August is my month off from writing my newsletter but I thought you might like to know a bit more about the Community Arts Projects that we have been supporting this year so I’ve asked Sue Marlow, our Community Arts Co-ordinator to give you an update about the many different projects  that TASC has been involved in this year. 

Community Arts Projects supported by TASC

A workshop led by artist Tracy Spiers, took place at Maggies on November 5th 2025 when the participants made Christmas decorations using wool, cardboard and felt tip pens. This was funded by £250 grant for head office. These were most effective.  The day was well attended with a community spirit.

There were no community grants from The Arts Society (Head Office) given to any society in 2026. The funds in 2026 were taken from donations from Riviera Travel when members booked their holidays with them.  (Thank you to all members involved with this).

Initially we had planned to hold a children’s workshop at Maggies on April 11th 2026 but there were no takers so it has been decided to have it later in the year.

An Adult morning workshop took place again led by artist Tracy Spiers on 29th April when adults printed cards. (Picture above) This was well attended. As no one came in the afternoon it was decided to hold another morning one later in the year.

We supported Art for All, which is also the mayor’s charity this year. Art for All is a Charity based at Gas Green Youth & Community Centre in Cheltenham which aims to help people achieve sustained mental wellbeing through the practice of being creative. Our artist Tracy Spiers led a collaborative workshop to create the front cover of the charity’s calendar for 2027. We have also secured Gardens Gallery in Montpellier Gardens in April next year. We have sponsored this event to showcase their work.

Forty Young Carers and their staff visited Nature in Art on July 23rd to take part in two workshops led by the resident artists. One was a Batik when the children created a variety of colourful pictures to take home. The second activity took place in a woodland area where they moulded clay. They spent the rest of the day there with a sandwich lunch to explore the grounds and objects in the Museum.  We have funded the workshops and given money towards transport.

Sue Ryder Cheltenham has bought art materials to be used in their community hub. They hold an activity-based session once a week.

At the beginning of next year 2027 Nature in Art will be holding an art competition for children. The society will be sponsoring the event. A meeting will be held in the Autumn 2026 with the director to discuss what form this will take.

Also, our chairman has contacted Cheltenham Open Studios about sponsoring their event next year 2027.

I am delighted to say that Belinda Hyland will be taking over the role of Community Arts Rep in September. I have really enjoyed meeting new people and making things happen. I shall be around to see the events in 2027 which I have instigated on the society’s behalf.

Sue Marlow      Community Arts Rep

My thanks go to Sue for managing our Community Projects so well for the last two years and, as she mentioned, I will be taking on this role for our Society when I stand down as Chair in October.  I will be following through on our ongoing projects and I have an interesting new one already in the pipeline.  I look forward to sharing information about this with you all when our new Season begins in September.

Best wishes

 Belinda

A breath of air at last! I do hope you have survived the recent heatwave and managed to cope - it’s been a difficult time. A trip to York last week to attend the The Arts Society AGM came as a bit of a relief for me to be honest. Air conditioning on the train and in my hotel room meant at least one night of reasonable sleep. I was pleased to be able to have a chat with Hilary Kay, The Arts Society President, before the event and following her address we were treated to a really interesting illustrated talk ‘Old Craft, New Art’ from Helen Whittaker MBE an award-winning designer and maker of stained glass windows and metal sculpture. Helen took us through her career and some of her challenging commissions including her very special memories of being asked by David Hockney to work with him on the Queens Window in Westminster Abbey celebrating the reign of Queen Elizabeth ll.

I hope that, if you were there, you enjoyed our final lecture of the Season and our social gathering beforehand. Sarah Cove gave a fascinating talk on John Constable, describing his diverse painting methods based on her lengthy and extensive research of his works. Despite her superb knowledge, expertly delivered, she told us that he was still not her ‘favourite’ artist! Your interest might have been piqued sufficiently though to decide to join our visit to ‘Constable Country’ in October as part of our Tour of Suffolk. There’s still time to book if you haven’t already done so - more information below.

I also hope that you have enjoyed the Lectures, Special Interest Days, Visits and other events that we have offered over the last twelve months and that you will be rejoining TASC for the 2026/27 Season. You should, by now, have your renewal pack with information on how to do so along with our new Programme Card. Many of you have already signed up and this is just a gentle reminder if you haven’t yet got round to it! You have until July 31st to do so. And, of course, we would really love to welcome new members so if you think a friend or neighbour would enjoy what we have to offer then please tell them about us or perhaps bring them along to one of our lectures when our new season starts with your free guest invitation. All information about how to join can be found on our website here 

Looking forward to our new Season, booking is now open for our Special Interest Day at The Pavilion on Thursday 5th November 2026 - ‘Cultural Revolution in the Heart of Europe’ with Gavin Plumley. Gavin is a much sought after speaker and after his superb talk on Expressionism last year we were inundated with requests to have him back, so I’m sure this will be a very popular event. We have decided to move our SID’s to the Pavilion so that we can accommodate more people but don’t delay in booking to secure your place. Further information and how to book can be found here.  Payment for this event can only be made online. See further information below.

And so to return to our forthcoming 3 night/4day Tour to ‘The Historic Houses and Heritage of Suffolk’ from 6th - !0th October 2026. All single rooms are now booked but there are double/twin rooms still available. If you would like to join us, more information about the Tour and a Booking Form can be found here and if you have any further questions about the tour please email Ash Fawcett, our visits Co-ordinator, at visits@theartssocietycheltenham.org

We now have a new online Events Booking System which has been developed to broaden payment choices and reduce effort in managing events. The new system will enable members to book an event online and pay using credit or debit card, bank transfer, telephone banking or by cheque. Cash, card or cheque payment for Visits and SID’s will no longer be accepted at other events (eg lectures & Cafe Arts) although cash and card payments will still be available for ‘on the door’ entry to Lecture and Café Art events. To find out more about the new system please click here  

Once again we’ll be promoting The Arts Society Cheltenham at an event, organised by Cheltenham Arts Council, on The Promenade on Saturday 5th September between 10 am and 4 pm. Member organisations of CAC will host stalls showcasing what they have to offer. We will have our own stall with information, leaflets and other promotional material to tell visitors who we are, what we do and the benefits of membership. Members of the Committee will be on hand to engage with passers by but we would be delighted to have extra help with ‘manning’ the stall, even if just for an hour or so. If you can lend a hand please email me at chair@theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk and I’ll draw up a rota of helpers. I’ll be very grateful and so will the rest of the Committee!

Coming up very soon is the Cheltenham Music Festival from 3rd to 11th July — I’m sure lots of us will be enjoying some of the many and varied events on offer. If you haven’t yet bought any tickets or want to know more all information can be found here   

Also this month Lansdown Art Studios have their Summer Exhibition on 4th and 5th July 10am - 5pm with an open evening on 3rd July 4 - 8 pm. With 500 original artworks on display at the town’s largest independent art exhibition – all under one roof - this is worth a visit. Featuring special guest artists alongside the talented resident artists. Free entry and parking. More information about the event and the Studios can be found here 

This is my last newsletter for 2025/26 in my final year as your Chair. I do hope you have an enjoyable summer however you will be spending it - I have a cruise on the Seine and a trip to Paris to look forward to next month. You will be getting an email in August from Sue Marlow, our Community Arts Co-ordinator, telling you about the varied Arts Projects we have been engaged in this year making a difference to many people in different settings. I’ll be taking over this role from Sue at our AGM in October and already have plans for an exciting new project which I look forward to telling you more about in due course.

Have a great summer and keep cool!

Best wishes

Belinda

Belinda Hyland
Chair Arts Society Cheltenham

Phew!  A very hot end to May has had me searching for somewhere cool to walk my spaniel, Nell, in the early morning.  There are some lovely woods nearby in Charlton Kings - so it’s been a great way to start the day and then ‘hunker down’ behind closed doors and curtains when possible!

Lucy Hughes-Hallet gave us a superb lecture on George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham last month. I’m sorry that a technical glitch deprived us of the final few slides for her talk, I hope it didn’t detract from your enjoyment too much. Our final lecture this Season - in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of John Constable (1776-1837) - is on Tuesday 9th June at 7.15pm at the Pavilion.  ‘The Father of Modern Painting? A closer look at Constable’s Great Landscapes’ with Sarah Cove.  This lecture is based on Sarah’s extensive research on Constable’s oil painting practice carried out over 30+ years.  Illustrated by highly detailed images of these works, she will describe his diverse painting methods in oil sketches, studio studies and exhibited pictures. We are guaranteed never to look at these ‘chocolate box’ pictures in the same way again.

To celebrate the end of another very enjoyable season there will be a Social get-together before the lecture at 6.30pm in the Cafe at the Pavilion. There will be ‘fizzy’ wine and soft drinks available with some light refreshments.  Everyone is very welcome and this would be an excellent evening to bring along a neighbour or friend and if you haven’t used your guest invitation yet they can come for free! We will have our 2026/27 Programme Card available for guests and information about becoming a member. If you would like to bring a guest please let us know in advance by sending an email to me at chair.cheltenham@theartssociety.org with your name and the name of your guest.

I do hope you have enjoyed your membership of TASC this year.  Renewal Packs for the 2026/27 Season will be available for members to collect at the lecture and for those unable to attend these will be posted out soon afterwards.  You will be able to renew your membership on the evening paying by card, although cash and cheques are acceptable too.  Or you can pay by bank transfer if you prefer.

The lecture this month prompted the idea of organising a visit to ‘Constable Country’ and there is still time to join our 4 day Tour of the Historic Houses & Heritage of Suffolk from 6th - 9th October.  Double /Twin rooms are both available but unfortunately no single rooms remain.  Information about the tour and how to book can be found here https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx and if you need to know more you can contact our Visits organiser, Ash Fawcett, on visits@theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk .  Ash is on holiday until 7th June but will respond to any queries as soon as he returns and he will also be at the lecture.

Also coming up in our new Season is our first Special Interest Day.  We are delighted to welcome back Gavin Plumley on Thursday 5th November with a Central European Special Interest Day at the Pavilion - a series of three lectures looking at the arts and culture in the Imperial capital of Vienna and the principal metropolises of the Czechs and the Hungarians.  Booking for this event doesn’t open until 1st July (so put a note in your diary) but in the meantime to find out more about the day please visit https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/DocumentStore/Central%20European%20Study%20Day.pdf

I know we have a number of Opera fans in our membership so if you are one then you might like to know that The Arts Society Worcester has arranged a visit to the Opera at Longborough on Tuesday 4th August to see Hansel and Gretel and has invited any members who would like to join them for this event.  It is a self-drive trip so transport is not available so you would need to get yourself there.  For information and how to book please visit.  https://www.theartssocietyworcester.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx  You are requested to please book before the end of June.

I look forward to seeing you later this month at our social gathering in advance of our final lecture. In the meantime ‘stay cool’!

Best wishes

Belinda

I’m writing this newsletter a little earlier than usual so I’m hoping that by the time it pops into your inbox on 1st May we are beginning to enjoy some warm weather and lighter evenings (accompanied by something cold in a glass!)  I do hope you enjoyed last month’s lecture given by the entertaining and very knowledgeable Janusz Karczewski-Slowikowski.  We will have the chance to see a number of beds from different periods, highlighted during his talk, on two of our visits later this year. Information about those further on….

Our next lecture on Tuesday 12th May, 7.15pm at The Pavilion is ‘George Villiers The Duke of Buckingham: The Handsomest Man in 17th Century Europe’ with Lucy Hughes-Hallet. George Villiers was the favourite of King James 1 and subsequently chief minister to Charles 1.  Buckingham was a beauty and surrounded himself with beautiful things and Lucy will show us some of the magnificent paintings he owned - the Titians, the Tintorettos, the Veroneses.  He was also a discerning patron - Inigo Jones renovated his houses, John Tradescant was his garden designer and he commissioned boldly innovative portraits of himself. But at the age of 35 he was murdered.  Lucy’s book on Buckingham, ‘The Scapegoat’ won several literary prizes.

We are approaching the end of our current year and the final lecture in June will complete our main Programme of Events for this Season and we will soon be inviting you to renew your membership of TASC. Having been able to maintain our fee at the same level for the past 3 years there will be small increase this year. The Membership fee for the 2026/27 Season will be £60 per person.  Visitors will pay £10 per lecture and Cafe Arts will be £7.  Details of the Lectures, Special Interest Days, and Cafe Arts dates for next season are available to view on our website.  www.theartssocietycheltenham.org .  Renewal Packs, with information on how to renew your membership and more details about our events, will be handed out at our June Lecture (or posted if you are unable to attend).

Our forthcoming day visit is to Nature in Art Twigworth and Hellens Manor Ledbury on Tuesday June 23rd.  At Nature in Art there will be an introductory talk and on the day of the visit a new exhibition ‘Ancient Yesterdays 11’ will open featuring work by the artist Eizabeth Gray who died in 2022. Hellens Manor is reputed to be one of the oldest dwellings in Britain. It is a mixture of Tudor and Jacobean architecture that has evolved from original 12th century stonework - and there are some ancient beds too!  

The next 4 day visit is our Tour of Historic Houses and Heritage of Suffolk departing Tuesday 6th October Our first stop on this trip will be at Audley End House and Gardens near Saffron Walden - featuring the ‘State Bed’ highlighted in Janusz’s talk.

For more information and how to book for either of these trips please visit https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx

  In case you are interested, the Arts Society AGM will take place on Thursday 25th June at the Yorkshire Museum  All members are invited to attend. The day will open with an address by Hilary Kay, the new President of the Arts Society, with the AGM following in the afternoon. I will be attending along with Katherine Judge, my Vice Chair.  There is no charge to attend and delegates will be provided with free tickets to the Museum on the day.  If you would like more information this can be found here https://theartssociety.org/agm-2026

By the time you receive this the first event of the Festival Season will be underway with the Cheltenham Jazz Festival from 29th April to 4th May.  I know that many events are sold out but there are still some available so it’s not too late if you are interested.  To book tickets visit https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/whats-on?menu%5BrelatedFestival%5D=Jazz%20Festival or just visit the some of the free events happening around town.

So, finally, I do hope you manage to enjoy the Bank Holidays this month and that we will be basking in sunshine!

Best wishes

Belinda

With Easter just around the corner I feel that spring should definitely be here but the weather is up to its usual tricks it seems.  T-shirts in the sun one minute and raincoats in hailstorms the next. I sincerely hope that March ‘goes out like a lamb’ - as the saying goes.  I was proud to attend the Cheltenham Arts Council (CAC) Awards evening last week (photo above) and receive my Citation for my time as Chair of TASC, nominated by my Committee, with several members joining me in celebrating the occasion at an impromptu ‘after party’! It was a memorable event for me.

Last month our lecture on Scandinavian Modern, given by James Vaux, was very well received. Members have commented that they like the wide variety of subjects that we offer for our lectures and in April we have yet another unusual title for you.  On Tuesday 14th April at 7.15pm at the Pavilion we welcome Lecturer Janusz Karczewski-Slowikowski with his talk “And so to Bed”.  This lecture traces the significance and use of beds from the medieval period through to the 18th century both in terms of their association with the highest level of society and also the history of their construction, decoration and the textiles associated with them. The significance of beds through the ages can be judged by the prominence given to them in wills - Shakespeare left his wife Anne “my second best bed’.  Whilst studying for his first degree Janusz worked part time in an antiques shop, which he came to take over as proprietor.  Such was his interest in collecting that he became known as the dealer who bought but never sold! He has lectured on antique furniture throughout Europe since 1975.

Cafe Arts took place in March with one of our members and former ballet dancer and teacher, Valerie Aris, giving a really fascinating illustrated talk on ‘The point of the Pointe Shoe’.  This was our last one for this Season and these popular Social Mornings at the Suffolks Bowling Club will begin again in September.  I’d like to thank all those who came to support, help out, or speak at our events this Season - we have had such a great variety of talks. I’d also especially like to thank Jane MacFarlane who has organised these events for us for the past two years, but she will be taking on a new role for the Society. So I hope that we will soon find someone new to run these very popular events for us next Season - we have some interesting speakers already lined up.  If this is something that you might be interested in helping with do let me know!

We have some great visits organised for you for the rest of this Season and a 4 day Tour to Suffolk in October.  The visit to St Philip & St James Catacombs & Columbarium on 23rd April is now fully booked. On Tuesday 23rd June there is a day Visit to Nature in Art, Twigworth and Hellens Manor, Ledbury which is also proving popular.  And of course we have our 4 day Tour of the Historic Houses and Heritage of Suffolk from 6th - 10th October with Tailored Travel who arranged our excellent visit to Liverpool last year.  There is a full itinerary for the tour and on days 2&3 we will be accompanied by a Blue Badge Guide and benefit from their expert knowledge of the area.  Colour brochures for this visit will be available at the lecture but full details on this and all our visits with information on how to book can be found here. https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx

If you have any queries on any of our visits then please email Ash Fawcett at visits@theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

One of the winners at the CAC Awards is a very talented artist, Karen Bendersky (holding a Cup!) . She is based at Lansdown Art Studios who are holding an ‘Artists at Work Day and Exhibition’ on Saturday 11th April 10am - 4pm. Karen and many of the other 23 resident artists will be present and refreshments will be available. Entry is free and there is plenty of space to park. I shall definitely be calling in to see some of the 400 artworks on display and support these local artists. The studios are at Unit 1A on the Lansdown Industrial Estate, Gloucester Road.

Gloucester History Festival Spring Weekend takes place this month from 17th - 19th April.  With over 50 leading historians, actors and broadcasters (including many Arts Society lecturers) taking part in 30 events.  Many of the events are also being live-streamed so if you can’t be there in person you can still ‘attend’ if you wish.  Details of all the events can be found here https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/spring-weekend-2026/

So, with the sun hopefully making an appearance soon, I look forward to seeing you later this month.

Best wishes

Belinda

So, back from my recent trip to Vietnam which was wonderful, I’m very pleased that the weather has taken a turn for the better and that spring is definitely here at last. My bulbs are popping up everywhere and the grass is growing and needs cutting!

 Our next lecture is ‘Scandinavian Modern’ with speaker James Vaux on Tuesday 10th March  at 7.15pm at the Pavilion, Hatherley Lane. James’ talk will concentrate on the height of Scandinavian Modern design in the 1950s, when it took America and Europe by storm but he will also examine 19th century design reform, leading to the functionalist and ideological roots of Scandinavian Modern in the 1920s and 1930s. He will also give us tips on how to survive an afternoon in IKEA (!) , by learning to identify what really is Scandinavian Modern and what isn’t.

 Coming very soon we have our Special Interest Day on Thursday 5th March - ‘Islamic Art’ with speaker James Allan.  This day is now fully booked but just to let you know we are already planning our Special Interest Days for next Season, so there will be further opportunities if you weren’t able to get to this one.  Other Arts Societies nearby also run these days, as I mentioned in my last newsletter, so do keep an eye on their websites too.

 Our final Cafe Arts is on Tuesday 24th March 10.30 am - 12 noon at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  Valerie Aris will give a short talk on ‘The point of the Pointe shoe’.  Valerie is a former ballet dancer and teacher so I’m sure she will have some interesting ‘points’ to talk about! By the way, I do hope that you enjoyed the trip to Birmingham Royal Ballet last month if you were able to go.  I’m told that Valerie spotted one of her former pupils taking part in the performance.  How thrilling for her. Cafe Arts is open to all members and visitors for just £6 with unlimited coffee and biscuits and occasionally cake!  This will be the last one for this Season, but they will start again in September when the 2026/27 Programme begins.

Following on from the lecture last month, the Visit to St Philip and St James’ Catacombs and Columbarium on Thursday 23rd April is now fully booked.   However some further visits and a 4 day Tour to Suffolk in September are in the pipeline and you will be receiving information about these soon. 

 I’m delighted that the Society is in a good financial position and able to fund local activities as part of our Community Arts projects, managed for us by Sue Marlow, our Community Arts lead.  We are providing funding for two arts workshops at Maggie’s in April, one for adults and one for children. We are also supporting Art for Mental Health by providing funds to hire Gardens Gallery for an exhibition to display work done by this group during the year.  Other Community Arts projects are also planned for this year with Young Carers and a pre-school group. I’ll provide more information about all of these in due course.  If you know of a group that would benefit from funding for an arts related project please speak to Sue. She will be at the lecture this month.

 And here are some other events this month that might be of interest:

Cheltenham Library is hosting an Author Event on Saturday 7th March at 2.00 - 3.00 pm when best selling author Sarah Dunant will be talking about her latest book ‘The Marchesa’. Tickets are £3.  For more information and how to book follow the link https://gloslibraries.uk/event/cheltenham-library-author-talk-sarah-dunant-7-03-2026

 With support from The Gloucestershire Piano Trust, local pianist Clare Hammond has been part of a project running workshops in prisons where the participants co-composed pieces for solo piano to reflect their experiences.  These pieces are being performed across the country and  on Wednesday 25th March at 7.30pm for Cheltenham Music Society at the Princess Hall at CLC. For more information about this and Clare’s other projects in Gloucestershire visit gloucestershirepianotrust.org.uk and https://cheltmusicsoc.co.uk

 I was delighted to receive an email from Cheltenham Arts Council to say that I had been invited to their Awards Evening later this month to receive a Citation - having been nominated for the Award by the Committee of The Arts Society Cheltenham.  I was thrilled to be able to accept and I thank my team (for that is what we are) for putting my name forward. I am honoured to have served as your Chairman for the past five years - it has been a pleasure.  But I’m not stepping down just yet - I’ll still be around for a while and look forward to seeing you at one of our events this month.

 Best wishes

 Belinda

I can remember my mother always referring to the long, dark days of January (she was brought up in South Africa so British winters were hard for her!) and I’m currently understanding exactly what she meant.  And I think I can add ‘wet’ to that description too. So although the evenings are getting a little lighter, Spring still seems some way off. I’m writing this a little earlier than usual, before I head off on my trip to Vietnam, so maybe by the time you are reading it things are picking up somewhat.  I do hope so!

I hope you enjoyed our last lecture and found something in Mariska’s talk on ‘The Art of Laughter’ to raise a smile or two. This month we have something completely different.  Tuesday 10th February 2026 at 7.15pm at the Pavilion - ‘Graveyards to die for: How 19th Century London buried its dead’ with Charlie Forman.  Charlie is a London walking tour guide and lecturer who highlights the social, architectural and artistic history of his home city, which he is passionate about.  In this talk Charlie ‘digs’ into the graveyards of 19th century London.  As the population doubled in its early decades, so did the numbers dying and so - Where to bury them? Churches acquired extra land and the Magnificent Seven garden cemeteries began to flower outside the city limits. They were - and still are - places of landscaped beauty, of tranquil reflection for the living as well as gardens holding spectacular monuments to the dead.

Later this month we have another of our Cafe Arts Socials on Tuesday 24th February from 10.30 - 12 noon at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  We will welcome Tracey Cadogan who owns and runs the ‘Art Union’ shop on Winchcombe Street.  Tracey will tell us a bit about how the shop came to be set up and how it supports local artists.  Do come along and bring a friend or two for what I’m sure will be an interesting talk with unlimited coffee and delicious biscuits for only £6.

Our next Special Interest Day is on Thursday 5th March 2026 (also at the Bowling Club) ‘An Introduction to Islamic Art and Architecture’ with James Allan.  A series of 3 lectures during the day from 10.00am until 3.00pm with breaks for coffee and lunch.  This day is proving popular with members but there are a few spaces still available.  £33 for TASC members and £38 for guests.  if you wish to book please email Anne Irvine at eairvine4@gmail.com giving your name (and the name of a guest if bringing one) and your contact phone number. Full information about the day can be found here https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/DocumentStore/An%20Introduction%20to%20Islamic%20Art%20and%20Architecture%20Flyer.pdf  I’m looking forward to this day very much.

A reminder that from 1st February the Membership Fee for joining The Arts Society Cheltenham for the remainder of our 2025/26 Season (which includes all lectures until the final one in June) is reduced by half.  So if you know of anyone who might like to join us this would be a good time for them to do so. You can bring them along to the lecture on 10th February and they can join that evening (leave plenty of time for the formalities) or there is an online Application Form on our website https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgCeBRqwj8QYtPFprVV4r69MBYMEIg9lJSMsz8K3QKUpiggw/viewform  I look forward to welcoming more new members to our Society this year. 

If you are into watching arts lectures or other ‘arty’ stuff online then you might be interested to discover ‘Artfully Said’ a series of podcasts on YouTube produced by the Arts Society.  Usually lasting around 30 minutes with two experts (often Arts Society lecturers) talking together on a variety of topics, they make interesting watching.  Here’s a link where you can discover more. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZqLD_kXknHAb9C6lcvj8zKG721Flw_Wf

A number of other Arts Societies close to Cheltenham have their own Special Interest Days in the next couple of months.  We like to support one another so here are links to those events which might be of interest. 

The Arts Society West Gloucestershire’s Day is ‘King Charles III, His Forebears and their Artistic Tastes’ with lecturer Barbara Askew on Thursday 12th February in Highnam.  https://theartssocietywestglos.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx

The Arts Society Corinium’s Day of Special Interest is ‘The History of Jewellery from Elizabeth 1st to Elizabeth Taylor’ with speaker John Benjamin in Cirencester on Tuesday 17th February. https://www.theartssocietycorinium.org/dsi/a-history-of-jewellery

 Ross-on-Wye Arts Society are holding a Day of Special Interest on Wednesday 25th March on “Unravelling the Silk Road” by Chris Aslan at the Larruperz Centre in Ross-on-Wye. https://www.theartssociety-rossonwye.org/events.php?event=265

Although I won’t be at the lecture this month (still on holiday!) I will be back home for Cafe Arts on 24th and then our Special Interest Day on March 5th so I look forward to seeing you at one of those events perhaps.

Best wishes

Belinda

'70s Music and Fashion: from Dancefloor to Runway. With Steve King and Scott Schiavone

What made the 1970s such a defining decade for both music and fashion? In this episode, Arts Society accredited lecturers Steve King (music historian) and Scott Schiavone (fashion curator) explore how sound and style collided to create one of the most inventive eras in modern culture. From disco’s sweltering dance floors and punk’s raw rebellion to glam rock’s theatrical excess, they trace how identity, politics, and creativity reshaped what people listened to and what they wore while doing it.From Barry White, George McCrae, and Donna Summer’s electronic revolution to Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s punk provocation, the episode unpacks how the 70s mixed rebellion with glamour. They trace disco’s roots in marginalized communities, the rise of designers like Halston, Scott Barrie, and Diane von Fürstenberg, and the way icons like David Bowie, Marc Bolan, and Jimi Hendrix5 blurred boundaries between performance, art, and identity. From Studio 54 to Northern Soul, funk, and New Wave, Steve and Scott reveal how the decade’s fearless creativity still shapes today’s music, fashion, and culture.

The Arts Society brings arts education and culture to a network of over 64,000 members. With over 300 Arts Societies across the UK and beyond, there is a local Arts Society ready to welcome you, wherever you are.Become a member for monthly expert arts lectures, special events, and a community of art lovers near you.

All guest viewpoints are independent and do not necessarily reflect The Arts Society’s perspective.

Click here to play the podcast

Happy New Year!  2026 is upon us already.  Why is it that the older you get the quicker the years go by? I hope you have managed to stay healthy over the past month or so with all the many ‘bugs’ going around at the moment. I succumbed to a bad cold but am now recovered and hopefully will remain so for the rest of the winter months. 

It was lovely to have such a full house for our December lecture and so nice to have some sociable ‘Festive’ time in the Cafe beforehand.  Our Christmas lunch at Matchams was a very happy occasion with a delicious meal to enjoy together. The trip to Waddesdon was also a great success, despite the rather inclement weather, but I think that everyone enjoyed the day.  The decorations in the different rooms in the house were stunning and the light show in and around the grounds at nightfall was superb.

So to keep us cheerful in the dark January days our first lecture of the year on Tuesday 13th January 2026 at 7.15pm at The Pavilion is ‘The Art of Laughter’ with speaker Mariska Beekenkamp-Wladimiroff. She will help us spot people playing a trick on each other, children being children, unexpected hidden scenes of bare bottoms and people being silly, naughty and laughing out loud as we explore Dutch Baroque genre paintings. Prepare to be entertained!

Our second event this month is our Cafe Arts Social on Thursday January 22nd 2026 from 10-30 - 12 noon at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  This month’s short talk is ‘The Art Union’.   We welcome Tracey Cadogan who runs the art shop The Art Union, on Winchcombe Street, which supports local artists. Tracey will talk about the shop and how she came to set it up. Please come along and bring your friends too. Unlimited coffee and biscuits for only £6.

The trip to the ballet ‘Don Quixote’ at the Birmingham Hippodrome on Thursday 19th February 2026 is now fully booked. However if you would like to be added to the waiting list (in case of cancellations before the event) please find further information about the trip here https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx  You can then contact Ash Fawcett our visits co-ordinator at visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org and he will let you know if a place becomes available.

There are a few places still available at our second Special Interest Day on Thursday 5th March 2026 - ‘Islamic Art and Architecture’ with Professor James Allen at The Bowling Club from 10.30am - 3.00pm.  In the first lecture we will look at the art of Calligraphy - the supreme art of the Islamic world, the second is on Geometry, the arabesque and figural art and the final lecture, in the afternoon, will be on historic mosques of the Islamic world. James Allen was the curator of the Islamic Collection and Keeper of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum. He leads tours to the Middle East and has published articles and books on Islamic Art. More information and details on how to book can be found on our website here https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/DocumentStore/An%20Introduction%20to%20Islamic%20Art%20and%20Architecture%20Flyer.pdf    

If you are a relatively new member to the Society I look forward to welcoming you later this month to the ‘New Members Party’ at my home on the evening of Thursday 15th January from 6.00pm. You should have received an invitation to this event if you have joined the Society in 2025 - if not please let me know! It’s an opportunity for ‘new’ members to meet and to also get to know some of the Committee members who support me and help organise our programme of events. Please let me know if you are able to come if you haven’t already done so. I look forward to the evening very much.

I’ll be away for a few weeks in January and February on a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia but I hope to see many of you before I go.  But in case I don’t, let me send you my very best wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful 2026.

Best wishes

Belinda

Belinda Hyland, Chair

Well December is upon us along with all our plans for a special Christmas.  I hope that you are all looking forward to the festive season and have perhaps already started your Christmas shopping.  I am sending out this month’s newsletter on behalf of Belinda who is enjoying a Thanksgiving holiday in the USA with her family.

I hope that those of you who came to the November lecture enjoyed Gavin Plumley’s superb lecture on Expressionism.  It was very well received by all and he is a superb speaker.  We hope to invite him back before too long for another lecture, or perhaps for a Special Interest Day.

Our December lecture, which will be held  on Tuesday 9th December at 7:15pm, is on Blenheim Palace: Christmas Past and Present and will be given by Antonia Keaney.  Christmas at Blenheim Palace has always been a time of celebration. The 7th Duke and Duchess followed the lead of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in making Christmas a family time and a time to give gifts to those who were in their employ. This talk looks at how Christmas has been celebrated over the years and how each November, the Palace and its grounds are transformed into a Christmas feast for the eyes. There will be wine and mice pies served from 6:30pm prior to the lecture, so do join us for a Christmas social gathering in the café area at the Pavilion.  This is a great opportunity to bring a guest along, if you haven’t already used your ‘free’ invitation.  Please email Ash Fawcett in advance if you are bringing a guest, at info.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

Before the next lecture we have our Cafe Arts Morning on Tuesday 2nd December 10.30 am - 12 noon at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. This month the short talk is ‘The Seeing Eye’ an audio visual presentation with a ‘seasonal flavour’ by local photographer Martin Fry. Cost is £6 for members and guests, to include coffee and biscuits.
 
On Thursday 19th February, 2026 we are arranging a trip to the Birmingham Royal Ballet, for a matinee performance of Don Quixote.   There are only six places still available so more information and a booking form can be found on our website.  Please use the link found on the What’s on/Visits/Future Visits/Visit to Birmingham royal Ballet to request your place.

Our next Special Interest Day will be held on Thursday 5th March, 2026.  The topic is Islamic Art and Architecture, given by Prof. James Allan.

In the first lecture we shall look at the art of Arabic calligraphy, the supreme art of the Islamic world.  Our second lecture is on Geometry, the arabesque and figural art and the third lecture of our Special Interest Day will be on historic mosques of the Islamic world.  Bookings are already open and more details and a booking form can be found on our website at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/DocumentStore/An%20Introduction%20to%20Islamic%20Art%20and%20Architecture%20Flyer.pdf
 
If you have joined TASC this year we will shortly be holding a ‘new members’ party on Wednesday 14th January 2026, from 6-8pm at the home of the Chair.   A formal invitation and more information will be sent out soon so in the meantime please ‘save the date’.  Belinda and members of the Committee will look forward very much to meeting you at this relaxed social occasion.
 
Our Christmas visit to Waddesdon on 5th Dec and the Christmas lunch on 11th Dec are both fully booked.  I look forward to seeing you at either of these or any of our other events this month. It just remains for me to send you all my warmest wishes for the Festive Season and Merry Christmas!
 
Katherine
 
Katherine Judge
Vice-Chair Arts Society Cheltenham
pp Belinda Hyland
 

So the clocks have gone back,  the evenings are drawing in and the heating is on (in my house anyway!) so I’m definitely feeling that Autumn has arrived.   It is one of my favourite times of year though and heralds my regular trip to the States to see son no. 3 and his family later this month for Thanksgiving.  They live in New England so maybe some of the beautiful autumn colours will still be around.

You will remember that our lecture this month is not the one advertised on the Programme Card.  However I’m delighted that we are able to bring you on Tuesday 11th November at 7.15pm at The Pavilion,  ’The Echoing Scream: The Birth of Expressionism’ with speaker Gavin Plumley.  Hot on the heels of his appearance at the Literature Festival (he was the excellent ‘host’ for the Turner and Constable lecture at the Town Hall) he returns to Cheltenham as our lecturer this month.  A writer and broadcaster, Gavin appears on BBC Radio 3 & 4 and contributes to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide.  When Edvard Munch created ‘The Scream’ in 1893 the aftershocks of his explosive and emotive vision were felt across the world: in art, and music, literature, dance and film. Charting the origins of expressionism and its historical context Gavin’s multifaceted talk embraces artists and thinkers such as Kandinsky, Klee and Schiele, Nietzsche, Freud and Schoenberg.

 Unfortunately we have had to cancel the Special Interest Day on Thursday 20th November as we had received insufficient bookings by the time we had to confirm the event with the lecturer.  This is very disappointing and I am sorry if you were looking forward to this day with Christopher Garibaldi. There will be another SID on Thursday 5th March 2026 ‘Islamic Art and Architecture’ with speaker James Allan.  More information about this Day is on our website here.   Email Anne Evelyn at eairvine4@gmail.com to reserve a place.

 There is no Cafe Arts this month - the next is on Tuesday 2nd December.  Last week Angela Freeman gave us an informative and fascinating insight into the History of Bobbin Lace in Beds & Bucks and showed us exquisite and intricate examples of her mother’s work as well as her beautiful bobbins and lace making equipment. In December local photographer Martin Fry will be giving an audio visual presentation of his superb work with a suitably ‘seasonal’ theme. 

Our Christmas Lunch is at 12 noon for 12.30 on Thursday 12th December at Matcham’s Restaurant  at the Everyman.  There are a few places still available so if you would like to join the party please contact Angie Pearson on angepearson@sky.com.  Angie will start a waiting list if we are oversubscribed so don’t delay!  Details about the lunch and how to book are on our website at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx.

The visit to Waddesdon on Friday 5th December is fully booked.  If you have booked and paid for the trip you will be receiving final information nearer the date about timings etc. A visit is also being organised to see Birmingham Royal Ballet’s ‘Don Quixote’ at the Birmingham Hippodrome on Thursday 19th February 2026.  Further information on this will be sent out to all members soon.  We have a limited number of tickets so do book early to avoid disappointment.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes

Belinda

The unseasonably warm weather lately was welcome during my recent week in the Lake District.  Although one day of ‘wall to wall’ rain was perhaps not unexpected in this beautiful and dramatic part of the country we did enjoy a couple of gloriously sunny days.  I’m hoping that we have some similar ones too on our Society Tour to Liverpool and Cheshire this month.

I’m now focussing my attention on our forthcoming AGM on Tuesday 14th October at 7.00pm at the Pavilion, Hatherley Lane (immediately before the lecture).  You should aim to arrive a little earlier than usual so that we can start and finish the Meeting on time and not delay the beginning of the lecture.  If you arrive after the start of the AGM please just wait in the Cafe area and you will be informed when the lecture is about to start. All documents relating to the AGM are available on our website. The Agenda and associated papers can be found here and the 2024/25 Financial Report and Accounts are here.   I’ll have some copies of the latter available at the meeting.

The lecture will start at the usual time of 7.15 pm ‘The Art of Marriage in Renaissance Italy’ with Lecturer Dr Lydia Goodson ‘1500 eggs, 2496 chickens and small birds, 700 ducks and 120 barrels of wine’ … the shopping list for a wedding feast in Florence in 1466.  An advantageous marriage was vital to secure status, and their importance was reflected in the festivities on a scale to rival today’s celebrity weddings.  Dr Goodson’s talk will look at weddings and the lavish array of objects and paintings made to celebrate the occasion in Renaissance Italy.

This month’s Cafe Arts is on Tuesday 28th October from 10.30 am to 12 noon at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  Cafe Arts is open to all members and guests for a fee of £6 for unlimited coffee and biscuits.  At around 10.50 am Angela Freeman will be giving an illustrated short talk on Bobbin Lace in Beds and Bucks.

Now a reminder about our first Special Interest Day on Thursday 20th November at 10.00 am - 3pm at the Bowling Club - ‘Treasures of the Turf’ with lecturer Christopher Garibaldi.  A history of racing from the late 17th century to modern times. Coinciding with the autumn race meeting at Cheltenham, this day will look at the development of the sport, using a wealth of paintings, archive material and decorative objects associated with and depicting the ‘Sport of Kings’.  Booking Forms will be available both at this month’s lecture and at Cafe Arts and further information on how to book can also be found here 

 The Christmas visit to Waddesdon on Friday 5th December is now fully booked.  We are planning to arrange some further visits next year so I’ll be bringing you more information about those in due course. 

And I know that it is a little early to start thinking ahead to the festive season but I wanted to remind you that we will be holding our Christmas Lunch at 12 for 12.30 pm  on Thursday 11th December so please make a note in your diary.  Once again we’ll be at Matchams Restaurant at the Everyman which has hosted us so well for the past few years.  You will receive an invitation with the menu and cost for the lunch in due course. This is a popular event so I advise you to book early to ensure your place.

This month is Cheltenham Literature Festival time again. This year it runs from 10th - 19th October.  I’ve already booked several events and you may have too but if you haven’t already done so information can be found at https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/festivals/literature-festival.  And soon after I’ll also be enjoying another Concert on 1st November 7.00pm at the Town Hall by Bristol Classical Players - Rachmaninov this time (one of my favourites!)  More details at https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/bristol-classical-players-rachmaninov-3rd-piano-concerto-2nd-symphony/.

You will no doubt have seen the colourful Lions at Large around town over the last few months - perhaps ‘checking them off’ with grandchildren.  If you feel like meeting the whole ‘Pride’ they’ll be having a final Roarsome Reunion on the weekend of 3rd - 5th October at Cheltenham Racecourse. More information and how to book can be found at https://lionsatlarge.co.uk.

And just a final request to please remember to ‘sign in’ at the Front Desk when you come to the Pavilion for our evening lecture.  I know it is sometimes a little busy in the Foyer but it is important that we know who is attending - in case of an emergency.  

I look forward to seeing you soon either on our Tour this weekend or at the AGM and Lecture or Cafe Arts. 

Best wishes

Belinda

Belinda Hyland
Chair Arts Society Cheltenham

The last Bank Holiday is now in the past but we are fortunate to still have some sunny days ahead although the nights are beginning to draw in I feel.  My garden is looking a bit parched though! So it’s almost time for the start of a new Season for The Arts Society Cheltenham and I’m picking up my Chair’s ‘hat’ again for a fifth (and final!) year.

Once again your Committee has put together another great Programme of Events for you and I’m really looking forward to the first lecture of our new Season.  It is with great pleasure and anticipation that we welcome speaker Pepe Martinez on Tuesday 9th September at 7.15pm at The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane for his lecture ‘Banksy: Fraud or Genius?’ The lecture will trace the story of Banksy’s humble beginnings as a tagger on the streets of Bristol in the 1980’s to one of the most recognisable names in the art world.

I also need to let you know that our November Lecture has changed due to the unexpected unavailability of the scheduled speaker.  I’m delighted to say that the revised lecture on Tuesday 11th November is ‘The Echoing Scream:  the Birth of Expressionism’ with Gavin Plumley. Gavin is a much sought after lecturer so we are lucky to have secured him at relatively short notice. More information on this new lecture can be found on our website https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Lectures/FutureLectures.aspx

We will have a number of new members joining us for the first time in September so please remember to wear your Name Badges when attending lectures so that members (new and old!) can get to know you.  Badges will be ready for new members to collect but if you have mislaid yours and would like a new one please email Angela Freeman at treasurer.cheltenham@theartssociety.org and she will prepare one for you.

September sees the restart of our sociable and popular Cafe Arts for the autumn and winter months.  The first is on Tuesday 23rd September 10.30 am to 12 noon at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. TASC member Anne Strathie will give a short talk, ‘Polar Panoramas: Leicester Square to Cheltenham’. The cost for these informal events remains at £6 for members and guests with unlimited coffee and biscuits and an opportunity to discuss arty things with friends old and new.

Booking is now open for our first Special Interest Day (SID). ‘Treasures of the Turf’ with lecturer Christopher Garibaldi on Thursday 20th November 2025 at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square 10.30 am to 3pm.  A history of horse racing from the late 17th century to modern times. The day will look at the development of the sport in this country through associated cultural material. Using a wealth of paintings, archive material and decorative art objects associated with and depicting the ‘Sport of Kings’, the day takes as its starting point the earliest origins of the sport including the development of Newmarket and the Jockey Club as racing’s ‘Headquarters’.  This day of three talks coincides with the autumn race meeting Season in Cheltenham. For more information and how to book visit https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx

I’m looking forward to joining the group of members and friends for our Tour to Liverpool and Cheshire from 2nd to 6th October 2025.  There is still time to join this trip and we would love to have one or two more to bring our number up to 30 plus.  Our Christmas Visit to Waddesdon Manor on Friday 5th December 2025 is proving popular but there are some places still available although booking is on a first come first served basis so if you are thinking of coming don’t delay! 

More information and how to book for both of these events can be found here https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx

Cheltenham Arts Council is once again organising a “Celebration of the Arts” event on the Promenade in Cheltenham on Saturday 6th September from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm Along with other Groups we will have a stall at the event to promote The Arts Society Cheltenham and give more information to the public about who we are and what we offer as part of membership of our Society. I have a team of volunteers to ‘man’ the stall (mostly Committee members again!) so additional help would be most welcome. If you are able to help out for an hour or so please let me know.  We’ll have lots of information available and some ‘freebies’ to give away. There will be some ‘live’ entertainment too from some or our local music groups so do come along and support us all even if it’s just to say hello and, of course, mention it to others too.

If you came to Cafe Arts in February his year you would have heard Adrian Barlow’s short talk on the stained glass window at Pate’s Grammar School.  If you would like to see this I’m delighted to let you know that you will be able to view it on 20th September as one of many opportunities during the Cheltenham Civic Society Heritage Open Days (HODs) which is taking place in Cheltenham from 12th - 21st September.  This years HODs festival has as its theme Architecture and Secret Places and includes open days, plays, walks and talks - all free but you do need to book.  Click the link for more information  https://cheltcivicsoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/HODs-2025-brochure.pdf

Taking place at Sixteen Gallery in Montpellier until 12th September is the Open Call 2025 Exhibition - 50 works by local artists chosen by expert judges from over 700 entries (a bit like the RA Summer Exhibition on a more modest scale!)

I look forward to seeing you at our September lecture.  As usual tea and coffee will be available in the sociable Café area at the Pavilion beforehand.  Don’t forget that you can bring a guest to one lecture for free so if you know of someone who you think would enjoy what we offer and who might possibly like to join us just drop an email to Ash Fawcett at info.cheltenham@theartssociety.org with their name so that we can welcome them properly when they arrive. 

Best wishes

Belinda

Belinda Hyland
Chair Arts Society Cheltenham

Welcome to July, and I hope you are enjoying all this lovely sunshine.  My garden could do with a good drink though!  I am sending out this month’s newsletter on behalf of Belinda who is enjoying a wonderful Rhine cruise for ten days. 

First may I remind all members who have not yet renewed their membership, that the deadline for renewals is 31st July please.  I do hope you have enjoyed your membership of TASC this year and by now have received your Renewal Packs for the 2025/26 Season.  As we take a break for these two summer months, there will be no newsletter in August.

TASC is taking part in an event on the Promenade on 6th September, 2025 from 10am to 2pm, organised by Cheltenham Arts Council, of which TASC is a member.  We will have a stand to promote our Society, so if anybody would like to come along and lend a hand on the stand for an hour, we would be delighted to see you, or just bring a friend and drop by to say hello.  There will be some performing music and dance groups too and much to enjoy.  If you would like to help please contact Belinda on chair.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

There are still places available on our Tour of Liverpool and Cheshire from 2nd - 6th October if you would like to join this trip.   Further information on how to book can be found here https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx  There are still some single rooms available too.  These tours make a lovely holiday and a great chance to get to know your fellow members better and enjoy social time.
 
Something you may like to consider over the summer is ‘An Evening of Opera’ put on by Wild Arts, a music society in Cheltenham.  They are holding two outdoor events on 29th July at 6:30pm at Sudeley Castle and on Friday 1st August at 7pm at the Painswick Rococo Garden.  There will be performances of famous arias and scenes from Mozart, Rossini and Puccini as well as classic songs from the musicals of George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and both Richard Rogers and Stephen Sondheim.  Take a picnic and enjoy a sparkling evening outdoors.  Tickets from https://wildarts.org.uk/opera-evening-tour
 
Our new season starts on Tuesday 9th September, with a lecture on Banksy: Fraud or Genius? given by Pepe Martinez.   Another date for your September diary is our first Café Arts social on Tuesday 23rd September, from 10:30am to 12:00 pm. held at the Bowling Club in Suffolk Square.  One of our members Anne Strathie will be giving a short talk and as usual there will be unlimited delicious coffee and biscuits, for the price of £6.  I shall look forward to seeing many of you then.
 
My best wishes
 
Katherine Judge
Deputy Chair Arts Society Cheltenham

pp Belinda Hyland
Chair Arts Society Cheltenham

Well, after the hottest May on record for some years it looks set to stay fine for a little while yet.  Fingers crossed that it’s not all the good weather we’ll be having for the rest of the summer! 

I really enjoyed our last lecture on Gardens and Fine Art with Timothy Walker.  A real ‘tour de force’ which was very well received by all present.  And so to our final lecture of this Season on  Tuesday 10th June at 7.15pm at The Pavilion.  ‘Sculpture and Design’ with David Worthington.  David is a sculptor and fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. He works mainly in stone and specialises in kinetic sculptures that the public can physically interact with.  By way of introducing this lecture he says “As David Hockney said the only design that moves you is the 39 Bus.  In this hyper consumer age, design plays an increasingly important part in brand identity and product differentiation. Designers like Jonathan Ive at Apple look at sculpture and art to get inspiration”.  I’m looking forward to learning more about this.

As this is our last lecture we will be celebrating by having a Social get-together before the lecture at 6.30pm in the Cafe at the Pavilion.  As last year, we’ll be serving wine (the fizzy kind!) and soft drinks with light refreshments.  Everyone is very welcome and why not bring along a guest - using your ‘free invitation’ if you haven’t already done so.  We will have our new 2025/26 Season Programme Card available for guests to take home as well as Membership Forms too. If you would like to bring a guest please let us know in advance by sending an email to me at chair.cheltenham@theartssociety.org with your name and the name of your guest.

Our Community Arts project this year, funded by a grant from The Arts Society, is the designing and making of a mosaic in the playground at Rowanfield Infants School.  All children at the school will have an opportunity to participate in the project and I will be visiting the school this month with Sue Marlow, our Community Arts Co-ordinator, to see progress. We’ll have some pictures for you to see once it is completed.  As an educational charity, one of the aims of The Arts Society is to provide opportunities for people of all ages to become involved in practical arts projects, with the aim of inspiring a lasting enthusiasm for our arts heritage.  If you would like to know more about this or if you would like to get involved with Community Arts in the locality please ask me or Sue Marlow for more information.

I do hope you have enjoyed your membership of TASC this year.  Renewal Packs for the 2025/26 Season will be available for members to collect at the June lecture and for those unable to attend these will be posted out soon afterwards.  You will be able to renew your membership on the evening, paying by card although cash and cheques are acceptable too.  Or you can pay by bank transfer if you prefer.

There are still places available on our Tour of Liverpool and Cheshire from 2nd - 6th October if you would like to join this trip.  You should also have recently received an email about our Christmas visit to Waddesdon Manor on Friday 5th December.  If you are interested in coming on either of these visits further information on how to book for both events can be found here https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx

One event I will be attending this month is COS25. 7th - 15th June sees the 14th running of this biennial event from Cheltenham Open Studios.  From painting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles and drawing to name but a few - local artists open their doors to the public and a trail links 78 different free exhibition venues across Cheltenham. Gardens Gallery in Montpellier Gardens is venue number one where you can pick up a free guidebook or visit cheltenhamopenstudios.org.uk  for an online guide and an interactive map.

I’ll be heading off on holiday later this month, a Rhine cruise through Medieval Germany, which I’m really looking forward to.  But before then I hope to see you at our final lecture for this Season.

Best wishes

Belinda
 
 
Belinda Hyland
Chair Arts Society Cheltenham

Well May is here and ‘hurray’ the sun has decided to make an appearance and, with the lighter evenings, it has been lovely to enjoy more time outside recently. 

I spend quite a lot of time, working and relaxing, in my garden so I’m really looking forward to our next Lecture on Tuesday 13th May, 7.15pm at The Pavilion with lecturer Timothy Walker ‘Why Gardening can rank as a Fine Art’.  Gertrude Jekyll, the accomplished watercolour artist said “remember that in a garden we are painting a picture”.  Timothy’s talk will look at how to apply these principles in designing a border and also how work of Turner, Monet, Rothko and Jackson Pollack evolved in parallel with ideas about what a garden or border should look like. I hope to pick up some useful hints! (picture above is of Sissinghurst Cottage garden). 

If you know of anyone who is a gardening enthusiast and would be interested in this lecture then do consider bringing them along as a guest. If you would like to do this then please tell Ash Fawcett at info.cheltenham@theartssociety.org giving the name of your guest so that we can welcome them properly.

We are now coming to the end of our current year and the final lecture in June will complete our main Programme of Events for this Season.  I’m pleased to say that, once again, we are able to maintain the Membership Fee for the 2025/26 Season at £55 per person. Details of the Lectures, Special Interest Days, Visits and Cafe Arts dates for next season are available to view on our website. www.theartssocietycheltenham.org .  Renewal Packs, with information on how to renew your membership and more details about our events, will be handed out at our June Lecture (or posted if you are unable to attend).

You may have recently received an email from Angela Freeman, our Treasurer, about Gift Aid if you had ‘signed up’ to this prior to 2024. We are trying to ensure that our records are up to date and are asking some members to renew their Declaration Form. So if you’ve received a request from Angela please do respond and if you haven't then you have nothing further to do!  If you haven't signed up to gift aid the part of your subscription that is paid to The Arts Society each year, but would like to do so, please contact Angela at treasurer.cheltenham@theartssociety.org or speak to her at one of our meetings. The gift aid is claimed by The Arts Society from the tax you paid in the current year and this money helps to improve access to the arts for all. 

You probably don’t know (or maybe you do!) that TASC has its own page on FaceBook.  We are being encouraged by the Arts Society to embrace Social Media in order to reach out to those who don’t know who we are and what we are about.  We are trying to be proactive and so we post about our lectures, events and things that might be of interest to other FB members.   So if you are on FaceBook, even if you don’t ‘post’ much yourself, please go and find our page (The Arts Society Cheltenham) and ‘follow’ us and hopefully ‘like’ our posts! We have around 250 followers and we would love to increase that number.

Festival Season has arrived again and Cheltenham Jazz Festival from 30th April to 5th May has begun. I know a number of members who already have tickets booked but even if you don’t there is the Free Stage in Montpellier Gardens with both local and national artists appearing there and in other venues around Cheltenham.  Find out what’s on at https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/festivals/jazz-festival 

If you are an amateur artist who enjoys ‘En Plein Air’ painting or you would like to see what this is about in action (think ‘Landscape Artist of the Year’ on Sky Arts) then there is an URBAN Plein Air ART Competition in Cheltenham on Sunday 11th May at Lansdown Industrial Estate.  This is the first of a series of industrial heritage plein air days to capture the heritage of the site. For more information visit wtscollective.co.uk

So, finally, I do hope you manage to enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend (there’s another later this month too) and that this sunny weather remains with us for a while.

Best wishes

Belinda

So April is here and brings with it some lovely weather. How nice it is to sit outside with a cup of tea in the sun. My garden is looking definitely spring like and my favourite pots of tulips are ready to burst into flower.  Hopefully the wet and cold days are well behind us now. 

Our next lecture is on Tuesday 11th April at 7.15pm at The Pavilion. It is with great pleasure that we welcome back Lecturer Dr Jonathon Foyle who will speak on Bath: The Story of a City.  Bath is famous as England’s most beautiful Georgian city, but this was a medieval and ancient city, too.  So what were its origins and how did it burst out of the old walls and develop into its elegant final form?  Jonathon is a lecturer at Bath University and is probably best known for presenting TV series such as BBC2's Award-winning 15-part 'Climbing Great Buildings', as well as contributing to Channel 4's 'Time Team' and Channel 5's 'Secrets of the Royal Palaces’.  He also came to the rescue for our Society last April when we had a lecturer unfortunately having to cancel at short notice.  Jonathon stepped in and spoke to us on ‘Fabulous Animals in Medieval Art’ which was a resounding success and he was requested by many members present to ‘come again soon’.  So one year on I’m delighted that he is back!

Cafe Arts took place in March with one of our members, Ash Fawcett, giving a really fascinating talk on ‘The Pencil’.  This was our last one for this Season and these popular Social Coffee Mornings will begin again in September.  I’d like to thank all those who came to support or speak at our events this Season - we have had some great short talks.  We are always looking for local artists or members who would like to come along and speak for about 20 minutes or so on their particular ‘passion’ or interest so if you know of anyone who might fit the bill then please get in contact with me or Jane MacFarlane (cajam.cheltenham@theartssociety.org ) who organises these events for us.

As there was insufficient interest shown from members for the proposed Visit to Hidcote and Kiftsgate Gardens in June we have unfortunately had to cancel this visit.  I do hope those of you who were hoping to join the trip will not be too disappointed. On a more positive note our planned Tour to Liverpool and Cheshire from 2nd to 6th October 2025 is proving to be popular and many members have already booked a place.  All single rooms have now been booked but double/twin rooms are still available.  Full details on the Tour and a Booking Form can be found on our website at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/DocumentStore/TTM4876%20Cheltenham%20Liverpool%20Cheshire%20lo.pdf  or for more information contact Colin Hooker on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org  This visit is not restricted to TASC members so please let friends or family know that they would be welcome to join us.

Following our lecture this month, If you find yourself wanting to know more about Bath and what might have been, Friends of the Wilson have invited TASC members to join them for a talk by Julian Orbach on Monday 14th April.  Georgian schemes for great classical additions to the town gave way to Victorian municipal set pieces. One of the boldest proposals, for a neo-classical centre, dates from 1916. The twentieth century sought to replan Bath most thoroughly, and ultimately most destructively.   For more information and to book a place contact https://www.friendsofthewilson.org.uk/events/unbuilt-bath/

One event that I hope to go to this month is on Saturday 26 April 2025, 7pm at Cheltenham Town Hall, Bristol Classical Players: Dances with Giants – Beethoven and Brahms

Bristol Classical Players present masterpieces by two of classical music's giants: Beethoven's wild and joyous 7th Symphony, and Brahms's noble, epic 2nd Piano Concerto.  With international concert pianist Simon Callaghan the performance will be conducted by Cheltenham’s own Tom Gauterin. More information and how to book can be found at https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/dances-with-giants-beethoven-and-brahms/?dm_i=1WYQ,8W0LU,A6GBBZ,111D92,1

So, with the sun still shining hopefully, I look forward to seeing you later this month.

Best Wishes

Belinda

                                                                          1 March 2025
 

Welcome to March, and hopefully to some lovely Spring weather on the way.  I am sending out this month’s newsletter on behalf of Belinda who is enjoying a holiday in Malaysia. 

For those of you who attended our February lecture, given by Andrew Prince, I’m sure you will agree that it was absolutely outstanding, and most entertaining too.  We much enjoyed examining some of the jewellery he had made for the Downton Abbey series too.

Our March lecture, which will be held on Tuesday 11th March at 7:15pm, is very topical as it is on Seasonality and Decoration in Japan, given by Pauline Chakmakjian.   The Japanese are highly sensitive to the changes of the seasons and decorate their homes and themselves according to the time of the year. From clothes to food to art objects we will see and understand the motifs used for spring and summer, as well as explore the almost obsessive Japanese fascination with cherry blossoms.   In addition, our lecturer will have small decorative gift items from Japan for sale prior to the lecture.  I’m sure these will interest lots of you and will make a charming addition to her talk.

Before the next lecture we have our next Day of Special Interest, on Thursday 6th March 10.30 am – 3:00pm, at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  The subject is How to Look at Art: A Strategy for Interpretation given by Lynne Gibson.

The strategy is a flexible approach to interpreting any piece of artwork, giving you the confidence to become an active, rather than a passive, viewer. It is a tool for life: simple and effective.  There are still some places available, and you can find further information and the booking form on our website. https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx
 
Our next Cafe Arts Coffee Morning is on Tuesday 25th March - 10.30 am - 12 noon at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. This month Ash Fawcett will be giving a short talk on ‘The Pencil’.  Do come along and bring a friend if you like to enjoy sociable time together, an interesting talk and unlimited coffee and biscuits for only £6 per person.
 
My best wishes
 
 
 
Katherine Judge
Vice-Chair Arts Society Cheltenham
pp Chair Arts Society Cheltenham

I’m writing this whilst away for a week in Shropshire with my sister and it’s been so wet and windy even my dog Nell has been reluctant to head outside!!  So I’m definitely hoping for something better in February.  Happily the snowdrops are now appearing which is always an uplifting sight and an early herald of Spring.

What a great lecture we had from Cindy Polemis last month.  I think I’m not the only person who, having attended her wonderful talk on Paris, decided that a trip to that lovely city needed to be added to the diary in the not too distant future. It’s one of my favourite places to visit. This month I’m looking forward to our lecture on Tuesday 11th February at 7.15pm at the Pavilion - ‘From Downton to Gatsby: Jewellery and Fashion form 1890 to 1929 with Andrew Prince. Andrew’s passion for jewellery began as a small child when he created a necklace for his mother from beads taken from her wedding dress (she wasn’t happy!).  After visits with her to the V&A and to a London jewellers, where he was allowed to handle beautiful 18th century gold boxes and magnificent imperial Russian pieces by Fabergé, he decided that creating jewellery was what he wanted to devote his life to.  Aged just 16 Andrew started work in London’s Bond Street, working for The Antiques Roadshow expert Ian Harris. Under his guidance, Andrew developed an appreciation for jewels that were valued for their quality of design and craftsmanship. Following a number of important commissions his career blossomed and in 2012, he was chosen by the creators of Downton Abbey to supply a large collection of jewellery for the third series. The female characters were all adorned with elegant tiaras, combs, earrings and necklaces designed and created by Andrew Prince. 

We have another treat to look forward to later this month at our Cafe Arts Social Coffee Morning on Thursday 20th February from 10-30 - 12 noon at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  I’m delighted that I managed to persuade Adrian Barlow to come along and he will give a Short Talk - ‘The Cheltenham and Coventry Cathedral Connection’.  Adrian is well known in Cheltenham for his excellent lectures on many topics so do come along, and bring your friends too, for what I’m sure will be an interesting talk and unlimited coffee and delicious biscuits for only £6.

 Our next Special Interest Day is on Thursday 6th March 2025 (also at the Bowling Club) ‘How to Look at Art: A Strategy for Interpretation’ with Lynne Gibson.  There are still some places available for what I’m sure will be a very stimulating and enjoyable day.  For more information you can contact Valerie Aris at studydayva@theartssocietycheltenham.org and details on how to book can be found on our website here  https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/DocumentStore/HowToLookAtArt.pdf 

You will have recently received information regarding our forthcoming Society Tour from 2nd - 6th October 2025 - The Art and Heritage of Liverpool and Cheshire with Tailored Travel.  We have put together a very varied and interesting tour and I know that a number of people have already booked.  Brochures with booking forms will be available at all our events this month but if you would like further information this can be found on our website at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx  or by contacting Colin Hooker at visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

And talking of holidays, I have recently booked one with Riviera Travel (a Rhine cruise to Medieval Germany) and was made aware that the Arts Society has an affinity arrangement with Riviera.  This means that, as a member of the Arts Society, you can request that 10% of the cost of any holiday booked with them can be given as a donation to your local Society.  This seems like a fantastic arrangement so if you are considering booking with Riviera Travel do think about our Society!  

I’ll be leaving later this month for a trip to Singapore and Malaysia, which I’m looking forward to very much, but before that I hope to see you at our next lecture.

Best wishes

Belinda

Belinda Hyland
Chair Arts Society Cheltenham

So another year has gone by and here we are in 2025.  One quarter of the century already gone which barely seems possible!  I do hope you have had a good Christmas and have been able to spend time with family and friends over the holiday period.  Maybe you already have some plans in place for the forthcoming year but do save some space in your diary to join with other members for our Tour of Liverpool and North Cheshire from 2nd - 6th October 2025.  Full details about the trip and booking information will be available on our website in the next few weeks.  It’s a full, varied and interesting itinerary which I’m looking forward to very much.

It was a delight to welcome back speaker Dan Evans for our December lecture on Rubens which was well received by our record audience of members who had enjoyed mince pies and wine beforehand (always an added attraction)!  The Christmas lunch at Matchams Restaurant later that week was also a very happy occasion attended by 40 members.

Our first lecture of the new year will be on Tuesday 14th January at 7.15pm at The Pavilion.  ‘Paris and the Belle Epoque’ when our speaker will be Cindy Polemis. The Moulin Rouge (picture above) immediately evokes the Belle Epoque - a period of French, and especially Parisian history around the turn of the 19th century which pulsated with artistic energy, technological and scientific innovations, risqué entertainment and boundless optimism; but was there a dark side as well? Cindy will explore the golden era of Paris in this lecture, which I’m sure will whisk us away from a currently rather damp and drab Cheltenham to a more enticing place and time.

Our second event this month is our Cafe Arts Social Coffee Morning on Thursday January 23rd 2025 from 10-30 - 12 noon at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  This month will be a ‘Members Showcase’ when you are invited to bring along some of your own ‘art work’ (in the broadest terms) to share with everyone.  I know we have a number of talented artists among our members and enthusiastic amateurs in a number of other ‘artistic’ fields. So do come along and share your passion with us all or just come along to support and be amazed by everyone’s hidden talents!! Unlimited coffee and biscuits for only £6.  Bring along your friends too.

This season our second Special Interest Day is on Thursday 6th March 2025 (also at the Bowling Club) ‘How to Look at Art: A Strategy for Interpretation’ with Lynne Gibson.  Lynne is a highly qualified Art Historian and Lecturer who many of our members already know as she lives locally.  Lynne will encourage us to ‘put away our headphones and take our noses out of the catalogue’ to uncover a strategy for looking at Art, giving everyone the confidence to become an active, rather than a passive, viewer.  She will welcome and encourage questions and observations. More information and details on how to book can be found on our website here  https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/DocumentStore/HowToLookAtArt.pdf 

I’m delighted that we have welcomed many new members to our Society this year and if you are one of those I do hope you are enjoying your membership.  If you joined the Society during the last year you’ll be receiving an invitation by email in the next few days to a ‘New Members Party’ at my home on the evening of Tuesday 4th February from 6.30pm. You will have the opportunity to meet with other ‘new’ members and also some of our Committee members who support me and help to organise our programme of events.  It will be great to see you if you can come.

I’ll be away at the end of January, as will John Mumford our website and IT manager, so my February newsletter may be a few days later than usual.  Until then it just remains to wish you a very Happy New Year!!

Belinda

Belinda Hyland

Chair, The Arts Society Cheltenham

                                                                               1 June 2024
 

So here we are in June already and coming to the end of this Season of lectures and events.  Just our last lecture to go and we’ll be finishing with a bit of a party.  Read on for more information!

Since my last newsletter those of us that went on the Tour of Kent & East Sussex have been able to reflect on a truly exceptional and enjoyable trip.  Impeccably organised once again by Carolyn McQuitty, this was her ‘swansong’ and she couldn’t have ended her extended time as our Visits Secretary with a better week. My thanks go to Carolyn for all her hard work organising some great visits during her term of office and also for her support to me personally.  Many have asked if we’ll be having another Tour before too long and I’m hopeful that we will.

There is a topical subject for our final lecture on Tuesday 11th June at 7.15pm at The Pavilion. ‘The Ancient Olympics and the True Olympic Spirit’  with lecturer Stephen Kershaw.  None of the astonishing Greek archaeological sites has quite the appeal to the modern imagination, or is more important to understanding ancient Greek culture, as the sanctuary at Olympia.  Sumptuously illustrated with slides, video and ancient Greek music, this talk examines the religious aspects of the ancient Olympics, the concept of ‘sport’, athletics as an inspiration for art, the mythical/historical origins of the Olympics, and provides an overview of the main athletic events of the ancient festival.  Stephen will end his talk by examining whether the Ancient Greeks really were ‘true’ amateurs, or whether we are projecting our own ideals onto them.

As this is our final meeting of the Season we will be having a Social get-together before the lecture at 6.30pm in the Cafe at the Pavilion when we will be serving wine (maybe the fizzy stuff!) soft drinks and light refreshments.  Everyone is very welcome and you are invited to bring along a guest for free in the hope that they might enjoy the evening and decide to become a member for our next Season. We will have our new 2024/25 Season Programme Leaflet available for guests to take home and maybe a Membership Form too! If you would like to bring a guest please let us know by sending an email to info.cheltenham@theartssociety.org with your name and the name of your guest so that we know how many extra to cater for. 

Renewal Packs for the 2024/25 Season will be available for all members to collect at the lecture.  For those unable to attend these will be posted out soon afterwards.  I do hope that you have enjoyed the lectures and other events that we have offered this year and that you will decide to continue your membership of TASC. New members who wish to join TASC for the 2024/25 Season can download a form to complete from our website at 
https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/DocumentStore/TASC%20Membership%20Form%202024-25.pdf 

Those members that expressed interest in joining our Visit to the Royal Academy on 12th January 2025 for the Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael exhibition will be receiving an email soon with details about how to make a firm booking.  This has proved to be a popular trip and so please respond as soon as possible to reserve your place.  If oversubscribed we may have to introduce a waiting list.  Priority will always be given to members of TASC so another reason to renew your membership and persuade friends to join too!

Here’s a couple of other events happening in June. 

Cheltenham Open Studios on 15 Jun 2024  10am - 5pm   The next Cheltenham Plein Air ART competition, will be in the beautiful surroundings of Montpellier Gardens.  wtscollective.co.uk/plein-air-competitions

Fresh Air Sculpture is a biennial sculpture exhibition held in the expansive organic garden of The Old Rectory in the Cotswold village of Quenington. The show affords a unique opportunity to see a creative mixture of traditional, modern and cutting-edge sculpture in this stunning outdoor setting. 16th June - 7th July https://www.freshairsculpture.com

And as we like to work in collaboration with other local Societies Cheltenham Local History Society have a visit to Salisbury on Tuesday 11th June and have been in contact to say that they have some places available.  If interested please visit their website https://cheltlocalhistory.org.uk

I hope to see you at our final lecture this month but if you are not able to attend I wish you an enjoyable summer and look forward to seeing you again in September.

Best wishes

Belinda

May is here and hopefully we are all warming up a bit! I do hope so as when you receive this I’ll be touring Kent and East Sussex with some of our members and friends, visiting varied and interesting places including (amongst others) Brighton Pavilion and Hever Castle. I haven’t been to either before so I’m looking forward to that very much and to enjoying the company of our group during the day and in the evenings. 

I was so pleased that Jonathan Foyle was able to fill the gap left by the sudden cancellation of Louise Schofield (due to family illness) for our April lecture.  Jonathan gave a wonderful talk on ‘The Nature of the Beast - Understanding Fabulous Animals in Medieval Art’ and we were extremely grateful that he was able to come to us at such short notice.  Those who were there will be delighted to know that we’ll be seeing him again next year as part of our 2024/25 Season of lectures. More about that further on. We hope to be able to welcome Louise at a future date.

Our final Cafe Arts Coffee Morning of this season was again well supported.  Jan Thompson gave a lovely illustrated short talk about her journey to becoming a ceramacist, fired by her determination to make a ‘Big Pot’! Jan brought along some of her marvellous creations for us to see.  They were beautiful, some intricate in detail and all wonderfully tactile. Jan will be taking part in an exhibition at Batsford Arboretum this Summer as part of the group named Create 4 and you’ll find details further on. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in sharing your interest/passion with like minded others at a future Cafe Arts do get in contact with Jane MacFarlane, who organises these mornings for us, at cajam.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

And so to our next Lecture on Tuesday 14th May at 7.15pm at The Pavilion.  Japanese Art & the West from Namban to Japonaiserie with Marie Conte - Helm.  The artistic relationship between Japan & the West is explored, beginning with the Nanbam or golden screen paintings of 'southern barbarians' in the 16th Century through to the reopening of Japan to trade in the 1850s bringing quantities of Japanese prints and other artefacts into Europe, creating an explosion of interest in Japanese art and design among artists in the West, including the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. In tracing these developments the collision of Japanese and Western visual traditions and techniques will be explored by Marie.

The Visit to the Royal Academy on 12th January 2025 to see the Exhibition on Michelangelo Leonardo and Raphael  - Florence, c.1504 is proving to be very popular.  Many people have expressed an interest (thank you for responding) and we have already had to increase the size of the coach!  A Booking Form, with further details and information on how to pay, will be sent to all members later this month.  Don’t delay in securing your place as, if it is oversubscribed, we may have to limit the numbers that can be accommodated.

Our final lecture in June will complete our main Programme of Events for this Season.  I’m pleased to say that, despite rising costs, we are able to maintain the Membership Fee for the 2024/25 Season at £55 per person. Details of the Lectures, Special Interest Days and Cafe Arts dates for next season are now available to view on our website. Renewal Packs, with information on how to renew your membership and more details about our events, will be handed out at our June Lecture (or posted if you are unable to attend).  Do consider asking friends or neighbours to join our Society.  Your enthusiasm for the range of lectures and other events that we offer will encourage others and we really need to continue to grow our membership.

Of course it’s Cheltenham Jazz Festival from 2nd to 6th May. You may already have tickets booked but even if you don’t there is the Free Stage in Montpellier Gardens with both local and national artists appearing there and in other venues around Cheltenham.  Find out what’s on at https://issuu.com/cheltenhamfestivals/docs/cheltenham_jazz_festival_2024.

And here are some other forthcoming events that might be of interest.

Chapel Arts Farewell Exhibition at Gardens Gallery, Montpellier 11th - 13th May  Display of art books, paintings and other treasures with donations for each exhibit (available to take away)  - a minimum donation will be given to Sue Ryder.  Opening hours 10am to 5pm.  Chapel Arts, owned by Ian & Christine James, was the previous popular venue for our Short Talks.

John Piper and 20th Century Art at Barton Court, Colwall, Herefordshire  WR13 6HN  -  The tenth anniversary exhibition showcases over 60 fabrics, limited edition prints and original works by John Piper and a range of twentieth century artists displayed in a lovely country house environment.   Entry is free and all the works are for sale. Saturday 11th - Sunday 20th May: 10.30-4.30 pm  Sunday 12th May Open House: an opportunity to view the house, gardens and outbuildings.

The Loose Box Café will be open throughout the exhibition.

www.bartoncourtonline.co.uk

 Create 4 - an Exhibition at Batsford Arboretum 16th - 18th August 2024  Four artists - a wire sculptor, seascape painter, textile artist and potter (Jan Thompson see above) display their work with items for sale. https://batsarb.co.uk

I hope you have an enjoyable Bank Holiday weekend - well there are two in May actually so do enjoy them both with warm, sunny weather to accompany them hopefully!

Best wishes

Belinda

Is it really April? We’ve certainly had showers and plenty of them. As I write this I’ve just been watching a huge hailstorm from my window - so I’m really hoping for a change soon.  An early Easter is now behind us and I’m looking forward to some proper spring sunshine soon.  

Our next lecture is on Tuesday 9th April at 7.15pm at The Pavilion.  ‘Archaeological Adventures in Albania’ with Louise Scofield.  This lecture explores the archaeology and history of Albania, a country in the heart of Europe but locked away for fifty years under its communist dictator, Enver Hoxha. Its rugged, green and mysterious landscape has been home to waves of civilisations over thousands of years including Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Venetians and Ottoman Turks.  As part of the lecture we will follow a team of archaeologists working at the site of Butrint to unlock the secrets buried in its soil.  The more recent history of the country will also be revealed, from the Ottoman fortress town of Gjirokaster, to the legacy left by the communist regime.

Louise worked in this extraordinary country from 2000 to 2006 – principally at Butrint and Gjirokaster. Her restoration and conservation project for Gjirokaster helped achieve the UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the town in July 2005.  I was lucky enough to visit Butrint last year and the photo above is one of many that I took of this fascinating site. I’m really looking forward to this lecture. 

Our final Cafe Arts Social Coffee Morning of this Season will be on Tuesday 23rd April at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square 10.30 - 12 noon.  Our speaker this time will be Jan Thompson who is a ceramicist and also a photographer.  Her short talk is entitled “Something out of Nothing”.  Sounds intriguing.  I’m delighted that our Cafe Arts mornings have been very popular and successful so we have decided to continue these events and they will be included for the Autumn and Winter months again as we plan our Programme for 2024/25. 

I’m looking forward to our Arts Society trip to Kent and East Sussex at the end of this month.  Those of you joining the trip should have, by now, received your itinerary for the tour.  If you have any last minute queries please contact Carolyn McQuitty, our organiser, on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org  This will be Carolyn’s final ‘duty’ as our Visits Organiser for the last 5 years (and more!) and I’m sure you’d like to join me in a big Thank You for her hard work. 

And here are details of some other events that might be of interest. I know that a number of our members are keen followers of Jazz and will be looking forward to the forthcoming Cheltenham Jazz Festival which runs from 2nd - 6th May and ticket sales are now open. https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz/whats-on 

From 27th March to 27th April at the National Waterways Museum Gloucester at Gloucester Docks you can take a look at the creative Folk for Folk exhibition full of textiles, paintings, sculpture and photography. In the same way that 19th century canal boat people used folk art to enhance their environment the Folk for Folk exhibition is creating folk art for the 21st century. The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. There are Folk art activities for families too so something to do with the grandchildren perhaps! https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/museums-and-attractions/national-waterways-museum-gloucester-docks/folk-for-folk-exhibition 

And a bit further afield at The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford from23 March to 23 June you can see  ‘Bruegel to Rubens’  a major exhibition showcasing over 100 Flemish drawings from the 16th & 17th centuries with over 30 on display for the first time. Timed tickets are in operation so visitors are encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment. www.ashmolean.org 

I hope you’ve had time to relax and perhaps enjoy time with family and friends over the Easter weekend.  I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes
Belinda

I’ve just received today the latest edition of the Arts Society magazine, which has a distinct feel of Spring about it.  I do hope you enjoy your copy and find something in it that interests you.

I was delighted to welcome a number of new members to a social evening at my home a few days ago to meet one another and also to get to know members of our Committee.  It was an intimate but very enjoyable evening and it would be lovely to have even more new members to enjoy what The Arts Society Cheltenham has to offer.  Do try and invite a friend or two to one of our remaining lectures this Season and perhaps they’ll decide to join us as a member in the future.  

Our next lecture has the unusual title of ‘Cabbages, Carrots, and Lamb: Spanish Still Life 1600-1812’ with speaker Daniel Evans on Tuesday 12th March at 7.15pm at the Pavilion, Hatherley Lane.  Dan is an educationalist with a passion for all things Italian.  He is a Housemaster and Teacher at Cheltenham College. In the description of his lecture Dan writes “Robert Hughes declared of Still Life painting ‘Still Life is to eating what the nude is to sex’ (we won’t go there I assure you!), although he did also admit the Spanish Still Life is ‘more sacramental than gastronomic’. In my lecture I will cover a cabbage that has been painted with such astonishing accuracy that the painted one is more alluring than the vegetable itself! Through paintings by Goya, Velazquez, Zurburan and Melendaz, we will explore key themes that can be discerned from arrangements of simple foodstuffs”.  I can hardly wait to learn more.

Our next Cafe Arts is on Thursday 21st March from 10.30 to 12 noon at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  To give the organisers time to set things up the doors will not open until 10.15am.  The short talk will begin around 11.00 am giving plenty of time for everyone to settle in, have a coffee (or two) and a chat beforehand. This month we will be welcoming one of our members Frances Williams talking about ‘Paper, Wax and Inks - ingredients for art’. Open to members and non-members alike at only £6 for unlimited coffee and delicious biscuits!

I’m delighted that the Tour of Kent and East Sussex from 29 April - 3 May has reached the target number of bookings.  However there some further double/twin rooms still available (but no more singles) if anyone is interested in joining the group.  Information about the trip can be found at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx or by contacting Carolyn McQuitty, the organiser, at visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org 

I have been given some information about other events taking place in and around Cheltenham which might be of interest and I’m pleased to be able to pass on to you:

Friends of The Wilson have a talk on Monday 18th March at 6.30pm ‘A Potted History of GCHQ-and showcasing the Future’ by Dr David Abrutat, Departmental Historian from the GCHQ Historical Section at Room TC007, Park Campus, University of Gloucestershire, The Park, Cheltenham. Cost £11, either pay on the door (cash/cheque) or book in advance at www.friendsofthewilson.org.uk/events/ 

For the talented artists among us (and I know we have a few) WTS Collective are organising two ‘En Plein Air’ Art Competitions at Painswick Rococo Garden on Saturday 11th May and in Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham on Saturday 15th June.  Visit wtscollective.co.uk for more information.

For classical music enthusiasts a Concert at Cheltenham Town Hall by Bristol Classical Players on Saturday 23rd March 7.30pm : Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No2 and Tchaikovsky -Symphony No 5  Tickets can be booked at cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/romantic-classics-rachmaninov-2nd-piano-concerto/ 

And further afield - in 2024 Compton Verney is celebrating 20 years with a programme of exciting exhibitions, special events and family friendly activities.  The new Season opens on Thursday 21st March with an exhibition ‘Landscape and Imagination: From Gardens to Land Art’.  For more information on this and other upcoming events visit comptonverney.org.uk 

If you have any information on local events that you think might be of interest to other members do let me know and, if space permits, I’ll try and include them in future newsletters.  
 

Best wishes
Belinda

Website:  https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

Is it just me or does January seem to have been an awfully long month?  So I’m pleased to welcome February especially now that the days are beginning to get a little bit longer and the weather is rather unseasonably mild.  I love to see the spring bulbs beginning to appear in the garden.

Before I mention our next lecture I have to pass on from Carolyn McQuitty some URGENT NEWS on the Tour of Kent and East Sussex from 29 April – 3 May 2024. Due to a couple of late cancellations we now have two rooms for single occupancy unexpectedly available, which we are very keen to fill in order to reach the target number of bookings for our trip.  So please spread the word and if you are already going do see if you can persuade a friend to join us.  They don’t need to be a member of the Arts Society.  There are also some further double/twin rooms available too.  It should be a really great week which I am looking forward to very much.  Information about the tour can be found at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Visits/FutureVisits.aspx .  Carolyn, who is running the tour, has further information for anyone interested and can be contacted at visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org or by phone on 01242 581291.  

And so to our lecture for this month which is on Tuesday 13th February at 7.15pm at The Pavilion.  ‘The World’s Greatest Paintings: 200 years of the National Gallery’ with speaker Simon Whitehouse.  2024 marks the bicentenary of the founding of the National Gallery. This lecture tells the story of the establishment of the NG collection beginning in 1824 when Lord Liverpool’s government purchased 38 paintings for £57,000 from the collection of businessman and philanthropist John Julius Angerstein. The paintings were initially displayed at 100 Pall Mall, Angerstein’s townhouse, and by 1838 it was decided that a purpose built building was required, giving us the William Wilkins designed building we know and love on Trafalgar Square. During the course of the lecture Simon will examine some of the high (and low) points of the early years of the gallery including suffragette sabotage, bombs and theft.  In his own words Simon is a (recovering) actor, as well as a lecturer, presenter and award winning London Blue Badge guide. With his theatrical background I’m sure he’ll weave some interesting stories on the history of this great national institution with, possibly, some drama thrown in!

Our Special Interest Day on Thursday 22nd February 2024 is now fully booked.  ‘A Family Affair: Florence & the House of Medici’ with Speaker Jo Walton.  Both our Special Interest Days this Season have proved very popular and Valerie Aris and the team are now planning two more events for 2024/25 which I’m sure will be as interesting and stimulating.  I’ll let you know the dates in due course so that you can put them in your diary with a note to book early! 

Last month we had another very successful Cafe Arts coffee morning with visiting artist Mandy Walters exhorting us all to ‘be creative’ in order to enhance our well being and hopefully live happily for longer. There is no event this month but our next Cafe Arts will be on Thursday 21st March from 10.30 - 12 noon. 

I will be hosting a New Members Party in my home on the evening of Tuesday 27th February.  I hope that everyone who has joined our Society in the last 12 months has received an invitation but if you have by any chance been left off the list, or even if you’re not so new (perhaps you missed out on a similar event in the past) but would like to come along anyway and meet some of our Committee for a drink and some light refreshments do get in touch with me - I’d love to welcome you too.  

I’d also like to let you know that from 1st February the Membership Fee for joining TASC for the remainder of our 2023/24 Season (which includes all lectures until the final one in June) is reduced by half.  So if you know of anyone who might like to join us this would be a good time for them to do so. For more information they can contact Jan Lugg our Membership Secretary at membership.cheltenham@theartssociety.org 

Unfortunately I won’t be at our lecture this month as I have to attend a funeral in Kent that day.  Our Vice Chair, Graham Stopher, will be on hand to welcome everyone in my place. However I look forward to seeing you soon either at the Special Interest Day or at our next lecture.
 

Best wishes
Belinda

Can it be January already? - how the year seems to have flown by.  I’ve recently returned from spending Christmas with my youngest son and his family in the States which was lovely.  No turkey for our lunch but delicious prime rib of beef instead, however something else was missing - no crackers and party hats! I was reminded of our December lecture and the traditions that we still have from Tudor times and in particular the Twelve Days of Christmas.  So in theory we still have another 6 days of feasting and celebration!  It was lovely to spend time with so many members for our Christmas lunch.  It was a very happy occasion and once again a really delicious meal prepared and served by the staff at Matcham’s Restaurant. 

And so to 2024 when our first lecture will be on Tuesday 9th January at 7.15pm at The Pavilion.  ‘Insiders / Outsiders: refugees from Nazi Germany & their contribution to British visual culture’ and our Speaker will be Monica Bohm-Duchen.Despite the traumatic nature of their dislocation and the obstacles they often encountered on arrival in the UK, those who fled here from Nazi-dominated Europe in the 1930s and 1940s made a deep, pervasive and long-lasting contribution to British culture. Focussing on the visual arts, this lecture will examine the nature of this contribution, embracing not only familiar names such as Gombrich, Kokoschka, Moholy-Nagy, Schwitters and Heartfield, but also lesser-known figures such as Albert Reuss, Josef Herman and Marie-Louise von Motesiczky. Monica is the initiator and creative director of the insiders/Outsiders Festival (see www.insidersoutsidersfestival.org), so this topic and its relevance to the present day is much on her mind.

In early December Robert Rimmell gave us a a truly fascinating talk on the ‘Art of 3D Printing’ at our Cafe Arts morning which stimulated a very interesting and animated discussion. We had a record number of attendees at this event and I look forward very much to our next Cafe Arts Social Coffee Morning on Thursday 18th January from 10.30 to 12 noon at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  We will welcome a local artist Mandy Walters who will give a short talk on ‘Paint your way to a longer life’.  Mandy specialises in animal portraits and will bring along examples of her work. Do come along and bring a friend too if you wish.  Unlimited coffee and delicious biscuits for only £6!

Coming up soon is our next Special Interest Day on Thursday 22nd February 2024.  ‘A Family Affair: Florence & the House of Medici’ with Speaker Jo Walton.  Bookings are now being taken and further details and a Booking Form can be found at our website at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx .  Valerie Aris the organiser for this event will be at our lecture this month but can also be contacted, if you need further information, at studydayva@theartssocietycheltenham.org .  I understand that this Day is proving to be very popular so don’t delay in booking if you want to secure a place - reminder to self to do so! 

So now I just would like to wish you a very Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you soon.  

Best wishes
Belinda

So December is here already and I’m pleased to say that I had a wonderful trip to Japan - a beautiful and fascinating country with such different customs and culture to experience. Seeing Mount Fuji on a beautiful sunny day was a highlight and spending two nights in a traditional Ryokan was an ‘adventure’. Not to mention the amazing loos! Waiting for more than three years (Covid intervened) to eventually make the trip was definitely worth it. 

November saw a number of TASC events including a well supported and very well received Special Interest Day on Art Deco.  Pamela Campbell Johnson was an engaging, knowledgeable and enthusiastic speaker who gave a most stimulating series of three lectures during the day. We hope to invite her back as part of our regular lecture programme before too long. There will be another Special Interest Day in February next year - read on for more information.

Our next lecture ‘A Tudor Christmas’ will be given by Siobhan Clarke on Tuesday 12th December at 7.15pm at The Pavilion. We might assume that our modern Christmas owes much to the Victorians. In fact, carol-singing, present-giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times. This lecture is based on Siobhan’s book with Alison Weir 'A Tudor Christmas'. It was a twelve-day-long festival, over which the Lord of Misrule held sway; so beloved by English people that its traditions survived remarkably unchanged in an age of tumultuous religious upheaval.  We’ll be serving wine and mince pies for everyone in the Cafe before the lecture so do come along in plenty of time to join with other members for some ‘festive’ social time together. And why not take the opportunity to bring along a guest (for a fee of £8 if you have already used your ‘free’ invitation) but please email Ash Fawcett at info.cheltenham@theartssociety.org if you would like to so that we have an idea of numbers. 

But before our lecture there will be another Cafe Arts Social Coffee Morning on Tuesday 5th December from 10.30am to 12noon at our regular venue of The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. Only £6 for unlimited coffee and biscuits and visitors are always most welcome. One of our members, Robert Rimmell, will be giving a short talk on the ‘Art of 3D Printing’.  I’m delighted that members and other local artists are keen to tell us more about their particular interest and I’d like to thank them for supporting our Society. Our ‘Cafe Arts’ events are causing a bit of a stir in The Arts Society with other Societies and Head Office staff keen to know more about how we run them and I’m always happy to talk about the success of our new venture. 

Our Christmas Lunch at Matchams Restaurant at the Everyman on Thursday 14th December is almost fully booked.  Don’t forget to send your menu choices to Angie Pearson at angepearson@sky.com and payment if you haven’t already done so. With just a couple of spaces left please email Angie in the next few days if you would like to attend and haven’t booked.

Looking ahead to next year there will be a Special Interest Day on Thursday 22nd February 2024 ‘A Family Affair: Florence & the House of Medici’ with Jo Walton as Speaker.  Starting at 10.30am Jo will give a series of three lectures looking at the 350 years of the Medici family’s rule and its story told through the buildings, paintings and sculptures that they commissioned and which became their lasting legacy to posterity. Further information and Booking Forms will be available at the December lecture and can also be found on our website at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx . These Special Interest Days are proving very popular and numbers are kept at a lower level than our lectures to give a more ‘intimate’ experience between the speaker and the audience so please book early to avoid disappointment.  

I look forward very much to seeing you at one or more of our events this month.  I’d also like to wish you a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. 

Best wishes
Belinda

Website:  https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

I’m writing this in mid October as I shall be away in Japan on 1st November when my newsletter is ‘sent out’ by Mailchimp, so if it’s a bit truncated I apologise!  I’m looking forward to my trip (postponed from April 2020) very much.  

If you were able to attend our last lecture you’ll be recalling the images, descriptions and history of early firework displays given to us by Timothy Wilcox as 5th November approaches and maybe you will have personal memories, like me, of bonfires, catherine wheels, rockets and sparklers in the back garden. Not much Health and Safety in those days!  

This month it is with great pleasure that we welcome our lecturer Dr Graham Jones who should have been with us last December when the great freeze hit and we had to cancel our evening meeting. His Lecture ‘The Art of State Ceremonial Music’ will be on Tuesday 14th November at 7.15pm at the Pavilion.  Graham started his professional life as a musician in the British Army and retired, after a career of nearly 40 years, in 2012 having held the position of Senior Director of Music, Household Division and Director of Music, Coldstream Guards.  He will give us an insight in to how the military prepare for such major events as State Visits, National Day of Remembrance and, of course, a Coronation. (Picture above) I’m looking forward to this audio visual lecture very much.

Our Special Interest Day ‘Art Deco: Inspiration and Intrigue’ on 23rd November has proved very popular and is fully booked. Our organiser Valerie Aris has now started a Waiting List so if you are hopeful that one or two places may become available at short notice please contact her at studydayva@theartssocietycheltenham.org.  You might want to make a diary note of the next Special Interest Day, ‘A Family Affair: Florence & the House of Medici’ which will be on Thursday 22nd February 2024.  Further details and a booking form will be available later this year. 

There will be another Cafe Arts Coffee Morning on Tuesday 5th December at the Bowling Club Suffolk Square from 10.30 - 12.00.  One of our members, Robert Rimmell, will give a short talk on ‘The Art of 3D Printing’ so do come along to hear Robert and enjoy unlimited coffee and refreshments with other members.  The cost is £6 with guests being very welcome too.

I can now give you full details of our Christmas Lunch on Thursday 14th December at Matchams Restaurant at the Everyman Theatre at 12.00 for 12.30.  The cost for the two course lunch with tea and coffee included will be £28.  The lunch is open to both members and guests and you will receive Menu details and booking information very soon (or you may already have received this!).  This was a very sociable and enjoyable occasion last year so do come along for a bit of ‘festive fare’ and a jolly good time with members and friends. 

I look forward to seeing you soon, having returned from my long awaited visit to Japan. 

Best wishes
Belinda

Well Autumn has arrived and the days are beginning to get shorter although fortunately it’s not been too cold.  I was sorry that I was not able to attend any of our events in September due to a pre-arranged family trip early in the month and then a recent emergency dash to Surrey for Granny duties when my middle son was admitted to hospital urgently.  He’s home again now fortunately and so am I!

From conversations with members I think I can say that our Lecture last month on the Culture of Ukraine was very well received and that the invited guests were delighted to be able to talk with Rosamund Bartlett afterwards.  Thanks to your generosity we collected £300 in donations which will be split equally between GARAS and CWR.  I know that the Cafe was ‘buzzing’ before the lecture and that our tea ladies were working hard in the kitchen.  I understand it was a little chaotic in the Foyer with new members and guests arriving simultaneously and I apologise for this. Hopefully it will be a little calmer in October.

Our first Cafe Arts coffee morning last week was a very sociable event and members appreciated Ash Fawcett’s talk on ‘The Art of Bricks’ very much and particularly enjoyed the opportunity to chat informally both before and afterwards. Coffee and biscuits are available throughout the morning so do consider popping in to a future one and perhaps bring a friend along too. Everyone is welcome. 

Our Annual General Meeting will take place at 7.00 pm immediately prior to the lecture on Tuesday 10th October at 7.15pm at The Pavilion.  ‘Gone in a Flash? A History of Firework Display from the Renaissance to the Age of Electricity’ will be given by Timothy Wilcox. The fireworks that mark great events such as the opening of the Olympics or the start of a New Year make an enormous impact, but despite their brevity, the displays live on through film and photography. For centuries, the very fact that the fireworks themselves were seen only for seconds and yet cost large amounts of money provoked a strong desire to record them and a large archive of visual evidence remains.  This lecture takes an exhilarating look at one art form that is never likely to gather dust in a museum.

Our next Cafe Arts Social Coffee Morning is on Thursday 19th October from 10.30 to 12.00 noon at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square which will be slightly different format as it will be a Members Showcase.  I know that we have a number of talented members and it would be wonderful if you would bring along some of your own work to display and give others an opportunity to enjoy and admire your own particular passion.  Members and guests are all welcome for a fee of £6 for unlimited coffee and delicious biscuits with a chance to chat and enjoy the company of others. 

TOUR OF EAST SUSSEX & KENT – This is the final call for any couples or friends who would like a double or twin room for our tour which is scheduled for 29th April to 3 May 2024. We have just two rooms left at the current price but if not taken by 31st October a surcharge may have to be be applied which would be a shame. In the first instance, please contact Carolyn McQuitty on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org or see her at the meeting on 10th October.  Information is also available on our website. The visit is open to non members too so if you know of someone who might like to join the trip do tell them about it. 

A reminder that our first Special Interest Day of the new Season is on Thursday 23rd November at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  Art Deco: Inspiration & Intrigue  a series of 3 lectures to be given by  Pamela Campbell-Johnson.  Places are booking up fast so if you would like to attend don’t delay too long!  Further information can be obtained from Valerie Aris at studydayva@theartssocietycheltenham.org or on our website at  www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx  

Our Christmas Lunch will be on Thursday 14th December at Matchams Restaurant at The Everyman Theatre.  This event was greatly enjoyed by members last year despite the atrocious weather at that time! So please save the date and further information on cost and menu choices will be sent out in due course.  

A number of members have mislaid their membership badges.  We decided not to automatically issue new ones every year to save on paper and printing etc. but if you would like a new one please email Jan Lugg on membership.cheltenham@theartssociety.org and she will make you one and bring it along to a future lecture for you to collect. 

The Arts Society have recently published a Newsletter from the Heads of Volunteering containing lots of information and stories about Volunteering projects of different kinds from many Societies.   It would be really great if our Society could become more involved in promoting the Arts within our Community and if you feel you would like get involved do let me know. Here is the link to information about Volunteering with the Arts Society. https://theartssociety.org/volunteering

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes
Belinda

Some gorgeous cakes were for sale before the first lecture of the season - made by an Ukrainian patissier.

Friday 8th September 6 - 8pm: Special Private Viewing at 16 Rotunda Terrace, Montpeller of Collaborative at Sixteen Gallery

Tuesday 12th September at 7.15pm: The Culture of Ukraine: Rosamund Bartlett at The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham

25th & 27th September: Online Discovery mornings on Vermeer from 10.30 - 13.00 each day. The cost is £15 per day and tickets may be booked at:www.tickettailor.com/events/theartssocietywessexarea

Tuesday 26th September 10.30 - 12.00pm: Cafe Arts Coffee Morning at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square with a short talk by Ash Fawcett on 'The Art of Bricks'. £6.00 for unlimited coffee & chat

Tuesday 10th October at 7.00pm: Annual General Meeting immediately prior to the October Lecture

Wednesday 18th October: Visit to Wells Cathedral & The Bishop's Palace

Thursday 19th October: Cafe Arts Coffee Morning featuring a Members Showcase

29th April - 4th May 2024: Five Day Tour of Kent & East Sussex

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the formarion of the Cheltenham branch of The Arts Society, a garden party was held in Guiting Power and the sun shone!!!

I do hope that you are enjoying the sun that seems to be here to stay for a while and are able to spend time out of doors if you can find a bit of shade occasionally!

I was pleased to welcome Imogen Corrigan to give our final lecture of the Season last month. Her talk on Cathedrals and the men who built them gave us a fascinating insight into the way the builders worked and how the master masons managed these architectural masterpieces. It was a great ending to what I hope has been an enjoyable year of varied and contrasting lectures given by excellent speakers.

You will have recently received an invitation to renew your membership of The Arts Society Cheltenham (TASC) for 2023/24 and I hope that you will be joining us for the new Season of
lectures and other events that have been planned for you by your enthusiastic Committee. Some of our team will soon be coming to the end of their term of office so, as always, we are looking for more help to continue to deliver the range of events that we all enjoy as members. Please do consider if this is something that you could do even in a supporting role, if becoming a Committee Member is a bit daunting!

I have been enjoying the latest copy of The Arts Society magazine which landed on my doormat recently (quickly rescued before Nell, my cocker spaniel, decided to help open it!). This is, of course, one of the extras that you benefit from by being a member of TASC. As well as the interesting articles and ‘What’s On’ guide, I was impressed by the range and variety of Volunteering Projects that Societies across the country are involved in and I would be delighted if we could, once again, do more in promoting and supporting the Arts in our local schools and Communities. That is part of the role and ethos of The Arts Society. There are grants and funding sources that can help with this, so if this is something that interests you and you’d like to find out more please let me know.

Of course, we have our 30th Anniversary Garden Party to look forward to on Thursday 10th August at 2.30 - 4.30pm in Guiting Power at Katherine and Mick’s home (thank you both). If you haven’t yet let me know if you are able to come, that’s fine. I just need to know by the end of the month so that we know how many to expect. It looks set to be a lovely sociable event and I look forward to seeing many of you there. I have invited Florian Schweizer, Chief Executive of The Arts Society, and Dianne Griffiths, Chair of West Mercia Area. I hope that they may be able to join us.

I have further information on forthcoming visits. Visit to Wells Cathedral & The Bishop’s Palace on Wednesday 18th October - Carolyn has all the costs now and will be sending full details and a booking form to you next week. Tour of East Sussex & Kent 29th April to 3rd May 2024 The updated flyer and booking form should be available on the website from the week commencing 3rd July. However if you wish to secure one of the remaining rooms, please contact Carolyn on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org and she will arrange to reserve a room for you. But please note that no single rooms are available and only four twin/double rooms remain so don’t delay.

Our new Season of lectures will begin on Tuesday 12th September 2023 at 7.15pm at The Pavilion when Rosamund Bartlett will be speaking on the Culture of Ukraine. The lecture will contain music and poetry from Ukraine and we hope to welcome members of our local Ukrainian Community to the evening. The lecture will hopefully be preceded by a short extra event in support of them and the Ukrainian Relief Fund. More information on this nearer the time.

This is my final newsletter for this Season. In August, you will be receiving through the post your new Programme for 2023/24 and information about other events as well as a (small) free gift. I do hope you’ll be re-joining for another year with The Arts Society Cheltenham and why not persuade a friend or neighbour to join too? New members are needed and always welcomed so who better to promote membership than you.

I hope you have an enjoyable Summer.
Best wishes
Belinda

Website:  https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

Well, Spring arrived eventually and before you can blink it’s Summer! At last, a Bank Holiday weekend with sunshine. I hope you managed to get out and about to enjoy it.

Our lecture in May turned into a bit of a ‘surprise’ evening as our booked speaker was unable to  get to Cheltenham in time to give the lecture due to rail strikes. However, at very short notice, Ash Fawcett stepped up and gave a very professional and interesting talk on Toddington Manor and it’s links to Parliament. This was very well received by all who were there and I remain extremely indebted to Ash for ‘saving the day’.

Our June lecture, the final one of the Season, is ‘Stone on Stone: the Men who built the Cathedrals on Tuesday 13th June at 7.15pm at The Pavilion.  Imogen Corrigan will tell us about the Master Masons who both designed the buildings and ran the site. These men were charismatic leaders, they were real people who got into trouble with the law, who occasionally cheated on contracts, who liked to start a job but not to finish it. On the other hand, their creations remain to this day, breathtakingly beautiful in their exquisite detail causing us, centuries later, to stand in a nave and wonder. I love visiting cathedrals and marvelling at their immense scale but also wondering at the delicate and intricate carvings often so high up - how did they do that? I’m looking forward to finding out.

You will have recently received an invitation to our 30th Anniversary Garden Party at 2.30 pm on 10th August in Guiting Power.  I do hope that you will be able to come along to celebrate with your Committee and other members. Drinks and afternoon tea will be served. A number of you have already replied but I only need to know by 1st August if you wish to attend, so you have plenty of time to respond.

In the next few weeks, you will be receiving an invitation to renew your membership. This will include the Programme of Lectures for the 2023/24 season, details of our Special Interest Days and information about other events. As a Committee, we have been faced with the inevitable rising costs of lecturers' fees and expenses, venue hire, affiliation fees, etc. and we have taken the decision that, in order to cover our costs, we will have to increase the membership fee to £55. We control the budget as tightly as we can and we hope that you feel that this still represents excellent value for money and that you will continue with your membership of The Arts Society Cheltenham.

The previously postponed Visit to Kent & East Sussex will now be from 29th April to 3rd May 2024. The revised details and booking form will be available at the June lecture and no new bookings will be taken until after 13 June to give those with existing reservations time to confirm the transfer of their deposit. Currently, no single rooms are available but a waiting list will be started by Carolyn if you e-mail visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org The visit to Wells Cathedral will be on Wednesday 18th October 2023 and will also include a tour of the Bishop’s Palace. Booking forms for both these events will be available at the June lecture and will shortly also be on our website. 

In our 2023/24 season, we will be introducing a new regular event - Café Arts.  Based on the successful Social Coffee Mornings we have run in the last couple of years and the popularity of the previous ‘Short Talks’ programme we are going to be offering regular Coffee Mornings with the added interest of a short talk given by one of our members or a local artist on a variety of topics.  You’ll be getting more information about this exciting new venture soon.

Together with Painswick Arts Society and with funding from The Arts Society, we will be supporting a project run by Kinship, an organisation which offers help and support to carers and the children they look after. They will be running two arts-based activity workshops for six carer/child groups at The Pavilion in August and October this year when they will be making “Illustrated Tunnel Books”. We are funding the Arts Specialist who will be leading the workshop and providing materials and equipment. She is also looking for magazines for making picture collages so if you have any suitable magazines (gardening, wildlife etc) please bring them along to our next lecture.

Happening in Cheltenham this month is COS23. This is the 13th running of the popular visual arts trail run by Cheltenham Open Studios from 10th to 18th June. 82 different exhibition venues will be open to the public in celebration of the visual art being made in the area. To find out more visit cheltenhamopenstudios.org.uk

I’m off to the States now to visit my son and family but will be back in time for our final lecture. I look forward to seeing you then.

Best wishes
Belinda

Website:  https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

May has almost arrived as I write this and it’s still raining! I’m off to Greece next week for a short holiday. I’m hoping for some sunshine for that and also for the Coronation of King Charles III on May 6th, which I’ll be missing as I’ll still be away.

I do hope that those who were able to attend our lecture last month appreciated and enjoyed  Mark Hill’s talk on ‘Cracking Glass’. The excellent feedback afterwards suggested that you did and I was indebted to Mark for coming to us the day after he suffered the loss of a very close friend and colleague - Judith Miller, co-author of “Miller’s Antiques” series of books which many of us will be familiar with.

Having lived in the North West of England in my childhood, I have visited the Lake District many times and so I’m looking forward to our next lecture. Lake District Artists - Beyond the Cannon  to be given by David Cross on Tuesday 9th May at 7.15pm at The Pavilion. The Lakeland counties, which merged to form Cumbria in 1974, have drawn lovers of landscape beauty for almost three centuries and have had a considerable effect upon the development, creation and appreciation of landscape art in Britain. Many great artists have visited and wished they were able to stay longer to enjoy the fells, the lakes, the tarns, the waterfalls and the rugged vernacular architecture. Many other artists were born in the north-west and chose to represent the environment in which they lived. Collectively they have produced more work than any other region apart from London, across the whole range of genres. Lakeland art offers far more than traditional landscapes and this lecture celebrates many unknown treasures. 

The photo above, taken by me, is of Tarn Hows - one of my favourite places in the Lake District.

Carolyn McQuitty has asked me to pass on the following updates for current planned visits.

“Only two seats left on the coach for the visit to the National Gallery on Sunday 4 June so, if you want to join the party, be quick.”

“Due to the low take-up of double/twin rooms, it is proposed to postpone the tour to East Kent and Sussex until May 2024. Dates and prices are awaited but we would hope that the new timing will suit those currently booked and bring onboard the many others who wanted to come but were unable to do so in October.”

Instead, Carolyn is proposing a visit to Wells Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace on Wednesday 18th October 2023 (market day) to complement our final lecture in June “Stone on Stone: The Master Masons who built Cathedrals”. If you would be interested in this visit, please e-mail Carolyn on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org  If there is sufficient interest in this proposal, she will start working on a plan and price.”

These will be the last events organised by Carolyn who has been our outstanding and very hardworking Visits Coordinator for the past 5 years. Carolyn will be standing down from the role at the end of this Season and we urgently need someone to take over from her. This role could be shared (to halve the load!) with a fellow member so if you think you might like to get involved please speak to me or Carolyn to find out more. I know that many of you really value and enjoy our visits and I do hope that we can continue to offer these as part of our programme of events in the future.  You will be offered plenty of help and support from other Committee Members - we’re a friendly bunch - so do think about it.

Your Committee is currently working on the programme of events for next Season. In addition to our regular monthly lectures we already have two Special Interest Days planned. We also hope to offer monthly Social Coffee Mornings with short talks included to be given by local artists and other speakers. These have been popular in the past so it is planned that these should become part of our regular programme of events from September.  

The organiser of events for Friends of The Wilson has sent me details of a couple of forthcoming trips in May and June which they thought might be of interest to our members.  Please get in contact directly if you would like to join either of these visits. 

Harvington Hall and Spetchley Park Gardens  17th May

https://www.friendsofthewilson.org.uk/events/harvington-hall-spetchley-park-gardens/

Liverpool 18th June:  3 days/2 nights

https://www.friendsofthewilson.org.uk/events/study-tour-to-liverpool/

I hope you enjoy the forthcoming Bank Holidays this month and if you will be attending any Coronation events I hope you have an enjoyable time.
Best wishes
Belinda

Website:  https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

It’s officially Spring and the days are getting longer and the evenings lighter. A little less rain and  a bit more sun would be good though! I’m writing this just before the Society visit to Cardiff Castle and Museum which I am looking forward to very much and hoping for a dry day at least.
Our next lecture is ‘Cracking Glass’ to be given by Mark Hill at 7.15pm on Tuesday 11th April 2023 at The Pavilion. Mark is a valuer and author and a specialist in 20th Century design and decorative arts. He is well known for his appearances on ‘The Antiques Roadshow’. His lecture will include an overview of Britain’s ‘Big Four’ postwar glass companies, comprising Whitefriars, King’s Lynn (Wedgwood), Caithness and Dartington. As well as company and designer histories, special slides examine, compare and contrast ‘Good, Better, Best’ examples from each company. The emergence of these factories is put into context and major influences behind them are discussed. The current glut of Whitefriars fakes are covered, including tips on how to spot them.
With a little sub from our funds, we are pleased that the visit to the National Gallery on Sunday 4 June to include tickets to the “After Impressionism” exhibition has been confirmed. There are seats available on the coach and, subject to the availability of tickets to the exhibition, we can still take bookings to join our group.
Booking for our East Sussex & Kent tour has been extended until May so if you are still considering coming you have a little longer to finally make-up your mind.
Full details are on our website www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.ukunder Visits or as always you can contact our Visits Organiser Carolyn McQuitty on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.orgor telephone her on 01242 581291. She would be pleased to talk to you.
I mentioned in my last letter that, later this year, we will be having a 30th Anniversary Celebration - Our Society was formed in September 1993. A date has now been set and so on Thursday 10th August we will be holding a ‘Garden Party’ in Guiting Power at the home of one of our Committee Members, Katherine Judge, who has kindly agreed to host this for us. More details about the event will be given nearer the time but please ‘Save the Date’ for the time being. We will hopefully be able to organise lifts for those members who do not have their own transport so no one should miss out on this special occasion.
I have received notice of some forthcoming events in Cheltenham which might be of interest.
‘Lunchtime Live’ Organ Recitals in Cheltenham College Chapelhave resumed and take place on the first Tuesday of the month from 1.15 - 2.00pm. Admission is free and the next one is on Tuesday 4th April. On Tuesday 6th June the recital will be given by one of our members, Simon Williams, Royal College of Organists Regional Director and Organist at Cheltenham Ladies College.
An Exhibition ‘In Clay’ featuring the work of 5 Ceramicists will be held at Sixteen Gallery, Rotunda Terrace from 6th - 12th April. Open every day.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Best wishes
Belinda

It’s time for the newsletter again! As I write this we are all being reminded of the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine and I am moved by the tremendous bravery and resilience of the whole nation as they continue to face incredibly difficult times.  The picture is of Kiev, Ukraine. As part of our future programme we are planning to have a lecture on the Culture of Ukraine and looking to invite members of the local Ukrainian community to join us for the evening. More information on that in due course.

Our March lecture is a Celebration of the Bicentenary of Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) to be given on Tuesday 14 March 2023 at 7.15pm at The Pavilion. One of the most celebrated artists of her time, French painter Rosa Bonheur had an extraordinary gift for painting animals that brought her international fame and recognition. Her works fetched exceptionally high prices on both sides of the Atlantic, and in 1865 she became the first woman to be awarded the légion d’honneur, France’s highest order of merit. Defying convention, she obtained official police permission to wear men’s clothing, so that she could study animal anatomy in the male-only spaces of livestock sales. This lecture offers an in-depth account of her extraordinary life and work.  Lecturer Dr Lois Oliver is an art historian who is currently Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Royal Academy.

Also coming soon is our Special Interest Day on Thursday 9th March from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  Elizabeth Merry will be giving a series of 3 lectures on ‘Art & Imagination: Creativity and Fantasy from the Brontës to Beatrix Potter’.  The cost is £30 for members and places are still available so if you would like to attend please get in contact with Valerie Aris at studydayva.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

A reminder that the closing dates for our last visit of the season plus that for our October tour are looming fast. The closing date for reservations for our visit on Sunday 4th June to the National Gallery to include the “After Impressionism” Exhibition is Wednesday 22 March. For our tour of East Sussex and Kent in October it is Friday 31 March. Full details of both events are on our website under “Visits” and booking information and procedures/forms are again on the website under “Our Society/Documents”. Alternatively, Carolyn McQuitty will be at the lecture on 14 March with booking forms for the tour and also happy to deal with any queries you may have on the National Gallery visit. Carolyn's email is visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

I am looking forward very much to the Trip to Cardiff Castle & Museum on 30th March 2023.  A few places are still available so if you are interested please contact Carolyn as above.

Looking back through the history of The Arts Society Cheltenham recently I realised that 2023 is a special year for us - our Society having been formed in September 1993.  So, not wanting to miss an opportunity for a party, the Committee have agreed to host a 30th Anniversary Summer Party for all members in August the year.  A date and venue will be announced next month so watch this space!

In the meantime I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes
Belinda

Website:  https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

I’m rather glad to be saying farewell to a chilly and damp January and looking forward to some early signs of Spring in February as the snowdrops and daffodils begin to appear.

It was a real pleasure to spend a convivial half hour with everyone over mince pies and a glass of wine before our January lecture. There was a lively atmosphere in the Café and I want to thank our volunteers who did such a good job on the evening and who regularly serve tea and coffee to members before our monthly lectures.

Our February lecture has the unusual title of ‘How to get down from a Yak - adventures in Central Asian nomadic textiles’ to be given by Chris Aslan on Tuesday 14th February at 7.15pm at The Pavilion. Chris is an author who has worked extensively in the Central Asian countries, reviving craft traditions and establishing workshops for the nomadic tribes of the ‘Stans’. The little-known nomadic textile cultures of the Kyrgyz, Turkoman and Karakalpak are explored in this lecture, along with the rise and fall of nomadism and where nomadism fits within the modern world. Chris is an entertaining speaker who shares from his own experience of working with nomadic yak herders in the High Pamirs for three years. I’m looking forward to the evening very much.

A reminder to all members please to make sure to register at the ‘tick-in’ Desk in the Foyer on arrival at the Pavilion. This helps us to keep an accurate record of attendance and also meets Health & Safety requirements. Also, if driving in the dark is difficult for you and you would like a lift to a lecture, please let me know as we have a number of willing volunteers who are happy to help.

There will be a Social Coffee Morning on Thursday 9th February from 10.30 to 12.30 at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. Our visiting local artist this time is Sue Brown from The Yard:ARTspace in Cheltenham, whose main interest is printmaking. Her work is inspired by nature and has been driven by exploring intaglio printmaking techniques. Sue will be bringing along some of her work and will give a short talk about what inspires her. Members and visitors both welcome - £5 only for unlimited coffee and biscuits.

Places are still available for our next Study Day on 9th March 2023 from 10.00 am to 3.00pm at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. Elizabeth Merry will be giving a series of 3 lectures on ‘Art & Imagination: Creativity and Fantasy from the Brontes to Beatrix Potter’. Elizabeth has over 25 years' experience lecturing on a range of subjects including classical art and architecture and the visual arts and has a special interest in the links between literature and art. Further information and a booking form can be found on our website at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx or for more information please email Valerie Aris at studydayva.cheltenham@theartssociety.org.

You will have recently received a letter from Carolyn McQuitty, our visits organiser, about a Trip to Cardiff Castle & Museum on 30th March 2023. I know that this is already proving popular  so make sure to book soon to avoid disappointment. In addition, here is another exciting notice from Carolyn.

TOUR TO EAST SUSSEX & KENT – 16 to 20 October 2023 Something else to look forward to – the details of our five-day tour have been finalised and full information is available on our website under Future Visits. The package includes half-board accommodation in a 3* sea-front Eastbourne hotel with time to enjoy the town and luxury coach travel throughout. Highlights include visits to Standen House and Gardens, a day in Brighton with a tour of the Royal Pavillion and walking tour, a tour of Hever Castle, a visit to Charleston House, a talk at Tudeley Church, and a visit to Watts Gallery. As well as an opportunity to visit places of interest further from home, as was highlighted on last year’s tour, there will be the company of friendly fellow members so we are sure this will again be a most enjoyable break. Booking is now open and numbers limited so don’t miss the chance. If you need to contact her, Carolyn’s email is visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org. Details of the visit are here

I look forward to seeing you this month at one of our events and I’m hoping for a bit of sunshine too! 

Best wishes

Belinda

Website:  https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

So we have reached the end of another year and arrived in 2023. I’m hoping that you have had an enjoyable time over the festive period and have been able to spend time with friends and family. I know of several people whose plans have been disrupted yet again for a variety of reasons so I do hope that you have not been disappointed too. Talking of disappointments, I’m so sorry that we had to cancel our lecture in December. It was not a decision taken lightly and the lecturer was prepared to battle on despite the very poor weather conditions but, for the safety of all, I think that it was the right thing to do. I know that Dr Graham Jones is looking forward to coming to Cheltenham in the future when we can find a suitable slot in our programme of lectures. 

A number of our members enjoyed some of our other events in December, including the trip to Coventry Cathedral and Compton Verney as well as our delicious Christmas lunch at Matchams Restaurant at the Everyman. I know that those who attended had an excellent time on both days and I want to thank Carolyn McQuitty for organising these events for us so efficiently, as always. 

Attention now turns to another year and our first lecture of 2023 is ‘Heaven on Earth: a Road Trip through Medieval Burgundy’ to be given by Caroline Shenton on Tuesday 10th January at 7.15pm at The Pavilion. Caroline will take us on an armchair tour through this most gorgeous Romanesque ‘terroir’ dating back to the first settlements by the Romans who brought wine and gastronomy to this region. Burgundy is packed with architectural wonders dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries - many of them now World Heritage Sites. These were spiritual service stations for crusaders, pilgrims and monks profoundly influencing Western European art in the Middle Ages. Caroline includes travel tips and tasting recommendations in her lecture so I’m looking forward to this evening very much! We’ll be serving wine and mince pies before the lecture (postponed from December) and running our Book Stall of good quality, second-hand Arts related books, so I do hope you will be able to join socially with other members to welcome in the New Year.

We will be running a Social Coffee Morning at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square on Thursday 9th February from 10.30am  to 12.30. Once again we will be inviting a local artist to come along to talk about and display their work which has proved so interesting and stimulating at past mornings. Please come along and show your support. £5 only for unlimited delicious coffee and biscuits! 

There is a proposed visit to Cardiff Castle and Cardiff Museum on Thursday 30th March 2023. Cardiff Castle has a 2000-year history including the collaboration between the Third Marquis of Bute and William Burgess to create a Welsh Camelot in the rooms of the Castle with little expense spared. Cardiff Museum, close by, has 500 years of collecting paintings/drawings/sculptures/silver and ceramics including one of the best collections of Impressionist art. Carolyn needs to know numbers who would like to attend as soon as possible in the first week of January so please email her on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org and she will contact you with full details. 

Our next Study Day is on 9th March 2023 from 10.30am to 3.00pm at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. Elizabeth Merry will be giving a series of 3 lectures on ‘Art & Imagination: Creativity and Fantasy from the Brontës to Beatrix Potter’. Further information and a booking form will be available at our January lecture and can also be found on our website at https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx or for more information please email Valerie Aris at studydayva.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

I look forward to seeing you at our lectures and other events in 2023 and I wish you a very peaceful and Happy New Year.

Best wishes

Belinda

So December is here and life for me, and maybe you too, gets a little busier than usual. I’m currently in the USA, celebrating Thanksgiving with my youngest son and his family. It’s something I do most years and I really enjoy celebrating this important event with them before returning home for Christmas with the rest of my family.

Our lecture in December has a celebratory theme too. A Very Ceremonial Christmas with Speaker Dr Graham Jones is on Tuesday 13th December at 7.15pm. Dr Jones is the retired Senior Director of Music, Household Division and Director of Music, Coldstream Guards. His light-hearted lecture about the various ceremonial events that take place around Christmas time will describe how Carol services, concerts and even the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and Windsor play their part in celebration of the festive season. We’ll be serving wine and mince pies before the lecture so do come along in plenty of time to spend some time socialising with other members in the welcoming Café at the Pavilion. Following the successful Coffee Morning last month we still have many second hand arts related books, and some new ones, for sale and so we will be running our Book Stall again at this time too.

Also in December, I look forward to joining you at two events organised for us by Carolyn McQuitty.  On 9th December, a group of members will be heading off by coach to visit Coventry Cathedral in the morning and then Compton Verney in the afternoon. On 16th December I’ll be at our Christmas Lunch at Matcham’s Restaurant at the Everyman Theatre so I hope to see you at one or more of these events this month. I do enjoy having the time to meet and chat with members socially and find out what you like (or not!) about our programme of lectures and other activities. So do let me know if there is anything that you think we can do to improve your membership experience.

After these events and with thoughts turning to the New Year and Spring, our Visits Organiser would like to hear from you if you would be interested in a visit to Cardiff Castle and Cardiff Museum on Thursday 30th March 2023. With a 2000 year history, Cardiff Castle has much to offer, not least of all the Third Marquis of Bute’s collaboration with William Burgess to create a Welsh Camelot in the rooms of the Castle with little expense spared. Very close by is Cardiff Museum with 500 years of collecting paintings/drawings/sculptures/silver and ceramics including one of the best collections of Impressionist art. If you are interested, please email Carolyn on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org by Tuesday 3rd January 2023 and she will contact you with full details.

Another date for your diary. Our next Study Day is on 9th March 2023 from 10.30 to 3.00pm.  Elizabeth Merry will be giving a series of 3 lectures on ‘Art & Imagination: Creativity & Fantasy from the Brontës to Beatrix Potter’.  A booking form will be available on our website soon and at the lecture in December. For more information please email Valerie Aris at studydayva.cheltenham@theartssociety.org.

Other events of interest this month: The Arts Society Malmesbury have an event on 7th December at Holy Trinity Church, Minchinhampton. Peter Medhurst, international musician and scholar, will be performing and discussing a range of Christmas pieces from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. Tickets available via https://2022pm.eventbrite.co.uk

With best wishes for a happy and peaceful Christmas

Belinda

So we’ve arrived at that time of year when the clocks go back and the shorter days and early dark evenings are upon us. I hope that the chill of winter doesn’t arrive too soon. I think we have had some beautiful autumn colours this year which I have enjoyed when walking in the woods with my Cocker Spaniel, Nell, on some of the very mild days we have been having this week.

Our lecture last month on the Sahara was evidently enjoyed very much by many of those that attended, judging by the feedback comments that were received. I want to thank you for taking the time to respond to our follow up email, as it is by using your feedback that we can give Head Office a true reflection of how each speaker and their lecture is received by the audience. The Committee do this on your behalf after every lecture so that they, in turn, can maintain the high standard of Arts Society accredited lecturers.

Our next lecture ‘Art after Windrush: postcolonial artists in Britain since 1948’  will be given by Barry Venning on Tuesday 8th November at The Pavilion at 7.15pm. The lecture looks at the contributions made by artists of African, Caribbean or Asian origin to British art since the SS Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury from the West Indies in 1948. Their work is eye-catching and thought-provoking, and they have set much of the agenda for British art of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The illustration at the top of this letter is taken from Barry’s lecture which I think gives a taste of the colourful slides which I’m sure we will enjoy.

Our first Social Coffee Morning will be on Thursday 10th November from 10.30am to 12.30pm at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. The cost is £5 for which you can have unlimited coffee or tea and biscuits. Also attending will be Jan Knibbs, an award winning embroiderer, who specialises in Couture Embroidery and makes one-off luxury garments, accessories and jewellery. Jan devotes the utmost care to her creations making each one a work of art. She will give a short talk about her work during the morning and bring along some of her beautiful handmade items for display. At the Coffee Morning there will also be a Book Stall of good quality (second hand) art related books. The original idea behind this was to raise funds for Arts Volunteering Projects that our Society could support in Cheltenham. Unfortunately, at the moment, we don’t have a Co-ordinator to identify and develop projects, working with local groups or schools in any aspect of the Arts. National and local grants are available to support these projects. Arts Volunteering is an important and fulfilling role within the Arts Society and I would really like to continue this worthwhile activity within our Society. If you, perhaps together with another member, are interested there is plenty of advice, support and help available. Do get in touch with me if you would like to know more.

There are two more exciting events to come in December organised by Carolyn McQuitty which she has asked me to pass on to you.

Christmas Visit Friday 9th December – We are delighted that so many of you have already committed to our festive outing. Full details are on the website but in outline you can choose from one of three pick-up points in Cheltenham. We firstly go to Coventry Cathedral for a guided tour of this iconic building and symbol of peace and reconciliation. Afterwards we head down to Compton Verney where there is much Christmas cheer to enjoy either visiting the special galleries and exhibitions, for which it is famed, or getting into the Christmas spirit in their heated Big Top with artisan gift stalls and regional street food to keep you going. So don't delay, contact our Visits Organiser Carolyn McQuitty on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

Christmas Lunch Thursday 15th December – This year we have selected a town centre venue and have the exclusive use of the Matcham's restaurant at The Everyman Theatre in Regents Street. The cost for a two course lunch including coffee/tea is £23 with wine or the drink of preference at your own cost. We propose meeting at midday for lunch at 12.30. Places are limited, so, in the first instance, please book your space(s) by e-mailing our Visits Organiser Carolyn McQuitty on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org and menu choices will be sent out nearer the time. So, come along for a jolly lunch together which proved such a successful event last year.

Unfortunately this month we have had to cancel our Study Day on 3rd November as there were insufficient numbers to make it financially viable. I’m sorry if you were hoping to attend and were disappointed but you should by now have either received a refund of your payment for the day or have used it as a credit against our next Study Day “Art & Imagination: Creativity & Fantasy from the Brontës to Beatrix Potter” to be held on 9th March 2023.  Full details about this Special Interest Day and a Booking Form will soon be available on our website.

I look forward to seeing you at one or more of our events in November.

Best wishes

Belinda Hyland

The Friends of The Wilson would like to extend an invitation to our members to one of their forth-coming events. On Tuesday 22nd November at 2.30pm, Joe Treasure will be performing a sequence of poems, richly illustrated with famous paintings. Art from six centuries is brought dramatically to life through the imagined voices of the artists or the figures in their paintings. Booking and full details: https://www.friendsofthewilson.org.uk/events/out-of-the-frame-illustrated-performance-by-joe-treasure/

Website:  https://theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk

I feel the passing of summer now as the days are getting a little colder and a bit shorter. Let’s hope we have a few more good days before autumn really arrives.

It was good to see so many of you again and to welcome some new members at our AGM and first lecture of the Season in our new venue, The Pavilion in Hatherley Lane. I hope it was a good experience for all those who attended and that you enjoyed the opportunity to meet socially in the Café before the meeting for tea or coffee and a chat. If you have any feedback or ideas that might improve things, then please let me know. I’m always happy to hear from you either by email, phone or in person at any of our events. Those who attended will have received a members’ pack containing the Programme Card for this Season along with an invitation to bring a guest for free to any of our lectures. Please try and bring someone along, a friend or neighbour, who you think might enjoy the evening. We know that the best way to bring in new members is by word of mouth and you are the ideal person to do that.

Our next lecture is on Tuesday 11th October at 7.15pm when our speaker will be Eamonn Gearon. Eamonn has lived and worked for more than 20 years across the greater Middle East - from Kabul to Casablanca - as well as living in the Sahara with the Bedu and conducting a number of solo camel-powered expeditions. So he is well placed to deliver what I am sure will be an entertaining and eye-opening lecture ‘The Sahara as Palimpsest: A Cultural History of the World’s Greatest Desert’ from Rock Art and Myth to the Desert Fathers, Sons of the Desert, Klee and Matisse, Schultz and Lucas’. 

In November we will be holding a Social Coffee Morning at The Suffolks Bowling Club on Thursday 10th November from 1030 - 1230. There will be two enticing reasons to come along! We will be holding a Book Stall where there will be a varied selection of good quality (second hand) Arts related books for sale. We will also be inviting a local ‘artist/craftsperson’ to come and display and talk about their specialism which should be very interesting. These mornings were very popular last Season and with excellent coffee and biscuits too we hope you will want to come along.

And two dates for your diary from our Visits Organiser, Carolyn.

Friday 9 December. Start getting that Christmas feeling with a visit to stunning Coventry Cathedral then move on to Compton Verney to coincide with their Christmas marquee housing artisan stalls where you may find that special gift or treat and fine food stalls for seasonal treats as well as time to browse the museum and special exhibitions.

Thursday 15 December – In a local venue yet to be confirmed our Christmas lunch is being finalised. An ideal opportunity for a friendly get together and enjoy the company of fellow members. If last year’s lunch was anything to go by, this is really a lovely way to celebrate the festive season.

I should like to thank those of you who took the time to fill in the ‘One Task Pledge Form’ at our September meeting. If you didn’t attend you will have the chance to complete one in October! This was an opportunity for all members to offer a little time or expertise to help out in our Society in a variety of ways. I’m collating all the responses and will be getting in touch soon to see how you can help. One of these ‘pledges’ was the offer of a lift to a lecture and a number of members have volunteered to do this. So if you are in need of a lift please let me know and I’ll try and put you in touch with someone who lives nearby.

I’m sure many of you, like me, will be attending a talk (or several) at the Literature Festival in October. We are fortunate to have this fantastic event in Cheltenham each year and I look forward to possibly seeing you around the Festival site in Montpellier or at the Town Hall.

Best wishes

Belinda

As I write this letter, the sun is shining still and it looks as if we are in for a lovely Bank Holiday weekend. I do hope you have had a good summer and maybe managed a holiday, visit or outing with friends or family to somewhere interesting and enjoyable.

I am looking forward very much to the start of our new Season and hope to see many of you at our monthly lectures at The Pavilion and to some of the other events that we have planned for you in the months ahead. Our first meeting, will begin at 7.00 pm on 13th September with our Annual General Meeting which should only last around 15 minutes or so.  You will already have received the papers for this and hopefully the business side of things can be dealt with promptly so that the lecture can begin at 7.15 pm as usual.  Our Front of House team will be ready to greet you at the Pavilion where you will receive a welcome pack containing your Programme Card including an Invitation for you to invite a guest for free to any of our lectures.  There will also be a booking form for the Study Day in November and some flyers to promote our Society which I hope you’ll be able to pass on to friends or neighbours.  We will also be serving tea and coffee for a small charge (but sadly no alcohol!) from 6.30 pm in the comfortable Cafe area where you can meet and chat with other members before the start of the evening. Name badges will also be available, if you don’t already have one, so do please wear them so that we can get to know one another more easily.  Information on how to get to The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham GL51 6PN can be found on our website in ‘Our Society’ - Where we Meet.  

https://www.theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk/AboutUs/WhereWeMeet.aspx

So to our first lecture on Tuesday 13th September at 7.15 pm with the intriguing title of ‘Outstanding and Precious, Unusual and Priceless’ Kunstkammern and the Culture of Collecting.  Dr Albert Godetzky will introduce us to the concept and practice of the Kunstkammer (a word totally new to me!) which has shaped the nature of our modern day museums and galleries, before exploring the impressive collections of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II and their impact in early modern Europe.

Bringing this topic right up to date our first Day of Special Interest  (Study Day) will be held at The Pavilion at 10.30 am on Thursday 3rd November.  ‘The Expert Eye - a personal insight into collecting’ will be given by Marc Allum one of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow specialists.  Mark will start the day with ‘The Anatomy of Antiques’ and the history of why we collect, followed by ‘Auctioneers Tales’ with some stories from the Antiques Roadshow. Also on this special day attendees are invited to bring along one item of their own from which Marc will make a selection to talk about and value.  Further information about the day and a Booking Form will be available at our September and October lectures and can be found on our website or by contacting the organiser, Valerie Aris, at studydayva.cheltenham@theartssociety.org .  I’m sure this will prove to be a popular event and numbers are limited so do book early and you are welcome to invite a friend of course.  An invitation to this Study Day will also be extended to other nearby Arts Societies.  

I’m hoping that we will soon be able to begin again our ‘Social Coffee Mornings’ at the Bowling Club in Suffolk Square which proved so popular last year.  At our last event in March we were delighted to welcome a local artist, Martin Dymott, who gave a fascinating insight into his own artistic ‘journey’ and introduced us to the new and popular pastime of ‘digital art’ which was most interesting. We hope to be able to welcome other local artists to these events and more information about this will be given soon.  In addition Carolyn McQuitty, our Visits organiser, has exciting plans in progress for some interesting visits for us this year and more information about these will also be available soon. 

Before our first lecture though our Society will be taking part in a “Celebration of the Arts” event on Sunday 11th September from 11am until 3 pm on the Promenade, Cheltenham .  We will be hosting a market stall, along with other local Arts groups, to raise the profile of our organisation and hopefully attract new members - which we really do need in order for our Society to grow and thrive. If you are in town please come along and say hello to our team of willing Committee Members and volunteers ‘manning’ the stall and bring your family and friends too!  The photo at the top of this letter is from last year’s event.

Other events happening locally in September are an ‘En Plein Air Art Competition’ open to all abilities in Pittville Park on Sunday 25th September between 10am and 5pm.  On Tuesday 6th September from 6.30 - 8.30pm there will be a private evening viewing of work by 10 local artist members of ‘Living from Art’ at Parabola Arts Centre and a short group discussion about one  piece of work led by Debbie Kersley.  For this event RSVP to www.Livingfromart.co.uk/events-training

Best wishes

Belinda

 July 2022

I can hardly believe that I have reached the end of my first year as Chair of The Arts Society Cheltenham. I hope that you have enjoyed the lectures and other activities that have been on offer this year, despite the restrictions we have experienced due to the pandemic.  It has been a pleasure to get to know you, the members, although it has been difficult for me to find time to chat with you as much as I would have liked before our lectures at Jurys Inn when I have been wearing my Programme Secretary ‘hat’ as well and the associated duties that go with that.  I’m hoping that things should be a little easier for me as we move into our next Season of lectures staring in September 2022 when we will be in our new venue at The Pavilion.

You will shortly be receiving your Membership Renewal forms from Jennifer Stapleton, our Membership Secretary, and I do hope that you will be joining us again for another year.  We have a varied lecture programme planned for you and a description of what those lectures are will be included with your Renewal documents.  We also have two Study Days planned for November 2022 and April 2023 and details about those and the lectures will soon be available on our website.  

Carolyn McQuitty is also planning our new Visits programme and I know she is very much hoping to arrange another members ‘Holiday’ following the very successful trip to Yorkshire that we enjoyed in May this year.  I eagerly await news of that.

Your Committee has been meeting regularly throughout the year, mostly by Zoom, and our Treasurer has been keeping us up to date with our financial situation.  Last year we took the decision to keep the Membership Fee at it’s pre-pandemic level but this year we have found ourselves in the position where, unfortunately, we cannot sustain this for another year and so the Fee for 2022-23 will be £50 per member.  We think this still represents excellent value as it includes the ten monthly top quality lectures that we offer, a discounted charge for our Study Days and Visits, as well as your Annual Membership of the Arts Society which includes 4 quarterly magazines sent to your home address.  I do hope that you will decide to continue your membership for another year.

Our first lecture is on Tuesday 13th September 2022 with the intriguing title of ‘Outstanding and Precious, Unusual and Priceless’ - Kuntskammern and the Culture of Collecting in Early Modern Europe to be given by Dr. Albert Godetzky.  The lecture will be at the usual time of 7.15pm but will be preceded by our Annual General Meeting at 7.00 pm.  You will be receiving further information about that in due course.

So to information about our new Venue - The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham GL51 6PN.  The sign is clearly visible as you approach from either direction.  There is parking for 80 cars and level access to the main Reception Area where our ‘Welcome team’ will be ready to direct you to the Lecture Theatre which is equipped with a large fied screen on a raised platform and a modern lectern with a fixed microphone.  We hope, in due course, to be able to offer tea and coffee prior to the lecture in the comfortable Cafe Area. 

Instructions on how to get to the venue are as follows:  (Sat Nav GL51 6PN)

From Cheltenham: Take the A40 out of town towards Gloucester. After passing GCHQ on your right take the first left at the next roundabout, then first left into Hatherley Lane. Continue down this road passing the Nuffield Hospital on your right and then Wade Court on your left.  The Pavilion is on the left immediately after Wade Court. 

Alternatively, take the A40 out of town and then first left after the Texaco Garage into Hatherley Road. At the fourth mini roundabout turn right into Hatherley Lane, continue straight ahead at two further roundabouts and the Pavilion is clearly signed on the right.

There is one further event that our Society will be involved in before the start of our new Season.  Cheltenham Arts Council are hosting a “Celebration of the Arts” event on Sunday 11th September on the Promenade from 11am until 3pm and The Arts Society Cheltenham will have a ‘market stall’ to raise the profile of our organisation and promote our activities with a view to attracting new members.  We will need to ‘man’ our stall for the duration of the event and if you feel you could offer some time on that day to help out it would be greatly appreciated.  Please let me, or any other Committee Member know, if you are able to help.

I hope that you have an enjoyable summer and that the weather is kind to us.

Best wishes

Belinda Hyland

I do hope that you are enjoying the lovely weather that we are having as we approach the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.  The Queen’s Jubilee celebrations always have particular significance for me as I was born the day the Queen ascended to the throne on 6th February 1952!  My own ‘platinum’ celebration will be with all my family, gathering from far and wide for a week’s holiday in Dorset in August. 

Those members that joined together for the visit to North Yorkshire in May enjoyed a really wonderful few days, visiting Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens, Harewood House,  the Hepworth Museum and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, RHS Harlow Carr and other trips en route.  We were very grateful to Carolyn McQuitty for her faultless organisation and we look forward very much to further visits organised by Carolyn in the forthcoming year.  We came back to meet again the following evening for a fascinating and entertaining lecture on ‘Clara, Rhino Superstar of the Grand Tour’ given by Clive Stewart Lockhart.

Our final lecture of the Season will be ‘Seaside Modern - Art on the Beach’ to be given by James Russell at 7.15pm on Tuesday 14th June at Jurys Inn.  James has been curating an exhibition on this subject at numerous locations around the country.  When I spoke to him recently he was ‘up a ladder’ preparing for the latest one in Hastings. This will be our final lecture at Jurys as we will be moving to our new ‘home’ at The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane, GL51 6PN for our new Season beginning in September.  Further information on our 2022/23 Programme of Lectures and other events, together with details about our new venue, will be sent to you in your Membership Renewal Pack next month. I do hope you will be joining us for another year.

There is one more event taking place this month which is the Day of Special Interest (DoSI) on the topic of ‘The Scandalous lives of The Bloomsbury Group’  which will be held on Thursday 9th June at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  This day of lectures will be given by Frank Woodgate and full information about the event can be found on our website.  If you haven’t already booked and would like to attend please contact our Study Day organiser Valerie Aris directly by email studydayva@theartssocietycheltenham.org.uk as she will be away from home for the week prior to the Study Day.

One of our near neighbours, The Arts Society Worcester, is organising a Day Trip to Hampton Court Castle and Stockton Bury Gardens, near Leominster, Herefordshire on Thursday 30th June.  They are extending an invitation to our members to join them and full details can be found  by clicking here.  Alternatively contact their Visits Secretary, Lynda Townsend on 01905 774123 or by email lyndatownsend@btinternet.com Closing date for booking is Friday10th June.

As well as various Jubilee Celebration events taking place in and around Cheltenham this month here are a few other events that you might be interested in. 

En Plein Air Art Competition, Montpellier Gardens, Saturday 11th June from 10am - 5pm, open to traditional 2D artists of all ages, media and styles.  For more information visit wtscollective.co.uk

Junction 12 Art Group presents Freedom Exhibition, a diverse range of paintings, drawings and fused glass. June 22nd - 28th 10-5 each day. Lower Slaughter Village Hall, GL54 2HU

The ’22 Show, John Piper and Mid-Century Art: A New Collection 27th May - 5th June.   The Hall, Elmslie House, Great Malvern WR14 3AG  www.fiftiesart.com

I hope you have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend and I look forward to seeing you at our final lecture of the season.

Spring is well and truly here now and we have been fortunate to enjoy successive fine days with the opportunity to spend time outdoors.  I have enjoyed walks with my cocker spaniel, Nell, visiting some lovely bluebell woods nearby. Festival Season is now with us too and I’m sure many of you will be enjoying events at the Jazz Festival. 

In April we had a most interesting lecture on ‘Cambridge College Gardens & their History’ given by Dr Ann Benson. A number of members also enjoyed a very enlightening DoSI (Study Day) on ‘ Radicals and Rivals; Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore’.   For those of us joining the trip to Yorkshire from 5th to 9th May it was a splendid introduction to our forthcoming visit to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Both these last two events have been postponed from 2020 so it is great to be able to enjoy them at last.

Our next lecture on Tuesday 10th May at 7.15pm at Jurys Inn has the intriguing title of ‘Clara, Rhino Superstar, Wonder of the Grand Tour!’ Our lecturer Clive Stewart-Lockhart will be telling us the story of this magnificent beast, shipped to Holland in 1741, who spent 20 years visiting all the major courts of Europe. Her tour was captured in paintings, porcelain, bronze, clocks and even hairstyles! Sounds fascinating.

There is a further DoSI on ‘The Art and Scandalous Lives of the Bloomsbury Group’ which will be given by Frank Woodgate on Tuesday 9th June at The Bowling Club, Suffolk Square.  Further information and a booking form for this event can be found on our website or contact Valerie Aris on studydayva.cheltenham@theartssociety.org

It was with sadness that we said farewell to Bridget Pettigrew at our last lecture.  Bridget has been an outstanding member of our Society serving on the Committee for many years organising Study Days and more recently in charge of Communications, keeping the website up to date and setting up our Social Media pages, as well as being the first line of contact for both new and established members.  Bridget and her husband Tom have now moved to Manchester and we wish them both well. 

Now I have more news to impart.  Your Committee has recently been looking at the significant increase in costs that we are having to face, particularly in connection with our lecture venue which has caused us to make some difficult decisions.  Unfortunately the impact of these rising costs means that we will not be able to afford running our monthly lectures at Jurys Inn after our final lecture in June.  I know also that some members have had concerns about the seating layout and screen position and size at Jurys.  With this in mind we have found a new venue which we think will address these issues.  So from September 2022 our monthly lectures will be at The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham GL51 6PN.   The Pavilion is situated close to the Nuffield Hospital and Asda Superstore.  It has a light and airy reception hall together with a large auditorium with comfortable seating for 150, a raised platform for the speaker with modern lectern and a large screen. There is parking for 100 cars, level access and a ‘Cafe’ room which we can make use of.  The Committee hope that The Pavilion will provide us with a long term and, more importantly, affordable new home. Further details on how to get there will be provided on our new season Programme Cards which will be issued in August.

I have just returned from an Arts Society meeting in Cardiff with other Chairs. We were given a presentation on Koestler Arts an organisation which works with young people in Young Offenders Institutions, prisons and secure training centres giving them encouragement, mentoring and support to be creative in all aspects of the arts.  They have an annual Awards Scheme and a selection of entries are shown at an exhibition in London and at events around the UK.  Some of the success stories were inspiring and you, like me, might be interested to find out more at koestlerarts.org.uk

Best wishes
Belinda Hyland


 

After some really lovely weather it looks like we are returning to some colder days but hopefully not for too long. With the terrible situation continuing in Ukraine and the pictures of the  devastated towns and communities on the news I am grateful for the small pleasures that we are  able to enjoy such as sunny walks outdoors and the lovely displays of spring bulbs that are seen  everywhere. (Please see information about ‘A Ukraine Benefit Study Day’ at the end of this letter.)

March saw us enjoy an excellent lecture from Sandy Burnett on ‘The Ballet Russes and the  astonishing 1913 premiere of The Rite of Spring’. The music and video clips were an added  bonus to an excellent presentation. Our Social Coffee Morning was well supported, despite the  poor weather. We were delighted to welcome local artist Martyn Dymott who brought along some  of his work and gave us an insight into his style of painting, in different mediums, and educated us  all in the new area of digital art (a la David Hockney). Those who attended found it a most  enjoyable and informative morning. We intend to host more local artists and possibly other  speakers at future Coffee Mornings but will probably pause these now until the Autumn. 

So, moving on, I am now looking forward very much to our lecture on Tuesday 12th April at  7.15pm to be given by Dr Ann Benson ‘Cambridge College Gardens - their History from the 13th  Century’. From her research of the sixteen colleges founded in Medieval and Tudor times Ann  illustrates the beautiful architectural features of the buildings and reveals how the college grounds  have changed across time. 

A number of members will be joining the trip to North Yorkshire in May organised by Carolyn  McQuitty, which will include a visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth Wakefield. And, in  advance of this, a Day of Special Interest (DoSI) on “‘Radicals and Rivals’- How Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson changed art in Britain” - will be given by Jo Walton on  Thursday 21st April. This event is now fully booked but, if interested, please contact Katherine Judge at studydaykj.cheltenham@theartssocisety.org.  in case of late cancellations.

A further DoSI will take place on Thursday 9th June at The Bowling Green, Suffolk Square, Cheltenham, GL50 2DX  entitled ‘The Art and Scandalous lives of the Bloomsbury Group’ to be given by Frank Woodgate and  organised by Valerie Aris. The Bloomsbury Group are possibly almost as well known for their  unconventional personalities and lifestyles as for their art and literature. They managed to outrage  people at the time and intrigue us still today. Please click here to download a booking form or contact Valerie at studydayva.cheltenham@theartssociety.org  for more information on this  Study Day.

As always, our Society is in need of support from all our members in order to be able to continue  to offer the variety of events that we all enjoy. We will have a number of vacancies on our  Committee soon and we are always looking to expand our team of willing volunteers who can give  an hour or two of their time on an adhoc basis to help out in a variety of ways. Please talk to me  or any Committee member if you can help in any way. 

I look forward to seeing you at our next lecture and the other events taking place over the next  few months.
 

Best wishes
Belinda Hyland

The Arts Society Richmond is organising an event and is inviting support for a Ukraine Benefit  Study Day on Tuesday 12th April at 10.30am. Their Chair, Richard Lebus, has asked other Arts  Societies to advertise this event.

“Please would you support our fundraising study morning on Zoom and YouTube on Tuesday 12th  April at 10.30am, tickets £25.  All proceeds will be donated to the British Red Cross, Ukraine  Crisis Appeal. The speaker is Arts Society lecturer Dr Kathy McLaughlan. The study morning is an  introduction to the 19th century Ukrainian artist Ilya Repin and the landscape paintings of  Ukrainian artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, Russian artist Ivan Shishkin and Lithuanian artist Isaac Levitan.”

A link to the programme and Booking Information is included below.

https://mcusercontent.com/9f782c3f9eb2b151524c75df8/files/77e0f664-db42-6362-57ae-1d7205f5463b/Ukraine_Benefit_Study_Morning_12.4.22.docx.pdf
 

As I write this newsletter, dramatic events are happening in the world that are concerning to us all. The news is not good and it is hard to think positively but I will do my best to tell you about other events that TASC are involved in that may give you something to look forward to in the months ahead.

A few days ago I was delighted to be able to host a Zoom webinar with lecturer and Tour Guide Stuart Harvey who took us on a wonderful visit to Rome to visit its Monumental Squares and Fountains. I was not alone in being reminded of past visits and filled with a determination to try and see Rome again in person before too long such was Stuart’s enthusiasm, knowledge and anecdotes about the city that entertained us all. My thanks go to Bridget Pettigrew who organised the event and went to great lengths to ensure it’s success.

We can now look forward to our next lecture on Tuesday 8th March to be given by Sandy Burnett ‘Shaken by an Earthquake: The Ballets Russes and the astonishing 1913 premiere of The Rite of Spring’. This lecture has been a long time in coming having been postponed by Covid restrictions from 2020 and then 2021. Can I just remind you that members should use the marked footpath on the left-hand side of the drive leading back up to Jurys Main Reception at the front of the hotel from the car park at the rear. The hotel has confirmed that the side access initially used by us is an emergency pathway and should only be used in those circumstances. The doors to the lecture theatre will be open from 6.45pm and the lecture will begin promptly at 7.15pm, with any important notices just beforehand so please allow enough time to register at the ‘tick-in’ desk before taking your seats.

On Friday 11th March we will be holding another Social Coffee Morning from 1030 -1230 at the Bowling Club, Suffolk Square. A small fee of £5 is payable on the day. As an added interest we are delighted to offer members the opportunity to meet local artist Leanne Courtney-Crowe who will be with us as “Artist in Residence”. Leanne will give a brief introduction to her work and show one or two pieces, before taking the opportunity to work on a piece as a talking point during the morning. We hope that she will be the first of a series of artists to join us for coffee from time to time. A foretaste of Leanne’s beautiful work can be found at www.wildandabstract.com.

You should have received a reminder from Carolyn McQuitty our Visits Organiser regarding the day trip to Wedgwood World on Thursday 31st March and the five-day tour of North Yorkshire in May. We now have a cut-off date for the Wedgwood visit of 20 March and very limited availability on the North Yorkshire tour. Full details of both events can be found on our website and Carolyn looks forward to hearing from you if you would like to attend either, or for further information, on visits.cheltenham@theartssociety.org or on 01242 581291.

You should also by now have received your copy of the Spring edition of The Arts Society Magazine. I was so pleased to see a piece in the ‘Your Societies’ section about the fantastic day of arts activities organised by Elise Forbes, our Arts Volunteering co-ordinator, held at St John’s Primary School last September with funding from ourselves and a grant from Cheltenham Arts Council. I was delighted to be able to attend the wonderful finale of the day and to see the enjoyment that all the children had gained from their shared learning of the arts. Elise was also instrumental in securing a grant from The Arts Society this year which was given to Cheltenham Children's Choir. We are very pleased to see that their leader Amber Smith has been awarded the Cheltenham Opera Group Cup. Visit our website for more news about this.
I have added below some other items that have been suggested by members that may be of interest to you.

At a recent visit to the Museum of Royal Worcester Penny McCracken picked up a leaflet about photographing the collection. Apparently very little of the collection has been photographed and one purpose of the leaflet was to ask for volunteers to write the text for the catalogue entries. The volunteers would work with experts to do this and in many cases this work can be done from home. If you are interested you are invited to contact Caroline Engevi: caroline@museumofroyalworcester.org; 01905 21247.

Fresh Air Sculpture is a contemporary sculpture and craft show taking place in the extensive gardens of Quenington Old Rectory, Gloucestershire from 5 – 26 June 2022. This biennial curated event prides itself on showcasing and selling unique sculptural pieces as well as decorative arts in a beautiful outdoor setting. For further details: 

http://www.freshairsculpture.com/@freshairsculpture

A guest, from the Arts Society Bristol, who attended our Rome tour thought that you might be interested in a 1 hour long Lenten recital “Corvus Consort” at Clifton Cathedral at 7pm on 1st April. More concert and ticket information can be found at Clifton Cathedral: Bristol - Corvus Consort 

I do hope to see you at one or more of our events in March when we can start to enjoy longer days and with a bit of luck some more spring like weather. 

Best wishes

Belinda Hyland