September Newsletter

Dear Members

On one of the hottest days of the year I cannot believe I am writing to you about the autumn/winter lectures!  I hope you have all had a good summer and been able to enjoy your gardens.

Our season begins on Tuesday 26th September, but not without difficulties and a great deal of quick thinking by Jenny and Alyson.  Sadly, our speaker, Caroline Shenton got in touch to say that her father had died, and his funeral was on the day of our lecture.  I am pleased to say that, thanks to Alyson and Jenny not wasting any time at all, we have Bill Powell coming from Chester to talk to us about Lucian Freud and the Queen.  This should be very interesting as Bill has lectured on cruise ships for the past 10 years and is very experienced in his field.  We are hoping that we can re-book Caroline Shenton for October.

We have had to re-schedule the October lecture for a week earlier, so it will be on Tuesday 17th October.  The reason for this is that there is a huge wedding due to take place at Tennants on October 24th.  When I discussed the options with Jessica, we decided that the best thing was to move our lecture.  There are going to be hundreds of guests at the wedding which will mean, that apart from anything else, it will be very noisy and rather crowded.  I will remind you nearer the time, but meanwhile, please make a note in your diaries.

Your committee doesn’t just sit around during the summer break – they are busy behind the scenes making sure that the forthcoming season is as enjoyable as they can make it, and to that end Jenny has been busy organising a visit to Auckland Castle for us.  This is scheduled for Thursday 9th November.  The pickup arrangements are the same as  on previous occasions at Leyburn and Bedale and more details will be shared with you very soon.  We are hoping to visit the gardens and the Faith Museum so watch this space.

A gentle reminder from Lilian.  A few weeks ago, she sent you all a renewal form for this next year.  Sadly, we have had to raise subs by £3 to £63.  Lecturers’ fees and their travel costs have increased (along with most other things) but we have also made a change and have now adopted charitable status.  This means that it is very important that you complete the Gift Aid section of your renewal form as that is quite a contribution to our funds.  Bob Davies does an amazing job balancing our books and we need to help as much as we can.  Could  I please ask that if  you haven’t already done so, you let Lilian have your completed forms, either by post or email prior to the meeting if possible,  and that those of you who are renewing at the meeting in September have your forms completed before you get to the registration desk.  Lilian and Eileen will be giving you your new progamme card and membership card so that you can claim your 10% discount on your refreshments.  It is always a busy time so in order to avoid a long queue and a delay to the start of the meeting, please could you arrive an extra few minutes early.  Lilian will attach a renewal form with this email just in case you have mislaid yours.

Finally, whilst I was at the National Conference in Bristol in May I was speaking to Tim Nichols our Finance Director.  He is hoping to come from London to one of our lectures so that he can meet you all and will no doubt be happy to answer any questions you might have about the way our new look Arts Society is being run.

Meanwhile take care and looking forward to seeing you all again on September 26th.

Best wishes

Susan