Six Spanish Cities: their history, art & architecture
The six cities covered in this course are: Córdoba, Santiago de Compostela, Granada, Seville, Madrid and Barcelona. Using a variety of images, we will begin with a potted history of Spain. This will be followed by a survey of the … More details …
Naivety in the novel: discussing The Go-Between & Atonement
Starting with Hartley’s 1953 novel, then moving on to McEwan’s 2001 novel we’ll be thinking about the way society is presented and the way the story is told. In each session we will discuss our reactions to a section from … More details …
The Mature Larkin: The Whitsun Weddings (1964) and High Windows (1974)
This dayschool will focus on the two volumes that cemented Philip Larkin’s reputation as a poet whose work would continue to be read for years to come. Starting with the title poem from The Whitsun Weddings, we shall discuss how … More details …
Eric Ravilious: His Life and Art
The art of Eric Ravilious is increasingly popular. Subject of a new film “Drawn to War”, he produced beautiful and evocative landscapes of the England of the 1930s. His disappearance in 1942 adds to the legend. This course is fully … More details …
Fabric stained glass
Use fabric and a pre-fused bias binding to make a wall-hanging that gives the effect of a Christmas stained glass window. The picture will be finished by hand or machine at home. Choose from these four designs and let us … More details …
Money: A Global History
We all use money, many of us struggle to find enough of it, whereas a few seem to have more than they will ever be able to spend. But do we really understand what it is? This day school sets … More details …
Edith Wharton – selected novels
This six week course will look at two novels by the American novelist Edith Wharton. We will start with her 1913 novel The Custom of the Country (1913) with its depiction of the social climbing Undine Spragg (weeks 1 – … More details …
Christmas Card Workshop
Prepare for Christmas by designing and making your own unique cards. There will be ribbons, textured papers, fabric, sequins etc for you to choose from. Envelopes will be provided for your finished pieces. No stitching required, just scissors, glue and … More details …
1922 – a year of challenge and change
A hundred years ago saw the publication of Ulysses by James Joyce, and T S Eliot’s The Waste Land. It was also a year when modernist poets such as Rilke, Paul Valery and Wallace Stevens produced important works. Both among … More details …
History of Architecture in Britain – Medieval to Neoclassical
This Study Day will examine the development of architecture in England during a period of great change. The gothic style of the medieval period was beginning to be superseded by Renaissance ideas, which although not fully understood at the time … More details …
The Creation: JF Haydn
Spend a day with some of the most joyous and delightful music in the classical repertoire – Haydn’s beautiful Creation. Composed as a response to Handel’s Messiah, this great work is rightly considered an essential piece for all lovers of … More details …
Philip Larkin, The Early Years (A Centenary Celebration)
2022 marks the centenary of Philip Larkin’s birth. This dayschool offers a chance to explore and possibly reassess some of his earlier poetry, most notably in the volume that brought him to the attention of a wider audience, The Less … More details …
Liberalism to Fascism: Mussolini’s Italy 1922-43
This course is fully booked. Please contact us if you would like to be placed on the waiting list for any cancellations. In this course we will be looking at the history and politics surrounding Mussolini’s fascist regime from 1922 to … More details …
Reading 1960: Barstow, Reid-Banks & Amis
Join us in discussing three short novels published in 1960. We’ll begin with The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid-Banks, a novel that looks back to the 1950s. For the second session we’ll consider Take a Girl Like You, by Kingsley Amis. For the … More details …
Reading 1936 part 1: Discussing Greengates, by RC Sherriff
Has this novel been undervalued in the past? RC Sherriff’s name is more commonly linked to his 1928 play, Journey’s End, a WWI drama, or with some of the Hollywood film scripts he wrote. He opens this novel on the … More details …