The last meeting of the year was held on 11 December 2010. The Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts meeting room was filled to capacity with old members and new, and friends visiting from other branches.

Introductory remarks were made by the chairperson Judith who welcomed new members Rosemary and Peter Ingle as well as Jenny Savage, who was visiting from the UK, followed by the treasurer’s, librarian’s and webmaster’s reports – all being from our dedicated Dorothea who assured us that everything is in good shape. The social secretaries, Xavier and Jane, reported that they are busy planning the March luncheon and will have details for us at the next meeting in February. Julia Redlich reminded everyone that the deadline to register for the Melbourne Richard III conference to be held next August is late January.

Our program for the day was an excellent in-depth study of medieval pottery entitled Water, Earth and Fire: Medieval Pottery in Europe presented by Dorothea whose grasp of the subject was impressive.

Just before breaking for afternoon tea, Julia Redlich treated us to a delightful theatrical offering about a school play gone wrong which had everyone laughing and remembering similar disasters from their own thespian efforts during long-ago school days.

After the break we had a very challenging contest of identification of Ricardian landmarks, emblems, flags and statues offered by Judith, and the raffles were drawn with many people going home happy with their winnings, and purchases from the Bring and Buy table which had been laden with  goodies. The next meeting will be on 12 February 2011, with invited guest speaker Penny Bishop presenting her work on the Plagues and Pestilences in the Middle Ages.

Tags: NSW Branch