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COURSES IN 2011
HIGHAM HALL
Friday, July 29th - Sunday, July 31st 2011 THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
This course ties in with an outdoor production of the play in the Hall grounds by the Festival Players. This has become an annual event with the Players, always very generous with their time, coming to talk to us on the Saturday evening.
I shall talk on:
1 - The Staging Practicalities
2 - A Play of 'Supposes'
3 - The Petruchio Problem
4 - The Language of the Play.
HIGHAM HALL is a comfortable house set in spectacular Lake District scenery. It runs a wide variety of residential courses. For further details and to make a booking, contact:
Higham Hall College,
Bassenthwaite Lake,
Cockermouth,
Cumbria CA13 9SH
Tel: 017687 76276
Or visit their website: www.highamhall.com
PARCEVALL HALL
Monday, March 14th to Wed, March 16th 2011 IN THE SHADOW OF TENNYSON AND BROWNING
A selection of poets from the Victorian period - obscure and unfashionable, but that isn't always their fault! You will certainly meet the light-heavyweights: Swinburne, Arnold and Clough. You can also wallow tih the Pre-Raphaelites, gather a bouquet from what I'm afraid the Victorians might well have called 'the distaff side', and meet various odd bods such as Patmore, Calverley, Thompson, Henley etc.
**THIS COURSE IS NOW FULLY BOOKED **
Monday, September 12th to Wed, September 14th 2011 GEORGE CRABBE
In previous courses I have fobbed Crabbe off with a single session; he deserves much more.
The full programme for this course will be posted here shortly.
Wed, September 14th to Friday, September 16th 2011 WAXING LYRICAL '2'
It is 50 years since the 78 rpm record became obsolete. Now, a teenager can hold a thousand songs in an oblong piece of plastic that nestles in the fist. Why would anyone want to crank a handle for half a minute to get a two-minute song overlaid with crackle?
Strangely enough, a few people still do. I invite you to come back with me to a world you might or might not remember – either way, the trip will be poignant, amusing and surprising. But you need to keep an open mind and ear: you will hear everything from chamber music to rock ’n’roll; there will be jazz bands, brass bands, traditional songs, blues, opera, skiffle, recitation, dance bands ... You couldn’t like everything equally, but age applies a kindly patina to these nuggets from the past.
On a variety of machines, dating from the turn of the 20th century onwards, you will hear the music of your youth, your parents’ youth, and your grandparents’ youth. Dare I suggest that these discs and cylinders, and the elegant appliances which played them, had more soul than the gadgetry of 2011? Switch off the CD player, take a break from downloading, and see if these proud old-time survivors can still entertain you.
This is a follow-up to last year's 'Waxing Lyrical', and all the material will be new - well, it will be 50-100 years old, actually, but the programme itself is quite different from the 2010 course.
The programme will include the following sessions:
Introduction: Over 50 years of the recorded music industry. Meet the Machines.
A Musical Tour Round Britain - perhaps including a stick of Blackpool rock
Virtuoso Showcase: from vivacious violins to hot harmonicas
Male Heart-Throbs: from Caruso to Elvis
Theme Tunes: Birds and Butterflies
'The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth'
A Musical A-Z: take a lucy dip - every one a winner
PARCEVALL HALL is a delightful and comfortable retreat house set amidst beautiful countryside. If you've never been there, consider giving yourself a treat - and discover why the experience is addictive for so many people. For further details about the Hall or the courses, or to make a booking, contact:
The Warden
Parcevall Hall,
Appletreewick,
Skipton,
North Yorkshire BD23 6DG
Tel: 01756 720213
SHIPLEY LIBRARY
This is still to be confirmed, but it's likely that I will be offering a follow-up to last year's extremely well-attended day course on SHAKESPEARE'S FOOLS at Shipley Library, run by the WEA. It will take place in October, it will once again have a Shakesperian theme, and the topic this time will be Madness. Full details will be posted here in due course and will also be published in the WEA brochure; in the meantime you are welcome to contact me for an update.
Once confirmed, enquiries and bookings should be made to
the WEA Bradford Branch Secretary, Christine Tidswell, on 01274 416891.
(This page was updated on 20.03.2011. Additional dates and course details for 2011 will be added once they have been finalised, but you can also be kept in touch by subscribing to my mail-outs, which will include newsletters about all forthcoming courses. View the homepage for more information.)
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COURSES 2011
