The Agenda Festival

Returning for the second time, the Agenda Festival was a ‘succès fou.’

Glorious sunshine, beautiful surroundings, great speakers and fascinating exhibitors.

Featuring fascinating talks by actors Simon Williams and Lucy Fleming; travelers, adventurers, and journalists Martin Bell, Julia Boyd, Pierre Thomas, and Miranda Green; food and wine enthusiasts Tom Parker Bowles and Olly Smith; rounded out by Gyles Brandreth being the brilliant Gyles Brandreth.

In addition to all this, guests explored an eclectic selection of exhibitors offering practical cross-generational solutions on everything from housing, estate planning, and downsizing, to travel, eating, and drinking.

2024 Highlights

Full recordings of past theatre talks are now available

for you to catch up on via our YouTube page.

We look forward to seeing you next year!

We enjoyed a sparkling day out featuring the most delicious Gusbourne English Sparkling Wine, a lovely al fresco lunch, lively music, and a spirited program of amusing, irreverent, and well-known speakers.

Alongside this, interesting and carefully selected exhibitors offered information on what is available for our energetic and ever-cooler 50+ crowd.

Talks Programme

This year, sessions revolved around the lives of actors, Simon Williams & Lucy Fleming as well as, travellers, writers and foodies, including Tom Parker Bowles and Olly Smith delving into the delights and disasters of the world of food and wine and Martin Bell and Julia Boyd recounting their travel adventures. All this, rounded out by Gyles Brandreth who presented a new talk, “Never Look Back; you might fall down the stairs”.

“Stage and Wisdom”

Actors Simon Williams and Lucy Fleming and journalist and author Sarah Standing talked about the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the entertainment world.

“Light Luggage: Dispatches from a Diplomatic Spouse, an Explorer and a War Correspondent”

Dispatches from a diplomatic spouse and a war correspondent; FT columnist and broadcaster Miranda Green interviewed ‘the man in the white suit’ Martin Bell and author and ambassador’s wife Julia Boyd about their widely divergent travel experiences.

“Age Doesn’t Matter Unless You’re a Cheese”

We took a look behind the scenes with author and food writer Tom Parker Bowles and wine expert Olly Smith who discussed what it is really like facing up to weird food, hapless contestants and endless glasses of wine.

Never Look Back; You Might Fall Down the Stairs

The Agenda Team

Now the day job is done, we’re here to inspire you on your next step. Brought to you by London’s Next Step Education Ltd, the brains behind the Independent Schools Show, art education fair FORMA, and Step Up Expo, in collaboration with the Evening Standard.

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