Events

3rd Feb Monthly meeting – Balancing Life and Legacy – Richard Brewer

An informative and light hearted view of all estate planning, including updates after the October 2024 Budget.

Monthly meetings  are held in the Richard Mayo Centre in Central Kingston.  There is a charge of £1.00 foe members and £1.50 for guests.

Doors oepn at 1.30 and the talks begin at 2.00 –  followed by tea/coffee and biscuits.

 

London Region – Feb 3rd Human Instinct for Language. Log on 5.30 Zoom Talk

Alan Freeland: Our human instinct for language Language is perhaps our most important invention. It gives us the best of times and the worst of times. In this talk we focus on verbal communication and look at how and why language arose, how languages are similar and different, and how and why they change. We will learn why we say mice infestation but not rats infestation, what the Intestines Affairs Ministry does, what children think our cutlery should be called, how we learnt to talk about time, and how ‘evidentials’ could improve our social media. Alan had a long career in IT and is now an active member of Farnham u3a, running the AI group and giving talks for the History and Art History groups. Previously he ran for three years a Silk Roads group and for a year a group called The Art and Science of Communication where this talk comes from.

https://lru3a.u3asite.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025.01-OnlineTalksJan-Mar.pdf

24th Feb 2025 – Spencer House – Away Day

Spencer House Spencer House, built 1756-1765 for John, later 1st Earl Spencer, and his wife, Georgiana, is a Grade I listed building.

It was not only a family home in the city but a venue for lavish entertaining and the display of their growing art collection. One of the architects, James ‘Athenian’ Stuart, pioneered the neoclassical style and Spencer House contains some of the earliest neoclassical interiors in England.

The Spencers’ social circle included many notable cultural figures like actor David Garrick and the playwright Sheridan. During the ‘season’ the Spencers hosted large assemblies for hundreds of guests, for which the grand reception rooms were designed. Owing to financial pressures, from 1883 onwards the family lived at Spencer House only intermittently.

The building was leased to a succession of wealthy tenants like the Duke of Marlborough and his American wife, Consuelo Vanderbilt. In 1986 the family company of Jacob, 4th Lord Rothschild secured a 96-year lease for Spencer House. He restored the building to a state worthy of its historical and architectural significance. The newly restored house was officially reopened in 1990 by Diana, Princess of Wales, a direct descendant of the 1st Earl and Lady Spencer.

Join us and prepare to be dazzled! Date: Monday, 24 February Meeting Time/Place: 10.30am at Waterloo Station, opposite platforms 1-4 Travel: Jubilee line to Green Park Station, Buckingham Palace exit.

There are two cafés opposite the station(or perhaps the Ritz!), where you can enjoy refreshments.

We’ll then make our way to Spencer House, a 10-minute walk, for our guided tour at 12pm.

The tour lasts 75 minutes. Afterwards we’ll retrace our steps to Waterloo Station. Cost: £15.40 (includes the guided tour) Accessibility: There are lifts in the house and seating in most of the rooms.

To join us, please fill in the form in the centre of this newsletter and send it with your cheque, made payable to Kingston u3a GAS, to Pamela Crisp. Email: pamelacrisp50@hotmail.com Mob: 07846 722278

Study days -Surrey Network Feb 2025 to June 2026

Friday February 21st 2025 – Pioneering the NewSpace Revolution
Presented by Professor Craig Underwood, Emeritus Professor of Spacecraft Engineering, University of Surrey

Friday March 21st 2025 – Exploring Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion
Presented by Sandy Burnett, Musical Director and Broadcaster

Friday April 11th 2025 – Vincent van Gogh & Painting in C19 France
Presented by Leslie Pitcher

Friday May 16th 2025 – The Asian Century?
Presented by Steve Bird

Friday June 20th 2025 – NHS: The Next 10 Years
Presented by Dr Catherine Heffernan, Director of Health Improvement at Southwest London Integrated Care Board

Friday September 19th 2025 – Study day on Vulcan & Concorde Aircraft
Presented by Guy Bartlett, Aviation Historian

Friday October 17th 2025 – Study day on Hampton Court planned

Friday November 21st 2025 – Study day UK Industry planned

Friday February 20th 2026 – Study day on National Gardens Scheme planned

Friday March 20th 2026 – Study day on Climate Change planned

Friday April 17th 2026 – Study day on Medieval History planned

Friday May 15th 2026 – Study day on Lies & Statistics planned

Friday June 19th 2026 – Study day on Theatre planned

London Region- March 3rd IQ2 Brave New World vs Nineteen Eighty Four -Zoom Talk

IQ² Cultural Debate: ‘Brave New World’ vs ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ This is a new venture for the London Region Events Team! Liz Day and Vivek Nanda will use a recorded debate staged in 2018 by Intelligence Squared, to consider the mood of our time as reflected in two great 20th century novels – ‘Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley and ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ by George Orwell. The books, written in 1931 and 1949 respectively, portray the troubles of their period, but which looks most relevant to our 21st century world? In the Chair is Jonathan Freedland, political columnist at ‘The Guardian’ and presenter of Radio 4’s contemporary history series ‘The Long View’.

The debate is presented very engagingly with cogent arguments from two eminent advocates and illustrated by excellent dramatised extracts from the novels. Advocating for ‘Brave New World’ is Will Self (novelist, critic, broadcaster, political commentator). Advocating for ‘1984’ is Adam Gopnik (author, writer for the New Yorker, lecturer, and broadcaster). The ‘expert witnesses’ are distinguished actors – Tuppence Middleton, George Blagdon, Orlando Seal, and Simon Callow. Both novels are described as ‘dystopian’ (opposite of utopian). 1984 issues a stark warning about the loss of freedom and democracy by claustrophobic state authoritarianism. Words from the novel such as Big Brother, Thought Police, Newspeak, Doublethink etc. have entered today’s vocabulary. In Brave New World the state uses science and technology (especially drugs) to control the population, and children are conditioned out of their emotions and individuality. The objective is to create a mindless sense of happiness and stability.

If you’ve not read these novels, or need a refresher, you may wish to prepare by reading a summary of each on the Internet or by reading the books themselves. At the end of the debate, you will be asked to vote in a simple online poll to indicate which novel you feel better captures our present world and offers the keener warning about where we may be heading. After hearing the poll results, you may wish to stay online (max 30 mins) for a discussion to hear the scores that were given by participants in the IQ² recording. The recording will also be uploaded to the Talks Archive of London Region website. To book for this talk please Register here

https://lru3a.u3asite.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025.01-OnlineTalksJan-Mar.pdf

2nd Dec Monthly Meeting – Great Ormond Street Hospital – Alan Doig

Alan Doig Alan is an ambassador for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital Charity. His talk describes the past and present role of the hospital, one of the top three children’s hospitals in the world.

Alongside our usual offering of tea and biscuits there will be mince pies as a Christmas Celebration!

Door open as usual at 1.30 for a 2.00 pm start charge £1.00 for members

3rd March Monthly Meeting -Where’s the make-up lady?

A talk by Rosemarie Swinfiield.

Monthly meetings  are held in the Richard Mayo Centre in Central Kingston.  There is a charge of £1.00 foe members and £1.50 for guests.

Doors oepn at 1.30 and the talks begin at 2.00 –  followed by tea/coffee and biscuits.

 

Surrey Network Study Days

Programme 2024

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