CHAIRMAN’S REPORT I hope you have all enjoyed this NADFAS year as much as I have. There have been a number of outstanding memories which I will refer to later in this report. If I am being honest, there have also been one or two lectures which have been a little disappointing. Let me emphasise the highlights. Working with your outstanding Committee has been so rewarding. As I have mentioned before, each member is extremely self motivated, efficient and supportive of other members. I really do look forward to each Committee meeting as they are great fun, ideas flow, we all get on so well together and work as a team. Although the monthly lectures form the backbone of our annual Programme, it is the other events, such as the Special Interest Days, the Church Visits with Tim Bridges, the Christmas lunch and lecture, the visits to the ballet, the opera and places of interest, plus our overseas trip, which have enhanced the value of membership of Stourbridge DFAS. I am delighted to report that our membership numbers have held up very well. Currently we have 363 members, lectures are regularly attended by over 200 and all our other events tend to be over-subscribed. However, for the very first time we no longer have a waiting list. Vice Chairman and SIDs This is my annual opportunity to put in writing my personal thanks, firstly, to Stephen Brown, our Deputy Chairman, for always being there when I needed help, and for his brilliant organisational skills. In January, 2015, Stephen managed to secure 50 tickets for us to attend the National Gallery’s very popular exhibition - "Rembrandt: The Late Works." The pleasure we derived from the visit was greatly enhanced by the lecture Stephen had arranged to take place in the gallery before the visit, which gave us an insight into the development of Rembrandt’s style and paint techniques. In February, Stephen arranged for Anne Haworth to tell us all about "The Phoenix at the Fall of Empire." This was an opportunity to learn about three Chinese Empresses and their influence on the Imperial Art Collection. This turned out to be a fascinating day, an insight into a little known about subject. In November, Will Farmer, held two Special Interest Days on "Art Deco - The Age of Elegance." Who will ever forget his breathtaking images of the 1925 Paris Exhibition? Treasurer My next thanks go to the Ray Way, who has been our Treasurer for so many years. Ray has decided to resign from his post and I cannot tell you how much he will be missed. His influence has permeated every sphere of our activities, whether it is membership, the lecture programme, the costing for every event, liaison with Head Office, overseas holidays; his knowledge, commonsense and experience have been invaluable. However, we are incredibly lucky that Gillian Shaw has agreed to take on the onerous mantle of Treasurer but, with Gillian’s eye for detail, I am sure she will keep us on the straight and narrow. Programme Secretary Jane Grazebrook also deserves my very special thanks because she performs the most important role on the Committee. As Programme Secretary she is in charge of everything to do with our monthly lectures, which includes selecting the lecturer, booking him/her - perhaps years in advance, negotiating with the Town Hall, ensuring the right equipment is in place, getting the lecturer to the Town Hall in good time, which could mean providing accommodation or meeting them at the station. Jane is also expected to provide lunch and return the lecturer to the station. This year we are indebted to the Town Hall staff for lobbying so hard to enhance the size of the screen and improve the sound system. We have all benefited from Dudley’s decision to spend so much more money on the venue’s technical facilities. Jane provided us with a varied and stimulating lecture programme, everything from Nazi Looted Art, Portmeirion, Pub Signs, The History of Pantomime to, my personal favourite - Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes. I would like to draw a veil over "Landseer and the Lion Tamer." Secretary Our hard-working secretary, Jenny Wilcox, is super efficient. Although each member of the Committee has a specific role Jenny is the one who knits us together so that we work as a team. There are many facets to the role of Secretary besides Minute taking at meetings, we really would be lost without Jenny’s experience, advice and detailed knowledge of NADFAS. Single-handedly, Jenny organises the Christmas Lunch, which is a highlight in our calendar and seems to be more successful each year. Membership Every Committee should have a Colin Roberts, he is so clever, knowledgeable and hard working. As Membership Secretary he is the first contact members have with the Society, he handles all our I.T. problems and is responsible for all the Society’s data. Colin initiated the newsletter you receive each month giving advance information about the forthcoming lecture. He has persuaded three-quarters of the membership to accept all communications by email, and the system he set up whereby Members can give us feedback on each lecturer goes from strength to strength. Your feedback is essential to us because, of course, we need to complete assessment forms for Head Office after each lecture. Colin is also responsible for all the information you see on the screen before the lecture, which seems to me to becoming very sophisticated. Colin is an invaluable member of the Stourbridge Committee and I would like to thank him personally for making my life so much easier. Heritage Volunteers Frederica Kelly has earned my grateful thanks and admiration this year because she has taken on the role of Heritage Volunteers Co-ordinator. As you know, we have 23 volunteers working in Hagley Hall examining and documenting thousands of records which relate to the hall and family. The volunteers have already completed more than 2000 hours but there are still thousands of records to be examined. Frederica organised a very successful visit to The Hive in Worcester where we had a guided tour behind the scenes and volunteers had the opportunity to see for themselves how the archives were stored and cared for, particularly the Lyttelton collection. Young Arts As usual, Ann Norgate is working hard to promote the arts amongst the young in our area. This year she has been heavily involved in supporting Kidderminster Young Voices, working with four primary schools to encourage a lifelong love of singing. Ann’s enthusiasm is definitely infectious, she has so many ideas of how to encourage and support young people to appreciate or become involved in any facet of the arts. We had not realised how cunning it was to persuade Ann to join the Committee, since not only has she made such a success of her role but we have also gained the support and extensive expertise of her husband, Paul, who manages our WEB site. No doubt the Stourbridge DFAS WEB site is your first port of call when you switch on your computer each day! Visits Last year, if you remember, Jenny Allen had just come on to the Committee and had agreed to take on the task of organising visits. The two visits she has organised this year - the ballet in February and Kedleston Hall in July were really successful. Coppelia is such a beautiful masterpiece, there is little to rival it in the world of ballet. We try to keep the price down for these theatre visits and it really does represent good value when you consider it includes parking, coach travel, gratuities, lunch in a private room and the theatre ticket. Kedleston Hall in July was an inspired choice of Jenny’s as there was so much to see. The house boasts the most complete and least altered sequence of Robert Adam’s interiors in England, and the gardens and parkland were a delight. As you know, we should have gone to The Burrows garden in Derbyshire, on the way to Kedleston but, due to the unexpected, sudden death of the owner, Jenny had to hurriedly find another garden which would welcome 55 visitors. It was such a pity as Jenny had done so much research and had visited and negotiated with the owner and designer of The Burrows but it was not to be. Cascades was a little disappointing in comparison, and the weather did not help, however, Kedleston made up for the setback with a delicious lunch and so much grandeur. Church Visits Carolyn Morgan Jones is not only our resident legal eagle and guardian of our constitution but the organiser of the Society’s most popular visits - the Churches with our expert tour guide - Tim Bridges. As Tim reminded us, this year was the tenth anniversary of our first Churches tour and, during those years, we have visited 65 Churches. Our two groups, one in May the other in October, enjoyed visiting the remote landscape and delightful towns and villages of the border country between Herefordshire and Radnorship. Carolyn and Tim chose an excellent place for lunch - the Radnorship Arms in Presteigne but they did not arrange the weather. The sun did not shine on the righteous as we had sudden rainstorms both in May and October. Each of the Churches we visited had something very special for us to see in the way of historical or architectural features of all periods but the one we all marvelled at was the tiny timber-framed Friends Meeting House in Almeley, which was so simple but very special. Committee All the Committee are very grateful to Jenny Cochrane, Liz Bullas and Susan Price for ensuring that coffee, tea and biscuits are available before the lecture each month. It makes such a difference before the lecture to be greeted with a smile and to then have the opportunity to talk with ones friends. Sadly, we are going to lose two of our key Committee members at the A.G.M. - Jenny Cochrane and Ray Way. Jenny has been part of Stourbridge DFAS since its inception and, during that time, she has very successfully fulfilled a number of roles. However, her great strength is that, because of her detailed NADFAS knowledge she can, and has, stepped into the breach on a number of occasions. We are going to miss you very much Jenny; the Committee meetings will not be the same without you. As have said many times, Ray Way has been my mentor over the last three years I have relied on him so much for guidance; he has so much commonsense, business acumen and wisdom. Thank you Ray for all you have done for Stourbridge DFAS and for me personally. In conclusion, as Stourbridge DFAS looks forward with confidence to another successful year, and my reign of terror comes to an end, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your loyalty, enthusiasm and friendship throughout the past three years (does it seem much longer) and ask for your continued support for all our activities in the coming year. Committee Reports SPECIAL INTEREST DAYS The year started with 50 members visiting the "Rembrandt - the Late Works" Exhibition at the National Gallery where 40 of his most highly regarded portraits were displayed together with studies and drawings. Before visiting the Galleries, an excellent talk was given by Gayna Pelham on Rembrandt's development to become one of the greatest masters of the Dutch Golden Age. She explained how his technique with brush and paint brought out the essential character of his subjects. In February 2015, Anne Haworth held a Study Day on "The Phoenix at the Fall of Empire". This was a fascinating insight into the influence of three Chinese Empresses on the Imperial Art Collection as well as on the political events of their times. Following the fall of the last Emperor, the Art Collection was dispersed but is now being brought back together between China and Taiwan. A full house of 50 members enjoyed this tour through the 18th and 19th Centuries of China's art and history. In November 2015, Will Farmer of Fieldings Auctioneers and Antiques Roadshow fame returned to hold two Study Day on his own personal favourite art era from 1925 to 1938 - "Art Deco - The Age of Elegance". His knowledge and enthusiasm for this period ensured that both days were a great success with the 100 members who attended. He had with him a number of his own examples of Art Deco items which he spoke about as well as those brought by members. My thanks to all those members of the Committee whose help is invaluable on these days. Stephen Brown VISITS In February we went to the Hippodrome for a performance of Coppelia by the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Once again, thanks to Ray Way, we had excellent seats. As many of the critics had said, Peter Wright’s production was a classic masterpiece, and we were so pleased to see the awe inspiring Momoka Hirata as the principal ballerina. The Hippodrome provided a very enjoyable lunch in their PWC suite, which gave us all an opportunity to socialise before the performance. Our coach visit to Derbyshire in July proved to be a fascinating day out. We visited the Cascade Gardens, near Ashbourne, in the morning (dodging the showers) where we were provided with coffee and delicious homemade cake, before wandering around the unique garden, which has been hollowed out of the hillside. In the afternoon, we visited Kedleston Hall which is considered to be one of the grandest and most perfectly finished houses by Robert Adams. Now owned by the National Trust, Kedleston was built between 1759 and 1765 for the Curzon family. It contains a collection of fine paintings, sculptures and furniture, plus a remarkable range of objects collected by Lord Curzon when he was Viceroy of India. We enjoyed a super lunch in the Servants’ Hall – knowing our place – with a complimentary glass of wine, which was very much appreciated. We concluded our day by exploring the "pleasure garden," the fascinating church and surrounding parkland. Jenny Allen OVERSEAS TRIP In May, 32 of us went to Provence and, judging from the feedback, this holiday proved to be one of the very best we have organised. The key ingredients which made it so successful were, firstly, the Tour Manager, he had a very clear voice, his French was fluent and he managed to charm everybody he came into contact with. He even supplied us with a list of recommended restaurants, museums and places of interest, which were not on our itinerary, but we could visit in our free time. Secondly, the weather was a great plus, but the whole atmosphere of Aix, where we were based, and the other towns we visited, with their antiquity and the light, which so inspired Cezanne and Van Gogh, was just perfect. Thirdly, the hotel in Aix was excellent for our purpose, right in the middle of Aix, with a beautiful garden and swimming pool, the staff were incredibly helpful and kind, and the food was very good. Tailored Travel have used photographs of our groups’ happy, smiling faces, taken by Carolyn Morgan Jones, in their 2016/17 brochure, to sell their Provence trip, I wonder if we could claim royalties. Travel Group. HERITAGE VOLUNTEERS A band of Heritage volunteers is working at Hagley Hall on the Lyttleton family 20th century archives. These archives comprise a large number of boxes to be meticulously worked through, however, we have 23 very willing workers (archivists and local historians amongst them) who are enjoying their work. Each letter, bill, miscellaneous piece of paper and photograph is examined, and recorded so as to simplify retrieval in the future. We began in March last year and attend on Mondays for three hours on a rota system. We have already completed over 2000 hours of research, with some way to go. If any member has three hours a month to spare and would be willing to join one of the teams I would be delighted to hear from you. We had a very successful visit in November to The Hive in Worcester to see the Lyttleton archives. I think the visit inspired us and made us realise how important this work is and how much it is valued. Frederica Kelly. CHURCH TOURS Tim Bridges promised us a land of mystery and dragons for our 2015 tour of Churches of the Welsh Borders and we were not disappointed. Our two groups, in May and October, enjoyed visiting the remote landscape and delightful towns and villages of the border country between Herefordshire and Radnorshire. The churches were mainly medieval buildings with interesting historical and architectural features of all periods from before the Norman Conquest to the present day. At All Saints, Monkland we received a particularly warm welcome from the churchwarden, Janet Butler, whose father came from Stourbridge and had sung in St John’s Church choir in the 1930s. This Norman monastic church had been restored in 1866 for the Rev Henry Williams Baker, first chairman of the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern. We drove on to Almeley where we visited, first the fine 14th century church with Victorian restoration, and then, in complete contrast, the tiny timber-framed Friends Meeting House. There we were welcomed by one of the Friends, who told us the history of this simple but uplifting building and its membership. As we drove over the border and into Presteigne we saw the dragon - a delightful sculpture of a sleeping red dragon, placed at the entrance to the town as a memorial to the Welsh soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War. After a good lunch at The Radnorshire Arms we walked down to the large town church of St Andrew’s. Both in May and October we battled through sudden rainstorms, arriving wet and bedraggled. We were welcomed by the vicar, who told us about the annual Presteigne Music and Arts Festival. A delightful drive up into the hills took us to the charming small medieval church of St Michael, Discoed, which had been recently re-ordered in a most imaginative way. Our final visit was to the large medieval church of St Stephen, Old Radnor, high on a hill overlooking the Radnor forest. Here we enjoyed a splendid tea, which in October was shared with another coach party, who had arrived unexpectedly just before us. Fortunately there was plenty for all! 2015 was the tenth anniversary of our first churches tour with Tim. During those years we have visited 65 churches in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Staffordshire and Birmingham and have benefited from Tim’s detailed knowledge of the individual churches and their arts and architecture, together with his excellent commentaries on the history and geography of those areas. This year was no exception, introducing us to a beautiful but little known part of the country and its treasures. Carolyn Morgan Jones YOUNG ARTS I am very pleased to report that, since my last report, our highly successful Young Arts projects at Greenfields Primary and Brockmoor Primary Schools were highlighted in the NADFAS Review for Summer 2015. This year we have supported Kidderminster Young Voices in an excellent project, working with four primary schools in the Wyre Forest to give children the opportunity to develop their singing voices and to encourage a lifelong enthusiasm for singing. The project has involved recording songs and training teachers to support the children. On March 11th this year, children from all the schools involved, together with members of Primary Chords and Young Voices, will present a concert at Kidderminster Town Hall entitled Around the World with Francis Drake. Again this year we have supported a group of children from Chadsgrove Special School in a visit to the Barber Institute. The children were able to spend time in the galleries, dressing up to re-enact Jason's battle with the Bulls in Colchis and modelling heads from clay. I was not able to attend on this occasion, and so I would like to thank Gillian Shaw, Jenny Cochrane and our Area Chairman, Meriel Harris, who all spent an excellent day with the pupils. As we go forward, we are setting up an Art Competition for A Level students at King Edward’s VI form College in Stourbridge in June. Once again - and I say this with the utmost sincerity - I would like to thank your Committee for their generous support for Young Arts. It is so important that we encourage and support children and young people with both practical involvement in, and appreciation of, the arts. Ann Norgate |