Dear SHTA Friends,

Ciara may, according to the Telegraph, be “Storm of the Century” and be giving us all a right old battering at the moment, but the members of SHTA and residents of the town are a hardy, resilient bunch, most of whom have experienced tougher challenges in life and will see off this one with relative ease.

Last month all nine Committee members were delighted to welcome 14 of the 20 new members to join SHTA in the past year on Thursday 9th January. We held a New Members’ Get-together at The King’s Arms in Sandwich where everyone introduced themselves, enjoyed complementary fizz and canapés and had a relaxing and informal chat. We hope that all 20 new members are able to derive from SHTA what they anticipated on joining and stay for a considerable while.

We started the second half of our film season on Wednesday 15th January with a screening of ‘Qui M’Aime Me Suive’ which included the inadvertent inclusion of sub-titles in French! This month’s film, to be shown on Wednesday 12th February, will, the cinema staff assure us, most definitely have English sub-titles; it is entitled ‘Le Dernier Métro’, was released in 1980 and is a historical drama, written and directed by François Truffaut, that stars Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu.

Looking at the SHTA website, you will have perhaps already noticed the titles and dates of the three remaining films for the 2019-2020 season but if you need confirmation for your diary, they are as follows:

• Wednesday 18th March – ‘Le Grand Bain’
• Wednesday 15th April – ‘Les Petits Mouchoirs’
• Wednesday 13th May – ‘Les Choristes’

For those amongst you who fancy an evening out with fellow SHTA members, a cheese ploughman’s and complementary fizz plus a challenge to your general knowledge, you’ll be pleased to know that there will be a Quiz in the Jury Room at the Guildhall on Saturday 28th March. The cost per person is £10.00 for teams of six, and the evening kicks off at 7.00 pm for a 7.30 pm start. The quiz should finish around 10.00 pm and, of course, there will be prizes for the winners! Thanks to one of our Committee members, Rick Ratcliffe, who is devising the questions; if you’d like to take part either see Sandra or me at the cinema on Wednesday or email me. If you don’t have a ready-made team, one can easily be created for you.

At least six SHTA members will be looking forward to going to the Anchor Pub in Wingham on Friday 22nd May. Why’s that, I hear you ask. They’ve got trophies to defend, three for the outright winners and three for winners of the Plate competition at Bangers & Boules, the successful inauguration of which took place last year. The clue is in the title: yes, there’s a knock-out ‘boules’ competition followed by a two-course ‘bangers’ supper. Places are strictly limited to 24, so I suggest you contact organiser David Hammond davidbbty@gmail.com asap. The cost is £15.00 per person and the timings are 6.00 pm for a 6.30 pm start. An ability to lob a steel spherical object is handy but not essential!

Very healthy numbers continue to attend the weekly ‘Une Heure de Conversation’ at Sandwich Library on a Thursday afternoon from 2.30 – 3.30 pm. My thanks to organiser, Hazel Martinelli for her regular attendance, gentle encouragement to members and non-members alike and vigorous support of the Library staff.

Many thanks also to all of you who have volunteered to host a guest or guests from Honfleur later this year. Committee members have been working hard sorting out plans for the visit which, as you know, is from Friday 29th May to Monday 1st June. It’s been confirmed recently that our guests will arrive in Sandwich around 5.00 pm on the Friday, and departing around midday on the Monday. Following the grand celebrations of the last two years, this year’s will be a more locally-themed visit. I’ll include a more detailed itinerary for the four days in the March newsletter. Since life can be somewhat unpredictable at times, it is probably wise to have a reserve list of hosts; therefore, if you’d like your name(s) to be included on that list, please do contact me.

Finally, one of our members, Marian Youngman, has asked if there might be some of our membership who would be interested in seeing the film, ‘Jour de Fête’ at Shepherdswell Village Hall on Saturday 14th March, poster below. Marian explains that there will be sub-titles but not much dialogue anyway, as you can guess if you know the work of Jacques Tati. She also says that T42 is the twice-a-month village market and cafe.

That’s all for now; best wishes, Stuart and the Committee