Last Friday afternoon, August 23, I had the Lower Court Hall to myself. Long before anyone arrived for the traditional opening party of the 26th annual Winchelsea art exhibition, I was able to wonder and photograph at my leisure.
Though organised by the committee of the Winchelsea Millennium Artefacts Society, chaired by former mayor David Merryfield, the driving force as acknowledged by David, was Geraldine I’Anson, honorary secretary.
The society is in charge of maintaining the splendid Winchelsea town sign, the Millennium Tapestry in St Thomas’ and the Winchelsea Beacon. You may have followed the lighting of the beacon this year, on our social media pages, for the D-Day celebrations. Unusually so soon, it will be lit again in 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day next May.
The overall cost each time the beacon is used is about £600 and the art exhibition is the only vehicle that the society has to raise funds. Some of the other numbers involved each time are; a bale of straw, 15 pallettes, 20 litres of paraffin, £150 to repaint the beacon after use, £200 to pay the piper, quite literally and 650 nails, all removed by hand, from the aforementioned pallettes.
In my humble opinion, this was their best show yet; an observation I overheard many times, the perils of being a retired waitress, during the reception. There were 11 new contributors, professional and amateur artists alike, photographers and ceramicists.
As they are in the main local, the subject matter was very recognisable. Scenes from Winchelsea, Rye and Camber featured strongly.
But the subject matter was as varied as the styles and medium on display. Once again I’m left to admire the talent of the people who surround us in this glorious part of the world. Not to forget the many volunteers, friends and neighbours, who were on hand throughout the bank holiday weekend to ensure that the show was a success in every sense…and yes I contributed to the coffers of the Millennium Artefacts Society. I’ll leave you to guess which one of these many pictures now hangs on my wall.
Image Credits: Natsha Robinson , Natasha Robinson , Natasha Robinson .