Welcome to our June newsletter.  This month’s lecture is preceded by our AGM, and if you are coming to the lecture we ask that you arrive early by 1:45pm so we can conclude the AGM’s business.

The request for new committee members earlier this year bought us three new members helping to fill crucial roles. Sadly, die to unforeseen circumstances one has had to withdraw from the role of Programme Secretary and we find ourselves in urgent need of a member to replace her.  Do you think you could help?  You would be fully supported over the next few months while you get to grips with the role.

Our June lecture is being held on Thursday 12th June, starting at 2:00pm.

The lecture is titled “Emperor Qianlong (1736 – 1796) ‘Son of Heaven, Man of the World”. The Emperor Qianlong was arguably the greatest of all the Qing Emperors as he guided China through a period of unquestionable political, economic and cultural prosperity which rivalled any comparable period of high achievement in Chinese history.  Territorially Qianlong added more than 30 per cent of land mass to the Empire through successful military campaigns and astute diplomacy.  He was passionate about preserving Manchu culture whilst respecting and nurturing other ethnic Chinese cultures.  Qianlong travelled his Empire regularly undertaking lavish expeditions to the South and West, designed to forge loyalty to his Imperial rule.

The speaker is David Rosier, who spent more than 30 years of working and living in East Asia where he and his wife assembled a collection of approximately 500 Imperial Court Costumes and related textiles/dress accessories. David is an expert lecturer on Imperial Court Life and Costume and has lectured for The Arts Society and a wide range of other organisations in the UK and around the world.  He has organised and led Imperial Art Tours for a variety of organisations.     

Refreshments will be available after the lecture as usual, for a small donation.

Raffle tickets can be bought before the lecture, 50p per ticket, to win a £10 book token.  The proceeds of the raffle go towards the Arts volunteering projects.

There will be an opportunity at the lecture to buy tickets for the upcoming visit to Arley Hall on the 14th July.

Rearranged Lecture:

The Art and Crafts of Kashmir – now on the 10th July
A date for your diary – as this lecture was cancelled in January because of the inclement weather, it has now been rearranged for July. The speaker is Zara Fleming and she will talk on the artistic diversity of this area.

WHAT’S ON

Local Arts Societies:

North East Cheshire
Wednesday 12th June @ 10:30am at The Brookdale Centre, Bridge Lane, Bramhall,
SK7 2AB
“Monopoly” – speaker Roger Mendham
Almost everyone has played Monopoly at some time in their life – and this talk starts with the original Landlords Game in 1903 and its evolution into the game as we know it today.

Other Arts Events:

Music@Mike’s
St Michaels church is holding free, informal lunchtime concerts from, 1:15pm to 2:00pm, to showcase the best of young and aspiring musicians from the town and further afield.  Entry is free, and refreshments are available before and after the concerts. This month there are three concerts:
Friday 6th:                    John Sabar – piano
Friday 20th:                  Ivan Hovorun – piano
Thursday 26th: Steven Davies - concertina

KEMS
The Summer Concert features the Singers and is on the 7th June at St Michael’s Church @ 7:30pm.  The concert has Spirituals and extracts from Rutter’s “Feel the Spirit”.

Rex Cinema, Wilmslow is showing:
A Streetcar Named Desire (National Theatre) – 5th @ 7:00pm

FUTURE EVENTS

Cinema Club
The cinema club, held on the last Friday of the month at the Park Lane Tavern, has been a great success and much enjoyed, so ………. We have booked the following dates for our next season and hope you will make a note in your diaries:
26 September, 2025               Van Gogh – Poets and Lovers
31 October, 2025                    The Artist’s Garden – American Impressionism
28 November, 2025                Hopper – An American Love Story
23 January, 2026                     Pissaro – the Father of Impressionism
27 February, 2026                   Frida Kahlo
27 March, 2026                       Degas – Passion for Perfectionism
24 April, 2026                          David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts

  Quiz Afternoon

This has been booked for Wednesday 22nd October, 2025 at Macclesfield Cricket Club
2:00 – 4:00pm, and this will be a quiz about great artists, wonderful buildings and brilliant performers on stage and screen – it’s just for fun, with lots of lovely pictures and (mostly) easy questions.  Another date for your diary. Come as a team of 4 – 6, or individually, all welcome, and we’ll help with teams. All profits will go to supporting our Arts Volunteering projects in the local community.