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
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
2025
May
Wed 7th May - attending opening of The Dig Exhibition - Sutton Hoo PF
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 - Rock Road Library, Cambridge - TD - OTP
Tues 27th May - Bury U3A - HOSE Pt2 - PF
Fri 30th May - Everyman Folk Club
June
Tues 3rd June - Frinton Probus - HOS - PF
Thurs 12th June - Chelmsford U3A - HOSE - PF
Fri 13th June - VIVO Concert - Holbrook - OTP
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 5th July - Hitcham VH - TD - OTP
Sat 12th July - Edwardstone Church - HOS - OTP
Tues 15th July - Halo, Stowmarket - HOSE - PF
Wed 16th July - Woodbridge Heath Ladies' Probus - TD - PF afternoon
Wed 16th July - Wickham Skeith History Group - TD - evening
August
Fri 1st Aug - Bungay Black Shuck Festival - Suffolk Dialect - OTP morning
Fri 1st Aug - Bungay Black Shuck Festival - ELS - OTP afternoon
Sat 2nd Aug - Rede Church - HOSE - OTP
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
Sat 13th Sept - Rattlesden LHG - TBA - PF
Fri 19th Sept - Laxfield Museum - TD - OTP
Fri 26th Sept - Everyman Folk Club
Sat 27th Sept - Sutton Hoo Society - TD - OTP
Tues 30th Sept - Fressingfield LHG - ELS - OTP
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 - TD - 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
Thurs 4th Dec - University of Suffolk - HOSE - OTP
Sat 6th Dec - VIVO Concert - Holbrook Church - OTP
Mon 8th Dec - Dedham Vale Society - ELS - PF
Tues 9th Dec - Fornham All Saints VH - ELS - PF
Fri 12th Dec - Bulmer Hist. Soc. - ELC - PF
Sat 13th Dec - Harkstead Church - ELS - OTP
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 . . .
Over 200 bookings for that talk so far. . . 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