14 – 18 February
Theatre in Trust’s 2012 production is postponed till the autumn.

Sunday 19 February: 10.50 for 11.00am
A TOUR OF ST. PANCRAS RENAISSANCE HOTEL
After years of careful restoration, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel is being hailed as London's most romantic building.  Its glorious Gothic revival metalwork, gold leaf ceilings, hand-stencilled wall designs and stunning grand staircase are as striking as the day when Queen Victoria opened the hotel in 1873.  Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott to receive travellers, the former Midland Grand Hotel offered its guests a world of grandeur, luxury and fantasy behind its red facade.  Royden Stock, the Hotel Historian will be our guide.  He has worked for the hotel since 1996 and played an active role in the renovation. We meet in the hotel lobby at 10.50, for a tour which will last till 12.30. Cost £28. To book, please ring Dottie Lundell on 020 7731 0128 or email dottie@lundell.uk.net and complete the form within 1 week. Dottie’s mobile on the day is 07904 257974.

Thursday 23 February: 6.30 for 7.00 – 9.00pm
‘THE PERFECT ROSE’ AT THE FULHAM PALACE GARDEN CENTRE, SW6 6EE
The talk will be given by Mike Sokolowski of leading rose breeder and grower David Austin Roses.  He will show through pictures how they breed and produce new roses and will also explain the different types. Mike will give tips on how to grow roses to best effect and what plants to grow with them.  Cost: £25 to include a glass of wine and other light refreshments, and a £10 voucher to spend on roses and rose food.  To book a place, ring 020 7736 2640 or email fpgc@princes-trust.org.uk.

Thursday 23rd February: 6.30 - 8.30pm
A TOUR OF THE COLLEGE OF ARMS, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON EC4
Thomas Woodcock, Garter Principal King of Arms, has generously offered to take a private party around the College of Arms. This event is in aid of Age Unlimited which also supports Fairbridge. Tickets which include drinks, are extremely limited and cost £50 each.  Please call Cathy on 0207 834 9739 or email info@ageunlimited.org.uk for more details.

Thursday 1 March
A DAY TRIP BY TRAIN TO MARGATE
This will be a day of big surprises. Forgotten, neglected, more or less a joke for decades, Margate is an extraordinary mélange of elegant Georgian terraces, grand Victorian buildings, a picture postcard thatched cottage, the Naylor Rock Shelter where T S Eliot composed The Wasteland, a Shell Grotto, a furniture emporium on three floors complete with vintage clothes, a perfect sandy beach, Tracey Emin’s neon sign on the harbour arm and a Michelin-rated restaurant. And then there are the amusement arcades, and the joke shops. BUT the Turner Contemporary overlooking the sea is a dramatic ultra-modern contrast to its surroundings, and currently has an exhibition of Turner paintings (he relished the quality of light and the sea at Margate) as well as a statue by Canova and a collection of contemporary art.  We will have a guided tour round the exhibition and a 2 course lunch in the Michelin rated restaurant before a visit to the Shell Grotto.  Cost: £35.  The train leaves St Pancras International at 9.42 for Margate and costs £36.20 or £23.90 for seniors, and there are several options for return trains.  To book, please ring May Woods on 020 7736 3210 or email maywoods1@btconnect.com. May’s mobile on the day is 07958 912271.

Tuesday 6 March: 10.45am
‘PICASSO AND BRITAIN’ AT TATE BRITAIN
This exhibition explores Picasso’s evolving critical reputation here and British artists’ responses to his work.  His influence on seven artists in particular, Duncan Grant, Wyndham Lewis, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland and David Hockney, is shown in both his and their work together in a rare opportunity to experience the relationship.  The exhibition shows over 150 works from major public and private collections around the world, including over 60 paintings by Picasso. We meet at the Manton Entrance at the side of the gallery at 10.45, then to the lecture theatre, and thereafter entry to the exhibition.  Cost: £27, Art Fund member £22, Tate Friend £15.  To book, please ring Olivia Maynard on 020 7225 0424 or email o.maynard@tiscali.co.uk and complete the booking form within 1 week.  Olivia’s mobile on the day is 07816 328349.

Wednesday 14 March and Friday 23 March: 9.50 for 10.00 – 12.30pm followed by optional lunch
STRATFORD AND THE 2012 SITE ~ A WALK WITH DIANA KELSEY
Anticipation mounts with only months to go to the Olympics.  If you are still an Olympic sceptic, we challenge you to come and see from a distance the Stadium, the Aquatic Centre, the Olympic village, the media centre (big enough for 5 jumbo jets) and the Orbit before the rest of the world arrives.  Hear, too, from Diana, about the green heart of the site, local employment, future plans for sporting venues, the contribution by local artists and many other long term features that will make us proud of the Olympic legacy. We meet at Stratford Station by 9.50 ready to depart promptly at 10 o’clock.  At Stratford Station please follow the signs ‘Way Out Town Centre’ and we will meet outside WHSmith (INSIDE the barriers)  Please allow plenty of time for your journey by the Central or Jubilee lines and please have an Oyster/Freedom pass or day travel card for zones 1 – 4.  Coffee and loos are nearby to encourage you to arrive early. Cost: £20 plus £15 for the optional lunch of smoked salmon, bagels, coffee and brownies at Forman’s. To book, please email Diana Cave on dinkscave@hotmail.com or ring 01379 870272 and complete the booking form within 1 week.  The tour leader on 14 March is Marjorie Stimmel (07962 186267) and on 23 March is May Woods (07958 912271)

21  March 2012: 6.30 for 7pm
LUCINDA LAMBTON AT THE UNIVERSITY WOMENS’ CLUB, AUDLEY SQUARE, W1
Writer, broadcaster and photographer, Lucinda Lambton will talk on ‘Palaces for Pigs’, a fascinating and entertaining history of some very eccentric buildings. Tickets, to include a glass of wine, cost £25 each. This event is in aid of Age Unlimited which also supports the Fairbridge programme. Please call Cathy on 0207 834 9739 or email info@ageunlimited.org.uk for more details.

Monday 26 March: 6.30 for 7.00pm
PENNY TREADWELL’S TALK ON ZOFFANY AT 29 RANELAGH AVENUE, SW6
FGS member Penny Treadwell last year published a widely acclaimed book on Johann Zoffany, who was born in Germany in 1733, arrived in England in 1760 and thereafter worked in England, Italy and India.  Penny will give a power point presentation about his life and works with particular reference to the paintings in the exhibition, which opens at the Royal Academy on 10 March.  There is limited space in the ‘media room’ so book early.  Cost: £20 including wine and canapés.  To book, please ring Dinah Roberton on 020 8563 9697 and email dinahroberton@btopenworld.com.  Dinah’s mobile on the day is 07966 297255.

Wednesday 28 March: 6.30 for 7.00pm
COTE D’AZUR EVENING AT 29 RANELAGH AVENUE, SW6
This will be a chance to meet others on the trip in May and see images of the gardens we will visit. Cost: £15. Priority for those coming to France but if you are not coming on the trip but would still like to see the gardens, there might be space. To book, please ring Dottie on 020 7731 0128 or email dottie@lundell.uk.net   Dottie’s mobile on the day is 07904 257974.

Tuesday 17 April: 10.30am
VISIT TO WINDSOR CASTLE
A special exhibition celebrating the  Queen’s  Diamond Jubilee,  ‘The Queen: Sixty Photographs for Sixty Years’ is among many attractions at her favourite residence.  An audio tour takes you to the State Apartments,  lavishly adorned  with  masterpieces  by  Holbein,  Rubens and  Van Dyck,  Queen  Mary’s  Doll’s  House,  and  also St. George’s  Chapel,  one of the  finest  Gothic  buildings in  the  country. We meet at 10.30am at signposts on the pavement by Queen Victoria’s statue on the way to the main entrance.      Cost: £23 or £38 including a 2 course lunch.    Transport either by car (parking details on request),  or by train from  Paddington to  Windsor &  Eton Central then a 5 minute walk up to the castle.       The current timetable (might change after 10 April) has a train leaving Paddington at 9.50am for £9.50 return or £6.25 for seniors.     To book your place, please ring Christine Ingram on 020 7731 3162 or email her on christine.ingram2@gmail.com and complete the booking form within 1 week. Christine’s mobile on the day is 07540 615486.

Thursday 26 April: 10.30 – 12.30pm
SIBELLA ROAD GARDENS, CLAPHAM, SW4 6JA
We visited these three gardens last June, and there was a huge waiting list, so the kind and generous owners have nobly invited us again to see them in a different season.   We meet for coffee or tea at No 7 Sibella Road, where Jane Landon’s garden will be bursting with all the joys of spring.  Judith Strong’s small walled garden is packed with plants that climb up every available wall in colour themes, while Lorraine’s garden is 4 years old and has been designed in a modern classical style which is very elegant.  Parking is possible, but Clapham North tube and Clapham High St station are only minutes walk away, and the 452 bus from Sloane Square stops nearby.  Cost £20 to include coffee.  To book, please ring Dinny Green on 020 8876 2524 and complete the booking form within 1 week.

Future day trips by coach:
May: Highgrove – date will be published in the next newsletter in April
Tuesday 26 June: Gardens in Oxfordshire
Second week in July: Gardens in Berkshire
Mid September: Gardens in Berkshire and Oxfordshire

Friday 11 – Wednesday 16 May 2012
A TOUR OF GARDENS AND MUSEUMS ON THE COTE D’AZUR : This tour is fully booked.

All our trips are carefully planned but may be subject to last minute change due to events beyond our control

REFUND POLICY
Refunds are not available for day events: a) costing less than £15 b) when cancellation is less than 14 days before the event and there is no one on a waiting list who can take the place. A 20% administration fee will be deducted if a refund is due. For overnight trips, members are required to take out insurance to cover cancellation as well as medical expenses and loss of baggage. Deposits for overnight trips are not refunded.

It is essential that, first, you book your place for the event by calling the relevant event coordinator and give your name and phone number. Then, after confirmation that you have a place, complete the booking form and send it with a cheque made out to the Fairbridge Garden Society to Dottie Lundell, 1 Edenhurst Avenue, London
SW6 3PD. T: 020 7731 0128. Please include an s.a.e. if you would like a receipt. Tickets are not issued.