Golden Age is a programme that has been running for nearly a year now at the Playhouse and  offers different courses each term. It was created by the Playhouse Associate Director, who felt there was a need for more social and informative activities at the Playhouse as part of outreach and participation initiatives. This term the Playhouse will be offering a local history course, a dance and movement class and also a reader’s/discussion group. In a relaxed and social setting, Golden Age is the chance for people over 60 to take a variety of short, creative courses in all kinds of subjects, from art and local history to dance and creative writing. Being part of Golden Age entitles you to exclusive complimentary social events, including talks with creative team members and backstage explorations at the Playhouse.

DATES AND TIMES – The group will meet Wednesdays from 13 January to 23 March, with courses taking place at 11am – 12:30pm and 1:30pm – 3pm. (excluding 17 Feb). People meet in the Upper Foyer of the Playhouse they will then receive a complimentary tea or coffee.

BOOKING – Prices: £6.00 per session, or £5.00 if booking more than 5 sessions in one go. To book a place in any of the Golden Age Sessions please call the Box Office on 0115 941 9419 or visit in person.

READERS’ GROUPS – 11AM – 12:30PM – A chance to explore some of the greatest plays ever written, in a friendly, sociable group. The group will be looking at key scenes, exploring the lives of the characters and how the writer creates the setting and the plot. This Spring the theme is THE RULING CLASS and NOT THE RULING CLASS and the group will be discussing comedies and tragedies that portray the clash of the social classes. Exploring the plight of ‘outsiders’ trying to enter privileged worlds and the struggle between power, wealth and poverty.

THE RULING CLASS
EASY VIRTUE – by Noel Coward (13, 20 & 27 January 2016)
MEDEA – by Euripides (3 & 10 February 2016)

NOT THE RULING CLASS
ROAD – by Jim Cartwright (24 February, 2 & 9 March 2016)
PIGMAILON – by George Bernard Shaw (16 & 23 March 2016)

Each session stands alone and can be booked separately.

DANCE – 1.30 – 3PM – The session is designed to get people creating and to enhance movement skills and encourage confidence and fitness. Relaxed environment where laughter is a must and all mainstream dance styles covered. Dance is a fun class aimed at all levels of experience. Led by Sara Lim Smith. A professional dancer and choreographer who trained at The London Contemporary Dance School and London Studio Centre. Sara’s credits include Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Drury Lane West End and extensive national and international tours. (No Dance class taking place on Wednesday 17 February or 2 March, so course will finish on 30 March)

LOCAL HISTORY – 1.30 – 3PM – This group will take you on a historical and social journey of Nottinghamshire. Tony Emery returns to deliver a fresh take on our history as well as offering opportunities to input your own stories and anecdotes. Whether you’re a keen historian, or interested in finding out more about the history of where you live, come along to these social and informative weekly sessions. The sessions will be slightly more beneficial to those who are committed to a number of weeks as they will build on the collective history and knowledge of the group, having said this, if participants are only able to attend the odd week, they will certainly be able to enjoy one off sessions. There will be a different sub-topic each week, which will feed into an overall structure.

BURSARIES – If you would love to be involved in Golden Age but feel that you cannot meet the weekly costs, there a small number of bursaries available for each group, where either all or some of the costs are met by the Playhouse. If you would like to apply for a bursary please complete the application form and send to rachelb@nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk.

INFORMATION -For further information, please contact alexm@nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk or via the website http://www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/participation/golden-age/

Over the past 6 months Backlit Gallery, near Sneinton Leisure Centre, has been combining Art & Heritage along a theme titled ‘Morley Threads’. The Gallery is in a former Morley building and the director Matthew Chesney was very keen to promote the heritage of the building and the Morley family connection. He discovered that Samuel Morley was one of a group of London business people who invited Josiah Henson, a slave who escaped to freedom via Canada, to visit London and to undertake a series of lectures about his life to further the cause of emancipation. The gallery organised a Morley Threads double-weekend last November. It included a series of historical talks by various contributors, including Professor Stanley Chapman and a guided walk around the local area.

This year saw the start of a Hyson Green World War 1 project based at the Vine Community Centre next door to St Stephen’s Church on Bobbers Mill Road. Chris Weir is working with the Vine in partnership with young people from IntoUniversity  and Home Education families. Church and community volunteers are also involved. IntoUniversity meets at the Vine to undertake extra curriculum work for local children.   The aim of the project is to preserve the Roll of Honour which has over 400 names, research some of the soldiers and their families and do a display on Hyson Green in the Early 1900s for the Spring . The project was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

On the 17^th November 2015 a Blue Plaque in honour of Jesse Boot was unveiled at the entrance to his first shop on Goose Gate, Nottingham, by his great granddaughter Emma Houston. The Plaque was erected by the Nottingham Civic Society in association with the Boots Company. As well as founding the company, Jesse Boot contributed to many local charities and causes and gave land and donations for the founding of the new University of Nottingham site at Highfields.  

To mark the 70th anniversary of its No 7 beauty range Boots has created a special exhibition at Lakeside to run from January 15th to April 17th 2016. The exhibition has been organised by Boots archives in conjunction with the University of Nottingham’s Manuscripts and Special Collections department and Dr. Richard Hornsey of the department of history.

Wednesday, 27 January, 2016
18:00 to 19:00
Greens Windmill Yard, Off Windmill Lane,
Sneinton, Nottingham, NG2 4QB.

Did you know that the following groups were targeted in the Holocaust:
Jewish people, African/African heritage people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people, People with disabilities, People with mental health issues, Polish people, Political activists/Trade Unionists, Roma/Romany Gypsies.

The event will include a candle being lit for each group in Greens Windmill Yard (or inside if weather bad)

For more information contact NCBI Nottingham on
0791 347 6905, or email ncbinotts@ncbi.org.uk

http://hmd.org.uk/events/ncbi-nottingham-holocaust-memorial-day-candle-lit-memorial

The historian Dr Ben Braber is looking for community partners for his research project on Germans in Nottingham during the First World War.

Reviewing Nottingham in a wider UK context, the project looks at issues such as:

• Migrant numbers and ethnic coherence
• Participation in the wider society
• Prisoners of war
• Anti-German measures and attitudes
• Riots and disturbances
• German reactions and support

The community partners will collaborate with Braber during the research stage of this project and the dissemination of its results. These partners, who may receive project funding for this collaboration, can be local history groups already working on the First World War period in Nottingham, and individuals who are researching a family history that included Germans.

Braber is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. He is a specialist on integration of immigrants in western European societies in the modern era, a subject on which he has published extensively, including books and articles such as “Within our Gates – A new perspective on Germans in Glasgow during the First World War” (Journal of Scottish Historical Studies), which had a similar subject as his Nottingham project.

For more information, please contact Ben Braber at 01636 706330
or benbraber@btinternet.com

New publication on the Nottingham Suffragette Movement will be available in the New Year – look out for launch events. The Women and WWI  booklet is still available.

During 2016 the group will be researching Nottingham women artists – anyone interested in helping with this – or who already has some research that they would like to share please contact NWHG via email at nottmwomenshistory@googlemail.com. Our talks on Women’s History are increasingly in demand by other history / social groups – contact us if your group would like a talk or walk

Nottingham Women’s History Group is a very small group of volunteers, all with day jobs, so please be patient if you are awaiting replies – and if you want more events – get involved in the planning group to help organise them!

nottmwomenshistory@googlemail.com
http://www.nottinghamwomenshistory.org.uk

 Thoresby Colliery, the last pit in Nottinghamshire, closed in July this year bringing to an end hundreds of years of mining in the county. Over the last twelve months Chris Upton has  documented the site, the buildings and the people to create an enduring record of this significant part our industrial and social heritage.

Further information and a selection of images can be seen on Chris’ website

Chris will be exhibiting around 50 framed images at Mansfield Museum, Leeming Street, Mansfield NG18 1NG between 9th January – 27th February 2016. The museum is open Monday – Saturday 10am – 5pm and admission is FREE

To coincide with the exhibition Chris has published a limited edition book which is now available to order from his website http://www.chrisuptonphotography.com/gallery_671881.html

The large (33x24cm) soft back book contains 138 pages and over 200 evocative black and white images that would be appreciated by anyone with an interest in mining, social history as well as photographers.

The two final talks in The Workhouse winter programme take place during January 2016. These talks give visitors to the National Trust property an opportunity to delve deeper into an aspect of Workhouse history, enjoy a light lunch and a guided tour.

‘The Peer, the Paupers and the Poetry’ on Friday 15 January (11am-1.30pm) will explore the relationship between Lord Byron and The Workhouse, especially its founder Rev. John Becher. It will look at myths surrounding both Byron and The Workhouse created through literature and the extent to which our view of history has been forged as much by fiction as by fact.

‘Taking your word’ on Friday 29 January (11am-1.30pm) will describe the vital role played by oral history in unravelling The Workhouse’s later history. Using real life stories dating back to the 1920s, personal testimonies capture what life was like during a period of great social change. The talk will explore tales of sadness, helplessness and despair but also of resilience, fortitude and friendship in the face of the harsh realities of Workhouse life.

The talks cost £12.50 and include a light lunch and guided tour. Please pre-book by calling 01636 817260.

The Workhouse is currently closed and will re-open for the 2016 season on Saturday 13 February.

The Workhouse was built in 1824 as a place of last resort for the poor and needy. The creation of Reverend JT Becher, its architecture, influenced by prison design and its harsh regime became a blueprint for workhouses throughout the country.