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Dr Thomas Tuohy Thomas Tuohy read history of art at the Courtauld Institute and obtained his doctorate from the Warburg Institute.His particular passion is for the Italian Renaissance and his book on the history of the d’Este family and their court in Ferrara, published in 1991, was immediately acclaimed as the leading volume on the subject. Thomas Tuohy has led countless tours throughout the world. Other tours including this lecturer Sian Walters Siân Walters studied History of Art at Selwyn College, Cambridge and has worked in France and Italy. She lectures for the National Gallery, Nadfas and Surrey University and spends much of the year leading art history tours abroad. Her particular areas of interest are Italian Renaissance painting and the art and architecture of Spain. Other tours including this lecturer Dr Simon Butler Simon Butler studied archaeology and geography at the University of Wales and obtained his doctorate at Sheffield University. He leads a number of wide ranging tours and is especially associated with those visiting classical sites. Other tours including this lecturer Susan Sharpe Sue Sharpe studied German at London University and later worked for the BBC German Service. For the past 16 years she's been able to indulge and share her love of music as a broadcaster on Radio Three, including live concerts and the proms. For 11 years she presented mid week choice. In 1998 she was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year by the Broadcasting Press Guild for her presentation on Radio 3. Sue has travelled all round the world leading tours. Other tours including this lecturer Christopher Monckton Christopher was a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford where he developed a passion for both performing and teaching. This led to a life-long interest in history, music and art history. He has led countless tours all over the world covering many subjects and periods. He is equally at home in the ancient world as he is in the major art galleries of Europe. Christoher Monckton is also a professional musician and a distinguished organist. Other tours including this lecturer Barry Cheeseman Barry Cheeseman has been the Manager of the Kirker Escorted Tours programme for three seasons and has been involved in cultural tourism for more than 20 years. Barry has been an opera lover for more than 40 years and has seen and heard every major singer during this period. He loves the challenges of organising complex arts events and working closely with the musicians. Out of the office, Barry manages to fit in time to organise his own Chamber Music Festival in North Norfolk where he lives. Other tours including this lecturer Delia Gray-Durant Delia Gray-Durant read History of Art and French at Reading University where she obtained her degrees. She lived in South West France close to Albi for many years and was invited to write the Blue Guide to the Midi-Pyrenees, later expanded to include the whole of South West France. Her most recent projects have been to write the 10th and 11th editions of The Blue Guide to Paris and to write an accompanying series of smaller guides to art in London, Paris and New York. Other tours including this lecturer Dr Alex Koller Alex Koller read History of Art at the University of Vienna, the city of his birth. He completed his doctorate at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he is today still very much involved in university life. Dr Koller is one of the most popular and well travelled of all tour leaders. His interests cover all periods in the history of art. Dr Alex Koller writes: “The cities of Flanders are second to none in their art-historical importance. Traditionally proud, affluent and rich in patronage, they are home to one of Europe's most eminent schools of painting. The Northern European Renaissance would indeed be unthinkable without their contribution. Their architectural heritage forms an eloquent testimony to their civic pride and love of opulence. Flanders provides one of those unmissable lessons in art history, similar in importance to Florence or Venice”. Other tours including this lecturer Dr Neil Faulkner Neil Faulkner studied Political Economy at King’s college, Cambridge and turned to Archaeology some years later. He obtained his doctorate at The Institute of Archaeology with a study in late Roman towns. He is a well-known and popular lecturer and has led many tours in Europe and throughout the Middle East. He has led excavations for the Time team and is best known for his longrunning archaeological project at Sedgeford in Norfolk. He is also the author of a new work on the Roman Empire 'Rome: Empire of the Eagles'. Other tours including this lecturer Keith Miller Keith Miller read History of Art at Trinity College, Cambridge. His interests range from the Classical period to 19th Century French art. Keith Miller has led countless tours to St. Petersburg over the years. Other tours including this lecturer Jane McNamara Jane McNamara has lived in Norfolk her entire life and delights in showing off the county’s many and varied assets. She has been leading tours around Norfolk for more than ten years. Other tours including this lecturer James Tamlyn James Tamlyn studied the History of Art. He has lived in France for many years and spends much of his time leading his carefully planned tours to different regions of the country as well as to Italy, Suffolk and Kenya. James and Diana Tamlyn have created this itinerary especially for Kirker and almost all the travel whilst in France will be in four wheel drive vehicles. Other tours including this lecturer Marian Hay Marian Hay obtained her degree in History at Girton College, Cambridge. She has visited Malta and Gozo many times and has developed a particular interest in theislands’ history and culture. Marian Hay writes:“Although Malta is a small island, it has beenimportant throughout the history of the Mediterranean and has a rich,diverse and fascinating heritage. Archaeological sites include manypre-historic temples, Roman remains, early Christian catacombs and frescoed chapels. St. Paul was shipwrecked here and the island was under Islamic rule for a century. Charles V gifted Malta to the Hospitaller Knights of St. John until they were expelled by Napoleon. During World War II Malta’s role was crucial, its people displaying immense courage and heroism. I look forward to sharing Malta’s history with you and to introducing this wonderful island and its smaller neighbour, Gozo”. Other tours including this lecturer Trevor Harrison Trevor Harrison studied Botany at Exeter University and has owned his own highlyregarded nursery in North Norfolk for twenty years where he specialises in unusual plants and shrubs - a true plantsman’s nursery. He regularly gives lectures to garden-lovers and has led countless tours to Madeira. Trevor Harrison writes:“I have been visiting Madeira several times a year for the past two decades, either leading tours for garden-lovers or simply to have my own holiday there. I have always had a particular love of sub-tropical plants and a visit to Madeira always has a wonderful effect on me, especially if I have just left a rather cold and wet England behind. I love orchids and keep a collection at home and my favourite visit on this tour is to the simply unrivalled collection of them at Quinta da Boa Vista. I have always stayed at the Hotel we use for this tour and have always found that nothing is ever too much trouble for the staff”. Other tours including this lecturer The Reverend Dr. William Taylor Is Chairman of the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association, and a writer and broadcaster on the Islamic world and the Orthodox Churches. He has worked and lived in Jordan, Cairo, and Turkey, served in parishes in England, as a Chaplain in the Middle East, on the ecumenical staff of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, and as Dean of an English Cathedral. He has travelled and lectured extensively throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. A linguist by training and inclination, his languages include Syriac, Arabic, and Turkish. Publications include Light from the East, Christians in the Holy Land, Ahl al Dhimmi: A Study of minorities in Islam, Christianity in Iraq, and Antioch and Canterbury. He is a Facilitator for the Windsor Leadership Trust, a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, and a Freeman of the City of London. William’s Ph. D., from SOAS, is on the Orthodox Churches in the late Ottoman Empire Other tours including this lecturer Andrew Allen Andrew Allen studied the History of Art at the University of East Anglia and obtained his MA in mediaeval paintings. He lectured at Anglia Ruskin University and now teaches humanities in Norfolk where he lives. Andrew Allen is a great traveller and spends much of the year abroad. He has made a particular study of Syria and all the countries in the Middle East and the emerging republics which were once part of the Ottoman and Soviet empires. Other tours including this lecturer Hilary Finch Hilary Finch is one of the best-known and popular contributors to musical life in the country. She read English & Music at Exeter University which explains why her reviews for the The Times for the past couple of decades have won praise from readers and artists alike. Hilary is often to be heard on BBC Radio 3 and her presentations of the series Building A Library are eagerly anticipated by listeners. Hilary Finch’s first love is chamber music and lieder and she is often asked to be adjudicate at the country’s leading song competitions, including the Wigmore Hall competition. Other tours including this lecturer Declan Hamilton Declan read History and French at the University of Bristol before training as a singer at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music. He worked in Education and House Management at the Royal Opera House from 2000-2007 having the privilege of seeing almost every production over that time and interviewing a number of international artists. These days, he sings for pleasure rather than profession, and currently works in Development for his alma mater. He has led more than fifty music tours since 1995 to Europe and the US. Other tours including this lecturer Caroline Howard Caroline Howard studied History of Art at Edinburgh University and now lives in Rome. She is currently the Artistic Director at La Mortella on Ischia where she organises the programmes given by visiting youth orchestras. She has led many tours in Rome and throughout Italy. Other tours including this lecturer Dr Stephen Greep Stephen Greep has led many tours to Tunisia and indeed to many places throughout the Roman Empire. He is a well-known archaeologist and for many years was a senior staff member at the Roman Verulamium Museum in St Albans. His area of special expertise is the archaeology and material culture of the Roman Empire. Other tours including this lecturer John Lloyd John Lloyd read History of Art at Churchill College, Cambridge. Today he acts as a research consultant searching for pictures for collectors. Other tours including this lecturer Crispian Riley-Smith Crispian Riley-Smith has a degree in Art History from St Andrews University. He has worked in the art market for various auction houses and is today an independent art dealer and lives in Yorkshire. Other tours including this lecturer Judy Robson Judy Robson was responsible for instigating the National Trust Collection, which contributed more than half a million pounds of revenue for the Trust each year. She also began and developed the National Trust Holiday Cottages programme which was, and still is, a major source of income for the Trust. She has managed many National Trust Holidays over the years and in the course of her work has visited every property and garden in the south-west. Other tours including this lecturer Andrew Biggs Andrew studied music and art history at Leeds University and is now Head of Music at a private school in Hertfordshire. He has been making his annual pilgrimage to Torre del Lago for the past seventeen years. Other tours including this lecturer Helen Forbes-Watts British born Helen Forbes-Watts lives in Rome and in Tuscany where she devotes much of her time to her garden and olive orchard. She has a keen interest in the history of Italian gardens and those in the north of the country are her favourites. Helen Forbes-Watts writes: “I adore the coolness and serenity of the lakes in Lombardy. It is no wonder that those mysterious deep cool waters and the shores lined by stately cypress trees should have been so inspirational to generations of gardeners, writers and artists.” Other tours including this lecturer Tatiana Shugla Tatiana lives and works in St. Petersburg and has been leading Kirker's tours to the city for several years. Her knowledge extends over all periods of the city's cultural history and its people. Tatiana Shugla writes: “Visitors are often delighted and surprised to discover how culturally important and influential St. Petersburg was in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Today the city is regaining its status as one of the world's great artistic centres. I visit the Hermitage every week and am still amazed at the depth and breadth of its unrivalled collections. ” Other tours including this lecturer Akmal Rakhmanov Akmal Rakhmanov attended university in Uzbekistan where he studied tourism. Since then he has led many cultural tours around his native country and was closely involved in the planning of our tour, which he led in 2011. Other tours including this lecturer