THE Chairman Lynn Samuel welcomed the guest speaker, Andrew Cooper, to the Lunch Meeting of the Exeter and District Branch of The English-Speaking Union.

Andrew Cooper is one of Britain’s most distinguished and influential television producers. He is also as a broadcaster, presenter, writer and international award winning wildlife film-maker. He is a familiar face on BBC television through, his documentaries and live reports on wildlife and environmental issues. He spent 35 years with the BBC starting his career in the SW Region where he was born and brought up. Much of his career has been as a producer for the BBC Natural History Unit. He has worked with some of the greatest and best known natural history personalities including Peter Scott, Gerald Durrell and the charismatic David Attenborough.

Andrew’s talk was illustrated with some wonderful slides showing a range of wild life including lions, birds, bees, wildebeest and elephants. He said that perhaps the most extraordinary animals were those found in the Galapagos Islands which, were the direct descendants of and therefore the connection with, life on earth before the emergence of man.

Andrew said that BBC Natural History programmes have a UK audience of about 6 million, by the time the programmes have been syndicated world-wide that number increases to around 200 million. There is therefore great pressure, apart from professional pride, to make factually correct programmes.

Outside television Andrew is very involved with numerous SW organisations he has been Vice-President of the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust; Chairman of the Devon Wildlife Trust; a Trustee of the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth and a Trustee of the Whitley Wildlife Trust, the owners of Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts, Newquay Zoo and Slapton National Nature Reserve.

He lectures widely on various topics for the BBC, at universities and on cruise ships - mainly on wild life conservation, script writing and wildlife documentary production. He often donates his time freely to fund raising for wildlife and medical charities.

Andrew gave his presentation in such a delightful, thoughtful at and amusing way that the listener could be in no doubt about his expertise and knowledge, his commitment to his subject and his sympathy and feeling for the natural world.

The next lunch meeting will be on 11th February when Rear Admiral David Pulvertaft CB will be speaking on British Warship Figureheads. Anyone interested in joining the Exeter Branch of the ESU should contact the Membership Secretary, Margaret Guyver, on 01392 491898 or jmguyver@btinternet.com