Upcoming Lectures
The Guildhall Bury St Edmunds
Sandra Nicotera
Show moreThe stories of 800 years of Bury St Edmunds heritage are woven into the very fabric of the Guildhall, one of the oldest continuously used civic buildings in Britain. Monks, monarchs, merchants and miscrteants have all played their part in this facinating tapestry of time.
The Burston School Strike
Ann May
Show moreOn April 1st 1914 teachers Tom and Annie Higdon were dismissed from their posts in the rural village of Burston, Norfolk and with it began the ‘longest strike in history’. On that day the children marched around the village with cards hanging from their necks demanding that “We Want Our Teachers Back”.
The banner at the head of the march was inscribed with just one word “Justice”. Sixty-six of the local children had gone out on strike in support of their teachers, and the boycott of the local authority school lasted for the next twenty five years.
The Rougham Estate
George Agnew
Show moreThe Rougham Estate consists of over 3,000 acres of Suffolk countryside with ancient meadows, green lanes, oak-lined hedgerows, bluebells and orchids, parklands and arable fields. It traces its history back to Roman times and has seen both Saxons and Vikings. It was owned by the local abbey in Bury St Edmunds for six hundred years. The Estate has been owned by the Agnew family since 1904 and now part of it is in the process of becoming a charitable trust to preserve its legacy for the future.
A Dairy Farmers Wife
Jane Barnes
Show moreOur farm is in Somerby, Leicestershire, and I do like to walk the fields, see the views across to Owston Wood and the spire of Tilton Church as the cows graze on the ancient grassland. Our farm is in the Countryside Stewardship and Entry Level Stewardship schemes, which means we work to encourage the wildlife, habitat and ecology on our farm. Alama Bank is a famous hillside on our farm, home to rabbits, fox and moles!
My husband Mark and I have 120 Ayrshire cows and their milk is used to produce (the world-famous) Stilton cheese. There are also two bulls – the proud fathers of some of our calves, which we either rear to enter the milking herd or sell at the local cattle market.
I'm passionate about the work we do and try to tell that story to as many people as I can.
On illusions and delusions
Dr Alex Carter
Show moreAlex was awarded his PhD in Philosophy by the University of Essex in 2015. Before this, Alex studied Philosophy & Ancient History at the University of Wales, Swansea and Philosophy at the University of Bristol. Alex has over five years of teaching experience in Ethics, History of Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion. He has worked at the Institute of Continuing Education since 2015 as Academic Director for Philosophy and as a Panel Tutor.
Alex's teaching method was developed at the University of Essex where the principle aim is to get students to feel the "pain of the problem", i.e. to make plain the very real ways in which philosophical problems affect our lives.
My Life as a Blue Bell Girl
Jane Hoggar
Show moreTea with Miss Bluebell:
by
Jane Hoggar
When Jane realised that she had grown too tall to become a ballerina, her teacher assured her that Miss Bluebell’s spectacular show would welcome her at the world-famous Lido de Paris, where the minimum height requirement for dancers was five feet nine and a half inches tall. On completing her ballet training during the eighties, Jane set off on a mission to create a career by taking to the stage as a cabaret artiste. This exciting profession took Jane around the world before she finally landed her dream job.
Join Jane to hear about some of her riotous adventures and misadventures along the journey to meeting Miss Bluebell in person, before stepping out onto the big stage in Paris as a Bluebell Girl. The talk will include some fascinating history of the courageous life of Margaret Kelly, known as Miss Bluebell, a song and - who knows – a bit of dance, but not a Can-Can.
Jane Hoggar
Paris 1989
For Better or Far Worse
Toni Broad
Show more
Synopsis: "It is a light-hearted and quirky look at marriage and relationships through the eyes of the Victorians. It includes what happened if you didn’t marry, and what your options were if you did but you were not happy with your choice. It also takes a glimpse at some of the more bizarre goings-on showing that wedded bliss wasn’t all it was cracked up to be."
Biography: Toni Neobard & Kate Broad are active members of Hawkwell Village U3A in Essex. Toni is Chairman, whilst Kate is the Groups Co-ordinator, Website Manager and Newseltter Editor. They are both experienced family historians and until recently were partners in a family history research business. They are authors of a couple of family history books, as well as writing pantomimes and comedy murder mystery plays which are performed for various charitable organisations.
Political Correctness - The New Insanity?
Andrew Baker
Show moreAndrew taught in Grammar Schools for over 40 years and is the author of a best-selling book on Contemporary British Politics. Drawing on his experience of over 22 years as Headmaster of Westcliff High School for Boys, he recently published a further volume on Education and the Pursuit of Values: A Headmaster’s Reflections. He now works as a freelance lecturer and also as an education consultant.
The Talk : George Orwell argued that freedom is the right to say that 2+2 = 4. Are we free today, or are we constrained in what we write, say and think and in how many issues are discussed?
History of English Surnames
Charlie Haylock
Show moreHistory of English Surnames
Charlie will talk about the Anglo-Saxon and Viking by-names and nicknames we had prior to the Norman Conquest.
He will explain how and why surnames were introduced by the Normans . . . how they evolved after the Domesday Book in 1086AD . . . and the disruption it caused the English.
Charlie will then enlighten us on the different types of various surnames, and give us their origins, their meanings and their derivation.
Please note :- this is not a talk on the history of family backgrounds . . . it is a talk on the “History of Surnames” . . . . including their very interesting and original meanings.
This will be followed by Q&A
Very informative and highly entertaining.