AS well as celebrating the 15th anniversary of his appointment as Farnham Town Crier, Jonathan Jones will also be taking part in two festivals this year - the Newbury Spring Festival and the Guildford Fringe Festival.

For the 40th Newbury Spring Festival, Jonathan will be delivering a talk entitled ‘Lest We Forget: Poetry and Remembrance of the Great War’, at the National Trust’s Sandham Memorial Chapel on Tuesday, May 22, at 11am and at 2.30pm.

Jonathan, who is both knowledgeable and passionate on the subject, explores the origins of the various ways in which we commemorate the Great War, and intersperses it with readings of the iconic poetry that emanated from that period.

He will also include a war poem written by Farnham schoolgirl Rebecca Farnfield, which won a national poetry competition in 2017.

Those attending the talk will also have the opportunity to view the paintings by Sir Stanley Spencer which adorn the walls of the chapel, and depict his experiences during the Great War.

The proceeds from this talk will be going to the Help For Heroes charity.

Jonathan gives monthly war poetry readings at the Sandham memorial Chapel, as well as giving talks to visiting groups on the life and works of Sir Stanley Spencer.

For the Guildford Fringe Festival, Jonathan will be at the Back Room, Star Inn, Guildford, on Monday, July 9, at 7.30pm, where he will be performing two of Charles Dickens’s public readings and, as Dickens did, bringing the various characters to life on the stage by the use of different voices, gestures and mannerisms.

‘Sykes and Nancy’, was the last reading Dickens was to include in his repertoire, and tells of the gruesome death of Nancy at the hands of Bill Sykes, and is taken from his novel Oliver Twist.

Many believe that, due to the extraordinary physical and psychological demands it made upon him, performing this reading did much to hasten his end.

By comparison, ‘Doctor Marigold’, which is told in the voice of a Cheap Jack, tells of the tragic loss of his wife and child, and how his happiness is restored after adopting a deaf and dumb orphan child.

It is perhaps the most poignant of Dickens’s readings, guaranteed to pull at the heartstrings, and make even the strongest weep. Overall, an evening of emotional highs and lows is in prospect.

Jonathan gives talks on many topics, including his role as Farnham Town Crier, and further details can be found at www.farnhamspeaker.co.uk.