Indoor meetings are normally held at the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London (nearest undergound station South Kensington) at intervals of four to six weeks between September and April. The main event at these meetings is usually a lecture by a guest speaker or society member. Most meetings also include a show-and-tell session when people have an opportunity to show specimens and anything else of molluscan interest to those at the meeting, and get comments from them. There are also opportunities for informal discussions over tea/coffee, and to purchase Society goods and back publications. The meetings take place in the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity. To find this most easily, come into the Museum at the main entrance. In front of you, you will find a large blue whale skeleton. At the far end of the blue whale skeleton, turn left down a passage past a shop on the right and a cafeteria on the left and you'll see stairs leading down to an open glass-fronted lower-level atrium. The Centre is not open-access, so you will need to ring the bell to the right of the door (close to the end of the atrium) to gain admission.
To join the online meetings please email Catherine Jagger at Circa (shellmember@gmail.com) preferably at least one week prior to the meeting, indicating your intention to attend. She will then send you full joining instructions and a meeting agenda.
Conchological Society Indoor Meetings 2023
Last checked 27th September 2023
(Please note, all meetings (except July and November meetings) will be held in the Angela Marmont Centre, Natural History Museum (2.00pm), but also on Zoom).
Saturday 14th October 2023 - Indoor meeting with exhibits and lecture (NHM with Zoom link)
14:00 - 17:00 (13.45 Zoom sign in - pre-register with Circa (shellmember@gmail.com))
Guest speaker: Robert Cameron, ‘Snails in the mind: symbolism, superstition and imagery’.
Angela Marmont Centre, NHM, London SW7 5BD. Council members please note that there will be a Council meeting before this meeting (Live and Zoom).
Saturday 11th November 2023 - REGIONAL MEETING in Reading (note the paired event on Sunday 12th)
10:30 - 16:00 The meeting will be live only and not on Zoom.
Organiser: Tom Walker (tom@tmwalker.co.uk). The meeting will be held in the Department of Zoology, University of Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5AN. The meeting will consist of short papers (15 - 25 minutes) and a tour of the mollusc collections within the Zoology department. There are regular buses from Reading Station to the University Campus (Route 21, 21a). Please contact the organiser for more details or to offer a presentation. This is an excellent opportunity to tell others of any work you are doing, your molluscan interests or discuss projects you may be considering.
Sunday 12th November 2023 - CONSERVATION AND RECORDING FORUM MEETING in Reading
10:00-13:30
Organiser: Ben Rowson (ben.rowson@museumwales.ac.uk). The meeting will be held at 38 Redlands Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 5HD and is open to all members of the Society. The meeting will also be on Zoom – joining details will be circulated nearer to the time of the meeting. Please contact the organiser for more information or with suggestions for the agenda (a pdf copy of the Agenda will be made available in due course).
Saturday 9th December 2023 - INDOOR MEETING with exhibits and lecture (NHM with Zoom link)
14.00 - 17.00 (13.45 Zoom sign in - pre-register with Circa (shellmember@gmail.com))
Guest speaker: Richard Preece, 'William Benson and the Golden Age of Malacology in British India’. A talk following the publication in 2023 of a monograph on Benson’s pioneering work in India. Angela Marmont Centre, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD. Council members please note that there will be a Council meeting before this meeting (Live and Zoom).
ONLINE ‘EXHIBITS’
Members are invited to address the meeting for a maximum of four minutes to show an exhibit or speak briefly on a mollusc-related theme. Anyone wishing to do this please e mail the Hon. Secretary, Rosemary Hill (secretary@conchsoc.org) in advance of the meeting. Note that for each meeting the number of speakers will be limited to the first five applicants.
The Programme Secretary will be happy to receive suggestions about interesting speakers or subjects.
All our meetings are open to non-members if space is available: if you would like to come, please contact Martin Willing (martinjwilling@gmail.com).
Meeting Programme compiled by Martin Willing. Contacts for meetings related matters are either Martin Willing
(martinjwilling@gmail.com) OR Rosemary Hill (secretary@conchsoc.org).