January 2026 No. 27
WELCOME TO OUR NEWSLETTER A message from our Chair I remember my first VAG weekend, Cardiff, 2016. Not an RPS member at the time, I was invited by Andreas Klatt, who was at the time both VAG Chair and, with his super-efficient organising wife Sue, had taken over as trips organiser as well. Over time I came to recognise the considerable amount of work organising these weekends can involve and by the time Andreas was seeking to pass on the challenge – at Buxton, 2021 – I also remember the great relief felt by the whole group that Mike and Sally Kitchingman had offered to take over.
speakers/workshop providers to great heights. Their cheerful no-problem approach has made attending the meetings a delight and – to cap it all, from the RPS’s perspective – all have covered their costs, a great achievement. They pass on the challenge with our great thanks and respect. Fortunately both will continue to take part and, I am sure, assist the new organisers, James and Hazel Frost, to whom we are also grateful. So a huge thank you to Mike and Sally for the wonderful weekends we have all shared. Mark Deutsch LRPS I hope you enjoy the first newsletter of 2026. Please watch out for the emails regarding our AGM which will start appearing in late February 2026. We really do appreciate your participation.
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Carol Paes ARPS
ROLLRIGHT - MEETINGS Future dates: Saturday March 7th 2026 Members’ Show and Tell - theme to follow. £5 entrance fee Saturday May 16th 2026 Speakers TBC Mike and Sally were already well-known within the VAG, particularly as strong supporters of the Rollright group meetings, and their seemingly effortless assumption of the role of trips organiser(s) was in fact no surprise.
Saturday August 22nd Members’ Show and tell Saturday November 22nd Speakers TBC Charles Binns
EMAIL & PRINT CIRCLES Members will be saddened – as we are – to hear that Gill Dishart ARPS, who has for many years run the Circles, has had to stand down due to illhealth. Fortunately, Fred Barrington FRPS has agreed to take over but he has a challenge: he is not sure he has contact details for all his members. If you are a Circle member, please contact Fred to let him know. fredbarrington@gmail.com Over the past four years they have done us proud, to the extent that all their weekend trips have been sell-outs within a couple of weeks of their release and have raised the standard of
We are very grateful for Gill for her long and devoted service to the VAG.