Spooky poetry and readings and frightening food
You will discover the origins of Samhain (Halloween) the darker part of the year, when the veil of life and death is at its thinnest; hear amusing poetry and discover food for All Hallows Eve which you can also make – ingredients and recipes will be available.
A fun and terrifying afternoon - if you dare!
Sunday 30 October 4pm via zoom
£12.50 (includes booking fee) Full information and to book on eventbrite:
https://bit.ly/ThingsThatGoBumpHalloween
From the comfort of your sitting room (or kitchen):
The History of Christmas Customs, Feasting and Food
Medieval, Georgian, Regency, Victorian, Edwardian & Wartime
Sarah tells you the fascinating history and Paul shows you the fabulous feasts and everyday food. Recipes will be available - you can follow Paul as he demonstrates. Ingredients will be available before the course and information and recipes after.
A feast of festive fun for those interested in the fascinating customs, traditions, myths and legends surrounding Christmas and winter, including the Christmas tree, plum pudding, crackers and cards.
We follow the entertainments and customs of Medieval, Tudor & Elizabethan Christmases when festivities were on a Grand Scale.
Georgian Christmases were much quieter and more sedate, although there were also balls and parties. We see how the Victorians and Dickens ‘invented’ the commercial Christmas; look at it in all its glory and discuss its confections, cards, crackers, decorations and games. Finally, a look at Twentieth Century Christmas celebrations and how the Festive season was spent from the early century through to the Fifties.
Illustrated with PowerPoint and live food demonstrations.
You will find lots of entertaining information delivered in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere - to get you in the mood for Christmas!
Great fun as well as highly informative - and to get you in festive mood!
4 weeks Wednesday 7-9pm 16, 23 & 30 November, 07 December
Via zoom. £45 £35 Early Bird offer ended 30 September
Full information and to book: https://bit.ly/HistoryOfChristmasCourse
Enquiries Paul Couchman <paul.g.couchman@gmail.com>
ROTTINGDEAN WHITEWAY CENTRE,
Whiteway Lane, Rottingdean (Brighton) BN2 7HB
Nearby car park on seafront road. Buses stop on seafront outside White Horse Inn, and no. 2 in the High Street
"The Whiplash Curve" Art Nouveau and Iconic Geometric Art Deco
Flowing, curvaceous lines of Victorian Art Nouveau, followed by and compared with the interwar geometrical style of iconic Art Deco.
Art Nouveau was organic, using elements found in nature e.g. flowers, insects and trees. Its style was sensual with whiplash lines, tendrils of hair and sprouting vines, creating an asymmetrical and fanciful appearance.
In comparison, iconic Art Deco style was geometric, associated with the Jazz Age. It utilised modern technology and innovations, such as plastic, chrome, aluminium and electricity. The smooth, regular patterns were found in everything from art to fashion, furniture, light fittings, ornaments, glass, ceramics and jewellery.
Its elegance furnished homes in a new, exciting fashion and hugely influenced cinema: facades, interiors, film sets and costumes. Both styles were innovative and daring, emerging from earlier influences – Egyptian being a major feature of Art Deco. Illustrated with hundreds of colourful slides.
Saturday 26 November 2022 10.30am-12.45pm
Fee: £12 https://www.rwc.org.uk/art_deco
Fabulous Customs and Traditions of the Festive Season
A feast of festive fun for those interested in the fascinating customs, traditions, myths and legends surrounding Christmas and winter, including the Christmas tree, plum pudding, crackers and cards. You will find lots of entertaining information from this one-day session taught in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere - to get you in the mood for Christmas!
We study early origins, winter solstice and pagan rituals of Roman times, as well as the symbolism of evergreens and cereals, such as holly, ivy, mistletoe, rosemary, wheat, fir and bay, and significance of fire and flame. We also discover who Saint Nicholas was and the origins of Father Christmas and Santa Claus, and find out how traditions came about, such as why sixpence is put into the pudding, the reason candles are lit, why children put up a stocking, and why plum pudding is eaten at Christmas.
We follow the entertainments and customs of Tudor & Elizabethan Christmases when festivities were on a Grand Scale. Georgian Christmases were much quieter and more sedate, although there were also balls and parties. We see how the Victorians and Dickens ‘invented’ the commercial Christmas; look at it in all its glory and discuss its confections, cards, crackers, decorations and games. Finally, a look at Twentieth century Christmas celebrations and how the Festive season was spent from the early century through to the Fifties. Illustrated with slides and video.
SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER 11am-3pm Ref: CL0665-1C Fee £30
https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-customs-myths-and-legends-of-winter-in-the-festive-season-brighton-metleisure
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Life on the Homefront 1914-1945: WWI, WWII and in-between 1920s -30s
10 weeks Tuesday 10.30am-12.30pm start 20 September Fee £87
https://www.rwc.org.uk/life_on_the_homefront_1914-1945_wwi_wwii_and_in-between_1920s-30s
MET course taught at Whitehawk Inn Community Centre, Brighton BN2 5NS
Gorgeous Georgians: Life in Eighteenth Century England (1714-1800)
10 weeks Wednesday 1-3pm Start 21 September Ref: CL0418-1C Full
https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/gorgeous-georgians-brightons-history-metleisur
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VICTORIAN DEATH AND MOURNING: FASCINATING RITUALS & CUSTOMS
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SATURDAY 24 September 11am-3pm Ref: CL0664-1C Ended Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-victorian-death-and-mourning-brighton-parent-met-leisure |
https://www.gbmc.ac.u/the-life-work-leisure-victorian-britain-brighton-metleisure
The Novel as Social History: Compartmental Living -Boarding Houses, Department Stores and other spaces
There are two books to read each fortnight and make notes, and you are expected to participate in group discussion in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. This term’s novels include: “The Ladies Paradise “by Emile Zola, “The Slaves of Solitude” by Patrick Hamilton, “Bond Street Story” by Norman Collins, “The Boarding House by William Trevor,
5 sessions/10 weeks Start 01 October
Fortnightly Saturdays: 02 & 15 October, 05 & 19 November, 03 December
Ref: CL0026-1C 11am-1pm / Ref: CL0699-1C 1.30-3.30pm Fee £71
https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/the-novel-as-social-history-brighton-metleisure
Varndean College at The Church of the Holy Cross, Downsway, Woodingdean (Brighton) BN2 6BD
(Buses 2, 2A, 22, 22A stop outside, car park across road outside library)
6 weeks Monday 10.00 – 12.00 - Start 10 October
Code: X545 Fee £75 Concessions available Enrol by phone 01273 546604
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SPRING 2023
All my MET history courses will be here: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-part-time
All other courses and events here on this blog..
MET Courses are taught at MET Pelham Street unless otherwise stated
Unleashing the Genie: Power and Growth in Late Victorian England (1880-1900)
For those who are interested in the great changes and progress at the end of the nineteenth century, leading into new ways of thought, progressive ideas and action, energy, optimism and innovation, However, there was also stagnation and pessimism, overcrowding and illness.
The Victorian age was a time of contrasts and contradictions. On the one hand, piety, prudery, stiffness and hypocrisy; on the other, free thinking, high living immorality. In-between was the ordinary, hard-working, fun-loving,Victorian, who wanted to enjoy all that was on offer in this fast-moving world which included the cinema and the motor-car. Lots of books, journals and newspapers enlightened a new readership, especially those who benefited from a higher standard of schooling and being able to read.
We study work, domestic life, architecture, technology, leisure and the arts, literature and painting, and advances in medicine and the legacy of men such as Joseph Lister and his work on anaesthesia which changed surgical treatments, allowing more people to survive after an operation. We see how hospitals functioned and the long working day of the nurse and doctor. People could still go to prison for minor offences and life inside was bleak, especially difficult for women.
Illustrated with powerpoint slideshows, period texts, paintings and video clips.
10 weeks Monday 1.30-3.30pm Start 16 January 2023
Ref CL0059-1C Fee £148 (concessions available)
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-late-vicorian-england-brighton-metleisure
In the Shadow of the Century: The Edwardians: (1900-1914)
Although the Edwardian period and up to the First World War (1900-1914) was a short one, a great deal happened which often surprises those who study it. Change and modernisation was taking place in all aspects of social and cultural life. Architecture and furnishings were becoming lighter; homes were less cluttered and new technology, aided by electricity was changing daily life.
The wealthy were at the height of their riches and could not survive without an army of servants. Domestic service in large country houses was very isolating and in town no “followers” was the rule. In contrast the poor remained abysmally so - despite reforms.
The Suffrage movement was at its fiercest. The dire Cat and Mouse Act allowed for early release of prisoners so weakened by hunger striking that they were at risk of death….however, there was a sting in the tail of the cat.
Illustrated with powerpoint slideshows, film and documentary.
Tuesday 10 weeks 11am – 1pm Start 17 January
Ref CL0081-1C Fee £148 (concessions available)
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-the-edwardians-1900-1914-brighton-metleisure
History of Fashion and Society 1700-2000
We examine how the social and cultural background of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries influenced British fashion then and now; focussing on aspects of trendsetting fashion such as the voluminous and extravagant court dresses of the eighteenth century and the dandy; Victorian crinoline, bustle and aestheticism; Edwardian art nouveau, elegant art deco era, wartime recycling, swinging sixties, and subculture of mods, rockers, goths, skinheads and punks.
You will learn how to read fashion and how informs us us and what your clothes say about you. We will examine key style developments and designers such as Mary Quant and the "Swinging Sixties". A really exciting and fascinating course that will make you think differently about style, clothing and what you and others wear.
Illustrated with masses of fashion illustrations and powerpoint slideshows.
10 weeks start Tuesday 1.30-3.30pm Start 17 January
Ref CL0276-1C Fee £148 (concessions available)
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/a-history-of-fashion-and-culture-1750-2000-brighton-metleisure
MET course taught at Whitehawk Inn Community Centre:
A Grand Tour of Georgian and Regency Indulgence – England (1780-1830)
For those who are interested in the late Georgian and Regency period and of Brighton and its development. We look at high and low society, including some interesting personalities of the time.
We study different influences in architecture and fashion: neo-classicism, Gothick, Egyptian Revival and Chinoiserie style, including town and country gardens, grounds, public buildings, fashion and manners.
Excesses and vast wealth of a small section of society make us forget the other side of the Regency. Great poverty and hardship for the poor. We consider their conditions and contrast domestic society from aristocracy to residuum, including food, dining, household management, the role of servants and daily life above and below stairs in a Regency town house.
Jane Austen and the Regency go hand in hand. We read some of her charming and witty writings as well as those of other writers and romantic poets.
Illustrated with images, period texts, guide books, maps, powerpoint and video.
10 weeks Wednesday 1-3pm 18 January 2023
Ref: CL0618-1C Fee £30 (+Benefits) 2 places remaining
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-grand-tour-of-georgian-and-regency-indulgence-brighton-met
Unique course comprising literature, social and cultural history, book club – and lively discussion! Within the pages of the novel we discover more than a story - enthralling ‘other’ information about people, relationships, class and place.
We study the social and cultural history of the novel by exploring background information we are absorbing unwittingly and which is not the main theme, but which gives us a deeper and clearer understanding of period and general minutiae of everyday life
Within every piece of fiction is a wealth of information on culture and social life which can lead us into a deeper understanding of a subject, time or place, period in history, genre, working conditions, habits, style or social trend that we might pursue further, or deepen our knowledge and intensify our interest.
There are two books to read each fortnight and make notes, and you are expected to participate in group discussion in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. This term’s novels may include: “Antic Hay” by Aldous Huxley,“Of Love and Hunger” by Julian MacLaren-Ross, “The Avenue Goes to War” by R.F. Delderfield, “Some Tame Gazelle” by Barbara Pym and “A Pink Front Door “by Stella Gibbons . Request full reading list from tutor well before the start of the course: SARAH.TOBIAS@gbmc.ac.uk
5 sessions over 10 weeks weeks Start 21 January
Fortnightly Saturdays: 21/01, 04/02, 25/02, 11/03, 15/03.
11am-1pm Ref: CL0030-1C Fee 71
1.30-3.30pm Ref CL0699-1C Fee 71
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/the-novel-as-social-history-life-work-leisure-brighton-metleisure
Varndean College at The Church of the Holy Cross, Downsway, Woodingdean (Brighton) BN2 6BD
(Buses 2, 2A, 22, 22A stop outside, car park across road outside library)
The Transformation of Mid-Victorian Britain (1851-1875)
Mrs. Beeton was the Delia Smith of her day and introduced technology into household management. Florence Nightingale brought about change with statistics and pie charts. The City of London came to a standstill due to “The Great Stink”, after which there were improvements to the sewage system; and travel advanced with the opening of the London underground. Illustrated with colourful powerpoint slideshows.
Code: TBA Fee £75 Concessions available Enrol by phone 01273 546604
"The Whiplash Curve" of Art Nouveau and Iconic Geometric Art Deco
This relaxed Saturday session is for those who are interested in comparing and contrasting the flowing, curvaceous lines of Victorian Art Nouveau with the interwar geometrical style of iconic Art Deco.
Art Nouveau was organic, using elements found in nature, for example flowers, insects and trees. Its style was sensual with whiplash lines, tendrils of hair and sprouting vines, creating an asymmetrical and fanciful appearance.
In comparison, iconic Art Deco style was geometric. It was associated with the Jazz Age, so was also described as "jazzy". It utilised modern technology and innovations, such as plastic, chrome, aluminium and electricity. The smooth, regular patterns were found in and on everything from art to fashion, furniture, light fittings, ornaments, glass, ceramics and jewellery. Its elegance furnished homes in a new, exciting fashion and hugely influenced cinema: facades, interiors, film sets and costume.
Both styles were innovative and daring, emerging from earlier influences – Egyptian being a major feature of Art Deco.
Illustrated with hundreds of colourful slides.
SATURDAY 18 March 11am-3pm Ref: CL0669-1C Fee £30
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-the-whiplash-curve-brighton-metleisure
🌞 SUMMER 2023 🌞
We study social, cultural, local and West Pier history, characters and events within Patrick Hamilton’s excellent novel. 
BRIGHTON ROCK ON THE WEST PIER
Another exciting and unusual study day at the West Pier Centre
We study social, cultural, local and seaside pier history, characters and events within Graham Greene’s novel, set a decade on from Patrick Hamilton’s West Pier. (In the 1930s it cost 4d -about 2p- to hire a beach deckchair, in 2022 it is £4)!
Summer date TBA
Taught at Pelham Street campus unless otherwise stated
Illusion & Reality: Late Victorian Britain 1865-1900
This short course is for those who are interested in late Victorian Britain when technology, electricity, science, medicine, the telephone, and the relentless advance of the human potential continued apace, hurtling toward the end of the Victorian era and into a new Edwardian age offering, what seemed like, limitless powers to change society in every direction.
Improvements were made in housing, sanitation and hygiene. Boys and girls enjoyed the benefits of education, although for the working-class being in a paid job from a very early age was still more important for the family and its precarious finances. Railways created new economic and social relationships and opened up the country. Those in cities and towns could visit the countryside and seaside and rural folk could get a taste of London or other city life.
We also look at the role of women and the agitations of what was to become the Suffragette Movement, as well as the fortunes that could be made by working-class actresses and music hall stars marrying wealthy men. Philanthropic women were socially aware and active. One of the most interesting stories is that of wealthy Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts, known as “Queen of the poor” who, as well as supporting or being instigator of many good causes, founded Holly Village, the first example of a gated housing development.
6 weeks Monday 1.30-3.30pm Start 17 April
Ref: CL0028-1C Fee £82
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-victorians-brighton-metleisure
Art Deco and the ‘Moderne’ (1918-1939)
For those who love the iconic style of Art Deco and clean lines of Modernism. The smoothly distinctive style dominated all aspects of domestic and cultural life and was notable for its architectural and design features. Iconic and elegant, it was used to furnish homes in a new and exciting fashion, utilizing modern technology and materials, and various electrical devices.
The Decorative Movement, Modernism or ‘moderne’, later described as ‘Art Deco’, was based on classical and other influences, including Egyptian - after the 1922 opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnaervon.
The distinctive iconic style of space, light and speed, vibrant with colour, its modern designs full of sharp patterns, was also described as "jazzy" and it utilised modern technology and innovations such as plastic, chrome, aluminium and electricity. Smooth lines and geometric patterns featured on architecture, advertising, fashion, jewellery, furniture, glass, ceramics, lighting, metalware, technology and cinema.
The smoothly distinctive ‘Modernist’ style dominated all aspects of domestic and cultural life and was notable for its architectural and design features. The elegant style was used to furnish homes in a new and exciting fashion.
Illustrated with colourful powerpoint slideshows and illustrations.
8 weeks Tuesday 3-5pm Start 18 April
Ref: CL0068-1C Fee £110
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/world-of-iconic-art-deco-brighton-metleisure
MET course taught at Whitehawk Inn Community Centre:
The Shaping of Early Victorian Britain (1837-1850)
A course for lovers of social and cultural history during the early Victorian era, which was a time of change and development, and the effects of the Industrial Revolution.
Much was happening in this period including reforms and a different way of thinking which brought about Factory Acts and observation of the needs of the poor. Working conditions were harsh and homes for the poor insanitary.
The family was central to peaceful harmony and the new middle-class norm was for separate spheres: women in the domestic sphere focussing on husband, family care and “good works”, while men were to be in the public sphere, including politics and commerce. Legally, women had almost no rights and were the property of their husbands.
We look at architecture and art, agricultural and urban developments, manufacturing and shops, industry and the arts, wealth and poverty, class structure and working conditions, as well as the lives of some of the people and characters that made up the social and cultural orb of early Victorian life.
Illustrated with powerpoint slideshows ..
10 weeks Wednesday 1-3pm Start 19 April Fee £30 (£20 Benefits) 2 Places remaining
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-the-shaping-of-early-victorian-britain-met-leisure
Powerful Women: innovative females who made vital changes1800s-20C
This is a brief introduction to a few of the numerous women who had a huge impact in many spheres and who have gone largely unnoticed. There were women scientists, writers, surgeons, physicians, inventors, social reformers, law-changers such as Josephine Butler with the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act and Caroline Norton who fought hard for the Married Women’s Property Act. Mathematician Ada Lovelace (below), designed the worlds first computer. During WWI female surgeons used pioneering methods and in WWII codebreakers at Bletchley Park were estimated to help shorten the war by two years,
Others pioneers we celebrate include fossil collector and palaeontologist ,Mary Anning; social theorist and possibly the first sociologist, Harriet Martineau, and those with a Brighton connection, such as Dr Louisa Martindale who helped set up the The New Sussex Hospital for Women and Clementina Black who campaigned – among other things – for better wages for low paid workers . Illustrated with powerpoint slideshows.
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| Inventor of the computer |
11am-2pm SATURDAY 22 APRIL Ref: CL0668-1C Fee £23
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-powerful-women-metleisure
🌞 Summer in the City: exploring Brighton’s unique history (including 3 field trips)
If you are interested in the distinctive history of Brighton and how it evolved, and enjoy walking through the city and discovering places you might not know, then you will enjoy this course comprising of two classroom sessions and three field trips.
We study the fascinating history of Brighton in two classroom sessions with a brief historical overview and looking at early maps. This will be followed by three field trips, getting to know our unique city, discovering lots of hidden gems and understanding how Brighton evolved from a small Georgian fishing town to the vibrant seaside resort of today.
Your tutor will guide you to further places of interest so that you can stroll around and familiarise yourself during summer, discovering additional hidden gems.
Be prepared to walk on each field trip for almost two hours; to wear suitable clothing for all weather and to bring water if it is hot.
Classroom sessions are illustrated with images, maps and powerpoint slides.
5 weeks Saturday Start 11am-1pm Start 29 April
Ref: CL0027-1C Fee £71
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-exploring-brightons-history-metleisure
The Novel as Social History: Books for Summer Reading 🌞
This is a unique one-day study session comprising literature and social and cultural history. Within the pages of the novel we discover more than a story - enthralling ‘other’ information about people, relationships, class and place.
We discuss books for summer reading from a selection of four novels with lots of background social and cultural history to be read before class (whole or part), plus further recommendations.
A different, unusual, exciting way of reading and learning in a friendly, relaxed group. We also view extracts of one of the novels that was made into film.
You will be expected to participate in group discussion in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Novels will include “The Enchanted April” By Elizabeth von Arnim. Please request the reading list well in advance from the tutor : SARAH.TOBIAS@gbmc.ac.uk.
SATURDAY 10 JUNE 11am-3pm
Ref: CL0067-1C Fee £30
Enrol: https://www.gbmc.ac.uk/history-summer-reading-met-leisure
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WATCH OUT FOR ART DECO COURSE AND/OR TALK AT
MODERNIST EMBASSY COURT
DETAILS WILL SHOW HERE
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Sarah Tobias MA, BA Hons, Dip Eur Hum
103-105 King's Road Arches, Brighton, BN1 2FN
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