| Event type: | Socials and Events |
| Date: | Saturday 26th September 2026 |
| Time: | 10:00 am |
| Venue: | Penn Room, Friends Meeting House |
| Cost: | Free (refreshments available) |
| Booking: | Note that booking is required. |
Speaker: Susan Ackroyd
Susan Ackroyd was born and brought up in New South Wales. She has had a varied and fascinating career, ranging from being a seaman on a passage to Europe, a school teacher and principal, and attaining a law degree. Susan and her husband retired to the Blue Mountains where some ten years ago she decided to research the political satire we now know as nursery rhymes. The first edition of her book, Rhyme and Reason, was published in 2023.
Her presentation will delve into what ‘nursery’ rhymes tell us about the politics, economy, society, and religion of England from the 1200s to the 1700s:
- Who was the frog courting the mouse?
- What was Mother Hubbard looking for? It wasn’t a bone...
- Why were the blind mice being persecuted?
- Why was a baby on a treetop?
The 26 rhymes in the book are really political satire, disguised so retribution would not fall on the speaker.
