DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Title

Annual Report 2009

Authors

John Burton

Date of this Version

2010

Document Type

Article

Citation

The George Eliot Review 41 (2010)

Comments

Published by The George Eliot Review Online https://GeorgeEliotReview.org

Abstract

I am pleased to report that last year was a successful one. There are things we might have done better, or differently, but I think we can say that 2009 was marked by events which provided huge pleasure and satisfaction for our members, and for a much wider audience beyond our membership.

The AGM last year heard a request from Liz Mellor for some sabbatical time whilst she dealt with health problems and members agreed to that request. We then held a discussion about the Fellowship and what we hoped to see develop in the future. Members enjoyed the chance to participate and I thank Viv Wood for her teacherly suggestion that we move the furniture to make discussion easier.

The next event was the Study Day in May, and this had been planned and arranged by Liz very effectively. I thank her for the huge effort she put into organizing the day. The theme was Adam Bede and we were greatly helped by the willingness of our Vice-Presidents to contribute. In the morning we had papers from Dr John Rignall, Michael Harris and Dr Tonny Van Den Broek. It did seem a bit of a rush to have three papers before lunch but Liz planned it so that in the afternoon we could witness a quite extraordinary performance by Cathy Tempelsman and her team of eight actors who came up from London and read through Cathy's play about the early professional life of George Eliot. I know that everyone present that afternoon felt they had witnessed something very special. An added bonus for the Fellowship was that Cathy Tempelsman refused any payment for either herself or her actors, or their travel from London, or in Cathy's case from New York.

Sadly, this was to be the last event the Fellowship held at the Town Hall, which in a cost-cutting exercise now closes at the weekend, so the two or three annual events we used to hold there have to find new venues. The short-sightedness and philistinism of the present Council administration, at officer and member level, is a wonder to behold. I say that with some feeling since in the early days of the Fellowship both Borough Council officers and elected Councilors were actively involved in the Fellowship and saw its importance. We are now often regarded as mere irritants - though there are occasional exceptions to that blanket condemnation, one being the mayor for 2009/10, Tom Wilson, who supports us wholeheartedly. A few days after the Study Day Liz wrote to say that she wanted to stand down as Secretary and so your Council had to decide how best to proceed. What has evolved is still evolving but we have found ways of working effectively by distributing jobs, using sub-committees and being positive. Nevertheless, a new Secretary would help!