Four Parishes Arts Society - June 2009

Visit to Wisley

On a fine, dry day in April, twenty seven members and friends left Amport Green for The Royal Horticultural Society’s Wisley Gardens in Surrey.  The gardens were looking superb and we spent the time wandering and admiring all there was to see.  The rock gardens were particularly colourful and the orchards looked lovely, just coming into bloom.  The new Glass House was a delight, beautifully laid out and full of interesting and exotic plants.  Most of us were seduced by the Plant Shop and came home laden with our purchases, tired but exhilarated.

Trogons - True Birds of the Tropics – talk by Lt. Cmdr Glenn Duggan

Glenn joined the Royal Navy in 1965 and served for 30 years. Whilst at the Royal Navy Hospital Haslar, as Supply Officer, he was put in charge of safeguarding a number of valuable books. These books turned out to be twenty-two volumes of the famous Victorian Bird Artist, John Gould. The value of those books at this time – half a million pounds!

Glenn has travelled extensively with his wife, Theresa, seeking out the Trogon birds and another species, the Quetzals. There are 39 species of these birds in the tropics and subtropics.

Glenn gave a very colourful and inspiring talk, backing up his talk with his photographs of these superb birds displaying their exotic colours and, most outstanding of all, their tails of many hues, patterns and colours. One species, the Kitzel, has a 3 ft. long tail, which often gets broken off but grows again for the mating season. Glenn is also a superb artist and brought along some of his paintings of the birds he has photographed, including the Kitzel with the 3 ft. tail. No species is threatened and since 1600 there has been no extinction of the Trogons.

The Mayan people hold these birds in high esteem and only high priests or royalty could have the tail feathers which were treasured more than gold. The Trogons have also appeared on stamps and coins.

Glenn finished the evening by giving us an insight into his experiences in the jungle where these birds live, either in the high altitudes or in the lower branches of the dense jungle, which makes them very hard to photograph. Glenn used a very good camera weighing 7 kilos.

It was a talk not to be missed and the members present certainly enjoyed the evening. As many of us had never heard of the Trogons, it was made all the more interesting.

Musical Evening

On Saturday 13 June, the Four Parishes Arts Society are hosts to the Hampshire Guitar Orchestra - Hago led by their Musical Director Derek Hasted. The concert, at 7.30 p.m. in Quarley Village Hall, is being held in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. The evening promises to be highly entertaining with a mix of music in all styles, rhythms and a sense of fun and enjoyment employing the use of four different size guitars and, as quoted by the Classical Guitar Magazine, “riotously good ensemble”.

The orchestra were previously featured in the Leisure page in the Andover Advertiser on 6 March 2009.

There are 100 tickets for sale, in advance, at £7 for Four Parishes Arts Society members and £10 for guests.  Enticing refreshments will be on sale during the interval.  Tickets can be obtained from -  Sue Ryan: 01264 710413,  Helen Norman: 01264 889337,  Jose Taylor: 01264 324552

The Society looks forward to welcoming you all for a truly unforgettable evening.

Please Note the revised ticket prices which are different to those previously quoted.

Midsummer Fine Art Exhibition and Competition - 20 and 21 June at Monxton & Amport Village Hall

Members of the Four Parishes Arts Society have been invited to attend the private preview of the Exhibition on Friday 19 June between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Admission is by invitation only and will include drinks and canapés.  Those who wish to attend should apply to Renate West, tel: 01264 889507.