Glossop Guild for enquiring minds
Spring Term Courses
January 2019 ~ March 2019
New Research into Climate Change ~ Evening Course
Tutor: Richard Langthorp
Thursday 14th March 2019
Bradbury Community Centre, Market Street, Glossop, SK13 8AR
7:30 p.m. ~ 9:30 p.m. Fee £7 (or £9 on the door)
​
According to global temperature records the hottest years have all occurred in the last four years. After recent floods and wildfires, the majority of Americans now believe the effects of climate change are happening in their lifetimes.
Yet, we have Donald Trump saying climate change is a hoax created by and for the Chinese, and Scott Pruitt stating that warmer temperatures may help humans flourish.
This course first of all describes the latest science on climate change. It then shows how ideological agendas and vested interests can skew the political landscape, and how psychological factors drive our decision-making when faced with climate change.
This course has been completed
The Internet of Things and 5G~ Evening Course
Tutor: Nigel Linge
Thursday 24th January 2019
Bradbury Community Centre, Market Street, Glossop, SK13 8AR
7:30 p.m. ~ 9:30 p.m. Fee £7 (or £9 on the door)
The Internet began life in 1969 as a means of connecting together large, expensive, mainframe computers. However, the creation of the World Wide Web changed that and through the later developments in social media, turned the Internet into a means of connecting people. Now in the 21st century the Internet is going through another transformation with a focus this time on connecting more and more physical objects or things. People can already connect and remotely control their central heating, our cars are increasingly filled with technology that communicates via the Internet, companies are testing the use of drones for delivering goods, factories are adopting more and more automation and our cities are now becoming intelligent.
In December 2017, the world took an important step forward in the development of the next generation of mobile phones when the first standard for 5G was published. We will examine the latest moves towards 5G, what that entails and what its impact might be. The talk will explore why 5G is needed, how it differs from 4G, what technical challenges need to be overcome and which new applications and services will become available.
This course has been completed
The Lewis and Clark Expedition ~ 10 Evenings Course
Tutor: Bob Callow
Wednesday 16th, 23rd, 30th January, 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th February 6th, 13th & 20th March 2019
Bradbury Community Centre, Market Street, Glossop, SK13 8AR
7:30 p.m. ~ 9:30 p.m. Fee £65 (Members £55)
Under the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Napoleon ceded the vast French territory in North America to the United States. The land ranged from Montana through to Louisiana. President Thomas Jefferson was anxious to have the new territory explored and mapped, not only to the western limits of the Louisiana Purchase but beyond to the Pacific Ocean. He and his supporters persuaded Congress to fund an expedition in 1804. Jefferson appointed his aide and fellow Virginian Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition. Lewis chose his former commanding officer William Clark as co-leader.
The expedition lasted from May 1804 until September 1806 and was very successful. Lewis and Clark gathered a great detail of information on the natural history, resources and geography of the region, amassing data and mapping as they went along. They also gained the trust of the Indian tribes and recorded useful information on their customs and territories.
​
In this ten-week course, we shall follow in their footsteps. Presentations will be supported with visual images. Detailed notes will be provided and discussion encouraged
This course has been completed
The White Cloud, Head Chief of the Iowas, by George Carlin
Earthquakes ~ 2 Evenings Course
Tutor: Pete Webb
Thursday 21st & 28th February 2019
Bradbury Community Centre, Market Street, Glossop,
SK13 8AR
7:30 p.m. ~ 9:30 p.m. Fee £16 (Members £14)
The first of these two lectures will tell us how earthquakes are generated, relating them to plate tectonic activity, and demonstrating that in many parts of the world, terra is anything but firma. It might even help you choose your next holiday spot. In the second lecture we will focus on how earthquakes are recorded and measured.
This course has been completed
More Master Songwriters of the American Songbook ~ Day School, with Live Music
Presented by: Les Berry Accompanied by Dave Turner & Jeff Kemp
Saturday Day School February 2nd 2019
The Masonic Hall, 14 Henry Street, Glossop. SK13 8BW
10 a.m. ~ 3 p.m. Fee £32.50 (Members £25)
​
​
Enjoy an entertaining day featuring live performances of works from the Great American Song Book. This time the trio will be celebrating other writers such as Harold Arlen, Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Mercer and Harry Warren. Les Berry has recently taught a course for the Guild on the Great American Songbook. Once again Les (vocals) and Dave Turner (double bass) will be joined by keyboard player Jeff Kemp to present the songs along with discussion of the songwriters, the lyrics and the musical structure.
​
This course has been completed
Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer
Germany: Europe’s New Superpower? ~ 5 Evenings Course
Tutor: Simon Bulmer
Tuesday 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th January & 5th February 2019
Market Street, Glossop, SK13 8AR
7:30 p.m. ~ 9:30 p.m. Fee £32.50 (Members £27.50)
From German unification in 1871 to the defeat of the Nazi dictatorship in 1945, German power was a de-stabilizing force in Europe. In today’s Europe, however, and following re-unification in 1990, Germany has developed impressive political stability and has become Europe’s economic powerhouse. It is the leading economy in the European Union and the world’s third largest exporter. It has been criticised by southern European states for its austerity policy during the Eurozone crisis and by Eastern European states for its welcoming approach to refugees from 2015. Has it become a dominant power by peaceful means?
The course will try to answer this question by looking at the role of history in Germany’s successful postwar development, the distinctive pattern of its economic policy and export economy, its politics and institutions and the resultant role it plays in Europe and internationally. How and why has German power become a contentious issue during the 2010s? Will Germany be a help or hindrance to tackle the EU’s crises?
​
This course has been completed.
Writers Between the Wars ~ 5 Afternoons Course
Tutor: Creina Mansfield
Monday 14th, 21st, 28th January, 4th & 11th February 2019
Market Street, Glossop, SK13 8AR
2 p.m. ~ 4 p.m. Fee £32.50 (Members £27.50)
The novel is often described as a particularly feminine form, and yet there have been some wonderful women novelists that are almost forgotten. Two of these will be examined over these five sessions.
-
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbon (1932). A comic novel by English author Stella Gibbons, published in 1932. It parodies the romanticised, sometimes doom-laden accounts of rural life popular at the time, by writers such as Mary Webb.
-
Over the Frontier by Stevie Smith (1938). It is 1936. Pompey Casmilus lives in London with her beloved Aunt, bothered by the menace of German militarism, bothered too by the humbug which confronts it, bothered most of all by her hopeless love affair with Freddy, Its ending plunges Pompey into melancholy, six months rest and recuperation are prescribed and 'savage, sick and cross' Pompey goes to Schloss Tilssen on the northern German border, only to fall in with a strange band of conspirators: the plum coloured Mrs Pouncer, the absent minded Colonel Peck and the dashing Major Tom Satterthwaite, whom Pompey comes to love
​
-
This course has been completed.
Stories From the American South ~ 5 Afternoons Course
Tutor: Creina Mansfield
Monday 18th, 25th February, 4th, 11th & 18th March 2019
Market Street, Glossop, SK13 8AR
2 p.m. ~ 4 p.m. Fee £32.50 (Members £27.50)
Five inspiring sessions analysing two great books set in the deep south of America:-
​
-
Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil (1994) by John Berendt
This is not a novel but an account of real-life events in Savannah, Georgia. It is wildly funny, occasionally alarming and completely enthralling.
​
-
Go Set a Watchman (2015) by Harper Lee. Now the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird is grown up. When she returns to her hometown for a visit, she finds her attitudes to race have changed, bringing her into conflict with her loved ones in Alabama.
-
​
This course has been completed.
​
Orlando (1992) ~ Film Day School
Tutors: Alan Sennett & Creina Mansfield
Saturday 2nd March 2019
Partington Theatre, Henry Street, Glossop
10 a.m. ~ 4 p.m. Fee: £32.50 (Members £25)
A young nobleman, Orlando, searches for love, poetry, and a meaning in life, beginning in the Elizabethan court where the Queen tells him, ‘Do not fade, do not wither…’
In adapting Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel for the screen, Sally Potter sought to remain true to the writer's spirit and intentions while making significant changes in order to make it work cinematically. This day school explores both literary source and film adaptation by one of Britain's leading women film directors.
This course has been completed
The Medical Use of Plants ~ Afternoon Course
Tutor: Patrick Harding
Thursday 21st March 2019
Market Street, Glossop, SK13 8AR
2 p.m. ~ 4 p.m. Fee £7 (or £9 on the door)
We will look at the enormously important role played by plants in western medicine. We will cover ancient beliefs and the development of a more scientific approach to medicine.
We will also examine some of the important chemical groups found in plants such as alkaloids and essential oils and show how these still contribute to modern medicines.
This course has been completed
If you prefer to book by post you can download a booking form by clicking the button here.
Would you like to lecture at Glossop Guild?
We are always looking for new stimulating subjects for our courses. If you have experience as a lecturer or are an expert in a specialist subject and think you could help the Guild, please get in touch with us using the contact page.