From the Fertile Crescent to Mohenjo Daro. From Pre-Dynastic Egypt to the Yellow R. From Catal Hoyuk (Anatolia) to Ancient Keftiu (Crete). This course covers the first cities on Earth to emerge from hunter-gathering into the Neolithic Revolution. The Tutor will use some of his on-line UDEMY lectures (USA on-line University) to describe this major shift in human settlement patterns on Earth.

Each session is divided up into 6 subjects/topics. Each of the topics will run for a number of weeks, across terms and semesters. A detailed course structure is available from the Tutor. The modular format allows participants to attend one, or multiple sessions of their choice. If they choose all 6, this “exceptional” history will take in all of 2024. The course starts at the beginning of our land, through settlement, expansion, federation and all of the 20th century modernity, onto what might be our future. This will showcase people and events never, or little heard of, but who have contributed so much to our exceptional history.

This course will look at the history of Indigenous people of Australia pre Captain Cook to the present. Tutorials will be presented in various formats:- DVDs, notes, movies and guest speakers.

Being an ally of the USA through the ANZUS alliance, involved Australia in this war between 1965-73. At the height of our contribution in the late 1960s, we had 3 military battalions along with naval & air force units, involving around 8000 troops (alongside the half-million US military) as well as Vietnam’s & others Asian forces. The anti-war protest movement will also be surveyed, in both the US & Australia. The final victory of Communist forces in 1975 will be assessed.

At present, news presentations have been featuring the Ukraine/Russia war, which will also be traced, particularly the background to this present -day conflict. This course will also survey the Communist capture & domination of this part of Europe from 1945 until the fall of Communist regimes from 1989. Overall, this course aims to gain a better understanding of this lesser-known part of the world.

A study of Matthew’s Gospel using modern research in History, Archaeology and Linguistics. Non-sectarian and not a spirituality course. Bible and notes supplied. 

This year P&P will introduce class members to the people and forces that shaped Mediterranean culture during the 11th, 12th and 13th Centuries. Exotic characters you will encounter include Otto III, Gregory VII,  Anna Comnena, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Baldwin the Leper, Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, the Pied Piper and Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. The variety in the characters spreads across at least 6 standard deviations! Central to our activities will be the interrogation of primary sources, both literary and archaeological. There are no course prerequisites. Just bring a sense of curiosity, wit and wonder.

This is a “hands-on” structured course. You will learn: where you can get information for free, how to write a family tree book to give to family, how to conduct basic DNA research, how to use AI for genealogy, how to use Google for family history, how to use in-depth research methods, how to deep-dive into the 5 popular family history websites. Using desktop software Family Tree Maker 2019 you will learn how to make sense of and record DNA matches and where to find and research UK and European records. You will need your own laptop/tablet.

A social history looks at the way people lived in the past. This series of talks provides an in-depth look at the lives of British men, women and children living in India during the last, turbulent 100 years of British Rule (The RAJ), from the 1850’s to Independence from Britain in 1947. A time when British men outnumbered British women three to one. Topics to be covered: Class structure in the Colonial environment; Society and its expectations; Cultural do’s and dont’s; The White Man’s Burden; Social Life and Leisure; Clashes between caste and class; the impact of distance from ‘home’; the ‘fishing fleet’ and other activities; and much more… The course content will be supported with hand-outs, authentic images and DVD’s.

An exploration of the over 2000 year development of the Spanish ethos. How history moulded the social, political and economic character of 21st Century Spain. Basques, Celts, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Christian, Visigoths, Moors, Reconquista, Inquisition, Jews, Colonialism, Enlightenment, Republicanism, Socialism, Civil War and perhaps now Constitutional Monarchy.