#    LITERATURE: LOVE AND LONELINESS

      John Still

We will discuss literary works that explore problems of loneliness and isolation and different kinds of love including the vanity of romantic attraction, love that involves power and self-delusion, and moving experiences of compassion and altruism.  The texts are: George Eliot’s Silas Marner, Stendhal’s The Charterhouse of Parma, Henry James’s Washington Square, Flaubert’s A Simple Heart, Elizabeth Taylor’s Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, the Sea, and Andrea Levy’s Small Island.

N.B. Students may pay in two instalments, both in the first term or enrol for one term only.  Fee: £68.

20 meetings on Mondays, starting 29 September and 19 January Fee: £136

Venue: Community Centre, 4 Marlow Road, SL6 7YR.  Time: 10 am to 12 noon.

#    LONDON: DOCKLANDS

      Val Pretlove     

In the nineteenth century the old fishing villages of Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse and the pasturelands on the Isle of Dogs changed and grew to meet the needs of the huge growth of river trading.  In the twentieth century these places changed again and from the 1980’s the whole area had another great regeneration.  During this course we will study these enormous changes and developments.

N.B. No meeting November 25 (Study Day London in Art - see page 5).

9 meetings plus 1 visit on Tuesdays, starting 23 September    Fee: £68

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10 am to 12 noon.

##  NORTH AMERICAN ART

      Peter Scott

The art of the United States and Canada is often startlingly powerful and original.  We shall start with the mid-eighteenth century, but focus particularly on how art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries reflects the enormous geographical expansion and social and cultural change.

N.B. No class on 4 November.

7 meetings on Tuesdays, starting 23 September    Fee: £53

Venue: St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Rd., SL6 7EG. Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm

*     LATIN: TERM 5

      Stephen Kershaw

This course is aimed at those who are starting to move beyond the beginner level.  It will concentrate on developing the fundamentals of the language, and explore aspects of the Romans themselves and some of their literature.  This will involve a light-hearted yet rigorous exploration of the Latin language, to include grammar, vocabulary, syntax and background material.

N.B. No classes 24 September to 29 October inclusive.

10 meetings on Wednesdays, starting 3 September   Fee: £105

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10.15 am to 12.15 pm.

##    SEASONAL GARDEN VISITS

      Carolyn Foster

A course for garden enthusiasts.  We will visit some local and some more distant gardens, one per month.  In addition to viewing a range of garden styles we shall be able to note the seasonal changes of the plants.  Some extra cost for entrance to gardens will be incurred but car sharing will be encouraged.  Garden visit dates: 17 September, 22 October, 11 February, 22 April, 3 June, 24 June, 15 July.

7 visits on Wednesdays, starting 17 September    Fee: £53

Venues: to be advised.  Time: 10.15 am to 12.15 pm (February 1.30 to 3.30 pm).

##  THE ENGLISH COUNTRY ESTATE: 1500-1950

      Adam Smith

Great estates have been a feature of England since the Middle Ages.  This course will examine how these estates operated and created today’s countryside.  Topics covered will include the estate owner as agricultural innovator, industrial magnate and creator of landscapes.

N.B. There will be a visit on 1 October.

8 meetings plus 1 visit on Wednesdays, starting 24 September    Fee: £67

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

**    MAKERS OF NINETEENTH CENTURY EUROPE

      Carl Wade

This course will introduce the development of Nineteenth Century Europe through the prism of eight leading personalities of the time: Napoleon Bonaparte, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Klemens von Metternich, Otto von Bismarck, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Emile Zola and Queen Victoria.  The study of their contribution to European society will illustrate the huge economic, social and political changes of that century and the legacy which it bequeathed to subsequent generations.

10 meetings on Thursdays, starting 27 September    Fee: £85

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road.  Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

*    BRITAIN’S SMALL WARS 1946 - 2006

      Mark Radford

Since the Second World War there has been just one year, 1968, when a British serviceman has not lost his life on operational service.  From 1946 until the present, British military personnel have been almost continuously engaged in a series of conflicts which merit the sobriquet ‘small wars’.  We will examine the reasons behind the hostilities, their successes or otherwise, and comparisons will be drawn, where appropriate, with the contemporary situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

10 meetings on Thursdays, starting 25 September   Fee: £105

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

#    FURTHER STUDIES IN ACRYLICS

      Lydia Dean

Gain inspiration and confidence in your artwork while discovering the versatility of acrylic paint.  We will develop ideas and experiment with acrylic techniques, working from direct observation and second-hand sources. 

10 meetings on Friday mornings, starting 26 September    Fee: £68

Venue: St Joseph’s Centre,Cookham Rd., SL6 7EG.  Time: 10 am to 12 noon.

#    LITERATURE: COMEDY

      John Still

We will look at how different comic conventions and various kinds of humour, irony and wit can be used in drama to illuminate the human condition.  We will discuss Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, Noel Coward’s sophisticated and inventive comedy Private Lives, and T S Eliot’s The Cocktail Party which uses the conventions of drawing-room comedy to explore problems of love, misunderstanding, and religion.

10 meetings on Fridays, starting 3 October Fee: £68

Venue: Community Centre, 4 Marlow Road, SL6 7YR.  Time: 10 am to 12 noon.

DAYTIME COURSES IN MAIDENHEAD 2009

#    TWENTIETH CENTURY ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE   

      Kaye McArthur

What does architecture tell us about life in twentieth century England?  This course will examine buildings designed by some of the leading architects of the century, from cathedrals to corporate headquarters, from public spaces to high-rise housing.   

10 meetings on Tuesdays, starting 13 January Fee: £68

Venue: St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Rd., SL6 7EG.  Time: 10.15 am to 12.15 pm.

##    DEVELOPMENTS IN BRITISH POETRY: MILTON TO BLAKE

      Stephen Andrews

A look at how British poetry developed after Shakespeare, concentrating on accessible works by major writers including Milton, Dryden, Pope and Blake.  To provide context we will also examine changes in society and other relevant literature.   

9 meetings on Tuesdays, starting 20 January Fee: £67

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

##    PROBLEMS IN PLANT IDENTIFICATION

      Michael Keith-Lucas

Plant identification used to, and still largely does, depend on recognition of diagnostic features such as leaf shape or numbers of floral parts. This is the basis of Linnaeus' classification of flowering plants.  However, one often only has small fragments of plants to identify, such as on archaeological sites, or in forensic science.  This course aims to introduce some of the techniques that have been developed to help in the identification of plants and plant fragments, and the far-reaching consequences these new techniques have had on the whole of plant classification.  There will be a visit on 15 April.

8 meetings plus 1 visit on Wednesdays, starting 14 January    Fee: £67

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

*    ANCIENT GREEK: TERM 3  

      Stephen Kershaw

This course is aimed at those who have had a little, or rather distant, exposure to 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.  Only very basic previous knowledge is necessary (or desirable): this course is designed for almost total beginners.

10 meetings on Wednesdays, starting 14 January   Fee: £105

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 1.45 to 3.45 pm.

#    TECHNIQUES IN WATERCOLOUR

      Lydia Dean

A course that is both practical and inspirational.  Building on weekly sessions you will learn some of the main watercolour techniques while working from observation and second-hand sources.

10 meetings on Fridays, starting 16 January Fee: £68

Venue: St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Rd., SL6 7EG.  Time: 10 am to 12 noon.

#    LITERATURE: TRAGEDY

      John Still

Is Shakespeare’s Hamlet a wonderfully subtle tragedy about how a complex character made up of many conflicting selves learns how to integrate them and affirm his being?  We will discuss different interpretations of this fascinating and moving play.  In the second half of the course we will study the themes, style and structure of one of the great modern tragedies, Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night.

10 meetings on Fridays, starting 16 January Fee: £68

Venue: Community Centre, 4 Marlow Road, SL6 7YR.  Time: 10 am to 12 noon.

##  ART OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

      Sandra Smith

This course will explore the major monuments produced in the ancient Near East, Egypt and Greece.  We will discover spectacular remains of buildings, beautiful objects and monuments to the power of early empires.  We will use this information to discover how people in the ancient world lived, worshipped and died.

7 meetings on Fridays, starting 30 January Fee: £53

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

DAYTIME COURSES IN MAIDENHEAD 2009

##    REGENT’S CANAL FROM PADDINGTON BASIN TO REGENT’S PARK

      Val Pretlove

The development of the canals and the impact of the coming of the railways created enormous changes in and around Paddington Basin.  During this course we will look at the work of Brunel, Telford and others who used their engineering skills to develop this part of London.  From Paddington Station and the Basin we will explore Little Venice and follow the course of the canal through Maida Vale and into Regent's Park where there are splendid examples of eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings.

4 meetings plus 3 visits on Tuesdays, starting 21 April    Fee: £53

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10 am to 12 noon.

##  AN INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY

      Philip Morris

This course defines Industrial Archaeology, examining artefacts and structures associated with eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century rural and market town manufacturing, transport and service industries in central Southern England.  There will be a field visit to the ‘Milestones’ History Centre in Basingstoke.

4 meetings plus 1 visit on Wednesdays, starting 22 April Fee: £38

Venue: Methodist Church, Allenby Road, SL6 5BQ.  Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm.

##             KEEPING A SKETCHBOOK - A CREATIVE PROCESS

      Lydia Dean

A course that helps students appreciate the use of a sketchbook for evolving ideas from start to finish.  Sketchbooks are an ideal way to assess your progress while building your confidence to experiment with other dry mediums.

5 meetings on Fridays, starting 24 April    Fee: £38

Venue: St Joseph’s Centre, Cookham Rd., SL6 7EG.  Time: 10 am to 12 noon.

EVENING COURSES IN MAIDENHEAD 2008/2009

#    PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

      John Goff

In the midst of life we are required to act, but what guides our actions?  Philosophers, from ancient to contemporary times, have proposed answers to the ethical and political dilemmas of living and acting.  What is the relevance of their answers today?

10 meetings on Mondays, starting 22 September    Fee: £68

Venue: United Reformed Church, West Street, SL6 1RL.  Time: 7.30 to 9.30 pm.

*     GREEK MYTH REVISITED

      Stephen Kershaw

What are Greek myths?  How did the Greeks tell and interpret them?  Why did they tell them?  In what context?  Did they believe in them?  How should we understand them?  By confronting mythical tales such as those of Oedipus and Perseus, as well as more modern interpretations of the stories, this course will attempt to make Greek myth more accessible and comprehensible.  It will concentrate on the presentation, development, function and subject matter of a number of Greek myths, along with the acquisition of an understanding, in its historical context, of the civilisation studied through its mythology.  Emphasis will also be placed on relevant social, artistic, philosophical, political and religious contexts.  The course will be illustrated with slides, video and handouts.  This could be the start of a lifelong interest in the culture of Antiquity.

10 meetings on Mondays, starting 12 January Fee: £105

Venue: United Reformed Church, West Street, SL6 1RL.  Time: 7.30 to 9.30 pm.