13th What We’ve Been Up To Week Ending 25/05/2014

As people return from their attempts to beat the crowds (if not the weather)with quick breaks before the school holiday onslaught, our meeting room last week was once again very full. Added to the numbers of regular volunteers, our overseas interns (currently there are six of them)have also decided that it would both help their English and keep them au fait with the full spectrum of  Town House activities, to swell our numbers at each meeting.  Everyone is very happy to have them – though it might just have us seeking a larger space for future gatherings.

·         One of the first matters of business was a request for web designers or editors. If any of our Friends with these skills would like to donate a couple of hours a week  working in this capacity it would be of inestimable value.  Naturally, the same applies to any friends of Friends.
·         Alternatively, we could use some more fit and strong bodies to help with more manual work. This doesn’t require any particular training or qualifications: just a strong pair of arms and legs to help haul things, move furniture or give the plasterers a hand setting up scaffolding or carrying plaster : lime putty is incredibly heavy.
·         We are also still on the look-out for any electricians, or retired electricians, to help down in the basement.
·         The exciting thing about the basement at the moment, is that the glass sky-light has now been fitted.  This is exciting not just because it makes the space water-proof once more, but also takes us a step nearer to having a large work-shopping area at our disposal.
·         One of the volunteers has come up with a great idea: due to the huge amount of research concerning the Victorian and Regency periods that is done here, lots of intriguing information is turned up – not all of it relevant to the particular project in which researchers are engaged.  It was suggested therefore, that people could give the rest of us talks from time to time and share their findings. Sounds like a terrific idea and it is to be hoped that some people are already mulling over ideas for this kind of presentation.
·         Although the two concurrent exhibitions which have been on display for the past month have now finished, details of other exhibitions planned for this summer will be brought to the fore in this space during the next few months.
·         Constant mention of our Silhouette project might have made some Friends familiar with the idea. But to recap: -  Just over a year ago we began a very ambitious plan which would make ours the most comprehensive site on the Net concerning silhouettes, artists, and extant images.  So comprehensive was this plan indeed, that it seemed, at times, that we had been too ambitious. So there is great relief and joy this week as we come to the end of it.  All that remains now is for our computer guru Rob to ensure that all goes on-line smoothly and hey presto! Largely utilising volunteer workers, our aim has been achieved: the Regency Town House is the largest depository  for information, images and artist biographies currently available in one place.  That deserves the few extra words this project has received above.  (And hopefully excuses any underlying triumph which may have crept into this item).