-
Membership Secretary:- 24 Park Road, Alrewas, Staffs, DE13 7AG
Tel No 01283 791218. Email: arboretum@dlaproduction.co.uk
Please note new email address
Newsletter Editor: Anne Smith
41 Bradgate Drive, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield
West Midlands, B74 4XG
Tel/Fax: 0121-352-0273
E-mail: twocats@btinternet.com
Website address: http://www.friendsofnma.org.uk
Dear Friends, Friend of the Year 2007
Visit to Blithfield Hall
Early Morning Bird Walk
Working Weekends
Friends' Clothing
Publicity Report - Lawrie Walford
Welcome
Acceptance of Minutes
Matters Arising
Report from Treasurer
Statement of Account for the year ending 31st December 2006
Report from the Membership Secretary
Report from the Publicity Officer
Report from the Chairman
The Chairman then went on to comment on our various activities throughout the year and thank all those who have done so much to help during the last year, in the shop, at working weekends and those always available when needed for special dedications and events. A special mention must be given to Ann Nolan as leader and her group who have put so much work into putting the guiding function of the Friends on to a firmer footing. Also to Ken Vaughan for his organisation of the working weekends which do much to keep the Arboretum up to such a high standard. Jane Vaughan is always ready to add to the clothing and to respond to our requests and the committee who meet 10 or 11 times a year and have worked particularly hard this year. Anne Smith as Secretary and additionally with her work on the much admired Newsletter. Ken Pilgrim as Treasurer and Roger Davies-Lee as Membership secretary, Laurie Walford who has taken our publicity to new heights, Lawrence Olphin is our Legal Advisor and Robbie Middlemiss and Keith Woodward. Many of our Friends now serve on groups for Education, Grounds, Guiding, Wildlife with Richard Thorpe, the Web site under Wilf Beeson, Fund Raising, Communications and many other areas. We all do our bit as best we can and we know how much the NMA appreciate us.
Last year we gained a first rate team leader in Charles Bagot-Jewitt who has taken a real interest in the Friends' activities. Charlie comes to every event of ours that he can, he has himself become an official Friend and keeps all of us up to date with what is gong on. What is more he is willing to listen to what we say. I am certain we are up to the task and together we can face anything that comes our way. The huge numbers for the Armed Forces Memorial will be nurtured and guided, the children entertained and educated. We will be working together as a Team for this great project and 2007 will be our best year yet. It was also mentioned that the improvement in the restaurant had helped to bring more visitors.
The point was raised that if we have more to do with children then we will need to make sure that we are all vetted
through the Criminal Review Board and it was confirmed that all members of staff have been vetted and also helpers with the Wild Life Group. However, it is not a requirement if the child is accompanied by a parent.
Anne Nolan said that we had mentioned earlier on about the increase in members. Do we feel that there should be increased support? As we are looking at the Constitution might we reach the point where we will need to work more closely with the Arboretum. CDL said we have not so far needed to go down the route of paid help but if it was felt the membership was becoming too big for the Friends to tackle by itself, it would be something to consider the future as things progress. We do have help from the Army etc., for certain events and there will always be an opportunity of bringing in outside services. On the point of fund raising, this has been discussed both when the Friends were first set up and at various times since. We do not wish to act as primary fund raising organisation but the Constitution gives us the flexibility to be able to do a variety of things. One of the first things we did was to get a Millennium Grant for the first motorised wheelchairs. If we do need to do fund raising we will consider it as Friends as a whole. Chris Buett suggested we use volunteer services and Jackie Fisher said the Arboretum had applied to Lichfield and Tamworth Volunteers in the past but it would be worth having another go now that the Arboretum has progressed. CBJ said that we have also been offered a group of oversees volunteers if we can accommodate them.
The Proposed Constitution
In the section on Winding Up should we mention the bank account and signatories to that account. The Chairman said that the Bank Mandate was completely separate from the Constitution and it was not a requirement in the Constitution. For the record there are three signatories of which two are required to sign at any one time. The question was asked why we are not a charity. The Chairman explained that there are many reasons why; it is a complicated process, there far too many hurdles to jump, which it was felt were not necessary, a lot of people breathing down our necks and it is very expensive. This may change as we get bigger but with our close connection with the Arboretum we do not feel we actually need it at the moment but it is a matter that can be dealt with in the future if needed.
Bob Morris felt that under the heading 'Chairman' he thought the quorum should not be ".... At the beginning of the meeting..." but "...throughout the meeting...". However, it was felt that this was the usual wording and it should stay.
He also felt that under 'Amendments to the Constitution' instead of reading "... Notice of any such alteration must be received by the Secretary in writing not less than twenty one clear days before the meeting...." it should read ...."twenty eight clear days...." thus ensuring that notice of any amendments could be sent out with the Notice of the Annual General Meeting. After discussion it was agreed that the wording should be changed to read as follows:-
Amendments to the Constitution: Any alteration to the Constitution must receive the assent of the majority of the members present and voting at an Annual or Special General Meeting of the Society. Notice of any such alteration must be received by the Secretary in writing not less than twenty eight clear days before the meeting at which the alteration is proposed and at least fourteen clear days notice in writing setting out the terms of the proposed alteration which shall be sent to each member of the Society as outlined in Membership above.
This was proposed by Bob Morris and seconded by Chris Carpenter and carried unanimously.
Bob Gilmore proposed that there should be a clause which stated that anybody who brings the Friends and the Arboretum into disrepute should be made to resign membership. This was seconded by Ken Compton. After further discussion in which it was felt we would be opening ourselves up to a minefield of litigation on this subject, Ann Middlemiss suggested that it would be better if we went back to our original wording in the Constitution. Bob Gilmore was happy to withdraw his proposal on the basis that the Committee will consider it at a later date and take legal advice. This was agreed.
The Chairman then asked if the members were prepared to accept the Constitution as written with the above amendment. Laurence Olphin proposed the acceptance, seconded by Patrick Pilkington. The Chairman asked for a show of hands. There were 72 acceptors, two abstentions and one against. The Constitution was accepted.
Election of Officers
Anne Nolan
Presentaion of the Friends of the Year Award 2006
The Arboretum is a unique haven of peace, contemplation and hope for the future. It consists of 150 acres of wooded parkland within The National Forest in Staffordshire where visitors can both enjoy and learn about the trees and their surroundings and reflect upon their special symbolism.
As we know the Arboretum came from a muddy piece of land given to us by Redland Aggregates and it has been developed into what we see today. However, we want this to develop a wider military community as the veterans get older but we also need to get more national support for non military memorials as the competition from many attractions is of a largely unmilitary society. Being part of the National Forest also helps our support and recognition and our 'green' agenda. The number of visitors has increased from 10,000 in 2001 to over 60,000 in 2006 and as mentioned previously we have already had 10,000 visitors through our doors since January 2007. According to the Lorien research which is now being carried out, awareness of the Arboretum is on the increase and this should improve dramatically with the opening of the Armed Forces Memorial in October. The chart showing satisfaction with various aspects of a visit were good but the chart showing new visitor -v- repeat visitor showed that we need to have better signage for the new visitor.
We would like the NMA to become like Arlington with a national focus and become a special place of remembrance, reconciliation and celebration. It needs to be reflective, educational and thought provoking with a broad, inclusive appeal to all ages. It also aims to become a significant Midlands visitor attraction with 120,000 visitors by 2011. It also needs to be sustainable in the longer term and unless we get the younger generation involved this will not happen. At the moment only about 5% of our visitors are under 30, we need to increase this number in order to provide a living and lasting focus.
How are we to reach these aims? We are looking at various methods of funding through the MOD/Regional Development Agency, DCMS/Lottery and environmental grants. We are also starting a Development Appeal in order to carry out work needed to achieve the aims mentioned above, together with RBL fundraising support, etc. We also need to re-energise the various organisations involved with the memorials at the Arboretum and increase our contact/information flow to the media and, once again, the AFM will provide us with ideal opportunities. We also need to increase the educational side of the Arboretum with improved information, links to the syllabus, an education centre and veterans talks to schools. We need to increase the Friends recruitment and involvement, make more use of the RBL infrastructure and have increased appropriate events, i.e. Veterans Week, open air classical concerts, fairs, maximise use of our facilities and have better links with other attractions. We also need to improve site access and attractiveness, make more use of our natural attractions. Provide more shelter around the site, especially around buildings/car parks and have a few more attractions for children. Increase in signage would help, i.e. rail, highways, National Forest. We are encouraging visitors to fill in the questionnaire, so that we know we are on the right track. The Arboretum can mean so many things to so many people, reflection, hope, comradeship, selflessness, service, celebration, love, beauty, activity, enjoyment and we need to ensure this continues.
We can help the RBL in so many ways. We are an all year round Remembrance site and can be used for recruiting, fundraising, reaching out to various communities and, of course, education. The value of the NMA to the RBL has increased from 2½% to just over 4% in the 5 years from 2001 to 2006 and this will continue to increase. However, only 12% of the RBL have visited the Arboretum and only 15% of serving members of the armed forces. The RBL can also help the NMA by providing Fundraising, publicity, human resources and IT, so it works both ways.
Charlie finished by thanking everybody for listening so patiently and for their support in the future.
Talk by Paul Holmes, Site Manager, Armed Forces Memorial
The Chairman said how much we had appreciated his talk and thanked Paul for coming all the way from Shrewsbury to speak to us, especially as he and his wife had just had a new addition to the family. The Meeting closed at 9.45 pm
The Armed Forces MemorialSummer Newsletter 2007
No time for chit chat this time, we have a very full newsletter to get through so we had better get started.
If you feel there is a deserving Friend for this award then please put your nominations in writing, stating why you think this person would be eligible, and send to Mrs. C. Davies-Lee, 24 Park Road, Alrewas, Staffordshire, DE13 7AG. You have plenty of time to get your recommendations in as we do not require these until the end of October 2007 with the award being presented at the AGM in 2008.
Charlie kindly invited us to visit the above in May and both Charlie and Cosy (Charlie's wife) made us extremely welcome and gave us a fascinating insight into the history of Blithfield Hall and St. Mary's Church. Cosy provided us with delicious refreshments after our tour and we all went away happily after a wonderful evening. Many thanks to you both.
This was, once again, a success in that it was well attended and we saw approximately 30 species of birds. We must also thank the Lichfield RSPB for again making the walk interesting and informative and we look forward to seeing them next year. The bacon butties and coffee were absolutely delicious as it was quite a cold morning and we stopped and chatted for a long while afterwards.
Well these go on as usual but we would like to welcome all the new Friends who have been helping us recently. The tasks we are being set at the moment are very varied, so we never seem to get bored, and one of the most therapeutic is dead heading the roses in the War Widows Garden. The impact and smell as you walk out through the doors of the Visitor Centre in the Cloisters at the moment is just glorious, as are the red roses planted in front of the chapel in the Army Benevolent Fund plot. In just three years all the hard work is paying off, I say - give ourselves a pat on the back. Anyway, I digress, to get back to the subject the dates for the next working weekends are 7th/8th July, we don‘t normally give ourselves time off but after various discussions it was agreed that it would be nice to have a break in August, 8th/9th September, 13th/14th October.
Just to give you an idea of our age range this photograph, taken on a working weekend, shows the oldest and youngest volunteers taking a well earned rest in the Allied Special Forces Association Plot. Don Redston, who admits to being over eighty, and Chris Burton, aged twenty-two, are enjoying a moment's well earned break together. Chris is a new recruit to the team and is thoroughly enjoying it. "It's great to work on something so worthwhile and in such a terrific setting" he said, "and everyone has made me very welcome."
We are always adding to our range of clothing, the quality of which is excellent and the prices are very competitive, so if you would like to buy or order any of these then please contact Jane Vaughan on 01283-712025 and she will be pleased to help you. At the AGM Jane introduced two different types of Gijets and these have been selling very well indeed, they are very useful at this time of year when you need a little bit of extra warmth but not necessarily a coat. She has particularly asked me to mention that T-shirts are now only £8.00 instead of £8.30, very good value indeed.
On Sunday 10th June, Mari & I set up a stall in Number 2 Hangar at the RAF Cosford Air Show with promotional material for the Arboretum and the Friends. We had a steady stream of visitors and gave the appropriate pamphlets to the visitors who expressed an interest. Many visitors had not even heard of the NMA or the Friends, so we made the most of the opportunity to educate them and encourage them to visit and be involved if they so wished. We met a number of school teachers who were interested in arranging a visit for their pupils and many ex Service and serving personnel.
There were 75 Members present and apologies were given by G. B. Bartram, Geraldine Crocker, John & Viv Fairbank, Len Owens, Judith Thorpe, Jane & John Wadham, Betty & Derek Wassal, Margaret Vaughan
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and said it was wonderful to see so many Friends present.
The Chairman asked if everyone had had the opportunity of reading the Minutes and if they thought it was a true record of the meeting held last year. Laurence Olphin proposed that the Minutes be accepted and this was seconded by Patrick Pilkington.
The Chairman said that following on from last year, we have made real progress during this year with getting to know the Trustees. This has been difficult in the past but under the new management the Trustees themselves are keen to get to know us and join us for appropriate events. The Chairman said she felt we had got over that problem and was very pleased to say so. There were no other matters arising.
Ken Pilgrim presented the accounts and reported that membership to the end of 2006 again shows a healthy increase. The current subscriptions figure of £2568.00 includes £411.00 renewals for 2007 paid in 2006. Donations are also well up in the full year. The accounts have been checked and found to be correct by Gordon Dale, a member of the Friends and Hon Treasurer to Edingale Church. The large balance carried forward to 2007 has been substantially reduced due to the Friends donating the money to the NMA to provide a Hearing Loop for the Chapel at a cost of £3039.50. The Loop is a legal requirement and no outside funding was available. Payment was made in February 2007. As at today we currently have £3,700 in the bank.
Receipts
2,006
2005 (Apr-Dec)
Payments
2,006
2005 (Apr-Dec
£
£
£
£
Bank Balance b/f
3,982.02
(3,965.30)
Postage/Sty/Printing
1502.39
(423.50)
Cash in Hand b/f
13.75
(21.08)
TV. Video (Display)
540.00
(231.00)
Subscriptions
2568.00
(355.00)
Mowers/pump (Filing Cabinet)
180.00
(72.00)
Donations
1419.59
(291.77)
Purchase of Clothing
1248.85
(430.17)
Sale of Clothing
1382.38
(629.30)
Web Site Costs
100.00
(50.00)
Raffle
81.00
(50.00)
(Payment to Red Cross
n/a
(20.00)
Bank Interest
4.93
(3.42)
Function of Burton (Mere Green)
93.20
75.00
Sundries
44.00
(13.90)
Sundries
203.63
32.33
Bank Balance c/f
5580.29
(3982.02)
Cash in hand c/f
20.31
(13.75)
9495.67
(5,329.77)
9,495.67
(5,329.77)
Roger Davies-Lee greeted the Friends and was pleased to report an increase in the membership over the last year. We have 439 fully paid up members and 108 yet to renew which equals 545 members at present. 60% of our Members remember WWII, we need to get new younger people becoming Friends. Friends will have noticed a change in that from now on the current year of membership shown on the badge will be the year of renewal, i.e. 2007, instead of what would have been used in the past, i.e. 01/01/08. We are getting more Friends paying by Standing Order and hopefully any problems with banks taking payments monthly instead of annually will not continue. We have had no increase in fees since 1997 but this will be reviewed next year in line with rising costs. RDL thanked Roger Hailwood for his help in delivering the newsletters round Alrewas, which saves us £90 a year. He also thanked all those Friends who had made donations in addition to Membership Fees. Richard Thorpe asked why newsletters were not sent out on email. About 60% of our membership do not have emails and to keep up to date with all email changes would be almost impossible but obviously the matter is always being reviewed. We now have a Junior Membership of only £1 and maybe this is something that could be pushed for the future. Perhaps the Wild Life Group could be approached, together with schools, etc., when they visit. The matter was raised about paying via the internet and this, of course, could be done. We could also look into providing Paypal services for overseas Friends. It was mentioned that one Friend who lives in Germany, not only always sends us her fee in British Pounds but also sends stamps for use as well. RDL then read out a letter from Mr. John Mears who lives in Sydney, Australia saying how wonderful he found the Arboretum when he visited and commendable that there was a living tree for every Merchant Ship sunk during WWII.
Lawrie Walford reported that his brief is to increase public awareness of the role of the Friends of the NMA and to advise as many people as possible of forthcoming events at the NMA. LW sends a summary of events, mostly by email, to local Parish magazines and he would like to thank all those who have helped him to achieve this. During the year he has written several articles in magazines (which are circulated worldwide) of Associations who have plots at the Arboretum and he has also heard from the Leonard Cheshire Foundation that they would like a monthly Diary of Events. One of the organisations involved is the British War Memorial Project whose aim is to catalogue all the graves of British and Commonwealth servicemen and women around the world and their Secretary, Mrs. Pauline Pedersen (who is a Friend) has agreed to publish an article to the 900 strong membership about the Friends soon. LW also thanked all those, and particularly Jante Philips, who are very good at distributing leaflets to Tourist Information Centres, etc. LW would like more volunteers to distribute our news and leaflets and he would be pleased to hear from anyone whose Parish Magazine does not contain our details. LW then mentioned the Veterans' Awareness Week, 23-29th June and asked Friends to spread the word and offer their help as much as possible.
Carol Davies-Lee reported that the Arboretum is getting busier and that is what she wanted to major on in her report for last year leading us through into this year and the future.
Last year we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Arboretum and most of us could not imagine that we had all come so far. From the Friends point of view we had travelled from an enthusiastic but necessarily optimistic group hoping that some of the things we looked forward to might happen, if we kept our fingers crossed, to working with a fully professional team and visitors in excess of 60,000. Charles Bagot-Jewitt reported that he had seen 10,000 visitors through our doors already this year. Everyone involved has done their part to bring this about and now we are being asked to look forward to a busier, more challenging future. Are we up to the job and are we going to cope with all the increased numbers which are expected to come here just to visit the Armed Forces Memorial. In addition, the Arboretum must also look to involving, younger people, children and education and at the Guiding Training day we heard about schemes to involve ethnic minorities. Friends will be needed here to make sure that no younger children go for an unscheduled swim but meantime we need to keep our older visitors happy. CDL said many Friends had told her of moving stories from visitors and helping those who are old and infirm to appreciate their visit to the full is one of our most enjoyable duties. Every organisation is searching for the 'lost generation' (young adults) and we, especially, need them to eventually take over from us. We are lucky in that we do have a few who are keen to learn but we need to reach many more and pass on our enthusiasm.
The Chairman said we had received input from the Arboretum and the RBL and a letter of support had been received from a Friend for the Proposed Constitution. We have adapted it to include some of the comments we have already received. Indeed a new Constitution was badly needed as the original was extremely basic. With becoming a more professional body we thought it was best that we should have an updated one, although we do not legally need one. Do the majority of people agree with it? Laurence Olphin proposed that it should be agreed and this was seconded by Patrick Pilkington.
The Chairman asked Bob Morris to take the Chair during the Election of Officers. A list of Nominations and Seconders
for each Officer and Committee Member was read and members were asked if they wanted to nominate each individual separately or en bloc. The members agreed to nominate en block and this was carried unanimously. Bob Morris then stood down and the Chairman returned to the Chair.
Anne said there had been an excellent Guiding Training Day on the 24th of March with an age rage of 15 to 80 present. We had achieved the aim of having two guides on duty at all times, this will need to be increased. She personally thanked her team who had all worked so hard throughout the Winter, Derek Van Arkadie, Jante Philips, Jane Vaughan and David Millington. There are now four walks in operation and a Hero & Heroines walk is under development. There is still work in progress in revising the full size guiding notes to tie in with the new map that the NMA is producing.
The Chairman presented Ken and Jane Vaughan with a beautiful cut glass fruit bowl and Ken then made a short speech on their behalf thanking everybody who had voted for them, saying he felt there were many more deserving Friends than themselves. Well Ken, as many of you know, works hard to co-ordinate the working weekends as well as spending three days (and more) working at the Arboretum and Jane, is not only one of our primary guides but also looks after a couple of plots, in her spare time!! A big thank you goes to both of them for all their hard work, they certainly do deserve the award.
Presentation of the Deaf Loop Plaque
The Chairman then asked Robbie Middlemiss (seen on the right) to officially present the plaque which will be placed in the chapel commemorating the donation of the Deaf Loop and in remembrance of his daughter Clair Middlemiss, who died last year at the age of 33, to Charles Bagot-Jewitt who gladly accepted it on behalf of the Arboretum. The plaque will be placed on the right hand side of the doors inside the Chapel.
Charles Bagot-Jewitt
Charlie started by thanking everybody for all their help over the last year. He acknowledged that the Arboretum would not exist without the Friends. Since he started his working life at the Arboretum it had been very busy and a bit of a rollercoaster ride but he felt that we were all now working towards the same aims. There is a new NMA Mission Statement and they have been working on a new strap line "Their names will live for evermore". The aim is to develop the National Memorial Arboretum as the United Kingdom's living and lasting memorial to commemorate and celebrate
The Chairman then introduced our final speaker, Mr. Paul Holmes of Osbornes, the constructors of the memorial, who gave us a fascinating talk on the building of the above. There was a lot of technical detail which would be impossible to report here. Their first job was to create access to the site and erect hoarding round the 'mound' without causing too much disturbance to visitors and wildlife. Then, of course, they had to create the mound by using 60,000 tons of a mixture of materials, up to a height of 60 metres. This took six weeks and it ended up 350 mll higher than it should have been but this was to allow for settlement of the mound. The materials used came from Lafarge and another fairly local recycling plant. The whole structure had to be piled to make it stable and to able to carry the weight for the staircase, obelisk, walls, trees, etc. All the stonework and brickwork uses the old fashioned method of a lime mortar mix because as it is better for the design and there is no expansion and contraction. Somebody worked it out that the stone panels containing the names would have taken 125 years to carve by hand, so these have been done by computer. All these panels, etc., will be done in Portland Stone. There is going to be a circle in the centre of the Memorial and, if anybody had been observant enough they would have seen that on the 11th of November last year there were men on the top of the memorial checking the angle of the sun to make sure it hit the right spot. The trees planted will be 57 Evergreen Oaks (no significance in the number, that was how many the number came to when evenly spaced round the Memorial) which will have to be anchored into the structure to make sure they do not move. These have been grown abroad and are at the moment being acclimatised in Norfolk, ready to be moved into position when needed.
On Friday April 20th we held a Coffee Morning in the Mayor's Parlour at the Council House in Derby. It was a very successful event and well attended by veterans and the general public. All money raised from the tea/coffee, raffle, home made cakes, etc., was for the NMA. Our thanks to Maynard and Lynne for attending on behalf of the Arboretum and a special thanks to Diana Millington and Ann Binding, along with everyone else, who made the day a great success. Left to right : Maynard Scott, The Lord Mayor, Diana Millington, David Millington, Lynne Barkas.
This continues to grow apace and as you can see from the picture is now really beginning to take shape. It is on target for a lot of the work apart from a slight delay in the arrival of some of the Portland Stone. Some 70,000 bricks have gone into the masonry core for the walls. The panelling of the north and south curved walls is virtually complete and approximately half of the coping stones have been installed. The inscribed named panels up to 2006 are in place. Work on the footpath, lighting and irrigation systems is progressing well.
Refurbishment
Helen Overton would like to thank everybody for their co-operation and patience during the first phase of all the refurbishments that took place recently. There will be more to come but not for a while yet.
Unfortunately I have not been able to get to too many of the events since March, for which I apologise, but one I did manage to get to was the planting of 80 deciduous Azaleas called Antelope which were developed specifically by Tony and Sylvia Slater of Woodland Barn Nurseries, Rugeley, to remember personnel who served on HMS Antelope in the Falklands Campaign. The garden will be officially opened at 11.00 am on Monday the 25th of June during National Veteran‘s Awareness Week. This will be followed by the Royal Naval Historic Flight including the Swordfish, Sea Fury and the only air worthy Sea Hawk in the World. Featured in the picture are Nicholas Tobin, Commander of HMS Antelope (Holding the plaque), Andy Simpson, John Philips, and Terence James Meecham. Pic6
Adopt-a-Plot
We are still looking for people who would be interested in looking after a plot on a regular basis, or donating funds towards the upkeep of a particular plot. Particular help is required on the National Remembrance Garden, mainly maintaining the everlasting poppies‘ that have been placed in the memorial. If you feel you would like to help please contact Paul Kennedy, Arboretum Curator, at the Arboretum on Tel. No: 01283-792333.
Education Programme at the NMA : Roger Hailwood, Chairman, Education Committee
Part of the future development of the Arboretum is in the area of education. A small education committee has been formed and has been working to establish links with other educational bodies. Information packs are under development and all schools within a 50-mile radius will be contacted to advertise that the National Memorial Arboretum is a resource they should consider when planning practical National Curriculum activities. It is probably unique as a practical resource for Citizenship. To facilitate this education drive, part of the visitor centre has been refurbished as an educational room designated The Lafarge Educational Resource Centre. It has been fitted out with the latest multimedia technology. In order to support the educational programme a team of "Educational Leaders" will have to be recruited. On the 9th of July there is an Open Evening from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm for Potential Educational Leaders and Chaperones to come along to see how the Arboretum will operate in line with the educational programme in schools. There will be an opportunity to speak to the Chairman of the Committee and staff of the Arboretum and, if you feel you would like to take part, Application Forms will be available on the evening. They would also like to ask ex veterans of all ages, who are Friends, if they would volunteer their time to talk to the children, etc.
Friends who feel that they may be able to help in this way should make contact with Randie Cuss, the Education Administrator, on 01283-792333 (Tuesday/Wednesday only).
The Arbour Café
The above finds itself short staffed at times (time of year, staff illness, or large function) and when they need to call in extra help this is not always possible without using expensive, and often not very good, agency workers. To help Susan Smith with her staffing levels and to enable The Arboretum to give a good customer service, in particular at large functions or on busy days, she would like to set up a folder of Friends who are willing to help out, sometimes at short notice. The skills that may be called upon are washing up, table clearing, waitress, silver service waitress, counter service, till, etc. So, if you are willing to be included in this folder, could you please contact Susan in the first instance on Tel: 01283-792351; Email: SESmith@britishlegion.org.uk and a help form will be sent for completion and return. The café really would appreciate all the help you can give.
Assistance required at The Arboretum
This, as usual, is an ongoing problem and we still need Friends on a regular basis to help in the shop, guiding. etc. We shall need as many as possible this year because of the Veteran' Awareness Week and the Opening of the Armed Forces Memorial. Also there is a call for someone to help with the Chapel in that although it is cleaned on a daily basis, that is only general housekeeping and other more delicate areas are not covered. Dennis (Phillips) kindly takes care of the silver and the name plaques on the seats, but other areas would benefit from a weekly clean, such as the carvings, "The Storyteller", lectern/pulpit furniture, bookcase and organ. Is there anybody out there who would like to go on a rota to take on these tasks? It would probably amount to a couple of hours a week - the Chapel is generally booking-free on Fridays. If you feel you can help then please contact Helen Overton or Lynne Barkas at the Arboretum on 01283-792333.
Whilst I was away I believe that more evidence of otter activity has been found by the Tame.
The Wildlife Watch Group continues to thrive and we have introduced a diary that the public can look at.
FUTURE EVENTS
Weekend 7th/8th July
Working Weekend:
Weekend 8th/9th September
Working Weekend:
Weekend 13th/14th October
Working Weekend:
I recently completed the second phase of my Land's End to John O' Groats trek, Lichfield to Glasgow. I actually got to within 40 miles of Glasgow, having done 330 miles since Lichfield (in 3 and a half weeks) and was forced to stop due to a repetitive strain injury to my knee. This is now getting better. I will start from where I left off next year when I will be raising money, probably for the NMA and Diabetes UK. More details on this in the future. I saw lots of wildlife en route and was dive bombed by a buzzard in the Northern Lake District. Fortunately no contact was made! I must have got too close to its nest.
Best Wishes
Anne Smith
Editor
15.6.07