Family History

Meetings are very informal and members discuss problems and offer tips. We find that everyone has something to contribute.  Help with palaeography and basic Latin is available. We have a collection of family history books and a large number of magazines. As well as Group meetings we have arranged minibus expeditions to the National Archives, Society of Genealogists and the newspaper archives at Colindale.

Family History 1

Family History 1 meets on the 1^st Thursday of the month at 2.00 p.m., usually in members' houses.

This group is for those who have covered all the basic sources of information from the census and registration and are either hoping to go back beyond 1837.

Family History 2

It is hoped this group will take place for 2009/2010. The group is aimed at those people who have done a basic course and wish to progress further with their family history, through group discussions, speakers and visits.

Family History 3

This is a small group for beginners in Family History or those wishing to brush-up on the use of primary resources. We will look at civil registration, censuses, parish registers, record offices, wills, military and other records.

Meetings are monthly on a Friday afternoon at the homes of group members. Costs are for photocopies of notes (if desired) and will be less than £4.00 in total 

Finance and Economics

Meetings are currently being held mainly in North Tonbridge. The primary objective is to broaden members’ understanding of economic affairs on a world scale and their impact on financial markets. At times, discussions may extend to broader matters relating more to domestic and international politics. The group does not operate as an investment club, nor discuss specific investment opportunities. The meetings, which are held on Thursday afternoons, normally at intervals of a month to six weeks, usually start with a short discussion of the then economic situation and background to financial markets. This is then followed by a longer session on a specific topic relating to economics, finance or investment, the whole meeting lasting some two hours.

Foreign Films

This group is for those members who enjoy seeing foreign films. We take advantage of the excellent films that are shown at the Trinity Arts Centre in Tunbridge Wells and, occasionally, elsewhere. We have seen films from France, Russia, Japan, Spain, Iran and elsewhere. We look forward to enjoying many more.  

We meet three times a year, when the new programme of The Trinity Arts Centre is published. Over a cup of coffee we talk about the films we’ve seen and decide which films we want to see from the current programme. When possible we share cars and members go to as many or as few films they wish.

French Conversation

The purpose of the groups is to speak French in an informal atmosphere. Mistakes are occasionally corrected but the aim is to give those participating confidence in their ability to make themselves understood. Group one is largely unstructured but Group two arranges a chosen topic in advance to provide the basis for their meeting. Group three has a flexible approach, but may agree a topic to include in the next session.

Group one- The Group meets on 2^nd Friday of each month at 2.00 p.m. (except July and August) at “Russets”, Stacey Road, Tonbridge. There may be variations to date arranged in advance depending on circumstances. The group discusses personal and current events in French although, when stuck, the odd English word creeps in. There are no additional expenses.

Group Two- We meet on the 2^nd Tuesday morning of each month in members’ homes for conversation on a previously agreed subject in a light-hearted atmosphere.

 Group Three -The group meets on the 3^rd Wednesday morning of each month. General and topic-based conversation in a relaxed atmosphere.

Group Four -  The group meets on 1^st Monday of each month 2.30–4.00 p.m.  The usual format is for each member to come prepared to talk for a little while on any subject of their choice (e.g. holidays, historical events, books, films, visits, family occasions etc.) which might then be followed by some related discussion.