What the heck is a lek?
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
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Join stonemason Andrew Ziminski as he talks about his passion for Wessex’s ancient buildings – and the parallels between his life and that of Thomas Hardy.
Andrew has worked on many iconic buildings, from the Roman Baths of Bath to Salisbury Cathedral, which he discusses in his recent book – The Stone Mason: A History of Building Britain.
Before becoming a writer, Hardy trained as an architect and was an fervent and active member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Andrew will be joined in the discussion by our Hardy curator, Harriet Still.
You can book this online talk here, £5 per screen.
Woodcut image by Robin Mackenzie.
Andrew Ziminski (pictured) is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and consultant to the Salisbury Diocesan Advisory Committee for the conservation of stonework and monuments.
He started his training in the late 1980s at the Weald and Downland Museum. In 1998 he was awarded a William Morris Craft Fellow by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
His first book, The Stone Mason: A History of Building Britain, was published in 2020 by John Murray, previous publisher of Darwin, Jane Austen and Lord Byron.
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
The great bustard has a dignified slow walk but tends to run when disturbed, rather than fly.
The hen-bird on display at The Salisbury Museum was one of the last great bustards to be eaten in the town!