I hope
that you had a jolly good festive season, and may I take this
opportunity although it be late in wishing you "A Very Happy
1997".
Christmas
shopping was a last minute affair for us, as Eileen and I did not
return from holiday until late November, and I did manage to get
through 14 rolls of Velvia film, and I did the annual cock-up
with two rolls, they were exposed at 100ASA and not at the
correct rating of 50 ASA for Velvia, so I am keeping fingers crossed
and hope for the push processing to do ts stuff, and I will let you
know what happens.
You will I`m sure
have noticed in the most recent newsletter that committee changes
have taken place, and that I have moved to one side to try to fill
Ron`s shoes as Secretary, and that kevin has taken over as Chairman.
Kevin`s wife Sandra, has also kindly taken up the Treasurers post. I
was very pleased that they both accepted as they have done a great
deal of work for the club in the past, mostly in the background due
to Kevin`s work commitments, but still very much appreciated, they
are a good team, and many thanks once again. Now that the committee
is back to full strength, I am sure that the club is on a firm
strong footing for the future, and after my trip to "Photokina"
last September, I think that this showed that silver halide still
has a very good future, and that the electronic medium will run
parallel with it.
I am also pleased to
tell you that Ron Croad is continuing with film sales, but as he is
now retired he is having more holidays and so will not be at home as
much as he used to, please if you are going on holiday, or you need
film for a special event, please try to give Ron at least three
weeks notice so that you will get your film in time, also the best
time I have found for contacting him during the winter is either
before 11am or after 4pm. Ron has also told me, that he can now
supply `Konica` print film in 30 metre tins, please contact Ron for
prices etc, his address and telephone number are in the newsletter
(page 16).
By the time you read
this newsletter, we will have arrangements well under way for this
years Show/AGM, and I hope this will be one of the best insertions
into your new 97 diary. After last years success we again booked the
`Undercroft` at Repton School, Repton Derbyshire, and we have gone
one better and have also booked the `Tithe barn` which was
originally the collecting point for the tithes and taxes for the
Augustinian monastery, and is now a proper projection room with a
seating capacity for 150. It is only about 30 yards or so from the
Undercroft, so we will set up all the projectors and equipment in
this room, and will be locked and we will not have to black out the
lovely windows and spoil the setting in the Undercroft.
Also gaining
experience from last year, when time got the better of us, we hope
to start earlier and get the club business out of the way as quickly
as possible so that we can get onto the main entertainment events
sooner, so I hope the program will be as follows, doors will be open
from 10.00 AM with meeting friends and chatting and coffee, with the
AGM starting at 11.15, with luck we could be finished about 6pm. At
present we have no final program, and this is where you come in to
the equation, and I hope you will supply the rest of the
entertainment for the day. As I have said before, I would like to
get more members involved, and this year I would like to try a 10
for 10 slot, and this is for a member to show ten slides and give a
little talk on them for ten minutes, and this can be on any subject
or theme. This event is not all we require so if you have just a few
slides or a slide/AV that you wish to show, we will of course make
time available for it.
Also, after last
years success of the "Slide of the Year" competition, we
will run this again, the trophy was won last year by John batty from
Area 11, will John win again this year? he could have a lot of stiff
opposition this year. I
think we should though, limit the entries to three slides per
member, but if we have too many we will have to cut it down to 2
slides, but you do not have to beat Repton to enter (but I hope you
will) so please let me have your slides as soon as possible, and
also to put them in order of preference. If you wish to show prints
(we had some great ones last year) or take a part in any of the days
events with any slides or AV`s etc, Please!, let me have details as
soon as possible. I know it seems a long time way off, but time goes
very quickly, and it would be nice to have a completed program by
the middle of March! Your help and Club support is very much
appreciated.
As Repton is such a
lovely historic village, it will pay you to get there early, and to
have a walk around the grounds and buildings, there is plenty of
scope for some pictures. I saw, and liked the shots that some of our
members took at last years show, (they were shown at the October
Didcot meet), and with the weather being kind, there was some good
stuff, if you make the effort to attend I am sure you will enjoy the
day, again, as I always have said Its your Club, you pays the subs.
You are the only one who can make it a success. If you would like to
stay in the village either before or after the meeting, I can
thoroughly recommend `Bower Lodge` for Bed & Breakfast, I stayed
there last year, and will do so again this year, it is in the heart
of the village and only about ten minutes from the school itself,
contact Mrs. E. Plant, Bower Lodge, Well Lane, Repton, Derbyshire,
DE15 6EY. Tel. 01283-702245. and I would advice booking early.
I have had some
recent requests from a couple of members, wanting copies of past
newsletters, in fact I have for some time now been working on a
"Hints and Tips" supplement for the Hand book, not quite
finished yet though, but also an idea for a project after that, was
a full data list of articles that have appeared in the newsletter,
giving issue number an dates, but I think for the present, your first port
of call should be to your Area Co-ordinator together with an SAE,
and a small copy charge. If this fails I would be happy to send them
to you, under the same conditions, I have most of the newsletters,
going back to some of the first ones, when the club was first
formed, although the
technology is old hat now,they make quite interesting reading
Best Regards
Pete.