Course A

Facts, Fictions and Foibles

Course organiser:Garry Jeffery & Bob Ryburn

This course is another of our popular Members’ Miscellanies. It covers a number of very diverse topics presented by members of the committee.

6 Jun:
Kathryn Ell : ‘The Long Shadow of History’. One reader's recent dip into a little fiction, a little historical research and some poems to explore again how writers have captured the collective sacrifice and courage seen across Europe in World War 1.

13 Jun:
Loanne Metcalfe: "Nova Scotia: the past and the people of a 'picture province’." Loanne is a native Nova Scotian who has lived in New Zealand since 1964. She often goes back to visit her family and, in spite of trying, has never lost her accent.

20 Jun:
Two Presentations: • Bob Ryburn presents ‘Small-town Theatres of the Thirties’ - a nostalgic visit to cinema and live theatre in Ashburton at the time of his childhood. • Neil and Faye Fleming talk on ‘Papua New Guinea (1985) and a little Pidgin’. They lived and worked in PNG in 1985 and have some insights into that country, its people and its language(s).

27 Jun:
Garry Jeffery: "Wedded bliss: the adventure of setting up a household in the 1950s & 1960s." Continuing the recall & comparison of the stories we all have from the 'foreign country' that is 50 years ago.

4 Jul:
Rekohu - The Chatham Islands: The Chatham Islands is a name we hear at the end of the weather forecast but a place of which many New Zealanders have little knowledge. This session, jointly presented by David Chapple & Gus Gale, will give an introduction to the geography and history of the Chathams and the unique bird life of this most far-flung of New Zealand's communities.