This month's lecture will be 'Free February'; guests may attend for free! Click here for details of the lecture

Membership for the year starting in April is now open. Click here for full details.

Unsure what to buy - or to ask for - as a present? TASHA will shortly be launching a gift scheme for annual membership. Watch this space!

Join us for our next lecture titled 'Between Angels and Devils: Botticelli and Renaissance Florence'. As well as talking about his art, Jo Walton promises to enlighten us about the life and political times in which Botticelli lived.

Click here for more details.

Please join us for a free taster lecture on Thursday 13th February.

Click here for further details and to book.

The Walled Garden may be closed to individual visitors for the winter, but there is still much of interest going on. Visit their Events page https://lutonhooestate.co.uk/events/ for details.

James Wright will explore myths and local legends surrounding some of our ancient buildings. Focussing on staircases and tunnels, he will enquire into their design and purpose.

For further details, click here 

We have arranged a coach trip to Syon House, home of the Percy family for over 400 years. the house contains splendid Robert Adam interiors and is set in a Capability Brown landscape with views stretching across the Thames towards Kew Gardens.

See our Visits page for more details

TASHA will be participating in the Local History Open Day at the Eric Morecambe Centre on 20th April 2024.

Click here for full details.

TASHA will have a stand at the Harpenden Trust Seniors Fair in the Eric Morecambe Centre

Details here

Free and half-price tickets for Arts Society members available for Christmas concerts in London. Details here

The AGM of the national society was held on 24th May 2023 in Bristol. Please click the link below to download the minutes of the meeting.

Download file

Unfortunately our planned lecture for this month cannot go ahead: the lecturer is ill. Instead we have another treat in store!

On the 400th anniversary of its publication, Peter Ross will talk about “Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623”; more details can be found in the Lectures section of the website.

We hope that Susan Kay-Williams will be coming at a later date to deliver her lecture “How Many Colours in the Rainbow”.

A memorial service for

Margaret (Peg) Gull

will be held at
St Leonard's Church, High St, Flamstead, St Albans AL3 8BS

at 2 pm on SATURDAY 28TH JANUARY,

and then afterwards at Harpenden Golf Club.

If you would like at attend you can let Michael know and he will send numbers to Angus Gull

m.horrex@btinternet.com

If you have particular memories of Peg Gull that you would like to share with the family, Angus would be only too happy to received them:

angus@landjgull.co.uk

Over the winter volunteers will be arranging talks on the last Friday of each month. Coffee will be served from 10 30 am and the talks, which last approximately one hour, will begin at 11 00am. They cover a wide range of topics researched by volunteers.

The cost of each talk is £7 50 per person and bookings can be made online at www.trybooking.co.uk/BWLV or reserve a place by calling 01582 721443.

Topics

November 25th 2022 – The Women’s Land Army – WWI

January 27th 2023 – Walled Garden Highs and Lows – 20th Century

February 24th 2023 – Water on the Estate, 18th to 21st Century

March 24th 2023 – 21 Years Reviving the Walled Garden

April 28th 2023 – Gertrude Jekyll in Bedfordshire

Members may bring a friend to our lectures in June or November for free. Even if you don't know a member you are welcome!

See the Lectures page of the website for details of the lectures.

Please email our membership secretary Jenny Dorman membership.tasha@gmail.com to register.

Bedfordshire Gardens Trust, in conjunction with the Luton Hoo Estate, are putting on three Zoom lectures, the details of which are as follows:

History of Luton Hoo Estate:  Walled Garden History - 25th January, 2022 

'Capability' Brown at Luton Hoo - 23rd February 2022

Before the Walled Garden - 25th March 2022

Each event will begin at 6pm and end at 7:30pm, with the Zoom link will open at 5:45pm.  There will be time for questions at the end of each talk.  In order to book please send an email to treasurer@bedsgardenstrust.org.uk

We are delighted to be able to tell you that we have finally secured our new venue back in Harpenden, The Eric Morecambe Centre. 

We are also happy to report that our lectures will now be live, beginning with the lecture on Turner vs Constable on 16th September.

The facilities are excellent and the auditorium should suit us perfectly.  There are seats on one level, as well as some stepped seating, and both are accessed by a lift or stairs from the main reception.

There are nearby pay and display car parks, and annual parking permits can be obtained from the St Albans Council website.

The EMC will not be providing an induction loop for those of you with hearing aids, however, they have installed the latest up to date system which is called “BYOD” (bring your own device), which links into your smart phone.  

This will be an exciting new experience for all of us, the beginning of a new chapter.  There may be one or two teething problems at the beginning, but we will do our very best to iron these out before we meet for our first lecture, and when we do meet, there will be many people on site, whom you know, to show you where all the facilities are, and to guide you to your seat.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Eric Morecambe Centre on 16th September.