ralph Fiennes took, not only to play Basil Brown, but to become Basil Brown!
History of spoken English
This is not a talk on split infinitives, and what the differences are between the past participle and the past tense. Definitely not! Charlie shows how the seeds of spoken English was first sown, and how each invading force affected the English language with the different sounds they brought. Charlie includes a dialect tour of the British Isles, demonstrating the different facial expressions of each dialect. He also shows how some people he knows that lip read can tell what dialect a person has.
History of English Surnames
Charlie will talk about the Anglo-Saxon and Viking bynames and nicknames we had prior to the Norman Conquest. He will explain how and why surnames evolved after 1066 AD, and the disruption it caused. Charlie then enlightens the audience on the four different types of surnames which includes explaining the meanings of some of the surnames sitting in the audience.
This will be followed by Q&A
2024 - 2025 Bookings
Key
TD - Charlie and "The Dig"
HOSE - History of Spoken English
HOSE-2 - History of Spoken English - Part 2
HOS – History of Surnames
ELS – Eccentric Look at Suffolk
ELEA – Eccentric Look at East Anglia
ELC – Eccentric Look at the Countryside
OTP – Open to the Public
PF – Private Function
2024 - 2025
2024
November
Tues 5th Nov - Frinton Men's Probus Club - HOSE - PF
Wed 6th Nov - Boxmoor & Dist. Probus - HOSE - PF
Thurs 7th Nov - Wymondham U3A - TBA - PF
Tues 12th Nov - Foxearth History Society - HOS - OTP
Wed 13th Nov - East Norfolk 6th Form College - HOSE - PF
Thurs 21st Nov - Coddenham Hist. Club - HOSE - PF
Fri 22nd Nov - Stowmarket Christmas Lights
Tues 26th Nov - Fressingfield LHAG - HOSE - OTP
Wed 27th Nov - Melbourn U3A - HOSE - PF
Fri 29th Nov - Everyman Folk Club
Sat 30th Nov - Walsham le Willows VH - TD - OTP
December
Tues 3rd Dec - Cambridge Professional Development Group - TD - PF
Thurs 5th Dec - SAS Carol Service - Long Melford -
Sat 7th Dec - VIVO Concert - Holbrook Church - OTP
Mon 9th Dec - Dedham Vale Society - TD - PF
Wed 11th Dec - Broomfield U3A - HOSE - PF
Fri 13th Dec - Old Hall Cafe - Reydon - ELS - OTP
Sat 14th Dec - Walberswick LHG - HOS - PF
Mon 16th Dec - Brentwood à Becket Probus Club- HOSE - PF
2025
January
Thurs 2nd Jan - Diss U3A - HOS - PF
Wed 15th Jan - Wrabness Stour Ladies - HOSE - PF
Mon 20th Jan - Colchester Vintage Car Club - HOS - PF
Thurs 23rd Jan - Preston St Mary Church - TD - OTP
Fri 31st Jan - Everyman Folk Club
February
Sat 1st Feb - Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall - ELS - OTP
Fri 7th Feb - Hopton History Group - HOSE - PF
Sat 8th Feb - All Saints BSE - HOS - OTP
Thurs 20th Feb - Isleham Society - HOS - OTP
Fri 28th Feb - Everyman Folk Club
March
Sat 1st Mar - Harkstead Church - HOS - OTP
Thurs 6th Mar - University of Suffolk - HOS - OTP
Sat 8th Mar - 13th Ipswich Sea Scouts - HOS
Thur 13th Mar - Lowestoft ALHS - TD - PF
Sat 15th Mar - MND - Bury St Edmunds - ELS - OTP
Sat 22nd Mar - Woodbridge Riverside Trust - ELS - OTP
Fri 28th Mar - Everyman Folk Club
April
Fri 4th April - Brightlingsea U3A - HOS - PF
Tues 15th April - Norfolk Austin Car Club - TD - PF
Wed 16th April - Buxhall W.I. - TD - PF
Thurs 24th April - Thetford U3A - HOSE - PF
Fri 25th April - Diss Corn Hall - ELEA - OTP
Sat 26th April - Harleston Masonic Hall - ALT - PF
May
Sat 10th May - Duxford - TD - OTP
Mon 12th May - Buntingford U3A - HOSE Pt2 - PF
Wed 14th May - Ware U3A - HOSE Pt2 - PF
Tues 20th May - Bury U3A - HOSE Pt2 - PF
Wed 21st May - Rock Road Library, Cambridge - TBA - OTP
Fri 30th May - Everyman Folk Club
June
Tues 3rd June - Frinton Probus - HOS - PF
Thurs 12th June - Chelmsford U3A - HOSE - PF
Fri 20th June - Stowmarket Bellringers - TD - OTP
Sat June 21st - Wellbeing Waterfield - Hadleigh - PF Suffolk Day Talk - The Dig
Sun June 22nd - St Alban's Day Talk - Shotley
Fri June 27th - Pettistree VH - TD - OTP
July
Tues 1st July - Ely & Dist. U3A - HOSE - PF
Sat 12th July - Edwardstone Church - HOS - OTP
Wed 16th July - Woodbridge Heath Ladies' Probus - TD - PF
August
Fri 1st Aug - Bungay Black Shuck Festival - Suffolk Dialect - OTP morning
Fri 1st Aug - Bungay Black Shuck Festival - ELS - OTP afternoon
Wed 6th Aug - Blackwater U3A - HOSE - PF
Thurs 7th Aug - Wymondham U3A - HOS
September
Wed 3rd Sept - Suffolk Family Hist. Soc. - TD - PF
Wed 10th Sept - Coggeshall Society - HOSE - PF
Fri 12th September - Beacon Wine Circle - ELC Pt 2 - PF
Fri 19th Sept - Laxfield Museum - TD - OTP
Thurs 25th Sept - Hawkwell Village U3A - HOSE - PF
Fri 26th Sept - Everyman Folk Club
October
Mon 6th Oct - Thorley U3A - HOSE - PF
Wed 15th Oct - Huntingdon U3A - HOSE - PF
Sat 18th Oct - Bergh Apton V.H. - HOSE - OTP
Tues 21st Oct - Chet Staithe Probus - Chedgrave - TBA - PF
Tues 21st Oct - Trafalgar Day Talk - Bergh Apton. Norfolk
Thurs 23rd Oct - Pennoyer Centre - Pulham St Mary - TD - OTP
November
Mon 17th Nov - Maldon & District U3A - TD - PF
Thurs 20th Nov - Lawford Hort. Soc. - TD - PF
Sat 22nd Nov - Two Sisters Arts Centre, Trimley - ELS - OTP
Thurs 27th Nov - Pennoyer Centre - Pulham St Mary - TBA - OTP
Fri 28th Nov - Everyman Folk Club
Sat 29th Nov - Suffolk Horse Society - TD - PF
December
Fri 12th Dec - Bulmer Hist. Soc. - ELC - PF
2026
January - I am sorry to disappoint you, but I will be retiring from public
speaking from the end of December 2025; and as such, I will not be
taking any more bookings from January 2026 onwards . . . I have
enjoyed giving my talks for over a quarter of a century, but it's now
time for me to move on and do other things . . . whilst I can.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have
booked me for my various talks.
Over the years, wherever I have given my presentations, I've met
some wonderful and very interesting people and I've always been made
very welcome . . . And hopefully we have had a few laughs on the way.
I would also like to thank Nick Jenkins for maintaining my website
and also coming up with the idea for my "Charlie and The Dig" talk . . .
Nearly 200 bookings for that talk alone . . . nearly always a "full house".
and it has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. Thank you Nick.
I will miss you all . . . I really will, and it will be a great wrench to
stop what I have loved doing for so long . . . but as I have already said,
. . . it is time for me to move on and do other things.
Kindest regards and best wishes to you all, Charlie