October 1st, 2021

 

Dear Members,

 

Hello, and I hope, as always that you are well. 

 

I should start by saying how very disappointed we were that our President, Mrs Dorothy Brining, was unable to be with us for the first live lecture after so long, and wish her the speediest possible improvement after her recent painful fall.

 

Those of you who were able to come along to Heswall Hall on Monday 20th September to hear the most entertaining and erudite lecture from Gillian Hovell,

 

               “A Mediterranean Tour: Not just a load of old stones!”

 

enjoyed, we sincerely hope, being back, physically, and with friends, to an experience that seemed at some points as though it would never happen. 

 

I think that Gillian got us off to a flying start, as she wove together the great civilisations of the Mediterranean, with splendid illustrations, shown to great effect on the new, large screen at Heswall Hall. As a very experienced speaker and broadcaster she also coped effortlessly with the difficulties presented by the errant microphone.

 

It was extremely helpful to hear from various members of the Society their thoughts and suggestions about the seating and the view of the screen from different parts of the Hall, as well as their comments about the lecture itself. Meeting our speaker, live, brought home vividly to me the effect these last months have had on our lecturers, with loss of bookings and tours and the necessary hasty adoption of Zoom and other platforms to continue working at all.  

 

The open windows did not present a challenge on such a pleasant Autumn day, but we should keep reminding ourselves of the need of warm coats later in the year. A notable change was, of course, not being able at present to chat over tea or coffee afterwards.  We do hope that at some future date this may happen again.

 

As usual the committee met a week before our lecture, and as well as eager discussion of our first live meeting since February 2020, other matters were discussed. The postponed Cultural Tour to Cardiff and the surrounding area is finally under way, from 29th September to 1st October. We all look forward to hearing in detail about the trip from returning members. 

 

The Day of Special Interest is arranged for 1st November, when Mark Allum will speak on The Art of Collecting. A number of us were taking advantage of the new card reader to pay for this, keeping our Programme Secretaries and Treasurer very busy.

 

The Book Conservation groups are due to return to The Athenaeum from 5th October, and Young Arts continue to be very active. No work is possible yet in the Archive section of our Volunteering. We will keep you informed of the progress with printing the work of our Church Recorders, and with what is happening with Church Trails. I really can’t emphasise enough how much the various members of the committee do to keep the Arts Society running. They have my very sincere thanks.

 

Our next meeting will be on October 18th when Jennifer Toynbee-Holmes will speak on

 

                                       Venice – from Canaletto to Monet

 

and we look forward to seeing as many members as possible then.

 

How else could I finish this letter but by saying Welcome Back!

 

With all best wishes,

 

Yvonne Woodhead

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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