Group News
Alconbury Study Group ("ASG")
To contact the Group directly, please click the Contact button below:
We are a lively and interested group, formed to provide ongoing and informal learning for adults based in Alconbury, Alconbury Weston and surrounding villages. We meet on Tuesday mornings in the spring and autumn terms of the school year in the main hall at Alconbury Memorial Hall, School Lane, Alconbury, PE28 4EQ.
Parking is available immediately outside the hall, with easy (flat) access to the building and facilities.
We aim to have a mix of talks by individual speakers, short courses and term-long courses each year. However, even a 10-week course by one tutor will consist of a series of stand-alone talks, so if you miss some weeks, you will still gain from the others! We break each session for refreshments and chat and our fees are modest
Each 10-week term is timed to coincide with the local schools’ dates, so there are no talks at half-term.
For more information or to be added to our mailing list, please contact the Group.
To look at previous courses click here
Course Title: Writing about War
Course Description: A series of 3 talks looking at attitudes towards war (some from combatants) from the Trojan War (Homer) up to the present day in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sessions will cover the Middle Ages, Shakespeare, the American Civil War, 1st and 2nd World Wars plus other conflicts. In particular we will discuss how the writers convey their attitudes for purposes of propaganda or protest.
Tutor: Lindsay Fursland
Venue: Alconbury Memorial Hall, School Lane, Alconbury, PE28 4EQ
Day Of Week: Tuesday
Start Time: 10:00
Duration: 1.50 hrs
Date: 23/09/25
No. of Weeks: 3
Fee: £
Course Title: When Brits Go Bad
Course Description: Bull Dog spirit? Not for these scoundrels. Wartime brought out the worst in some people. Looting, Gangs, Prostitution, Serial Killers, Murderers, Spies and traitors; it’s all here. Be warned, this talk is not for the faint hearted!
Tutor: Roger Leivers
Venue: Alconbury Memorial Hall, School Lane, Alconbury, PE28 4EQ
Course Length: One Day
Date: 14/10/25
Start Time: 10:00
End Time: 11:30
Fee: £
Course Title: The search for Lotte
Course Description: Lotte made an emotional appearance the first book written by Roger Leivers, but since then her story, and that of her family, has expanded to become a talk in its own right. This true holocaust story is full of both hope and despair. You will hear how she was found and then the twists and turns of life for the family in Theresienstadt and for some, Auschwitz.
Tutor: Roger Leivers
Venue: Alconbury Memorial Hall, School Lane, Alconbury, PE28 4EQ
Course Length: One Day
Date: 21/10/25
Start Time: 10:00
End Time: 11:30
Fee: £
Course Title: An Introduction to Japanese History and Culture
Course Description: Since childhood Julian has been obsessed with East Asian culture, art and belief. He read Oriental Studies and Philosophy at Cambridge before training as a Zen shiatsu therapist. He travels widely in Japan whilst working on various projects. This five-week series of individual talks will look at the very different (to us) world of Japan.
Tutor: Julian Sedgewick
Venue: Alconbury Memorial Hall, School Lane, Alconbury, PE28 4EQ
Day Of Week: Tuesday
Start Time: 10:00
Duration: 1.50 hrs
Date: 04/11/25
No. of Weeks: 5
Fee: £
Course Title: American Civil War
Course Description: Only 90 years after independence a young and idealistic country was plunged into a devastating civil war.
In a series of 10 individual talks, the course examines the causes of the war and the issues which divided the country. It was also the first modern war, which saw the introduction of new weapons and methods of warfare and covers the experience of those who fought and the generals who commanded, bringing a personal aspect to the conflict.
One session involves handling artefacts and another studies music and poetry produced in the war. The course concludes by considering the impact of the war and its place in the history of the USA
Tutor: Mike Muncaster
Venue: Alconbury Memorial Hall, School Lane, Alconbury, PE28 4EQ
Day Of Week: Tuesday
Start Time: 10:00
Duration: 1.50 hrs
Date: 13/01/26
No. of Weeks: 10
Fee: £
