Eugenie Rhodes, a long-time NSC member who has now moved to Tunbridge Wells and consequently seldom makes it to our meetings, has started her own answer to the NSC, the Dandy and Connoisseur Club. Harking back to the Georgian era, when her town’s Pantiles area was the place to see and be seen, the club will, like the NSC, offer a monthly meeting with a talk.

Doors will open for socialising at 6pm, and from 6.30 there will be a talk, Photography or Art, by David Ford, who writes: "The acclaimed photographer Don McCullin, now in his nineties, is adamant that he is not an artist, he is a photographer—period. He works exclusively in black and white, producing images that draw the viewer in, and achieves success not only via choice of subject, but also through composition, use of light and shade, contrast, time of day, etc. Can someone who is not an artist really do that? 

“On the other hand, photographer Martin Parr, who died last year, was referred to unhesitatingly by his biographer as an artist. Parr worked initially in black and white, and then switched exclusively to colour. Parr's focus was on everyday situations, the ordinary. However, his images are compelling and utterly captivating. Was he an artist, or was he simply recording the art that exists in everyday life but which the rest of us just don't notice?”

For details, reservations and dress codes email dandyandconnoisseur@aol.com.