St Mary's Street Shops - Wallingford
Programme
If you would like to suggest a speaker, please complete this form and send to the Programme Secretary : [email protected]
Note: Red links will take you to the speakers website.
Note: Red links will take you to the speakers website.
1st July 2026 John McCormick
Are computers really that smart? Why AI needs good decision-making processes
Born in Australia, John McCormick has lived in the UK for over 20 years and spent all his career in the IT management and consulting industry. AI is thus a familiar topic to him because it’s been around for longer than most people realise. In his talk John will take us through a pragmatic view of this important issue covering the importance of effective decision making in Artificial Intelligence design and considering what he thinks we should do, and not do, about it. This is bound to be an enlightening talk on a subject which is far from our usual experience and which, while it can seem rather daunting, is also very exciting.
No one needs to worry about this being too technical however - it will be explained in lay-person’s terms! We’ll all be front and centre in helping to answer the question in the talk’s title because this will be a very collaborative effort with extensive audience participation!
Are computers really that smart? Why AI needs good decision-making processes
Born in Australia, John McCormick has lived in the UK for over 20 years and spent all his career in the IT management and consulting industry. AI is thus a familiar topic to him because it’s been around for longer than most people realise. In his talk John will take us through a pragmatic view of this important issue covering the importance of effective decision making in Artificial Intelligence design and considering what he thinks we should do, and not do, about it. This is bound to be an enlightening talk on a subject which is far from our usual experience and which, while it can seem rather daunting, is also very exciting.
No one needs to worry about this being too technical however - it will be explained in lay-person’s terms! We’ll all be front and centre in helping to answer the question in the talk’s title because this will be a very collaborative effort with extensive audience participation!
5th August Kamran Irani
Blood, Bikers and Babies: the work of SERV OBN
Kamran is the Chairman of the most amazing charity you have never heard of! The charity is SERV OBN: Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers and this group covers Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. Entirely staffed by volunteers they provide an out of hours, rapid response motorbike courier service for NHS hospitals across our region, delivering urgent blood, blood products, medical supplies, medical equipment, and human donor milk, during the times when other transport options to the NHS may be limited, such as every night, weekends, and public holidays. They provide the service using a fleet of liveried motorcycles. The service is provided free of charge to the NHS.
After the talk, our Ladies Probus group will be making a modest donation to the charity at the meeting and if appropriate, members may feel they would like to add a personal donation.
Blood, Bikers and Babies: the work of SERV OBN
Kamran is the Chairman of the most amazing charity you have never heard of! The charity is SERV OBN: Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers and this group covers Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. Entirely staffed by volunteers they provide an out of hours, rapid response motorbike courier service for NHS hospitals across our region, delivering urgent blood, blood products, medical supplies, medical equipment, and human donor milk, during the times when other transport options to the NHS may be limited, such as every night, weekends, and public holidays. They provide the service using a fleet of liveried motorcycles. The service is provided free of charge to the NHS.
After the talk, our Ladies Probus group will be making a modest donation to the charity at the meeting and if appropriate, members may feel they would like to add a personal donation.
2nd September 2026 Rachel Pettit-Smith
A History of Pettits of Wallingford
Situated in the market town of Wallingford in Oxfordshire, Pettits Department Store was established on 6th March 1856 by Mr William Pettit who came from Newmarket, where his father was a saddle maker. This illustrated talk will tell the story of the store’s place in Wallingford’s history. One of the largest and oldest businesses in Wallingford, the store remained in the Pettit family until 1987 when it was sold to the Rowse family, another local family firm well known for its honey production.
Rachel Pettit-Smith has lived in Wallingford all her life and has been involved in the business all that time. Her father and grandfather were at the helm when she was a child and she has seen a lot of changes over the years and shopping too has changed with all the old family firms disappearing but Wallingford is still thriving and is a great community to be part of. She has a great story to tell.
A History of Pettits of Wallingford
Situated in the market town of Wallingford in Oxfordshire, Pettits Department Store was established on 6th March 1856 by Mr William Pettit who came from Newmarket, where his father was a saddle maker. This illustrated talk will tell the story of the store’s place in Wallingford’s history. One of the largest and oldest businesses in Wallingford, the store remained in the Pettit family until 1987 when it was sold to the Rowse family, another local family firm well known for its honey production.
Rachel Pettit-Smith has lived in Wallingford all her life and has been involved in the business all that time. Her father and grandfather were at the helm when she was a child and she has seen a lot of changes over the years and shopping too has changed with all the old family firms disappearing but Wallingford is still thriving and is a great community to be part of. She has a great story to tell.
7th October 2026 Dr Jane Sellwood
Man flu, bird flu, seasonal flu – is Covid now a ‘flu’?
Members will remember Dr Jane Selwood’s excellent and well-illustrated talk on water last year and she’s returning to bring us up to date on another important topic, viruses.
Jane is a retired Clinical Scientist employed by the Health Protection Agency (now called UK Health Security Agency) and was based at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. She was Consultant Clinical Virologist for the diagnostic virology laboratory and led research in the national Water Virology Unit. Research projects involving collaboration with European laboratories focused on developing novel methods for the detection of viruses and surveying the content of sewage, fresh and marine water. This background has led to a current wider appreciation of national and global health issues amid the climate crisis.
Jane is also a member of Reading u3a and Convenor of the Science Group
Man flu, bird flu, seasonal flu – is Covid now a ‘flu’?
Members will remember Dr Jane Selwood’s excellent and well-illustrated talk on water last year and she’s returning to bring us up to date on another important topic, viruses.
Jane is a retired Clinical Scientist employed by the Health Protection Agency (now called UK Health Security Agency) and was based at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. She was Consultant Clinical Virologist for the diagnostic virology laboratory and led research in the national Water Virology Unit. Research projects involving collaboration with European laboratories focused on developing novel methods for the detection of viruses and surveying the content of sewage, fresh and marine water. This background has led to a current wider appreciation of national and global health issues amid the climate crisis.
Jane is also a member of Reading u3a and Convenor of the Science Group
4th November 2026 Johnathon Stamp
The Lost Library of Herculaneum - Villa of the Papyri
The ‘Villa of the Papyri’, unearthed in 1750 during excavations at Herculaneum on the Bay of Naples, was the richest privately owned Roman villa ever discovered. Even more importantly, it was also the site of the only library from the ancient world ever to be found in situ - from which it derives its current name.
This will be a talk exploring the extraordinary story of the Villa's excavation. It will focus on recent game-changing scientific breakthroughs, (some achieved at the local Harwell Science and Innovation Campus), that suggest the papyrus scrolls found in the Villa could finally be read in their entirety, after more than two and a half centuries spent trying. It will also investigate the tantalising possibility that there are more scrolls still to be found in a yet un-excavated part of the Villa.
Jonathon, a Classicist, is a journalist, producer, and writer.
The Lost Library of Herculaneum - Villa of the Papyri
The ‘Villa of the Papyri’, unearthed in 1750 during excavations at Herculaneum on the Bay of Naples, was the richest privately owned Roman villa ever discovered. Even more importantly, it was also the site of the only library from the ancient world ever to be found in situ - from which it derives its current name.
This will be a talk exploring the extraordinary story of the Villa's excavation. It will focus on recent game-changing scientific breakthroughs, (some achieved at the local Harwell Science and Innovation Campus), that suggest the papyrus scrolls found in the Villa could finally be read in their entirety, after more than two and a half centuries spent trying. It will also investigate the tantalising possibility that there are more scrolls still to be found in a yet un-excavated part of the Villa.
Jonathon, a Classicist, is a journalist, producer, and writer.