Day
and Evening Courses 2011-2012
In Maidenhead and Cookham
Telephone Enquiries: Liz Crathorne, 01628 632208
35 Allenby Road, Maidenhead, SL6
5BE
Courses marked # are subsidised by the Skills Funding Agency and are free for those receiving jobseeker’s allowance and some income related benefits. Study days and courses marked ## are not subsidised. Other concessions may be available at the discretion of the Branch. Please apply to Liz Crathorne in confidence.
DAYTIME
COURSES IN MAIDENHEAD 2011
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Mon
from 26 Sept |
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Mon
from 26 Sept |
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Mon
from 26 Sept |
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Tues
from 20 Sept |
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Tues
from 20 Sept |
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Wed
from 7 Sept |
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Wed
from 28 Sept |
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Thurs
from 29 Sept |
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Fri
from 23 Sept |
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Fri
from 23 Sept |
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Fri
from 23 Sept |
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DAYTIME
COURSES IN MAIDENHEAD
2012
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Mon
from 16 Jan |
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Tues
from 10 Jan |
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Wed
from 11 Jan |
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Wed
from 11 Jan |
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Thurs
from 23 Feb |
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Fri
from 13 Jan |
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Fri
from 13 Jan |
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Tues
from 17 April |
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Wed
from 13 June |
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Fri
from 20 April |
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Fri
from 20 April |
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EVENING
COURSES IN MAIDENHEAD 2011/12
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Mon
from 26 Sept |
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Mon
from 9 Jan |
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EVENING
COURSES IN COOKHAM DEAN 2011/12
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Thurs
from 29 Sept |
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Thurs
from 9 Feb |
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STUDY
DAYS IN MAIDENHEAD 2011/12
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Tues
1 Nov |
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Fri
30 March Fri
30 March |
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# LOVE AND SOCIETY IN LITERATURE
John Still
We
will discuss some memorable literary works that portray different kinds of
love, and that explore ways in which love and friendship are affected by
social and cultural pressures. Texts
include: Thomas Hardy’s The Return
of the Native,
Ivan
Turgenev’s On the Eve, Edith
Wharton’s Ethan Frome, Ernest
Hemingway’s
A
Farewell to Arms,
Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust, Tennessee Williams’s
play
A Streetcar Named Desire, and
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go.
N.B.
Students may pay in two instalments of £79 or enrol for one term only.
20 meetings on Mondays, starting 26 September and 16 January. Fee: £158
Venue:
Community Centre, 4 Marlow Road, SL6 7YR.
Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
* INSIDE HUMAN CELLS AND TISSUES
Gillie McNeill
Each
microscopic cell within our body accomplishes daily activity that would
require several vast factories to do similar processes in our external
world. In
this
course we will look at how human cells function, how they form tissues
such
as
intestine, skin, blood and brain, and also some of the ways things can go
wrong,
e.g. the occurrence of cancers.
10 meetings on Mondays, starting 26 September Fee: £138
Venue:
Methodist Church, Allenby Rd. SL6 5BQ.
Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.
* MUSIC, LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN
Gillie McNeill
Humans
have been making music for more than 30,000 years. We are less sure when language started developing, but music
and language share some common factors.
We will focus on how the brain processes music and language.
New research on functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and
birdsong is shedding light on both aspects.
This neuroscience course is suitable for those without previous
knowledge.
10 meetings on Mondays, starting 26 September Fee: £138
Venue:
Methodist Church, Allenby Rd. SL6 5BQ.
Time: 1.30 to 3.30 pm.
Val Pretlove
During
this course we will study a wide range of places used for the
administration
of the law, justice and punishment. As
well as looking at a number of places of incarceration, execution and
other punishment, we will examine how and where lawyers' training
developed. There will be a
focus on buildings both past and present and we will look at a variety of
courts and prisons and also London's four Inns of Court.
The course will include two visits to London on 18 October and 29 November.
N.B.
No meeting on 1 November (Study Day - see page 5).
8 meetings plus 2 visits on Tuesdays, starting 20 September Fee: £79
Venue: Braywick Nature Centre, Hibbert Rd. SL6 1UU. Time:10.15 am to 12.15 pm
# CONSTRUCTING THE FUTURE: RUSSIAN ART
Peter Scott
Russia,
particularly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
experienced enormous cultural, political and economic change, culminating
in revolution and civil war. Artists
responded initially by striving to show the life of the ordinary people. Then came a particularly Russian emphasis on the ‘material
culture of the technical age’ and the need to disseminate the
progressive ideas of socialism. The
main topics covered will include: the artistic legacy of Peter the Great's
mission to 'europeanise' Russia, nineteenth century Russian realism and
impressionism, 'The Wanderers', the path to the avant-garde in the early
twentieth century, Diaghilev and the artistic influence of the Ballets
Russes, Kandinsky, Malevich and spirituality, cubism, suprematism and
constructivism in art and design, socialist realist art, posters and 'art
for the people'.
N.B.
No meeting on 1 November (Study Day - see page 5).
10 meetings on Tuesdays, starting 20 September Fee: £79
Venue: St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Rd. SL6 7EG. Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.
Steve Kershaw
This
course is aimed at those who are starting to move to an advanced level in
the
language. It will concentrate
on securing the fundamentals of the language,
as
well as exploring aspects of the Romans themselves and some of their
literature. This will involve
a light-hearted yet rigorous exploration of the Latin language, which will
include grammar, vocabulary, syntax and background
material.
N.B.
No classes from 28 September to 26 October inclusive.
10 meetings on Wednesdays, starting 7 September Fee: £138
Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ. Time: 10.15 am to 12.15 pm.
# DEVELOPMENTS IN BRITISH POETRY: 1914 TO 1940
Stephen Andrews
Students
will be introduced to poetry from key poets of the first half of the
twentieth century. These will include Sassoon, Owen, Yeats, Eliot,
MacNeice, Auden and Spender and will be studied in the context of their
social and political backgrounds. Class
members will be able to influence the selection of other poets to be
studied. Copies of poems will
be provided.
10 meetings on Wednesdays, starting 28 September Fee: £79
Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ. Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
# THE SPLENDOUR OF CATHEDRALS IN EUROPE
Keith Hasted
In this course we will look at some of the greatest cathedrals in
mainland Europe, seeing how they worked as outstanding examples of the
development of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance architecture. In France we will include Notre Dame and Chartres, in
Germany, Cologne, in Spain, Toledo and the pilgrimage destination of
Santiago de Compostela, and in Italy the contrasting cathedrals of
Florence, Milan and St Peter’s in Rome.
10 meetings on Thursdays, starting 29 September Fee: £79
Venue:
Braywick Nature Centre, Hibbert Rd. SL6 1UU.
Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
# A MIXED MEDIA APPROACH TO STILL LIFE
Jo Hall
This
course will explore very literal and more abstract approaches to still
life in mixed media. Techniques
will range from monochrome studies with combinations of ink and charcoal
to colourful combinations of watercolour or acrylic with oil pastel and
coloured pencil. Participants
will also discover ways of including elements of sgraffito, collage and
printing into still life works. Objects
for still life set ups will be provided and in later sessions students
will be encouraged to bring their own objects for study.
Some students may like to produce their mixed media interpretation
of a well known painting. Appropriate
references to works by historical and contemporary artists will be
provided.
8 meetings on Fridays, starting 23 September Fee: £79
Venue:
St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Road, SL6 7EG.
Time: 10 am to 12.30 pm.
John Still
We
will discuss a wide range of plays that explore controversial social and
moral issues and that dramatise problems of love and power. In the autumn term we will consider Shakespeare’s Henry
IV: Part One and Anton Chekhov’s The
Three Sisters. After
Christmas we will study Shakespeare’s Twelfth
Night, George Bernard Shaw’s Major
Barbara, and David Hare’s Racing
Demon.
N.B.
No class 21 October.
Students
may pay in two instalments of £79 or enrol for one term only.
20 meetings on Fridays, starting 23 September and 13 January Fee: £158
Venue:
Community Centre, 4 Marlow Road, SL6 7YR.
Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
# BOHEMIA’S WOODS AND FIELDS: 400 YEARS OF CZECH MUSIC
Anthony Short
Dvořák’s New
World, Smetana’s Má vlast,
Janáček’s Sinfonietta:
we are familiar with these and a handful of other great Czech works, but
how about Biber’s extraordinary Rosary
Sonatas, which brought violin playing to new heights of virtuosity, or
Fibich’s ambitious melodramas, or Martinů’s operas, which
experiment with time
and tortured states of mind? This
course will examine
how the profoundly
influential chamber, orchestral, stage and sacred music of
this small nation – aptly dubbed ‘the conservatoire of Europe’ –
has helped to shape European
music.
10 meetings on Fridays, starting 23 September Fee: £79
Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ. Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
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# THE PORTRAIT FROM CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY TO THE 21ST CENTURY
Dalila Castelijn
The
development and changing role of the painted portrait in Europe will be
discussed by examining a range of works from classical antiquity to the
twenty-first century, in terms of content, style, technique and function.
Role-playing, symbolism and likeness will be explored in works by
artists such as Holbein and Titian, Rembrandt and Gainsborough, Matisse
and Picasso.
10 meetings on Tuesdays, starting 10 January Fee: £79
Venue:
St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Road, SL6 7EG.
Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
Robin John
This course explores the style of opera known as 'bel
canto', which produced some very tuneful and memorable music.
Principally we will explore the works of the three leading
exponents of this style – Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti.
Also highlighted will be some of the singers, e.g. Maria Callas and
Joan Sutherland, who have helped to stimulate a revival of interest in
these operas in the second half of the twentieth century.
10 meetings on Wednesdays, starting 11 January Fee: £79
Venue:
Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.
Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
Steve Kershaw
This
course is aimed at those who are starting to move beyond the beginner
level in Ancient Greek. It
will concentrate on building the fundamentals of the language while
introducing the Ancient Greeks and their literature.
It will involve a light-hearted yet rigorous exploration of the
Greek language and its influence today, including basic grammar,
vocabulary and background material. Students
should begin to read, understand, and make an informed personal response
to the original language.
10 meetings on Wednesdays, starting 11 January Fee: £138
Venue:
Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.
Time: 1.45 to 3.45 pm.
Gordon Tripp
Sometimes
benign, sometimes harsh, our weather is certainly amazing.
The course looks at global weather patterns and at the Atlantic
pressure and frontal systems which generate this variety.
A study of cloud types and their formation is followed by case
studies of extreme weather events in the UK including floods, storms and
severe cold. We then consider
if there are ways in which we can do some DIY forecasting – especially
in the Thames Valley. The
course is essentially participative – we draw up forecast charts and
cloud diagrams and record local weather information. The aim throughout is to help us enjoy our amazing weather.
5 meetings on Thursdays, starting 23 February Fee: £42
Venue:
Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.
Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
Lydia Dean
This
course aims to help the intermediate learner explore how to create
abstract paintings from recognisable objects, photos or scenes.
Experiment in easy to follow stages with materials and techniques
and in playful ways to achieve surprising images.
8 meetings on Fridays, starting 13 January Fee: £79
Venue:
St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Road, SL6 7EG.
Time: 10 am to 12.30 pm.
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## LONDON: IN AND AROUND THE CITY MARKETS Val Pretlove Looking
at London’s Great Markets: Smithfield, Leadenhall and Billingsgate.
Soon after their arrival in 43 AD the Romans established the first
City markets. By the twelfth
century the "Smooth Field" in the west of the city became a
market for animals and also the home of the Cloth Fair.
In the 1400s, a fine merchant's house was given to the City and
became Leadenhall Market where dairy products and vegetables were sold,
and, just upstream of London Bridge, Billingsgate became the preferred
fish market from 1016. There
will be 4 classroom sessions interspersed with 3 walks. 4 meetings plus 3 visits on Tuesdays, starting 17 April Fee: £58 Venue:
St Josephs Centre, Cookham Rd., SL6 7EG. Time: 10.15 am to 12.15 pm. Carolyn Foster This
is a course for garden enthusiasts, with visits mainly to privately-owned
gardens, some local and some more distant.
We shall observe and compare the design features and planting
styles of these gardens. Some
extra cost for entrance to gardens will be incurred but car sharing will
be encouraged. The final
visit will include a review and discussion of what we have seen.
Visit
dates: 13 June, 27 June, 11 July, 25 July and 8 August. 5 visits on Wednesdays, starting 13 June Fee: £42 Venues:
To be advised. Time: 10.15 am to 12.15 pm. Lydia Dean This
is an ideal course for the learner who wishes to study the basic
proportions of portraiture and to progress in an experimental way. 5 meetings on Fridays, starting 20 April Fee: £42 Venue:
St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Road, SL6 7EG.
Time: 10 am to 12 noon. ## INTIMATE VOICES: THE STORY OF CHAMBER MUSIC Anthony Short Great composers have tended to commit their finest
and most intimate musical thoughts to small groups of instruments.
It is true that orchestral music is louder and perhaps more
colourful than chamber music, but it often forms a comparatively small
amount of a composer’s output. Beethoven, for instance, composed only sixteen symphonies and
concertos as opposed to about fifty full-length chamber works.
This course will consider the lasting impact of chamber music from
composers as diverse as Bach and Bartók or Purcell and Penderecki.
It will also examine the social aspects of playing chamber music,
which has accurately been called ‘the music of friends’. 7 meetings on Fridays, starting 20 April Fee: £58 Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ. Time: 10 am to 12 noon. |
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## LIVING IN THE IRON AGE IN AND AROUND BERKSHIRE
Andrew Hutt and Paul Goodenough
Based
on recent research undertaken by the Berkshire Archaeological Society, the
course
will reveal that the Iron Age was a period of significant technical,
social and
political
development in the area. There
will be five classroom sessions with presentations and discussions and, on
Saturday 8th October, a visit to the Iron Age museum at Andover.
N.B.
There will be a class on 24 October (half term week).
5 meetings plus 1 visit on Mondays, starting 26 September Fee: £50
Venue:
United Reformed Church, West Street, SL6 1RL.
Time: 7.30 to 9.30 pm.
Steve Kershaw
With
London 2012 looming, this course will explore the Ancient Greek origins of
the Olympic Games. It will
concentrate on the development of the Olympic festival, the Sanctuary of
Zeus at Olympia itself, the events that were contested, Greek attitudes to
athletics, and the influence all this has had in the modern world. On the way we will encounter some fascinating social,
artistic, philosophical, political and religious issues.
The course, illustrated with slides, video and handouts, will aim
to be an interesting, and perhaps surprising, precursor to ‘the Greatest
Show on Earth’.
10 meetings on Mondays, starting 9 January Fee: £138
Venue:
United Reformed Church, West Street, SL6 1RL.
Time: 7.30 to 9.30 pm.
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## SEVEN ART WORKS THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD
Sandra Smith
Does
art really have the power to shock? This
course will explore seven works made from the mid 19th century onwards
that have caused consternation, comment and even offence. The works to be studied are Manet’s Olympia, Munch’s Scream,
Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Duchamp’s Fountain, Pollock’s Lavender
Mist, Andre’s Equivalent VIII
(the Tate Bricks) and Tracey Emin’s My
Bed.
N.B.
No class in half term week.
7 meetings on Thursdays, starting 29 September Fee: £58
Venue: Cookham Dean W.I. Hall, Church Road, SL6 9PD. Time: 7.30 to 9.30 pm.
## AN INTRODUCTION TO ANCIENT EGYPT
John Billman
This
course will trace the emergence of dynastic Egypt, look at the development
of the iconic Giza pyramids and who built them, journey through the
cultural peak of the Middle Kingdom as well as the Egypt of Tutankhamun
and Ramesses the Great in the New Kingdom.
N.B.
There will be a
class on 16 February (half term week).
7 meetings on Thursdays, starting 9 February Fee: £58
Venue: Cookham Dean W.I. Hall, Church Road, SL6 9PD. Time: 7.30 to 9.30 pm.
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## THE CANVAS CEILING: WOMEN ARTISTS THROUGH THE AGES
Peter Scott
This
study day examines various aspects of women’s involvement in art, not as
models to be painted by men for men, but as significant artists in their
own right. From the seventeenth century to the early twentieth, female
artists were very much in the minority, and in the earlier centuries were
severely restricted as to the subject matter they were able to paint.
Two women were among the founder members of the Royal Academy in
1768, but it was 168 years before another woman was permitted to add
‘RA’ to her name. Now,
since the late twentieth century, as in many other aspects of life, there
is very little distinction between the genders.
Tuesday
1 November 2011, 10 am to 3.30 pm.
Fee: £30
Venue:
Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Altwood Road, SL6 4PF.
N.B.
Study Day fee includes tea and coffee.
Lunch can be pre-ordered from the café-bar. Please note that
consumption of your own food and drink is not permitted on the premises at
Norden Farm.
Peter Scott is a Lecturer and Guide at Tate Britain and Tate Modern and
a Lecturer at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
He is also a WEA Art History Tutor and lectures to many other
organisations, including Bristol Art Gallery, The National Trust, NADFAS,
U3A and some schools and colleges.
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Steve Kershaw
What
is jazz? Where did it come
from? How did it develop?
Can I increase my enjoyment and appreciation of this exhilarating,
yet sometimes seemingly intimidating art form? Presented
by one of the most highly respected jazz double bass players in the
country, this course will attempt to explain the origins of jazz music,
provide some strategies for listening to it, and survey the main styles of
the genre in a way that is accessible both to those keen to ‘get into’
the music, and those who already enjoy listening to it.
Illustrated with classic recordings, ‘live’ demonstrations and
with an optional extra concert from a world-class band in the evening (see
below), this course could be the start of a lifelong obsession!
Steve Kershaw is “one of the country's best bass players … a musical catalyst, bringing together players and styles from all over the world” (Jazz Views). He is also a familiar face on bandstands at jazz festivals from Havana to Arkhangelsk, has worked with the likes of Jamie Cullum, and has had two top ten albums in the UK Jazz charts with his acclaimed trio Stekpanna.
Friday
30 March 2012, 10 am to 4 pm.
Concert: 7.30 pm
Study Day and Concert Fee £43
Study Day only Fee £30
Concert
only – special
price for additional tickets purchased by Study Day attendees, WEA Members
and current WEA students.
£13
Venue:
Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Altwood Road, Maidenhead, SL6 4PF.
N.B.
Study Day fee includes tea and coffee. Lunch can be pre-ordered from
the café-bar. Please note
that consumption of your own food and drink is not permitted on the
premises at Norden Farm.
vite your family and friends to join you
The highly acclaimed Stekpanna trio of Mads Kjølby (Guitar, Denmark), Steve Kershaw (Bass, England) and Petter Svärd (Drums, Sweden) met at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California in 1995, and since then have played hundreds of gigs and festivals across 26 different countries. They play a distinctive modern European style of “unclassifiable post-jazz” (The Guardian), and inhabit a spacious musical landscape characterized by deep grooves, driving swing, quirky melodies and a good deal of wit and humour. Stekpanna will perform alongside their two mighty Russian comrades Leonid and Nikolai Vintskevich (piano, saxes), drawing on music from their critically lauded CDs, Songs From the Black Earth, Starlight Barking and Notes From Underground.
“To
considerable effect the band’s priorities lie in sheer sonic
seductiveness”
(Chris Parker, The Vortex)
“The
sound throughout is gorgeous. This is music to make you smile”
(Jazz Journal)
“Contemporary jazz of the highest order”
(Jazz Views)
So expect beautiful musical fireworks.
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Day
and evening courses are also run by other WEA branches.
See http://southern.wea.org.uk
or use contact details below.
READING
WEA: Carole Kingston 01189 464 137 WEAreading@googlemail.com
WINDSOR
WEA: Tony Davenport 01753 866198
WOKINGHAM
WEA: Sheila Must 01189 781671
SLOUGH
WEA: Alan Madge 01753 534493
DAY
SCHOOLS AND EVENTS RUN BY OTHER WEA BRANCHES
WINDSOR WEA
THE
MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Saturday,
22 October 2011, 9.30 am to 4.30 pm.
Fee (includes lunch): £35
Venue:
Upton House School, 115 St. Leonard’s Road, Windsor, Berks SL4 3DF.
WOKINGHAM
WEA
LITERARY LONDON
Saturday, 24 September 2011, 10 am to 4 pm. Fee: £30
Venue:
The Cornerstone, Norreys Ave, Wokingham, RG40 1UE.
THE SURREALISTS
Saturday, 26 November 2011, 10 am to 4 pm. Fee: £30
Venue:
The Cornerstone, Norreys Ave, Wokingham, RG40 1UE.
HENRY MOORE AND BARBARA HEPWORTH
Saturday, 11 February 2012, 10 am to 4 pm. Fee: £30
Venue:
The Cornerstone, Norreys Ave, Wokingham, RG40 1UE.
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WEA Maidenhead Branch AGM Tuesday
15 November 2011, 2.30 to 4.30 pm. Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, Maidenhead SL6 5BQ. |
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