Great - darned great - Yarmouth!  It was a marvellous weekend even if my camera broke down half-way through, depriving us all of some superb (!) pictures.  I hope to make good that omission with some help from Dr. Norman Spiers shortly - webmaster.

Dennis Rhodes was our Master of Ceremonies - and coach driver - as we made our way through narrow Norfolk lanes on the various outings that formed part of the package.  Though based at the Burlington Palm Court Hotels in Yarmouth we had trips to The Village Experience which included a silent movie with live accompaniment on a Compton Christie Cinema organ, to Sutton Mill and Broads Museum which is a treasure-chest of memorabilia from all sorts of activities and to Wroxham Barns craft centre.

Dennis's cheerful greetings took a moment to register as he made full use of the rich local accent. Delegates soon began to develop their own Norfolk burr.

Among the speakers who entertained us was Mike Linley of Anglia TV's Survival programme.  From the wealth of anecdotes, slides and tapes available he chose to concentrate on the underwater world.  We saw shots of intrepid camera people dancing with hippos, swimming for hours in pelican disguise and risking limbs with sharks - all to get us a few exciting seconds of television natural history.  He also brought along some underwater camera housings and new tiny cameras developed from endoscopes which make it possible to shoot many more creatures in the wild rather than on clever sets in studios.

At the Gala Dinner seven IAC Fellowships were announced. Those receiving their diplomas in person were:

Left to right: Tom Roberts - founder of Thurrock and Spalding clubs, instructor and judge. John Shearsmith - ACE publisher and organiser of  the Ten Best Competition. David Jackson - NLE tutor and NLE group coordinator, leading light of Surrey Borders Film & Video Makers. Picture by Dr. Norman Speirs.

Mr. & Mrs. Whitewood. Picture by Dr. Norman Speirs.

Our host for the event was the chairman of EARIAC (East Anglia Regional of the IAC), Harold Whitewood, who kept checking that all was well and asking if we were enjoying ourselves.  No need to ask!  The happy smiles said it all. As for the formal business of the AGM - Val Ellis left the Chair and became a Vice-President, Kenneth Seeger became chairman and Reg Lancaster Vice-Chairman. Bob Drake from the midlands joined Council.  Among the members of Council who were not seeking re-election were two of the longest-serving members: Gerald Mee and Betty Jennings who were accorded a standing ovation.

Pride of the North

The AGM weekend for 2001 will be 18th - 21st October in the Cairn Hotel, Harrogate.  Among the attractions will be tours to York and to the Bradford Museum of Film, Photography and Television (including its IMAX cinema.)

Page updated on 21 March 2008

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source