Hello from the Chairman,

The committee had a very enjoyable summer lunch at the home of Rachel Hay, our membership secretary amongst the ox-eye daisies in Rachel’s haven of a garden - see group photograph above. At our committee meeting that preceded our lunch we gave a warm welcome to two new committee members, Katie Carr and Boo Casement (in absentia). We are very pleased to have them on board.

This spring we have had two successful trips, thanks to Jude Marks for organising.

In April we took the opportunity to add an unexpected visit to our programme – a tour of Westminster Abbey. The places were quickly taken up and we all enjoyed an inspiring evening, with the accompaniment of a male-voice choir while the Abbey was closed to the public. Judging by the enthusiastic feedback we received, those who were lucky enough to attend will not forget this sublime experience in a hurry.

In May we had our Romney Marsh churches visit. A coach full of us from Tenterden braved the fifth continent of the World, Romney Marsh, so described by the early nineteenth century author and rector of Snargate church. This isolated spot made it the perfect location for medieval smugglers to hide their contraband. We learnt much about the hard lives of the Marsh residents in the times of the plague and other fascinating nuggets of information on this enjoyable day out. See more information under Visits.

We have also been busy with supporting Young Arts. For more information on these activities please visit the page ‘Young Arts’. In addition we also have a Study Day being organised by Minnie Garnier in Spring 2027.

The committee hope that you have enjoyed the lectures so far this year and wish you all an enjoyable summer break. We look forward to meeting up again when we resume in September.

Caroline Richards

Chairman

Thank you Michael and thank you all for electing me as your Chairman.  Going forward I’m happy to be referred to as Chairman rather than Chair person!

My election could be construed as a scraping of the barrel, but I prefer to see it more as upcycling; a ticking a box of a green agenda.  This is because this is my second round.  I was on the founding committee back in 1997 when I was then a young mother and now I am back again but now a granny.

Going forward, with this committed team that Michael has already highlighted, I hope that I  can continue the smooth running and friendly nature of our society that Michael has so skilfully curated over the last three years.

I would like to congratulate Michael for holding such a steady course over his tenure.  A period that involved the challenge of navigating the upsets and changes that occurred at Head Office.  Fortunately that period of instability is now over and the new incumbents there are acting in the best interests of the local societies.

Michael has kept the society in good shape while some other local societies have not fared so well.  Indeed, our continued functioning really does depend on the help of volunteers and members happy to join the committee and give their time to keep societies like ours alive.

Michael has admitted to me that he has found his role challenging, yet as he reflects back is reassured that his main achievement is leaving this society in fine form.

So as a token of our gratitude to you please accept this gift from us.

Please everyone join me in giving Michael a round of applause.

So far this year we have enjoyed two first-class lectures. On Tuesday 28th January Chris Aslan gave us his lecture entitled: How to get down from a Yak. His informative lecture on Asian Nomadic Textiles was both funny and interesting. On Tuesday 25th February Alexandra Epps talked about Peggy Guggenheim which was also well-illustrated and fascinating. The listed lectures for the rest of the year should all be equally enjoyable and broaden our cultural horizons.

Our day visit to Chiddingstone Castle is scheduled for Wednesday 23rd April and is booking up fast. Later on in the year, on Thursday 16th October, we are due to visit Lincoln’s Inn and Sir John Soane’s Museum, which should be another interesting experience.

All in all 2025 promises to be another exciting year at High Weald.

Michael Vaughan
Chairman

The end of September saw our 25th Anniversary celebrations.  We started with an excellent lecture on Gustav Klimt that made us all learn something new.  This was followed by speeches from our Chair, Jacqueline Schalburg, and founder member and first Chair, Jane Sawyer.  Jacqueline then presented a specially commissioned painting of Benenden to Martin Dickson, Chair of the Trustees of Benenden Village Hall.  The painting will hang in the hall as a commemoration of the past 25 years of meetings at the Village Hall by the Arts Society High Weald, and looking forward at least to the next 25 years.  The celebrations, which included several past Chairs, including Flick Seton, Cath Scales, Rosemary Izod and Heather Parker, were concluded with a glass of fizz and delicious canapes.

25th October is the date for our AGM.  Notices have gone out and this will start at 10:15.

1926 - 2022


Today we mourn the loss of Queen Elizabeth II. 

She was a truly wonderful and strong leader and example to us all.
We look back on Her Majesty's reign and know we have lived under one of the most important royals.

Long Live The King

News August 2022

I hope you have all been enjoying our summer – who would have thought we would have so much hot and sunny weather?

Time goes by quickly and it is hardly believable that our Society is now 25 years old and continues to be a thriving and friendly Society – much envied in the Kent Area. I am delighted to announce that we will celebrate the event at our September lecture on Tuesday the 27th. I hope you will all be there, first for the lecture on Klimt that promises to be excellent, and then for the handover of a special painting that we have commissioned on Benenden, to the Benenden Village Hall Trust. This will be followed by a glass of bubbles and some nibbles.

Jacqueline Schalburg

More and more of you have been coming to Benenden Village Hall to attend our lectures and it feels like the old, pre-Covid days once more.  The lectures have been fascinating and well delivered and thanks to our able Programme Secretary, Paula Bolton, they have covered a wide range of topics.  As you study our Programme Card, or this website, you will see we have a lot more treasures in store!

I was delighted to be part of the group that met at the Courtauld Gallery in London to view the special exhibition of Van Gogh self portraits and then be taken around the various rooms to view their collection of wonderful paintings and artefacts.  Jude Marks was our capable organiser and her next visit in the autumn, to Greenwich promises to be equally unmissable.

On 17 May, we had a Special Interest Day on Art Deco.  Sheenagh Nicholson organised this fascinating and interesting day.

Spring is looking imminent with yellow daffodils and so many other flowers blooming in the garden.  We have already had two fascinating lectures this year: one on Tutankhamun and one on The Field of Cloth of Gold.  Our thanks go to the team who serve up coffees, teas and biscuits on our arrival, in from the cold! Our next lecture will be looking at the world of well known potter, Grayson Perry.  

Our visit to the Courtauld Gallery in London is fully booked and we have now just opened bookings for our Special Interest Day on Art Deco in May.  If you haven't seen a flyer then do ask.

Just a reminder that guests are always welcome to come to our lectures and also to our Special Interest Days - please remember to book beforehand.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes to all our members and their families for health and happiness in 2022.  We hope this year will prove to be much better than the previous two years.

Your committee have put in place a varied programme of Lectures, Visits and Special Interest Days for 2022, starting with Tutankhamun on 25th January.  With regard to lectures, please note, for your diaries, that we are now booking them on the LAST Tuesday of the month.

We have been back in Benenden Village Hall since September, following Government guidelines regarding Covid precautions.  Coffee and biscuits are still served by our lovely team.

We all look forward to meeting up.

Yes, we are planning to offer mulled wine and mince pies after the lecture on 14th December 2021 - note the date.  You will not want to miss this lecture with Peter Medhurst performing and discussing a range of Christmas Pieces from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century.

There will be also be a piano for the lecture, so lots of live music for christmas.   We look forward to seeing you.

Please feel free to be in festive cheer.

Members’ News

At the end of last year we recorded the death of two members who had been with us ever since this society was founded, Sir Kenneth Warren MP, husband of Lady Anne Warren, one of our  founders and first chairmen, and Sandra Douglas, one of the much loved earliest members and one of a closely knit family with many ramifications among our membership. Another member of this family, Rosanne Corben has unfortunately now joined her. 

Then, we had to also record the death of David Sawyer, the husband of Jane Sawyer, another of our founders and first chairmen. We extend our sympathies to Jane, who is still so active in the society.  Sadly, we have to report that at the beginning of the lockdown due to Coronavirus, a great character passed away – none other than Kenneth Parker, husband of previous Chair, Heather and who, in his own right did so much for our Society. 

Where to start?  Well, Kenneth looked after this website, for a long time he sent out communications via Mail Chimp, he organised some of the most popular tours that our members have enjoyed, he organised the Theatre visits together with Heather, was a ‘rock’ and support for her during her Chairmanship and he gave a lecture when we were let down at the last minute one winter.  To cap it all, Kenneth also gave a very interesting Day of Special Interest regarding the goings on in the middle ages!  A man of many talents who will be much missed by all who had the pleasure to know him.

Chairman's Letter - Heather Parker

These past three year have positively whizzed by, but I think we have achieved a lot in that time. High Weald still has the reputation of being a friendly society, and I am proud of that. We’ve had some brilliant lectures, and our eyes have been opened to many aspects of the arts. We’ve been to Russia, Africa, Australia, Paris, Spain and Japan. We now know what naughty monks wrote in the margins of their manuscripts, how to look at the frames of paintings too, and even  ow to bind a book. For all this we have a new screen and a marvellous new projector.There have been many journeys, near and far, to Chevening, to our lovely Romney Marsh churches, to the theatre to see wonderful plays and musicals, and even to Sicily and to Crete.This all sounds very self- indulgent, but I should make it clear that as well as making donations to local museums and charities, we do help introduce arts to the young.

They say the world is divided into ‘them as gets on with it, and them as sits and watches.. Our committee is certainly of the former sort and has never shied away from any demands made of them. Jacqueline has struggled every year with the layout and content of the programme card, minutes, missives and so much else and always come out triumphant. Bruce Seton, our treasurer, every year, manages our finances with sardonic humour, Michael Vaughan found exciting and fascinating subjects for us to explore, and also entertained our speakers, not always easy. like the gentleman he is. Rachel, our marvellously efficient membership secretary, coped coolly with every problem that arose. Patrick Izod always came up with new and amazing visits, and organised them to perfection. Meanwhile Paul Chapman, working for Young Arts, has his own reward, not only in the lovely mosaics the children have created, but in the pride in the children’s faces. Daphne McKerrell took on the Study Days at very short notice, but even then she didn’t expect the difficulties which confronted her, yet she won out every time. And to keep us all calm and happy, we had dear Liz Young, ready to catch before we fall.

Laughter has been the keynote of our committee meetings, and it has been a constant pleasure to chair them. I thank all my committee with all my heart. And I also thank the man who refused to come to committee meetings but did so much for High Weald. He coped with Mailchimp, so that you all got the news, which saved a lot on postage, gathered lecture reports, managed the website, and single handedly organised those fabulous visits to Sicily and Crete, Oh, and then gave us an impromptu lecture when our speaker couldn’t come, with such success that he then gave us a special interest day, for free. No chairman ever had such support from her husband as I had. Thank you, Kenneth, from me and from all of us.

I wonder if you have ever imagined a meeting with no provision of coffee and biscuits before the lecture, a time when we can meet friends and chat. We all owe a tremendous debt to dear Anne Bramall, Ross and Elizabeth Johnston, and Jenny Newton. Thank you so much, all of you.And now try to imagine coming to a meeting with no chairs set out for you. Imagine having to sit on the floor, and even worse, trying to get up again! We have to thank Bruce Gear with his helper for this and also for setting up the screen and projector for our speakers.

And now it’s my turn to say goodbye – at least to my role as Chairman. I am really sad to relinquish it, because I’ve enjoyed these three years hugely and made so many friends through it. Thank you so much for all your kindness and support. I wish Jacqueline as much pleasure and reward as I have had.

Heather Parker

I have loved being your Chairman and am very gratified that we are known to be a friendly society.  The committee has been very supportive and I have to name Heather (our long suffering) secretary, Margaret who has arranged such a varied series of lectures, Liz, who looks after our membership, Jacqueline who deals with publicity and the website, Annie, whose study days have been very rewarding and Patrick who arranges such interesting visits.  Bruce, our treasurer, keeps our finances in order and is pleased with us this year and Alistair Cooke our auditor.

John McCaig is so brilliant with our power point projections and Terry Wiggs assists him.  Bruce Gear  who arranges the hall so efficiently and Johnny and Anne Bramall who, with help from Jenny Newton, ensure that our coffee and biscuits are always ready.  I thank you all.

Some lectures were more interesting than one might have thought – in particular the one on Middle Eastern decorative glass.  The skill of the artists in such early times was amazing.  We were fascinated by the talk on 17th Century Dutch art and Douglass Skeggs brought the historial background to life.  We have learned about a variety of subjects from gardens in Florence, the lives of the Hamiltons and his liaison with Emma, to Napoleon and Waterloo and May Ray and Lee Miller.

A study day on English water colour artists was held in the more intimate location at Hole Park and was greatly enjoyed.  Another day with Peter Medhurst on Mozart will be held in the Benenden village hall because of a large demand for places.

We have visited the stunning Wallace Collection, marvelled at the amazing gifts received by the Duke of Wellington at Apsley House and had a recent trip with an excellent guided tour of Parham House, also enjoying the very well preserved Elizabethan gardens, with the beautiful little church.

I want to thank Jane Sawyer for her encouragement when I was first on the committee many years ago.

My best wishes go to our new Chairman and her committee and I feel that I am handing over the reins of a thriving society.

With kind regards to you all.

ROSEMARY IZOD
CHAIRMAN HWDFAS

This will be my third and last “Letter from the Chairman”.   All things technical have behaved very well this year and we have enjoyed excellent digital presentations.  I write this immediately after Oliver Everett’s lecture on the Padnama, when he showed us interesting details almost invisible to normal sight.  I know that as a consequence, some of you have requested that we organize a trip to Windsor to see the Miniatures.  We were extremely lucky to have Frank Woodgate’s lecture on David Hockney in January.  At New Year I had heard David Hockney speak with great admiration about the colours, techniques and  draughtsmanship  of the Netherlandish and Italian Renaissance painters so the ensuing lectures on these very same artists were particularly interesting .  The programme for 2013 is based in the late 19thand early 20th Century and offers an eclectic mix of great artists, architects, jewellers and other events.  As always the lecturers will be first class.

In April Tony May led a group of us to Puglia.  Not only were the cathedrals, castles and Renaissance cities wonderful but also the weather improved on the day we arrived and we had lovely Summer weather and, for me, the great joy of seeing olive groves filled with flowers.  Next year he plans to lead us around Malta in May which is already proving very popular. 

By the time you read this we will have been to Belmont and Provender near Faversham.   Next year Rosemary Izod and Ursula Allen will be hanging up their clip-boards and day-trips will be arranged by Jane Dulley and Patrick Izod who are currently planning…  I would like to thank Rosemary and Ursula for their very hard work.

Our Study Day in March on the Silk Road was very popular.  Chris Bradley revealed this ancient Trade Route which carried damasks, spices and Oriental works of art through the heart of Asia to Renaissance Europe.  In November we are holding a Study Day on the Cities of Castile which are steeped with history and great architecture.  I do hope you will all be attending.

Throughout the year Heather Parker books trips to the theatre for us.  I can say that if Heather has chosen a play it will certainly be excellent.

Now as I prepare to hand over to Rosemary there will be several other changes within the Committee. When you read Annie’s article in this Newsletter you will discover how hard she has to work.  Annie has been Programme Secretary for three years and now hands over to Margaret who is already planning lectures from 2014.  Annie has great plans for future Study Days.  I will be assisting Liz Young with Membership which Margaret has managed so efficiently for many years.

Lyndsay who has been our excellent Secretary has decided to step down. She also produced the before lecture screen announcements and kept an eye on all things digital before the lectures.  Heather Parker has agreed to be Secretary in her place. Ursula Allen is also leaving the committee after her stretch of trip organizing.  I must thank those who are leaving, welcome those who are joining and say that I have been a lucky Chairman to have had a brilliant committee who give their time so generously towards the smooth running of this Society.

Thank you also to Anne and Johnnie Bramall and Jenny Newton who pour the coffee before lectures  and the rest of you who grab drying-up cloths to leave the kitchen so tidy.  Also thanks to John McCaig and Terry Wiggs and Peter Hoole for mastering the digital projector and sound system, without them there would be no lectures. Also two unseen heros are Jacqueline Schalburg who edits this Newsletter, keeps the Web Site up to speed and organizes Study Days and Bruce Seton, our Treasurer, who keeps a keen eye on our accounts and  is always in email contact whether it is from Cranbook, Hong Kong or Croatia..

I would like to wish Rosemary the best of luck for the next three years and hope she enjoys the challenge as much as I have.

Jane Hoole