Our final meeting for the year and our Christmas party was held on the 12th December.  First, we welcomed Jennie, a visitor from England.  Further discussion was held on the design of the Australasian flag which will be a distinctive item along with our wreath at Sutton Cheney church.  This matter will be resolved after consultation with the other Australasian branches.  Our Secretary Julia spoke about next year’s speakers and their topics, and about the mini-conference to be held in May.

Our guest speaker was Chairperson Judith Hughes, who spoke on the topic ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ – the real meaning behind this popular carol, as well as an overview of medieval Christmas customs.  After this most interesting talk, we held our party – complete with Christmas cake prepared by Julia, and our ‘bring and buy’ table did good business.

The final part of the meeting was a game of scattergories.  A Scrabble tile is chosen and a sheet filled in with a person’s name of that letter, a town, river, battle and cathedral.  As usual, Kevin our Social Secretary prevailed.

Our Society has enjoyed a successful year and all members are looking forward to the next meeting in February.

Merry Christmas to all.

Carole of the American Branch recently posted a link to our site on their Members Only site.  We would like to welcome all readers who found us via this link and hope you find something interesting here.

The Members Only portal on the website of the American Branch is open to Society members world-wide and well worth investigating.

Loyalty binds us!

Don’t forget that this coming Saturday, 12 December 2009, we will have our last meeting for this year.  Judith will reveal to us the  hidden meanings behind all the gifts “my true love sent to me” in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – what an interesting talk this promises to be!   Afterwards small groups will  compete in a game of Scattergories.  The afternoon will conclude with our  Christmas celebration.

As usual the meetings will be held at The Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney at 2pm.  Please remember to bring your own mug for afternoon tea.

And if you would like to find out more about us, remember visitors are always most welcome!

 On October 23rd six Ricardians accepted the invitation of Heraldry Australia to hear Professor Stephanie Trigg of Melbourne University talk about eminent women who became members of the Order of the Garter.   It was an interesting subject covering the Order, its establishment, robes, and ladies past and presently companions of the Order, which is the premier honours system in the UK. Read the rest of this entry »

A report by our Chairperson, Carol Gerrard, on the recent Australasian Convention in Perth is now available.  You can read it here.

At the recent Australasian Convention of the Richard III Society in Perth it was announced that the recipient of this year’s Robert Hamblin award is one of us.  Not only from one of the Australasian branches but from our NSW branch.  It is none other than our secretary Julia Redlich! Read the rest of this entry »

Please write Saturday, 15 May 2010 in your diary now.  It’s when we hold our one-day conference at the North Sydney Leagues Club in Cammeray from 10am – 4pm.

We’re still in the planning stages, but there is a definite theme of Books and Bookmakers.  Already Margaret Patton from the State Library has agreed to speak on printing in medieval times with a special look at maps (something she currently manages at the Library);  Carol Gerard is longing to tell us about Caxton and his book The Discovery of Britain’;  and Isolde Martyn and Felicity Pulman, whose historical novels are so well known to us, are going to speak on the pleasure and problems of writing them.  The day promises to be as informative and enjoyable as our last ”mini conference” at Bundanoon in April 2008.

The North Sydney Leagues Club is very accessible by public transport and, there is plenty of car parking.   Lunch, morning and afternoon tea will be provided.  We look forward to seeing you all there – and remember that your friends and family are welcome to join us.  It’s not a Members Only event!

SUBSCRIPTIONS, COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS, THE AGM

 The AGM is later this year (7 November) because of the Australasian Branches biennial convention in Perth in mid October.

Please remember that your subscription for the Ricardian year 2009 – 2010 is due by 2 October 2009 to send to the UK, as the Ricardian Year lasts from 2 October (Richard III’s birthday) to 1 October the following year.   We pay our members’ subscriptions in bulk.  Unfortunately for all subscriptions received after that date, we will have to charge you an additional $20 to cover the costs of  the individual transfer. 

It would be greatly appreciated if all subscriptions could be with Treasurer Dorothea Preis by 25 September 2009.   Please write that cheque now if you haven’t already done so – or pay by direct credit,  the details were given on your subscription form that was sent to you earlier this month.

Any committee nominations are still gladly accepted, please send the filled in form to Secretary Julia Redlich.  Should you have mislaid any of the forms, please contact us at info@richardiii-nsw.org.au.

Ever thought about  joining our Society?  Now is the time to act!  Please contact us at info@richardiii-nsw.org.au as soon as possible so that your subscription can be included in the bulk transfer.  Joining our Branch has a number of advantages. 

• You receive the four annual issues of the Ricardian Bulletin and the annual Ricardian, published by the Richard III Society. 
• You receive the annual Chronicles of the White Rose, published by our Branch.  It contains transcripts of talks presented to our branch and other interesting articles.
• You can attend all our general meetings and the conventions at the members fee, with all the interesting talks and activities presented.  You are of course welcome at all social events.
• You have access to our extensive library containing both fiction and non-fiction books of a Ricardian/medieval context
• And you will meet lots of friendly people who share your interst in medieval history.

At the recent meeting of the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society on 11 August those members attending were entertained and enlightened by a group of their fellow Ricardians.  They represented a discussion between Richard’s family and friends entitled Remembering Richard, written by member Kevin Herbert.

Good use was made of medieval costumes, this helped to create the atmosphere of the late 15th century as they took the parts of those involved in Richard’s life and times.

Many aspects of his short but important life were discussed.  His early years at Middleham and the key role he played in military and administrative affairs of the Kingdom.  His marriage to Anne Neville, the tragic loss of their son at only ten years and Anne’s early death.  The relationship with his sister-in-law Elizabeth Woodville and friends such as Francis Lovell and James Tyrell.  There was even a possible solution to the disappearance of his nephews from the tower.  The characters were introduced by Katherine Gordon, and also included the princes Edward and Richard as well as their sister Elizabeth and Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Buckingham.

That afternoon I could almost imagine I was back in the late 15th Century as I listened to these very interesting conversations about Richard’s life.

I am sure it will be well received at the Ricardian Conference in West Australia in October