u3a in Scotland Scottish Charity SC 030370

Summer School Tuesday 16 – Thursday 18 August 2022

Stirling Court Hotel, University of Stirling, Airthrey Rd, Stirling FK9 4LA

Courses and Tutors

Subject to demand we plan to offer the following courses:

Ancient Civilisations of Mesoamerica: Olmec, Maya and Aztecs: Prof. Maria Chester, East Berwickshire U3A

Creative Writing: on Writing Short Stories: Gilly Beckett, East Berwickshire U3A

Exploring Poetry: Peter Holmes, Forth Valley U3A

Immunology - Our Immune System: Friend or Foe?: Prof. David I Stott, Bearsden and Milngavie U3A

A Great Leap Forward? Scottish History 1750 - 1850: Bill Bedborough, Dr Sheena Bedborough and Robert Hough, Forth Valley U3A; Professor Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, Professor Emeritus in the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in

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Outlines of the courses are given below:

Ancient Civilisations of Mesoamerica: Olmec, Maya and Aztecs

Prof. Maria Chester, East Berwickshire U3A

Do you know that tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, beans, peanuts, chocolate, sunflower and almost 60% of all the vegetables we eat came from the Americas? We will find out more about this subject together after travelling with our imagination thousands of years back to the remote New World where the most fabulous civilisations developed and vanished.

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We shall study the fabulous and mysterious cultures of Mesoamerica, with an accent on advanced civilisations such as the Olmec, the Maya, the Toltec and finishing with the Aztec or Mexica which civilisation was interrupted by Hernan Cortes and his Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century with the siege and complete destruction of their beautiful capital city: Tenochtitlan, a city built in 1325 in the middle of the lake Texcoco. After the city was burnt and its temples destroyed, the Spaniards built what today is Mexico D.F....

Background

After studying Fine Arts, Maria Chester studied Art History becoming a Professor in Pre-Columbian Civilisations. Because of her first passion, Cave Art and Rock Art, she also developed an interest in Archaeology, which gave her a frame for her constant research. She taught in several South American universities as well as private institutions. In May 2016, she was elected Secretary General of International Association of Universities of the Third Age (AIUTA). She also tutors annual courses on Art History for Berwick Educational Association and works for Berwick Visual Arts delivering conferences and guided tours at The Granary Gallery, Berwick upon Tweed. Since October 2018, she is also an accredited lecturer for The Arts Society in London. Maria was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina but travelled the world. She lived for 20 years in Caracas, Venezuela. She now lives in the Scottish Borders. ------Creative Writing: on Writing Short Stories

Gilly Beckett, East Berwickshire U3A

Are you writing? Would you like to write? Have you already embarked on a story? Have you finished your story? Or is your story still the germ of an idea?

Short story writing can take many forms, in any genre - contemporary, historical, crime and thriller, poetry, science fiction, fantasy, biographical - and wherever you are on your literary journey – Summer School time-out in an imaginative atmosphere with like-minded folk can go a long way towards solving dilemmas about where your story is going and boosting your confidence along the exciting route towards creating your literary work. Our creative writing course delves into defining character and place, dialogue; the rises, falls and pace of our narrative; some basic craft skills - and some fun along the way.

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In an address to students in Oxford Ian Fleming encapsulated his approach to writing: say whatever you want, research it properly, and write fast. Never look back…if you persevere, a writer's life has its advantages: 'You carry your office around in your head. And you are far more aware of the world around you. Writing makes you more alive to your surroundings and, since the main ingredient of living is to be alive, this is quite a worthwhile by-product of writing…' extract from ‘The Man with the Golden Typewriter’ by Fergus Fleming

Background

Gilly Beckett, born and educated in Bexley, Kent; trained and performed with the Ballet Rambert until her marriage, and throughout her varied activities, BA(Hons) in History of the Arts, and Humanities; ten years residing, and writing, in Greece; and the last four years in the Scottish Borders with four novels, one published, under her writerly belt - Gilly never stops writing. Tutoring and facilitating creative writing courses for Northumberland Libraries, Scottish Borders Community Mental Health and Wellbeing, her local U3A Scottish Borders creative writing group; for the last seven years, creative writing tutor for the U3A National Summer Schools; and presenting ‘online' creative writing sessions and writing for wellbeing courses throughout the national lockdown.

Gilly describes U3A Summer Schools as rewarding and enjoyable experiences for participants and tutors alike; time out to study, to compare ideas and share inspiration; moments to make new acquaintances and to relax.

------Exploring Poetry

Peter Holmes, Forth Valley U3A

For eight years, I have had the pleasure of exploring poetry with members of Forth Valley U3A. Our exploration is collaborative, a sharing of our experiences of the works of poets across the centuries who have sought to communicate their responses to the extraordinary world in which we live, and/or to explore their inner emotional landscape. Some poems open our eyes to the world around us; some help us to share and reflect on experiences in a way that touch our emotions; others touch our feelings in ways that will make us laugh or bring us close to tears. Some do all of these things. While discussing the content of the poems, we also think about, and examine, the way poets use language and poetic form to express their thoughts and feelings.

I see the aim of the Summer School as relatively simple: to provide a comfortable environment in which a group of people interested in poetry can come together to

u3a in Scotland Summer School 2022 Courses and Tutors v2 April 2021 discuss poems on a variety of topics; and also to consider the ways in which poets have used poetry as a means of communication. In all this, the approach will be to encourage participation and collaboration. No specific knowledge is required, just an interest in poetry and a desire to discover more of its ability to communicate with us and to extend our horizons.

Background

I studied English language and literature at university. I was a teacher of English, a lecturer, and then an HMI in Northern Ireland. My career then involved me in the policy development and planning of various aspects of educational provision. After retirement, I was keen to return to, and refresh my engagement with, poetry, an opportunity afforded by my involvement with U3A.

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Immunology - Our Immune System: Friend or Foe?

Prof. David I Stott, Bearsden and Milngavie U3A

How do people recover from infections such as the common cold, influenza and childhood diseases without medical intervention? This course will explain how the immune system works starting with the historical background that led to modern discoveries in the nature of the immune system and how it protects us from disease. I shall describe the "footsoldiers" of the immune system, i.e. the different types of cells and antibody molecules that protect us against infections and even attack and destroy cancer. How do these cells talk to each other and learn to recognise an infection? What are antibodies and how are they able to attack and destroy bacteria and viruses. How do vaccines work? What are monoclonal antibodies and how are they being used to treat diseases including cancers, rheumatoid arthritis and many others. Learn what can go wrong when the immune system over-reacts to harmless substances causing allergies, including asthma, or attacks our own tissues resulting in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and many others. No prior knowledge of the biomedical sciences is required, just an interest!

Background

Title: Emeritus Professor of Molecular Immunology u3a in Scotland Summer School 2022 Courses and Tutors v2 April 2021

Degrees: Hons. BSc (First Class) in Biological Chemistry (M/c); Ph.D. in Biochemistry (Cantab.) Career: Research in Immunology at the Agricultural Research Council Institute, Babraham, Cambridge; The Basel Institute for Immunology, Basel, Switzerland; Research Fellow, Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Glasgow; Professor of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, University of Glasgow; Sabbaticals at the WHO Centre, University of Geneva; German Rheumatology Research Institute, Berlin; Visiting scientist, Finlay Institute for Immunology, Havana, Cuba. Research collaborations with various universities and research institutes in the UK and other countries. Hobbies: Listening to jazz and studying art and astronomy. ------

A Great Leap Forward? Scottish History 1750 – 1850

Bill Bedborough, Dr Sheena Bedborough and Robert Hough, Forth Valley U3A; Professor Sir Geoff Palmer OBE, Professor Emeritus in the School of Life Sciences at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh

The course focuses on the hundred years of Scottish history from the collapse of the Jacobite Rebellion till the middle of the new Century. This period lacks the romanticism and drama of earlier periods in the country’s history, not least that from 1650 on, but is nevertheless one of major significance for the development of Scotland and its emergence into the modern, industrialised world. As such, the main emphasis of the course will be on those developments which took place gradually and, on the whole, peacefully but at an increasing pace in the country over these years, such as the Enlightenment, economic progress, shipbuilding, the trade triangle and the abolition of slavery. The course is intended for those with a general interest in and enthusiasm for Scottish History; no detailed knowledge is required. The emphasis throughout will be on a range of ‘broad brush’ developments in key areas, illustrated, where appropriate, with local exemplars.

Background

Bill Bedborough Born and bred in Glasgow, I studied at Glasgow University after leaving school and graduated MA (Hons) in History in 1964. Teacher training at Jordanhill was followed by a teaching career in schools in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Tayside and the Borders. u3a in Scotland Summer School 2022 Courses and Tutors v2 April 2021

Appointed Rector to Forfar Academy in 1979, I remained there till 1989, when I moved to Jordanhill School in Glasgow, serving as Rector there till my retirement in 1997. In the course of my career, I served on various working parties including chairing the national working parties for Contemporary Social Studies and Higher Still History. In 1991, I gained the Diploma in Educational Technology from Dundee College and in 2005 I graduated B.A in German and Spanish from Stirling University. Following retirement, I have continued to enthusiastically pursue my interests in cycling, rambling, travel and public speaking, and was a Humanist Celebrant from 2009 till 2017. From at least 1950 till the present, I have remained a staunch supporter of Third Lanark!

Sheena Bedborough After attending school in Glasgow, I went on to Glasgow University to study history. My working life was spent in the classroom. After a brief flirtation with maths (and a BA through the in the 1980s), I returned to teaching history, finishing my career as Principal Teacher in a large Fife comprehensive school. After my retiral, I enrolled at Stirling University to study Scottish history, completing a Masters in Research, followed by a PhD in Scottish political life in the later eighteenth century.

Robert Hough Robert is a Solicitor, qualified in England and Wales. He trained in the 1970’s in a City of London firm, specialising in Maritime Law. He was primarily concerned with High Court litigation in the Admiralty and Commercial Courts, and dealt with marine accidents including ship collisions, salvage, as well as cargo and commodity disputes. In I980 Robert moved to commence to work with a small team of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) traders and was involved in the worldwide operation of a large fleet of LPG ships. In 1987 he joined “The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association”, (known as the Britannia P&I Club), a non-profit making ‘mutual’ providing protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance for its shipowner members. As a defence lawyer, he was responsible for more than 10 million tons of Danish, Norwegian and German insured ships. During his 20 years with Britannia he handled many serious maritime casualties. Since his retirement in 2010, Robert has been actively engaged in writing learning material for the P&I Industry’s education programme, and setting and marking exam papers.

Professor Sir Geoff Palmer Professor Emeritus Sir Geoff Palmer CD, OBE, DSc arrived in London as an immigrant from in 1955 to re-join his mother who left Jamaica in 1948. After leaving school in London in 1958, he worked and attended evening classes to improve his qualifications. He subsequently entered Leicester, Edinburgh and Heriot Watt u3a in Scotland Summer School 2022 Courses and Tutors v2 April 2021

Universities where he gained BSc, PhD and DSc degrees, respectively. Sir Geoff is a Board Member of various organisations and is Patron of the Association of Jamaican Nationals (Birmingham) UK. He has published books on different subjects and has received various research, academic and community awards. Professor Palmer is an Honorary Freeman of Midlothian, Scotland. He gained his OBE in 2003, CD of Jamaica in 2020 and was Knighted in 2014 for his contributions to science, charity and human rights.

Professor Sir Geoff Palmer

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