Hi Folks,

We have all been going through strange and testing times for the last 6 months due to this pandemic and we as the Committee have been taking as much advice as we can to best understand how we can move forward, following Thursday night’s meeting we now have a range of methods to keep the Club alive until we get Government clearance to work as we have in the past.

We have sought the advice of a Health & Safety advisor Chris Lloyd who is up to date with the current regulations, the summary is as follows: –

1. Two Metre Spacing is required inside the Club.
   We have measured and laid out the chairs to meet this requirement and we can achieve 3 row of 4 chairs in the main body with 3 chairs at the rear and still leave room for a visiting Lecturer/Judge and Chair at the front; all other chairs are stored away. Thus, we can only accommodate 15 members in an evening, and with the exception of a family bubble they should not be rearranged during an evening.
2. Cleaning.
   On the original proposal it was necessary to close the Club for 72 hours after use to ensure COVID elimination, this would have meant that the Club could be open on Tuesday, cleaned on Saturday ready for further use the following Tuesday.
   The Committee realised that was too restrictive so have now agreed a cleaning protocol which we will ensure takes place at the end of each meeting so that its is available for use the following day – we may need volunteers to assist.
3. The tearoom must remain closed for the time being and no refreshments will be served.
4. The toilets will be available – but only one person at a time will be allowed in each one and strict cleaning procedures will have to be followed by each person using the facilities.
5. A hand sanitisation station will be available in the foyer and all will be expected to sanitise their hands, on entry.
6. A One-Way system is not thought to be necessary as all members will enter at about the same time and leave together when the event is completed.
7. The darkroom should only be used by one person at a time, and as we are unsure about cleaning and sanitisation sprays in that area, we would expect it to be used only at 72-hour intervals. (Maybe Dewi can advise regarding sanitisation?)
8. Use of Clubroom for Studio work, providing the member is prepared to follow the cleaning protocols there seems no reason why this should not continue.

There is however a concern regarding the lighting, stands and modifiers; if these are used there is a concern regarding effective cleaning of these facilities especially if they are still hot and also spraying may have an effect on safety – in that case we consider that our studio equipment must be left unused for 72 hours following being used on a shoot.

The Committee realises that during this ongoing situation there will be limits as to how we can service the members – please see the Programme Notes . To this end we have decided that we will only charge a nominal £10 per member for this season, but in applying for and accepting membership you will agree to only attend if you can meet the requirements of the Health Declaration form attached and on joining we will have all contact details registered and we will note all who attend each event so that we can produce, if required by the PHO contact details following a COVID outbreak in the Club.

Roy Thomas,
Hon. General Secretary
01639 644757/07880710908
Roy17@btinternet.com

September to October 2020

To be reviewed month by month until Pandemic is over
The Official Programme published still stands as our intention and as soon as we are allowed, we will return to those weekly events.

The Programme for September/October is proposed as: –

• 8th September – Virtual Talk with Roy Carr – “A Year in Their Lives”
• 15th September – Special Interest Group Held at the Club (SIG)
• 22nd September – DPI Virtual Competition29th September – SIG 2
• 6th October – Virtual Talk Speaker TBC
• 13th October – SIG 3
• 20th October – DPI Open Virtual Competition
• 27th October – SIG 4

To clarify: –

1. Virtual evenings will be run remotely using a Zoom facility, each member will be Emailed a link and details of how to log in, this should be done about 10 minutes prior to the start so that you can be allowed to enter and meet the others virtually.
2. Special Interest Groups – SIGs will be evenings where hopefully one of our members will provide a lecture on his/her speciality to allow the attendees to better understand the techniques/equipment used.
   These can only accommodate 15 members so some form of draw will take place of those that express an interest to select the attendees.
3. DPI Virtual Competitions these will be limited to 4 DPIs per member, 2 Colour and 2 Mono as a result of these changes due to COVID the normal Cup competitions will be suspended for this season and all competitions run virtually will have an Open Theme

Roy Thomas

After months of delays the Salon has finally been Judged and Results are out.  A big thanks to our Selectors Garry Shinner LRPS,EFIAP/b, AWPF EPSA.,  Ray Brammall, ARPS, EFIAP/s, DPAGB, APAGB BPE3*, and Richard Spurdens, EFIAP/p, DPAGB, BPE5* for giving their time also a big thanks to Steve Bright, of BrightImaging, who’s software we use and this year Steve hosted the Salon for us remotely.

Thanks also go out to Denice Evans and Linda Cowen without who’s help the Salon wouldn’t go ahead.

Congratulations go to –

Owen Blackmore, Arfon John, Dave Edwards, Tim Kavanah, James Hansen-MacGillivray and Steve Rees for gaining Acceptances.

Commiserations to the other members of NDPS who supported the Salon and didn’t get any acceptances.  Keep trying.

Full Results can be viewed here

Well done all.

Colin Kelly