70NADFAS REVIEW / SPRING 2011www.nadfas.org.ukSOCIETIES NEWS?BIRMINGHAM DFASBirmingham DFAS celebratedits 20th anniversary last October at the BirminghamMuseum and Art Gallery with over 180 members and guests. The address wasby the Lord Mayor ofBirmingham, focusing on theimportance of art and culturefor the City. Gri Harrison,National Chairman ofNADFAS, spoke about thechanging face of NADFASover the years. There wasalso time to admire thedisplays of work by theHeritage Volunteers, ChurchRecorders, Young Arts, pastvisits and special events.?HAPPY BIRTHDAY!Nancy Newton Jones is not only a founder member of Crosby DFAS (which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009), she turned 100 years old on 1 January. During WWII, Nancy worked in a munitions factory in Crosby. All our best wishes go to Nancy for this special birthday! ANNIVERSARIESRutland leads Venetian visitRutland DFAS recently organised avisit to Venice. Members from twoother local Societies; LeicesterDFAS and Market HarboroughDFAS, joined the trip. The guideprovided a fascinating insight intolife in Venice not just in the past,but also more recently as he haslived there for a number of years. While trips to museums and churches to view the scintillating art and architecture fed the mind, visits to local restaurants fed the body and good company fed the soul. Photo:The Ca' d'Oro museumon the Grand Canal, taken byTim GroomeDespite a gale whipping up asandstorm, Leicester DFASmembers battled their way ontoCrosby Beach to view AntonyGormley's statues looking out overa bleak sea. This was just oneof a varied programme of eventswhich took them for three days toLiverpool and the North-West. Awide range of historical and artisticvenues were covered - fromRoman Chester, via Port Sunlightinto Liverpool and finally on to the16th-century moated ManorHouse of Little Moreton Hall before returning to Leicester. Embroiderers wereoverwhelmed by the workdisplayed in the Elizabeth HoareEmbroidery Gallery in the AnglicanCathedral, Church Recorders were fascinated by the smallCheshire church of Astbury wheremost people met their first'hanging pyx', and no one willforget the laughter that thesandstorm provoked!Leicester storms through the North-West Dover & Deal do it by the bookDover & Deal DFAS Heritage Volunteers have been working to restore books since 1996 at a property with a particularly strong Jane Austenconnection: Goodnestone Park House nearCanterbury, Kent. The books were stored in a barn when the military requisitioned the house during World War II and during this period they sufferedconsiderable water and insect damage -so much so that it has taken 15 years to rectify. A collection of 1930s magazines detailing goods for sale and some very interesting fashionsfrom that era, as well as a Housekeeper's AccountBook containing an order for a side of beef to be sent up for the harvest supper were amongseveral items that provided particular fascination to the group. Now the project is nearing completion, and all ofthe Heritage Volunteers who enjoyed working withnew-found friends in such historic and beautifulsurroundings will miss their regular Wednesdaymornings at Goodnestone.

www.nadfas.org.ukNADFAS REVIEW / SPRING 2011 71SOCIETIESNEWSBath Evening DFAS is in the process of completing itsfourth CCT (Children's Church Trail). The threecompleted trails offer an alternative look at three quitedifferent churches: St Michael's Without and St Marythe Virgin in the City of Bath, and one in the Wiltshirevillage of Box, St Thomas a Becket. Bath Evening DFAS thanks local primary schoolsfor their role in the pilot trials and also Sarah Harris of the NADFAS National Church Trails Team for herinvaluable help. The final trail, at St Swithin's in Bath, is expected tobe finished around Easter. The team found the CCTexperience enjoyable, very rewarding andexceptionally informative.Bath Evening DFAS declares Church Trails great funLogo forms basis forMayford's symbolic workMayford DFAS supported an art project at New HawCommunity Junior School in Addlestone, Surrey, with agrant towards the funding of ceramicist Sadie James,who worked with the children to produce an artworkbased on the school's new logo (itself inspired by oneof the pupils). All the children in the school submittedtheir ideas for symbols and words they associate withtheir school. Staff worked with Sadie to choose someappropriate images to adorn the tree, which is thecentral part of the logo.Children then worked with Sadie to make clayshapes which were pieced together like a giant jigsawto form the finished ceramic. The pieces were glazedafter firing and the final artwork (pictured left) was then assembled in the main school corridor in theautumn term.?SANDERSTEAD DFAS Woldingham School was thesetting for a lunch celebrating30 years of SandersteadDFAS. During the receptionand after lunch, the memberswere entertained by the StAndrew's School Jazz Group.A donation of £100 was madeto school funds.?WEY VALLEY DFASWey Valley DFAS enjoyed twocelebratory events during2010 to mark the 21stanniversary of the Society: a lunch in May, followed by a dinner and musicalentertainment in September.At the summer event, twophoto albums (compiled byJudith Jessett) recording theSociety's history were also on display. Denise Topolski,West Surrey Area Chairman,was a guest at the dinner and Sally Hinton, the currentChairman, spoke of themembers' pride in the Societyand their gratitude to LadyFord (Valerie) (who sadly diedlast year) and her fellowpioneers who founded WeyValley DFAS in 1989. ANNIVERSARIES