The Yorkshire Speakers Directory
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| Subject Areas: | Humour | |
| Name, Speaker Location & Areas covered: | Mr Neil HANSON  | Ilkley :: All Yorkshire covered |
| Contact & Website: | w: neilhanson.co.uk | |
| Subjects: | 1) "Inn & Out at the Top" is a laugh-a-minute tour of the quirks and foibles, highs and lows of running Britain's highest inn - so isolated that its next-door neighbour was 4 miles away and so high above sea level that it had its own climate, with winds that could tear car-doors off their hinges, and winter snows that cut off the inn for weeks on end. A hugely engaging storyteller, Neil Hanson's account of his time at the inn, grappling with tight-fisted farmers, eccentric characters, bizarre local customs, naturist weekends, "lates and lock-ins", police raids, rats in the attic, close encounters with magistrates and planners, and the shooting of a famous double glazing commercial, is suitable for all audiences. 2) "The Ghostwriter" Author Neil Hanson has led a extraordinary life in his own right, but as a professional ghostwriter of over 70 published books, he has also worked with a remarkably diverse collection of the most interesting people around. His clients include household names - an American showbiz legend, England's most famous cricketer, a famous actor, one of Britain's most decorated soldiers and an England football manager - but also many less celebrated men and women who have led extraordinary lives or achieved remarkable things, including SAS men, fast-jet pilots, explorers and adventurers, a treasure diver, a kidnap negotiator, a hugely successful businessman, a spy, a notorious gangster, a round the world walker, a submariner, a maxillofacial surgeon and many more. A hugely engaging storyteller and award-winning speaker, Neil has entertained audiences at every type of occasion - corporate events, conferences, festivals, luncheon clubs, dinners and banquets - throughout the UK and right across the USA, Australia and New Zealand. His talk "The Ghostwriter" gives us privileged glimpses into the hidden worlds of his ghostwriting clients, including some very famous names and some ordinary people achieving extraordinary things, and also reveals the truth behind one of the most earth-shattering events of our times. His talk is revelatory and insightful, but also very, very funny. 3) "Champagne Breakfasts and Flying Pigs: How Not to Have a Career" Neil Hanson's humorous talks "Inn & Out at the Top" (about his time running Britain's highest inn) and "The Ghostwriter" (about his 'day job' as a writer of other people's books for them) have already been enjoyed by audiences all over the country, but in the years before he became a full-time author, Neil also had a multitude of other jobs and fledgling careers, and he's now added a third humorous talk to his repertoire: Champagne Breakfasts and Flying Pigs: How Not to Have a Career. It draws on many more curious characters and tales of high life and low life, including a one-hit wonder with a surprising use for false teeth, a volatile chef's unusual technique for tenderising steak, a thespian piglet, a booze up in a brewery, and how to flog a dead horse, dodge tribal warfare in a tropical hellhole, survive on a diet of beer and pot noodles and sell oil paintings of sausages for dogs. It's all strange but true, and very, very funny. 'Superb, amusing and insightful.' Yorkshire Countrywomen's Association 'A brilliant talk, the best we've ever had.' Leeds U3A 'Such an entertaining talk, polished, professional and greatly appreciated by the audience who thoroughly enjoyed themselves.' Swanland U3A 'Very eloquent and very amusing talk. Everyone has said how much they enjoyed it.' Bramhope WI 'A great talk. Loads of compliments from people saying how much they enjoyed it! That's unprecedented!' Sheffield U3A 'I haven't laughed so much in years.' Audience member, Garforth U3A 'An entertaining and masterful performance.' Bradford U3A 'Great to have someone who is so clearly at ease, not only with the subject, but also with presenting it.' Holme Valley U3A 'We've had some good speakers over the years but that was the top of the pile.' East Devon Luncheon Club 'My husband laughed so much he was nearly crying!' Society of Municipal Treasurers 'A wonderful talk.' Huntingdon U3A 'Excellent, really enjoyable and entertaining.' Everest Ltd. 'Our members loved your talk and are probably still laughing.' Tarporley U3A 'The most entertaining speaker we've ever had.' Sittingbourne Probus Club 'The best speaker yet.' Spalding U3A 'A huge hit with our audience, there have been a great many enthusiastic and positive comments.' Ilminster Festival 'A resounding success. Your delivery was very impressive, almost off the cuff.' Spelthorne U3A 'The best speaker I've ever heard.' Audience member, Yate & Sodbury U3A 'Very amusing and entertaining. I've had some wonderful feedback from our members.' Potters Bar U3A 'Great talk, we enjoyed it very much.' British Association of Construction Heads 'It really was a pleasure to host you. I have had nothing but positive responses you really hit the right note.' HMS Drake, Plymouth 'One of the best talks we've ever had.' Cranleigh Probus Club 'Our members thoroughly enjoyed your talk and the fluency and clarity with which it was presented.' Bookham U3A 'Best Speaker' (vote by audiences), Brisbane Festival 'Fantastic, a tremendous evening.' Amanda Lydon, New York City 'The best - and the best-received - of all the 100 events we have put on here.' Pritzker Library, Chicago 4) A Dickens of a Christmas Charles Dickens is one of the greatest writers in the English language, and A Christmas Carol is his best-loved tale. He was also an accomplished public performer, holding audiences spellbound with dramatic readings from his work. Taking a leaf from Dickens own book - quite literally - Neil Hansons A Dickens of a Christmas, explores how A Christmas Carol almost single-handedly revived and reinvented the Christmas traditions and celebrations that we now take for granted. Along the way Neil reveals the real-life miser who inspired the character of Ebenezer Scrooge, how some of the events of Dickens own life were reflected in the story, why he saw fainting women as a sign of success, and the tricks of the trade he used to bring his characters to such vivid life that the names of some have entered the language, above all Scrooge, which remains shorthand for a skinflint to this day. Eye-opening, intriguing and above all, very entertaining, A Dickens of a Christmas is the perfect festive fare. |
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| Availability & Fee: | Anytime | Negotiable |
| Requirements: | S, PS, OHP, T, F | Click for requirements explanation |
| Virtual Talk Offered: | No | |
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