(L-R Peter Williamson, Liz Bickerstaffe, Jayne Kelly, Katrina Kelly, Michael Kettle)

President: Professor Michael Scott 

Michael is Professor in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick, author of several books on ancient Greek and Roman society including Ancient Worlds, and has written and presented a range of documentaries for National Geographic, History Channel, ITV and the BBC. He’s currently filming the latest instalment in his hugely successful documentary series Invisible Cities, and has recently become a National Teaching Fellow. We’re very proud to have such a dynamic ambassador for classics as our President, and his scholarship, approachability and sense of humour encourages people of all ages and backgrounds alike to get involved with Classics.

At 17, Katrina became the youngest person ever to establish a branch of the Classical Association.  She was home-educated and also studied A-Levels at AKS Sixth Form. Katrina was the youngest member of Fylde DFAS and was involved in both the Tagging the Treasures and Church Recording projects. Now 21, she is in her third year reading Classics at Magdalen College, Oxford where she networks shamelessly to persuade visiting lecturers to come to the Association and once a month gets the train home to chair meetings and help run the lecture events! Her particular interests lie in Roman urban and agricultural history, and Greek art and tragedy. Katrina is also a keen athlete and a competitive gymnast for her university.

Secretary: Jayne Kelly

Jayne gained a degree in Modern History and post-graduate qualifications, and then ran her own business before becoming Governor of Inveraray Jail, one of Scotland’s leading visitor attractions. Jayne has had a varied career spanning countryside management, heritage tourism, marketing, criminology, mental health and lecturing and is the author and designer of several guides and publications. She now combines working for the NHS with writing, walking, poetry and her work for the Association. Jayne really enjoys the historical aspect of the lectures and is particularly interested in outreach work – trying to make classics accessible to people of all ages.

Treasurer: Michael Kettle

Michael studied Law and then Maths, and has enjoyed teaching Maths for over twenty five years. He has also had a variety of other interesting jobs ranging from looking after Lady Penelope’s car and being a film extra to supervising young apprentices in whisky distilleries and being a fish farm nightwatchman in Argyll and the Isles. He enjoys philosophy, walking, listening to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams and following the mixed fortunes of Tottenham Hotspur. He also enjoys transporting and chatting to the lecturers when they come to the area and he has recently revived his interest in Latin by participating in the Association’s Latin Reading Group.

Minutes’ Secretary: Liz Bickerstaffe

Promotions’ Officer: Peter Williamson

Pete was born during the WW2 Manchester blitz and survived to become a Manchester City supporter – the first 25 years of which were quite challenging! As a 10 year old, he visited the Manchester Museum and quickly became obsessed with the culture of ancient Egypt after being mesmerised by an unwrapped mummy. Returning many times, he became an enthusiastic amateur in ancient history and archaeology; was later involved with the Printing Museum in Cockermouth; and now maintains a keen interest in ancient people during his retirement. An indentured apprentice compositer at the age of 16, he has worked for many newspapers, including the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Mirror, and the News of the World.

Outreach Officer: Monica Bhushan 

Monica works as a dermatologist, specialising in skin disease in children, at Clifton Hospital in St Annes. She studied at Manchester University, where she took an intercalated BSc in pharmacology as part of her degree in medicine. Thereafter, she became a Research Fellow in Dermatology and studied the immunology of skin ageing. This work resulted in a thesis which she completed while on maternity leave with the eldest of her three children, Liv, who is now one of the LSA CA Classics Ambassadors.

Before she joined the Association, Monica’s experience of the classical world had been limited to ‘O’ level Latin, at which she had showed little promise. Attending the lectures, and seeing the opportunities offered by the Association to the classicists and ancient historians of tomorrow, has been both an education and a privilege. Monica very much hopes she will be able to make a worthwhile contribution to the Association’s success in the future.

Gerry Corless

Gerry spent the whole of his professional career in the public sector. After qualifying as an Accountant he first became a Treasurer and then, ultimately, a Chief Executive in local government.  Following early retirement from full-time employment he held a number of Government appointments, including ones on behalf of the Home Office, DTI and the Welsh Office. He was also the first Chairman of a new Housing Trust for Salford.

Since moving to Lytham St Annes in 2002, Gerry has become a member of both The Arts Society Fylde (formerly DFAS) and the LSA CA since their inception. Given his interest in heritage and historic buildings he is also an active member of English Heritage, Historic Houses Association and the National Trust. He is keen on the Theatre and classical music and attends numerous performances throughout the North West.