WE met on a baking hot evening – July 18 – to listen to Alice Foster give a fascinating lecture on portraiture past and modern, looking at status, power, love and costume.

Mrs Foster showed slides of wealthy clients of artists such as Hogarth, Titian, Reynolds and a rare portrait by Constable.

She described the importance of sleeves, not set into the garment but fastened by tapes, as being the most heavily embroidered part of a dress or coat and which showed the status of the wearer.

She described a portrait of a young lady whose pearl and ruby necklace showed she was betrothed into a wealthy family. Many portraits were ‘cosmetic’ and totally unlike the sitter – as per one sitter who had her portrait painted many times during her life and kept her beauty and figure!

As one senior member said of the engrossing evening: “I shall never look at a portrait the same way again”. A wonderful evening of learning and interest, enjoyed and absorbed by all.

The next day members travelled by private coach to Highclere Castle, near Newbury, aka Downton Abbey.

This was an eagerly awaited outing, having had to book almost two years ahead! Once again the weather was sunny and hot.

We stopped for coffee and tea at an elegant inn near Highclere before completing our journey.

As we entered the gates and drove up the drive to the front door the strains of the Downton Abbey music heralded our arrival in style.

Highclere was well worth the visit. The Egyptian Museum, suitably dark and below ground, was most interesting even though sadly the major part of the Carnarvon find had to be sold to the Metropolitan Museum of New York to pay death duties, and have never been displayed there.

The house was set out in Downton style with knowledgeable guides in each room. There were gardens and walks – albeit hot – and visitors from Australia, USA to count a few. They have just filmed the next episode of Downton and are to film a Christmas special. The members enjoyed a summer special, very relaxed and informal.

We left tired and happy again to the strains of the music. A lovely day.

No meeting in August. On September 17 Liz Brooke Ward will speak on Contemporary Textiles – 7.30pm at the Catholic Church Centre. Visitors most welcome.