In The Loop – 16 Dec 2024
Ho Ho Ho… Merry Christmas!
Hello everyone and welcome to the final ‘in the loop’ of 2024!
Stoke Lodge will be closed from 4pm on Friday 20th December and we will reopen again on Monday 6th January. If you haven’t booked yet for January and you want to book in person, or over the phone, this week is your last chance before Christmas.
Advent Calendar Inspiration
If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen our Adult Learning Advent Calendar posts. We have a new post each day until Christmas. In the new year, all new followers will be entered into a draw to win one of 2 £50 Adult Learning gift vouchers. So, if you don’t already, now is a great time to follow our Facebook page or our Instagram account.
There are some wonderful courses planned for the new year so give yourself (or better still, get someone else to give you) the gift of learning for 2025.
Languages
- French Book club: Le Petit Prince, with Catherine, 6 wks from 7 Jan, Tue 10am-12noon, (L37F)
- Get by in Spanish, with Luz, 10 wks from 15 Jan, Wed 12.14pm-2.45pm (L52S)
- Get by in Portuguese, with Margarida, 6 wks from 7 Jan, Tue 2pm-4pm, (L20P)
- Brush up your Spanish, with Gorka, 6 wks from 19 Jan, Wed 12.45pm-14.45pm, (L53S)
Painting and Print
- NEW Dry-Point Etching-Taster, with Rebecca, one session 21 Jan, 1pm-4pm (B80A) – Just £20
- NEW Reduction Lino Printing-Taster, with Rebecca, one session 22 Jan, Wed 9.30am-12.30pm (B81A) – Just £20
- Watercolours-Mixed Ability, with Ellie, 5 wks from 14 Jan Tue 6pm-8.30pm (B82A)
- Acrylic & Watercolour: Space For Creativity, with Laurel on Sat/Sun 18/19 Jan 10am-4pm (B75C)
- Oil Pastels-An Introduction, with Roma, 5 wks from 15 Jan, Wed 3.15pm-5.15pm (B74C)
- Oil Painting-Mixed Ability, with Warren, 5 wks from 16 Jan, Thu 1.30pm-4pm (B69B)
- Printmaking @ St Paul’s, with Barbara, 5 wks from 17 Jan, Fri 10am-12.30pm (T80C
Family History
History
- NEW Historiography of the Bible: Myths, Facts, and Interpretations, with Siena, 5 wks from 13 Jan, Mon 10am-12noon, (S27H)
- NEW Queens and Warriors: Women Who changed the World, with Siena, 6 wks from 24 Feb, Mon 1pm-3pm, (S30H)
- Spanish History: The Spanish Civil War, Franco’s dictatorship and the transition to democracy, 10 wks from 10 Jan, Fri 12.45pm-14.45pm, (L48S)
Gardening and Floristry
- Garden Design, with Jason, 10 wks from 15 Jan, Wed 10am-12noon, (S11G)
- Flower Arranging Intermediates-Flowers For The Home, with Kathryn, 5 wks from 17 Jan, Fri 1pm-3.30pm (G11B)
- Flower Arranging-Beginners-Spring, with Kathryn, 5 wks from 17 Jan, Fri 10am-12.30pm (G10B)
Computers
- Basic Computer Skills, with Carmel, 4 wks from 20 Jan, Mon 10am-12noon, (S13C)
- Improve your Computer Skills, with Carmel, 5 wks from 20 Jan, Mon 1pm-3pm, (S16C)
Embroidery and Crochet
- Embroidery For Complete Beginners-Patching & Mending, with Debby, 5 wks from 13 Jan, Mon 10am-12.30pm (T67B)
- Learn How To Crochet-Intermediates, with Cristina, 5 wks from 14 Jan, Tue 1pm-3.30pm (T74A)
Tai Chi
Film Studies and Music
- Spanish Cinema-Beyond Almodovar-ONLINE, with Davide, 5 wks from 13 Jan, Mon 4.30pm-6pm (F45C)
- Exploring Bernstein’s West Side Story, with Matthew, one session Thu 23 Jan, 10am-4pm (L15D)
Creative Writing
- A Beginner’s Guide To Writing Fiction-ONLINE, with Carolyn, 6 weeks from 13 Jan, Mon 7pm-9pm (L11B)
- The Art Of Short Story Writing, with Carolyn, 6 weeks from 14 Jan, Tue 1pm-3pm (L12A)
Christmas Challenges
If you are looking for a puzzle you might like to try the GCHQ Christmas Card puzzle. This one has been taxing us in the office for a while, but I think we are almost at the answer….
You can download the puzzle from the GCHQ website here.
The Woodland Trust have a nice Christmas Quiz to test your knowledge on Christmas nature traditions. You can find that here.
Charity Mencap have collated a full Christmas quiz with five rounds including questions on Music, TV and food and drink. Answers at the end so don’t scroll too soon! You can find that here.
The V & A Museum has a quiz section called Mused – with some quizzes that might appeal to the younger generations including a Christmas film quotes and a Christmas emoji quiz. You can find that here.
Here is a Christmas quiz we put together a few years ago. 25 Christmas questions – just for fun! At the end you can give us your contact details for the chance to win a £25 Adult Learning voucher. You don’t have to get all the questions correct to win – the quiz is just for fun! Follow the link here to play.
Last minute gifts!
Don’t forget you can purchase Adult Learning gift vouchers in any amount. We have both paper vouchers in the office and E Vouchers that can be emailed to you. This week is the last chance to buy for Christmas!
And finally…
We all know that while Christmas can bring lots of fun and activity it is also a challenging time for many of us. It makes us thinks of loved ones who are no longer with us, and we can feel under pressure to ‘celebrate’ when we are just not feeling it!
Please do take care of yourselves over the break, take time to do the things you enjoy, and give yourself permission to ‘opt out’ of some of the things that bring extra stresses. There is help out there for anyone feeling the pressure of Christmas.
You can find useful support information online at Mind – for lots of different support and a big list of contacts including, CALM – for managing Christmas anxiety and Cruse – for coping with Grief at Christmas.
From the whole team at Bristol Adult Learning we wish you a happy and hopeful Christmas and look forward to seeing you again in 2025.
Kindest regards
Jenny
