The monthly meetings of the Crouch End & District U3A are held at the Union Church and Community Centre, Weston Park, N8 9TA.
 
Doors open at 10.00 a.m for tea and coffee.
 
Please arrive and be seated by 10.30 a.m. Talks begin at 10.45 a.m.

Coming up …

Thursday 13 February 2020

James M. Taylor : Brilliant British Humour in the Forgotten Art of the Picture Postcard, 1840-1950s
 

 
Artist-drawn postcards were the most popular art form from the Edwardian era to the outbreak of World War II. They entertained, inspired, instructed, motivated, persuaded and lifted up the spirits. Discover the popular themes and styles by the masters of the medium such as Mabel Lucie Attwell, Donald McGill and Fred Spurgin; and the reasons why their popularity waned with the British public.
 
Dr James Taylor MA (Hons) FRSA studied at the Universities of St. Andrews, Manchester and Sussex. He is a former specialist in Victorian paintings at Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers and curator of paintings, drawings and prints, and contributor to various exhibitions and galleries at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and from 1999 an independent author, lecturer and exhibition organiser.

Thursday 12 March 2020

Dave Clarke : Untangling the web – demystifying spiders at ZSL London Zoo
 


🕷 Spiders are a much maligned group of animals, but vital to our continued existence (and really nice once you get to know them!). This talk will illustrate the way ZSL London Zoo aims to redress the balance, by educating people about the positive side of spiders, presenting innovative displays to the public, direct conservation initiatives, and even curing arachnophobia on the Friendly Spider Programme
 
Dave Clarke is Head of Invertebrates at the Zoological Society of London. He has participated in captive management, exhibition and conservation programmes for a variety of species for over 35 years at ZSL London Zoo. Although having experience with all taxa, he has specialised in invertebrates and was instrumental in creation of the BUGS biodiversity display and Butterfly Paradise exhibits. An active member of national and international conservation bodies, Dave continually seeks to champion and promote the importance of invertebrates in zoos.

Thursday 2 April 2020

Dr Kat Jungnickel : Bikes and Bloomers

Thursday 14 May 2020

Janet Sutherland : The Future of Housing

Meetings in 2020

January 2020

Andrew Ellis : Art UK: Democratising Access to the Nation’s Art

A full house for the first monthly meeting of the year was rewarded with a fascinating and enlightening talk on the work and achievements of Art UK, by its director Andrew Ellis. The ambition of Art UK (gradually being realised) is provide an online catalogue of the nation’s artworks. This is especially important as 80% of these works are generally hidden from public view at any one time. The venues in which these are housed range from the country’s most well-known museums and art galleries to smaller institutions like Haringey’s Bruce Castle (although, sadly, not the Royal Collection). Andrew described the photographing and cataloguing of the works of art, talked about copyright and licensing issues, and highlighted one or two recent initiatives of the Art UK website, the most interesting of which is the forum where members of the public are invited to share any information about painting and sculptures about which nothing is known.

Coming up

Previous monthly talks

2017
Peter Cox : Growing up in London
 
Tiago Mata : A history of The Economist
 
Estelle Lovatt : Fun and irony in art
 
2018
Katy Ghahremani : Plans for Hornsey Town Hall
 
Haringey First World War Peace Forum presentation
 
Robin Lustig : A life in broadcasting
 
Graham Bennett : Serge Diaghilev and his legacy
 
Alexander Zhuravlyov : The rise and rise of Vladimir Putin
 
Louise Stewart : Plans for Alexandra Palace
 
Carl Parker : What is terrorism?
 
Luke Alder : The Estorick Collection of Modern Art
 
Margaret Greenfields : Britain as a nation of immigrants
 
David Hunter : Guillaume Apollinaire and the First World War
 
Francine Bates : The golden age of the music hall
 
Elizabeth Woodcraft : Hi-heel sneakers – growing up in the 60s
 
2019
Peter Cox : The history and development of John Lewis and Waitrose
 
John Withington : Living to 100 – The secrets of the centenarians
 
Sandra Clark : Singing witches, authenticity and innovation: Macbeth on the Victorian Stage
 
John Hinshelwood : Crouch End and District: a photographic record from 1860 – 1920
 
Jayne Forbes : A solo traveller’s tales
 
Roger Hamilton : Climate change – where are we now
 
Jan Marsh : The Pre-Raphaelite sisters
 
Hugh Hayes : A Park for Finsbury
 
 
Ian Christie : Rescuing a pioneer: Britain’s forgotten creator of cinema
 
Oonagh Gay : The pioneer women MPS