KEDFAS – COULD IT BE FOR YOU?

I must admit to feeling a bit wary when it was suggested that I join the newly formed KEDFAS – Kingsbridge Estuary Decorative and Fine Arts Society – back in 1993. Beyond sometimes “knowing what I like” I knew nothing much about any of the arts, decorative or otherwise, and a group with that name would surely be full of people who knew everything … about all of them. I would feel a complete ignoramus, frightened to open my mouth, and anyway what could they offer that would possibly interest someone with my common or garden tastes?

Luckily I was persuaded to try it and for the past 16 years the KEDFAS lecture has been a regular highlight of each month between September and June. Very often the less I have expected to be interested, the more I have enjoyed the talk. Some of the slides are quite amazing. The lecturers are all experts in their field and great enthusiasts, so they make each subject fascinating to everyone – whether you start by knowing anything about it, or nothing at all. And the subjects are so varied and often very unusual. Of course most of the lectures are about the works and lives of great painters, sculptors, composers, or ancient monuments and outstanding buildings etc, but this season for instance we also had a specialist detective who told us of his adventures and successes in tracking down international art thieves, even how they recovered jewellery and art objects hidden in false walls or buried in fields. Past lecture subjects have included The Original Olympic Games, Beds and Bedtime, Historic Pubs, Brighton Station, even “Bogs, Baths and Basins”! We have heard the Story of Chinese Jade, the Life and Times of Samuel Pepys, History of the Long Case Clock… the range of subjects is endless.

KEDFAS offers many other activities too: expertly guided visits to art collections, historic venues, important houses and gardens in the South West; occasional tours to interesting places overseas as well as at home; study days to look at specific subjects in more detail under the guidance of an expert tutor. All these are “optional extras” but the annual subscription of £36 per head covers the nine lectures (giving a very reasonable price of only £6 for each one) and each member also receives the arts journal “NADFAS REVIEW” free each quarter.

You can find out much more about KEDFAS by calling 01548 857507 or e-mailing kedfasinfo@yahoo.co.uk.

For a small donation you could even come to one of our lectures as a “taster”.

Try it – you may well find it’s for you!