Olsen Lecture: Feargal Sharkey and Nick Ferrari

We are delighted to welcome Feargal Sharkey and Nick Ferrari who will be in conversation at this year’s Tom Olsen Lecture on Tuesday 9th July at 7pm here at St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street.

Feargal Sharkey – singer, fly fisherman and environmentalist – discusses his campaigning and lobbying efforts for clean water in conversation with broadcaster and journalist Nick Ferrari.

The long dry summer of 1858 led to the Great Stink in London from sewage dumped on the banks of the River Thames. The government engaged Joseph Bazalgette to construct a new sewerage system for London. Some 165 years later, we face a new Great Stink across the country.

Water companies in England and Wales have illegally discharged sewage into UK waterways and coasts on a regular basis. In 2023 sewage spills more than doubled to 3.6 million hours of spills.

Underfunding and a failure to enforce water quality has been blamed. Will the likely change of political party in government help to resolve this environmental crisis?

There will be a chance to put your questions to our speakers after the Lecture and the evening will conclude with a drinks reception for attendees at the back of the church.

Registration for the event is free, but we hope you might consider making a suggested donation of £10 to be divided between St Bride’s Charity, for the maintenance of this historic building, and WildFish, an independent charity that campaigns for wild fish and their environment in the UK.

You can donate at the lecture or via JustGiving.

We are most grateful to Kaizo – an independent PR and digital agency that helps business and consumer brands thrive in today’s economy – for its continued generous support of this lecture series.

Click here to Find out more about the Tom Olsen Lecture together with an archive of past speakers and recordings and transcripts.