Issue 84 March 2015

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Editorial

If any member has an objection to the Society holdingMembership records on a computer and using the informa-tion for society purposes deemed suitable by the Commit-tee, eg; the production and distribution of a membershiplist, please notify the Editor

Front cover this issueis from “World’s First

Aircraft Carier" bySteve Kerry

Rear Cover Images,Setting Off - Cuxhaven

Raid by C. G. Taylor and“Lohner Type M - DuinoCastle” by P. W. Grove

Front and back covershave been selectedfrom the entries forthe MAvAS Trophy

Hello and welcome.Our society is constantly in a state of

flux, old members retire new members join.New materials and methods are tried,methods of working need redefining, theconstitution needs a tweak. Society officerschange, and our meeting room is movedand car parking needs a rethink. By the time you read these words theAGM has taken place and new officers havehopefully been appointed and access to theadmin room sorted out. We need to renew our commitment toour society and keep calm and carry onpainting.Happy painting,DavePs but as an old artist said to me “If youfind painting is calming and relaxing - youare doing something wrong - bin it.”Pps. Richard Jackson’s article is a movingtestament that should really have been inthe mag before the D-Day competition,when I am sure some of the emotion wouldhave enhanced our work.

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ContentsThe Scars of Normandy Never Heal. RichardJackson looks back.

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The February Workshop with Steve Abbott andlot of soluble coloured pencils.

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February Meeting, The Mavas Trophy for WW1Naval Aviation.

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Featuring Member Wayne Leeming 16

Rob Knotts Looks at Humans, Often a NeglectedElement in Aviation Art

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Sadly an Obituary Page 23

A Celebration of Aviation Art from 2014 24

News Round 26

Diary Dates - keep up to date 27

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To go back to Normandy had become an obsession over themany years, for the impact of those beach-head days had seared ascar across the surface of memory, a scar which divided for alwaysthat which went before and that which followed.Of only ten weeks duration, it draws one’s thoughts to its beginningand along its length to its end. Constantly todays become yesterdayas the mind is sent speeding back at a sound, a word, or a name. Itwill always be so, for , in those terrifying and primitive rounds ofdestruction that heralded liberation, defeat, victory, and broughtinvoluntary sacrifice of life, youth had been disintegrated to

manhood exacted.One must return, if only to

soften a little this nagging whichbreaks momentarily, but regularly,into conscious thinking, crossing thechasm of years between the presentand the other pinnacle of yesterday,hoping to find a moment in timewhen the soul searching cease.

A wife and daughters for their first holiday aboard. Excitedlythey look forward to their first sea voyage, but for the wife , whosenses the emotional nature of this pilgrimage, it too is a journeyinto the past.

The Scars ofNormandy Never

HealBy

Richard Jackson

Ships as far as the eye can see

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The sun is shinning as it had done then, but the sea and the sky areempty save for the tanker crossing the wake. Is this the sea that carriedthe thousands in procession as the eye could see? Is this the sky thatthrobbed with the multitudinous sounds of death on the wing? It hadbeen so long ago, and a sea is a sea and sky a sky, and the sea and skyof that morning will not be seen again.

The ship ploughs on, with its passengers lounging in the sun andchildren playing around its decks. They are not packed in and thereis no fear, for the sea and the sky are empty, and the land beckonswelcome on the horizon. There is no death in this land to which theyexcitedly point, no smoke writhes upwards to the heavens, no flashesspit hate into their faces. They are eager to explore its mysteries andthey do not hide their eyes in dread.

The ramp drops slowly to give exit for the cargo of cars, caravansand holidaymakers. They file ashore in orderly fashion, to thedirections of the officer in charge. He does not shout or scream, nordo they curse their day of birth. There is no carnage to greet them,there is no reluctance to move forward, and their path ashore is notmarked by tapes of white. Water does not engulf them, for theirlanding is dry, and their faces reflect the pleasures they anticipate.They will return, of that there is no doubt, and there is no fear amongstthem. When they move onthere is nought to showwhere they have been.

Waiting to return arethose whose holidays hasleft them bronzed by thesun. Patiently they queue,until their turn comes toboard the ship for its returnjourney home. They are nothelped or carried, for there is no need. They are not bandaged, thereare no labels tied, they are not weary, and home is not blighty to them.There is no relief being alive, only regret that their stay is at an end.

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Is this the beach? The sands run easily through the fingers, It isalmost empty, this beach under the sun, and its odour is clean. Thewaves can be heard as they collapse on sand, and there is no torment.But a beach is a beach, and that beach of yesterday will not be seenagain.

The little girl, with hair piled temporarily on top of her head,runs up the beach while enjoying her ice-cream. Her mother scoldsas it melts and drips, for it was a petty dress but now it is messy.The girl attempts to wipe it away then, holding her hand from her,stares at in mock horror, but it is only ice-cream and there is no realfear. She walks unhurriedly back down the beach to paddle, andthere is no thumping desperation willing her to move inland fromthis place, for the beach does not heave, and the only sound is thatof the waves. The sea and the sky are empty and this beach is forliving.

A blue and red sign by theroadside carries the symbol ofmen from the sky, and thiscanal bridge is named Pegasus.Words carved into a block ofstone standing on the enemybank tell of those who died forthis bridge. Boys fish and girlsplay, and Pegasus, with wingsspread in static flight is not apart of today. The road along

the home bank of the River Orne is tarmac now. Dust no longermeans death, but now there is no dust, for the surface is tarmac asit rises to meet the road that crosses the second bridge that fell toPegasus yesterday. At its junction there is a small plot of freshturned earth with a helmet askew on a makeshift cross of sticks.The ground is not hallowed, and there is no reminder of theinevitability which, for this paratrooper, came sooner than its time.

These are the River Orne and the Caen Canal, but the carcassesof gliders, which gutted themselves to disgorge their human load

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after a silent descent, are not here, for they lie by another Orne andanother Canal, neither of which will be seen again. Boys fish fortheir pleasure and they catch only fish. No bloated corpses with thetide, no crosses to make, no ground to hallow, and there is no fear.The river and the canal seem broader now, and the speedboats towsurf riders along their lengths while campers settle near the water’sedge. The young French family take supper before retiring to theirtent. The night is still after the heat of the day and the water lapsgently against the bank. The dusk does not bring a fury from thesky, and sleep comes easy for there is no nightmare of violencearound them. The morning will dawn and they will again enjoy theday, for they will be refreshed. For them, the night and day will notbe one in anger. There is no fear and the gently lapping of the waterwas not heard yesterday.

The ditch is spanned by a bridge from another life, and Baileypanels rust. Grass overgrows decking, and the quarry is the site ofoil tanks. Was this the place that was cursed and sworn at aspontoons slowly bridged that other Caen canal?

“Forward panel party!”“Transoms here!”“Get the pin in and bloody well move!”And above all else the noise of hell and earth.

Now the water is empty and the night still, but this bridge over thisditch has known the sweat and the hands of fresh men. It hastrembled, as they trembled, and now the panels rust and are red.

Gray-su-mer, Reviers, Amblie, St.Aubin D’Arquenay,Ouistreham, Ranville. Name after name are yesterday’s and today.

The village of Reviers is quiet but for the column of children,who are led in orderly fashion by their teachers for a trip into thecountry. Their chatter is occasionally broken by laughter, and thelarge building which they leave behind is not a hospital for thewounded, but a holiday home for under-privileged children. Awomen stops and speaks of her work there as a nurse during herbeach-head days, then she returns the waves of the children before

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going about her business of today. The sound of the other childrensinging is carried across from the open windows. They are happy inthis Normandy, for no man will bleed or die in this place that is theirtemporary home.

An occasional car or farm vehicle negotiates the crossroads, andthe two old men, sitting on the form in front of the café, puffcontentedly at their pipes.

The military policeman shows weariness in his every movement,they do not last long at this crossroads. Tanks, armoured cars, lorriesand jeeps, he deals with them all, and the enemy has them is his sights.They do not last long at this crossroads, and it has been his duty tolong.

The two old men raise their hands in greeting as the gendarmestops to pass the time of day. From the café comes the brazen soundof some coin operated juke box. In the distance a moaning Minniewails and its salvo is well placed. The signs, the wires ofcommunication and all the paraphernalia of an army at war arescattered and lost in clouds of dust and smoke. They do not last longat this crossroads and other hands will do the duty now. The gendarmeturns to answer the tourists’ question. The two old men knock outtheir pipes and go home for their meal. These are country roads andthe traffic needs no directing.

The graves of this military cemetery are tended by men who knewwar and the comradeship of war. It shows in their work. The rowsof white stones stand out in sharp irreverence against the green of thelawns, their numbers inspiring awe, yet by that very fact placing theirfull meaning beyond the bounds of normal comprehension. Theflowers between them, and the information inscribed on each stoneare the only individualising features. From the endless ranks of khakito a plot, a row and a number in that row. These names are as distantas the years, except for those who knew and loved them - and thosewho saw them die. Memorial panels bear he names of those whofound no grave, and these are the only reminders a price paid.

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`Alan Cairns - Plot 14 - Row ‘G; - No 14. This is not where welaid him. The hedge beneath which he fell stands innocently in thesun, its leaves tremble and rustle in the breeze. The gate, the field,and along the road the village of Amblie, are now today. The fieldbears its corn and the gate is locked. Beneath the hedge the grassis not red nor the vision bloody.

Is this the spot, which was the shallow grave of a blanketwrapped ‘Cairnsey?’ There is no cross, and corn grows goldenwhere the eyes of men as young as he secretly shed their tears.

In this place there is a Stone. Alan Cairns - Royal Engineers -Aged 23. The shock of his dying, our first, is as the shock ofyesterday. What reason gave him this lawned plot while I stand

and give respect in the onlyway I know? What wouldhe have made of the yearsbetween? Would he havefelt his voluntary sacrificeworthwhile?

He died, as did all here,in the belief that thechildren he was never tofather would live betterlives because of they whohad to give that which was

most precious. It was not a spoken or even conscious belief, but itwas a meaning, a reason that made the lunacy acceptable. Theirdying was not done voluntarily, and there was no glory in theirdying. They did not part willingly with life, for death was the lotof the other fellow, and death does not come any easier to the young.

My daughter, aged eight, calls me to go. Alan would have lovedher as he would have his own, he was like that. He would have been happy to know he was remembered by apal who had journeyed, a lifetime away, along a path that had ended

Awaiting evacuation

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for him on that day in June 1944. We shall return home to continuethe life he and they left for us. It was not for them to enjoy the peacethey had helped to win. It was for our children to enjoy what theymade possible, giving their loss some meaning.

God bless you Alan. For those who care to look, a stone tells hatyou are twenty-three. We have been together again for a little whilein this place that is Normandy. I have trod again the beach that youtrod and seen the things you saw. They were not pretty then, whenfear walked with us. Gone is the barbed wire, the mines and the stench.Here and there stands a gun, a blockhouse, a memento from the past,and everywhere are the memorials. People finger and gaze withoutemotion at the weapons of war emplanted to stop you, the dead, andwe, who lived. The iron, the concrete, and the bullet scarred housesmean nothing now. They revive the memories of we who knew, butthey are no longer of the time that saw you die. That was anotherworld in another age.

Museums and films may perpetuate the happening and illuminatethe glory that was supposed to be, but death for the living is a myth,while for you, the dead, it is an experience.

It is your names, not the stones, that are real for us who knew.Thank you for our children and for our children’s children. They willnever comprehend the price you paid, nor would you expect them to.These names on stone are youths brought prematurely to manhoodand who died involuntarily before their time. Pals, buddies, husbands,sweethearts, brothers and sons. Only we who saw them die can knowof the love they had for life, and the fear we shared of death. Weenjoyed a comradeship that only war seems to bring, and they diedwith the comradeship in their hearts.

Because of them life is richer than it might have been, and it istheir unconscious gift to us all. Have we used the years given to us,and which were lost to them? Have we justified the hopes that areevery name upon a stone? Would he, and he and he, be able to say “Iam proud to have know the living?”

We have years yet to come, pray to God that we use them, forthese years, past and future, constitute a lifetime that should havebeen theirs, a lifetime ago.

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Workshop 7th Feb 2015

Steve AbbottOn Using Water Soluble

Coloured PencilsThis was our first Workshop in theAdmin Room and it proved to belight, spacious, and warm. Stevehad plenty of room for theincredible range of pencils andancillary equipment he carries.

Steve showed how both graphite and non graphitesoluble pencils can be used with brush, sponge,water filled brush and the mark one digit to producequick backgrounds. He also demonstrated atechnique using water soluble pencils to draw aface, leaving in construction lines. The

construction lines are thenwashed out and the surplus

colour pushed around tomodel the features.

An enjoyableand instructive

day.

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MavAS Trophy Competition. WW1 Naval Aviation

Ten members, plus Adjudicator Ossie Jones, attendedtonight`s event which was the MavAS Trophy Competition.This took place in our new venue, the Admin Room on thesecond floor in the mainbuilding opposite Air andSpace Hall. We are mostgrateful to the Management atMOSI for providing this newlocation for our regularmeetings. Sixteen entries weresubmitted by ten artists tomeet the chosen subject“Naval Aviation in World War1”. The Trophy winner wasPeter Nield for his painting entitled, “Caught Napping” – afirst effort using entirely alkyd paints. Steve Kerry receiveda first commendation for his digital art work, “World`s FirstAircraft Carrier”, and a second commendation went to RonSargeant for his watercolour painting, “Sopwith Baby”.Ossie`s appraisal of the entries covered many general pointsand, in particular, the treatment of the sea. This was deemedto be a challenging area and members were encouraged tospend time studying the subject in detail. Colin Taylor, PeterGrove, Keith Stancombe and Peter Nield assembled the newworks on the panel next day.

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“Caught Napping” By Peter Nield

“World`s First AircraftCarrier”

BySteve Kerry

“Sopwith Baby” ByRon Sargeant

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Jutland by D. Bates

Middle East Evening by D. Bates Lohner Type M - Duino Castle by P.W. Grove

Sopwith Baby by P.W, GroveFelixstowe F.2 by C. Jones

Channel Patrol by S. Kerry

Digital print

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Short 184 by R. Sargeant

Coming in Camel by R. Sargeant

Ben-my-Chree and Baby by R. Sargeant

Short 184 by R. Rumbold

Setting Off - Cuxhaven Raid by C. G. Taylor

First Successful Deck Landing by K. Stancombe

Short and Tender by T. Jones

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Caught the aviation bug when I wasaround 9 years old. Went plane spottingat Manchester airport in the late seventiesthen joined the "Star Liners" who were agroup of aviation enthusiasts who plannedtrips to air shows and airports all over thecountry. This involved a behind the scenes

look at what was in the hangers.It was much later before I started painting aircraft. My initial way backinto art following a number of years lapse after leaving school wasdrawing and painting people’s pets. I was introduced to the AviationArt Society through a friend who knew one of the members, JimTurner. It was from there that I started attending and painting usingmore mediums mainly acrylics and oils.In more recent years, I have been commissioned to paint motorbikesand racing cars which has been a different challenge I've thoroughly

enjoyed.

Wayne Leeming

17HUMANS – ALL TOO OFTENNEGLECTED IN AVIATION ART

says Rob KnottsWhile I love viewing aircraft paintings I always have a feeling that something is missing,particularly in paintings of modern aircraft. Shapes, shadows colour and texture have tocontribute to the artwork. Clouds, the underlying land and weather conditions can add tothe scene. However, an aircraft is a mechanical object and what is frequently lacking inaviation artwork is the human element. People operate aircraft, travel in them and maintainthem; it is this vast expanse of human interface that I view is all too often neglected.Emotions, stance, clothing and actions all form part of the work that is needed to portrayessential human participation in the world of aviation.Dame Laura Knight’s painting entitled “Take Off” serves to illustrate the point. It showsthe interior of a Short Stirling bomber with four of its seven man crew preparing fortake-off on a bombing mission. Two pilots sit in the cockpit, the navigator busieshimself with his maps and the Flight Engineer, bearing the insignia of a Flight Sergeant,

adjusts a control. Essentialteamwork is portrayed.Concentration is evident whileexperience is captured, if bynothing more than the rank ofthe Flight Engineer – he is nonovice. The professionalexpression captured on his facedoubtless quells the innerfeelings of tension experiencedin facing the mission.

Take Off (Dame Laura Knight, 1943)

Detail prevails in a way notdemanded in painting the smoothcontours of an aircraft. Folds inclothing, the way the parachuteharnesses are captured, thehugging of the Mae West lifejackets to the heavily clothedbodies coupled with the detail ofitems such as switches,instruments, pencil and dividersall add to the intricate workneeded in capturing the scene.

18Dame Laura said that her inspiration for the picture came from viewing the interior ofthe aircraft just before it took off one night. She decided to paint the crew in the aircraftgetting ready for take-off, adding that it was the most difficult task she has ever setherself. Comments made to her by the crew included "you seemed that night as if yousaw more than we could see." Dame Laura could see more than a few lads joking andapparently making light of a hazardous enterprise.Reference: “Take off” by Dame Laura Knight, 1943, Imperial War Museum, Cataloguenumber Art.IWM ART LD 3834, http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/15505Gil Cohen's painting of ‘Rosie and his Riveters’ offers a remarkable portrayal ofleadership in the last minute briefing by the captain of a 10 man crew on a damp morningsomewhere in East Anglia in England before they board their B-17 of the 418thSquadron.“Rosie and His Riveters” (Gil Cohen)The briefing scene captures leadership and responsibility. Five crew members areplainly attentive. Others show some distraction by activities such as checking the time,adjusting a harness, one gazing at the ground while one officer seems to be looking thecrew over. Nevertheless the atmosphere is one of taking it all in with the aim of gettingthe job done. Detailed attention to clothing and equipment far exceeds the work neededto portray the aircraft.Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal was the captain of that aircraft. Following this briefingthirteen B-17s took off for a bombing mission over Munster … but only one returned -aptly named "Rosie's Riveters" - full of holes and flying on two engines.

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RAAF Kittyhawk, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea in 1942 (William Dargee)We move to painting by an Australian artist, William Dargee. The scene portraysa Royal Australian Air Force Kittyhawk Squadron at Milne Bay in Papua NewGuinea in September 1942. The Curtiss P-40 E model Kittyhawk fighter aircraftis visible on the left hand side of the painting with a figure on its wing acting asa lookout for obstacles as it is taxiing over perforated steel plates, portrayed withgreat detail, laid over the mud. The standing figure in the foreground is generallytaken by aircrew members who have seen the picture to be their CommandingOfficer (CO). The seated figure alongside him represents an Intelligence Corporal.One man is manoeuvring a steel fuel drum while another is prying open a woodencrate. A third is moving a steel box while a fourth seems to be looking at map.Another man is possibly driving a vehicle, boxes shield it from view. Heavy rainhas recently fallen judging by the mud and pools of water shown. One can imaginea humid heat contributing to general discomfort. Detail from exertion of the twomen with the fuel drum and box to the communication between the CO and theCorporal offer two focal points of human activity. Meanwhile the man sat on thewing tip seems to be relaxed and is doubtless cooled by the breeze generated bythe taxiing aircraft.Reference: Australian War Memorial Painting by William Bargee, “RAAFKittyhawk Squadron at Milne Bay, August-September 1942”,http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/ART27628/

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War artists have long captured aspects of militarycampaigns. Territorial Army soldier and illustratorMatthew Cook recorded events in Iraq and Afghanistanby sketching and painting scenes he witnessed. Hiswork has been exhibited in the Ministry of DefenceMain Building to bring the experiences of Britishforces on operations to London-based staff. Thefollowing work in pen and watercolour shows a scenefrom the Gulf war where a Harrier GR7 is being loadedwith Paveway bombs in Kuwait.While the aircraft dominates the scene without the fourarmourers shown loading the weapons the paintingwould be totally lacking in energy. It is their presencethat brings the work alive as they manouevre theweapons prior to raising them into position under theaircraft’s wings. The picture focuses solely on theaircraft and weapon loading work without adding anycomplication of surrounding scenery or sky. Sunlightis depicted by the deep shadows portrayed on the tarmacHarrier GR7 being loaded with Paveway Bombs(Mathew Cook)Reference:http://www.matthewcookillustrator.co.uk/content/matthewcookwarartist/iq012.htm

provides access which in modern Health and Safety times would result in volumes of

21My own artistic effort focuses on cartoons. However, in this article I will focus on a cartoonby Chris Bazeley; his expertise far exceeds my own very modest efforts.Somewhere on a desert airstrip in the Middle East an Imperial Airways Handley Page 42 isbeing prepared for departure. Different scenes around the aircraft are cartoons withinthemselves. In refuelling the aircraft a local is shown balanced precariously on a pile of cansof fuel while his colleagues form a chain to move and load the fuel on the aircraft; a ladderprovides access which in modern Health and Safety times would result in volumes ofassociated bureaucratic regulations. One man is seen possibly supervising the work or justidly watching what is going on.A pilot is poised on his toes in a possible attempt to open the door. At the extreme of theupper port wing a monkey seems to be making its own contribution to the aircraft preparatorywork.However, the most delightful scene is that shown at the passenger entrance to the aircraft.The steward is obviously advising a lady passenger that she cannot bring all her luggage onboard while she is obviously pleading her case with arm gestures reinforcing her pleas. I canimagine also the steward possibly saying “Madam, I am afraid that you cannot bring thecamel on board”. Note that the steward has yet to notice the extra, ultra-heavy suitcase thata local is struggling to bring to the aircraft. Meanwhile a second uniformed person is shownscratching his head as he ponders the lady passenger’s mountain of luggage.Imperial Airways (Chris Bazeley, 2012)(Reference: http://www.chrisbazeley.com/imperial.html)

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Chris Bazeley’s “Imperial Airways” is a delightful work of art, uniquein that it combines humour, superb draughtsmanship and an extremelyhigh standard of watercolour expertise. By itself the aircraft is elegantlycaptured. However, the saying “Every picture tells a story” furtherenhances the work by portraying different amusing scenes of humanactivity, although in this case the artist tells a number of tales.

The works of art discussed in this article are so unbelievably accurate interms of detail and perspective that one wonders if the artists resorted tophotographing posed scenes and then 'copied' the results. I can’t see evenDame Laura being allowed to delay the departure of the bomber missionwhile taking a photograph of the crew. More likely she made a significantnumber of sketches of different studies of the aircraft and crew in lessurgent conditions; to quote our own Peter Nield, “…so far as I can see,Dame Laura Knight simply gets stuck in and works from life - amazing.”

Some might argue that painting such as Dame Laura’s Gil Cohen’s arephotograph-like images which offer little opportunity for interpretation.On the other had Mathew Cook leaves out considerable detail from hiswork but at the same time offers effective interpretation of human activityand related energy. Chris Bazeley’s work offers humorous humangestures to help interpret the amusing scenes presented. However, theyare produced these aviation artists have included human activity in theirwork.

Artists portraying humans may get models to pose where sketches anddoubtless photographs are used in developing a composition.Photographs are useful in checking the correctness of proportions and ingauging the line of perspective. I see nothing wrong in using photographsin developing a painting; I suspect that the vast majority of in-flightaviation paintings need to be developed from photographs. NeverthelessI make a plea to aviation artists, “With or without photographic aid don’tneglect the human element”, without people aircraft would never get offthe ground!

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Steve Abbott Chaiman of Society of Marple artists (SMA)and Chairman of MAvAS in 1987 and 1988. When Stevemoved to the North he first lived on the next road to Derekand his family.Steve reports that“Derek and his son John were at a Woodford Airshow andthey visited our exhibition of Aviation art. I knew the familyfrom Cheadle Hulme days, and put Derek's name down forthe Society of Marple Artists of which he was soon to becomea member. Derek first exhibited paintings in their exhibitionin 1987 and sold a painting of Disley Church (Pen and inkwith colour). He got the art bug. I told him about MAvAS. Idrove past his house to get to Manchester so it was no troublepicking him up on the way. He Joined at the March AGM 1988and, with his business knowledge, became our Hon Treasurer- a duty that he continued to fulfil for 6 years until MalcolmKinnear took over in 1994.”Dave Bates continues. “Derek became our roving reporterfor the magazine, supplying reports on air museums and onone occasion the flight home from holiday including shotsfrom the cockpit in the pre terrorist days. Recently he wasour featured artist and provided us with one of the best coverpaintings. He will be missed.”Derek died 10th December, 2014

Derek Lomas

Also we regret to report Eric Yuill`s wife, Gwen,passed away on 9th October, and thatKen Jerome, another featured artist, passed awayon 17th December.

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NEWSROUND

It is with deep regret that I have to inform you that this is the lastissue of the magazine in this format, that I edit.

I am like an old car that keeps failing it’s M.O.T. Bits will ceaseworking to the required standard.

My ex Doctor all to often had two responses to my symptoms. Eitherhe didn’t know what it was - “probably some bug”- or he knew whatit was but couldn’t do anything about it.

Sadly my eye-sight is causing problems and along with what incomputer speak is termed RAM, (random access memory) I amreluctantly, forced at knife-point,( Joyce means it this time) torelinquish the mag.

I have had three stints as editor but I don’t think I will arise phoenixlike again. I thank all readers and particularly the contributors, butmost of all Peter Nield for all his help and support.

Dave

Rodents seen leaving ….?

Better News

Check out Keith`s new Website at

www.keithwoodcockart.com

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Dates for Your DiaryMeetings run from 7-00pm to 9-30pm in the Admin Roomon the 2nd Floor (3rd level) in the large building adjacentto the main gate on Lower Byrom Street at the Museum ofScience & Industry in Manchester and are held on the firstTuesday in each month unless otherwise stated. If usingthe lift, please use the one nearest to the main entrance.Any difficulties on arrival, please contact the Security Teamon 07540702032

Tuesday 7th April‘Airfix Box Art’

A talk presented by Peter Flitcroft

Tuesday 5th May‘Portrait Sketching’

Hosted by Colin G. Taylor

Saturday 9th May

‘Workshop’A poster-style demo by Ossie Jones

Subject - ‘Testing German Aircraft in RAF Markings - 1945’Medium - line and wash on Illustration board

Final piece to go to a chosen charity

Tuesday 2nd JuneThe Jim MacKendrick Trophy Competition

Subject - ‘Aircraft Between the Wars, 1919 to 1939’Adjudicator - to be announced.

Editor: Dave BatesTel: 0161-284-3467

Email: david-bates@ntlworld.comSociety website: www.mavas.co.uk