Our first event this month is the annual Pam Combes Memorial Lecture, which will be given on 9 October by Professor Richard Coates. The talk, entitled The Changing Landscape of Sussex Place Names, will start at 6.30pm, and will feature an intriguing mix of history, geography and linguistics. Booking in advance is essential: tickets cost £10, but entry is free for members of the Friends of The Keep Archives (FoTKA). 

Later in the month, archivist Elizabeth Hughes will return to The Keep to lead a hands-on introduction to records relating to death and burial. This special afternoon session will take place on Wednesday 30 October from 2.30-4.30pm, and will include a display of original archives for participants to explore, such as wills, inventories and funeral account books. Booking in advance is essential as numbers will be limited. For further details and to reserve a place, please see the Events pages of our website.

Pictured: coloured print of map of Sussex by John Norden; augmented by John Speede; reference AMS 6008/1/1/34

The Mass Observation Archive is teaming up with the BBC and the University of Sussex to host a day at The Keep exploring the way the BBC shaped our experience of the Second World War. There will be the opportunity to hear rare recordings from the BBC archives, including coverage of the Blitz and D-Day alongside lesser-known stories, and there will also be a chance for you to record your own memories. This free event will take place on Saturday 19 October from 11am - 3pm (a light lunch is included). Booking is essential; for more information, please see the Eventbrite booking page.

Our archives include fascinating material relating to film and cinema history, so we're delighted to be bringing some of it out of our stores for a special afternoon session on 23 October. We'll be showing original plans, programmes and ephemera from some of Brighton's old cinemas, alongside reports on film written for the Mass Observation Archive in the 1940s and material from the Richard Attenborough archive on the making of Gandhi. Keep staff will introduce the archives but this is a hands-on session, meaning plenty of time to read and browse! 

Thanks to support from the British Film Institute's Film Audience Network and The National Lottery, we have also been able to expand our film screening programme. On 2 November, we'll be showing the classic BAFTA-winning comedy Genevieve, to celebrate the annual London to Brighton vintage car run, which takes place the following day. If you'd like to join us at either of these events, booking details are available on our website.

Pictured: Richard Attenborough and Ben Kingsley celebrating their Oscars in 1983; reference SxMs180/6/1/64/82/1. Photograph: Peter C Borsari Photography, California.