Thursday 11th December 2025 10.45am and 2.15pm at The Henley Rugby Club. Simultaneous transmission 10.45am only. For more information on all lectures please contact Sarah Barry on SarahBarry63@yahoo.co.uk or 07879 611782.
Chris Bradley
Nicholas was the Greek Bishop of Myra, a 4th century port in Anatolia. Following his death, his legendary generosity established him as the principle gift-giving saint as well as the patron saint of seafarers and children.
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The body of St Nicholas was stolen by Italian sailors to protect their own ports of Bari and Venice in the Adriatic. Over the centuries the image of St Nicholas changed constantly until the Dutch re-invented him as Sinterklaas.
Taking him to their new colonies in America, he transformed into kindly Santa Claus. Later re-imported into Britain without his Catholic baggage, he gradually emerged as Father Christmas.
Chris is an expert in the history and culture of the Middle East and North Africa. As a professional tour guide and lecturer he has led groups throughout the Middle East and Asia. He writes extensively on Arabia and is the author of the Insight Guide to the Silk Road and Berlitz Guides to Cairo; Abu Dhabi, Nile Cruising, Libya; the Red Sea; Oman and the Discovery Guide to Yemen. As a photographer he has pictures represented by several photographic libraries. As a film producer and cameraman he made documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic TV and Channel 4.
