Skeptics in the Pub

Skeptics in the Pub meets (usually) on the third Tuesday of every month starting at 7pm at The Penderel's Oak, Holborn. A £2 donation is requested to cover the guest speaker's travelling expenses and sundries. Non-skeptics are welcome. Turn up at any time during the evening. The room is open from about 5.30pm.

The event was founded in 1999, for all those interested in and/or skeptical of the paranormal, alternative medicine, psychic powers, pseudo-science, UFOs, alien abductions, creationism, Fortean phenomena, cult religions, water-divining, lost civilizations etc. A different guest speaker is invited each month, to talk on a topic of interest. The talk is followed by an informal discussion in a relaxed and friendly pub atmosphere. Real ales and food are available. The UK-Skeptics forum is a good place for discussions to continue after the meeting. There is also an associated facebook group you can use for comments and to see who's coming. There are also events in Leicester.

Date	Speaker	Topic
Saturday, 10th May 2008	Skeptics in the Pub Outing! On 10 May 2008, SitP is having an outing to the Mystic Arts psychic fair at Olympia (http://www.themysticarts.co.uk/). A limited number of tickets at a discounted price (£5.50 instead of £7.50) are available, and if you'd like to come, you can secure your ticket by contacting Jon Cohen at jon_cohen@mac.com. You can purchase a tee-shirt from Jon for the additional, low, low cost price of £4.00 by letting him know your size in the email. We expect to have a fun afternoon asking questions of the psychics, and having our auras read ("why are you telling me it's blue when that psychic over there said it was red?") and our chakras aligned.
Tuesday, 20th May 2008	Richard J. Evans Richard J. Evans is Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University. His books include "The Coming of the Third Reich" and "The Third Reich in Power", both published by Penguin. He has taught in adult education at Birkbeck, and at Gresham College, and contributes occasionally to radio and television, most recently to Radio 4's "In Our Time" and Channel 5 televsion's "Hitler Speaks". He lives with his family near Cambridge and in his spare time enjoys playing the piano and taking his dog for long walks in the Cambridgeshire countryside.	Holocaust denial and freedom of speech Conspiracy theories about recent and even more distant historical events have become ever more widespread, especially with the growth of the Internet. One such theory, generally known as "Holocaust denial", claims that professional historians, the mass media, and governments have conspired to suppress the truth about the Nazi extermination of the Jews during the Second World War - which is that it never happened. How has this theory come about? Who supports it , and why? How do its proponents deal with their critics? What, if anything, could or should be done to combat Holocaust denial? This talk draws on the speaker's experiences as an expert witness in a High Court libel case to suggest some answers.
Tuesday 17th June 2008 Note new date	Dr. Ciarán O’Keeffe and Steve Parsons Ciarán is currently employed as a Research Associate at University of Paris specialising in Parapsychology and Investigative Psychology. He is also an associate of the Centre for Critical Incident Research at Liverpool University. He regularly provides a sceptical voice to various ‘paranormal’ shows (e.g. Living TV’s 'Most Haunted', and 'Jane Goldman Investigates') as well as numerous documentaries on the subject. A psychologist operating on science’s fringe, he's been involved in many unusual projects: the physiological effects of infrasound, ghost investigation of Hampton Court, an exorcism ‘training day’ and lie detecting for the movie ‘Spy Game’. Steve is co-founder of Para.Science, an investigative group based in the North West of England. Steve has appeared on several documentaries focused on ghosts. His investigations and knowledge of all manner of ghostly things have been featured on National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel and the BBC. He even surfaced briefly on Living TV’s Most Haunted. He is currently studying for a PhD at Liverpool Hope University covering infrasound and haunting experiences.	How not to investigate the Paranormal The title says it all. Steve and Ciarán amuse with their horror stories from the world of paranormal investigation. They discuss equipment faux-pas, television investigations and unusual cases. As well as discussing ethics, and presenting the most extreme unethical stories, Steve and Ciarán candidly discuss hilarious cases brought to their attention and their most embarrassing moments investigating in the dark!
Postponed, to be rescheduled.	Paul Taylor Paul Taylor joined the staff of AiG (UK/Europe) in August 2005 as a writer and speaker. He is now Head of Media and Publications and editor for Answers Update. Paul regularly contributes to the AiG website and Answers Magazine and writes articles published in various Christian magazines. Paul graduated from Nottingham with a BSc in Chemistry in 1982. He then took a year's Post-Graduate Certificate in Education and taught science in state schools for 17 years, eventually becoming a Head of Department, and gaining a Masters in Science Education at Cardiff University. After becoming a Christian in his late teens Paul had a Saturday job in a Christian bookshop in Ashton. It was there that he first noticed a booklet by a group of Christians who did not believe in the theory of evolution! This was a complete shock to Paul, because he could not conceive how people could fail to believe in what he thought was established scientific fact. However, the bookshop manager persuaded him that it made scientific sense to believe the Bible's account of creation in Genesis, and sent Paul home with such books as Evolution or Creation by Professor Enoch, The Genesis Flood by John Whitcomb and Henry Morris, and Morris' The Genesis Record. Now convinced of the truth of Genesis, and, therefore, of the whole Bible, Paul began to propagate these views, writing articles for his church magazine. As a schoolteacher, Paul frequently challenged pupils to think through the issue of origins for themselves, rather than accept evolutionary orthodoxy. These teaching methods, particularly as Paul began developing curricula, frequently brought him into conflict with more evolutionary-minded staff. He is the author of two books: The Six Days of Genesis and Truth, Lies and Science Education.	Why don’t creationists just shut up? Why do creationists believe what they believe? Is it, to quote Richard Dawkins, just “blind faith in the absence, or even in the teeth, of evidence”? The illustrated talk will argue that even those who don’t accept their conclusions should recognise that there is a solid logic to a young earth creationist position.

If you can think of anyone who might be willing to speak at the 'to be announced' meetings (including yourself!) please contact us. If the location is too far from where you live, why not start your own local group?

The Pub

The Penderel's Oak
283-288 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7HP

Tel: 020 7242 5669

As you enter the pub, turn left and head down to the cellar bar.

By tube

The pub is very close to Holborn and Chancery Lane tube stations. From Holborn turn right outside the station onto High Holborn, from Chancery Lane, turn left from the station. The walk will take approximately 3 mins. The Transport for London journey planner can be found here. Click here for a tube map and for a street map, or here for a gmap.

By train

The Penderel's Oak is about a half-mile from Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars mainline stations. National train times and live departure boards can be found here.

By bus

Buses 8, 17, 25, 45, 46, 242, 341 and 521 all pass High Holborn. The 1, 59, 68, 91, 168, 171, 188, 243 and X68 all pass Holborn tube station, which is very close. Click here for a bus map.

By car

A detailed street map showing car parks can be found here and a less detailed one is shown below.

Location of Penderel's Arms

Further information

There's a review of the July 2006 meeting by Steve Fuller here and of the February 2002 meeting by Malcolm Robinson here. You might also like to read Nick Pullar's account of his firewalk, as well as this one of a charity fire walk written by organiser Partha Lal. There's an interesting letter and response from an ex skeptic here. The December 2006 talk by Dick Taverne sparked an e-mail exchange that you can read here. There are some discussions about pub events in the UK-Skeptics forum.

E-mail specific questions to . Previous meetings are listed in the archive.

[The Skeptic] [Archive] [Shirley Ghostman] [Feb 2002 review] [Charity Firewalk] [Ex-Skeptic's letter] [Nick's Firewalk] [Taverne Debate]