Social Morning 10 January 2026

Our first Social Morning of the new year was held on Saturday 10 January. The weather was cold but dry, which encouraged people to come out.  40 turned up at the Baptist Church in George Street, Ryde, where we hold these gatherings. It was good to see that seven of those attending were visitors, who had heard about the event from our advertising.  Also, we enrolled one new member.

After a short welcome, members, friends and visitors enjoyed refreshments and took part in a raffle in aid of group funds.

At approximately 11am our speaker for the morning was introduced, Ben Cracknell, BA(Hons) Dip TP Msc Msc (MRTPI). Ben gave us a splendid talk with illustrations, called “Georgian Architecture on the Isle of Wight – An Overview,” which was very interesting and enjoyed by all.  I think most of us learned something that we didn’t know about before.  The talk was interactive and those in the audience were able to identify many of the buildings and locations.   The presentation was well received by all present and there were numerous good comments afterwards.

Ben gives talks on Architecture from various Era’s, so we look forward to hearing more at another of our social mornings in the future.  We give grateful thanks to Ben Cracknell for helping to make our social morning a success.

Many thanks also, to the volunteers who helped make the day run smoothly.

Ann Barrett
(Mem.Sec.)

Image: Roy Brinton Collection