Ealing

2020 talks (on Zoom)

Details are shown below of the Talks we had during 2020 over Zoom. We are extremely grateful to all the Speakers who gave one of these talks for their co-operation on this and also to all the people who helped to put these talks on.

Many of these Talks were recorded and copies of these recordings are now becoming available on the Ealing U3A YouTube channel. In the list of past Zoom talks below, we indicate which ones are available. Members will be notified by email or in Ealing U3A News as any new recordings are posted.

  • Thur 17 December - Frost, Freezes and Fairs (this talk took us through Britain’s severest winters over the last 1,000 years, covering how we coped and even benefited from them. How did 17th century watermen make a living when the rivers froze over? What activities took place on the ice-covered rivers at Frost Fairs? Why has the river Thames in the heart of London not frozen as it last did over 200 years ago in the famous 1814 Frost Fair and will it freeze again?) with Ian Currie, weatherman, broadcaster, editor of Weather Eye magazine and a Fellow of the Royal Meterological Society.
  • Thur 3 December - The Secret Life of the English Language – Part 2 (this talk built on ideas from Jean's first talk in November 2019 to explain how English words have originated from societal factors such as social practices, new professions, progress in science and technology and new attitudes and mindsets. It examined the use of word play such as riddles, including a range of Anglo-Saxon examples. This is followed by looking at social practices, linguistic class war and modern lexical controversies regarding dictionaries for children. Moving on to examining scientific words and consideration of words of the year, decade and century, Jean finished with words emerging from new mindsets, including the new ‘corona lexicon’) with Jean Brewster, a Linguistic Scientist and a member of Ealing U3A.
  • Thur 26 November - The Holocaust and the work of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (This talk covered the work of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust which believes that we can all learn from genocide – for a better future. The HMDT says we must continue to learn from the past in order to create a safer present and a better future. That includes keeping the truth alive and challenging the kind of racism, hatred, and intolerance that energised Nazis to commit mass murder. When racism, discrimination, hatred and intolerance remain unchallenged, they become normalised, and can generate an environment in which genocide can take place) with Olivia Marks-Woldman MBE, Chief Executive of the HMDT.

A recording of this talk is now available on the Ealing U3A YouTube channel - for information on accessing this please contact the Webmaster

  • Thur 12 November - Popular forms of entertainment in Victorian times (This talk explored the ethnic diversity of those who performed in popular entertainment troupes including theatres, and one of the most romanticised parts of Victorian popular culture, the circus. The talk revealed stories of both male and female performers, from the drama of backstage life, to high wire walkers who enthralled audiences in little more than their underwear, and the dangerous life of animal tamers) with Caroline Bressey, Reader in Historical and Cultural Geography and lecturer at University College London.

A recording of this talk is now available on the Ealing U3A YouTube channel - for information on accessing this please contact the Webmaster

  • Thur 29 October - London: birthplace of many of biology’s greatest discoveries (this talk covered the five central themes of biology and how the foundations of some of these were laid down by scholars in or associated with London) with Mike Black, former Ealing U3A Chairman and Convenor of our Science group with over 40 years teaching and research in biology, mostly in London.
  • Thur 15 October - Photographic Competition results + a talk on 'What it takes to get that shot' (A talk on various photographic techniques to help you to take better pictures, followed by the results of this years Ealing U3A Photographic Competition) with Michael Lurie, a photographer for the past 50 years and past Chairman of Pinner Camera Club. All the photos entered for the competition along with details of the winners, can be viewed from the EVENTS page.
  • Thur 8 October - Shakespeare on Stage and Page (Shakespeare wrote for the theatre and took little apparent interest in getting his work printed. This talk discusses differences between stage and page, and illustrates these with examples from Shakespeare’s own theatre and more recent performances) with Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Oxford.
  • Thur 24 September - Universal Basic Income and the Corona crisis (A universal [or unconditional] basic income is a regular cash income paid to all members of a society on an individual basis, without means test or work test. This proposal has become popular worldwide in the last four years and the corona crisis triggered yet another upsurge of interest in it) with Prof Philippe Van Parijs.

A recording of this talk is now available on the Ealing U3A YouTube channel - for information on accessing this please contact the Webmaster. In addition, for a document with some background info on Universal Basic Income and Philippe Van Parijs, click on the highlighted link.

  • Thur 10 September - Talismans and Taboos at Sea (An exploration of the folklore of the sea and the many ways that mariners past and present have pitted themselves against the merciless elements, and coped with the terrors and uncertainties of being at sea)with Mark Lewis, freelance artist, designer-silversmith, semi-retired university lecturer.

The SUMMER ANNIVERSARY TALKS 2020 be found in the Summer Programs page.

  • Thur 16 July - Women in Prison (focussing on the work of the Independent Monitoring Board of Bronzefield Women's Prison, the largest women's prison in Europe) with Dr Sandra Mooney.

A recording of this talk is now available on the Ealing U3A YouTube channel - for information on accessing this please contact the Webmaster

  • Thur 2 July - John Singer Sargent (an American virtuoso portrait painter who settled in London and painted high society in the late 19th and early 20th century) with Colin Lomas, Ealing U3A member

[Click on the link above to see the handout which accompanied this talk - NB. these notes are for Ealing U3A members personal use only, and should not be circulated further or re-used in any way]

  • Thur 18 June - Why do we Punish? Young People, Crime and the Media (a brief history of punishment in Britain and on the way young people are treated within the Criminal Justice System) with Prof Lez Henry, School of Human and Social Sciences, University of West London

[Click on the link above to see a copy of the presentation for this talk - NB. this presentation is for Ealing U3A members personal use only, and should not be circulated further or re-used in any way]

  • Thur 4 June - My time in Uganda (describing a 2 year posting with VSO working with the local Red Cross) with Yvonne Hughes, Ealing U3A Member
  • Thur 21 May - The Million Women Study (a health research study of over a million UK women which has been following women’s health since 1996) with Jane Green, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Oxford.

[Click on the link to see a copy of the presentation which accompanied this talk - NB. this presentation is for Ealing U3A members personal use only, and should not be circulated further or re-used in any way]

  • Thur 7 May - A Fresh look at the Glasgow Boys (a group of artists from the 1880’s and 1890’s who were interpreting and expanding Impressionist and post-impressionist painting)_ with Colin Lomas

[Click on the link to see the handout which accompanied this talk - NB. these notes are for Ealing U3A members personal use only, and should not be circulated further or re-used in any way]