Book Club

Join Lucinda Hawksley for a special seasonal PPG as she chats to Jared Brown, co-founder and master distiller of Sipsmith Gin, London’s first newly licensed copper pot distillery in nearly 200 years. He is also a prolific author along with his wife and fellow drinks historian, Anistatia Miller (37 books and over 3,000 articles), and has been travelling the world for the past few decades giving masterclasses on drink to many of the world’s top bartenders. Jared has also been gin distiller for the House of Commons, and he and Anistatia were head bartenders for the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington and directors of a wine and spirits museum in the South of France. They live in the Cotswolds where they grow gin and vermouth botanicals in their garden and make rather decent martinis.

Lucinda met Jared in 2022 when they were working on a TV programme with Miriam Margolyes – after he served her a particular fine alcohol-free ‘gin twist’, in emulation of the drink made by Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol, Lucinda decided Jared would be the perfect guest for the Goldster Conversation this December. Join them at 12pm on 12 December and embrace the Christmas spirit(s). 

Social media

Instagram: @mixellany2

Twitter: @mixellany 

Facebook: Jared Brown

Twitter & Instagram: @lucindahawksley 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucindaHawksleyauthor

Join us in person or online for a very special Riverstone Live event, when Lucinda Hawksley will be chatting to Goldster’s much-loved Tai Chi teacher, Andy Yau.

Andy was born and raised in Hong Kong, where he trained in Musical Theatre Dance at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. It was in Hong Kong that his passion began for Martial Arts and Kung Fu, at a young age. He then developed a love of Tai Chi in his 20s. Andy moved to the UK (and is now a UK citizen) to pursue an MA in acting at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His acting career has taken him around the world with tours including Peter Pan, Anything Goes and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

After working as an actor in both Hong Kong and in the UK for 15 years, Andy decided to focus his career on teaching movement and Tai Chi at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Besides working as a Tai Chi instructor and a movement coach, Andy also works as a Cantonese interpreter for the NHS. Andy is proud to teach Tai Chi for Goldster.

Put the date in your diary: 12pm on 14 December. You can join Andy and Lucinda – as always – on Zoom, or Goldster members can apply to be in the live audience in London, by emailing concierge@goldster.co.uk

Phillipa Ashley was one of the first authors to come onto the Goldster Book Club, and she is making a welcome return to talk about the art of seasonal writing. Phillipa is a Sunday Times, Amazon and Audible best-selling author of uplifting romantic fiction, and on 15 December, she’ll be talking to Lucinda about her Christmas-themed novels.

After studying English at Oxford University, Phillipa worked as a copywriter and journalist before turning her hand to writing. Her debut novel, Decent Exposure, won the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers Award and was filmed as a Lifetime TV movie, 12 Men of Christmas, starring Kristin Chenoweth and Josh Hopkins.

Since then, her novels have sold well over a million copies and been translated into numerous languages. Phillipa lives in an English village with her husband, has a grown-up daughter and loves nothing better than walking the Lake District hills and swimming in Cornish coves. Join her and Lucinda at 12pm on 15 December for a festive Goldster Conversation. 

Social media

Twitter @PhillipaAshley

Instagram @phillipa.ashleyauthor

Twitter, Threads & Instagram: @lucindahawksley 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucindaHawksleyauthor

Hank Phillippi Ryan is a bestselling author of fourteen psychological thrillers, winning the most prestigious awards in the genre: five Agathas, five Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. She is also on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, with thirty-seven Emmy award s and dozens more journalism prizes. National book critics call her “a superb and gifted storyteller”. She is the only author to win the Agatha in four categories: Best First, Best Novel, Best Short Story and Best Non-Fiction.

Her newest is the page-turning standalone thriller The House Guest–a story of psychological manipulation that explores the dark heart of marriage and friendship—it’s Gaslight meets Thelma & Louise. The Publishers Weekly rave review says, “Ryan is a master of suspense!” and the Library Journal starred review calls it “Binge-worthy.” Hank began her TV career in 1975, anchoring and reporting the news for TV stations in Indianapolis and then Atlanta. She’s battled her way through hurricanes, floods and blizzards, wired herself with hidden cameras, chased criminals and confronted corrupt politicians. She has interviewed world famous figures from King Charles to President Carter to Muhammad Ali. Join Hank in a special evening Goldster Conversation with Humphrey Hawksley. Hear her adventures, the ups and downs of writing and how to craft a best-selling psychological thriller. Author-to-Author Thursday December 21st at 4pm London time.

Two siblings pledge their magic to protect their people from the invading English, with the help of the last true Prince of Wales – but after his murder. Welsh warrior-in-training Hyw can control the minds of birds and animals. His sister Catrin can see the future in a drop of water. When the last true Prince of Wales is slain, Hyw's gift allows him to meld with the prince's spirit. Now they must unite their abilities to help their people escape a ruthless army.

Marie Powell’s Last Of The Gifted series with Water Sight and Spirit Sight have been hailed as immediate classics which combine medieval fantasy, magic, mythology, and forgotten legends with the historical realities of 13th Century Wales. One critic describes how history and magic intertwine effortlessly to cast a spell over the reader. Marie is the author of more than forty books and holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. She lives in Saskatchewan, Canada and holds regular writing workshops. Join Marie with Humphrey Hawksley in a Goldster Conversation to talk about creative writing, the young adult genre, what is so compelling about fantasy and how an author can imagine ancient Wales from the sparseness of central Canada. Inside Story, 12.00 Friday December 22nd 2023.

This month we’re getting seasonal with the Queen of Crime. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas was written just before WW2, and tells the story of the tyrannical Simeon Lee, who has decided to gather his family around him for Christmas…. As Poirot himself comments in the book “There is at Christmas time a great deal of hypocrisy, honourable hypocrisy, hypocrisy undertaken pour le bon motif c’esty entendu, but nevertheless hypocrisy!”

At 12pm on 29 December – when Christmas Day is over and we’re heading to New Year – join Lucinda Hawksley to chat about a festive season Agatha Christie style. We’ll look at the characters, the plot, the storyline, and hope that no one at Goldster suffered the same kind of Christmas as the Lee family.

Our Book of the Month events are open to everyone, whether you’ve had the chance to read the book or not. These events are not recorded, everyone is unmuted and everyone gets the chance to meet other Goldster members as part of the Book Club. 

Social media:

Twitter & Instagram: @lucindahawksley 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucindaHawksleyauthor

Many people feel like they’re in the dark when it comes to their finances. Insecurity about money often stems from past experiences and how you grew up. Unfortunately, this can also lead us into some bad habits and feeling like the ability to save money is out of our reach. Sometimes the idea of investing can be overwhelming and in our busy lives, who has the time to learn and really understand what your money can do for you? Kalee Boisvert profiles herself as a Money Guru. Her passion is creating new possibilities in women’s lives by showing them the ropes when it comes to money, to create understandings about wealth, investment and finance.

With inspiration from her own life, Kalee has developed an easy-to-use system for women, young and old, to take control of their finances. In her book Make Money Your Thing she lays out an approachable guide to take women on a journey to feeling comfortable and in control of their finances. There are simple action steps to learn the basics of money management, understand the importance of balancing the books, and embrace the uniqueness of your own personal situation. “When money is your thing”, says Kalee, “you can feel completely at ease about making it work for you–and feel confident that your financial goals and dreams are all very possible.” Ask Kalee for tips in this Goldster Conversation with Humphrey Hawksley on Inside Story 12.00 London time, Thursday January 4th 2024.

Michael Muthukrishna is a psychological and behavioural science specialist at the London School of Economics. Drawing on the most recent research across the sciences, humanities, and the emerging field of cultural evolution, Michael paints a panoramic picture of who we are and exactly what makes human beings different from all other forms of life on the planet. He argues that it is our unique ability to create culture, a shared body of knowledge, skills, and experience passed on from generation to generation that has enabled our current dominance.But it is only by understanding and applying the laws of life - the need for energy, innovation, cooperation and evolution - that we can solve the practical challenges we face as a species.

A Theory of Everyone attempts to provide solutions for how to solve the most pressing problems of our collective future, such as polarization, inequality, the "great stagnation" in productivity, and the energy crisis. Michael’s work has been praised as ‘mind expanding’ by Times columnist Matthew Syed: “This book will change your view of the world forever'.

Peter Frankopan describes A Theory of Everyone as 'Wonderfully refreshing and thought-provoking'. In this Goldster Conversation with Humphrey Hawksley Michael will lay out his thoughts on how we can create a better future for ourselves in the generations to come. Goldster Inside Story 12.00 London time Friday January 5th 2024.

Community is a lifeline to health and wellbeing, a group of people with whom we can share good times and bad, grieve and laugh and find companionship and support. Humphrey Hawksley explores one specific community and asks what is the glue that holds it together and how has the idea of community been strengthened or eroded by the ease of travel and communication and the closure of so many local newspapers. His guest is Jeff Cox friend, colleague, BBC producer and author of West Somerset in the News, the story of a newspaper began life in July 1860. Since then, West Somerset has been buffeted by progress and change from the building of railway lines to nuclear power plants, the fight to preserve the natural beauty of Exmoor together with suffragettes, oilfields, the threat of Hitler and the scandal of Jeremy Thorpe.

Join Humphrey and Jeff in this Purpose, Passion and Grit, and tell us about your own community, your involvement in it and what it means to you and your family. West Somerset will be our marker, but we want to go to from our inner cities to the windswept islands of Shetland and Scilly and beyond. A free ranging Goldster Conversation on Community. Tuesday, January 16th PPG at 12.00 London time. Not one to miss.

Juliet Campbell was the first of Britain’s pioneering female ambassadors -- ‘An inspiration for those with ambition to make a difference in the world’, says diplomat, Karen Pierce, Britain’s current ambassador to the United States. In Playing Britannia Juliet tells her story through letters and diaries she kept at the time. Besieged in a chateau with the Queen, looping the loop in a jet and meeting top Chinese Generals in the Great Hall of the People became everyday stuff for Juliet, who rose to be Ambassador to Luxembourg and went on to be appointed Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge. From joining the Foreign Office in 1957, when only a handful of women served on its 1100 staff, Juliet rose through the ranks working in Brussels, Bangkok, Paris and Jakarta as well as stints at the heart of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Her career spanned almost exactly the years of the Cold War, working as the Berlin Wall was built and as it came down. In the Asian megacities of Thailand and Indonesia she witnessed the unfolding of the region in the aftermath of the Vietnam war and the beginning of the rise of China. Join Humphrey Hawksley with Juliet for this fascinating Goldster Conversation of her career as a woman in a man’s world working at the heart of Britain’s foreign policy. Goldster Inside Story Friday January 19th 2024.

High-stakes casinos, black market gambling, Formula One racing, drug trade espionage, shipping piracy, sports fixing and a cast of intriguing characters created by Doug Stewart . One of the most compelling is Insp. Todd “Ratso” Holtom, whose latest adventure Deadly Hush is published at the end of February; a serial killer on the loose leaving a playing card with each victim. All of the above comes from imagination of a distinguished lawyer who has worked courts and cases of London, Las Vegas and beyond. Doug is part-time chair of the Isle of Man Employment Tribunal and, now in his early eighties, he is getting his ducks in a row to make a full-time career as a thriller writer.

He knows first-hand how to follow the money whether the billions bet legally and illegally on sporting fixtures or the mechanism behind organising a freighter’s pirate seizure or a shipment of heroin from Afghanistan to European streets. Humphrey Hawksley will be digging behind Doug’s book covers to find the risks he takes in getting his startling information, how he moves so easily between London’s Mayfair clubland, the Mediterranean and Caribbean. How does he harnesses his ideas and what trouble has he run into over his long career as an author and lawyer. What is the Purpose, Passion and Grit he needs to keep going. Join Humphrey and Doug Tuesday February 6th in this exciting PPG Goldster Conversation at 12.00 London time.

The Conservative Party can lay convincing claim to being the world's most successful political party, not least because it is also one of the most adaptable, often appearing to do and say pretty much whatever it takes to win. Whether ruling or opposing, the Conservative Party has been part of all our lives for much of our lives. Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University, is one of the country’s foremost experts on contemporary politics Although not a member, he knows all the ins and outs of this remarkable British institution.

From the bombshell Brexit referendum, through to the chaotic premierships of Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss, and all the way up to Rishi Sunak’s rise to power, Tim tells the fascinating tale of a party that, in just a few short years, has gone from nervous breakdown to top of the world – and back again. Andrew Marr describes his latest book, The Conservative Party after Brexit, as a ‘careful, immaculately constructed, balanced and convincing account’ and BBC Political Editor, Chris Mason, says it ‘brings an admirable clarity to an incredible sequence of events.’ In this Goldster Conversation, Humphrey Hawksley will ask Tim to give a glimpse into the future of our politics, whichever party is in power. Will there ever be stability again or are we in the age of rollercoaster chaos? Goldster Inside Story, Friday February 9th 2024 12.00 London time.