Our last Open Meeting, in September was also our AGM and was also therefore the last Meeting of the Group’s calendar year, running as it does from AGM to AGM. After the AGM, the Group is able to look back on the year just completed, and forward to the coming year.
One of the important things we look at is the Membership numbers. Before the AGM we had more than 70 Members, but only 47 renewals at the AGM, which is very disappointing and is the lowest total since the Group was formed. Looking on the bright side, the day of the AGM was not the best weatherwise and we always have late renewals shortly after the AGM. This has happened this year, and at the time of writing this Report (a month after the AGM), we now have nearly 60 members.
Hopefully, those who have not renewed their membership will do so before our next Open Meeting, which is our Christmas Social Evening on Friday 8th December. Tickets for this event will NOT be available on the night, nor will membership renewals, so please book or renew beforehand. (Just ring either our Secretary Derek (529859) or our Chairman Tony (521419). The Membership subscription is still only £5 per year, with Social tickets being just £2.50 for members and £3.50 for non-members.
Looking forward, we are pleased to tell you that our Secretary, Derek, has arranged our programme of Speakers for next year, and already is looking at our programme for 2019 (so leaving the EU will not be the only thing to look forward to in that year !). Our programme for the next 12 months is therefore as follows:-
FRIDAY 8th DECEMBER 2017
Our Christmas Social Evening, with humour and song from Maggie Duffy, plus of course, mince pies, mulled wine, a bumper raffle and a free “special prize” raffle with your ticket. More details of this elsewhere in this Magazine.
FRIDAY 9th MARCH 2018
Dr. Todd Gray is one of our most requested Speakers, and his talks are always interesting, informative and well researched.
His talk tonight is titled “Marldon & Elizabethan Insults in Devon” and promises to be amusing as well!
FRIDAY 8th JUNE
“Warhorse” is the latest talk by Dartmoor expert Paul Rendell. This talk, illustrated by many photographs, is the story of the making of the recent successful Steven Spielberg film (based on the book by Michael Murpurgo and the award winning stage play), and filmed on locations on Dartmoor.
FRIDAY 7th SEPTEMBER
“Policing the Peninsula” is an illustrated talk by Simon Dell, and is a history of policing in the West Country, with some amusing anecdotes. Simon is new to our Group, partly due to his being a much in demand Speaker, and we are looking forward to hearing about his somewhat unusual subject.
Our Open Meetings are open to all – Members and non-members. Admission is free to Members and £2 for non-members (the coffee and biscuits alone are worth the admission!).
Finally, may we remind former Members and non-members that new Members are always welcome – the subscription is only £5 per year. As mentioned above, please contact either our Secretary or Chairman to renew your subscription, or to join, or to get your tickets to our Christmas Social Evening.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Marldon Local History Group 