Camera Club Outings

Hastings/Battle – Saturday 8 June 

Just to confirm the details for the day:

8.15 Meet at St Mark’s Road – at the side of Waitrose, Bromley

8.30 Leave Bromley

10.00 Arrive at Battle/Battle Abbey

12.00 Leave Battle and travel to Hastings

12.30 Arrive in Hastings (group lunch possibility)

17.30 Leave Hastings

19.00 approx. Arrive back in Bromley

Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve – Saturday 22 June

If you’re interested in this outing, please email Czech: czechconroy@yahoo.com

We’ll meet at 10:00am at the visitors’ centre, next to the car park, where there are toilets and a cafe. Weather permitting, this should be a good time of the year for macro photography, with plenty of dragonflies, butterflies and bees on the wing. There will also be opportunities for bird photography if you’ve got a long lens. We’ll finish at about 13:00 and re-convene at the visitors’ centre for a tea/coffee. 

Camera Club Annual Exhibition

Congratulations to Besnik whose image entitled “Lady in the Snow” was voted to be the most popular by viewers of the exhibition. Besnik is making a habit of this as he won last year too.

Whats on this weekend and soon

Trooping the Colour – The Mall – 10:00am

Although Trooping the Colour is also known as the Queen’s Birthday Parade, this prime piece of pageantry doesn’t take place on her actual birthday (that’s on April 21) but on her official birthday (a Saturday in June being more likely to provide sunshine for the proceedings). Carried out on Horse Guards by fully operational troops from the Household Division (Foot Guards and Household Cavalry), Trooping the Colour is a military tradition that dates back to the early eighteenth century. Originally it was all about helping soldiers to recognise their own standard in the chaos of battle. Now it’s an opportunity for some seriously impressive marching manoeuvres and an fantastic opportunity for royalty spotting (other members of the royal family attend, as well as the sovereign). For many years the Queen strutted her stuff on horseback but these days she travels by carriage. After the parade, the royals head back to Buckingham Palace for balcony photo shoots and there’s usually a fly-past at 1:00pm to wind things up. You can watch along the Mall or from the edge of St James’s Park for free but you’ll need to arrive well before events begin at 10:00am to be far enough forward to get a good view. It will come as no surprise that the limited grandstand seating is highly sought after and needs to be applied for at the beginning of the year.

World Naked Bike Ride – Saturday 8 June, starts at 12:00 noon

Either watch, avoid, or join in as hundreds of cyclists ditch their clothes and take a group ride around London. The ride demonstrates the vulnerability of cyclists and is a protest against car culture. WNBR is a worldwide campaign with a number of linked themes. Its objectives are to: protest against the global dependency on oil, curb car culture, obtain real rights for cyclists, demonstrate the vulnerability of cyclists on city streets and celebrate body freedom.https://wnbr.london/. So now you know!

Open Garden Squares Weekend – Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June

With the purchase of a Weekend ticket, you can explore a huge variety of gardens which are usually closed to the public – and enjoy a host of activities and experiences for all the family.

Open Garden Squares Weekend highlights some of the best gardens and green spaces that make up the rich tapestry of London’s green infrastructure, but there are many others – just as valuable to their communities – which are in decline or under threat of development. Funds raised during OGSW mean that the London Parks and Gardens Trust can continue its work to protect them.

You can either buy a pass in advance, or from selected gardens on the day. More info at http://www.opensquares.org/2019/home/index.php.

Spitfire plane at London Bridge Station – until Sunday 9 June

If you catch a train from London Bridge, then look out for a Spitfire fighter plane sitting in the middle of the main concourse.

It’s a replica of the famous WW2 fighter plane, and was installed overnight by Network Rail and the Imperial War Museums (IWM) to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The replica Supermarine Spitfire is usually on display at IWM Duxford in Cambridgeshire.

The Brooklands Double Twelve Motor Festival – Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Organised in association with the VSCC come and enjoy a two-day extravaganza that features Motoring Competitions, the Test Hill Challenge, great food, music and entertainment for the whole family.

The event celebrates Brooklands’ rich motoring history, and is always held on the weekend closest to the Anniversary of the original opening of the Brooklands race track in 1907. Soak up the atmosphere and see some of the World’s rarest and most outrageous vehicles compete and don’t forget to explore the Museum’s displays and exhibitions.

Both days will feature festival fun on the Museum site, with live music, vehicle displays and family entertainment throughout the day. The motoring competitions will be spread across the two days, on Saturday 15 June the cars head across to the Mercedes-Benz World circuit for the Speed Trials, on both days there will be Concourse Judging and on Sunday 16 June the Driving Tests will be taking over the Museum site.

As well as the main competitions, the Test Hill Challenge will also take place on Sunday. This will involve everything from motorcycles to giant pre-war racing cars tackling the punishing 352ft (107m) slope, with running races for energetic children!

Waterloo Weekend – Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June – 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Commemorating the Battle of Waterloo anniversary attend the weekend and re-live the drama and grandeur of the Napoleonic War.

Featuring the 95th Rifles, who will be presenting life in one of Wellington’s Regiments with live re-enactment both inside and outside Apsley House and see a Georgian surgeon demonstrate their trade, or listen to a talk on Regency etiquette, all in the splendour of the Duke of Wellington’s London home.

St. Paul’s Cathedral drops photography ban

St Paul’s Cathedral has decided to allow photography within the building, overturning a ban that was often surreptitiously ignored anyway.

Their instagram account said that from 1st June, non-flash photography for personal use inside the Cathedral will be allowed outside service times. The details are now on their website – stating that “respectful” photography is permitted during sightseeing hours (usually 8.30am-4.30pm), Monday to Saturday, and in a restricted area at the West End of the Cathedral on Sundays.

The use of flash or additional lighting, tripods, monopods and selfie sticks will not permitted at any time, nor is filming and video recording permitted. And naturally, not during a service.

Now that the ban has been lifted, photography is permitted throughout the Cathedral floor, crypt and external galleries. They warn that areas of the Cathedral may occasionally be designated as “no photography” on a temporary basis and this will be indicated at the time. Photography on the Whispering Gallery is not permitted at any time.

Also, photography won’t be permitted in St Dunstan’s Chapel, which is available for private prayer and reflection throughout the day.

PAGB e-News Nos. 231 and 231 extra

To read the latest issues, please click on this link www.pagbnews.co.uk

Val