Below are some reviews and pictures from a few of our many social events.
We invite our members to a special manuscript treat this summer! We have organised a small group visit to the Royal Library at Windsor Castle where we will be viewing a special selection of Western, Persian and Mughal manuscripts.
Time: 11 am
For this very 'social' social event, we are inviting SLLA members to bring along their sketchbooks, working diaries, journals for a show and tell evening where we delve into how and why we work with sketchbooks.
A group of our members, including calligraphers, journallers and illustrators will also talk to the group about their books, their own styles and show examples.
Please bring along any sketchbooks and/or journals that you would be happy to show and discuss with the group.
Join us to walk our West City Lettering trail which will include a special visit to the St Barts hospital Archives.
The walk will start at 10.00am on the 14th April at the entrance to Blackfriars underground station and you will have one of our trail booklets to use.
Finding the letters in alphabetical order on various plaques, notices and carvings we make our way along fleet Street up Chancery lane, through to Smithfields. Then on to Charterhouse Square and St Bartholomew the Great church.
Toni Watts is a professional artist and illuminator with a special interest in using traditional gilding techniques to produce contemporary work. Learn more about Toni at toniwattsartstudio.com
A special guided tour of the Pictograms exhibition on Saturday, 25th October 2025 at 11 am at Japan House 101-111 Kensington High Street, London W8 5SA
From ancient Egyptian tomb carvings to navigating contemporary Japan, Pictogram traces the design, evolution, power and future potential of these universal signs.
This special tour provides a personalised and in-depth explanation of the exhibition led by a Visitor Experience Assistant who has thoroughly researched the exhibition content and can answer any questions about it.
Join us for yet another fantastic social evening. Our special guest speaker, Sally-Mae Joseph, will share her lettering journey with us, Paper - Vellum - Slate - Clay - a fascinating life from pen to kiln!
Doors open at 6pm followed by Sally-Mae Joseph’s talk at 6:30 pm
Contact infosllaevents [at] gmail.com for any enquiries.
This summer's guided walk with Robert Dunn on 25 June continues our exploration of Bloomsbury. Last year's walk covered the university quarter; this year we'll move across to east Bloomsbury, defined by its medical and caring institutions. As before, we'll cover the history, buildings and people of this fascinating area.
Numbers are limited to 20 people for this walk starting at 6 pm on the evening of 25th of June. The walk will last about 90 minutes.
This talk focuses on the ways in which the study of scribal handwriting from Syon Abbey, England’s first and only Birgittine monastery, can shed light on the ways in which the sisters of Syon participated in broader late-medieval communities of reading. Focusing primarily on examples of women’s handwriting preserved in both printed books and medieval manuscripts, this talk will paint a picture of the ways in which scribal hands and inscriptions can illustrate the ways in which reading, writing, and community intersected in late-medieval London.
Tracey Trussell is a leading professional graphologist, who analyses handwriting to reveal what it says about the writer. From a few handwritten sentences Tracey can gain insight into how individuals behave, think and feel. Tracey has worked for many companies, including Montblanc and has appeared on BBC’s The One Show and ITV’s This Morning talking about what you can tell from people’s handwriting and doodles. She is often called on by the media to analyse the handwriting of people in the news such as, in recent years, Lucy Letby, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
On 19 October members of the South London Lettering Association again took part in the Bloomsbury Festival by demonstrating calligraphy inside St George’s Church. The scribes worked for an hour or two each on their own projects using different tools and styles of lettering, taking the theme of the 2024 Bloomsbury Festival – Human.Kind – to inspire them. Visitors were able to learn about calligraphy and talk to the calligraphers, both amateur and professional, and have a go themselves, guided by experienced calligraphers.
At a well attended social evening on 25th September 2024, Chrissie Nicholls used slides and examples of her work to illustrate the journey that led her to World of Maps, Visual Diaries, Playing Cards and Artists’ Books, all of which in some way incorporate hand lettering. Here are some of examples of her inspirational work for you to see, if you missed it.
Around 20 people went on this fascinating walk around the squares and significant buildings of Bloomsbury, led by Robert Dunn on 26th June 2024. It was the hottest day of the year so we were all very grateful for the shade provided by the trees in the garden squares, as well as for the opportunity to learn from Rob about the history of the area and some of its notable residents. Among the buildings we studied, of different periods and styles, were the Hotel Russell (now the Kingston Fitzroy Hotel), the British Museum, Senate House, Birkbeck College, and the BMA building. We also walked around Russell, Torrington, Gordon and Tavistock Squares, examining their various memorials.