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Societies News Updates from Societies across the country and beyondEast Suffolk DFAS holds Society Day to boost helpers Cotswold interview gives Society work airtime on TVDavid Shepherd, Chairman of Cotswold DFAS, and Jenny Bywater, the Society’s Young Arts Representative, have brought the work of NADFAS to the small screen.The pair were interviewed by That’s Oxfordshire TV in a 20-minute programme airedin July where they discussed theSociety’s Young Arts programme,the schools involved, howstudents are selected and thevalue of the bursaries to thestudents. Zoe Foster, the 2015winner of the Anne StevensYoung Arts Bursary (namedafter the Society’s founder)was also present.The programme can still be viewed on www.youtube.com by searching for ‘Talk Oxfordshire: Eve Ahmed with David Shepherd, Jenny Bywater and Zoe Foster’.A large cross, designed and made out of clay tiles by pupils at St James Primary School in Northampton, has been erected in the school’s recently refurbished Refl ection Garden. It was the result of a successful collaborative project between Northampton DFAS and the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), working to foster children’s participation in a work of art for their community. A group of 13 children made drawings and rubbings inspired by the wealth of artistic treasures Ivor Murrell, the Chairman of East Suffolk DFAS, has been delighted with the success of a ‘Your Society’ day that resulted in many offers of help. Some 51 members took part. Area Chairman Angela Payne started the day, followed by short presentations from the Society Chairman, Treasurer and Young Arts Representative. The members were then divided into six groups, and given the task of answering three questions: What do you like about NADFAS, What suggestions do you have to improve ESDFAS, and What can you do? “The discussions were very animated and loud! Nobody had asked them to do this before,” commented Ivor. After lunch there were talks from the Area Committee and Church Recording team. Attendees were questioned about the day, with tickboxes asking for help with designated tasks. “Some 27 members made single or multiple offers of help,” says Ivor. “An unforeseen bonus was the signifi cant ‘lift’ it gave to every member of the Area and ESDFAS Committees taking part.”“O soldier, soldier won’t you marry me with your musket, fi fe and drum?” This line from a well-known song gives a good introduction to a project that Heritage Volunteers from Chiswick DFAS and Richmond DFAS have been working on since February. The Museum of Army Music, located at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, holds a small but fascinating collection of instruments and memorabilia associated with military music over the last 200 years. However, many of the instruments are not on display, which is where volunteers came in. They helped to clean and repack the instruments, and add the details to a database. The volunteers also devised a shelf numbering system, so that it would be easy to retrieve objects.Northampton partnership with CCT makes an impact on refl ectionChiswick and Richmond Societies drum up musical volunteersThis has been an unusual project, which all the volunteers found to be very rewarding.The project is continuing with a smaller team, now cataloguing old photos.Above: One of the Heritage Volunteers with a musical instrument from the collectionthey found in nearby St Peter’s, a 900-year-old Norman church.Later, at a workshop held at the school with Emily Barnes, Heritage Learning Offi cer of the CCT and Nita Nathwani, a local ceramicist, the pupils scribed their work on to clay tiles, which were then fi red and fi xed to a wooden plinth. All involved hope it will be a delight and inspiration to those who use the garden in the years to come.Right: Schoolchildren with the cross in the Refl ection garden68 NADFAS REVIEW / WINTER 2016 www.nadfas.org.ukSOCIETIES NEWS