Michael Rumsey at the organ
Dear Friends,
Twelve months ago I wrote that I, together with the rest of the membership, was looking forward to 2013, our Golden Jubilee Year, and now we are virtually at the end of it and what a year it has been. Apart from the terrible wintry weather that very much spoiled our Annual Dinner in January, we have enjoyed six excellent talks, one most enjoyable visit and a well organised concert entitled ‘Corsham in Music’.
The talks have ranged from how Corsham would have featured nationally during World War III to submarine engineering across the years. From a musical quarryman to stone quarrying itself in the Corsham area. We’ve thought about the history of collecting and collectors and looked again at the wonderful set of buildings in the county all bearing the title of Parish Churches. The
Society’s visit to the Victorian School at Sevington and the redundant parish church at Leigh Delamere was most successful and we look forward, with interest, to next year’s visit to another place of interest suggested by the Executive Committee.
2014 sees the anniversary of the start of the First World War and Richard Broadhead is returning to give another of his fascinating talks on the subject of WWI. We look forward to that and to six other talks that Dr. Negley Harte has so ably organised. We are extremely grateful to Negley for his hard work in organising for the Society such a wealth of subjects and speakers. I, too, am grateful to my colleagues on the Committee for their hard work during the last twelve months.
Next September will see the Society taking part again in the Heritage Open Days (HODs) scheme organised nationally by English Heritage and the National Trust. If any member has any suggestions of places people could visit, do please let me know. Our HODs in 2012 were most successful. We hope we can build on that success and make the HODS of 2014 even better.
Finally, all that it remains for me to say, is to wish you the compliments of the season and a very Happy New Year.
Michael Rumsey