December is a magical month: Fordingbridge, aglow with its Christmas lights, putting other, larger towns to shame; the bustle of Christmas in Fordingbridge, shopping with carol singers and children turning out to see Santa Clause. Then later there is the familiar sound heard heard around the Christmas Lunch table – the communal groan at a cracker joke you have heard before. My favourite is the old one – “Did you hear about the man who fell into the upholstery machine? He is now fully recovered.”

Another favourite phrase often heard is, “Fordingbridge Camera Club a friendly, go-ahead club.” We meet at Avonway Community Centre at 7.30pm on alternate Wednesdays. Our website, www.fordingbridgecameraclub.org.uk has our programme for the season. It is a mixture of talks by visiting top photographers coupled with opportunities to show your work and have it commented on by experienced photographic judges. Visitors are always welcome for a small fee.

In addition to our regular meetings, we are devoting many evenings to Creative Photography for those who want to explore more advanced aspects of photography. The Practical Photography group is aimed at helping members who are new-comers to photography. Both of these additional sessions have proven to be very popular but are only open to club members. If you want to improve your photographic abilities it always pays to see what others are doing. ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ exhibition is now on at the Natural History Museum in London and the work is stunning – and beautifully presented!

Remember, December is a busy time for the post so post your parcels early to enable the Post Office to lose them in time for Christmas. May we wish you all a Happy, Peaceful Christmas and we hope to see you all next year.