March 2008 Update
In this Issue:
Chairman's Introduction
Society Business
Social Programme Reviews
Lecture Programme Reviews
CHAIRMAN'S INTRODUCTION
Marianne writes:
Our programme of talks for 2007/2008 is drawing to a close and we are looking forward to a rich programme of outings and summer social activities.
New Saturday activities
Based on the replies that we have received to the questionnaire which we sent out with the last Update, we are adding in some activities in which those members of the Society who are only in Deal at the week-end can be involved, as well as our other members. They will give more of us an opportunity to meet each other. We are also aware that we have some members who are no longer able to get to meetings but who wish to continue to support the Society. We really appreciate their continued interest and hope that they enjoy reading about our activities in the Update.
Planning and conservation
As you will read below in John Goodban's account of our February talk, despite atrocious weather many members were present to hear Clive Alexander and Alistair Gould discuss "Conservation or progress - how can they work side by side?". This reflects the interest of our members in planning and conservation issues as well as in our social activities, which could also be seen in your replies to our questionnaire. To ensure that planning and conservation are adequately addressed in the future, we are looking at dividing the work of the Committee into two sub-committees: one for our programme of talks, trips and social events and the other for planning and conservation matters.
We are planning to launch our new publication "Advice for owners of properties in the Deal and Walmer Conservation Areas" at the Spring Drinks Party on Friday 25 April at Glenhill. We are indeed grateful to Andrew and Alison Wollaston for making their house and garden available to us again. Given that we have a total of seven conservation areas in Deal and Walmer, the information in our publication, on which Jo Dempster and Brian Groser have worked so diligently, will be particularly useful. All members of the Society will receive a copy, free of charge.
We are being made more and more aware that decisions taken elsewhere will have an impact on our lives here in Deal and Walmer. This is why I have written on behalf of the Society concerning the Planning Reform Bill, which could affect the rights of local people and Councils to object to minor developments affecting their immediate neighbourhood. Together with other member organizations of the Civic Trust, our Committee is concerned that any national statements on major infrastructure projects must involve local people, that decisions must made by democratically accountable politicians, not by an unelected body, that local people should have the right to challenge projects at a public inquiry, that natural and historic resources must be protected and that all decision-makers should be obliged to promote sustainable development.
Collaboration with other organizations
As indicated above, for a society such as the Deal Society collaboration with other like-minded organizations is important. While we can write to our own MP about the Planning Reform Bill, "being heard" is much more effective when other organizations are also saying the same thing. With this in mind, we are inviting members of other local societies to come to meet with us in April. And on your behalf I have been attending meetings of the Kent Federation of Amenity Societies (KFAS) and the Civic Trust, who printed my letter to Gwyn Prosser in its publication "Grass Roots".
In conclusion, I would like to thank the members of the Committee for all their hard work, without which our Society could not function. And, I look forward to meeting you at our various events in the coming months.
SOCIETY BUSINESS
Unless otherwise attributed, contributions to the Update are written by the editor.
Extraordinary General Meeting,
12 December 2007
The meeting, called to consider amendments to the Society's Constitution, was due to start in the Landmark Centre at 5.00 pm, by which time 12 members had turned up. The quorum for these meetings is 20 members, so we could not start. The room had been hired and set up and our new portable PA system, was ready for its debut. By 5.30 we had only another 3 members, so decided to give up and adjourn to the Town Hall, encouraged by the prospect that the wine for the Christmas Drinks Party was due to be delivered then. Alas, the wine was late - another frustration.
Membership Secretary's postbag
I have to deal with a considerable amount of mail. To make life easier, please do not use staples or sellotape and please do not make cheques out to me (every request for payment states that cheques should be made payable to the Deal Society).
New members
Since the start of the year, Diane Birley, Patrick Hood, Graham Knibbs, John Mitchell, and Margaret Stocker have joined the Society - welcome to you all.
Subscription for 2008
At the time of writing, 4 standing orders and 27 cheques were outstanding. I have sent reminders to you all. If you have not paid this year's subscription (£8.00 single or £13.00 joint), please do so as soon as possible and at least by 31 March, on which date I shall clear the membership database of non-payers: we value your membership and need your continuing support, so I very much hope that I shall not have to delete any members.
Social programme 2008
You should have received amendments to the "Yellow Card", together with a booking form for this year's programme, with your AGM papers last month - please contact me if you did not.
Additional events to be held this year
We are conscious that members who have a week-day job or are only in Deal at week-ends cannot enjoy many of our trips and parties, so this year we are slotting into the social programme two Saturday fixtures:
Saturday 10 May - COFFEE MORNING. I enclose an invitation and hope to see many of you at the Landmark Centre.
Saturday 7 June - "ALL IN THE DOWNS". This walkabout and lunch will follow the same pattern as Simon Gregory's enjoyable and instructive guided tour last September. Please note that the number of walkers/lunchers has to be restricted to 40. I enclose an application form.
Important notice
In order to save time and expense, the Committee has agreed that in future I need not send out receipts for cheques which I receive for trips and parties, unless such receipts are required by the organiser(s) - as they will be for the July Summer Supper at the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, when menu choices will need to be recorded and presented on the night. I send out requests for payment before each event to those who have booked. If you have booked and do not receive a request for payment, you will be on the reserve list - don't despair: it is very rare that members are disappointed, as a number of those who have booked a place cancel at a late stage.
SOCIAL PROGRAMME REVIEWS
12 December 2007: Christmas Drinks Party
I like to think that this was a success. Certainly the noise level was high, Eileen Prosser's food was delicious and the Strand Wine Company did us well. There is no doubt that the Council Chamber is more suitable for a drinks party than the sit-down supper, which was held in the past. Thanks go to the Town Hall staff, who had already cleared the room by the time that Eileen and I arrived in the afternoon to make the final arrangements. And my particular thanks go to Bob Parkin, my co-barman who did not desert his post the entire evening, and to the kind members who helped to carry crates of bottles and glasses to the car park when it was all over.
LECTURE PROGRAMME REVIEWS
6 November 2007: "Deal: the end of one line, the beginning of another"
Pog Waite writes:
One day, forty years ago, a couple, who wanted to move out of London came to Deal. They went back with a house, or at least a firm offer for one. She was an established writer; he had been trying to write for years. Forty years on, he has nineteen published books and three in the pipeline.
David Donachie, who made this meeting a joy of insights into a writer's life, was half the couple; Sarah Grazebrook the other. He had been scheduled to do a double act with Frances Fyfield, but sudden family illness meant that Frankie could not be with us. So David, on his own, explained what effect Deal can have on a writer:
"there's something very positive about the people you meet;
"more interesting people here than we ever met in London;
"it felt like coming home" (and this from a citizen of Edinburgh);
"imagine Deal in the eighteenth century - a vast labour exchange where the press gang needed an armed escort."
For David, Deal has often provided the place to inform his books, and his work backstage in the theatre means that he is never at a loss for a character. He structures his day, aiming to complete a chapter a morning, finishing in the early evening and never working at week-ends - and he does not like to "walk away" from a book. His advice to aspiring writers: "trust your imagination, it's the only thing you've got". He says that agents and publishers can make life hard for new writers, but then along comes J K Rowling with only 500 copies of the first Harry Potter book!
In thanking David, Una Stanley called him "a natural story teller". To us it was a real delight to listen to someone who so patently loves his job. Marianne had introduced David in his own words as "a man who left school at fourteen with no qualifications and not knowing a verb from a noun". Gadzooks!
The Editor adds: Thanks go to the 87 members and friends who packed the Town Hall on this November evening: a full house added immeasurably to the success of the meeting.
5 February: "Conservation or progress - how can they work side by side?"
John Goodban writes:
This was a well-attended forum, chaired by John Farago and addressed by two speakers.
Alistair Gould, Chairman of the St Margaret's Bay Trust, focused on sensible pathways which we may choose to follow when deciding on how best to restore an old building. He outlined certain issues of restoration, renovation and innovation and concluded with a general survey of the various solutions available which address the problem of power generation and heating buildings, especially the development of renewable energies, or so-called "green" energies, from wind, solar and water sources. Cost outlay and cost savings to be derived over time from different systems of domestic energy production were identified as vital factors in any energy economy equation.
The second speaker was Clive Alexander, the Conservation Officer for Dover District Council. His focus was on renewable energy, energy conservation and appropriate and inappropriate energy technologies for domestic supply and everyday use in a cool, temperate climate. Mr Alexander presented, under four headings, solar panels and wind turbines, double glazing, historic buildings, and power generation: lessons to be learned from the past for the present and future.
The forum concluded with a question and answer session which led to some discussion on the production of power using refuse incinerators and the future viability of tidal power generation.