Northleach Decorative & Fine Arts Society

NDFAS

A Member Society of NADFAS

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Report of the Committee to the Members for the year to 31st December 2008

The Committee is pleased to report to Members on the Society’s activities in 2008. As in previous years, the Committee has aimed to provide a varied and interesting programme in keeping with the purposes for which the Society was formed.

The core activity of the Society has been the programme of nine monthly lectures. In arranging these, the Committee, having decided upon an appropriate mix of subjects to be covered, has been able to select from the list of lecturers, which is available from the NADFAS Directory. From the many comments on these lectures made by Members and passed on to Committee it seems that the programme has been well received.

In March, a much enjoyed visit was arranged to Windsor Castle to view the restoration work. In May we made a visit to Kelmarsh Hall where we were able to make some interesting comparisons with Ditchley Park, which had been the venue for our summer lunch the previous year. Finally in October we made a visit to the Barber Institute at Birmingham University followed by a tour of Harvington Hall.

We held two special interest days during the year. The first, on stained glass, was held in February and was particularly relevant in view of the wealth of material to be found in our own area. The other was on the Art of Bookbinding, a new topic for the Society, which in the event provided those attending with a great deal of stimulation and interest.

In April a group of about thirty of our Members visited Lille, travelling by Eurostar. This mode of travel to a nearby centre allowed plenty of time for a programme that combined group activity with plenty of free time for members to follow their own individual interests.

In December we held our fourth successive Christmas lunch at Chavenage House and were entertained with music provided by Brian Etheridge and Daphne Abé.

We have given support to Young Arts and again made a donation to Northleach Church of England Primary School, who used it to provide a display case for works of art produced by the children. We continue to believe that support for Young Arts forms an important part of what we do and are looking for further ways to develop this interest.

Our church recorders group continues with an active programme, which will be reported upon at the Annual General Meeting by our Group Leader, John Shapley.

The Committee has kept a careful watch on the finances of the Society, which remain sound despite a small shortfall in income over expenditure, the first since the Society was formed. At the Annual General Meeting the Treasurer will report in detail on this years’ figures and on the general state of the Society’s finances.

At the time of writing this report there are two hundred and forty one members and a further forty nine people are waiting to join us.

The Society is a member of the West Mercia Area of NADFAS and plays its part in its activities. Northleach DFAS has been represented at the National AGM and other NADFAS events.

The year 2008 was the 40th anniversary year of the founding of NADFAS by Patricia Fay. To mark the occasion the West Mercia Area committee organised a celebration at Malvern at which the Society was well represented. Those attending enjoyed a day in which Peter Medhurst provided illustrated and musically accompanied presentations on Venice in 18th Century London. We are very grateful to our Area committee members for organising this.

The present Committee was elected to take over from 1st August 2008, and also at that time Gill Linley stood down after several outstanding years as a Committee member for which we are most grateful. Since the start of the current season Caroline Pye has been co-opted as a member of the Committee.

In October 2008, Sonia Abbott reached the end of her term as President of the Society. The whole Society is very much indebted to Sonia for her distinguished work as President and also for her guidance and expertise in starting up the Society. We were pleased to be able to announce at that time that Philippa Mitchell had agreed to succeed her as President. Also in October we were sorry to announce that Professor Bill Cotton was standing down as one of our Vice-Presidents. Bill has always been extremely generous with his time and expertise and we look forward to continuing to see him at our meetings.

The Committee also pay tribute to the many helpers who do so much to help us in other ways. These include our President and Diana Townley, our Vice President, who give us so much support behind the scenes. There is also a great miscellany of coffee providers, register takers, sound system and projector workers and those who just come along and help when they see the opportunity. We are most grateful to all these people for their cheerful contribution.

The Committee is most grateful to the whole membership for their support and help. We hope that with their help, the Society can continue to provide an enjoyable and friendly forum at which our members can pursue their interest in the decorative and fine arts.