Winter 11 Featuring: The Buckingham Palace Awards Ceremony ...

West Sussex
In June, a dozen members met at the
Bank of England Museum in London,
learning about the history of currency,
interest rates and other financial
matters. This was followed by a walk
to the Monument, designed by Sir
Christopher Wren, where three of the
party climbed the 311 steps to the top
for an aerial view of the city. The visit
ended with a visit to Tower Bridge,
with a walk over the upper section and
a look at the engine room.
In July, we were treated to an ‘after
closure’ tour of Petworth House. Our
guide took us round the house showing
us some of the great paintings by
Turner, Van Dyck and others that are
the treasures of Petworth.
The September event was a talk by
Barry Shears on ‘The Business of Art
in Renaissance Venice’ and in
October, a group of about 20 visited
the D-Day Museum and Southsea
Castle, before lunching at the Royal
Naval Club in Portsmouth.
All these activities helped to raise
funds to enable us to give £600 to the
last International Relations
Conference and £300 for the
International Public Speaking
Competition.
LONDON REGION
Holly Shakespeare, Don Miller
and Colin Dexter
A very busy time for London Region
with many highlights during the last
few months:
Early in August, we had a talk by
author Patricia Friedberg to introduce
her latest book 21 Aldgate. This book
illustrates the close relationship of the
artist Paul Maze with his painting
companion, Sir Winston Churchill, in
the war years.
Then later in the month, we had a
visit to Strawberry Hill House, home
of Horace Walpole, son of the one
time Premier Sir Robert Walpole.
Having received a grant following the
TV programme Restoration, the house
has been rebuilt in the original style,
and the visit was greatly enjoyed by
our members.
In October, we were oversubscribed
for a visit to the Royal Courts of
Justice, a couple of hours well spent,
which covered the history and the
architecture of this really interesting
building. This is a visit which may well
repeat in years to come, to try to
satisfy those we could not
accommodate on the day.
And finally, we have just had a brilliant
and very amusing talk by Colin
Dexter, author of the great Inspector
Morse novels. Like his alter ego
Morse, Colin is a crossword addict,
and he talked about his latest book
Cracking Cryptic Crosswords. For this
event, London Region was delighted
to welcome the Chairman and
Director-General, Dame Mary and
Peter Kyle, as well as great friends of
Colin’s Sir Jeremy and Lady Morse,
who gave the Inspector his name.
Finally, we are working with the ESU’s
Speech and Debate department on an
exciting new plan for a Performing
Shakespeare competition, covering the
8 and 9 years age group. The finals are
due to take place at Dartmouth House
in May of next year.
DIALOGUE 51