Chairman's Newsletter - September 2023
Wednesday 13th September 2023
After a week of exceptionally high temperatures, I’m glad to see we are returning to more ‘normal’ weather. I hope you have all had a good ‘summer’ and been able to enjoy this beautiful Island.
In August we had a very successful talk by Emily and Kirsty about the way they protect the Royal Collection from sunlight, heat, humidity and bugs, to name but a few. Forty-five members attended the talk and found it very informative.
Click here for pictures Friends of Osborne | Past events
The use of lanyards worked very well as a way of registering members at the green gate. We will be using them again on Wednesday 20th September for Toby’s talk on ‘Osborne’s Garden – Prince Albert’s Pastime.’ Forty members have booked already but there are still a few places available. We will again meet members by the green gate (this time at 10:30 am) and ask members not to go through POQ. Although it is now less busy at Osborne it makes it easier for EH staff and other visitors to Osborne if we check you in outside POQ.
Click here for details of the talk Friends of Osborne | Talk on 'Osborne Gardens - Prince Albert's Pastime'
Members may be interested to watch the Channel 5 programme about Osborne which is being aired on Saturday 16th September at 8:20 pm. It was filmed earlier this summer and is called ‘Osborne House: A Royal Retreat’.
Also, in September (Friday 29th) our ever-popular quiz is back. Sales for this event are going well but there is still time for you to send in your bookings. You can book as a team or as an individual where you will be seated with other members. It will be held in The Terrace Restaurant and there will be a sausage and mash supper and the bar will be open for drinks. It is a great way to have some fun and also meet some new friends.
For more details, please click here Friends of Osborne | Quiz Night in the Terrace Restaurant
We also have two dates of events in October.
Toby’s Trafalgar Day Walk is on Friday 20th October. Toby leads members down to the beach where a toast is raised to Lord Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar. This takes place in and around the Exedra, where Queen Victoria used to sit and sketch.
Please click here for details.
Our second event in October is on Thursday 26th and is a wine tasting organised by Eurovins. It will be for a maximum of thirty guests and there will be red, white and sparkling wine to taste. There will be no pressure to buy and it should be a really enjoyable evening. Details are being finalised for this event and will appear on our web site very soon.
The Guided Tours will begin this Winter, hopefully starting in November. Friends of Osborne Members will be invited to help trial these tours where EH staff, wearing costumes and ‘in character,’ can practise this exciting new venture.
When these tours are offered to the public, all tours will have to be booked in advance. The tour will be of the ground floor only and will have a maximum of 20 guests. These tours are free to EH members on all days and to Friends of Osborne members on Fridays. Friends of Osborne members will be able to book ‘walk up’ slots on a Friday, which is the day we have free access to the House.
Christopher Warleigh- Lack, the curator, came to our committee meeting at the beginning of the month. One of our main aims as a charity is to fund projects at Osborne.
Christopher came with several suggestions of projects that he felt we may be interested in supporting and will soon give us quotes. We are looking at possibly funding the restoration of the Summer House near the Walled Garden and also the Walled Garden Portico, which is the only original part of the house that Albert and Victoria bought in 1845.
We have agreed to pay for thirty-two existing banqueting chairs to be spray painted to resemble historic Japanned chairs. These chairs will be placed around the house for visitors to use. They will be small and discreet but obvious to those needing them. This will enhance the visitor experience and can also be utilised by Visitor Assistant Staff when not being used by visitors. A local East Cowes company will complete the work at a cost of £2500.
We have also agreed to fund a school award and trophy. The award will be open to all Primary Schools on the Island. Schools will visit Osborne at least once and then choose their own focus of exploration which can span more than one curriculum area. They can present their work in a variety of ways and the shortlisted projects will be displayed in the Education Room and judged by a panel of committee members in June. It is hoped the trophy will be made from wood from Osborne and the winning school will keep the trophy for a year and also be given a monetary award of £250. Laura Bosworth will contact schools during the Autumn Term to explain the details to them.
The year seems to be whizzing by and before we know it Christmas will be here! I hope members have had an opportunity to attend some of the events we have laid on this year and also visited Osborne and the grounds. We are starting to look at organising events for next year including a visit to Farringford, a possible summer drinks party in the Walled Garden and a regular monthly coffee or lunch meeting; as well as our regular favourites. Please give us feed back on events you have enjoyed and events that you would like to see us organising. We welcome anyone who would like to join our committee, which is thriving, but the more members who join us the more we can share the work load and have new ideas and approaches to making Friends of Osborne even more successful.
Best wishes
Allison Rogers