Dear Members

NEXT LECTURE

We are delighted to announce that our next lecture will take place live at the Community Centre on Wednesday 1st September. Lydia Bauman will talk to us about: Stranger at the door: representations of 'the other' in art.

We plan to have coffee in the exhibition room as usual. Unless rules change, there will be no social distancing. Can we please ask members to delay their arrival time until around 10.00am in order to give us time to prepare the room?  Thank you.

VISITS

Hever Castle, Wednesday 14th July    

This visit was a great success with over 30 members attending. The weather was glorious and the gardens spectacular and Anne Bevan described the Chagall windows at Tudeley as awe-inspiring!

Sandhurst Military Academy, Tuesday 28th September

WAITING LIST ONLY!

Please note that at the request of Sandhurst we have had to change the date from 7th September to 28th September as their new cadets have to self-isolate at the beginning of the new term.  Tickets cost £37, to include coach travel, admission fees, guided tour, morning coffee and gratuities. After lunch at Longacres Garden Centre we will visit Guildford Cathedral.
If you wish to join the waiting list please email Anne Bevan (anne.bevan6@gmail.com) to confirm that you wish to do so.  Anne will respond to your email confirming that you are on the waiting list and then will revert should a place become available.

STUDY DAY

At last, after an 18 month gap, we can hold another study day! This will be on Friday 29th October starting with coffee from 10.00am. Forensic botanist Mark Spencer will entertain us with three talks on ‘Murder most florid’ - explaining how plants’ presence in many crime scenes can help the investigator identify a suspect or locate a victim. 

Tickets will cost £32 a head and include a sandwich lunch with wine and soft drinks. We hope to finish the day by 2.30pm.

Please contact Amanda by email if you wish to attend amandajane59@hotmail.co.uk or phone 01243 512720. She will then add your name to the list and let you know about payment.

NEEDED: NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS FOR MARCH 2022

I am delighted to inform you that two of the four vacant committee posts for next year have been filled.  We will have a new Young Arts Organiser and a new Committee Secretary. I will make further announcements about the two new committee members in the autumn. 

I am still searching for a vice chairman and a tours organiser. While we appreciate that many members have already served time on the committee, I am sure that there are many of you who have not yet had the opportunity to make a difference. Please contact me on 07974 186609 if you think that you might enjoy three years helping to run the Petersfield Arts Society.

I look forward to seeing members again on 1st September.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

JULY LECTURE WILL BE VIA ZOOM

Sadly, we have heard from the Community Centre that it will not be possible to hold our 7th July lecture ‘live’. We are naturally very disappointed not to see you all in person, but in line with government restrictions, we will have to continue to entertain you via Zoom. Paula Nuttall will talk to us about the Medici and their artists. You will receive the usual invitation 48 hours prior to the talk.

VISITS
Hever Castle, Wednesday 14th July    

We are delighted that we are able to restart our Visits programme with the trip to Hever on 14th July, which will include a visit to Tudeley Church to see the Chagall windows (optional) on our return home. Because of government guidelines, tours will be self-guided (audio guides available). There may still be a few places available, cost £45 (£42 without Tudeley). If anyone is still interested please contact Anne Bevan anne.bevan6@gmail.com.

Sandhurst Military Academy, Tuesday 28th September
TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Please note that at the request of Sandhurst we have had to change the date from 7th September to 28th September as their new cadets may have to self-isolate at the beginning of the new term. Tickets will cost £37, to include coach travel, admission fees, guided tour, morning coffee and gratuities. After lunch at Longacres Garden Centre we hope to visit Guildford Cathedral, but this will depend on a change in current government guidelines. If you wish to come on the visit which, like Hever, will be on a first-come, first-served basis, please email Anne Bevan to confirm that you wish to reserve a place. Anne will respond to your email confirming whether you are on the list and will then ask you to transfer payment to the Arts Society Petersfield bank account, or to send her a cheque. Once payment has been received you will receive a ticket with departure times and other details.

Please see our website for full details of both visits.

MADRID

Regrettably, the Madrid and Aranjuez Tour 2021 has been cancelled. Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding Covid 19 variants and their impact on international travel regulations, cancellation became the appropriate response. As a gesture of goodwill and appreciation for the support of all those tour members who had transferred their deposits monies from 2020 to 2021, Heritage Group Travel has decided to absorb all costs incurred by them and refund these deposits in full.

NEEDED: NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS

In addition to the need for a new vice chairman, the following committee posts will become available from March 2022 as current members retire:

Committee Secretary
Young Arts Organiser
Tours Organiser 

While we appreciate that many members have already served time on the committee, I am sure that there are many of you who have not yet had the opportunity to make a difference. Please contact me on 07974 186609 if you think that you might enjoy three years helping to run the Petersfield Arts Society.

The committee joins me in hoping that you are all staying well and Covid free. We look forward to meeting again in the Community Centre in September when we will be visited by Lydia Bauman with her lecture: Stranger at the door, representations of ‘the other’ in art.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members
 
NEXT LECTURE
 
Our next monthly on-line lecture will be given via Zoom webinar on Wednesday 2 June. In a change to our printed programme, the lecture will be given by Tessa Boase and is entitled: The Housekeeper’s Tale: The Women Who Really Ran the English Country House. Tessa will talk to us about Mrs Wells, (mother of H.G.) who was the housekeeper at Uppark. Our scheduled lecturer, Dr Graham Griffiths, would prefer to perform live as so much of his talk is illustrated by piano pieces. He has now been rebooked for February 2022.
 
We plan to be back at the Community Centre for our July lecture. The lecture will start at the usual time of 10.50am, at this stage it is not certain that we can hold our usual coffee session beforehand. I will have more news by the time you receive my June newsletter. Please note, if we do ‘go live’ in July, there will not be a Zoom alternative.

VISITS
 
Hever Castle: 14th July.    TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW.
 
At the present time, the maximum number of members we can take is 30, but we are hoping that after 21 June (when all restrictions are due to be lifted) that this number will increase to 40. Tickets will cost £50 and the cost includes coach travel, admission, guided tour, morning coffee and gratuities. If we visit All Saints Tudeley, to be confirmed, members will be asked to make a donation of £3 each to the church.
 
If you wish to come on the visit, which will be on a first-come, first-served basis, please email Anne Bevan to confirm that you wish to reserve a place. Anne will respond to your email confirming whether you are on the list and will ask the first 30 to transfer £50 to the Arts Society Petersfield bank account, or to send her a cheque. Those in the group 31-40 will not be asked to pay at this stage. Once payment has been received you will receive a ticket with departure times and other details.
 

MADRID: October 2021
 
While most of the popular European holiday destinations, including Spain, remain in the ‘amber zone’ for UK travellers, we are not in a position to give a firm update on the Madrid tour. It is anticipated that the government will review travel restrictions during the coming month. At present, 13 members are signed up for this tour and the preferential cancellation terms have been extended until at least 31 May.

HERITAGE/TRAILS OF DISCOVERY
 
Peter Price, our house manager, has kindly agreed to take on the role of Heritage Organiser. You may be aware that the Arts Society heritage label covers ‘trails of discovery’ which aim to engage groups of all ages with the artistic and historic heritage of their community.
 
Peter has been talking to the Petersfield Town Council grounds committee about creating a trail around the Heath, which contains one of the largest collections of lowland Bronze Age burial mounds in Britain – a number of these barrows have been the subject of recent excavations.  The Arts Society trail would outline the importance of the archaeology found in our locality and will cover the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Medieval and Post-Medieval.
 
The idea is in its early stage at present, but we are hoping to finance an information board at the start of the trail, which would also contain a QR code which can be downloaded onto a smartphone to provide a question sheet; at the end of the trail there would be another board (and QR code) from which the answers can be accessed. For the less technically able, paper question sheets will be downloadable from our website!
 
Once we have the formal go-ahead, we will be looking for funding and for participation with other interested local groups. We will keep members up-to-date via this newsletter.

NEEDED: NEW VICE CHAIRMAN
 
Unfortunately Deirdre Mitchell, our current vice chairman, is no longer able to fulfil this role, and therefore will not be replacing me as chairman next year. As you can imagine, I am looking for a replacement for Deirdre who will be able to work alongside me and then take over as chairman in March 2022. Please contact me if you feel that this role would be of interest to you.  
 
 
Kind regards
 
Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

NEXT LECTURE

Our next monthly on-line lecture will be given via Zoom webinar on Wednesday 5 May. We are delighted to be able to welcome Shirley Smith who will talk about The Art of Durer- a journey into the man and his world.  As usual, Daniela will send out a Zoom invitation 48 hours before the lecture is due to be broadcast.

VISITS

Stratfield Saye: sadly we have had to postpone this visit until May 2022.

Hever Castle: 14th July. At the present time, the maximum number of members we can take is 30, but we are hoping that after 21 June (when all restrictions are due to be lifted) that this number will increase to 40. Tickets will cost £50 and the cost includes coach travel, admission, guided tour, morning coffee and gratuities. If we visit All Saints Tudeley, to be confirmed, members will be asked to make a donation of £3 each to the church. 

If you wish to come on the visit, which will be on a first-come, first-served basis, please email Anne Bevan to confirm that you wish to reserve a place. Anne will respond to your email confirming whether you are on the list and will ask the first 30 to transfer £50 to the Arts Society Petersfield bank account, or to send her a cheque. Those in the group 31-40 will not be asked to pay at this stage. Once payment has been received you will receive a ticket with departure times and other details.

STUDY DAY

The June study day with Andrew Prince has been postponed until 25 February next year. All those who paid £25 for the cancelled day will be reimbursed by our treasurer.

YOUNG ARTS

It has not been easy for Titian to work with the young carers group in the last 12 months due to the current government restrictions. However, we do have some positive news: we have bought eight multi-functional A4 LED boards which can be used with different age groups when they move into their new premises in Dragon Street. Titian is in discussion with the Kings Arms manager to discuss other ways in which we can support this group of vulnerable young people.

MADRID: October 2021

At present, Heritage Travel and Linda, plan to press ahead with the trip. Heritage has currently extended its preferential cancellation terms to 30 April. At present fourteen members are signed up to travel to Madrid and there is space for others to join the tour. We anticipate that by May there will be greater certainty regarding travel to Europe and we should be in a position to update members about booking details.

MORE CULTURE

To get other culture fixes, the Arts Society has set up a website packed full of arts content: https://www.connected.theartssociety.org.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

NEXT LECTURE

Our next monthly on-line lecture will be given via Zoom webinar on Wednesday 7 April. We are delighted to be able to welcome Mark Ovenden who will talk about London Underground by Design.  As usual, Daniela will send out a Zoom invitation 48 hours before the lecture is due to be broadcast.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

As we are still unsure when we can have a live meeting at the Community Centre, we have decided to hold the AGM on line via a Zoom meeting on Wednesday 24 March. You will be sent the agenda, accounts and minutes of the 2020 meeting by email with a joining link. I do hope we can persuade some of you to attend, we need to approve the appointment of  all committee members and the annual accounts.

VISITS

2020 was not an easy year for Anne and Susan who had to cancel all three planned visits. We are unable to confirm that the May trip to Stratfield Saye will take place at this stage. The venue is unsure when it will reopen to visitors. If we are given the green light, then priority will be given to those members who signed up and paid for last year’s visit. We will keep you posted. Hever Castle on 14 July looks much more likely and it appears that we may be able to take 40 members. Again, please read my newsletters for updates.

DIGITAL COMMUNICATION FROM THE ARTS SOCIETY

In addition to producing its quarterly magazine, a dedicated team at the Arts Society head office sends out emails with monthly highlights on what is happening in the arts world, as well as articles in the ‘Instant Expert’ series, featuring pieces by accredited lecturers. If you would like to receive these mailings, you can subscribe by following this link: https://theartssociety.org/join-our-mailing-list

VIRTUAL WALKING TOUR

Midhurst Arts Society is presenting an interactive walking tour of Budapest on Wednesday 13th April at 11.00am. This will be hosted by Arts Society lecturer Sian Walters, using a local guide. The guide will explore the Buda Castle district of the city, walking its medieval streets and taking in such sights as the Alexander Palace, the Fisherman’s Bastion and the magnificent Matthias church. 

If you are interested in joining this tour, please send £10 to The Arts Society Midhurst with the reference ‘Walking Tour’. Then send an email to bridgetadlerinteriors@gmail.comto confirm that you wish to be sent the Zoom link. 

STUDY DAY

Unfortunately the Community Centre is currently closed and we are still unsure as to when it will reopen to groups and how many people will be permitted in the main hall. However, we are still hoping to hold our next study day on Friday 4 June when Andrew Prince, with his wonderful pieces of jewellery, has agreed to entertain us with his talks entitled From Downton to Gatsby and the Glamour Years; jewellery and fashion 1890 to 1959.  We have 33 members on the attendee list at present, and are now at waiting list. 

The cost is £25 per head (bring your own packed lunch) and as per my previous newsletter, if you would like to join the waiting list, please contact Amanda by email.

Once your place has been confirmed by Amanda, cheques should be sent to our treasurer, Sarah Marks, at her home address. Or if you prefer, please pay by bank transfer to The Arts Society Petersfield. Please email Sarah if this is your preferred method of payment.

MADRID: October 2021

At present, Heritage Travel and Linda, plan to press ahead with the trip. Heritage has currently extended its preferential cancellation terms to 30 April. At present fourteen members are signed up to travel to Madrid and there is space for others to join the tour. We anticipate that by May there will be greater certainty regarding travel to Europe and we should be in a position to update members about booking details.

MORE CULTURE

To get other culture fixes, the Arts Society has set up a website packed full of arts content: https://www.connected.theartssociety.org.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

NEXT LECTURE

Our next monthly on-line lecture will be given via Zoom webinar on Wednesday 7 April. We are delighted to be able to welcome Mark Ovenden who will talk about London Underground by Design.  As usual, Daniela will send out a Zoom invitation 48 hours before the lecture is due to be broadcast.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

As we are still unsure when we can have a live meeting at the Community Centre, we have decided to hold the AGM on line via a Zoom meeting on Wednesday 24 March. You will be sent the agenda, accounts and minutes of the 2020 meeting by email with a joining link. I do hope we can persuade some of you to attend, we need to approve the appointment of committee members and the accounts. 

VISITS

2020 was not an easy year for Anne and Susan who had to cancel all three planned visits. We are unable to confirm that the May trip to Stratfield Saye will take place at this stage. The venue is unsure when it will reopen to visitors. If we are given the green light, then priority will be given to those members who signed up and paid for last year’s visit. We will keep you posted. Hever Castle on 14 July looks much more likely and it appears that we may be able to take 40 members. Again, please read my newsletters for updates.

DIGITAL COMMUNICATION FROM THE ARTS SOCIETY

In addition to producing its quarterly magazine, a dedicated team at the Arts Society head office sends out emails with monthly highlights on what is happening in the arts world, as well as articles in the ‘Instant Expert’ series, featuring pieces by accredited lecturers. If you would like to receive these mailings, you can subscribe by following this link: https://theartssociety.org/join-our-mailing-list

VIRTUAL WALKING TOUR

Midhurst Arts Society is presenting an interactive walking tour of Budapest on Wednesday 13th April at 11.00am. This will be hosted by Arts Society lecturer Sian Walters using a local guide. The guide will explore the Buda Castle district of the city, walking its medieval streets and taking in such sights as the Alexander Palace, the Fisherman’s Bastion and the magnificent Matthias church. 

If you are interested in joining this tour, please send £10 to The Arts Society Midhurst with the reference ‘Waling Tour’. Then send an email to bridgetadlerinteriors@gmail.comto confirm that you wish to be sent the Zoom link. 

STUDY DAY

Unfortunately the Community Centre is currently closed and we are still unsure as to when it will reopen to groups and how many people will be permitted in the main hall. However, we are hoping to hold our next study day on Friday 4 June when Andrew Prince, with his wonderful pieces of jewellery, has agreed to entertain us with his talks entitled From Downton to Gatsby and the Glamour Years; jewellery and fashion 1890 to 1959. We have 33 members on the attendee list at present, and are now at waiting list. 

The cost is £25 per head (bring your own packed lunch) and as per my previous newsletter, if you would like to attend, please contact Amanda by email.

Once your place has been confirmed by Amanda, cheques should be sent to our treasurer, Sarah Marks, at her home address. Or if you prefer, please pay by bank transfer. Please email Sarah if this is your preferred method of payment.

MADRID: October 2021

At present, Heritage Travel and Linda, plan to press ahead with the trip. Heritage has currently extended its preferential cancellation terms to 30 April. At present fourteen members are signed up to travel to Madrid and there is space for others to join the tour. We anticipate that by May there will be greater certainty regarding travel to Europe and we should be in a position to update members about booking details.

MORE CULTURE

To get other culture fixes, the Arts Society has set up a website packed full of arts content: https://www.connected.theartssociety.org.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

LECTURES

What strange times… We are increasingly frustrated by the government guidelines concerning large gatherings but must, of course, obey the rules.

As a result, we will not be able to have a ‘live’ lecture in the Community Centre for the foreseeable future. We will continue with Zoom on-line lectures until the vaccination programme has been successfully implemented.  

While I appreciate that some of you may not enjoy this style of lecture, unfortunately it is currently the only option. We would be happy to provide Zoom buddies for those who are still apprehensive about using Zoom and they could guide you through the log-on process by telephone. The buddies will either be committee members or other Arts Society members.

The link to the February Zoom lecture, Thomas Heatherwick: a modern Leonardo?, with Ian Swankie will be emailed out to members at the beginning of the month, again with clear joining instructions.

STUDY DAY

Unfortunately the Community Centre is currently closed and we will therefore be unable to hold a live study day in February as hoped. The speaker Andrew Prince, with his wonderful pieces of jewellery, has agreed to visit us later in the year and will entertain us with his talks entitled From Downton to Gatsby and the Glamour Years; jewellery and fashion 1890 to 1959.  At present, we have opted for Friday 4 June. We will reserve places for those who have already booked and paid for this study day and are keen to encourage more of you to join us.

The cost is £25 per head (bring your own packed lunch) and as per my previous newsletter, if you would like to attend, please contact Amanda by email.

Once your place has been confirmed by Amanda, cheques should be sent to our treasurer, Sarah Marks, at her home address. Or if you prefer, please pay by bank transfer. Please email Sarah if this is your preferred method.

EXTRA STUDY DAY LECTURE WEDNESDAY 17 FEBUARY

You may recall that we had to cancel October’s study day last year. The lecturer, Valerie Woodgate, has offered to do a one-off study day lecture for members on Wednesday 17th February at 11.00am: Picasso and his Women. Tickets would cost £10 each and if you wish to attend, payment should be sent to the treasurer as per the above instructions. Zoom joining instructions will only be forwarded to members who have signed up and paid the £10 fee. I attended an Area chairmen’s meeting earlier this week, and can reassure you that £10 is the going rate for one-off lectures.

We do hope that you will support us and sign up for this fascinating lecture.

MORE CULTURE

To get other culture fixes, the Arts Society has set up a website packed full of arts content: https://www.connected.theartssociety.org.

I do not wish to inundate you with unnecessary emails, but it is essential that we keep you updated in these uncertain times. The committee joins me in hoping that you all stay healthy and safe and we hope to see you IN PERSON soon.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

SUBSCRIPTION RENEWALS

We are delighted that 200 members have decided to renew their membership for 2021, however, we are still waiting to hear from more than 60 others and the deadline for renewal has already passed. Daniela will be contacting all those who have not responded to the renewal request in the next few days. If you no longer wish to be a member please let us know and we can offer your place to someone on our waiting list.

The committee appreciates that this has been a disappointing year for members, not just locally but across the country. We are relying on your local support for next year. Our running costs have not been much reduced during lockdown and we need to maintain the income level from subscriptions. We have only managed two live lectures in 2020 and by the end of this year, we will have broadcast five lectures via Zoom. It is a great shame that we had to cancel those scheduled for April, May and June, but we needed time to arrange the Zoom licence and also had to wait for our lecturers (and me) to be trained in the art of Zoom. 

STUDY DAY

We have a very exciting study day planned for Friday 19h February with jewellery designer Andrew Prince. Andrew’s passion for jewellery has been with him since he was a boy. He credits a visit to Geneva in 1987, when still a schoolboy, as life-changing; he viewed the astonishing auction of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewellery. After apprenticeships in Bond Street and with contemporary designer Elizabeth Gage, he got his first big commissions from Michael Jackson and Shirley Bassey. He later started to create designs for film: Mrs Henderson Presents in 2005, The Young Victoria in 2009 and then in 2012, Downton Abbey where he supplied a large collection of combs, tiaras, earrings and necklaces for the cast. Some of these pieces will be on display on the day at the Community Centre.

He will talk to us about the relationship between the great fashion houses and jewellers that existed between 1890 and 1929, discussing the clients and patrons who commissioned the jewels and how they were matched with sumptuous gowns. 

We will also hear about the ‘Glamour Years’ of 1929 to 1959 with the rise of cinema and Hollywood and its impact on fashion and jewellery design. Andrew will explain how with the development of advertising, labour-saving machines and leisure time, people had more opportunities to enjoy themselves and spend on the finer things in life. He will also show how the Edwardian and Art Deco styles did not end with the outbreak of the Second World War, rather they slowly combined to flower again in the late 1940s and 50s with Christian Dior’s ‘New Look’. 

The three lectures will be held in the main hall, which has a capacity for 160, and we will only be 35 including the projectionist and the lecturer. We will be sitting at least 3 metres apart and all chairs will be cleaned before the day starts. We are asking attendees to bring their own lunch and to wear a mask. The cost is £25 per head. If you would like to attend, please contact Amanda.

Once your place has been confirmed by Amanda, cheques should be sent to our treasurer, Sarah Marks, at her home address or if you prefer, you can pay by bank transfer. Please email Sarah if this is your preferred method of payment.

COMMITTEE NEWS

Pearl Gosney has now completed the Don Eades project at the Petersfield Museum and as a result, her role as Heritage Organiser has come to an end. Over 18,000 negatives of the Don Eades collection have been processed, coded and applied to the spreadsheets for the curatorial staff by Pearl and her team. This collection is of huge importance to the museum and its photographs are used by the staff in preparing talks for Zoom, on social media and in the local press. They will also feature in the Don Eades area of the new museum, on display boards and on tablets with public access. We cannot thank Pearl enough for her huge contribution to the museum on behalf of the Arts Society and will miss her on the committee.

I am still looking for a vice chairman for 2021, in the hope that this candidate will replace me in March 2022. If anyone out there is interested in this role, please contact me by phone on 07974 186609. 

EXTRA CULTURE

To get a culture fix, the Arts Society has set up a website packed full of arts content.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

LECTURES

What strange times… We are increasingly frustrated by the government guidelines concerning large gatherings but must, of course, obey the rules.

As a result, we will not be able to have a ‘live’ lecture in the Community Centre for the rest of this year. We will continue with Zoom on-line lectures until 2021.  Our last two on-line lectures have attracted around 80 members and the process has been variously described as ‘painless’, ‘a real treat’, and ‘my first foray into Zoom, thank you for your guidance”.

While I appreciate that some of you may not enjoy this style of lecture, unfortunately it is currently the only option. We would be happy to provide Zoom buddies for those who are apprehensive about using Zoom and they could guide you through the log-on process by telephone or even come and sit with you at home. The buddies will either be committee members or other Arts Society members.

If you feel you could help another member join our October lecture (Alexandra Epps on Peggy Guggenheim) and teach them how to join the webinar, please contact me by email. If you are a member who would like some help signing in to the next lecture, could you also contact me and I will put you in touch with a Zoom buddy!

The link to the Zoom webinar will be emailed out to members at the beginning of October, again with clear joining instructions.

STUDY DAY

We are still hoping to go ahead with the study day as advertised for Friday 30th October; Valerie Woodgate on Bricks, Sheds, Unmade Beds – is it art? A question we have all surely posed in the last couple of decades? 

The three lectures will be held in the main hall, which has a capacity for 160 and we will only be 35 including the projectionist and the lecturer. We will be sitting 2 metres apart and all chairs will be cleaned before the day starts. We are asking attendees to bring their own lunch. The cost is £25 per head and as per my previous newsletter, if you would like to attend,  please email Amanda.

Once your place has been confirmed by Amanda, cheques should be sent to our treasurer, Sarah Marks, at her home address or, if you prefer, you can pay by bank transfer. Please email Sarah for details.

EXTRA CULTURE

To get a culture fix, the Arts Society has set up a website packed full of arts content: https://www.connected.theartssociety.org.

I do not wish to inundate you with unnecessary emails, but it is essential that we keep you updated in these uncertain times. The committee joins me in hoping that you all stay healthy and safe and we hope to see you IN PERSON in the New Year.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

By now, you will have received a questionnaire from us asking for your views on the Petersfield Arts Society. Many thanks to those of you who have already filled it in. For those who haven’t done so yet, there is still time to return the completed questionnaire before 15 August. We are looking forward to reading your answers.

LECTURES

As you know, we held our July lecture via Zoom. Neil Ferguson wowed us all with his exploration of the work of the renowned British film director from the golden age of cinema, David Lean. Seventy-seven members participated, which was encouraging, however that left over 200 members who did not! In our questionnaire, we have asked those of you who did not participate for the reasons why you felt unable to join in. Please don’t be afraid of Zoom, it is really very easy to use. We do appreciate that some of you are not internet users and will try to address this issue in some way in the future.

Although the Community Centre will reopen, numbers are very restricted and we would only be allowed 35 members in the main hall. So, our September lecture will also be given on Zoom, and 48 hours before the event you will be sent a ‘link’ to sign in to the lecture and clear instructions on how to join the meeting.

We hope to return to normal in October and run our lecture in the Community Centre. It is possible that we may have to run two lectures on the same day in order to accommodate the social distancing rules. We will advise the lecture times next month, but it is likely to be 10.00am and 12 noon on Wednesday 7th October.

COMMITTEE CHANGES

I am looking for a vice chairman, someone who will replace me as chairman when I step down in March 2022. This post would be for one year from March 2021 which would give the candidate time to learn how the Arts Society committee functions. The constitution clearly states that a chairman only serves for three years, and it can only be extended to four years if essential, and by a vote at the AGM. I am really hoping that there is someone out there who would like to assume this exciting role.

The three retiring committee members have agreed to stay on the committee for another year, Julie Yardley, Titian Fleming and Peter Price. For their loyalty to the Arts Society during these unusual times, I am very grateful.

MADRID

The Madrid and Aranjuez tour will not take place this autumn. The Foreign and Commonweatlh Office is once again advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain. Further outbreaks of Covid 19 have occurred in a number of cities in the north east of the country and there continues to be a significant risk of another wave in the autumn. 

Some tour members have decided to cancel their booking. The majority wish to postpone the tour until next year and, for these members, Heritage Group Travel has negotiated with BA to transfer the flight bookings to October 2021.

Further details about the rearranged tour will be available in due course, and we hope to entice other members to join us. 

STUDY DAY

At present we plan to proceed with the 30th October study day as advertised in our programme: Valerie Woodgate will talk on Bricks, Sheds, Unmade Beds – is it Art?

Tickets will cost £25 and members are asked to bring their own sandwiches and drinks. 

The three talks will be given in the main hall, where we normally hold our monthly lectures, and not in the exhibition room. We are restricted to 35 participants at this stage, this is to allow safe social distancing to take place.

If you would like to book a place on the study day please contact Amanda by email. Once your place is confirmed, payment can be made by bank transfer or cheque. Please contact Sarah Marks (treasurer) by email for payment details.

The committee joins me in hoping that you all stay healthy and safe in these uncertain times.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

We are certainly living in unprecedented times. The welfare of our members is paramount. With your safety in mind, your committee continues to follow government guidelines, together with those issued by the Art Society head office, and had to cancel the lectures scheduled for April, May and June. To get a culture fix, the Arts Society has set up a website packed full of arts content: https://www.connected.theartssociety.org

LECTURES

The Community Centre is still closed and will not reopen until September. When it does open, we are still not sure how many people will be allowed to attend lectures. However, to ensure that we do not miss out on our marvellous speakers, the committee has decided to try Zoom lectures, which are being actively encouraged by the Arts Society, with lecturers receiving on-line training.  

To this end, our July lecture will be delivered on-line. Instead of Alexandra Epps, who is not yet Zoom trained, we will be able to listen to Neil Faulkner (our October speaker) talking on Dickens, Lawrence and Zhivago – David Lean’s art of cinema. He will do two talks on Wednesday 1 July. The first will be at 10.00am and for members with surnames starting with A – K. Then at 11.30 there will be a talk for members with surnames from L-Z.

I am sure that many of you will have become familiar with Zoom over lockdown while talking to children or grandchildren. If not, please ask them for advice. I am going to paste the invitation to the Zoom lecture here and all you have to do is click on the link, this will admit you to the virtual ‘waiting room’, you then wait til your ‘host’ Neil Faulkner admits you and lets you listen to his talk. It really isn’t difficult to join in. Many of you will have listened by now to the virtual talks delivered by various arts organisations in the UK, this is the same format.

VISITS

Sadly the visit to Sandhurst cannot go ahead in September and will be on 7 September 2021. We did consider access by individual cars, but the military academy only likes to admit large groups in coaches, because of security. So, we have another treat in store for next year!

MADRID

The tour to Madrid and Aranjuez is due to take place in October, which is still some way off. Spain is beginning to relax some of its Covid-19 confinement measures. However, Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, is convinced that during the coming months, until a vaccine is found, there will be new outbreaks of Covid-19.

The FCO currently advises against all but essential foreign travel. Our tour operator, Heritage Group Travel, will review the situation at the end of June in the first instance.  Final balances for the tour will not be payable until confidence in the safety of foreign travel is restored. Should the situation fail to improve, tour members will receive a full refund of deposits paid.

If you have any queries, please contact Linda Boatswain by email or by phone 01730 301710.

The committee joins me in hoping that you all stay healthy and safe in these uncertain times.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members

We are certainly living in unprecedented times. The welfare of our members is paramount. With your safety in mind, your committee continues to follow government guidelines, together with those issued by the Art Society head office, and had to cancel the lectures scheduled for April, May and June. To get a culture fix, the Arts Society has set up a website packed full of arts content: https://www.connected.theartssociety.org

LECTURES

The Community Centre is still closed and will not reopen until September. When it does open, we are still not sure how many people will be allowed to attend lectures. However, to ensure that we do not miss out on our marvellous speakers, the committee has decided to try Zoom lectures, which are being actively encouraged by the Arts Society, with lecturers receiving on-line training.  

To this end, our July lecture will be delivered on-line. Instead of Alexandra Epps, who is not yet Zoom trained, we will be able to listen to Neil Faulkner (our October speaker) talking on Dickens, Lawrence and Zhivago – David Lean’s art of cinema. He will do two talks on Wednesday 1 July. The first will be at 10.00am and for members with surnames starting with A – K, followed at 11.30am by a talk for members with surnames from L-Z.

I am sure that many of you will have become familiar with Zoom over lockdown while talking to children or grandchildren. If not, please ask them for advice. Before joining a Zoom meeting, you need to download Zoom via http://zoom.us/. I will email you the meeting details with a link to join.

VISITS

Sadly the visit to Sandhurst cannot go ahead in September and will be on 7 September 2021. We did consider access by individual cars, but the military academy only likes to admit large groups in coaches, because of security. So, we have another treat in store for next year!

MADRID

The tour to Madrid and Aranjuez is due to take place in October, which is still some way off. Spain is beginning to relax some of its Covid-19 confinement measures. However, Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, is convinced that during the coming months, until a vaccine is found, there will be new outbreaks of Covid-19.

The FCO currently advises against all but essential foreign travel. Our tour operator, Heritage Group Travel, will review the situation at the end of June in the first instance.  Final balances for the tour will not be payable until confidence in the safety of foreign travel is restored. Should the situation fail to improve, tour members will receive a full refund of deposits paid.

If you have any queries, please contact Linda Boatswain by email on linboatswain@john-lewis.com or by phone 01730 301710

The committee joins me in hoping that you all stay healthy and safe in these uncertain times.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

Dear Members,

We are living in unprecedented times. The welfare of our members is paramount. With your safety in mind, your committee has decided to follow government guidelines, together with those issued by the Art Society head office, and has cancelled the lectures scheduled for Wednesday 1st April and Wednesday 6th May. We will continue to monitor government advice very carefully and will make a decision about the visit to Stratfield Saye next week when we are able to speak to their house manager who is currently on leave. It is very likely that this visit will be postponed until next year. 

NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS

We are delighted to welcome two new members to our committee, Susan Handley, who will be working with Anne Bevan on our visits, and Amanda Birkett who has taken over from Anne to run our Study Days. We are sad to say goodbye to Anne Church and Janet Marshall who have done an amazing job organising our visits over the past four years, we cannot thank them enough for their hard work.

GUESTS

In order to avoid disappointment, can I remind members that if they wish to bring guests to the monthly lectures, they must contact the membership secretary Daniela Jones on 01730 266856 (daniela.tasp@gmail.com) in advance as we are only able to offer five places per lecture. The cost is still only £5 and it would be appreciated if members could bring the right change. The reason that we are limited to five guests is that under the Community Centre fire regulations, we can only accommodate 180 members at any one lecture. At the February lecture we almost reached capacity with 179 attendees.

MAILING

On looking at our annual accounts, we realise that we have to cut costs this year, and one such cost is postage. We ask that all members who have email addresses agree to receive Arts Society correspondence by email. Unless we already have your email address, please forward it to our membership secretary, Daniela Jones on daniela.tasp@gmail.com. For those who do not have email addresses, correspondence will be handed out at the monthly meetings. If you are not there, or are unable to get a friend to collect the mail, we will keep it until the next meeting.

SUBSCRIPTIONS 2021

As I stated at the AGM, we will be raising the subscription for 2021 to take account of our spiralling costs, which include the increased fees charged by our fabulous speakers.

I hope that you all will agree that the Arts Society presents amazing value for money with ten lectures a year, including two social events, all for an annual subscription of £40.

MADRID 2020

This tour, which will run from 19th to 24th October 2020, is proving very popular with our members although there are still a few places left. The costs are as follows: £1530 per person if sharing a double or a twin room, with a £260 single supplement, The price includes, all flights and transfers, guided tours of the city’s highlights (and beyond!), five nights’ accommodation and two top-flight gastronomic dinners. Please contact Linda Boatswain by email on linboatswain@john-lewis.com or by phone 01730 301710.

HEVER CASTLE VISIT

At present, we plan that this will go ahead on Wednesday 8th July and  we hope that tickets will go on sale from 10.00am at our May meeting. The cost will be £46 per head, which includes coach travel, a guided tour, coffee and gratuities. Please bring a cheque or cash to the meeting, as we will not issue tickets until they have been paid for.

The committee joins me in hoping that you all stay healthy and safe in these uncertain times.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds
Chairman

WINTER DINNER

This was a great success. The Rose Room at the Festival Hall was transformed into a chic dinner venue thanks to the skills of committee members and in particular, Sarah and Daniela. We were entertained by the brilliant soprano, Alexandra Stevenson, who took us on a journey from 18th century Handel to 20th century Andrew Lloyd Webber. Thank you to all those who attended and helped to make the evening such a memorable one for the Arts Society.

YOUNG ARTS PROJECT

We now have more funding (£1000), this time from the Patricia Fay Fund administered by the Arts Society Head Office. This brings the total amount we can invest in the young carers’ project to £2500, and means we can run it until Christmas 2020.

We have been collecting coffee money to help fund this project, but it was decided at our last committee meeting to use the coffee contributions to pay for our annual drinks parties: at Christmas and after the AGM. Unfortunately these can no longer be funded from the income we receive from our subscriptions.

MARCH STUDY DAY

Our spring study day will be held at the Community Centre on Wednesday 11th March and will be led by Dr Geri Parlby talking about fiction, fallacy and fake news. Every picture tells a story, whether it is true or not is a different matter, so a topical subject for today’s climate. The study day costs £30, and includes a ploughman’s lunch. Tickets will be available at our December and February meetings or you can contact Anne Bevan on annebevan6@gmail.com.  The day starts at 10.00am with coffee, followed by two morning lectures then lunch at 12.45pm with the final lecture ending at 2.30pm.

MADRID 2020

This tour, which will run from 19th to 24th October 2020, is proving very popular with our members although there are still places left. The costs are as follows: £1530 per person if sharing a double or a twin room, with a £260 single supplement, The price includes, all flights and transfers, guided tours of the city’s highlights (and beyond!), five nights’ accommodation and two top-flight gastronomic dinners.

CHRISTMAS DRINKS

The committee would like to extend an invitation to you all to attend the annual Christmas drinks party, which follows our December lecture: Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Wish which will be presented by Charles Harrison. Mulled wine and mince pies will be served as always.

NEXT MEETING

As you will know, we do not have a lecture in January but look forward to seeing you all again on Wednesday 5th February when Gavin Plumley will talk to us about Gustav Klimt, imperial muralist turned radical painter.

Wishing you and your families a Happy Christmas and New Year.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds

JULY 2019.

NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS REQUIRED!

Sadly next March we are going to have to say goodbye to two long-serving committee members, Anne Church and Janet Marshall. They have very successfully organised our visits for four years, so have completed their allotted time on the committee. I do hope that some of you will consider taking on this role, which is one of the most interesting on the committee. Ideally, we would like two people to share this job, for a three-year period.  Anne and Janet have already set up the visits for 2020, and would be on hand to assist new recruits with the planning of 2021 trips. The reason we need to recruit after the summer break is really so the new names can be printed on the 2020 programme which goes to press at the beginning of November. We would officially elect replacement committee members at the AGM in March, so you would not be required to do anything until that date.

Do let me know if you would be interested and I can then arrange for us to meet up with Anne and Janet in September. Contact me on reynolds@bucksfield.co.uk

WINTER DINNER

There are still around 20 places left for the biennial winter dinner on Wednesday 13 November which will take place at the Rose Room in Petersfield Festival Hall, starting with drinks at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm dinner. Tickets will cost £65 for a three-course dinner, pre-dinner fizz and half a bottle of wine per person.  Dress code is black tie or dark suit. Entertainment will be provided by the stunning young soprano Alexandra Stevenson, www.alexandrastevenson.co.uk.

Tickets will continue to be sold at our monthly meetings and we hope to sell a minimum of 80 covers. We have ten tables of 8 available, but you are most welcome to come with or without a companion, we will be doing a seating plan. I hope you will support what promises to be a most enjoyable evening.

YOUNG ARTS PROJECT

Titian has now located an art therapist to work with the young carers at the Kings Arms in Petersfield, starting in the next academic year, September 2019.  We have just received a £500 grant from the Arts Society Area committee, which is amazing support. Meanwhile, we are looking for further funding in order to reach our target of £2,500 to cover tuition and materials. We will be making an application for a grant to the Patricia Fay fund, which is administered by the head office of the Arts Society. However, this will not cover our costs. If any member would like to donate to the project please contact me or Titian. Our email addresses and phone numbers are in the 2019 programme.

FORTHCOMING VISITS

Anne and Janet have arranged some fabulous visits for 2019; our visit to Kelmscott earlier this month was a great success. The last visit of the year is to Longford Castle on Sunday 1 September. We don’t normally run weekend trips but this time we had no choice. To get tickets to Longford Castle is a privilege and we had to take the date which suited the Earl of Radnor and his family. This visit is now at waiting list. I would like to remind you that if you cancel within 48 hours of the visit, we are unable to refund the cost of your ticket. In addition, I wish to point out that visits are only open to members and those on the waiting list; other guests are not entitled to join these events.

NOVEMBER STUDY DAY

Our autumn study day will be held at the Community Centre on Friday 1st November and will be led by Malcolm Jones talking about the honourable and dishonourable art of acting. The study day costs £30, and includes a ploughman’s lunch. Tickets will be available at our September and October meetings or you can contact Anne Bevan on annebevan6@gmail.com.  The day starts at 10.00am with coffee, followed by two morning lectures then lunch at 12.45pm with the final lecture ending at 2.30pm.

FUTURE TALKS

We are now on our summer break with lectures starting again on 4th September with Dr John Stevens on the art of Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.  I look forward to seeing you all then, meanwhile I hope you all have a sunny and relaxing summer.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds

MAY 2019.

CONSTITUTION

When I took over as chairman, I wanted to look at a copy of the constitution, which was last up-dated in 2006. I had been given several pieces of useful advice on my chairman’s training course at the London office in January and in particular, wanted to ensure that we would change the name from NADFAS to the Arts Society and also to include GDPR regulations. At our first two committee meetings, we discussed the various aspects of the constitution, including our roles and length of service. To this end, we have decided to award honorary life membership to three of our stalwart and possibly longest-serving members, the current president and vice presidents: Neil Dobinson, Judy Barrow and Penelope Rose. It was decided that the office of president would be offered to immediate past chairmen, so that they can be on hand to advise new incumbents. Such a role would be for a fixed term, up to a maximum of five years. I am delighted to say that Bill Gosney has agreed to serve as our president for the next three years, until March 2022. To view a copy of our new constitution please click here: XXXX

WINTER DINNER

There are still places left for the biennial winter dinner on Wednesday 13 November which will take place at the Rose Room in Petersfield Festival Hall, starting with drinks at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm dinner. Tickets will cost £65 for a three-course dinner, pre-dinner fizz and half a bottle of wine per person.  Dress code is black tie or dark suit. Entertainment will be provided by the stunning young soprano Alexandra Stevenson, www.alexandrastevenson.co.uk.

Tickets will continue to be sold at our monthly meetings and we hope to sell a minimum of 80 covers. We have ten tables of 8 available, but you are most welcome to come with or without a companion, we will be doing a seating plan. I hope you will support what promises to be a most enjoyable evening.

YOUNG ARTS PROJECT

Titian has now located an art therapist to work with the young carers at the Kings Arms in Petersfield, starting in the next academic year, September 2019.  Meanwhile, we are looking for funding and have a target of £2,500 to cover tuition and materials. We will be making an application for a grant to the Patricia Fay fund, which is administered by the head office of the Arts Society. However, this will not cover our costs. If any member would like to donate to the project please contact me or Titian. Our email addresses are in the 2019 programme.

FORTHCOMING VISITS

Anne and Janet have planned some fabulous visits for 2019; our visit to Windsor Castle earlier this month was a great success.  Tickets for Kelmscott Manor for 11th July have sold out. The last visit of the year is to Longford Castle on Sunday 1 September. We don’t normally run weekend trips but this time we had no choice. To get tickets to Longford Castle is a privilege and we had to take the date which suited the Earl of Radnor and his family. I would like to remind you that if you cancel less than 48 hours before the visit date, then we are unable to refund the cost of your ticket. In addition, I wish to point out that visits are only open to members and those on the waiting list, other guests are not entitled to join these events.

HERITAGE PROJECT

As you are all aware, Petersfield Museum is closed for a major refurbishment programme. We have been working with the museum on the Don Eades photographic collection. A team of Arts Society members, under the stewardship of Peter Marshall, has been sorting and cataloguing his negatives which will be on view from next month, through the museum’s roadshows which will be visiting Petersfield’s surrounding villages.

Sadly, Peter has now decided to step down from our committee as Heritage Organiser and Pearl Gosney, who has been working with Peter since the start of the project, has kindly agreed to replace him on the committee. The team has now scanned over 5000 negatives and just need to do the years between 1984 and 1987. Later in the year, Pearl will be looking for volunteers to help with this project and I will advertise the vacancies in the autumn newsletter.

FUTURE TALKS

We still have an exciting programme ahead for the summer with Caroline Shenton in June on Mr Barry’s Great Work, then before our August summer break we have Rupert Willoughby who will talk about the Bayeux tapestry.  I look forward to seeing you all at these lectures.

Kind regards

Anne Reynolds

MARCH 2019

NEW COMMITTEE

As you know we now have some new committee members, with Sarah Marks as treasurer, Linda Boatswain as tours organiser, Pam Anderdon as committee secretary and Daniela Jones as membership secretary. I am sure that you will all join me in giving them your support in their new roles. I ask you to bear with us all while we ‘bed in’!

Once again, I would like to thank Bill Gosney for his four years as chairman, he will be a hard act to follow. Thanks should also go to Millie Hockley for her time as committee secretary, Susan Macdonald for hers as treasurer and to Deirdre Mitchell our past membership secretary.

WINTER DINNER

The biennial winter dinner is planned for Wednesday 13 November and will take place at the Rose Room in Petersfield Festival Hall, starting with drinks at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm dinner. Tickets will cost £65 for a three-course meal, pre-dinner fizz and half a bottle of wine per person. Entertainment will be provided by the stunning young soprano Alexandra Stevenson. Tickets go on sale from Wednesday 3 April and we hope to sell a minimum of 80 covers. I hope you will support what promises to be a most enjoyable evening. If you are unable to attend the April meeting and wish to attend, please email me at reynolds@bucksfield.co.uk.

YOUNG ARTS PROJECT

After 18 months, we are again looking at our Young Arts commitment. Titian Fleming has been talking to those who run the Kings Arms project in Petersfield. Here amongst their many youth projects, they run after-school clubs for young carers between the ages of 8 and 18. They hold two clubs per month where the young carers can access support and information, and have some much-needed fun and me time. We were surprised to learn that there are over 130 young carers in the Petersfield area. Titian suggested that the Arts Society could provide these young people with some art therapy and has now located a suitable therapist who has some good ideas and is very keen to help.

This is a project with much local appeal and we hope that members will want to support the committee in its efforts to fund a therapist for one academic year.

VISITS

Anne Church and Janet Marshall have planned some fabulous visits for 2019; the May visit to Windsor Castle has already sold out and is at waiting list. Tickets for the trip to Kelmscott Manor on 11th July will go on sale at the April meeting. They cost £44 and include coffee, lunch and the admission fee. I would like to remind members that cancellations received less than 48 hours before the visit date cannot be refunded. In addition, I should point out that visits are only open to members and to those on the waiting list, other guests are not entitled to join these events.

TOURS

Neil Dobinson and Linda Boatswain have put together a fantastic tour to the “Great Houses of Norfolk’ this autumn, from 23 – 28 September. There are still places available and tickets will be on sale at the next few monthly meetings. Full details can be found on our website.

In 2020 there will be a tour to Madrid from 19 – 24 October, please make a note in your diaries now! You might like to whet your appetites by visiting the National Gallery exhibition, “Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light”, which continues until 7 July this year. Next year’s tour will include a visit to the Sorolla Museum in Madrid.

CHAIRMAN’S NOTE

I am delighted to be chairman of this vibrant Arts Society and look forward to meeting and getting to know more members at our meetings and other events.

Best wishes

Anne Reynolds

A Happy New Year and I do hope you enjoyed the Christmas break. With no meeting in January I thought it would be useful to update members on activities and a change we have planned for the coming year.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

For many years our Society has held a ploughman’s lunch following the March AGM. This year we have decided to change the format to allow greater opportunity for members and the committee to circulate and get to know each other. This will be especially useful for the 50 members that have joined in the past 2 years.

In place of the ploughman’s the committee will be serving canapés prepared by Sue Rodber with wine or soft drink. Whilst all members are invited we do have limited space. There is no charge for this event but we do need to know how many to cater for so if you wish to attend please let our current Membership Secretary, Deirdre Mitchell, know by Tuesday 19th February, either by email mitchpdfas@btinternet.com or phone on 01730 267214.

TOURS

In your 2019 Programme you will see under Tours it simply says ‘September: 6 days in Norfolk,’ now all is revealed! Based in Norwich for 5 nights, from Monday 23rd to Satur

day 28th September, an exciting coach tour of the Great Houses of Norfolk has been arranged by Heritage Group Travel under the auspices of Neil Dobinson. Full details of cost and itinerary are shown in the attachment to the email accompanying this newsletter.

Further enquiries and bookings should be made directly to Neil Dobinson on 01730 264648 or nandj@nandjmail.com  

Many of you may be surprised to know that Neil has been arranging tours for our Society for the past 25 years even before he became a member. Understandably, he now feels that it is time to stand down and has decided to gradually hand over the reins to Linda Boatswain who will stand for election at the AGM in March to serve on the committee as Tours Organiser.

Linda, who has been a member for several years, is well qualified having previously worked for Meon Travel and I know that she is already working with Neil on the tour for 2020, details of which will be shown in the 2020 programme.

I have personally been on the last four tours, two in the UK and two in Europe; have found them all very enjoyable and rewarding and have no hesitation in recommending them to you.

VISITS

Three visits have been organised for 2019, with full details of cost and itinerary for the first two visits to Windsor Castle and Savill Gardens on 7th May and Kelmscott Manor on 11th July, shown in the attachment to the email accompanying this newsletter.

Our organised coach tours are very popular and Anne & Janet take a lot of time and care in  researching the venues for the Society. I therefore recommend that you book early with tickets for the first visit being available at our February meeting, when both Anne and Janet will be on hand in the Exhibition Room to take your booking.

JUST THE TICKET

For many years Neil Dobinson has arranged reduced priced tickets to performances at Chichester Festival Theatre for both our Society and U3A but like the Tours, Neil has decided to gradually relinquish the organisation involved with the purchasing and distribution of the tickets.

The committee appreciated how popular this offer is and will, if possible, take over the organisation as part of our programme. To understand what is involved, Anne Church, assisted by Susan McDonald are going to shadow and assist Neil this year.

The release of information on the performances available and the price for this year is imminent and you will be contacted by the Membership Secretary accordingly by email (or letter if you do not have email).

FINDING OUT MORE

Our website theartssocietypetersfield.org.uk has now been live for over a year and is regularly updated  by our Vice Chairman, Anne Reynolds - you will even find this newsletter on there. If you need details or information, a good port of call is the website. Three cheers for Tim Berners-Lee!

LIGHTS OUT

You may recall at a meetings during the autumn I mentioned that one of our members Joan Fanshawe, had recently received national recognition in the film ‘Spitfire’ for the part she played in The Battle of Britain. Joan was one of the WAAF specialists working at RAF Uxbridge, plotting German Luftwaffe planes as they crossed the English Channel on the 15th September 1940. It was on this day that Winston Churchill was in the operations room when he asked how many planes were in reserve and AOC Sir Keith Park famously said “that all his squadrons were airborne.” That day was subsequently commemorated as ‘Battle of Britain Day.’

Joan was a member of our Society for many years; in recent years, sitting in the corner by the door, she switched the lights off when the lecture started. She always asked how she would know and we told her, the speaker would say “Lights Out please.”

Sadly, the lights finally went out for Joan on 21st December, aged 98 whilst visiting her daughters in New Zealand. The last time I spoke to her was at the end of the November meeting when I introduced her to our speaker, Angela Findlay’s mother, whose father was a German General in the Second World War and they chatted animatedly.

Bill Gosney, Chairman              bill@gosney.co.uk                                             

A YEAR OF CELEBRATION FOR THE ARTS SOCIETY 

Throughout 2018, the 387 individual Societies spanning the globe, from Petersfield to Penang, have been celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Arts Society. Our celebration at the Festival Hall in March was attended by 200 members and guests including National Vice President, Martin Drury and National Trustee, Jillie Moss. This was followed by a lunch for guests and past and present committee members (pictured) who have given so much to our local Society over the past 37 years.

In May, I was privileged to attend a Service of Celebration in Westminster Abbey - a really memorable occasion with the choir singing The Anthem, commissioned for this service by The Arts Society and inspired by the Triptych - The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints by Bernardo Daddi.

At Area level, in September, the celebrations continued at Southampton City Art Gallery where the 21 Societies from Hampshire and Isle of Wight welcomed guests including Deputy Lord Lieutenant - Dame Judith Macgregor,  Leader of Hampshire County Council, Roy Perry and Chairman of the Hampshire Cultural Trust, Alan Lovell together with other arts organisations from across the county.

In October, Chief Executive of The Arts Society, Florian Schweizer, attended our meeting and after carried out one of his 50, 10 kilometre runs, throughout the country, to highlight the Society’s activities and to raise £50,000 for its charitable projects. The weather was glorious and the chosen route from Jane Austen’s house in Chawton to the Edward Thomas Stone at Froxfield could not have been better to highlight the culture and beauty of this area of Hampshire. Florian told me that the route - 13 kilometres, organised by past committee member, Jenny Broadhead, (12 times runner of the London Marathon!) was the most challenging he had run so far. Florian is pictured at The Poet’s Stone with Jenny Broadhead and Society friends and members.

We collected donations for The Arts Society National charities on the day of Florian’s run but we will be having another collection at our December meeting. The Arts Society have given magnificent support locally to The Edward Barnsley Trust over the years and, more recently, £4000 to our own Young Arts Project at Winchester Prison. In November this year, they also gave £1000 to Petersfield Museum (read more later.)
HERITAGE VOLUNTEERING

Since our Society was inaugurated in 1982, we have been involved in four Heritage projects including The Edward Barnsley Workshops for 20 years, Rotherfield Park for 6 years, Uppark for 11 years and The Bedales Historic Dress Collection for 9 years. Our Heritage projects ceased in 2007 but after a gap of 10 years it is rewarding that we are once again involved in a project recording and sorting negatives for digitisation, from the Petersfield Museum Don Eades Collection.

Under the leadership of Peter Marshall, 9 members are involved and have so far sorted circa 80,000 out of around 120,000 negatives in the collection. The work will continue into 2019.

As I hope you are aware, the Museum is at the start of a £2.8 million refurbishment and during the period it is closed many of the photographs that we have sorted will be displayed in a number of roadshows that will tour the town and surrounding villages during 2019/2020. The Museum applied for a grant from The Arts Society to help with the cost of these roadshows and I am delighted to tell you that they have been awarded £1000. Another example where The Arts Society assist with promoting art within the community.

STUDY DAYS

You may have noticed what we used to call ‘Special Interest Days’ has now morphed into the more modern name ‘Study Days.’ Due to the 50th Anniversary celebration in March this year, just one Study Day was organised for 2018, which was held in October at the Community Centre. The lecturer, Bernard Allan, delivered an outstanding day on ‘Women Artists.’ With a full house of over 40 people, it was a great success.

The next Study Day organised by committee member, Anne Bevan, is scheduled for 22 February 2019. Entitled ‘Opera, the melting pot of culture’, we sold circa twenty tickets when they went on sale in November, so you need to make your booking as soon as possible. 

The lecturer, Sarah Lenton, has spoken to our Society twice in recent years and you may recall that she has spent her working life in the theatre, principally at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and English National Opera.

Tickets cost £30 to include coffee and biscuits on arrival, and a ploughman’s lunch with wine or soft drinks.

VISITS

In the experienced hands of Anne Church and Janet Marshall we have had 3 well attended and memorable visits this year. The first was to Laycock Village and Corsham Court in May, the second to Knole - House and Parkland in July (Anne & Janet pictured with members in the Great Hall) and lastly Goodwood House and Chichester Cathedral in October. It was particularly nice that both of the guides at Goodwood House were past committee members of our Society - Mora Wells, who recently moved away, and Jenny Sayer.

Anne Church has been organising our Visits since March 2014 and has agreed to carry on for another year with Janet Marshall.  

TOURS

In September Neil Dobinson led a group of 25 members and guests on a tour to Alsace. The visit was full of cultural surprises, the first being our 2 night stop at Nancy as few of us had realised its importance as the French hub of Art Nouveau, as well as having the Unesco World Heritage Centre, Place Stanislas, in which the photo was taken.

Then on for 4 days at Colmar, our centre for the remainder of the tour. A variety of visits to towns, villages and galleries, were enhanced by the very impressive standard of the guides, who were so well versed in their subjects.

For 2019 Neil is planning a 6 day tour to Norfolk.

HOUSE MATTERS

What members seldom see or appreciate is the considerable preparation before the lecture. Setting up and adjusting the projector and sound system for the arrival of the speaker takes the best part of an hour; longer if there is any incompatibility between the lecturer’s equipment and ours, which has been the case on a couple of occasions in this past year. As part of the committee’s policy to improve and enhance the experience for members, in September we purchased a high quality, digital projector and replaced all cabling and hopefully you will have noticed the difference.

All this is possible thanks to our Technical team led by Peter Price and projectionists Dee Wells and 
Jill Smith who then, at the end of the lecture, stay on to dismantle the equipment and store it in the cupboard. A great team effort.

Mention must also be made to Susan Rodber and the members who organise coffee and refreshments in the exhibition room prior to meetings. With the coffee culture that has gripped the nation, Susan has raised our game by introducing filter coffee, which is well worth the small contribution we ask members to make towards our Young Arts Fund.

SPEAKERS

During the past year we have rated 3 speakers as Outstanding and 4 as Excellent but disappointingly, we had to rate our May speaker as Poor, the lowest we can give. The rating was not for the content of her lecture but for her understanding of her computer, the quality of slides and her dogged refusal to accept any advice from the technical team prior to the lecture. This resulted in the lecture starting late and over running by 25 minutes. I reported the matter at both Area and National level, explaining that for the average £400 we now pay a speaker we expect a high standard. The speaker subsequently offered a free lecture, which we refused.

Meanwhile our Speakers Secretary, Julie Yardley, has planned a wide range of lectures for 2019 ranging from The World of Grayson Perry to the Bayeux Tapestry.

NUMBERS

For many years the Society has had an embarrassingly high 4 year waiting list and whilst it fell last year, it has fallen again this year to less than 50 names, which means that the wait is now down to 2 years. The fall is due to many reasons, sadly through members passing away, others that have moved and a few who have decided not to renew. Importantly it has also been due to our policy of advising people who apply to Petersfield that other Societies in the area, with less numbers, can offer immediate membership. Encouragingly our own membership remains strong and stable at our maximum of 280.
YOUNG ARTS UPDATE

Following our successful project in 2017 with Art for Rehabilitation of Young Offenders, Titian Fleming, our Young Arts Organiser, has been busy researching a suitable project as a follow on and no doubt will be giving details during 2019.  

COMINGS AND GOINGS

As the year ends, so does the term of office for 4 members of our committee. 

Our Membership Secretary, Deirdre Mitchell, has been in the post for 3 years and has established and continued to develop the email communication with our membership. Importantly, Deirdre has had the added responsibility of introducing the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which became law in May 2018. 

This Act protects the personal information of individuals. To assist in achieving this for our membership, the Society now has its own laptop, which is dedicated to holding your personal information, and which will be passed on to each new Secretary. From March 2019, the baton or should I say laptop, will pass to our new Membership Secretary, Daniela Jones, who has been a member for several years.

Time is up for our Committee Secretary, Millie Hockley, who has served for 6 years, the maximum our constitution allows. From March 2019 the duty of deciphering the discussions at committee meetings and producing minutes and agendas will pass to Pamela Anderdon, who will be joining us from our waiting list.

Susan McDonald has served the Society for 6 years, first as Speakers Secretary and then as Treasurer. Finding a suitable replacement for Treasurer is always difficult, so we are delighted that in March 2019 Sarah Marks, also from our waiting list, will be joining us in this important role. For security reasons, in line with GDPR, membership details referring to payments will be held by the Treasurer, on a secure memory stick, with the possibility of a dedicated laptop, which can be passed on to new Treasurers in the future.

The final change for the coming year is the Chairman. Since joining the Society in 2011 (and I wasn’t even on the waiting list) as House Manager, then Vice Chairman and 4 years as Chairman, I guess I am reaching my sell by date!

Fortunately, a year ago Anne Reynolds agreed to stand as Vice Chairman and for the past year she has been shadowing me and learning the ropes. I know that she will be a great Chairman and provide excellent leadership for our Society during her term of office which commences at our AGM in March 2019.

SEASONS GREETINGS

Finally I would like to thank all my committee for their superb support during 2018 and together we all wish you a Very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year. We look forward to meeting with you again in February at the start of our Society’s 38th Year.

Bill Gosney, Chairman

GETTING INVOLVED

What a lovely summer we have had and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I have. Now with the weather back to normal we commence our monthly meetings again on 5th September. The committee meanwhile are finalising officers and arrangements for 2019, details of which have to be completed for the end of October when the Programme is sent for printing.

Unfortunately we are still seeking replacements for the Members Secretary and Treasurer. Whilst it is understood that many of our members live busy lives you will appreciate that these 2 key positions have to be filled for our Society to function. So I am appealing for all members to consider if they can help. For more details contact either myself or our vice chairman, Anne Reynolds on 01428 741693 or reynolds@bucksfield.co.uk

One important decision already made by the committee is that the annual subscriptions for 2019 will rise from £36 to £40. The last increase was 5 years ago and since then there have been significant increases in the cost of speakers and associated travel claims.

YOUNG ARTS UPDATE

It is almost a year ago that our Young Arts project at Winchester Prison commenced and six months since Judy Grill presented the outcomes at our 50th Anniversary meeting in March.

Whilst it is difficult to know or measure if our project will have any lasting effect, I was delighted to learn from National Vice Chairman Hilary Alcock that The Arts Society North West Area are keen to progress on a similar project and she has highlighted to them our ‘inspirational piece of good practice’.

I was also interested to learn on a recent visit to the Watts Gallery at Compton that they have been engaged for a while with a similar project with women offenders from Send prison with tangible success. Hopefully the obvious potential benefits of the use of art in changing lives and reducing offending will continue to grow and enrich society for the benefit of all.

HERITAGE VOLUNTEERING

After a summer break our heritage volunteers have regrouped and restarted work on the identification and sorting of negatives from the Petersfield Museum Don Eades Collection.

We are now over halfway through the sort and to date over 10,000 negatives have been sent for scanning and now await transfer to the museum photographic archive.

The photographs were taken by freelance press photographer Don Eades over a period of 25 years recording local events and people between 1962 and 1987 and provides a superb glimpse of life at the time.

The museum is holding an exhibition in November to display a taster of Don’s fascinating photographs. Also a series of ‘Road Shows ’ is currently being planned to visit venues in the town and surrounding villages from Spring 2019, whilst the Museum is closed during their major redevelopment. Photographs are one of the museum’s major collections with more than 30,000 accessible on reopening in 2020.

If you would like to be involved with this Heritage project, contact Peter Marshall on peter@49wood.co.uk

SPECIAL INTEREST DAY

Women Artists: their challenges, ambitions and achievements

Wednesday 10 October with Bernard Allen

With 2018 marking the centenary of the emancipation of women, this study day has been specially arranged to mark the occasion with a celebration of Women artists from Artemisia Gentileschi in the 17th century to Laura Knight in the 20th Century and the extraordinary obstacles they had to overcome to pursue their careers.

Art Historian Bernard Allen is renowned for his knowledge and expertise on this subject and has planned the day with two sessions before lunch and one after.

Tickets cost £25 and will be available at our 5th September meeting or by contacting Anne Bevan on 01730 893343 or anne.bevan6@gmail.com. Price includes coffee and biscuits and fruit, wine or soft drink at lunch.

2019 DIARIES

For those members who like to use the Arts Society Diary, the 2019 edition will be available from Millie Hockley until the 30th of September at a cost of £8. You can place your order with Millie at the September meeting or on millie.hockley@ntlworld.com

Bill Gosney, Chairman
bill@gosney.co.uk

The Petersfield Arts Society celebrated the 50th anniversary of the national association at the Festival Hall in Petersfield on Wednesday 21st March.

The day started with the AGM at 09.30, which was attended by over 100 members. After coffee, they and a further 150 members and guests, were treated to a recital by Young Arts protegee saxophonist, Victoria Puttock. This was followed by a talk on the history of the Arts Society (formerly NADFAS) by Jillie Moss, national trustee. Judy Grill then gave a presentation on our successful and innovative Young Arts project in Winchester Prison which had been attended by 8 young offenders. Finally, the morning ended with an illuminating lecture given by Joanna Hardy on 'The Art of the great Parisian Jewellery Houses', underlining her passion for gemstones and a century of breathtaking designs.

Committee members from the 37 years of our society attended a splendid lunch at which our president, Neil Dobinson, thanked current chairman, Bill Gosney for all his hard work in staging the anniversary event.

COMPLETING THE CHANGE

It hardly seems possible it was just a year ago that I informed you NADFAS was likely to change the name and branding of the Society. Since then agreements have been made at both national and local level throughout the country with 280 of the 300 societies having now completed the change. Whilst our Society agreed to the change of name earlier this year we decided to complete the rebranding to The Arts Society Petersfield by the end of 2017 to coincide with the issue of our 2018 programme. I am pleased to report mission accomplished.

To create uniformity each Society has been given access to new logos, recommended type faces, and suggestions for layout. To create individuality it was suggested pictures or artwork relating to each Society’s locality be used in conjunction with the new graphics. What better icon for Petersfield than the statue of William III and the Market Square.

Local artist Flora Twort (1893–1985) spent most of the 66 years she lived in Petersfield depicting local scenes and people going about their daily business, most famously those in The Square. Over 600 pieces of her artwork are now cared for by Petersfield Museum and they kindly gave permission for us to select and copy extracts from ‘Saturday Shopping at Petersfield Market’ [1932] for our own graphics. Our designer faded and tinted the image to suit the new logo and print colour enabling us to use it for different formats such as the programme, this newsletter and on our new website, which is currently under construction.

For several years your committee resisted having a website primarily because we did not wish to exacerbate our long waiting list, but times move on, especially with web communications, and speakers and our membership now expect to find information about the Society online. Incidentally, we are the last of 21 societies in the Hampshire and IOW area to have a website so we cannot be accused of rushing the decision!

www.theartssocietypetersfield.org.uk is planned to go live during December and will contain much of what is in your 2018 Programme but importantly it will also contain more details on visits, tours and other information relating to the current year.

As you know, where possible, we have also been communicating with you by email for the past four years. This year, with 90% of members now able to accept emails, we decided for the first time to send details of visits and tours as well as the AGM agenda by email. The saving in postage, printing and stationery has helped us to hold the subscriptions for the fifth consecutive year. It also saves our Membership Secretary a considerable amount of time. However those without email can be assured that they will continue to receive hard copies by post or for collection at our meetings.

NEW FACES

Recruiting members for the committee has for many years been one of the Chairman’s most onerous tasks which predictably led to tempting those on the waiting list with instant membership if they filled the vacancies.

This year has been different with four members stepping forward: Anne Reynolds as Vice Chairman, Julie Yardley as Programme Secretary, Anne Bevan as Special Interest Day Organiser and Titian Fleming as Young Arts Organiser. Just Peter Marshall was recruited from the waiting list for his technical ability to head up the Heritage Project.

STEPPING DOWN

Clare Brown will retire from the committee at the AGM after seven years of dedicated service. She served first as Vice Chairman in 2012, then three years as Chairman followed by three more as Programme Secretary. Throughout my time as Chairman Clare has offered loyal support and none more so than in organising a variety of first class lectures. This can be quantified with no less than seven being rated as outstanding by the committee.

Clare’s 2018 programme again offers a broad choice of subjects with half given by returning lecturers. Amongst these, Angela Finlay who provided the inspiration for our current Young Arts Project.

Judy Grill joined the committee five years ago as Special Interest Day Organiser with additional responsibility for the introduction of a Young Arts Project. The success of this first project with our financial support for saxophonist Victoria Puttock led Judy to seek a new challenge.

Inspired by Angela Finlay’s lecture in February 2015 on the potential role of art in criminal reforms, Judy has been pivotal in developing and introducing our second project ‘Art for the Rehabilitation of Young Offenders at Winchester Prison’.

Realising the project has taken two and half years and required persuading the Prison Governor of the potential benefits, seeking qualified art therapists to deliver the project and assisting with raising the £8,500 to finance the cost, an amazing £3,000 of which came from our own membership.

After careful selection of ten suitable candidates the project was delivered twice weekly during October this year. On the final day of the project ten members of our Society were invited to attend the prison, view the work and discuss the projects with the project team and offenders.

It was a memorable experience leaving us impressed with the progress that had been made, the standards of artwork and the potential benefits that such a project offers. Perhaps above all the feeling that if just one of the young offenders is able to be persuaded that there is another way, other than reoffending, then the project was worthwhile.

But the final judgement will be given by the criminal psychologist’s report which we hope to receive in the new year. In the meantime ideas are currently being investigated by prison officers on providing similar projects perhaps using university post-graduates as tutors to reduce costs and assist with monitoring the benefits. If this does take place then we can be proud of the part our project played in the process. None of this would have taken place without the dedication and enthusiasm of Judy.

Mora Wells, fast tracked into our Society in 2015 to fill the breach when Judy Grill handed over her responsibilities for Special Interest Days to concentrate on Young Arts. Having served as Chairman at her previous Society, Mora offered a wealth of experience to the committee and could be guaranteed to offer practical support and advice . Thank you Mora and our best wishes go with you in your new home.

VISITS

The three visits organised this year were very well attended and most enjoyable, none more so than the Westminster Abbey historical and musical tour in late September. This is the second time we have visited the Abbey and such was the interest that tickets sold out immediately. Those who missed out will be pleased to learn that our very able organisers, Anne Church and Janet Marshall have already put our name on the waiting list for a repeat visit but such is the popularity it will probably be four years away.

In the meantime three visits have been arranged for 2018, full details of which you will receive in early December via email, or by post if you do not have access to this facility. Dates are also shown in the 2018 Programme.

NUMBERS

Organisations like ours cannot exist without those willing to look after the paperwork and manage the funds. We are fortunate that we have Deirdre Mitchell as Membership Secretary and Susan MacDonald as Treasurer, looking after ours. Each autumn they are very busy with membership renewals for completion by the year end. Whilst most members pay promptly, 10% do not, which this year led to Deirdre having to make over fifty phone calls or emails chasing them. I will say no more than to respectfully remind members that paying by banker’s order makes life easier for everyone especially Deirdre!

The popularity of our Society has for many years led to a long waiting list for Membership peaking at over one hundred in recent years, a four-year wait. This became an embarrassment and we have been recommending to those applying to try other local Societies. This solution appears to be working as with the twenty spaces made available this year by those who decided not to renew their membership, our waiting list has now fallen to 70.

TOURS

In mid October thirty two members travelled to Shrewsbury for a most enjoyable five day tour of the best of Shropshire and further afield to Wrexham and Worcester. Organised by Neil Dobinson, in conjunction with Heritage Group Tours, we visited castles, country houses and cathedrals all displaying wonderful examples of both decorative and fine art, with perhaps the highlight being a tour of the Royal Worcester Porcelain Museum.

No sooner had this tour ended Neil was in discussion with Heritage Tours planning a trip to Alsace in late September 2018. Details will soon be released but having been fortunate to preview the itinerary it is well worth holding the date.

HERITAGE VOLUNTEERING

I mentioned in my September newsletter that after a break of many years our Society has agreed to embark on a new Heritage Conservation Project to assist with the sorting and digitisation of more than 100,000 photographic negatives of our town and surrounding villages. Taken by Don Eades, a freelance photographer over a period of 35 years from 1962 for use by our local paper, Don has generously donated the collection to Petersfield Museum.

Stored in envelopes by week/year with a sparse description of the content, sorting by local historical importance is now well underway and we are currently proceeding with the next stage to carefully separate them for commercial digitisation.

The digitalised images will then be entered onto the Museum’s database for posterity. It is a fascinating project which will last many months and more help would be very much appreciated.

If you are interested or wish to find out more contact our Heritage Organiser Peter Marshall on on peter@49wood.co.uk or 01730 264648.

HOUSE MATTERS

What members seldom see or appreciate is the considerable preparation before the lecture. Setting up and adjusting the projector and sound system for the arrival of the speaker takes the best part of an hour; longer if there is any incompatibility between the lecturer’s equipment and ours. Considering the potential problems that could and do occur it is remarkable that we start each meeting on time and all goes well during the lecture, albeit an occasional gremlin with the sound.

All this is possible thanks to our technical team led by Peter Price and projectionists Dee Wells and Jill Smith who then, at the end of the lecture, stay on to dismantle the equipment and store it in the cupboard. A great team effort, thank you.

Thanks must also go to Christine Legg and the members who organise coffee and refreshments in the exhibition room prior to meetings. Christine, after four years of very ably organising the rota and supplies, has decided to stand down and Susan Rodber has kindly agreed to take on the job for the coming year.

ARTS SOCIETY PETERSFIELD 50TH ANNIVERSARY MEETING
 WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018, FESTIVAL HALL

To ensure that all our members are fully aware of the change of date and venue of our March 2018 meeting a formal programme with full details will be given to all members in early December.

The change of venue to the Festival Hall enables us to invite all those on the waiting list together with representatives from other interested local organisations. However, to determine how many guests we can invite, we need to know how many of our membership are planning to attend so it would help us immensely if you would RSVP your intentions to mitchdpdfas@btinternet.com by 21 January 2018.

Whilst the main objective is to celebrate 50 years of The Arts Society (NADFAS) at national level we will also be celebrating the activities and achievements of our own Society over the past 37 years. The event is free with coffee and biscuits provided.

SEASONS GREETINGS

Finally I would like to thank all the committee for the way they have supported me and together we wish you a very happy Christmas and peaceful new year and we look forward to meeting with you again in February at the start of our Society’s 37th year.