During the summer, the Society has evening informal discussions using Zoom. The original intention had been simply to bridge the long gap between the formal programmes but the first Informals coincided with pandemic lockdowns and restrictions and, as virtual meetings, proved popular with members.

The structure is that a member leads a session with a short presentation and participants then share responses.  There is not a formal limit to the length of discussion but we usually wind down after about an hour.  The nature of the sessions has ranged widely – presenters have aired ideas about papers being mulled over, inside knowledge of social programmes and “bees in bonnets”.

It was agreed that opportunities to lead sessions would be made available to Manchester’s postgraduate students whose projects fall within the Society’s ambit.  It is hoped that this opportunity to practise presenting their work would be attractive to these students.  Where members are aware of students who could/would/should “give it a go” 

Member John Davnall acts as convener for the series and will always welcome volunteers from among the membership.  Where members are aware of students who could/would/should “give it a go”, please encourage them to get in touch via  john.davnall@gmail.com