All events below are held at St Augustine’s Church and Community Centre in Richmond Road and are open to all. Entry is normally free, although a small charge or retiring collection may be held where fees are requested by speakers or performers. A complimentary glass of wine or fruit juice and nibbles are served at most events.
The programme is supported by Richmond, Oxford and Windsor Roads’ Residents’ Associations, and the Benson Area Residents’ Association, and compiled by St Augustine’s Church. Details at www.churchatcastle.org.uk & https://stas.org.uk .
FRIDAY 1 MARCH 6 – 7.30 PM UNDER MILK WOOD
A night for the film buffs! To celebrate St David’s Day, a big screen showing of Dylan Thomas’s outstanding poetic drama Under Milk Wood produced by BBC Wales and performed by a collage of famous Welsh voices and faces, including Tom Jones and Bryn Terfel. Not suitable for young children and parental guidance for those under 12 years.
This sets the scene for the following evening featuring more poetry and music “Told Round the Fireside” – see below.
SATURDAY 2 MARCH 6 –7 PM TOLD ROUND THE FIRESIDE
An evening of music, poetry and stories on the theme of Home to raise money for Shelter’s work with the homeless – with Isy Mead and Philip Mead (piano). The winners of a competition for original poetry on the same theme will be invited to read their poems and receive their prize. Poems judged by Michael Harrison and John Hegley.
SATURDAY 16 MARCH 7 – 11 PM QUIZ NIGHT
“SPRINGTIME FOR BREXIT”
Put the politics of Brexit aside for a few hours, and join Cambridge Operatic Society for a quiz evening of good humour, great company, music and show business-themed questions, with Geoff Reed at the helm as Quizmaster. Sign up by following the link https://eventbrite.co.uk/o/cambridge-operatic-society-18519356354 or email: secretary@caosweb.org An admission charge will apply for this event.
FRIDAY 22 MARCH 6 – 7 PM TO BE A PILGRIM?
What is the difference between going on a pilgrimage and going on a walk? What makes pilgrimage a universal cultural phenomenon? Why has there been a resurgence of interest in spiritual journeying? Drawing on her experience as a long-distance walker, Camino pilgrim and one-time medieval researcher, Gill Mead will look at the history of pilgrimage and attempt to discover why, even in this day and age, “longen folk to goon on pilgrimages”.
SUNDAY 24 MARCH 1.45 – 4 PM SUNDAY ART WALK
Time for personal reflection and group discussion on the spiritual aspects of art on a gentle stroll around the public art freely available in parts of West Cambridge. Cream teas available on return to St Augustine’s. Led by the Rev Dr Janet Bunker
FRIDAY 29 MARCH 6 -9 PM A CELEBRATION OF BIRDS IN ART
Come and view an exhibition of beautiful sculptures and art work by Jayne Ruffell-Ward, on the theme of birds. The work will be exhibited alongside outstanding photographs of birds and the Suffolk landscape by Mark Wills. The exhibition will be open all week-end.
SATURDAY 30 MARCH 6 -7 PM A CELEBRATION OF BIRDS IN MUSIC 1
Join us for a concert of piano music performed by Marion Caldwell, inspired by the art work in the exhibition. The concert will include works by Maurice Ravel, Amy Beach and Robert Schumann. Followed by a buffet supper.
SUNDAY 31 MARCH 3 -4 PM A CELEBRATION OF BIRDS IN MUSIC 2
Zero Gravity, Cambridge’s Recorder Band, directed by Evelyn Nallen, present an afternoon of music by Wren and Woodcock, with Music for a Bird and ending with A Wild Goose Chase! A fitting finale to a week-end dedicated to our feathered friends.
FRIDAY 5 APRIL 6 -7 PM THE ISLAND CALLED NOWHERE: WILLIAM MORRIS AND GEORGE ORWELL COMPARED
Utopia means either “the good place” or “no place”. In his story News from Nowhere (1890), William Morris imagines the perfectly happy society and calls it “nowhere”. Nearly 60 years later, George Orwell does the opposite in Nineteen Eighty Four, imagining the sort of society we now call Dystopia. But in some ways, Utopia and Dystopia resemble one another. Clive Wilmer, poet and critic, Emeritus Fellow at Sidney Sussex College, and Master of John Ruskin’s Guild of St George, explains all.
…………. and don’t forget on SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY, SUNDAY 3 MARCH, SUNDAY 7 APRIL and SUNDAY 5 MAY come and share a COMMUNITY LUNCH starting at 1 pm : two courses with wine or fruit juice for only £4.50 per head.
And why not enjoy a coffee and cake at Café@99? Open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10.30am to 12 pm at St Augustine’s in Richmond Road – a café run by and for the local community. An opportunity to share a conversation, write a poem, browse a newspaper, or simply relax. Hosted by RRRA and St Augustine’s.