There are a couple of places left on the full-time one-year diploma in financial services at Waterford RTC. The course runs for four days a week with the fifth day on work placement and it is open to graduates or those who have received merit or distinction on a national certificate course.

From next year, the college hopes to offer an add-on year for merit/distinction diploma graduates leading to a BA in financial services. Anyone interested in this fast-track qualification should waste no time in contacting Peter Griffin at (051) 302073 as lectures are already under way.

The department of modern history at Maynooth College is organising a series of open public lectures over the 1996/1997 academic year under the broad title of Crossing Boundaries.

The lectures begin at 7.00 p.m. and will be held in the Callan Hall. The series begins this evening with a lecture by Dr Wolfgang Behringer from the University of Bonn who will speak about postal communications and newspapers as disseminators of ideas in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.

On November 12th, Islamic expert Professor Bruce Masters of Wesleyan University will lecture on the Catholic community which once thrived in the city of Aleppo while on December 10th, Professor Nicholas Canny of UCG will speak about England's new world (and the old) from 1480 to the 1630s.

For further information contact Dr David Lederer at (01) 708 3550 or fax (01) 708 3573.

Autogenics is a stress-beating relaxation technique which originated in Germany. It is quick and easy to learn and it can be practised unobtrusively.

German-born tutor, Manfred Hillmann, will give an introductory talk to autogenics at 8.00 p.m. on October 23rd and 5.30 p.m. on October 30th at Milltown Park in Ranelagh, Dublin.

Weekend training courses will be held on October 18th-20th, October 25th-27th and November 1st-3rd. For information telephone (0404) 40470.