Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who completed the membership survey, which has now closed. We’ve had over 100 members complete it, giving us a rich source of information and data to help us plan for the future. We particularly thank those respondents who made helpful suggestions as to how we can improve our current activities and events, as well as what more we could do in the future. We are currently analysing the responses but already we can see that many themes emerged from the results, including a clear keenness for the Society to broaden its activities across the full Dulwich area, to increase the number of social events, and to ensure that our activities are accessible to members of all ages, young and old. The Society will be reviewing the full results of the survey over the next month or so, to help inform our strategic development, and we will continue to provide updates on this work as it progresses.
As part of our strategy of membership engagement we held two informal Meet-the-Trustees evenings in the last quarter. One was in the elegant reception rooms at Bell House (many thanks to the Bell House trustees for hosting us) and the other at The Lordship Pub in East Dulwich. These two evenings allowed members to socialise but, importantly, gave the members the opportunity to raise issues with the trustees and for the trustees to quiz members on their priorities for the Society. Both events were well attended and they formed a useful adjunct to the survey.
In line with one of the themes from the membership survey, we have been working hard to organise a flagship event to coincide with International Women’s Day 2025. It seems a long way off, but the next edition of the Journal after this one will come out only days before the event so I wanted to mention it here. We are planning an evening of discussion and debate and have secured a panel of accomplished local female politicians from across the political spectrum, all of whom have worked for equality and opportunity for women in government. Newly ennobled Baroness Harriet Harman and four other local politicians will be quizzed by Aruna Iyengar, one of the BBC’s political correspondents. It will take place on 4 March, so save the date in your diary now. We expect it to be a sell-out event, so be sure to book early. Members of the Society will get reduced-price tickets and advance opportunity to book. Proceeds will go to charity. Details of how to book and a promo-code for your membership discount on tickets will be sent soon to your registered email address. If you have not registered your email address with the Society (do you not receive our monthly eNews?) please email
As I am writing this, the evenings are quickly getting darker and the clocks went back recently. It’s getting cold outside and I hope that you enjoy this winter edition of the Journal in comfort. As well as an article about our forthcoming Women and Politics event, which you can find on page 18, you may find interesting the article about electric vehicles on page 10 or the one on policing issues on page 8.
As well as the Journal, perhaps we can interest you in one of our online Local History talks, which you can also enjoy from the comfort of your armchair. Up next, on 3 December, is a talk by Brian Green entitled: Through the Valley: East Dulwich to West Dulwich, Changes Over Time (booking details in your monthly eNews). Then in January the online talk will be about the West Norwood cemetery and their lottery grant to include a new West Dulwich entrance, again details to follow in your monthly eNews.
Please can I encourage those of you who pay your Society subs by cash or cheque to go to our website (membership section) and renew with a direct debit. Those of you who pay by standing order can also swap to direct debit. Paying by direct debit dramatically reduces the administrative burden on our volunteers.
Thank you to all our volunteers for your hard work over the year. I wish you and all our members a very happy Christmas and New Year.