This year we are thinking of trying something entirely different for the celebration of Richard III’s birthday.  We are going out of town to Sutton Forest Inn in the Southern Highlands.

We heard that the Bistro is very pleasant and that the food is excellent and varied in a range of prices, for example roast lamb, two varieties of fish dishes with salad and chips, sausages, steak sandwiches, chicken vindaloo and much more.

There are usually four or five desserts, all home-made there, varying with the season.  Coffee and tea are of course also available.  Drinks are available from the bar.

So keep Sunday, 3 October, at 12 noon free!

Please confirm whether you are attending with Kevin by Saturday, 25 September.  Kevin can also help with travel advice.  You can contact him at:  social@richardiii-nsw.org.au.

Volume 3 of The Chronicles of the White Rose has been posted to those members and friends of the New South Wales and Queensland  Branch who were unable to attend the August general meeting.  You should receive your copy shortly.

We have also received the Mbag with both the June and September Ricardian Bulletin for our branch members, which will be posted to all members  in the coming week.  Lots of interesting articles, as always.  Unfortunately the situation about the 2010 Ricardian has not yet been sorted, but we’ll keep you posted.

Just a reminder that The Richard III Society, NSW Branch, is planning to remember the death of Richard III and his gallant band who fell with him (as well as those who survived) at Redmore Plain on 22nd August 1485 with a lunch at:

The Hero Of Waterloo Hotel,
cnr Windmill & Lower Fort Sts,
Millers Point, Sydney

Time:  from noon

Date:  Sunday, 22nd August 2010.

Room:  Downstairs Luncheon Room, off the bar.
Access from Lower Fort St or through bar from Windmill St.

Do hope to see you all there!

Please let Kevin know definitely whether or not you are able to attend this function by Saturday 14th August 2010 (day of General Meeting), as he needs to provide definite numbers to Hotel management by Monday, 16th  August.

Please also contact him if you need help with information on how to get there.

You can contact Kevin at social@richardiii-nsw.org.au.

Saturday, 14 August, is Scrabble time!

Every year or so we invite members to draw a Scrabble tile out of a bag and ask them to prepare a short and entertaining talk on a Plantagenet-connected subject beginning with the letter.  This year we drew the letters at the April meeting, which gave us time to come up with something until the August meeting.  It is always interesting to see to which fascinating subjects these letters can introduce all of us.  So don’t miss hearing what Jane Roberts has to say on ‘T’, Xavier de Saint Simon on ‘H’, Leslie McCawley on ‘I’, Dorothea Preis on ‘E’ and Lynne Foley on ‘O’.

Volume 3 of the Chronicles of the White Rose has just come back from the printer.  All members will receive their copy at the August meeting.  So don’t miss this interesting meeting, you’ll not only get five talks, but also your Chronicles, and it goes without saying, you’ll find good company, too.

As always, guests are more than welcome to share an interesting afternoon Details on the venue can be found under ‘Upcoming Events‘).

Some of our members received their Ricardian 2010 (Volume XX) at the beginning of this month in the post.  These copies had been individually mailed from the UK.  The committee assumed that they had reached all our members, but we have heard in the meantime of a number of people who did not receive their copy.  As this was not a group delivery by M-bag, which would be distributed here, we were not able to check whether all copies were included.

We therefore would like to ask all members of the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society, who normally receive the Ricardian, to check whether they did receive Volume XX.  If you did not receive it, please let Julia know urgently, to enable her to sort the matter out with the executive in the UK.

So far there are unfortunately no news about the delivery of the Summer issue of the Ricardian Bulletin, which is normally distributed together with the Ricardian.

Our annual Coronation Lunch will take place on Sunday, 4 July 2010, to commemorate the coronation of King Richard III and Queen Anne on 6 July 1483.  Come and meet us for a delicious lunch at 12 noon at at Galante’s, 138 Norton Street, Leichhardt.  It’s just a little further up Norton Street from our old favourite,  La Galletta, on the opposite side of the road (see also here).

For more information or if you would like to attend, please contact social@richardiii-nsw.org.au.

Please note:  Kevin needs to have final numbers by tonight, 25 June 2010, so please let him know urgently.

In March 2010 the Canberra Richardians gathered to attend a small local company (Everyman) production of the Shakespearean play Richard III.  This was performed in a small ‘workshop’ space in the Courtyard Theatre.  There were tiered stands for seating with a red carpet between the two stands.  The actors worked on this carpet.

One member of the group was aware that the stands were labelled with red and white roses.  We had to be careful to make sure we were sitting on the correct side!  The actors at times directly worked or appealed to their side.  The actors were costumed very simply in white, adding accessories to indicate the character they were playing.  The actor playing Richard (Duncan Ley) became more and more covered in ‘blood’ as the play developed.

To see the play performed at such close range magnifies the already powerful drama.  The aim of this production was to highlight the role of the women.  From my perspective this was achieved.

The four of us were really pleased that we had picked up on this production and been able to attend together.  I think we all came away with a better understanding of why the play has coloured people’s perception of Richard III so successfully.

A faithful band of regulars gathered on this chilly winter’s day for the branch meeting of the Richard III Society NSW Branch, and also to observe the 11 June birthday of Anne Neville, Richard’s wife, with special cupcakes for the occasion.

We were pleased to have the presence of a lovely new laptop computer that had been purchased for branch meeting presentations, as well as to assist the teams giving talks to all the civic organisations that welcome them so heartily all over the Sydney area. This means that future speakers will be able to bring multimedia and PowerPoint presentations from now on, which will add to everyone’s enjoyment.

Jenny, who has a long association with the branch,  brought her treasured silver groat to share with us. She had made this lucky purchase some 20 years ago in New Zealand for $175 in the local currency, whereas a coin from the reign of Richard III would now be worth up to £6,000 due to extreme scarcity. Jenny’s delicate groat was an authentic coin of the realm of the Edward IV era. The intricately engraved and well-worn coin was passed around and studied carefully by everyone present. We marveled at being able to hold a coin used in Richard’s lifetime.

Gillian was our Guest Speaker, and had kindly come all the way from Canberra to reprise her presentation from the 2009 Australasian Conference in Perth. The background and inspiration for her interesting talk on the powerful Percy family, which arrived in England with William the Conquerer, was the book Kings in the North by Alexander Rose. Gillian carefully outlined an overview of the major life points of the Earls of Northumberland throughout the centuries our Society is most interested in. Their interwoven family trees showed intermarriage and dynastic conflict between the mighty Percy, Mortimer and Neville families, which had laid the groundwork for the War of the Roses.

The next meeting in August will feature several Scrabble speakers on the topics of their choice starting with the letter the intrepid volunteers drew out of a hat at the April meeting.

We just heard from the Richard III Society in the UK that the June Ricardian Bulletin and 2010 Ricardian will be arriving later than anticipated.  There was a delay in the printing of the Ricardian and as the annual Ricardian is sent together withe the June Bulletin, the Bulletin has also been delayed.  They are scheduled to be shipped from the UK mid-June, but will take some time to maker their way here.   We regret the delay, but you hope you understand that it is beyond our control.