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PUBLIC TALKS Fran Sandham is giving talks and lectures across the UK and abroad. To book a talk please use the ‘CONTACT' link above. Below: Lecture at Deloitte and Touche, London    Above left: Lecturing aboard cruise ship MV Discovery, Seychelles Above right: Lecturing at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival Below: Queen's Hall Theatre, Hexham    Hammersmith October Festival (above and left)[photos: Adrian Lewis] Below: Author talk at the Times Destinations Travel Show at Earls Court, London [photo: Richard Simpson]  Testimonials about recent public talks: 'What a brilliant talk! Fran is warm and witty and an all round entertaining speaker who captivated the audience with tales of his trek across Africa. Inspirational as well as informative and very, very amusing! A very successful and enjoyable event' Janette Fleming, HALTON BOROUGH COUNCIL 'Fran Sandham has a superb discernment for the detail of what makes people listening to him be interested, amused and thoroughly entertained - an excellent talk and a great evening' JOHN LAKE, BARBICAN CENTRE, CITY OF LONDON 'Fran's talk for us at the 2009 Times London Destinations Travel Show at Earls Court was very entertaining and humorous. Fran is an engaging speaker who is full of energy - I highly recommend going to one of his talks' Karen Black, NAMIBIA TOURISM 'Fascinating ...the audience were really engaged in the talk. A lovely way to escape a grey October afternoon!' Judith Adam, OFF THE SHELF LITERARY FESTIVAL, SHEFFIELD 'An excellent and entertaining speaker - people were very impressed. Fran managed to grab the attention of our predominantly Southern African audience (who should know what he was talking about), and left us with a unique and lasting impression of his travels across Africa' Norbert Wurm, DELOITTE AND TOUCHE 'Fran gave us a really good talk and it's always a good sign when there are so many questions. He did a great job and kept us entertained for the whole 45 minutes - we'd have been quite happy to let him carry on with his tale for another hour!' GLOBETROTTERS CLUB, LONDON 'A wonderfully entertaining and inspiring talk - such a good start to the term!' Emma McKendrick, Headmistress, DOWNE HOUSE SCHOOL, BERKSHIRE ‘We had great feedback for Fran’s talk, including: "Fran Sandham is superb!" "Tremendously enjoyable"; “An excellent talk – light-hearted and full of facts”; "Very interesting talk and very amusing"; "Thoroughly enjoyable and well researched"; "A very interesting and informative speaker"; "A very clear, well-illustrated presentation”; "An excellent speaker"’ Ruth Walton, Librarian, WHITLEY BAY LIBRARY ‘Thank you for an engaging, humorous and cautionary talk on your travels across Africa - we were delighted that you were able to bring it to us in such clear and vivid manner’ Steve Maxwell, TAL FESTIVAL ‘Fran wove together an epic yarn with humour, humanity and truth - when he talked about his adventures, you couldn’t help but feel inspired to take a step out of the bindings of everyday life yourself …’ Gerard Lewis, Senior Library Manager, LONDON BOROUGH OF GREENWICH 'I really enjoyed Fran's talk and the audience did too. A great event' Marion Judson/Sharon Houghton, SCARBOROUGH LITERATURE FESTIVAL ‘Fran gave a terrific presentation to our Sixth Form about his highly personal journey. It was both entertaining and educative and was extremely well received by students and staff alike’ Kenneth Glover, Vice-Principal, WYMONDHAM COLLEGE ‘An excellent talk, pitched perfectly in duration and content to our audience of engineers and partners’ Frank Taylor, Chairman, HERTFORDSHIRE ENGINEERS’ LUNCHEON CLUB 'Fran's talk was a great success' Chris Routh, LEIGHTON PARK SCHOOL 'The audience were delighted by Fran's informative, funny and fascinating talk at Portsmouth Central Library. The talk was enhanced by some stunning photographs of his journey across Africa' Clare Forsyth, Reader Development Librarian, PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL 'Fran is a pleasure to work with - his witty and engaging talk generated more enthusiastic audience questions at the end than I've seen for a long, long time. There was 100% positive feedback from our readers' Mike Allport, Reader Development Manager, SOUTHWARK LIBRARIES ‘What an amazing journey, genuinely inspiring! Fran presents it all in an engaging and thoroughly amusing manner, Totally recommended’ Simon Graham, manager, INTREPID TRAVEL (LONDON) 'Fran Sandham's talk about his solo travels across Africa enthralled an audience of secondary school students: highly entertaining, informative and often very witty, this was the sort of talk which inspires pupils. I'd be very happy to recommend him to other schools' Dr Charlotte Goddard, ST MARY'S SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE ‘We were delighted to have such an accomplished travel writer visit us. The feedback from attendees was very positive, and everyone very much enjoyed their time with Fran’ Gordon Lundie, Executive Member for Culture, WEST BERKSHIRE COUNCIL ‘Fran Sandham’s talk was extremely interesting and went down very well with the pupils’ Allan McKeown, Head of Sixth Form, ARNOLD SCHOOL, BLACKPOOL 'Fran Sandham's talk inspired and entertained us at our annual staff development day. His presentation was witty and engaging, with a purposeful context of setting and achieving objectives. His account of his adventures warmed us up nicely for some of the drier business of the day, and also resulted in resolutions to go on walking holidays from at least two of my colleagues!' Niall McGowan, Regeneration Manager, LONDON BOROUGH OF TOWER HAMLETS 'Such an interesting and witty talk, the feedback forms confirm what was obvious at the time, everyone had an excellent evening - we've had many very positive and glowing comments back. I was impressed with Fran's delivery - he engaged and entertained all the audience; his talk was amusing, informative and entertaining on a number of levels, and I can safely say a great success! And the cakes were good ...' Anna Shaw/Vivienne King, BRACKNELL FOREST COUNCIL 'Fran's talk was informative, amusing and everyone really enjoyed it. We received lots of positive feedback from the audience, including: "Brilliant. A very entertaining speaker"; "Thought-provoking, interesting and entertaining"; "Very well presented"; "Fascinating and very entertaining"; and "Quite excellent"' Madeleine Bentley, Senior Development Librarian, READING CENTRAL LIBRARY ‘Fran’s talk was entertaining, unusual and enjoyable, and clearly struck a cord with our audience. This helped us hit our target of attracting more men to our talks, (almost a third of the audience) and of attracting younger people to our events. The feedback from the audience at the end of the talk was very positive and people enjoyed the talk and Fran’s personality as a speaker. Comments included: “witty anecdotes”; “I enjoyed the storytelling”; “jovial personality of speaker”. Almost all the people who filled out evaluation forms said that they felt that they had learnt something new on the evening’ Jane Brierley, NOTTINGHAM CENTRAL LIBRARY ‘The pupils enjoyed Fran’s traveller’s tales, which were laced with amusing stories and wry asides, bringing the whole African experience alive on a cold and wet February evening in Dorset!’ Hugo Mieville, Head of Sixth Form, MILTON ABBEY SCHOOL, DORSET 'Thank you for your excellent lecture - we very much enjoyed your very interesting and informative talk' Derek Oldham, Lecture Secretary, NORWICH U3A 'Fran's talk was extremely entertaining, amusing and informative' Deborah Wallis, Cultural services, CORNWALL COUNCIL 'Fran Sandham gave a fascinating account of his trek across Africa and the event went down extremely well with the audience. A highly successful and enjoyable event' Barry Tsirtou, Learning Support Librarian, MARYLEBONE LIBRARY 'Fran's two talks were really entertaining - thoroughly enjoyable and very interesting' S.W. Lythgoe, Reader-in-Residence, WIGAN LEISURE AND CULTURE TRUST 'I have received a good number of very favourable comments from students and staff alike about Fran's talk - it was a really enlivening and convivial evening. Andrew Nunn, Head of Sixth Form, DUKE OF YORK'S ROYAL MILITARY SCHOOL 'Fran impressed with his enthusiasm for talking about his travels – his talks were extremely well received and he has already received a number of invitations for return visits' Jane Mathieson, TIME TO READ 'Thank you for a very personal talk' ACKWORTH SCHOOL, PONTEFRACT 'Everyone thoroughly enjoyed Fran's talk, and are still talking about it in Capel St Mary. I was so engrossed in Fran's talk, and I was very impressed with his ability to speak with only a few headings written down on paper. A very enjoyable evening' Elisabeth Harrrison, Service Development Librarian, SUFFOLK COUNTY COUNCIL 'Fran Sandham enthralled the audience' Linda Davies, Reader Development Manager, EALING LIBRARIES ‘Such an interesting and informative talk’ Leslie Sutton, DANSON FESTIVAL, BEXLEY ‘Fran Sandham’s talk was fascinating. This was not a standard travelogue account of his walk across Africa but rather an account of his inner journey throughout the walk. As a result he inspired at least one member of the audience to consider making his own grand adventure’ Janet Hill, Reader Development Librarian, WATFORD AND THREE RIVERS DISTRICT LIBRARIES 'Fran’s talk about his epic walk across Africa was well received by an appreciative audience. He was witty, engaging, and inspiring – he gave us a real feel of what he experienced, and was refreshingly modest about his achievement' Andrew Walker, Development Librarian, ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL 'A fascinating account of Fran's solo walk across Africa. Fran engaged well with his audience who asked many questions and were eager to hear more about his adventures. A highly successful event' Sarah Coyne, Reader Development Officer, SALFORD LIBRARIES 'An excellent talk – a fascinating insight into what must have been an epic journey' Rowena Gomersall, Library Manager, CHESHIRE LIBRARIES ‘Fran was excellent. Very interesting subject and he is obviously enthusiastic about it. He also answered lots of questions at the end and gave well thought out answers. Funny and modest. He spoke for an hour and a half and we thought it was just an hour. The audience enjoyed it very much’ Sue Stone, Reading Co-ordinator, KNOWSLEY LIBRARIES 'Fran's lively and amusing account of his journey across Africa brightened up the gloom of an English winter evening' Nick Garrod, NORTHAMPTON CENTRAL LIBRARY 'Fran Sandham's talk on his solo walk across Africa was full of amusing anecdotes and fascinating insights into this extreme undertaking. The audience was enraptured by Fran's experiences and the feedback we have received has been that they all found his talk fascinating' Mark Williams, Promotions Manager, CAMBRIDGESHIRE LIBRARIES 'An entertaining evening, good for attracting a range of customers new to the library – thoroughly recommended! Comments (all rated it as good or excellent) included: “Fran – really funny bloke” and “The evening was brilliant”' Victoria Law, Reading and Learning Manager, WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD LIBRARIES ‘Fran was very easy to work with and eager to promote the event himself in addition to our own publicity. Some of the comments we had: "Interesting and humorous"; "Informative"; "Lovely evening. Really enjoyed hearing all about Fran's adventures"’ Nicky Dunne, Librarian, ROMFORD CENTRAL LIBRARY 'Fran's talk last night was great and very much enjoyed by the audience - I could tell by all the questions that the audience were obviously inspired to learn more about his epic walk' Val Larkin, Librarian, BOSTALL LIBRARY 'Fran took us on a fearless, lively and entertaining walk across a continent, sharing images of the landscape and of the people he met, reminding us that perhaps we could all spend more time enjoying the journey, and less time worrying about the destination' Felicity Beaumont, Reader Services Librarian, LEOMINSTER LIBRARY 'I was torn between watching the audience response and looking at Fran as he spoke - people were clearly enjoying the talk and there were lots of questions at the end. Feedback from the audience included: “Very entertaining and humorous and descriptive adventures of his trek across Africa”; “A very enjoyable evening - amusing and informative”; “Much appreciated, a very lively talk which held my interest”; “Really enjoyable”’ Debby Wale, Reader Development Librarian, OCTOBER FESTIVAL, HAMMERSMITH ‘Such an entertaining talk … we were really pleased to get such a good audience and they clearly all enjoyed themselves. Audience comments included: "Refreshing, motivating and inspiring!"; “Extremely enjoyable - a wonderful, humorous speaker"; "A charming and charismatic speaker”; “Well presented - a natural speaker”; "Very interesting and amusing"; "Thoroughly enjoyed it - very entertaining"; “Excellent! Fran is a very entertaining speaker with a lovely personality!" “Well presented and interesting and Mr Sandham has an engaging personality”; "Fascinating speaker, totally entertaining and very factual and true of Africa!” "Thought-provoking"' Ruth Walton, NORTH TYNESIDE COUNCIL 'Fran Sandham fuelled the imaginations of wannabe travellers during his talk' Hayley Maguire, CHESTER EVENING LEADER ‘The audience enjoyed an engaging account of blisters, raging heat and extreme cold, and heard about the African continent’s most cussed donkey. Written comments left on the night included: “An excellent talk, giving a flavour of a truly epic odyssey. More please!”; "Fascinating"; “A really enjoyable talk, inspiring as well as interesting. Perfect!” Fran is very personable and a pleasure to work with. I would happily engage him again as a speaker in the future.' Alan Morrison, Events Organiser, LEWISHAM LIBRARY SERVICE 'Fran Sandham is an amusing and energetic man. He's full of energy; as he stands and talks he's half-bouncing on his toes, as if any minute he might suddenly conceive of another continent to cross, and rush off to begin. I wonder how he sat still for long enough to write ...' Jill Glenn, OPTIMA 'The two sessions Fran did for us were great - really interesting, and enjoyed by all' Vandra Hemmings, Reader Development & Promotions Manager, KENT LIBRARIES ‘Fran Sandham was an engaging speaker and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon’ Chris Smith, TAMESIDE MBC 'A great talk' Liz Sheppard, Library Manager, WOOTTON LIBRARY ‘Fran Sandham’s talk was really interesting and humorous’ Marinella Sinagoga, Culture and Learning, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LIBRARY SERVICE ‘Everyone who was there thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Fran’s experiences’ Gaynor Baveystock, Principal Librarian, SLOUGH CENTRAL LIBRARY ‘A thoroughly enjoyable, well thought out talk which entertained an audience aged from 16–76, who asked many questions and left talking about what a good experience they'd had’ Sheila Houldin, Reader Development Officer, CHESHIRE LIBRARIES 'Fran's talk was very entertaining, and the relaxed atmosphere made it easy for the audience to ask lots of questions afterwards. Everyone who attended really enjoyed it' Jan Dawson, Librarian, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON LIBRARY ‘Excellent ... one of the best – if not the best – events we’ve held' Lynda Finney, Librarian, STANDISH LIBRARY, WIGAN ‘A fascinating talk – a real insight into this most extraordinary feat’ Ann Nossiter, Librarian, BISHOPS HIGH LIBRARY, CHESTER Previous public talks and lectures include: Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival, Oxford University Deloitte and Touche, London The Times Destinations Travel Show (Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London) Travel Writing Workshops, London: http://www.travelworkshops.co.uk/who_leads_travel_writing_workshops.htm#fran Voyages of Discovery Cruises The University of Winchester (Winchester Writers' Conference) Dulwich Festival, London St Edmunds College Hurtwood House School St Mary's School Swindon Festival of Literature Helmsley Arts Centre TAL Festival Nottingham High School Downe House School, Berkshire Ackworth School, Pontefract Hertfordshire Engineers' Luncheon Club Arnold School, Blackpool Leighton Park School St Austell Readers' Day Calderdale Writers' Roadshow The Duke of York's Royal Military School Wymondham College Portsmouth Central Library Wirral Bookfest Sedbergh Festival of Books and Drama Colchester Royal Grammar School Milton Abbey School Norwich U3A Leominster Library Leighton Park School North Kensington Library Blackburn Central Library Northampton Central Library Milton Abbey School, Dorset Allestree Library, Derby Trafford Wordfest Newbury Library Eltham Library Blackheath Library Middlesbrough Literary Festival Isle of Wight Walking Festival Big Book Fortnight, Wolverhampton Duke of York's Military School St Edmunds College, Hertfordshire Crowthorne Library, Bracknell Forest Central Library, North Shields The Long Weekend - Scarborough Literature Festival Hexham Book Festival City Library,Sunderland Whitley Bay Library Weston Favell Library Houghton Library Wythenshawe Forum Library Buckinghamshire Libraries Readers' Day Newport Central Library Surbiton Library Portsmouth Central Library Wythenshawe Forum Library Barbican Library, City of London Nottingham Central Library Salisbury Library, Wiltshire Maidenhead Library Leigh Library, Wigan Swinton Library, Salford Huyton Library, Liverpool Nantwich Library, Cheshire Droylsden Library, Manchester Standish Library, Wigan Bishops High Library, Chester Widnes Library Stratford-upon-Avon Library Dartford Library, Kent Coldharbour Library, Kent Off The Shelf Literary Festival, Sheffield October Festival, Hammersmith Library Luton Central Library Amersham Library Wootton Library, Bedfordshire Rock Road Library, Cambridge Ealing Central Library Globetrotters Club, London John Harvard Library, Southwark Capel St Mary Library, Suffolk Reading Central Library Marylebone Library Lewisham Central Library Bostall Library, Bexleyheath Danson Literary Festival Slough Central Library Romford Central Library Watford Central Library Intrepid Travel, London Blackheath Village Library Radio interviews: 'A lively and engaging speaker whose journey on foot across Africa needs to be heard to be believed' BBC LONDON 94.9 FM 'Fran was wonderful - we LOVED the interview - and we are giving it 20 minutes airplay, which is VERY unusual ... He was very down to earth, warm and human - a natural storyteller with a big taste for adventure. A great guest who had us all captivated' BBC RADIO MERSEYSIDE 'Fran not only inspired the staff at Radio City but also inspired our whole audience. We have had many positive calls about his book and about his journey, and we would have him back as a guest any time he wanted to. That was a great interview' RADIO CITY 'Just the sort of thing we like. An interesting half hour of radio - Fran's contribution was much appreciated!' BBC RADIO 5 LIVE 'Fran's interview was fascinating and a lot of listeners have told me how much they enjoyed it. It was a real insight into what he went through, and I can't believe how he seems to have taken it so calmly and in his stride! I suspect he may have made light of many of the trials and tribulations ... He's a great talker - he really told it in an entertaining and humorous way, and he was so easy to interview' BBC RADIO GUERNSEY 'A pleasure to chat - most interesting!' BBC HEREFORD AND WORCESTER 'Top job, Fran!' BBC RADIO NOTTINGHAM 'A great guest' BBC RADIO LEEDS Recent radio interviews include: BBC Radio 4's Excess Baggage programme BBC Radio 5 Live's Simon Mayo show BBC Radio 5 Live's Up All Night show Today FM BBC London 94.9 FM's Late Show BBC London 94.9 FM's Breakfast Show LBC's Alison Bell show BBC Southern Counties Radio’s Mid Morning show BBC Southern Counties Radio’s Drive Time show Radio City BBC Coventry and Warwickshire BBC Radio Nottingham BBC Radio Solent BBC Radio Merseyside BBC Radio Leeds BBC Radio Manchester BBC Three Counties Radio BBC Radio Stoke BBC Radio Kent BBC Radio Guernsey BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Bristol BBC Radio Cumbria BBC Radio Cambridgeshire BBC Hereford and Worcester BBC`Radio Suffolk BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Cornwall City Talk FM REM FM Riverside Radio BBC Radio Kent BBC Coventry and Warwickshire BBC Radio Merseyside BBC Radio Nottingham Below: Fran Sandham on BBC Radio 4's Excess Baggage programme discussing Traversa with host John McCarthy, author Alexander Maitland and historian Clifford Pereira (Broadcasting House, London)  Press Coverage: Recent press coverage in the UK and elsewhere includes interviews, features and reviews in the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Irish Times, the New York Times, the Observer, the Daily Mail Online, the Financial Times, the Scotsman, The Good Book Guide, The Herald, Guardian Unlimited, the Irish Examiner, Thisislondon.co.uk, the Daily Post, The Examiner, Adventure Travel, Yorkshire Evening Post, Travel Africa magazine, In London magazine, Living South Magazine, Country Walking magazine, Kent on Sunday, Backpacker magazine, Insight magazine, the Holland Herald, Optima magazine, Rise magazine, Namib Times, Herald and Post, Walk magazine, the South African Times, Forbes.com, The Guide magazine, Booktime magazine, CityLife, Outside magazine, The Liverpool Echo, Transitions Abroad, Sport magazine, Travel Namibia magazine, Luton Today, Lifestyle magazine, Outdoor Enthusiast magazine, The Bookbag, Abroad magazine, Strider magazine, Ham&High, The Argus, Namibia News, Transmitter magazine, East London Advertiser, Birkenhead News, Chester Standard, The Truth About Books, Active magazine, South African, Kingston Informer, Heswall News, Reading Evening Post, Travelhappy, Bromborough and Bebington News, Mama Tembo Times, Greenock Telegraph, Booksonline.co.uk, Gazette and Herald, Romford Recorder, Wigan News, The Wharf, Wimbledon Guardian, Wallasey News, Streatham Guardian, Chester Evening Leader, the East End Advertiser, Neston News and Docklands. |
