Saturday 20 October 2012


*  H A P P Y    N E W    YE A R  *
EXCITING EVENTS IN SUSSEX - ENTERTAINING AS WELL AS EDUCATIONAL, FUN AS WELL AS FACTUAL.
Sarah Tobias lecturer in social & cultural history
Keep visiting this site for regular updates of all events
Details given as accurately as possible, but may change, be postponed or cancelled.
PLEASE CHECK ALL VENUES, FEES, DAYS BEFORE BOOKING. Details of venues at end.
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C O U R S E S   2 0 1 3
Please book as soon as possible in order for courses to run

Starting JANUARY

The Victorian World 1851-1875
We look at rich and poor and their world: architecture and living conditions from large country estates and town houses to humble cottages and pitiful town rookeries of the residuum. We see how dwellings were built and furnished and view the internal workings of the home and the ornaments, paintings and furniture which adorned them for all classes.
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There was a strict hierarchy which existed "below stairs" that was far more snobbish than that between master and servant. The domestic life of the servant, their duties, wages and relationship with the houses in which they worked is a fascinating one. Mrs Beeton was the Delia Smith of her day and introduced technology into household management. She was a feminist and writer of hundreds of articles on every topic imaginable.
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We also study the life of the poor, their lack of amenities, deficient nutrition, and medical attention and the effect of their appalling living and working conditions.
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Other course themes include education, the plight of the governess and campaigning women who made a difference, such as Barbara Bodichon who wrote Women and Work which argued that a married women's dependence on her husband was degrading.
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We look at the Arts, including William Morris, Arts & Crafts Movement  and the literature of the period - writers include Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Wilkie Collins and George Eliot.
Illustrated with PowerPoint, DVD, books, images and texts.

Whiteway Centre, Rottingdean  
Wednesdays 10.30am-12.30pm 10 weeks start 9 January 
Fee £70 downloadable booking formhttp://www.rwc.org.uk
Booking forms available at Whiteway Centre, which can be posted with payment into Centre letterbox 
Tea/coffee available to make in kitchen, second- hand books in Tower Room. Buses stop nearby. Shops, tea rooms and historic public houses in High Street. Sea and beach few minutes walk.

City College, Pelham Street, Brighton
The Victorian World 1851-1875
Details as above
Mondays 2-4pm 10 weeks start 14 January 
Ref: COM091 Fee £99 Tel: 01273 667767 
Download booking form from website http://www.ccb.ac.uk/public/courses/weekday-courses
Restaurant, and tea/coffee bar on balcony. Many buses and railway station nearby. Car park few minutes walk. London Road shopping area with supermarkets 1 minute.

Starting FEBRUARY
PACA Portslade Aldridge (Adult Education) Community Academy
Foredown Tower, Portslade
Regency to Rock 'n' Roll: a later history of Brighton, Hove & Portslade 1750-1960
15 Station Road, Portslade 1950s
We see how Brighton & Hove expanded and developed as a seaside and leisure resort, from the late Georgian period to the 1950s. We study social and cultural aspects including architecture, Regency life, piers, leisure, work, cinema, wartime and rock 'n' roll fifties. Illustrated with slides, books, prints and film clips.
5 weeks starting Tuesday 26 February 10.30am-12.30pm
Fee £50, £40 (over-60s/benefits/BN41 postcode)
Book: 01273 422632
Free parking, buses stop nearby, refreshments, small garden area around tower - and fantastic views across fields.

Whitehawk Inn Community Centre, Brighton
in partnership with Friends Centre
'Regency to Rock 'n' Roll' -a later history of Brighton and Hove
West Pier,  1930s
We see how Brighton and Hove expanded and developed as a seaside and leisure resort, from the late Georgian period to the 1950s. We study social and cultural aspects including architecture, Regency life, piers, leisure, work, cinema, wartime and rock 'n' roll fifties and part of our focus is on east Brighton.
Illustrated with slides, books, prints and film clips.
5 weeks starting Wednesday 27 February 2.30-4.30pm
Free 
Tel: 01273 682222  http://www.whinn.org.uk/
Cafe and garden area. Buses stop outside. Few minutes to sea, beach and Marina or East Brighton Park 

G U I D E D   H O U S E   T O U R S 
PRESTON MANOR 
(End of Preston Park, Brighton) Free parking, buses stop nearby, Preston Park railway station nearby
"HIDDEN HOUSE"- Behind the Scenes at the Manor 
Unique guided tour. Discover hidden rooms and secret places not normally open to the public.
If you have ever visited a historic property and longed to go through that door marked ‘private’, now you can at Preston Manor! Sarah Tobias has devised a fascinating 'backstage' tour taking you into rooms, vaulted cellars and up concealed servants’ staircases, to attics where female servants slept and into corridors not on the public route. 
Saturdays 2 February, 2 March & 13 April  11am-12.45pm & 2-3.45pm £12.50 & 10.50 includes tea & biscuits.
These popular tours fill quickly. Places are limited to 12 persons per tour - early booking advised
Tour guides Sarah Tobias & Paula Wrightson (Preston Manor Creative Programme Manager)
N.B. There are lots of stairs, some low door frames -and it is VERY COLD in some parts of the house. Book: 03000 290902
http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/whatson/pages/behindthescenesatprestonmanor.aspx


SATURDAY CLASSES & WORKSHOPS  
Sussex Learning Solutions Saturday Workshops 
Southwick Community Centre
The Novel as Social History 
We consider the social and cultural history of the novel by exploring background information we are absorbing unwittingly: leading us into a deeper and clearer understanding of period, place, subject, time and general minutiae of everyday life.
Saturday 9 February 10am-4pm
Ref no: AW621 Fee: £40  http://www.sussexlearningsolutions.org.uk/   Tel: 0845 873 7663
There is a cafe at the community centre, free parking outside or across the road in car park, buses stop nearby and railway is a few minutes walk.

City College, Pelham Street, Brighton 
 Please note. All three Saturdays below do not appear in autumn brochure due to admin error, but they are on online and will appear in new spring brochure.
Women, Wartime and the Homefront
Life for women during Wartime and how they coped during the later 1940’s after war ended when life had changed completely. We look at women at war – their occupations in the armed services, as pilots, nurses, typists, working in the Land Army, in factories, in the WRVS and other voluntary organisations, as well as being housewives and mothers. Some women worked as spies or at Bletchley Park tapping out codes on the Enigma machine. At home during war and after, women had to cope with rationing and learning to ‘make do and mend’ while attempting to remain glamorous keeping up with fashion and cosmetics.  When war ended women found it difficult to give up their new independence, life in the family changed and so did relationships.  Illustrated.                                                                                
Saturday 16 February 1-4pm  
Ref: COM 120858 Fee £25 Tel: 01273 667767 
Download booking form from website http://www.ccb.ac.uk/public/courses/saturday-courses                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                     
Looking at Victorian Art - paintings as social history
Victorian narrative paintings tell us much more than the main topic. They are full of symbolism and expose other features we hardly notice. These 'extras' tell us more about the period and its social history, Painters wanted to show domestic scenes and 'real life' and were not afraid of controversial subjects which might shock the public. Massive social and cultural changes took place within the period which painters wanted to tell us about but, as they did so, they were also exposing much more - a little girl bringing her father's lunch to his workplace, the inner turmoil of an emigrating couple, the pain of parting, or he long engagement, as well as tiny figures and scenes around the main subject we almost miss. Narrative paintings of various topics open up our view of art and enable us to see and enjoy it in a totally different way. Illustrated with many slides.
Saturday 16 March 1-4pm
Ref: COM088 Fee £25 Tel: 01273 667767 
Download booking form from website http://www.ccb.ac.uk/public/courses/saturday-courses                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                     
Art Deco, Modernism and the Jazz Age
After WWI a new, very distinctive style emerged, directly following Art Nouveau. Architectural buildings of every type from churches to cinemas, houses, bus stations, garages and lidos were developed in this style which had many influences. It was associated with the Jazz Age and also described as "jazzy" and it utilised modern innovations, such as plastic, chrome, aluminium and electricity. The smooth lines and geometric patterns were found in and on everything from art to fashion, furniture, light fittings, ornaments, glass ceramics and jewellery. Cinema and film included sets and flowing dresses and the style reached its height of fashion in the Hollywood musical with the wonderful Busby Berkeley Hollywood film dance routines. 
We look at influences, architecture, style, fashion, interiors, paintings and clips of favourite films and stars of the period.
A fabulous feast of colour, illustrated with a huge amount of images.
Saturday 20 April 1-4pm
Ref: COM089 Fee £25 Tel: 01273 667767   
Download booking form from website http://www.ccb.ac.uk/public/courses/saturday-courses                                                                                        
                                                                                                                      


ONE DAY FRIDAY & SATURDAY CLASSES
PACA Portslade Aldridge (Adult Education) Community Academy
Foredown Tower, Portslade
Free parking, buses stop nearby, refreshments, small garden area around tower - and fantastic views across fields.
Fridays at Foredown 10am-4pm 

Flea-Pits & Picture-Palaces: A history of film & cinema 

The history of cinema from its Victorian beginnings and early days in Hove and Shoreham. Film reached its height of popularity in the 1930s, 1940s and the 1950s. We study the impact of film on cinema audiences, film stars, fashions and cinema buildings, especially Art Deco. Illustrated with rare archive footage from the Hove pioneers as well as film clips from later films, plus books, images and slideshow.

Friday 15 February 
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The Victorian World (1837-1890)
Huge social changes in all aspects of life: merchandising and consumerism, effects of the railway, life at home, at work, in factories and mills; effects of the Industrial Revolution, rise of the middle-class, the affluent and wealthy, and living conditions of the poor. We look at architecture, housing, social and sanitary reforms, including the work of Chadwick and Mayhew.  Elaborate forms of etiquette ruled everyday life, especially for the aspiring middle-class, and were a minefield of manners in the complex new social structure. Illustrated with slides, dvd, books, costume. 
Friday 15 March
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Life Between-the-wars (1918-1939)
This course focuses on social and cultural changes that followed World War 1, when high living declined for the wealthy due to the lack of servants, and cultural life took on a particular aspect, reflected in the architecture, design, fashion, literature and cinema of the era. We also focus on changes in women's lives. with slides, film clips, books, images and artefacts.
Friday 24 May*
 Fee: £30 concessions £25 (over-60s/benefits/BN41 postcode)
*Friday 24 May & Saturday 25 May (mini-course) can be booked together with discount
Book: 01273  422632

Special Saturdays 10am-3pm
The Edwardians 
A golden age before war was to change the idyll of elegant life for the wealthy - but not for the poor and those living in slums. Hard toil and labour were eased by meagre ‘leisure’ time: adventures in cinema & music hall, joys of cycling and motor car, or a seaside holiday. We also look at Edwardian architecture, interiors, furnishing, domestic life and complex rules of etiquette - from the giddy social whirl ‘above stairs’ to servant hierarchy and life ‘below stairs’. 
Illustrated with slides, film and books. 
Saturday 27 April
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Art Deco & the 'Moderne' 

A new, distinctive style emerged 1920s/30s, vibrant with colour, its modern designs full of sharp patterns and influenced by many styles and countries. Its iconic elegance furnished homes in a new, exciting fashion, utilizing modern technology, materials & electricity. Illustrated with slides, film clips, books and costume.

Saturday 25 May*





The Homefront in Wartime 
Trip back sixty plus years, when daily life was turned upside-down, but the fighting spirit shone through! We spend our war day on the home-front: find tips to stretch our budgets, eke out our food ration, keep up with fashion by “make do and mend” and celebrate an austerity Christmas. Illustrated with books, documentary footage, slideshow, ephemera and authentic items.
Saturday 27 July 
Fee: £24 
*Friday 24 May & Saturday 25 May (mini-course) can be booked together with discount
Book: 01273  422632

L E C T U R E S   /   T A L K S
PRESTON MANOR 
(End of Preston Park, Brighton) Free parking, buses stop nearby, Preston Park railway station nearby
“HIDDEN HISTORIES” -  A real life Lady Chatterley? 
Thursday 14 March 11am-12.30pm & 2-3.30pm, Saturday 6 April 2-3.30pm
1970s: apparent evidence emerged that Lady Ellen Thomas-Stanford formed a liaison with her butler and her illegitimate heir was alive, well and living in Canada. True? Find out about the private life of the Edwardians in this investigation into an unspoken taboo of the era: love between the classes. Includes never-before-seen documents and photographs, discussed over tea and biscuits.
Talk on the Edwardians, the class system and scandal of divorce and unmarried mothers by social historian Sarah Tobias
Lady Ellen, her butler, archive material and documents discussed by Paula Wrightson, Preston Manor's creative programme manager
Admission: £10 members £8 includes tea and biscuits.  Book: 03000 290902
http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/WhatsOn/Pages/PMHiddenHistoriesAreallifeLadyChatterley.aspx

Summer 2013
C O U R S E S
City College, Pelham Street, Brighton 
Victorian Life and Leisure 1851-1875 
We study general life, as well as the family, work, leisure, travel, art and culture. This period saw the burgeoning "leisure industry", holidays - particularly the seaside - travel to the countryside, and the new green spaces of the town as public parks were opened for al to enjoy and benefit. Working life was a different matter and there was little time off from the hard and continuous grind for the poor. But society was changing and we look at the urban environment, railway, public health and civic amenities, as well as improvements in working hours and conditions, plus poverty and unemployment, philanthropy and poor relief. Illustrated with PowerPoint, DVD, books, images and texts.
Mondays 2-4pm 5 weeks start 15 April 
 Ref: COM090 Fee £48 (check) Tel: 01273 667767 
 Download booking form from website http://www.ccb.ac.uk/public/courses/weekday-courses                                                                                           
Whiteway Centre, Rottingdean  
Victorian Life and Leisure 1851-1875 

Details as above
Wednesdays 10.30am-12.30pm 5 weeks start 17 April 
Fee £35 downloadable booking formhttp://www.rwc.org.uk
Booking forms available at Whiteway Centre, which can be posted with payment into Centre letterbox 

BRIGHTON FESTIVAL FRINGE
(Bank Hol) Monday 6 & Saturday 18 May 12-1.30pm
Dido's Lament: Victorian Death and Mourning 
 World première of short, hauntingly beautiful black and white film on the fascinating rituals of Victorian death and mourning. This will be followed by discussion with creator Sarah Tobias and award-winning director Valentina Lari. There will also be a brief talk and readings on customs of death, grief, mourning, clothing, widowhood and the funerary industry; plus a photographic exhibition.
Music 'Dido's Lament' from 'Dido and Aeneas' by Henry Purcell 
sung by Sarah Tobias :  piano Ambrose Page
Admission £6.50 £5.50 concessions (schoolchildren/students/benefits) under 12's must be accompanied by an adult
Booking opens March 2013 Tel: Dome Box Office or book online at Brighton Festival Fringe

Visiting the Victorians Summer Field Trips
4 Wednesdays in June 2013
 Meet Brighton Station 9.45am
Four guided visits to houses, museums and collections which illustrate Victorian social, domestic and working life. Venues not finalised but will include The Red House, Bexleyheath (home of William Morris) (NT, otherwise £8, £7) (18c Danson House nearby, so will also visit), The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garrett followed by guided Southwark sanitation walk. 
More information for those who request it. 
(2012 trips included Down House, Kent; Apsley House & Wellington Arch, Canal & Foundling Museums, London; & Houses of Parliament)
Fee £35 does not include travel, admission to venues or refreshments.
Whiteway Centre, Rottingdean downloadable booking formhttp://www.rwc.org.uk
Not advertised on Whiteway Centre website till 2013


Sussex University
The London Look: fashion and style (1780-2012)
International Summer School 4 weeks 24 June - 17July for students from outside UK
Module IS149 FHEQ Level 4
Tutors Sarah Tobias & Alexandra Loske
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/iss/modules/directory/2012/49790
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Venue Addresses, transport and refreshments

City College
Pelham Street, Brighton BN1 4FA
Location:
Behind York Place & London Road, turn up Cheapside – Aldi supermarket on corner. Or, turn left in Trafalgar St walking down from Station.
Transport & Parking:
Lots of buses nearby.
Nearby car park, about 5 minutes walk.
Railway station few minutes walk
Refreshments and further information:
Restaurant. Tea and coffee bar on balcony of Main Building.
Coffee shops, small cafés and public houses in nearby London Road 
London Road and Trafalgar Street: shopping, banks and supermarkets

Foredown Tower
Foredown Road, Brighton (Portslade) BN41 4EW
Transport & Parking:
No. 6 bus stops nearby-200 yds walk
Free car parking outside,
Refreshments and further information:
Refreshments available. 
Garden all round Tower and fantastic views across countryside

Preston Manor
Preston Drove, Brighton BN1 6SD
Location:
Situated at end of Preston Park.
Transport & Parking:
Buses and rail nearby
Free parking outside and in adjacent street.
Refreshments:
No cafe. Refreshments provided by staff at some events where stated.
Chalet restaurant in park and public houses opposite

Rottingdean Whiteway Centre
Whiteway LaneRottingdean, BN2 7HB
Location:
By Library/Grange Museum
Transport & Parking:
Buses stop nearby and on seafront.
Small car park, but always full. Possible space if you get there early
Fairly near street parking
Refreshments:
Kitchen with tea and coffee making facilities (provided)
Historic tea rooms and public houses in High Street.
Further information:
Kiplings walled garden and village green and pond nearby.
Few minutes walk to sea and beach. Shops, small supermarket and bank in High Street.

Southwick Community Centre
24 Southwick Street, Southwick, BN42 4TE
Transport & Parking:
Buses stop nearby. Railway few minutes walk.
Small car park outside community centre but fills quickly. Car park opposite near Library Both free.
Refreshments:
Cafe and garden area.
Further information:
Shops and small supermarket in Southwick Square.

Whitehawk Inn Community Centre
Whitehawk Road Brighton, BN2 3NS
Transport & Parking:
Buses stop nearby and some outside venue
Metered street car parking
Refreshments:
Café and garden area
Further information:
Few minutes walk to sea, beach and Marina or East Brighton Park

LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU
Sarah Tobias
Entertaining social/cultural/local historian.
Ask for details of talks/guided walks/visits for groups, clubs, societies.
Current list of 30+ topics


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