A record of past events from the current year.

Use the Meetings and Trips links at the left for information about future events planned for this year.

Summer Meeting

Saturday 14th June 2008

A new departure for our Summer gathering. Instead of Hampstead Heath and the Spaniards inn, as in the last few years, this year we went to a new venue, the "Prospect of Whitby" pub on the River Thames at Wapping. This is an ancient inn, associated with the notorious "hanging judge" Judge Jeffries, and its name of course is associated with our beloved Whitby! The meeting was a free-form event, where members brought readings to entertain us, and we were regaled by excellent contributions from Sue Gedge, Tina Rath, and a special reading of an appropriate passage from "the book" by our special guest, Hammer Dracula actress Janina Faye, who was installed as an Honorary Life Member of the Society at the event. A splendid time was had by all at this historic and beautiful location.

Spring Meeting & AGM

Saturday 26th April 2008

The Society held its AGM and Spring Meeting at the Ship, in Holborn, which was attended by 27 people.

After the official business of the AGM, members settled back to enjoy a talk by actor Ian Fairbairn. Ian is one of several renowned actors who have recently recorded audio versions of a number of stories by M. R. James for Fantom Films Ltd. We were also fortunate to have his producer, Dexter O’Neill present, who gave a brief introduction as to how these new audio books came into being. Ian then recited an abridged version of one of James’ most gripping and creepy tales – The Ash Tree.

Following the talk, Ian was interviewed by Media Officer Des Bradley, and fielded questions from the audience, during the course of which we learnt about Mr Fairbairn's prowess at installing central heating systems, and heard details of his wonderful collection of cinema projection equipment.

After the meeting members were able to purchase copies of the CDs, which Ian kindly signed.

As one of the panel for the 2008 Back to the Book evening it was comforting to return to the cosy atmosphere of the upstairs room at The Ship Tavern in Holborn.

An excellent (but potentially daunting) turnout of members and their guests arrived, and I wondered how I found myself in one of the hot seats for the latest “A Question of Dracula”. The excellent food, coupled with copious alcohol, and the friendly and efficient service put the audience in a good mood. The questions were insightful and erudite and lead to some very interesting dialogue.    

All too soon the end of questions was announced – hopefully leaving the membership hungry for the next literary event.

As I dived into my first glass of wine of the evening so many issues continued to demand further thought! Could Mrs Westenra really be quite as wicked as one panellist maintained? Can ghosts and vampires exist in the same universe? Why did Mina think that the men were so wonderful when to one panellist they fell way short of the mark? Above all – why did no-one ask about the statutes of mortmain?

A more detailed report of this evening will appear in the next edition of Voices from the Vaults.

Saturday 12th January 2008

An earlier date for our first meeting of the year than in previous years, more fitting for a "New Year" meeting.

We were also at a new venue, "The George" in the Strand in central London, for our traditional film evening.

This time we saw the production of Dracula from the classic Thames TV series  "Mystery and Imagination" from 1968, starring Denholm Elliott in the title role.

We were very privileged to have with us David Marshall, the designer of the production, who engaged in a very entertaining interview with our Media Officer Des Bradley before the screening.

A very successful and well attended evening, with much praise for the splendid food provided! Hopefully we will return to this venue in the future, as it will be very suitable for many types of event.