Lt Col Stewart Burman is came on 21st February to talk about 'The Army in Purbeck'. The talk was well-attended and £22.50 was raised for the Poppy Appeal.
Our Friends' AGM was on January 17th - this took 13 minutes! Existing committee members were voted in again, and Alison gave a progress report - see under 'Friends' reports'. This was followed by a talk by John Patrick on 'Who Do You think they Were' (family history) - well attended and enjoyed.
2016
On December 17th we had our Christmas Party during the Saturday morning library session. Volunteers and customers sat and chatted over drinks and nibbles.
On December 9th Professor Gerry Stoker gave a talk about Europe and the UK. We had a record audience of 28 and a good discussion afterwards.
Phil Stuckey came on November 17th to talk about 'The History and Management of Corfe Common'.
Dr Phil Judkins came to the library again on 27th October to tell us about the German Spies who lost the Battle of Britain.
On September 15th Alan Neal gave a very interesting and informative talk about the History of the AEE at Winfrith.
During August we hosted the Bankes Archive touring exhibition from the Dorset History Centre. For our children's event on August 23rd we had stories about Corfe Castle with Liz Day, DHC's storyteller, and lots of fun craft activities based on Beatrix Potter characters.
A speaker from the National Trust came on 9th June to talk about his job specialising in ecology.
We had Tea and Cakes at the Pavilion on May 19th for Friends and Volunteers. Colin Wareham from PoPP came to tell us about his work signposting services to help older people. Martyn talked about what we have achieved over the past year and Chris thanked all the volunteers for their contributions.
On May 13th John Patrick returned to the library to talk about Swanage Pubs. John was our first speaker a year ago and we welcomed him back this time enjoying hearing about pubs in Swanage dating from the 1760's and seeing lots of old photos and pictures. John's memory for dates and facts is amazing - he speaks without notes! One of the visitors (from Bournemouth) was the granddaughter of one of the ex-publicans, and we also had some interesting background info from some Swanage visitors.
On April 19th Phil Judkins returned to talk about Confusion’s Masterpiece – Intercept and Deception on D-Day. He gave the full account of the various deception campaigns which masked the D-Day landings, by double agents, by code-breaking, by radio and radar intercepts, and by decoy buildings, ships and tanks. The talk was well-attended with good questions and interesting comments afterwards.
On April 8th, we held a Children's Easter Holiday Fun event - with crafts, games and stories. The children made some colourful flower baskets, pencil tops, bead eggs and bookmarks and went away with their hands full! Thanks to Chris, Pam, Alicia and Holly for helping plan and run the event.
On March 11th Louise Haywood gave an interesting talk about the History of the Corfe Castle Town Trust. Donations went to the Town Trust.
John Barclay came to the library on 18th February to tell us about his trip 'Round the World without Flying'. The audience was small but everyone enjoyed the talk.
The Friends' AGM took place on January 21st - copies of the minutes and accounts are in the library. This was followed by a talk by Frank Roberts on the project to extend the Swanage Railway link to Wareham - a very informative and interesting talk. Donations went to the Swanage Railway Trust.
2015
We had another good Christmas get-together on 19th December during the Saturday morning session.
On December 10th David Kemp (Corfe resident) told us about his experiences 'In Darwin's Footsteps' on the Galapagos islands. We raised £40 for the endangered 'Little Penguins'.
November's talk on Clay Mining was cancelled as the speaker moved jobs, but we hope to have another representative to speak on the subject in the future.
Phil Judkins returned to talk about the History of Radar at Worth Matravers on October 14th, the event was very well-attended and interesting.
On September 11th Zoe Squirrell told us about her experiences with para-dressage. It was a very well-delivered and enlightening talk.
The 'Tea the Pavilion' event to thank Friends and volunteers took place on 13th August. There was a good turnout, we all enjoyed Susan and Helen's cakes and after a good chat, managed to fit in a brainstorming session on future plans for the library - some excellent ideas came out of this.
On August 4th we had a children's event, based on a pirate/treasure theme. The children set a record (470) for transferring 'treasure' and 'pirate' flags from one treasure chest to another using straws. Over 20 children between 2 and 10 came to enjoy the fun.
Our second talk in the library took place on 5th June. Dr Phil Judkins gave an illustrated talk and Jean Kerlogue (a veteran from Hut 6) answered questions about the Codebreakers of Bletchley Park. Over 20 people attended, and donations of £44 were given to the library double glazing fund.
