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TOTH SPRING PROGRAMME
Wednesday 14th January 2026
Film “Cabaret” at Shul
Film to start at 2.15 pm prompt.
We will watch the film in true “Cabaret” style and break for tea in the middle.
Film duration: 2 hours
The plot of “Cabaret” follows American writer Cliff Bradshaw arriving in 1930s Berlin, where he encounters the captivating, hedonistic English singer Sally Bowles at the infamous Kit Kat Club, overseen by the enigmatic ‘Emcee’ (Master of Ceremonies); their tumultuous romance unfolds as they indulge in the city’s decadent nightlife, oblivious to the chilling rise of Nazism, while a parallel story shows the doomed love between boarding house owner Fräulein Schneider and Jewish fruit vendor Herr Schultz, symbolising society’s unravelling and complicity in the face of encroaching fascism.
Wednesday 28th January 2026
2.15 pm at Shul
Speaker: Martin Stern
Title: Holocaust education after October 7th
Born in the Netherlands to a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother, Martin was arrested at the age of five and transported to Westerbork and then to Theresienstadt. The little boys who were his wonderful friends in the Dutch prison camp surely went to Sobibor or Auschwitz with few if any exceptions. His mother died in 1942 after the birth of his sister Erika. His father shot two of his pursuers during his arrest, was sent to Auschwitz and died in Buchenwald. In Theresienstadt a woman prisoner saved Erika’s life and Martin’s by taking them from being amongst the other children. After the war they lived in the Netherlands for five years before moving to Manchester. After Manchester Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford, Martin became a hospital physician immunologist, retiring in 2002. Since 2004 he has been teaching about the Holocaust and genocides, chiefly with the National Holocaust Museum in Lexton, Nottinghamshire.
The atrocities with genocidal intent of October 7th 2023 and the horrific public responses around the world, including the UK, have led us to reconsider education about the Holocaust, antisemitism and other matters.
Wednesday 11th February 2026
2.15 pm at Shul
Speaker: Rachel Kolsky
Title: The Festival of Britain, 1951: A tonic for the nation
Exciting and futuristic, the Festival of Britain brought fun and colour to post-war austerity London with its Skylon, Dome of Discovery, Battersea Pleasure Gardens (an iconic emblem with specially commissioned artworks from emerging artists and sculptors, yet to be household names). Fabulous memories remain particularly at the Royal Festival Hall, the South Bank and the Lansbury Housing Estate in Poplar.
Engaging, knowledgeable and entertaining, Rachel Kolsky is a popular social historian, a prize-winning London Blue Badge Tourist Guide and author. Focussing on the ‘human stories b behind the buildings’ Rachel’s talks are known to be fun and informative, filled with anecdotes past and present. From off-the-beaten track London and famous personalities to cinemas and shopping, memories of all aspects of London’s rich and varied social history come flooding back.
Before embarking on her carrer as Guide and Lecturer, Rachel, a qualified librarian, worked as an information professional in the financial services industry for over 25 years, being recognised at industry level with the information Professional of the Year award in 2006. Her professional organisation, SLA, awarded her the Membership Achievement Award in 2008.
While not working or guiding she supports her local independent cinema, The Phoenix, East Finchley, where she was a trustee for over 20 years. Rachel has published seven books, including ‘Jewish London’, ‘London’s South Bank in 50 Buildings’, ‘Secret Whitechapel’ and ‘Women’s London’ and is thrilled to have been a guest lecturer on cruises since 2009.
Wednesday 25th February 2026
Interfaith meeting with Methodist Church, Pages Lane.
More info to follow
Wednesday 11th March 2026
Details to follow
Wednesday 25th March 2026
Details to follow
Please note we make a charge of £5, to cover our overheads
