The first part of actor John Clegg’s talk focused on the life of Omar Khayyam (the Persian) and how the Rubaiyat, a collection of verses, came to be published.
Khayyam was a man of many talents, among them astrologer and mathematician, but he did not consider himself a poet.
But when, seven centuries later, Edward Fitzgerald (the Irishman) discovered and translated the verses they became, eventually, some of the most-quoted words in the English language.
John concluded the evening with a recitation, from memory, of the whole Rubaiyat – a stunning achievment which earned him well-deserved applause.