Membership Renewal Reminder.
Do please be aware that if you have not already done so, your membership for 2020 needs to be renewed through our Treasurer, John Chalker. John may be contacted direct or via the Contact Us Form on this website.
NOTES FROM THE CHAIR – August 2020
The Martha Brown episode of Murder, Mystery and My Family on BBC1 Thursday 6 August at 10 am
Roger Guttridge, one of the speakers we have booked to give a talk next year, will be appearing on TV this week in the Martha Brown episode of Murder, Mystery and My Family. It was filmed in Dorset in November and will be on BBC1 at 10am on Thursday 6th August. Roger tells us that his contribution to the programme is to describe Martha’s trial and public execution at Dorchester in 1856 and the impact on the 16-year-old Thomas Hardy, who was in the crowd.
Cancellation of the Meetings on 24 September, 22 October and 26 November
Regrettably it has become clear that it will not be possible to hold meetings for more than 30 people In the Village Hall for the foreseeable future. Consequently we have had no alternative but to cancel the meetings and talks which were to take place on the 24th September, 22nd October and 26th November 2020. We hope that, as with most of the talks planned for this year that have already been cancelled, we will be able to re-arrange them for next year.
Online magazine
The next issue of our online magazine will be published on 4 September. It will contain more fascinating articles about Cerne Abbas and the surrounding area, so be sure not to miss it.
We are always looking for new topics for articles, and writers. So please send us your ideas and any articles you have written which may be suitable. Also are there any features you would like the magazine to have which are missing at the moment and do you have any interesting photos that you would like published?
The National Trust’s celebrations of the centenary of their ownership of the Giant
Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the celebrations planned by the NT for July had to be cancelled and the results of the most important tests carried out to age the Giant, namely Optically Stimulated Luminescence tests, have been delayed. We understand that those results are likely to be available in the autumn and will be announced by the NT in a press release or news conference. We will let you have further information on the subject as soon as it becomes available.
Do keep safe and well
Gordon Bishop
You can get in touch with Gordon via the Contact Us form on this site.
Previously…
July sees the publication of the 4th issue of the Society’s magazine. In April we were forced by the Coronavirus to cancel many of the meetings of the Society planned for this year. In order to keep the Society active during this period of self-isolation we decided to produce an online magazine with articles about the history of Dorset, and Cerne in particular. The first issue of the magazine was published on the 9th April and we have produced one monthly since then. We have made it available not only to our members but to anyone else who would like to read it. Our next issue will be in early September. After that they will probably be published quarterly.
During the lockdown we have also published a new book “CERNE ABBAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY”. It is a beautifully designed and printed 64 page, A4 size, all colour hardback. The price of the book is £15. It can be bought at the Village Stores or the Old Saddlers or other outlets in the village.
It is also available online and will be delivered free if you live within 2 miles of Cerne Abbas. Elsewhere in the UK there will be a postage charge of £3. If you would like to obtain a copy details of how to do so are on page 3 of the magazine, downloadable by clicking above.
You can get in touch with Gordon via the Contact Us form on this site.