Study Group Noticeboard
This page is for news and notices about U3A Wellington City Study Groups. It is intended to assist communication between members of the Groups and to provide information about current Group activities.
FRENCH LITERATURE GROUP
This group is to remain in recess for 2010. Convenor, Christiane Mortelier, advises that owing to her own family commitments and after being in touch with several regular members who are unable to attend, she has decided not to reactivate the group this year.
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Our 13 Study Groups have completed another interesting and successful year and reports from the convenors are given below. A Study Group Noticeboard has been included on our webpage this year and it is hoped that convenors will take advantage of this to give information of activities in 2010. A brief introduction to a number of the groups was also given prior to lectures by our President, Karen Palmer, during 2009.
Topics for new groups for 2010 would be welcome. If you have any suggestions or are interested in joining existing groups, please contact the convenor, or committee member, Gaynor Stewart, phone 04 494 0102 or gaynorstewart@hotmail.com
A recent survey of U3As in Australia and New Zealand has shown that the three most sought after course topics in Australian U3As are computing, history and languages. In New Zealand U3As it is history, music and art appreciation. Here in our Wellington U3A we have music and art appreciation groups, but not history. A possibility for next year? Or perhaps a Film Archives Group?
CONVENORS REPORTS
Art History: To everyone's regret June Basting was unable to continue running this group in 2009, due to health reasons. The group has been tremendously grateful to her for her fantastic effort over the years. Elizabeth King, Maxine Francis and Janice Huddleston took over running the group and we have had a very good year, watching some extremely good art DVDs and
having high attendance for the year. We started off with Simon Shama's superb series on the power of art. Most people will have seen this on television but really good stuff always bears more than one viewing. We then looked at some films on the Impressionists, followed by Picasso.
Elizabeth then returned from travelling in Europe with films on the museums she had visited in St Petersburg (the Hermitage) and Berlin (the Egyptian Museum), which reminded us of the treasure stores major European countries have amassed over the centuries. We have finished the year on a high note with Michael Palin on some artists he thinks should be better known than they are
Contact, Janice Huddleston, phone 972 0404
Book Group 1:The Sharella Book Group has remained strong for 2009: having taken on two new members this year we now stand at twelve so we are definitely full.
We have covered an eclectic group of books, from the gentle, whimsical A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (Nicholas Drayson), to the more topical Reluctant Fundamentalist (Moshin Hamid), Homecoming, (Bernard Schlink) and Emily Perkins Novel About My Wife. Views and opinions differ, offering different ways of thinking about what we have read and expanding our views. We are currently in the process of finalising our list of books for 2010.
Convenor, Jan Watchman, phone 479 3619
Book Group 2: China has been the main focus of the books read this year, beginning with the re-reading of Wild Swans by Jung Chang over the summer break. This provided the political and historical background for many of the titles which followed, including Mao s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin, Red China Blues by Jan Wong and Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler. An insight into the prejudice against Chinese migrants in early 20th century Wellington was portrayed in the novel of Wellington poet, Alison Wong, As the Earth Turns Silver. Members are currently compiling a list of books by Canadian authors to be read in 2010.
Convenor Diane Hill, phone 473 5560
Current Issues: The Current Issues Group meets at the home of convenor, Vincent Grey, 75 Silverstream Road, Crofton Downs every second Thursday from 10.30 am to 12 noon.
There have been ten meetings this year with the following topics: December 2008. Rutherford; February 2009 The World Economy: What a Mess!; March The Large Hadron Collider; April The Decline and Fall of the American Empire; May The Pacific Islands Part 1; July The Pacific Islands: Our Cruise; August The Pacific Islands :The Future; September Galileo's Daughter; October The Assassination of President Kennedy; November Decolonize the Pacific?, Reform MMP?, Abolish the ACC?
Numbers attending have been variable. The group exists to discuss current issues that are not treated in formal lectures. We welcome new members and suggestions for topics to discuss.
Convenor, Vincent Grey, phone 973 5939
German Conversation:This friendly and enthusiastic group meets on alternate Monday mornings at each other's houses. Members consist of native and non-native German speakers. We usually decide on a topic in advance so that the less fluent among us can prepare what we are going to say. We would welcome new members.
Convenor, Diana Barnes, phone 479 2947
Music Group: The fortnightly meetings of this group continues to draw a large number of music lovers to share with each other their favourite works and composers. Presentations have been extensive and varied and greatly enjoyed by those present.
Planning is underway for the programme for the first six months of next year and an Open Day will be held in March. New members welcome.
Convenor, Bruce Garton, 476 9612
French Literature: This group has been in recess for the latter part of this year due to the commitments of the convenor.
Film Group 1: This group continues to meet on the second Saturday of each month at the Penthouse Cinema to view together a variety of interesting films and to discuss them afterward over a cup of tea in the caf there. There is space for two or three new members.
Convenor, Jill Waddington, phone 476 0620
Film Group 2: The Penthouse Cinema in Brooklyn has been the most frequent venue for this group which has enjoyed a variety of films this year, followed by discussions over afternoon tea in the adjoining caf. New members would be welcome in 2010.
Convenor, Christabel Gibson, phone 472 7569
Play Reading Group: A variety of plays has been read by the group this year, including The Glass Menagerie, The Lion in Love, Mother Courage, Roots and the perennial favourite, The Importance of Being Earnest. Members enjoyed taking parts and entered into the spirit of the performances. Accessing suitable plays with the necessary number of copies continues to be a challenge but with the closing of Drama Christi it will be more difficult to obtain enough copies. New members would be welcome in 2010.
Convenor, Margaret Bowater, phone 938 9149
Shakespeare Group: Led by Pat Cooke's enthusiasm, knowledge and love of Shakespeare, the nine strong group has now, after six years, read, studied, discussed, argued over, and thoroughly enjoyed the Complete Works including the major poems and sonnets. Maybe next year we ll look at the Shakespearean Apocrypha (Edward III/The Two Noble Kinsmen) if we can get hold of the scripts, as well as plays and works inspired by Shakespeare such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead . Plans for next year are under discussion.
Laurie Atkinson, phone 5685883
