Nowhere does it better

I'm delighted to say that I'll be giving my talk based on my new book Interstellar Tours at the Royal Institution in London on 16 March 2024 (see the Ri website for details/booking).

Speaking at the Royal Institution is always something of a thrill. When I first gave a talk there, they had a terrifying introduction. It went something like this. 'Welcome to the Royal Institution, where lectures to improve the public understanding of science have been given since 1800. Ten of the chemical elements were either discovered or first isolated here. Michael Faraday lectured many times from this very desk. Now Brian Clegg is going to talk to you...' For the pedants amongst you, it's now reasonably widely known that the desk was reconstructed - nonetheless it was certainly the same space with a very similar desk. It was a distinct challenge to follow that.

Now they're a little less scary to their speakers, but even so there's a certain necessity to perform well that goes with speaking there that I suspect makes most of us a little nervous. Certainly you get a discerning audience and can expect some challenging questions - but it's all part of the fun.

When I gave my first talk there (based on A Brief History of Infinity) someone came up to me afterwards and said that he'd never been to a lecture before, but saw it in Time Out and thought it looked interesting. Now he was hooked, and he'd be coming regularly. That was a wonderful moment.

If you're in London (or able to get there) on the day and fancy coming, it would be great to see you. There's nowhere quite like it.

P.S. No, that's not my car - I travelled by train.

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