Frequency: on the second and fourth Mondayof each Month.
Venue: La Senieta (Theatre), Moraira
Past U3A President John Hopwood is the Group Leader of the Art & History Group.
John has been joined by Adrian Gracia and Colin Donadio who act as Assistant Group Leaders.
John is working hard to prepare new lists of speakers to present talks and is pleased to confirm that most dates in 2023 are already booked.
The presentations cover a very varied and interesting selection including Artists and Art History as well as the History of Individuals and Historical Periods and events which are well illustrated and professionally presented on a large screen via the in-house projection systems.
All members of our U3A are welcome to attend the talks and it is not necessary to book or reserve seats but it is recommended that you let us have your email so that we can keep you up-dated with information on future talks.
Full details of up-coming talks are available in the Art & History Group section of the U3A Website.
Members who have visitors are also welcome to bring them along to enjoy our talks.
Architecture and Public Art in the Comunidad Valenciana
There has been a lot of interest in the final talk given by Peter Atkinson in May 2024 before he left to join his family in Canada. Peter has kindly made an abridged version of his presentation, which is available here.
Friederike Victoria “Joy” Adamson was a passionate, temperamental and controversial woman. Although she married three times and was an infamous seducer, she never experienced happiness with any of her husbands or lovers. She won international renown with her African wildlife books, especially the trilogy describing how, together with her last …
Serendipity is a remarkable phenomenon which describes a most beneficial outcome achieved purely by chance. We will see that a significant number of scientific discoveries throughout history have been made by mistake; such that the intended result failed but the unintended consequence was so dramatic and useful to society that …
This is a brief insight to a life on the ocean waves from an Engineer Cadet to Chief Engineer. During this time the world was changing from conventional cargo ships to container ships. Life on board ships in the 60’s and 70’s that I experienced was full of excitement, danger, …
In the late 15 th Century, the Spanish Catholic Monarchs, Isabel and Ferdinand, used their children to create a complex web of alliances mainly to curtail the power of France.Two of their daughters, Catalina and Juana, became Queens, but neither got to rule for long as they weredeceived by the …
Learn how Juan Garcia a chicken farmer from Barcelona: Created a way of influencing Nazi strategy at the highest level Won the trust of Churchill and Hitler Saved thousands of Allied lives on D Day Made enough money to fund the entire British Secret Service A fascinating true story not …
Marie-Antoinette-and-her-children Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun exerted her considerable charm to become the friend, and then official portraitist, of Marie Antoinette. Though profitable, this role made her a public and controversial figure, and in 1789 it precipitated her exile. In a Europe torn by strife and revolution, she nevertheless managed to …
What are the stories behind some of the famous products? Birds Custard and Royal Baking Powder were both invented because Alfred Bird’s wife was allergic to yeast and eggs. “Marriage is a lot more harmonious when one’s wife can satisfy her sweet tooth”!!! Why is there no sugar or flavouring …
By Peter Atkinson John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson: their lives, personalities and careers, with an emphasis on the 60s, the decade of their presidencies. The principal issues were the cold war, civil rights, Vietnam, and the assassination and its aftermath. It is a story of two fascinating individuals, ...
By Peter Atkinson A comprehensive tour of the art and architecture that can be viewed in Spain’s outdoors, from whole buildings to minor architectural details and stand-alone artworks, including the transient or trivial as well as the monumental and permanent. Banksy said “art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”. ...
By John Hopwood Born in Valencia to a wealthy family of fabric makers and then orphaned at the age of three being raised by his aunt, the wife of a poor locksmith, this artist rapidly became famous for his wonderful paintings. He was particularly well known for his wonderful beach ...
By John Hopwood. Commences with an introduction to La Marquese which is the oldest car in the world which is still in full working condition and then goes on to discuss the very earliest ideas and designs for a road vehicle. It includes many amazing concept cars as well as ...
By John Hopwood. This is a slightly humorous look at the history of the bicycle from the first push bikes through the many different designs to the latest racing and mountain bikes. Contains many little-known facts about the bicycle and is equally of interest to enthusiastic bikers as well as ...
By John Hopwood. The quite detailed story of this wonderful artists life from his humble beginnings in Bradford to becoming the most expensive living artist in the world. His first picture which was of his father, sold at an art fair in Leeds for £10. His most expensive work, Portrait ...
By John Hopwood. The full story of this artist’s life from his very difficult childhood through to his great success being the only potter ever to wind the Turner Prize and his many achievements as a potter, an engraver, a tapestry maker, an author, a Reith Lecturer and a much ...
By John Hopwood. An in-depth look at the life of Frank Winfield Woolworth and the way in which he built the largest chain store group in the world as well at the tallest building in the world. The talk continues with the amazing outlandish lives of his grandchildren Barbara Hutton ...
If you enjoyed the lecture you can watch it again and, if you missed it, for the first time, by clicking on the video below. Lecturer: Pete Carrigan Pete was a flight engineer 3rd pilot, and flew for 28 years for British Airways. He accumulated over 10,000 hours on 747s over 15 ...
By John Hopwood. Briefly describes the various types of naturally occurring glasses and then follows with some in-depth discussion of how glass was first discovered, how it became a wonderful art form as well as a highly technical product with some interesting illustrations throughout ...
