Go outside they said... Buck some trends. Stray from our lanes. Skew our view. Celebrate the shunned. Embrace the taboo.... and boy did they deliver!
TEDx Leamington Spa was everything we'd hoped for with sensational talks from all of the speakers... however the highlights for PO'Sh included Rob Lawrie, Felicity Hayward, Lee Towersey, Marianne Power and Nicola Enoch. Find out more about their talks below!
Plus... the VIP tickets didn't disappoint, and were well worth the additional cost. We were treated like royalty from the moment we arrived and offered glorious treats throughout the day such as Toast Ale and Warwickshire Gin (firm faves of course) as well as the delicious gluten free, vegan friendly snacks from Indie Bay and the sushi from Nanna's Japanese, all freely served in the lounge area. Yummy!
The event also featured some interactive games that students at Leamington College had developed... and we took full advantage of trying these out. Here we are having loads of fun playing Police vs Punks and their hilarious VR game. Cheers guys!
Here we're pictured with inspirational curve model Felicity Hayward (gorgeous in red) and Marianne Power (author), who inscribed a beautiful message to keep writing for our director Nicola who was chatting through the process of authoring a book! Both wonderful and empowering women! Thank you.
Although we've given some detail above on the talks that we resonated with the most... it was very clear for everyone attending to see that the quality of talks across the board was just incredible.
The speakers....
Ash Palmisciano - Emmerdale Actor who was the first transgender character in a soap. Ash spoke about his childhood and how he felt a need to be true to himself....leading to him being brought in by Emmerdale to advise on their new transgender character, through a charity called All About Trans - he is now proud to be a positive role model for transgender.
Emma Gunn - Eden project botanist and Author of Never mind the Burdocks - a book about how you can survive the apocalypse by foraging. Emma gave us a hilarious take on a very interesting and intelligent subject. She was so passionate about it we brought her three books!
Karl Drage - Part of the extinction rebellion and a renewable heat expert with a killer idea to save the world... and apparently it's not rocket science it's all about heat pumps and heat as a service business model. We think we should all get behind it!
Richard Fry - and his support painting of 'Starry starry night' by Van Gogh. He talked about finding light even in the darkest of times...using comedy and personal tales of difficult times he inspired us all to look for the light!
Andrew Pain - gave an interesting insight into domestic violence towards men, he examined the stereotype of masculinity including language like 'man up' and how men should think and behave.
John Proudlock - gave us a stunning display of robotic art. Truly impressive and mind-bending stuff. He showed real determination in bring his project to life and it was well worth it!
So until next year TED x Leamington Spa... it's been fantastic.