The Arts Society Farnham's Young Arts Group recently held a competition called Mad as a Hatter for children in Key Stages 2 and 3 from eight local schools making hats from recycled materials.

On June 28 the prize-giving was held in the Long Kiln Gallery at the Farnham Maltings, and Cllr George Murray, the mayor of Farnham, was there to help hand out the prizes. A cheque for £580 from the South Street Trust was presented by the mayor to the society's chair, Cathy Tole.

The extraordinary display of hats the pupils had made was inspiring. There were two judges - Cathy Tole, and Gez Evans, a former head of art. Prizes were awarded for first, second and third in the two groups, as well as highly commended certificates.

The prizes were art materials donated by Janet Radley, whose late husband Robin Radley, a former editor of the Farnham Herald, had been an artist and had worked tirelessly to help children, particularly those with disabilities.

The smiles on the faces of all those attending the prize-giving - particularly the prize winners - made for a joyful occasion and everyone agreed that the exhibition was a wonderful testimony to the creative talents of local children.

Eight people enjoyed a Portraits in Pastels workshop on June 28, tutored by Livvy Stainer, at the Triangle Centre in Liss.

The workshop covered all aspects of portraiture form - structure of the head, facial features, drawing hair, understanding tonal values, colour mixing and flesh tones. Livvy also gave tips and tricks on how to capture a convincing likeness and how to achieve the correct proportions using pastels in light, mid and dark tones.

The next demonstration will be on July 10 at 7.30pm, when Liz Mullenger will be demonstrating the Magic of Indigo Dyeing.

All demonstrations are held in The Canada Room at the Millennium Centre in Ontario Way, Liphook from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Demonstrations are free to members and £5 for non-members.

Liz Mullenger will follow this on July 26 with a workshop featuring Shibori Dyeing. Shibori is a traditional Japanese resist dyeing technique used to create patterns on fabric by binding, folding, twisting or bunching it before dyeing. It is known for its unique, uneven patterns and is considered a form of tie-dye.

The cost is £40 for members and £50 for non-members, plus £5 at the workshop for materials. It will take place at the Triangle Centre in Liss. Participants should arrive at 9.30am to set up, with tuition from 10am to 4pm. There will be a break for a packed lunch.

Membership for the remainder of the year costs £25 (£10 for those aged 16 to 25 inclusive). For more details visit https://www.liphookartsandcrafts.org.uk/, email Carol at [email protected] or call her on 07732 437091.

For Alice Holt WI’s June meeting Dr Ian Goodall gave an interesting talk about the history of antibiotics and vaccinations, including Edward Jenner, Louis Pasteur and Alexander Fleming.

He then went on to explain that antibiotics do not work on viruses and how bacteria can mutate in a variety of ways to prevent the antibiotics working.

Secretary Ros Cranham gave details about a visit to Hinton Ampner for a garden tour on July 11. Alice Holt WI’s summer lunch will be on August 11 at The Hog’s Back Hotel. The committee is looking into a coach trip to Gunwharf Quays in early December.

Alice Holt WI is a member of BAMB, which is a competition between the Bourne, Alice Holt, Millbridge and Beacon Hill WIs. The next one is at Beacon Hill on July 24, which will be a beetle drive. Alice Holt will be hosting on August 19.

A good evening is promised on July 15 when Paul Hudson will be returning to entertain with Songs of the Sixties.

Alice Holt WI meets at the Rowledge Club in Fullers Road, Rowledge. For more information email Ros Cranham at [email protected]

The Probus Club of Farnham continues its 2025 programme of meetings and events with a luncheon and presentation on July 29 at The Hog’s Back Hotel. The presentation will be given by Alan Freeland on The East India Company.

There is no meeting in August and the regular luncheon event resumes on September 23. On October 28 the club will have a luncheon and a presentation from Andre Potocki on My Neighbour Roald Dahl.

In addition to the luncheon programme, the club is currently planning for a visit to Bletchley Park, the world famous code breaking establishment, and a holiday to north Wales in September.

The Probus Club of Farnham is a luncheon club for men who have retired from professional or business backgrounds. The club normally meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at The Hog’s Back Hotel. For more details email [email protected] or visit www.probusfarnham.co.uk

The West Surrey Wine Society enjoyed another successful tasting on June 19 when a range of Greek wines were presented by Dr Phill Humphries.

The wines were much appreciated and demonstrated how today the Greek wines are of excellent quality and reasonable value. The event was well attended and many took advantage of the opportunity to order some wines at a discounted price.

A varied and comprehensive programme of future wine tastings has been organised by the society, including wines from Catalonia, Austria, Germany, the UK, Portugal and South Africa.

The society meets every month, normally in the evening on the third Thursday, at the Ivy Lane Club in the centre of Farnham.

A small group of enthusiasts created the society nearly 40 years ago and over that period it has continued to flourish, with a continuous membership of some 60 people.

Members are of all ages - including those with little or no knowledge of wines, to some experts. The tastings are led by an expert from the wine trade or a professional, including occasionally a master of wine.

The evenings provide plenty of time for discussion, and towards the end of the evening there is a half-hour social break when members chat and relax with the last of the wine.

The society welcomes anyone interested in learning more about wines, whether they are young or old, and whether they have a little knowledge, no knowledge or are an expert.

Interested people can join in a wine tasting session before committing to membership of the society. For more details of the society and how to apply for membership, visit https://www.westsurreywinesociety.org.uk/index.html

In November 2024 Surrey Border Movie Makers held its annual inter-club competition via Zoom.

Other amateur film making clubs around the country were invited to submit a film for a team of judges from Surrey Border Movie Makers to select a winner plus two runners-up. The winning film was The Briefcase, made by South Downs Film Makers.

At the club’s May meeting, in its usual hall, it welcomed - via Zoom - Alan Cross, writer and director of The Briefcase, together with Chris Morgan and Ray Coggin, who were also involved in making the film.

Alan presented a very comprehensive programme for the evening, which commenced with a viewing of the film.

He explained that he was very keen to get the tension of the film’s storyline correct from the beginning. A pre-production reel and stills were created to obtain image ideas together with narrative suggestions. These were presented to the South Downs Film Makers committee for review.

The final script took a year to write. Pre-production artwork was created and included such things as making bullet wounds look realistic. The film had fantastic titles, created by Alan using After Effects, which were created to enhance the storyline. Acting roles, locations, make-up, props, artwork for documents and costumes were all meticulously detailed.

As with any bigger film club production, there were obstacles to overcome, such as actors’ availability, weather and lighting challenges, and sound issues - and, of course, there is usually a limited budget.

Members were shown some of the bloopers which occurred during filming. Chris and Ray explained how and why they happened and how they were overcome. They also discussed how some of the film was edited and the sound mix created.

Alan started his career in photography, wrote music, created music videos and also made 3D animation films. The audience had plenty of questions to ask at the end of the evening. The club thanked him for presenting such an interesting insight into the making of The Briefcase, which can be viewed on the Surrey Border Movie Makers website. Tim Stannard compered the evening and was presented with a thank you gift by chairman Mike Sanders.

The club meets on the first Friday of each month at St Joan's Centre, 19 Tilford Road, Farnham. For more information visit www.surreyborder.org.uk or email [email protected]