Would you pay £1,000 for this post- card? - Picture Postcard Monthly

Postcard gateau forPlymouth anniversaryA couple with a remarkable100 per cent attendancerecord were accordedthe honour of cutting aspecial celebration cake atPLYMOUTH’S 10th anniversarysupper. Founder memberAnne and JerryFurneaux have been presentat every monthly meetingas well as all the otherannual events staged by theClub since its formation inSeptember 1999. The cakewas created in the image ofa comic seaside postcardwith a couple of Beryl Cooktype figures on PlymouthHoe claiming: “We are getting10 years younger everyday at Plymouth PostcardClub”. Expressing herthanks Anne said afterwards:“We feel ratherguilty at being rewarded forsomething we both enjoy,anyway. All the praiseshould be reserved for thisvery successful club’s hardworkingcommittee”. A surprisedAnne was also presentedwith a bouquet by 7-year old Sofia, granddaughterof club officials Harleyand Diana Lawer. Eighteenof the Club’s original 27founder members wereamong the 86-strong audiencewho were entertainedby the BBC Radio Devonpersonality Tony Beard andWestern Approach, a localclose harmony choir. Clubscene Behind the scenes at the Roadshow‘Antiques Roadshow’ star Paul Atterbury was at theREADING club in late September, sharing the secretsof the programme’s preparation and production.Nothing is rehearsed, so all the items brought alongare seen by the 20 or so experts for the first time onthe day. Paul answered lots of questions after his 45-minute talk, and then went on to judge the prize-winningpostcard in each of the four classes of the regularcard competition. Earlier in the month, JohnDevaney featured actress Gabrielle Ray, telling of herlife and roles in Edwardian theatre. Screen enlargementsof contemporary postcards lit up the room witha flashback to the Golden Age of picture postcards.Plymouth members gatheraround to watch AnneFurneaux cut their cake.The other side of the postcardwas revealed by JohnCopeland at MID-ESSEX ina superb talk and display onthe postal history aspect ofpostcards.Peter Howell provideda fascinating talk at SUS-SEX Postcard Club on theCuckmere Valley in September,starting his tour at thecoastguard station andmoving through a host ofvillages en route to Alfriston.The evening was afeast for the eyes and anenjoyable way of learningmore about the region.Meanwhile, it was timefor a change at the SHROP-SHIRE club. Members congregatedin the CastleGrounds at Shrewsbury,where they were then treatedto a guided tour of theShropshire RegimentalMuseum. John Taylor,museum assistant, was presentto provide a history ofthe building and a wealth ofdetail on the extensive militaryexhibits.November 2009 highlightsAberystwyth - swapmeet(2nd)Aylsham - Ian & Lynne Hurst are guest dealers(2nd)Bradford - Judith Holder looks at Christmas in WorldWar One(26th)Bristol - Graham Best profiles Edith Cavell(3rd)Canterbury & East Kent - Peter Kennett on theFaversham floods(25th)Cotswold - Arthur Price on old Frocester(12th)Croydon - Local social history with John Gent(5th)Dorset - AGM(11th)Ellesmere Port & Chester - informal meeting(17th)Exeter - David Baldock remembers bygones(24th)Farnborough - informal evening(4th) and quiz(18th)Ferndown - questions & answers forum(9th) and visitfrom Warminster PS(23rd)Frinton & Walton - Alan Mogeridge unveils MorrisDancing(10th)Huddersfield - AGM(11th)Lothian - AGM and Bring & Buy(13th)Maidstone - AGM(16th)Mendip - Annie Maw tells of her year as HighSheriff(16th)Mid-Essex - Lloyd Rust on being a valuer(12th)Norfolk - Richard Frost’s Postcard Quiz(11th)North Wales - David Rogers-Jones looks at History underthe hammer(9th)Northamptonshire - Colin Such from Warwick &Warwick tells of 30 years on the rostrum(10th)North-West Kent - German evening, with members’displays(23rd)Plymouth - Gerry Woodcock and Alex Mettler onTavistock’s WWII victims plus display on Royal armyMedical Corps postcards(11th) and club fair(15th)Reading - members’ dealing, with meeting open to thepublic for valuations(12th) and recent finds(26th)Red Rose - Margaret Croker in ‘Windmill Land’(18th)Shropshire - David Trumper with more Shrewsburypostcards(10th)South Wales - Barry Dock and Railway with JeffMorgan(12th)Strathclyde - Stuart Gough and Ian McPherson presentideas on presentation for Congress(16th)Surrey - John Young talks on Jack Phillips & TheTitanic (18th) and club fair(28th)Tayside - an evening with Royalty(25th)Torbay - Tony Moss with a light-hearted look at Torbayplus AGM(12th)Wirral - John Ryan explores publisher Bevan ofHeswall’s ‘Dingle’ series(5th)NORTH WALES enjoyed atop presentation, well-illustratedwith postcards andphotos, by Keith Hough ofthe bridges across the RiverDee. The big surprise wasthe huge number of crossings,including steppingstones and a tunnel. Perhapsthe most interesting isHandbridge, commissionedby three wealthy Chestermerchants, each of whomdesigned two arches.WEST LONDON’s guidedsummer walk took in theGreen and Riverside at Richmond,and included historicalinput on the town’s theatreand Palace, along withnearby fine buildings. Asighting of The Great RiverRace, including dragonboats,skiffs and cockleshells,was a real bonus! Dartmouth PostcardClub looks to be in trouble,with no-one taking upvacancies for either chairmanor secretary, and noprogramme planned for2010.The Autumn programme ofSOUTH WALES PostcardClub kicked off in great stylein September when speakerRoger Morgan arriveddressed from head to toe inthe authentic uniform of aship’s surgeon aboard oneof Admiral Nelson’s ships.Roger brought along anarray of surgical instrumentsof the period, someof which could have easilycome from a modern DIYhire-shop! One or twomembers of the audience‘volunteered’ to act as reluctantpatients. Much of theequipment that Rogerdemonstrated, stoppedshort (just) of blood-letting.The title of the talk - “Off inForty Seconds” - referred tohow quickly a qualified surgeoncould carry out anamputation! The audiencewas kept amused byRoger’s wit and matter-offactapproach, but it was notfor the squeamish. Not apostcard in sight the wholeevening, but it was stillenjoyable.18 Picture Postcard Monthly November 2009