Our next talk will be on Friday 17th May 2024, when Lesley Chamberlain will be talking to us about the history of Parham House. The talk will take place at the Steyning Centre and will start at 7.30 pm. Liquid refreshments will be served from 7 pm. Guests at our talks are always very welcome at our talks, subject to an admission charge of £5 each.
We are holding a quiz evening at The Steyning Centre on Friday, 12th July, starting at 7.30 pm, when our quizmaster will be Canon Nigel Hartley. Apart from having some fun, we hope to raise money for our grants, so please do come along. Further details will be announced nearer the date.
Last year, several members joined a trip to Parliament organised by Probus. This year, Probus is organising a coach trip to Wimbledon, the home of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, on 22nd May. They have invited members of the Society to join the trip, which costs £55 per person. The trip will include a guided tour of the Club. The coach will leave Steyning at 9am and will leave Wimbledon at 4pm to return to Steyning, with an estimated time of arrival in Steyning of 6pm. Further information about the trip can be found by following the link: Probus wimbledon[28337]. Anyone interested in joining the trip should contact Colin Harvey of Probus directly. His telephone number is 01903 823396 and his email address is colinharvey45@yahoo.co.uk.
This year’s Annual General Meeting was held at the Steyning Centre on 19th April 2024. The Annual Report presented to the meeting can be found by using the link Annual Report for 2023 – 24
The AGM was followed by the presentation of this year’s Steyning Bowl Awards, which were presented by Mr. Adam Whitehead, the Headteacher of Steyning Grammar School. The Steyning Bowl was presented to Jill Allen for her 41 years of outstanding work with Steyning Woodcraft Folk. In addition to the Bowl, she was presented with a certificate. Highly Commended Certificates were presented to Joan Denwood, for her work with the young at Steyning Museum, and to Wendy Francis and Sue Morris for their family support work at Steyning Parish Church. Certificates of Merit were presented to David Buckett, Linda Coleman, Mia Glass, Christine Humphries, Jane Oxley and Mike Kelly, Becky Smith, Percy Parsons, Paul Tiller and Samantha Wormleighton, all for their much appreciated work with young people at various organisations in Steyning.
The evening concluded with a talk by Dr Sue Roe about Charleston, which was once the home of the artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant and where the Bloomsbury Set used to meet.
Photographs of the evening can be found by using the link AGM photos. Please make sure that you put your cursor on the photograph you want to see and that you then click on it because the images shown on the gallery page are incomplete and do not show the full photograph. We are very grateful to Edward for taking these photographs for us and for helping to put them on the website.
Adam Whitehead
Headteacher of Steyning Grammar School
Jill Allen
For work with Woodcraft Folk for 41 years
Joan Denwood
Working with the young at Steyning Museum
Wendy Francis
Family support work at Steyning Parish Church
Sue Morris
Family support work at Steyning Parish Church
David Buckett
Teaching the young about their natural environment
Linda Coleman
Voluntary work at Steyning Primary School
Mia Glass
Work with Junior Cricket at Steyning Cricket Club
Brian Lavery led a walking tour of Old Portsmouth on 17th April. The group trod in the steps of Fanny Price of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. They stood by the Common Hard, where the Baltic Fleet set off for the Crimean War. They passed Buckingham House, where the Duke of Buckingham was murdered in 1628. They walked Nelson’s last walk, taking in the George Inn where he ate his last on-shore breakfast and the beach where he boarded the barge to convey him to HMS Victory. They even climbed the winding stone steps of the Round Tower, where families waved goodbye to sailors off on deployment. Catherine Mant has written an account of the tour, which can be seen by following the link OLd Portsmouth Walk
We have now made two visits to Embassy Court in Brighton, one in November 2023 and the other in January 2024. Embassy Court is a block of flats overlooking the seafront which was built in 1935, when it was a controversial Modernist building. Mary Travers has written an account of the visit, which can be seen by following the link: Visit to Embassy Court. Thanks to Maddie Blackburn and Paul Dennison for hosting the two visits. Unfortunately, the visit to Brighton and Hove Reform Synagogue was not possible because of events in the Middle East.
