Guest speakers

Pam Ayres has been a writer, broadcaster, and entertainer for over 40 years, and is one of the few authors who has had books in the Sunday Times bestseller charts in almost every decade since the 1970s. She is the author of several best-selling poetry collections, including The Works and With These Hands. Many of her poems are in school textbooks around the world.

Giancarlo Impiglia is an artist and art historian whose name is renowned in the world of art. He studied at the Art Lyceum and the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He also studied at the Italian Center of Cinematography of Rome, participating in several movies as cameraman and set designer.

With a string of awards to her name including three Olivier Awards and eight nominations, Evening Standard and Critics Circle Awards, and many other theatre accolades, both from the West End and Broadway stage, Maria Friedman is in demand as undoubtedly one of our most successful leading musical theatre ladies. Maria will be exclusively performing her one woman show on board Queen Mary 2.

Described by The Times as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades, Olivier Award-winning Celia Imrie is probably best known as one of the naked Calendar Girls - she needed bigger buns. She has appeared in many films from Hilary & Jackie, Nanny McPhee, and Bridget Jones's Diary to Highlander and Star Wars.

Robin Oakley is a journalist and author of several books on politics and horse-racing. A contributor to CNN on European affairs and The Financial Times, he is also the Turf columnist of The Spectator magazine.  

Margaret Gilmore is an award-winning writer and broadcaster who has been an authoritative face on British TV screens for more than 20 years, highly respected for her specialist knowledge and investigative skills.

Doctor Seth Gopin is a man of a great many interests and talents. During his 30 years at Rutgers University, he was a gifted lecturer in Art History and a popular dean of academic affairs. He also served as the Director of Global Studies, which made him Rutgers’ ambassador to the world.