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One Day Courses
There are a wide variety of one day courses and evening talks throughout the year. One day courses are an excellent way to introduce yourself to the WEA and sample the quality and breadth of the learning options available.

These courses tend to be very popular so please contact us on the telephone numbers shown if you are interested and we will endeavour to fit you in!

Tea and coffee are usually, but not always, included in the Fee. Lunch arrangements are indicated but the duration of the lunch break may vary - the branch will be able to supply further details.

The following is a list in date order of all the one-day courses in Essex. To search by branch, please go to the Branches page.


 
Branch: CHELMSFORD
Course Title: The Baroque ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: From sixteenth century Italy to eighteenth century Germany and England. An exploration of Baroque architecture.
Tutor: Brian Adams
Venue: Broomfield Community Centre, Main Road, Chelmsford, CM1 7AH
Date: 30-Jan-10  Start Time: 11:00 AM  Finish Time: 3:30 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs J M Dougan  Telephone: 01245 476583


Branch: GREAT DUNMOW
Course Title: Meeting Mendelssohn ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: A second chance to mark the bi-centenary of the composer with Quintus Benziger running a workshop exploring Mendelssohn's unique style of melody-writing and shedding new light on many of his well-known pieces. The sessions at Feering on 21st November 2009 were over-subscribed and a number of applicants could not be accommodated. Quintus has agreed to repeat this course and Dunmow Branch has kindly agreed to host the event. A leaflet with booking form and further details, including map, will be available before the end of January.
Tutor: Quintus Benzinger
Venue: Dunmow Day Centre, Chequers Lane, Great Dunmow, Chelmsford CM6 1EQ
Date: 20-Feb-10  Start Time: 11:00 AM  Finish Time: 3.30 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs Pat Dale  Telephone: 020 8281 1536


Branch: FELSTED
Course Title: Britain's Castles from 11th to the 14th Century ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: What does castle mean to you -a ruin, a heap of stones, a large house or a fortification? Did you know England and Wales are home to a host of castles of an unrivalled variety? In our course we will look at the different types, how they changed got better and better and then ceased to be built at all. We will explore how they functioned as a machine for fighting as well as living in.
Tutor: Roger Cooke
Venue: The Memorial Hall, Braintree Road, Felsted CM6 3DY
Date: 6-Mar-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:30 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Buffet Lunch
Fee: £14 Contact Name: Dick Frost  Telephone: 01371 820824


Branch: BENFLEET
Course Title: Two Wars for One' - The Causes of the Second World War 1931-1945 ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: The second world war shaped the lives of all alive today. Yet how did it come about so soon after the war to end all wars? How too could a war that began about the German invasion of Poland become a war between Japan and the USA? We shall explore the causes of what were two unrelated wars that became one because of the decision of one man - Adolph Hitler.
Tutor: Roger Cooke
Venue: St Georges Church Hall, Rushbottom Lane, Benfleet SS7 4DN
Date: 27-Mar-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:30 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Buffet Lunch
Fee: £14 Contact Name: Philip Narbrough  Telephone: 01268 759392


Branch: ESSEX FEDERATION
Course Title: Whistler
Course Description: A study of a controversial and possibly underrated Victorian artist.
Tutor: Suzanne Bode
Venue: Feering Community Centre, Coggeshall Road, Feering, CO5 9QB
Date: 24-Apr-10  Start Time: 11:00 AM  Finish Time: 3.30 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs Pat Dale  Telephone: 020 8281 1536


Branch: ESSEX FEDERATION
Course Title: Enigma and the Codebreakers and Women as Special Agents
Course Description: Two linked lectures on intriguing aspects of the world of espionage and counter-espionage.
Tutor: Hugh Davies
Venue: Feering Community Centre, Coggeshall Road, Feering, CO5 9QB
Date: 24-Apr-10  Start Time: 11:00 AM  Finish Time: 3.30 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs Pat Dale  Telephone: 020 8281 1536


Branch: ESSEX FEDERATION
Course Title: Sharing Schumann
Course Description: A one-day workshop led by Quintus Benziger to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth.
Tutor: Quintus Benzinger
Venue: Feering Community Centre, Coggeshall Road, Feering, CO5 9QB
Date: 24-Apr-10  Start Time: 11:00 AM  Finish Time: 3.30 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs Pat Dale  Telephone: 020 8281 1536


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: Clothes in Hogarth's England
Course Description:
Tutor: Honor Ridout
Venue: Castle Methodist Church, Maidenburgh Street, Colchester CO1 1TT
Date: 15-May-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £ Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: 200 Years of Farm and Village
Course Description:
Tutor: Ashley Cooper
Venue: Castle Methodist Church, Maidenburgh Street, Colchester CO1 1TT
Date: 15-May-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £ Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: The History of Dams
Course Description:
Tutor: Brian Bourne
Venue: Castle Methodist Church, Maidenburgh Street, Colchester CO1 1TT
Date: 15-May-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £ Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: WIVENHOE
Course Title: Music and Art ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: Music, Art and Literature have often been linked in terms of cultural and social movements. This Day School will explore the relationships, particularly in the context of certain periods including Baroque, Romanticism and post-Romanticism. Taking a range of paintings and pieces of music, the group will explore the links and how different media have expressed the mood and feeling of the time.
Tutor: Chris Green
Venue: Wivenhoe Congregational Church Hall, 101 High Street, Wivenhoe, CO7 9AB
Date: 12-Jun-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 4:00 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £12 Contact Name: Janice Allen  Telephone: 01206 824470


Branch: CHELMSFORD
Course Title: Women in Impressionist Art ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: A study of Impressionism from the view point of the women depicted in the paintings and the female artists working in Paris. We see how Impressionism is inextricably linked with the growth of Paris and the great changes which took place, affecting all aspects of women's lives in this vibrant capital city.
Tutor: Suzanne Bode
Venue: Broomfield Community Centre, Main Road, Chelmsford, CM1 7AH
Date: 19-Jun-10  Start Time: 11:00 AM  Finish Time: 3:30 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs J M Dougan  Telephone: 01245 476583


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: Heroes, Harridans and Humorists
Course Description:
Tutor: Caroline Phillips
Venue:
Date: 26-Jun-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £ Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: Voice of the People
Course Description:
Tutor: Bill Tamblyn
Venue:
Date: 26-Jun-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £ Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: Archeology; New Views on the Old World
Course Description:
Tutor: Howard Brooks
Venue:
Date: 26-Jun-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £ Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: The Medici ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: Aided by coloured slides, we shall trace the rise and fall of this extraordinary family as they emerge as a political and cultural force, as patrons of art, architecture and learning and without whom the Renaissance would not have flourished so vigorously in Florence. We may even be able to answer the question - were they tyrants or patrons?
Tutor: Stella Dodd
Venue: Castle Methodist Church, Maidenburgh Street, Colchester CO1 1TT
Date: 27-Jun-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: Medieval Clothes ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: The styles are to be seen in effigies, in illuminated manuscripts and memorial brasses. At this Day School we'll look at how the clothes were constructed and of what, and how styles evolved over 500 years. Few clothes survive from this period, but a lot can be teased out from the rare samples, archaeological shreds and the beautiful and varied works of art.
Tutor: Honor Redout
Venue: Castle Methodist Church, Maidenburgh Street, Colchester CO1 1TT
Date: 27-Jun-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: COLCHESTER
Course Title: Russian Culture ONE DAY COURSE
Course Description: In recent years Russia is again in the news, and the importance of this huge country is felt keenly. On the edge of Europe and Asia, Russian culture always had an exotic appeal, but it also has similarities with other European cultures.
Tutor: Anat Vernitski
Venue: Castle Methodist Church, Maidenburgh Street, Colchester CO1 1TT
Date: 27-Jun-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:45 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:
Bring your own
Fee: £10 Contact Name: Mrs Jean Roberts  Telephone: 01206 576506


Branch: HARLOW
Course Title: The Market Town in Essex
Course Description:
Tutor: Kenneth Newman
Venue: St John's Arts and Recreation Centre, St John's Walk, Old Harlow, CM17 0AJ
Date: 10-Jul-10  Start Time: 10:30 AM  Finish Time: 3:00 PM  
Lunch Arrangement:

Fee: £12 Contact Name: Robin McCartney  Telephone: 07905 762 910