Julie Peasgood: From the RSC to Birds Eye Peas

Photograph © Julie Peasgood

This month saw four new members joining us, bringing the total membership to 103. After lunch, we enjoyed a rather brief - but nonetheless entertaining - talk by actress Julie Peasgood. Even if you don't recognise her name, you'd recognise her face and voice from numerous TV shows and voiceovers...

"Julie Peasgood is a versatile actress, TV presenter and journalist, with a career spanning 40 years of prestigious theatre and television. She spent five years with The Royal Shakespeare Company and her numerous TV credits include Casualty, Taggart, Doctors, September Song, First Born and Holby City, but she is probably best known for her roles in Brookside, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks. Good Turn Productions, (owned by Julie) is now producing the fourth series of Crafty Beggars In The House! on Community Channel, which Julie co-presents, and she has regular bi-monthly show on Create & Craft TV (on Tuesdays at 1pm)." 

Julie spoke about her childhood ambition to be on the stage and told us how she had loved dressing up and pretending to be different characters. She also showed us photos of her dressed in different costumes, which reminded many of us of our own children and grandchildren.

Gradually, as her career took off, she became well known actress, starring in the aforementioned programmes as well as doing voice overs for various advertisements, including one for Birds Eye peas. The talk finished with us putting our forefingers into our mouths and trying to make the sound of the peas going pop, as in the advert. As you can imagine, we all had a fit of the giggles!

Hilary and Ian Templeton: Pictures in Harmony

Ian and Hilary Templeton

Pictures in Harmony.

When Ian and Hilary Templeton retired a few years ago, they decided they needed a worthwhile hobby to share together. Hilary took up photography and Ian, who already had an interest in music, combined their hobbies to create Pictures in Harmony.

This collaboration combines artistic photos of their travels with anecdotes and background music, to entertain and amuse the audience. Their aim is to raise funds in aid of the Air Ambulance and to date almost £30,000 has been donated.

During their hour-long presentation, we were shown a miscellany of photos and photo montages from around the world.  Ian with his gentle, lilting, Scottish accent narrated whilst the complementary soundtrack played in the background.

First to be shown was Chicago City whilst Frank Sinatra crooned his version of the song Chicago. This was followed by a tour of Austria with its beautiful mountainous and verdant scenery accompanied by a track from The Sound of Music. Next we enjoyed photos of Akaroa in New Zealand where Ian and Hilary had visited a quirky, colourful garden which was bursting with numerous mosaics covering paths, walls, pots, animal shapes and just about every other surface imaginable! Ian then recited Smuggler's Song by Rudyard Kipling while showing pictures of a smugglers' cove in Cornwall. Then it was on to Loch Lomond and the Isle of Inchcailloch. They concluded with an animated version of the romance between a pink and a blue toothbrush to the tune originally sung by Max Bygraves .

The presentation was humorous and very cleverly done. So much was included in such a short space of time; we thoroughly enjoyed it.