Travellers to Italy - Experiences and Inspirations

Our July lecture was given by Dr Katy Brown.

As one of the Mole Valley NADFAS societies we are helping present an
exhibition of children's art on 23rd and 24th October at Denbies as part of
the Mole Valley Arts Alive programme. The artists are aged 9 - 16 so do
come along, between 10a.m. and 4p.m. and see what is being produced at our
local schools.

L Lewis
October 2004

Elgin Marbles - History, Politics and Architecture

Geoffrey Toms was our lecturer in June. His subject was The Parthenon & the Elgin Marbles - their History, Politics and Architecture.

It was anenormous subject and he crammed so much information into an hour and a quarter that I have to confess to getting a little lost. Some of the more recent history was clarified by the excellent BBC 2 programme the following
weekend but opinion - including mine - is still very divided as to whether the marbles should be returned to Athens.

Our AGM was held at this meeting and our president, Tricia Edwards, expressed the appreciation of the membership to the committee for all their hard work.

There is no meeting in August. L. Lewis

L Lewis
June 2004

A British Obsession - British Sporting Paintings

Our speaker in May was Nicholas Bagshawe who bears a striking resemblance in looks and manner to Hugh Grant. His subject was British Sporting Paintings. He was very informative about the development of the genre and the individual painters while also being absolutely up to date on the current market for these works. We were advised to invest in really good paintings of dead animals as they are extremely unfashionable at the moment and bound to appreciate in value when the public reverts to its bloodthirsty ways!

Our July lecturer is Dr. Katy Brown who specialises in Medieval and Renaissance Italian art and her subject is "Travellers to Italy - Experiences and Inspirations".

L Lewis
May 2004

Hidden Canterbury

Anthea Bryant gave us the most fascinating talk on the historic city of Canterbury at our April meeting, illustrated by excellent slides. It really whetted the appetite for those of us fortunate enough to be visiting Canterbury in May.

I was intrigued to learn that the voyage of The Mayflower had been conceived by Myles Standish while he was living in the city and the ship was built and launched nearby.

Geoffrey Toms is our lecturer in June. He will be talking about the Parthenon & the Elgin Marbles - their History, Politics & Architecture.

L Lewis
May 2004

The Pre-Raphelites and their Women

Vivien Heffernen's March lecture concentrated on the stereotyping of women by the Pre-Raphaelite painters. They shared many of the same models who were variously portrayed as virgin, whore or perfect mother. During the course of the afternoon we were shown slides of delightful paintings, some of which hang in galleries such as Birmingham and Manchester and are not very well known "down south".

Nicholas Bagshawe is our lecturer in May. His subject will be "A British Obsession - British Sporting Paintings".

L Lewis
April 2004

Life and Art in Georgian Dublin

As anticipated, our February lecture given by Thomas Duncan was highly entertaining. His rapid-fire delivery, huge breadth of knowledge and hilarious asides kept us on our mental toes throughout. Members are now lobbying for a visit to Dublin.

L Lewis
April 2004

The Amish People, their History and Culture

Our January lecture was about the Amish People: their History and Culture. The speaker was Jan Jefferson who grew up in Pennsylvania with Amish neighbours. She was such an enthusiastic mine of information that there were many questions from the floor and it was hard to let her go.

Did you know that the Amish community was still growing? There are now about 150,000 Amish in the U.S.A. and Canada.

Mrs. Jefferson said that 100% of the teenagers rebel at some stage but 87% return to the fold. This is causing problems as, traditionally, a newly wed Amish couple is given a house and a farm. Nowadays it is not easy to buy land so some farms have several houses on them and many of the younger generation make their living pursuing traditional crafts such as joinery and quilt-making. We were shown some quite beautiful examples of quilts - from the early days when the colours were very sombre, being made solely from scraps left over from their homemade clothes, to stunning modern designs commissioned by outsiders.

Vivian Heffernan will be talking about the Pre-Raphaelites and Their Women at our March Meeting.

L Lewis
March 2004

For more information check out:

http://www.amish-heartland.com/

Christmas Concert raises considerable funds

Our Christmas concert was greatly enjoyed by members and visitors alike. We are grateful to the young musicians of the Fort and Kennington families as well as Andrew Milligan and The Ockham and Horsley Choir. The audience was extremely generous and a considerable amount of money was raised which will be shared between St. Michael's Church and the Marie Curie Nurses.

The February lecture on Life and Art in Georgian Dublin will be given by the wonderful eccentric and enthusiast, Dr. Thomas Duncan.

For membership enquiries please contact Fiona Good - 01306 712794

February 2004

Treasures and Palaces of St Petersburg

Ernest Saunders gave our November lecture on The Treasures and Palaces of St. Petersburg. He traced the history and development of this amazing city. Many of its' extraordinary palaces were virtually destroyed during World War 2 and are now undergoing loving restoration. We were shown excellent before and after slides including a salon completely lined with amber. It seems that St. Petersburg now has a lot more to offer tourists than the treasures of the Hermitage Museum.

After the lecture we all enjoyed a gourmet Christmas tea prepared by the committee and their faithful helpers. So many members attended that Mr. Saunders suspected the tea was the attraction, rather than his reputation as a lecturer.

L Lewis
January 2004

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