Menu
We are indebted to Arthur Chappell, who for many years was secretary of the group, for permission to include the complete record below of meetings up to September 1998, taken from his website. This record has been extended to the end of 1999, with some gaps, from a newsletter produced in December 1998.
Initially, all of our public meetings took place at the Withington Bridge Club, Palatine Road, Withington. Until 1997 most meetings were on Friday evenings. In March 1993, we moved from the Bridge Club to St. Thomas's Visitor's Centre, Ardwick Green, Manchester. From 1997 onwards, meetings have been held on the second Wednesday of the month at Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester.
October 9th - INAUGURAL MEETING of the founder members. 35 Attendees. Unanimous recognition of the ad hoc Steering Committee
November 13th - DISCUSSION - The Principles of Humanism
December 11th - MATT CHERRY - BHA Public Relations Officer
January 13th - SOCIAL NIGHT
February 12th - 1st AGM - Vote to associate with the British Humanist Association
March 12th - HELEN ANDREWS led a discussion on the family
April 13th - DISCUSSION - The limits of tolerance
May 14th - Dr. STEPHEN DONNELLY, OF THE SKEPTIC MAGAZINE - Why people believe in the paranormal
June 11th - Dr. JOHN HOSTLER - The meaning of life
July - Social event
August 7th - DAY OUTING - Ashton Canal Heritage Cruise
September 10th - An exposition of Buddhism
October 8th - GERRY CRINGLE - A criminal life
November 12th - ROBIN GRINTER - Humanism in education (SACREs)
December 10th - DISCUSSION - personal reasons for being Humanists
January 14th - SOCIAL EVENT
February 11th - 2nd AGM
March 11th - Rev. DENISE BOYD - Unitarianism and Humanism
April 15th - ANN CRESSWELL - Child protection - a positive approach
May 13th - Dr. ANDREW READ - Genetic Engineering: Threat or Promise?
June 10th - DOROTHY GREAVES - The Rochdale Pioneers.
July 8th - DISCUSSION - Abortion - the right to choose
August 6th - DAY OUTING - Visit to the Toad Lane Co-op Pioneers Museum, Rochdale
September 9th - Rev. Dr. David Wilkinson - Cosmology and Creation
October 14th - DISCUSSION - voluntary euthansia
October - THEATRE VISIT - Mary O’Malley’s Once A Catholic
November 11th - BERNARD SOOLE - The origins of Christianity
November 24th - THE FIRST HOLYOAKE COMMEMORATIVE LECTURE - Sir Herman Bondi, BHA President
December 9th - ADRIAN BAILEY - Humanism in Germany
January 13th - SOCIAL NIGHT (Brief one-off return to the Bridge Club)
February 10th - 3rd AGM
February 19th - THEATRE VISIT - David Hare’s Racing Demon
March 10th - DAVID COHEN - The Natural Nature Of Non-Science
April 14th - DISCUSSION (led by Keith Ahlquist and Carl Pinel) Animal rights/animal wrongs
May 12th- ARTHUR CHAPPELL - Science fiction and Humanism (Do Humanists dream of electric sheep?)
June 9th - DISCUSSION (led by Barry Thorpe) - Ultimate penalties (capital punishment)
July 14th - FRED HINSON - My Little piece Of Humanism
September 8th - BARRY THORPE - Democracy, Ancient and Modern
October 14th - ERIC PAINE - The Thomas Paine Society
November 10th - HOWARD HUGHES - The Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA)
December 8th - BRIAN CRESSWELL - What is morality?
January 12th - SOCIAL NIGHT
February 9th - 4th AGM
March 8th - RICHARD SOMMERS - The Quakers
March 16th - THEATRE VISIT - Berthold Brecht's Life of Galileo
April 12th - DISCUSSION - Becoming a Humanist
May 10th - DAVID WINSTON - The Sea Of Faith Network
June 14th - KATE BROWN - Religion and social work
July 12th - ROBERT ASHBY - Executive Director of the British Humanist Association
August 9th - GEOFF THURSTON - Landscapes in 3-D (Slide show)
September 13th - JOHN ABRAHAMS - THE United Nations
October 11th - GRANVILLE WILLIAMS - North West Campaign For Press And Broadcasting Freedom
November 8th- BILL WATERSON - Stress evaluation executive recuperation (STEER)
December 13th - CARL PINEL - Bradlaugh, Darwin and Kropotkin
January 8th - SOCIAL NIGHT
February 12th - 5th AGM
March 12th - JOHN PASSMORE - Freemasons
April 9th - DISCUSSION - Spirituality
May 14th - The Manchester Ancient Egypt Society
June 11th - DISCUSSION - Humanism and Politics
July 9th - DISCUSSION - Humanism for young people & families
August 13th - DISCUSSION - Humanism and fun
September 10th - JON TAYLOR - Age Concern
October 8th - 5th Anniversary meeting - DANIEL O HARA - The Future Of Humanism
November 12th - HUGH BARTON - Ceremonies and the Work of Officiants
December 10th - DEREK CHATTERTON - The Bible, a Secular View
January 14th - SOCIAL
February 11th - 6th AGM
March 11th DISCUSSION - Free Will and Determinism
April 8th - DEREK PARKER - Voluntary Euthanasia Society
May 13th - PETER THOMPSON - Friends Of The Earth
June 10th - MELANIE WARREN - The Association for the Study of Scientific and Anomalous Phenomena
July 8th - DISCUSSION - Pornography - A closer look
August 12th - STEVE ROMAN Drug related issues
September 9th - DISCUSSION - Art and Aesthetics - What is Art?
October 14th - (no record)
November 11th - BRIGITTE LECHNER - a Humanist school in Madras
December 9th - (no record)
January 13th - SOCIAL
February 10th - 7th AGM
March 10th - WAYNE SPENCER - Association for Skeptical Enquiry
April 14th - DISCUSSION - What's a Human Being Anyway?
May 12th - BABU GOGINENI - IHEU
June 9th - DISCUSSION - Humanism and Feminism
July 14th - Speaker on Friends and Families and Travellers
August 11th - (no record)
September 8th - GORDON SINCLAIR - BHA Executive Committee and Sheffield Humanists
October 13th - DISCUSSION - Combatting Racism
November 10th - (no record)
December 8th - DISCUSSION - Sod the Millenium
