The Arts Society Wirral

Elizabeth Gordon 28th November 1934 - 19th March 2024

Many Wirral Arts Society members will remember Elizabeth who joined our Society in 1973, was Chairman from 1978 to 1981 and then went on to become joint President with Doreen Lewis then on Doreen’s death our President.

Elizabeth was born in Hampshire. She gained a BA in History at Cambridge then qualified as a barrister. She met her husband Stephen when both worked for Unilever in London. They married in May 1962 near Salisbury. Stephen came from a Wirral family. He was also involved with NADFAS, becoming Area Chairman for a time. They moved to Parkgate, Wirral in 1971 with their three daughters, Virginia, Harriet and Olivia (Polly).

Elizabeth joined the Ellesmere Port and Neston Magistrates’ Bench in 1973 and went on to be their Chairman when the Ellesmere Port and Chester benches amalgamated. Among her myriad interests she was instrumental in the renovation of St. Thomas’s, the mariners’ church on Parkgate Parade. Elizabeth and Stephen are still remembered locally: Elizabeth riding her bicycle round Neston and with her Scottie dogs walking and chatting on the Parks Field.

When Stephen’s health began to deteriorate in September 2018, they reluctantly left Hydestyle House and moved south to Sutton Scotney near Winchester to be closer to their daughters. Stephen died on 25th January and Elizabeth less than six weeks later on 19th March 2024.

1st May 2024

Hello Everyone,

On 15th April we had a complete change of subject from our previous talk on Berthe Morisot, when David Wright led us through an illustrated history of 6,000 years of wine making, in his lecture: -

A Brief History of Wine

Despite absolutely dreadful weather, the hailstones alone were impressive, a good number of members and guests attended.

If you are reading this, I know I am preaching to the converted, but I should once again extol the virtues of our website for the most up to date information. All details about the proposed outings to The Lady Lever Gallery on 13th June, and the visit on 26th July to Paradise Mill, Macclesfield, lunch at The Harrington Arms and on to Gawsworth Hall are available under the Visits tab, as are details of the Tour to Salisbury, 29th September to 2nd October, under Tours. Lots of very interesting and helpful information there. Our thanks to Caroline and Vivienne for all the organisation, and to Helen for running our website.

A number of you will have seen, I hope, that Libby has sent out a Mailchimp with information about The Arts Society Trustee Elections 2024. There are currently four vacancies on the Trustee Board at the AGM 2024 which is to be held on 23rd August. Interested applicants who are members of local Societies are therefore invited to submit their nominations. Further details are available and will be on our information film before the next lecture on 20th May. The deadline for nomination is 13th June.

It may seem some while off, but we are starting to make arrangements for our annual New Members’ Lunch, which we usually hold in September. More news will be forthcoming as soon as possible. This is an event which we look forward to greatly as a Committee. It is a pleasure to meet our new members, and to be able to explain our various rôles over a spot of lunch.

Meanwhile, our next lecture will be on 20th May, as mentioned above. Julian Richards will speak on: -

Passionate Potters

I am sure this will be a fascinating talk, and I regret that I must offer my apologies in advance as I cannot be there on that day. I will look forward to seeing you on 17th June, before we break for the Summer.

Now more than two years have passed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the death and disaster there has sometimes seemed forgotten in all the other horrors and wars throughout the world. I see, sadly, that it was in my letter to you in May last year that I wrote of the dreadful conflict in Sudan, which has had such widespread consequences for the people of that country, with, I believe, eight million people displaced, as well as all the obvious harms suffered. It sometimes feels that we, at present at least, are living in a very lucky bubble.

My sincere good wishes

Yvonne Woodhead

The Arts Society Wirral members meet monthly to hear, from a varied programme of inspiring lectures given by top experts in their fields. Regular tours, outings and visits throughout the year complement the lectures.

In addition, the Volunteer programme, open to all members of our society, includes Church Recording, involvement with local young people by way of the Young Arts Group, Archiving for a number of organisations together with the development of Church Trails for children