Weekly Online Timetable
As usual, we have sent you the timetable as a separate document so that you may access it more easily. You may also see it if you click here.
The Monday Talks
This week’s Monday Talk at 10.30 is ‘Tea shops and Corner House: The Story of Joe Lyons’. In his talk, Dr David Barnett discusses the man and his tea shops. After retiring from a career in coal mining and road transport,David wrote his PhD on the History of Business. He has taken a close interest in some of the personalities of 18th to 20th Century London and their businesses.
Next week: Jeremy Cameron talks about Probation in Walthamstow. This promises to be a pithy tour de force around crime and punishment in North London. Jeremy has written 5 crime novels set in Walthamstow – as he puts it – full of bad language, violence and sometimes sex. One of these was made into a film. Not only that – he has written several books about his other passion – walking! If we can persuade him, I am hoping to get him to come back at least twice more to tell us about his writing….
From Naomi
Emails and telephone calls are now our main ways of staying in touch with each other. This week I had a chat with Glenn, who is one of the directors of Wac Arts. We have been missed during all these months, but now the Town Hall is all but closed and there is almost no one to miss us. Most of the staff are on furlough, including Marian, with only a skeleton crew maintaining the building. There are a few children attending the College, those who are vulnerable or whose parents are key workers. They do have cooked lunches and Joanna is cooking them. She really misses us and can’t wait for us to be back in the Atrium Café. That’s a positive thought to hold on to during these dark days.
For the fans of Wally Howard
Links are below to Wally’s talks for this week: Part 24 of Reflections at 95 and Parts 3 and 4 of The Martinsville Seven in the Miscarriages of Justice series.
Watch “Reflections at 95 – Part 24” on Vimeo:
Watch “The Martinsville Seven – Part 3” on Vimeo:
Watch “The Martinsville Seven – Part 4/ conclusion” on Vimeo:
Aspects of Japan
We look forward to our first guest speaker on Wednesday at 15.30. William Lawrence will be talking this week on ‘Why I love Sumo wrestling’. William is a retired teacher who lived in Japan for several years and became an aficionado of Sumo.
And in two weeks’ time, a little known but very interesting story will be told about the British attempts in 1945 to take over from the Japanese in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Burma, and how they dealt with Ho Chi Minh and others.
From Pieta Ruck Keene
The Neurophysiology of Pain; Tuesdays at 11.00. We continue to explore pain science and doing exercises that are designed to reduce chronic pain.
We will also be doing our chair-based exercise circuit in the second half of class. See the timetable for the link.
For Chess Players (- and also would-be players)
David Castle’s class for learners and improvers has started and you may join on Friday at 10.30
From Stanley Volk
Following the last successful singing session, the Thursday class at 12.00 this week (and on alternate weeks) will include a “Singing Workshop for all levels”. It will include 10 minutes of fun warm-up exercises, singing in Harmony etc. followed by a good old sing-along of popular music (requests welcome). Come along to sing or just listen.
On the other alternating weeks there will be a Contemporary play reading session. Details are in the timetable
London Miscellany
The class this week will take place at the earlier time of 12.00 to avoid a clash with the monthly Tuesday History Walk ‘River of Palaces’. The first “walk” is about royal residences on the banks of the Thames. It starts as usual at 2.00 pm. To come on these tours you need do nothing except log in on the day.
From Maureen Betts’ Thursday Art Group
What a talented bunch they are! I wrote to Maureen to tell us a little about the background of these lovely pictures.
Maureen writes: Each week a subject is chosen for us all to paint the following week. We send our paintings to each other via email and I keep a copy of each painting done in name order on my computer. When meeting outside was allowed we would meet up every few weeks for coffee at the cafe in Golders Hill Park with some people staying on to paint in the gardens.
As some members are unable to meet and don’t have IT, it would be good to see the work they have been doing over the past nine months when we get “back to normal”. An exhibition of the class’s work is, I am sure, a possibility in the future……
Congratulations, Amalia and your team, for all the good work you are doing for U3A – I do quite a few of the things offered on line.
From Sheila 
From Maureen 
From June 
From Jean 
From Thea
To Make you smile
An atheist was walking through the woods. “’What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!”, he said to himself. Suddenly, he heard a rustling in the bushes and behind him he saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could along the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing on him! And then he tripped and fell.
Rolling over, he found the bear was right on top of him and in an instant the atheist cried out, “Oh my God!” Time stopped …The bear froze ….The forest was silent …A bright light shone upon the man and a voice came out of the sky, “Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? You have denied my existence for all these years. You teach others that I don’t exist and even credit Creation to a cosmic accident!”
The atheist looked directly into the light and said, “It would be hypocritical of me to ask you to treat me as a believer now but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?” A pause … “Very well,” said the voice and the light went dark.
The sounds of the forest returned, and the bear dropped his raised arms, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke.”Lord, bless this food, which I am about to receive. Amen.”
Dates for your Diary
The British Museum is offering a series of free, online presentations (with an opportunity to ask questions) hosted by Camden Council Adult Community Learning. All presentations are run as webinars which means only the British Museum and Camden presenters appear on screen with a friendly chat box available throughout the session if people want to ask questions. Sessions include a 10 minute comfort break. Full details of the spring term presentations are listed below.
People can book any of the presentations online by going to www.camden.gov.uk/adultlearning or www.webenrol.com/camdenor by phoning Malcolm Hay (Adult Community Learning) on 020 7974 2993.
Monday 25 January 2021 11.00-12.30 Famous Black Britons: life stories from the Museum collection
Objects at the British Museum tells us about Black Britons from Roman times to the present day. Find out about the life of Black Britons, such as the Tudor musician John Blanke, Georgian abolitionist OttobahCugoano and 1970s activist Olive Morris, and discover the visitors to these shores who help us to understand the Black presence across Europe. The workshop will include images of objects, spoken information and an opportunity to ask any questions you have about Black British history.
Monday 1 February 2021 11.00-12.30 Roman Britain: life in an imperial Roman province
In AD 43 Britain became part of the Roman empire. Find out about the impact of Roman rule on life in Britain and the development of this Roman province over the following 400 years before the final departure of the Roman army in 411. How did the food that people ate, the buildings they lived in and the gods they worshipped change? The workshop will include images of objects, spoken information on the period and an opportunity to ask any questions you have about Roman Britain.
Monday 8 February 2021 11.00-12.30 Museum Superstars: 10 famous objects and their story
The British Museum displays objects across 3 floors and over 50 galleries but which are the most popular, which are the museum superstars? An opportunity to find out about the Rosetta Stone, a set of Roman military letters, the Sutton Hoo ship burial and 7 other fabulous objects! The workshop will include images of objects, spoken information on the museum displays and an opportunity to ask any questions you have about the museum objects.
Monday 1 March 2021 11.00-12.30 Archaeology: how we discover and understand objects from the past
Objects made, used and lost in the past by humans are a rich source of information about history. How are objects discovered, how are they dug out of the ground and what happens to them once they arrive at the Museum? Just how to you look about something that is 4,000 years old? The workshop will include images of objects, spoken information on the process of excavation and an opportunity to ask any questions you have about archaeology.
Monday 8 March 2021 11.00-12.30 Meets the Stuarts: find out about the Stuart dynasty from James I to Queen Anne (plus the English Civil war)
The Stuart kings and queens sat on the British throne for just over 100 years. Originally rulers of Scotland, the Stuart dynasty reigned during a time of great change which saw a civil war, plans to invade the British Isles and a devastating fire in London. Find out about their lives, their times and the impact their rule had on Britain. The workshop will include images of objects, spoken information on the period and an opportunity to ask any questions you have about the Stuarts.
Monday 15 March 202111.00-12.30 The Mold Gold Cape: one extraordinary prehistoric object and its journey to the Museum
The Mold Gold Cape was discovered in North Wales in Victorian times. Today it takes pride of place in its own case in the British Museum galleries. Find out how this Bronze Age object from prehistoric Britain and its journey from being buried in the ground to public display in a national museum. How was the cape made, who wore it and how did it end up arriving at the Museum as a set of small pieces which needed to be carefully put back together like an ancient gold jig-saw. The workshop will include images of objects, spoken information on the Mold Gold Cape and an opportunity to ask any questions you have about prehistoric Britain.