Alton Art Society members enjoyed a demonstration by Ronnie Ireland at the Alton Assembly Rooms on September 20.

For the first half he gave an interesting talk on art history and the way it influences his paintings. A slide show depicted artists such as Titian and Millais and the way their art tells a story - and the use of a pyramid shape to denote security.

He said members should take inspiration from their everyday surroundings as well as past history. He likes to use Greek mythology or take an old masterpiece and update it, and showed examples of his work to illustrate this.

In the second half he did a rough sketch of a father cradling his small son. He used an oil based sepia pencil and Faber Castell polychrome pencils, with the pencil held at the end to give freedom of movement.

Ronnie explained how the position of the eyes or hands can change the meaning of the painting, and that getting the correct angle of the eyes in relation to the nose was vital. He told members the most important thing in their painting was to tell a story.

Alton Art Society is celebrating its centenary and its free annual exhibition will be held at the Alton Assembly Rooms from October 11 to 19 between 10am and 5pm (10am and 3pm on the final day).

Members and guests of Bake, Natter and Roll Farnham WI had a truly off the wall evening on September 18 when their speaker was Lindsey Burrell - also known as Cherry Bomb - who is not only a WI president but also a burlesque performer.

Cherry entered the meeting in her amazing burlesque costume and took members through her life journey in finding both the WI and burlesque.

She had members in fits of laughter and made them feel that no matter what shape or size they were, they could be proud. As the finale to her presentation, she had them all join in and perform a short burlesque dance - showing that the members of Bake, Natter and Roll could really shimmy.

Not only were they entertained by Cherry Bomb, they were also treated to some amazing cakes created for them by Cecila and Jen.

The next meeting, on October 16 at 7.30pm, will be the annual pink evening supporting Breast Cancer Now.

From 7.30pm to 8pm councillors from Farnham Town Council will discuss parking in Farnham, then from 8pm the speaker will be Malcolm Wells.

Bake, Natter and Roll meets in the Small Hall at the Spire Church in South Street, Farnham. For more information email [email protected]

The Farnham Afternoon Bridge Club has been meeting at the Farnham Maltings on Wednesday afternoons since 1978.

At one time it had a membership of more than 60 and rubber bridge was played to a good standard but in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Sadly after the Covid lockdown numbers declined until there were just 19 members and it was not viable to continue.

The club played its last session on September 24 in the Long Kiln Gallery, followed by a delicious afternoon tea.

Many good friendships have been made over the years and members will continue to play bridge at one of the many other clubs in the town or socially at each other's houses.

When everything has been sorted out, any remaining funds will be donated to a local charity.

Children from the 7th Farnham Beavers enjoyed the Beavers Go Wild overnight camp at Bentley Copse Activity Centre.

They were joined by more than 300 Beavers and adults from Cobham, Shalford, Pyrford, West End, Caterham, Reigate, Fernhurst, Knaphill, Camberley, Burstow, Crookham, Ruxley, Esher, Frimley Green and Mytchett, Elvetham Heath, Ashtead and Fetcham.

Over a weekend of fun more than 50 activities were on offer, including a zip line, go-karts, climbing, caving, bouncy castles, making large bubbles, digital orienteering, giant games, abseiling, Aeroball, Leap of Faith and many more.

On the Saturday night the Beavers had a campfire and listened to a bedtime story.

Denise Iverson, the county lead for Beavers, said: “It was a weekend devoted to fun and friends, It was great seeing all the children and leaders meeting new and old friends and gaining new skills for life.“

Alexander, eight, from Farnham, said: “I liked the bubbles, and I liked making big bubbles and popping them, and I liked sleeping in the tent with my friends.”

Isla, six, from Farnham, added: “I liked the rock climbing as it was fun.”

Bramshott and Liphook Arts and Crafts Society would like to invite everyone to its annual exhibition.

At least 35 local artists will be displaying and selling 180 paintings and 50 pieces of craft in its main exhibition. There will also be additional crafts, ceramics, gifts and cards for sale - a perfect opportunity for early Christmas shopping. Refreshments will be available and admission is free.

The exhibition is open on October 16 from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, October 17 and 18 from 10am to 5pm, and October 19 from 10am to 4.30pm, at the Liphook Millennium Centre in Ontario Way, Liphook. For more information visit https://www.liphookartsandcrafts.org.uk/annual-exhibition

Alton Climate Action Network is holding its first large-scale community engagement meeting for a couple of years in the Wesley Hall at the Alton Maltings Centre on October 16 at 7.30pm.

Everyone is invited to come together to build community and local environmental action to deal with the threat of climate change.

They can celebrate how local action is making a difference, connect with others working towards similar goals, and explore new ideas and plans for the year ahead.

The Documentary Competition, which is always popular with Surrey Border Movie Makers members, took place at their September meeting.

A great selection of films on interesting and diverse subjects are always entered into this competition, and this year was no exception, with eight films being submitted.

The audience, which included several new members and also visitors thinking of joining the club, sat down to enjoy an entertaining evening watching the films on the big screen in the meeting hall.

The first entry was by Colin Lewis, whose film I Wouldn’t Swap It For The World covered footage of The Farnham Festival of Transport 2025.

Colin captured some excellent interviews from enthusiasts about their vehicles, and he also invited the organiser of the festival, Jed Wootten, to watch his film on the night.

The next film was by Peter Stratford, who is a well-travelled club member and never disappoints in creating an interesting documentary.

Peter’s entry Uyuni took the viewer to the incredible largest salt flats in the world, found in this Bolivian city. Uyuni is also home to a unique and eerie train cemetery which came about after the mining industry collapsed.

Dave Skertchly’s film Oh F It’s A Fokker was shown next and covered the true story of the Fokker Scare. In 1915 it was the first armed service aircraft, fitted with a machine gun and made by the Germans. The French and British soon followed suit with their own versions of armed aircraft.

The following entry, Ghost Of A Road, was made by Jonathan Hill, who took the audience on a journey of discovery to find a long lost Roman road which stretches from Merrow to Effingham in Surrey.

Jonathan enhanced his film with very informative information and accompanying detailed maps in this captivating movie.

Next was a film by Mike Sanders called Brewing Focus, made for the Alton Beer Festival charity. Mike captured the brewing process from hops to barrels, and also managed to get several interviews from the busy brewers along the way.

Khiva was a second film entry from Peter Stratford. Khiva is a medieval city in Uzbekistan, described as ‘the Silk Road city most tourists miss’ - maybe that was why Peter decided to make this wonderful film about his visit.

With its colourful street markets, monuments and enchanting inhabitants, which Peter managed to capture so naturally, it is no wonder Khiva is on the World Heritage List.

The final film was by Gillian Gatland and called Cruising On The Kiel Canal. Gillian shared her cruise on this German canal by showing some beautiful scenic footage of her journey between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Gillian gave the audience an excellent informative narration describing the construction of the canal from 1887 to 1895 to its widening during the years 1907 to 1914 to allow the safe passage of much larger ships. It is the most frequented artificial waterway, and Gillian produced an excellent informative film.

With all the films shown, and coffee, tea and cake consumed, it was time for the audience to vote for the winning films. The results were: 1st - Uyuni by Peter Stratford; 2nd - Khiva by Peter Stratford; 3rd - Ghost Of A Road by Jonathan Hill.