Lord Soames of Fletching in conversation with Katie Derham

This evening Radio 3 presenter Katie Derham will be interviewing Lord Soames about his life in politics.

They are generously giving their time to raise money for DementiaUK in East Sussex.

Doors open at 6pm.

Your ticket includes a glass of Sussex Downsview Vineyard sparkling wine generously donated by http://www.downsviewvineyard.co.uk/

The Rt Hon The Lord Soames of Fletching

Lord Soames was born in 1948 and educated at Eton College and Mons Officer Cadet School. He is the son of The Late Lord Soames and grandson of Sir Winston Churchill KG.

After leaving school he was commissioned into the 11th Hussars [PAO] serving in Germany and the United Kingdom. He was subsequently Equerry to HRH The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB. He later served in the United States Senate and before entering Parliament he worked in the City of London.

Nicholas was a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1983 to 2019. During his long and distinguished career in Parliament he held a number of senior roles, including serving as the Minister for Defence and as a Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Nicholas has a specialist knowledge in the fields of Anglo-American defence matters and security in the Middle East, Europe, international affairs, trade and industry, aviation and the countryside. He is currently President of the Conservative Middle East Council. He is a Senior Advisor to Panmure Gordon and to FMA Partners and to a number of other companies.

He is Honorary Colonel of The Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry and a longstanding Trustee of the Amber Foundation.

Nicholas was made a Privy Counsellor in 2011 and knighted in 2014. He was appointed a Life Peer in October 2022. He is a member of the International Relations and Defence Committee of the House of Lords.

His interests include reading, racing and country pursuits. He has travelled widely.

Katie Derham is one of the most recognisable voices on BBC Radio 3, where she presents the stations flagship programme In Tune. She is the face of BBC Proms, anchoring the coverage from the Royal Albert Hall since 2010. Further Radio 3 credits include Sound of Dance on Saturday afternoons where she explored the relationship between music and dance and Afternoons on 3. Katie also presents a wide range of arts and music documentaries on BBC TV and Radio and on Sky Arts.

After reading Economics at Magdalene College Cambridge, Katie spent the first 15 years of her broadcasting career in news and current affairs, first at the BBC then joining ITN as the Media and Arts Editor for ITV News. Katie was ITV’s youngest ever newsreader on British National Television, where her role as anchor meant she covered everything from elections to royal weddings and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In 2015 Katie’s career took a decidedly glittery direction when she took part in Strictly Come Dancing reaching the final. In 2017 she was crowned Strictly’s Christmas Champion.

Downsview is a beautiful little vineyard situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in the Weald of Sussex.

Just between Hadlow Down and Crowborough, the vineyard was planted in 2010. We have a mixture of English grape varietals including Dornfelder, Bacchus and Ortega, and the Champagne grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. There is also a lovely little orchard with a variety of native English fruit trees. The habitat is stunning and charming; we also offer camping facilities so you can spend a night under the stars, a stone’s throw from the vines.

We are passionate about making delicious wines in this sweet and pretty corner of the world. We’d love for you to come and visit.

http://www.downsviewvineyard.co.uk/

Host or Publisher East Sussex Fund Raising Team for DementiaUK