LECTURERS: the excellent, the good, the bad and the positively horrible

Cunard presents lecturers on many different subjects, most of which should be interesting, at least interesting to the presenter.  Many of the lectures are taped and shown on the tv, on a loop from 5 pm until, in some cases I am sure, the tape breaks.

My opinion, in reverse order:

Lecturers who use power point and read the screen verbatim – the “destination” lectures which should have been interesting but were mostly horrible

Lecturers who have been giving the same talk for years and are bored with the subject but, what the hell, it’s a free trip on the QM2

Lecturers who have complete disdain for the audience – arrogant snobs who feel themselves to be keepers of knowledge which, of course, no one else has.  Yesterday, the lecturer on Irving Berlin and his music sang over the clips he played, also neglecting to identify most of the singers on the clips.  It should be a crime to sing (gurgle) over Ella Fitzgerald and then not even mention her name. 

Perhaps it should be considered a “talent” to make a subject as fascinating as the role of women at the court of the Ottoman sultans so dry that it became painful but the lecturer managed it with apparent ease

Contrast that with the astronomers who have been, without exception , excellent speakers with a thorough knowledge of their subject and who lectured without notes and with presentations guaranteed to grab our attention and hold it long after the lecture was over.

In addition to giving fascinating lectures, Tom Boles took a group of us on deck, had the Commodore douse the lights and then showed us how to navigate our way around the sky as well as use the stars to navigate around the Earth.  He stayed much longer than planned, answered all our questions, challenged us with some of his own and insured that we will think of him whenever we look up at night.

Of course it helps that I have been interested in astronomy for most of my life.

My interest in the Middle East began in high school, with the International Relations Club, founded and supported by Mrs. Elsie Brown Smith, my 10^th grade English teacher and
family friend all my life.  We learned about different countries and were welcomed in many of the embassies over 3 years.

This interest was heightened when we lived in Turkey and watched the beginnings of the civil war in Lebanon as well as the Turkish terrorist group, the Gray Wolves, which blew up two of my former colleagues at the Turkish-American Association where I had given English lessons.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw that there would be lectures on the Middle East as well as the Crusades, and the connection of the 2.

Lt General Simon Mayall, Chief Advisor to HM Government, did what so few can – he made history come alive.  My grandfather always told us that history was a novel lived by real people and thanks to Simon, the real people involved in the Middle East, then and now, became real, warts and all.  I not only attended all the lectures and took notes,  I watched the lectures again as often as possible in the evenings.  Simon packed so much more information into the allotted time than the usual speakers that I am still working on some of the notes.  All of us emerged with a much greater appreciation for events in the news every day and the multiple answers to the question, “cui bono?”. 

Thanks, Simon.  You showed how it should be done.