The Street-based Arts Society Mendip is planning to move some lectures online, following a trial session that has been hailed a success.

The group normally meets at Strode Theatre but the venue is set to be mothballed as it struggles during the coronavirus crisis.

The society held a trial session online and is now planning for its next two lectures at least to be held virtually.

The first lecture is entitled Winston Churchill - The Artist and will be delivered by Dr Claire Walsh on Tuesday September 1.

Dr Walsh worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the University of Warwick before teaching for the Open University.

Her lecture circuit has included the Courtauld Institute of Art, the Costume Society and Museum of London, as well as in Europe, the USA and Canada.

In 1915 Churchill was rescued from depression by the muse of painting. His paintings recorded landscapes from the Riviera to Blenheim, Chartwell and Marrakesh.

A fascinating aspect is the role it played in his personal and political life. He took lessons from Lavery, Sickert and Nicholson, and the choices he made tell us much about the colour, texture and direction of art in the early 20th century.

The second will be entitled How The Women Of Paris Lived And Died In The 1940s, which will be delivered by Anne Sebba on Tuesday October 6.

Anne is an award-winning British biographer, writer, lecturer and journalist. After graduating in history from Kings College, London, her first job was in the BBC World Services in the Arabic Department.

She was at one time the Reuters foreign correspondent. She is the author of nine non-fiction books for adults, two biographies for children and several introductions to reprinted classics.

Her lecture is about the women of Paris in the 1940s and is the subject of her successful book Les Parisiennes.

There are tales of Resisters, collaborators, spies, writers, actresses, designers, housewives and others.

She has always been fascinated the French history and the reverberations from this period are still being felt today in that country.

The group will consult government guidance and the mood of its membership, to decide whether future sessions will be online or in person.

The two lectures above will be held via the online conferencing software Zoom, and links will be sent to members prior to the talks, which are set to open at 10.15am.

Guests are welcome for a subscription of £3. The conference call link will be forwarded with instructions on request to [email protected].