[30 April 2010] Bill Marshall's Talk on Dorothy Dunnett - Dunfermline
Bill Marshall, formerly head of IT at Thin's bookshop, who knew Dorothy Dunnett well, will be giving a talk on her on 13th May 2010 at 7.30pm at the Carnegie Library in Dunfermline (DD's birth town). More info here.
[29 April 2010] Siege Planning Starts
On 1st May, a group of Dunnett people led by Simon Hedges will arrive in Istanbul for their first reconnaissance trip for the Dunnett Siege of Constantinople in 2012. We shall be visiting palaces, hotels, restaurants, mosques, bazaars, churches, towers, hippodromes (well, maybe just the one hippodrome) and, of course, cisterns. Don't want to wait until 2012 until you go on a Dunnett trip? Go to LeSpit in Paris in October 2010, RendezBruges in Bruges the weekend before, the Rye Mediaeval Weekend on the weekend after, the DDRA Weekend in April 2011, Oxford Day in June 2010, the Durham Gathering in September 2010, or the London Visit also in September 2010.
[20 Apr 2010] - 2010 DDRA Weekend in Edinburgh
The weekend went well, only 4 people failed to make it due to Volcanic activity. We now have 2 new Committee members - Jen Myers and Suzanne McNeill. Suzanne will also be taking over as our new Editor when Sandra Hall stands down after our June issue. Standing down from the Committee as of this weekend are Sandra Hall (who remains as editor until June) and Bill Marshall, founding Committee member and former Chairman. The trips to Scone Palace and Dunkeld were very enjoyable.
[07 Apr 2010] - Committee Nominations for 2010-2011 Closed
Nominations received from existing Committee members Simon Hedges, Pam Keeling, Jean Stringdellow, Anne Buchanan, Jenny Francis, Barbara Milnder. Jenny Myers and Suzanne McNeil, have also stood, and Suzanne is prepared to be our Magazine Editor. Current Committee members Bill Marshall and Sandra Hall have decided not to stand after long years (10 years in Bill's case) of service. Because there are 8 vacancies and 8 nominees in all, there will be no contested election. Thanks also to Olive DePonte who volunteered to be editor should we need her services.
[26 Mar 2010] - Dunferminline Diamond Exhibition Still Underway
You can visit this site for more information and links.
[24 Mar 2010] - LeSpit - There's Still Time to Book Your Place
About 60 people have signed up so far to visit Paris in the company of fellow Dunnett readers. The booking (registration) window is still open - go here for more information.
[13 Mar 2010] - Whispering Gallery 106 Sent Out Today
Distribution of the final copies of WG 106 were sent out on Saturday 13th March. If you want to order this issue, we have spare copies available via the DDRA Shop.
[08 Mar 2010] - Le Spit Registration Opens Today
This is the Dunnett Gathering in Paris, Tuesday 5th to Friday 8th October 2010. Registration opens today. Go here for more information Events page.
[23 Feb 2010] - DDRA Greeting Cards Now Available
You can now buy ddra greetings cards in sets of 5 from the DDRA online shop. Go here for more details. The Lymond Postcards, which were out of stock, are now back in stock - and don't forget that you can by the DDRA's "Sheep in Helmets" mugs from here too, as well as back issues of Whispering Gallery and Marzipan & Kissues.
[23 Feb 2010] - Dunfermline Diamonds Exhibition Opens on Thursday 25 Feb!
This exbition is about famous people from Dunfermline. They feature Dorothy Dunnett, and got in contact with the DDRA for advice. We provided some information, and passed on their details to the Dunnett family. The exhibition will be run until May 2010. Bill Marshall, DDRA founding Committee member, has been asked to give a talk on Dorothy Dunnett as part of the events.
If you visit, be sure to send a report in to Whispering Gallery for publication.
[01 Feb 2010] - the DDRA phasing out Standing Orders
After years of problems with Banks failing to implement Standing Order correctly, we have decided that we will no longer offer them as standard when people join or renew their DDRA membership. Existing Standing Orders will continue until they expire.
If you really do want to pay by standing order, then you can still do so - but you must contact our Treasurer Barbara Milner for advice first.
However, you can now pay by Direct Credit (electronic payment transfer from your bank) as an alternative. Barbara will advise on this as well.
Unfortunately, we don't accept Direct Debits, because these would cost us between £2.50 and £7.00 per payment. Don't forget that you can join or renew for up to 3 years at a time.
[26 Jan 2010] - 3rd Rye Medieval Conference Announced
Jo Kirkham has announce this year's conference in the historic and pretty town of Rye. More information here
[19 Jan 2010] - Preparing for the DDRA Committee meeting in Edinburgh
The Committee will be visiting the Dunnett archive, as well as having our January meeting. Topics high on the agenda: What do when Sandra, our Editor, leaves in April. If anyone out there can help in any way with editing the magazine, or providing input into it - please let me (Simon Hedges) know by emailing me here.
[18 Jan 2010] - Dunfermline Diamonds
This exbition is due to be held in Dunfermline Library and is about famous people from Dunfermline. They hope to feature Dorothy Dunnett, and got in contact with the DDRA for advice. We provided some information, and passed on their details to the Dunnett family. The exhibition will be running from end Feb 2010 to May 2010. Bill Marshall, DDRA Committee member, has been asked to give a talk on Dorothy Dunnett as part of the events.
[4 Jan 2010] - Whispering Gallery Issue 105
This issue was sent out just after Christmas 2009.
[1 Dec 2009] - Looking for a new Editor
After 3 years, our voluntary Whispering Gallery editor Sandra Hall, will be standing down in June 2010. If you feel that you may be able to assist with any part of her role, please contact Simon Hedges to ask for information.
[1 Dec 2009] - Calendar Deadline Passed
The deadline for ordering DDRA 2010 Calendars is now past. This calendar was almost identical (apart from the dates) to the DDRA 2009 Calendar. We hope to offer a brand new calendar for 2011 - possibly based on pictures from LeSpit.
[1 Dec 2009] - Spring Hereafter - the DDRA's Annual Edinburgh Meeting
This is to be held in Edinburgh from Fri 16th to Sun 18th April 2009. More infor on the Events page.
Le Spit
Dunnett Gathering in Paris, Tuesday 5th to Friday 8th October 2010. There is more information on our Events page.
Oxford Day 2010
Organised by Olive Millward and Diana Crane.
Oxford Day will once again be held at Wolfson College. More information on our Events page.
Lincoln Gathering
Saturday, 12th September 2009
Contact Betty Cooper to book. This was a wonderful follow on to last year's Warwick weekend. More details in WG103 and on our Events page.
Pawn in Frankincense now on CD
You can now get Pawn in Francinse, unabridged, on CD from Whole Story Audio.
Dunnett Darmstadt Day 2009
Sylvie Hotz is once again organising the Dunnett Day. For information, please contact our German representative, Heike Meyer.
Hello and Farewell
Welcome to Barbara Milner from Dundee (our new treasurer) and Jenny Francis from London who have joined the DDRA Committee. We say farewell to committee member Betty Cooper who has done a simply brilliant job as our treasurer since 2004 and is taking a well earned break. Bill Marshall remains on the Committee, but is standing down as Chairman and Membership Administrator. Denise Gannon who left the Committee some years ago is standing down as our Web Editor. Simon Hedges gets to take over both Chairman and Web Editor. Alhough Olive Millward is leaving the Committee, she takes over as Membership Administrator from Bill Marshall.
More information about can be found in Whispering Gallery, the quarterly magazine of the DDRA. Join the DDRA now