The 2026 AGM will be held on Thursday September 10 at 10am before the lecture. Coffee will be available from 9.30 on this occasion.

Relevant documents may be viewed here.

The 2024 AGM will be held at 10am on Thursday, 12 September, before the lecture at the usual venue, the Welcome Church.

All relevant documents may be viewed by clicking on the links in the Latest News box on the Home Page or by scrolling through Documents.

The Nova Cinema became too expensive for our society. St Andrew's Church made us very welcome but the technical problems could not be resolved. Our Committee have not been idle: they have considered thirty options for our next lecture venue! These are summarised in this Venue Comparison document.

On Thursday 14 December we will meet at our new venue the Welcome Church, at the town end of Goldsworth Road, for the Christmas Lecture.

The address is the Welcome Church, 1-5 Church Street West, Woking, GU21 6DJ. 

This is a modern venue with all the latest technical facilities, blackout, comfortable seating, big screens, toilets and a lift and wheelchair access.
Unfortunately there are no coffee facilities and parking is back in the Peacocks (Red carpark a 5 minute walk). Disabled parking is on the roads with a Blue Badge.

The Arts Society Mayford is pleased to announce that from 11th May 2023 our regular Thursday lectures will be held at St Andrew's Church, Goldsworth Park Centre, Denton Way, Woking, GU21 3LG, beginning at 10.30.

This venue has excellent facilities including free parking (3 hours) and its own coffee shop so members and guests will be able to relax together before and after the lecture.

The Centre also has shops including Waitrose and Costa Coffee and is on Bus Route 91 from Woking Sation.

The last lecture meeting at Nova Cinema will be on 13th April.

Members were given notice by email on 4 July that this year's AGM would be held as a committee Zoom meeting on Wednesday 7 September. Please vote on 5 resolutions using the AGM button on the Home Page. When you click on that you will be taken to instructions on how to vote. Follow this link to the relevant documents.

NB The correct date is 7 September as in the email notice, not 8 September as on the Agenda.

An important message about your committee!  

TASM is a large society that owes its smooth running to a small committee who organise membership, the programme of lectures and other activities and, of course, the finances. Some of the current committee are due to retire, having generously stayed in post to see the society through the difficult pandemic years, and we are urgently looking for volunteers to replace them. 

The roles are very varied so members with different skills and interests are valuable to the team. New faces, fresh ideas especially welcome!

Job descriptions provided by the current holders may be viewed below. If you would like more information please contact info@theartssocietymayford.org.uk or speak to any member of the committee.

COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Chairman

Top job!

Chair the committee meetings.

Liaise with the other committee members to aid the smooth running of the society.

Arbitrate if necessary.

Introduce the lecturers at the lectures and give vote of thanks at the end.

Chair the AGM

These days being computer savvy helps!

Membership Secretary

Maintain register of Society members

Update as required Arts Society membership database

Process Applications for Membership from new members

Prepare and issue letters to members annually for renewal of membership

Track subscription renewal payments in conjunction with Treasurer

Liaise with Society members as Committee point of contact

Produce check in lists for each lecture

Theatre Liaison & New Members Lunch
Looking after the relationship between the society and the venue (Ambassadors Cinema).
Ensuring the smooth running of lectures from doors opening to coffee provision. You are a point of contact but do not need to be at every lecture to fulfil this role.
There is an annual lunch to welcome new members, so this is just a matter of booking the venue and organising the catering.

Secretary

Arguably the easiest job on the committee.
Write agendas and minutes for committee meetings; all done by using previous documents as templates.
Prepare agenda and minutes for AGM.
Update committee contacts.
Prepare a risk assessment if required.
Receive phone enquiries (very rarely)
Keep a record of minutes and any general information.
The Arts Society website provides excellent help for writing minutes, risk assessments etc and are always very helpful.

Treasurer

Previous experience: Zero

Method of accounting: Biscuit tin.

I have been TASM treasurer for 5 years. I have no formal accountancy training. But like the rest of you I have been balancing my family’s books for a long time. It’s the same process.

People give you money (Subscriptions) and other people (lecturers, the cinema etc) invoice you.

Money in and money out, it’s that simple.

When I took over the role I attended a ‘Treasurers’ day at head office in London where they explained everything in detail and calmed one’s nerves. They are always on hand if you have any questions and they are very helpful.

At the end of the financial year you complete a spreadsheet that produces the Balance and Profit and Loss sheets. Then you hand everything over to our wonderful auditor who finds any mistakes and then signs off the accounts. Then you do it all over again.

Why am I relinquishing the role: because I am leaving the area.

Publicity

Promote the Society as widely as possible through magazines, newsletters etc.

Prepare the Trifold for printing. Information for this is provided by committee members.

Skills needed: enthusiasm, good communication, enjoyment of writing. Currently, this job is carried out by a volunteer who is not a committee member.

Programme Secretary

The programme secretary arranges the schedule of 11 speakers each year, from the Arts Society’s list of accredited lecturers.

He/She then completes the booking admin and prepares the information to go on the website and the printed trifold.

He/She arranges for the arrival and meeting of the speaker in Woking, acts as host for the talk and escorts away from the lecture.

Special Interest Days

Two or three times a year book a lecturer for a Special Interest Day, which normally consists of three connected lectures with coffee and lunch.

As well as booking lecturer book a venue, John Myall & the technical team, caterers if this is not being provided by the venue and sometimes a hotel for the lecturer for the night before.  Some lecturers are happy to stay with a committee member (dinner with members of the committee is usually provided on these occasions and a hosting allowance is payable).  

Advise the person responsible for putting the trifold together of SID details.

Work out ticket prices and start selling tickets from 2 months before the SID both in person at the monthly lectures and also via the SID email. 

Visits

For day visits - select suitable venues such as museums, galleries, stately homes, etc…and book 3 per year.

Book coaches for these, starting from the car park in Goldsworth Park.

For extended visits - decide on a city or country, alternating one year in the U.K. and the following, abroad, using Tailored Travel as our agents.

We are happy to announce that from January 2022 our lectures and Special Interest Days will again be live meetings. We look forward to seeing you again!

Lectures are held in the Nova Cinema Complex in the Peacocks Centre, Woking, GU21 6GQ. For further details click the Where We Meet button on the Home Page.

Some lectures may also be available via Zoom, depending on the lecturer. In this case, details will be sent to members by email.
 

​The first Special Interest Day of 2022 will now be held at Gordon's School, West End, Woking, GU24 9PT.  For details see Future Events.

The AGM was held in the form of a Zoom Committee meeting on Thursday 9 September. All 5 Resolutions were passed.

The Minutes may be viewed in Our Society/Documents.

As last year, there will be a virtual AGM conducted via Zoom by the committee on Thursday 9 September beginning at 9am.

The relevant papers may be found under Our Society/Documents.

Please submit any questions by 2 September at the latest.

Voting is now open. Please make a single vote on the five Resolutions using the AGM button on the Home Page by 8.30 on 9 September.

You will need to use the same password as for voting on lectures.

Update The AGM was held according to the details above. All resolutions were passed. The Minutes may be viewed following the link above. 

5 - 20 June 2021 - The Surrey Artists Open Studios (SAOS) website will give you a wealth of ideas about venturing out in what we hope will be summer sunshine.

Click on the link below.

Surreyopenstudios.org.uk

In the absence of our usual visits Sarah, our enterprising Special Interest Day (SID) committee member, has organised two Virtual Tours for members to join on the 23 April 2021 starting at 10am. They are free to members.

The Albert Memorial is the first tour followed by a virtual walk through elegant Mayfair. The title page for this walk gives you the flavour of this interesting and diverting walk. Both tours are conducted by Barbara Askew.

There are further details under Special Interest/Future Events.

TASM uses MailChimp to update members and advise about ZOOM lectures.

Some members have at some time ‘Unsubscribed’ to these updating MailChimp emails which means they are missing out on what could be interesting/important announcements.

To reinstate ‘Subscribe’ to our MailChimp emails follow the link below (control click):

http://eepurl.com/g_heJL

Due to the current restriction on gatherings the committee have decided to hold a series of SIDs on ZOOM.
These will be free to all members.

Our first ZOOMED SID will be

'A Remarkable Story of Design through Art - Ocean Liners 1800-1950'

by Dr James Taylor and held on the 27th November 2020 at 10:00. Please put this date in your diaries!

There will be two one hour lectures with a 30 minute interlude and questions at the end. So we expect to finish around 13:00.

The start time is 10:00 so we advise that you join the waiting room at 09:50 to be admitted prior to the start of the lecture at 10:00.

The ZOOM link for this lecture will be sent out on the 20th of November and again on the 26th November.

For further details of these two lectures see Special Interest - Future Events.

• It is proposed that Brian Blair be appointed again as Independent Examiner of Accounts.

• Thank you for your query about achieving a quorum for our AGM. This is going to be quite a long message and I hope it will answer your concerns.

  The Arts Society has been very supportive of its member societies and has provided guidance covering many topics in these unusual times, including running a virtual AGM.

  The illustration they have provided is the Arts Society Nadder Valley, which is apparently in Wiltshire. They too have a quorum of 25% of their membership for voting at a ‘normal’ AGM and put forward the interesting point that a quorum of 25% is actually a little undemocratic. Of course, a quorum is set in the constitution to provide a minimum number at which a vote can be accepted and if members choose not to attend an AGM and vote, that is their prerogative. Unfortunately, as applies to Nadder Valley, Mayford and I suspect many other societies, some members just want to hear a good lecture and have no interest in attending an AGM. By giving the members the opportunity to vote electronically, we are potentially  increasing the number of members who will vote. If we did not achieve a quorum at a ‘normal’ AGM we would have to arrange a second AGM. The same will apply to our virtual AGM. With the enthusiasm for our first zoom lecture, I am sure members will be equally enthusiastic about voting for AGM resolutions, where they do not have to turn up in person. 

  The minutes of our committee only AGM will be comprehensive and accurate.

• Regarding the relative costs of The Ambassadors and Christchurch:

  The Ambasadors costs have risen steeply and are significantly greater than the Church venue. However, one must look at the complete picture. We have to hire a screen to present in the Church. So here’s the maths:

• Ambassadors charge us £307.50

• The Church charge us £210.00

  So as a venue, the Ambassadors is much more expensive.

  Now add in the hire of the screen £228.00 we need at the Church.

  Now venue plus screen = £438.00

  Significantly higher than Ambassadors. So long term this is not sustainable without an increase in the subscription or purchasing our own screen perhaps with the church. We will be weighing all these options up before we return to normality, whatever that may look like.

   

• Regarding the point that SIDS appear to be subsidising other Society activities:

  We don’t rely on SIDs and Visits to balance the books but they have helped to offset the additional cost of the venue change. 

  We cost Events to break even assuming people will default. It’s recommended policy from Head Office.

• The capitation fee payable to The Arts Society (Central) on behalf of each member is reduced but only by a very small amount.

• Could the Zoom AGM have been arranged so that members could observe?

After the last lecture in March, when the Covid-19 crisis and lockdown was becoming a reality, at the committee meeting it was decided that the lectures would be cancelled and the AGM postponed until September.

• Since then,  Zoom has arrived to facilitate the lectures being resumed. They have been rescheduled and the lecturers are happy to 'Zoom'
• However, the AGM was more problematic. It was felt that running a zoom AGM, with possibly 300 participants was very daunting.
• We took advice from TAS House and their recommendation was that we have a 'virtual' AGM.
• Following TAS guidelines and the dictats in our constitution, we have put all the documents and motions on line [or posted them to those who are not] a month ahead of the date set at 10th September 2020 at 9am. Last votes at 6pm wednesday 9th 2020.
• All members have been given the facility to vote either online or by post and ask questions. The questions have the answers here on the website.
• As long as we have a Quorum of votes, at least 100, in favour of ALL the resolutions, the committee will deem that these resolutions are carried. 
• It will be a very short AGM
• I appreciate that for some this is not ideal. However it was felt by the committee and on advice from TAS and the West Surrey Area, this is the way most  societies are going, moving forward.

• Q: Is it possible to watch the lecture online at a later date? Sadly, no. Essentially this lecture has the same context as a normal lecture in that it is live, won't be recorded and is subject to the lecturer's copyright.  

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From our Chairman

You will recall my recent Mailchimp notifying you that live lectures are now being presented on Zoom during the Lockdown period.  We have arranged an additional lecture to the 2020 Programme on 13th August at 10.30am.

The lecture title is 'Brilliant British Humour in the Forgotten Art of the Picture Postcard 1909-1939' presented by James Taylor. From the Edwardian era to the start of WW2 picture postcards would provide entertainment, boost morale, instruct, motivate and persuade. This lecture looks at popular themes and such masters of the medium as Mabel Lucy Attwell, Donald McGill and Fred Spurgin, and considers why their popularity with the British public eventually waned.

• To access the Zoom lecture meeting you need to do the following:
• Download the Zoom app for your PC, Tablet or smart Phone
• Click on the meeting link, that we will send you shortly, at 10.20am Thursday 13th August and follow instructions for joining the video meeting
• You will enter a virtual ‘waiting room’
• Wait for the Host to admit you to the meeting
• Make sure your microphone is muted for the duration of the lecture
• At the time you will be given information how to table a question to the lecturer.

I am very much looking forward to this Zoom lecture. Hopefully, it will brighten your day and make you smile!

Anabel

We now have our own Facebook group exclusively for members. 'Mayford Arts' is a platform for the committee to communicate with members, including plans for future meetings, and for members to post relevant comments. If you have a Facebook account, search for 'Mayford Arts' and click 'Request to join'. Otherwise, download the Facebook App in order to proceed.

The cinema complex at The Ambassadors is about to close for refurbishment and so from October 2019 to July 2020 monthly lecture meetings will be held at Christ Church, Woking, GU21 6YG. We are fortunate to find a welcoming venue so close to our usual meeting place, but you may find it more convenient to use the Victoria Way Car Park.

Please use the side entrance by the town gates, opposite Barclays Bank, in order to register. The excellent coffee shop, Twelvethirty, will be open before and after the lecture, but please register first.

As the seats are wooden you may like to bring a cushion. A hearing loop is avaiable.

A rather unusual fund-raising event took place at the Lightbox on Thursday 8th August as members of the Arts Society Mayford took over the Ambassador Room for their Hobbies and Collections Day.

This was the brainchild of their retiring Chairman, Valia Hedley, who has been a passionate supporter of local charities for years.

This year she decided to raise funds for the Community Art & Wellbeing Programme run by the Lightbox.

A fascinating array greeted the many visitors who came to admire and learn what enthuses and interests others.

There was a wide variety of displays including fans, tiny children's shoes, handbags, paintings, novelty  teapots, upholstery, embroidery and patchwork, wooden fruit, sewn and crocheted doll’s house accessories, handmade hats, calligraphy and flower arrangements; one member worked on a rush seat during the day. One particular collection which caused a great stir of interest was a collection of “Peep Shows” in highly decorated shoe boxes, rather similar to those in Victorian times.

Visitors were very complimentary and showed their appreciation with generous donations to such a worthy cause.

Photos of many of these displays can be seen in Gallery 6.

An invitation has been sent out to all TASM members to attend the Hobbies and Collections Day at the Lightbox on Thursday 8 August.

This is an opportunity for our members to show off their skills or other interests to the public.

Items range from paintings, fans, embroidery, upholstery and other collections.

All welcome! The invitation is available to view from 'Our Society' - 'Documents'.

'Centrepiece', TASM's annual project with the Lightbox, is now on show in the Art Fund Gallery on the ground floor. This is the first time we have had an entry from a secondary school .... Fullbrook. The art work is on display until 1st September.

The image shown here is 'The Big Bird' by the Peter Pan Forest School.

More images can be viewed in Gallery 4.

On July 3rd our Chairman, Valia Hedley & Young Arts coordinator, Jan Rubin, were invited to the RBA Preview evening at the Mall Galleries to see all the 21 winning entries on display. The weatherman and artist, Tomasz Schafernaker, presented the prizes.

Valia presented Grace Burns with Art vouchers on behalf of Mayford Arts Society. Grace also won a Michael Harding painting set from the RBA. We have asked her to display some of her paintings at the upcoming Hobbies Day at the Lightbox.

Tha Arts Society Mayford (TASM) church recorders have recently helped complete the record for All Saints Church, Woodham. The record has taken three years to complete and contains detailed descriptions and photographs of categories including textiles, silver, libraries and woodwork. We work in pairs on our categories at monthly meetings at the Church. The results are typed, using a format specified by the Arts Society and the record is compiled by a group leader who in this case is Janet Gill of the Arts Society Woking.

The completed record was printed and handed over to the Church at a recent service, attended by several TASM members (see image).

Four members of TASM took part in the Woodham Church record, but only one is going forward to the next church, St Johns, Wyke, with her speciality of textiles.

The church recording group welcomes new members, who do not need to be experienced at Church Recording as training will be given. It is a great way to learn more about a subject that interests you and can lead to new interests and enthusiasms.

We are delighted to announce that Grace Burns from Woking College has had her portrait of her Dad selected to be shown by the RBA/Arts Society at two galleries in London.

The Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) in St James will show her work from 26th April until Sunday 19th June 2019 and then at the RBA’s annual show at the Mall Galleries from 4th July until 14th July.

There were 247 works submitted from schools by 36 societies.

The RBA judges had difficult choices to make as only 21 students were successful.

Her piece has been drawn with a biro which impressed the judges. The image above is of Grace with her portrait of her Dad and our Young Arts representative Jan Rubin. A further image of Grace with her Dad is in Gallery 4 showing the amazing likeness she has achieved.

Jan Rubin for The Arts Society Mayford (TASM) has been promoting Young Arts in our area. We supported a very successful Woking College end of year summer exhibition. Centrepiece for the younger age group has had an enthusiatic response from eight local schools.

A fuller update can be found under Volunteers/Young Arts and there are further images in Gallery 4 - Young Arts.

Mayford's Silver Celebration at Gordon’s School was enjoyed by over 120 guests, including founder members of the society. Ian Pickford, our inaugural lecturer in January 1993, gave a lecture on candlesticks. A light lunch followed, with a celebration cake made by Anita Urwin and piped in by a Gordon’s School piper, Isla Bethune, the granddaughter of our membership secretary. (The image shows Isla with Chairman Valia Hedley and Ian Pickford.)

There was an opportunity to visit the chapel. The stained glass windows are being restored and to thank the school for their hospitality, we made a donation to the window restoration fund.

We were pleased that June Robinson, our recently retired National Chairman, and Caroline Coleman, our Area Chairman, were able to join us.
Our thanks to Anne Butcher and Sarah Wynter Bee who master-minded the event, John Myall for his technical input and committee members who helped in many ways.

We were very grateful to the School for hosting our event and hope that it was a fitting tribute to the steering committee under Geoffrey Cuttle who launched our society in 1993.

More images can be seen in Gallery 1.

The New Members’ lunch was held on 8 February at which we welcomed the largest intake of new members that we have had recently. Aside from the Committee, it was attended by upwards of 20 from those who have just joined us and it was a pleasure to experience their enthusiastic reaction. We look forward to seeing them again, whether at Lectures, Visits or SIDs (Special Interest Days) and to get their feedback on whether we are providing the sort of programmes they want. The waiting list is starting to grow again!

At the Preview of Woking College's Summer Art and Design Exhibition on June 28th Nadia Asbridge was awarded Best in Show for her painting 'Building'. She was presented with her certificate by Jan Rubin in the presence of family, friends and VIPs at The Lightbox. Some of the sudents' work can be seen in Gallery 4 of this website.

Katie Denham has won the John Ingram Memorial Prize which was presented to her by James Horton, President of the RBA, at the Mall Galleries on 21st March. He remarked that he thought this was the best year yet as the standard was so high.

Katie was told the good news at the Royal Over-Seas League “Rising Stars Exhibition" back in February so had to keep it secret for a month!

Anne Millard together with her husband Keith went along to give her a gift voucher from Mayford DFAS.

The photo here is of Katie with Florian Schweizer, NADFAS Chief Executive, and Anne Millard of Mayford. More photos can be viewed Gallery Four.

Our warmest congratulations go once again to Katie Denham who has had her painting accepted by the NADFAS/Royal Society of British Artists Competition for the second year. Her self portrait will be in their “Rising Stars Exhibition” at the Royal Over-Seas League in St. James's and afterwards at the Mall Galleries.

Katie will automatically become an RBA Scholar and as last year we will award her Affiliate Membership of NADFAS.

Guildford Evening DFAS arranged a special morning at St Mary’s Church, Shackleford for Church Recorders, NADFAS Members and Villagers of Shackleford and Peper Harow to hear Alan Bott, an established NADFAS lecturer, who has written the Guide books for many Surrey churches (including St Mary’s) to talk on the subject of ‘Surrey’s Churches’ with tips on ‘writing the book’.

After coffee Christopher Bell, local resident and Guildford Town Guide, took us on a walking tour of the historic, pretty village of Shackleford which was very informative and enjoyed by everyone.

This window designed by Claude Smaile in the image was commissioned and paid for by the congregation of the Parish of Shackleford and Peper Harrow to mark the Second Millennium in AD 2000 and celebrates New Life in Christ.

Mayford DFAS is pleased to announce their support for Art in Mind at the Lightbox.

This is a programme of monthly art workshops for people living with dementia and their carers or supporters. Sessions are led by an artist and works from The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art are used to inspire both conversation and creativity. Creative activities have been shown to keep people with dementia active for longer and provide a welcome joint activity for the carer and their loved one. 

Many congratulations to Katie Denham for having the charming portrait of her sister accepted at the Mall Galleries next March. It was chosen out of 348 works from 89 schools across the UK and only 22 were accepted. As part of the RBA'S Rising Stars Exhibition her painting will also be on display at Lloyd's Registry Gallery in the city from 11th February until 11th March 2016 before transferring to the Mall Gallery.

Katie will automatically become an RBA Scholar and as with our previous winners we will award her Affiliate Membership of Mayford DFAS.

Seven schools have now been chosen for next year's project with three new names - ACS International school in Chobham, Ongar Place Primary in Addlestone & Stepgates in Chertsey. The other four are Kingfield, Beaufort, Hermitage and Peter Pan Nursery.

Lynn Chadwick's “ Maquette for Winged Figure” (see image) will be the inspiration for the children's work which will be shown in the Art Fund Gallery in July/August 2016.

In conjunction with Woking DFAS Church Recording will begin at All Saints' Woodham in September 2015.

(See Volunteers - 'Church Recording' for details.)

The Centrepiece project with local schools and the resulting 'Maze Music' Exhibition at the Lightbox was a great success. See Young Arts and Gallery four for details.

The new sculpture for next year is a piece by Lyn Chadwick called 'Maquette for Winged Figure' (see image above). We are looking forward to this new collaboration with Centrepiece for 2016. 

Mayford DFAS awarded Hannah Hopgood the 'Best in Show' at the preview evening of the Woking College Art Exhibition. Jan Rubin presented the prize.