From The Glue Works

The newsletter of the Margery Allingham Society

No.12 - February 2006

The Archives

It was decided at the most recent committee meeting of the Society that Margery Allingham’s archive, together with that of her husband, Philip Youngman Carter, should find a permanent home at the University of Essex in Colchester, They will be on permanent loan to the Albert Sloman Library, which already has a number of distinguished collections in its keeping. It is intended that members of the Society should have access to the archives as well as scholars in general.

Margery knew Colchester all her life, from her girlhood at Layer Breton when she attended the Misses Dobsons’ school to her death at Severalls Hospital in 1966. She spent the greater part of her life in Essex and a number of her books, including the first and the last, are set in the county. It is cause for celebration that her archive will be preserved in Colchester.

Membership

Some members have not renewed their subscriptions. If you have not yet renewed please would you do so without delay if you wish to remain a member of the Society. Alternatively, would you be so kind as to let us know if you have decided not to rejoin. In either case may we please hear from you before the end of March. Thank you.

Future Programme

Saturday 8 April: at the Museum of Garden History

The Museum opens at 10:30 and we shall be lunching at the cafe within the museum at 12:00. This is a self-service cafe very popular with local people and we need to be ahead of the rush. The food is vegetarian and very appetising and it is all cooked on the premises. Hot and cold drinks are available but not alcohol.

We have booked the library for the afternoon and shall begin the programme at 1.15 with a talk about the museum and the Tradescant family of gardeners by a member of the museum’s staff. After this, there will be talks and slide shows to illustrate the range and depth of Margery Allingham’s intense interest in gardening. We shall examine her books and look also at her own garden and gardening practice. There will be a break for tea at a convenient point in the afternoon. The Museum closes at 5:00 and we shall aim to conclude proceedings by 4:45.

If you sign up for the day a leaflet published by the Museum will be sent to you to help you to find your way there. The building is adjacent to Lambeth Palace and best approached by bus (or cab). There is no provision for parking cars. Arrive when you wish after 10:30 - the official programme starts at 1:15. There will be a nominal charge of £5 per head as a contribution to the expenses of the day. Please see the attached booking form for details as to how and when to pay.

Saturday 20 May: AGM and Birthday Lunch

As usual, the Society’s Annual General Meeting will take place at the University Women’s Club at 2, Audley Square in Mayfair on the morning of the birthday lunch. The meeting will start at 11:00 and the lunch at 12:30 for 1:00. The cost of the meal will be £33. There will be a cash bar for pre-lunch drinks and wine to accompany the meal.

Our guest on this occasion will be Ann Cleeves, whose latest novel, RAVEN BLACK, was published earlier this year. It is published by Macmillan and is on sale at the very reasonable price of £10. It has been well-received and was described by one reviewer as the first detective novel to be set in the Shetland Islands (which it may be, but it’s not Ann’s first book to take place on a Scottish island: that was MURDER IN PARADISE, an excellent story published in 1988). Ann has been writing mysteries and having them published for twenty years. She began with A BIRD IN THE HAND, which appeared in 1986 and signalled the arrival of an arresting new talent. It was the first of a series featuring a naturalist detective called George Palmer-Jones. A later series with Inspector Stephen Ramsay as the investigator was set on the coast of Northumberland, where Ann lived at the time. Since then she has written about other police detectives, Peter Porteous in THE SLEEPING AND THE DEAD, Vera Stanhope in TELLING TALES and, now, Jimmy Perez in RAVEN BLACK. We are delighted that she will be our guest and look forward to her joining us on 20th May.

To book for the lunch please complete the attached booking form and return it to Marianne with your payment by the given date.

Friday 22 - Sunday 24 September 2006

It is proposed to celebrate the 75th birthday of POLICE AT THE FUNERAL by revisiting Cambridge, where this book is set. A provisional booking has been made with the Arundel House Hotel in Chesterton Road, Cambridge, where we were most comfortably accommodated on a previous occasion. The programme is likely to include talks on POLICE AT THE FUNERAL and fictional crime in Cambridge and a walk round the city to Allingham locations, to be conducted by Richard Cheffins. (Those of you who went on the previous Cambridge walk, ably conducted by Roger Johnson in the most difficult of conditions, i.e. pouring rain, will be fervently hoping for better luck this time.) It seems sensible, also, to watch again the Peter Davison version of POLICE AT THE FUNERAL, however well-known to some of us it may already be.

We need to know the level of support this weekend is likely to receive. Would you therefore be so kind as to let the Chairman know if you like the idea and will seriously consider attending. We don’t need a firm commitment but we do need to know how many people are interested. Please write to Barry Pike (at 42 Scarborough Rd. London E11 4AL) or ring him (on 020 8556 5243). Leave a message if he’s unavailable. He’d like to hear by Saturday 11 March, please.

Greetings from all at the Glueworks.

Stop Press

The cost per day at the Arundel House Hotel is likely to be £67, to include en suite accommodation, breakfast and three-course dinner.

Please note that the hotel is now entirely non-smoking.

From The Glue Works: Previous Issues

Current Issue No.17 - January 2008 No.16 - November 2007 No.15 - July 2007 No.14 - January 2007 No.13 - Summer 2006 No.12 - February 2006 No.11 - July 2005 No.10 - March 2005 No.9 - Nov/Dec 2004 No.8 - July 2004 No.7 - February 2004 No.6 - August 2003

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