Winkie's Castle Marske By The Sea.UK

CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS

2007 was Winkies Castle’s second full year of opening to the public. Visitor numbers were down on the previous year but that is understandable as the initial interest wanes. Also the weather was not encouraging and we were perhaps a little short on advertising and publicity. Nevertheless we had over 700 visitors, many of them giving us good reports and positive comments.
Our AGM will be held on March 13th next and we hope it will be well attended as we need your feedback and continued support. We have decided to keep the subscriptions and entrance fees the same as last year as we would rather have your support and more visitors than extra cash.
This last year we broke even financially despite having some capital costs as we were able to get these covered by grants. We plan to have the building re-roofed later this year as we had to postpone this work initially due to lack of funds. It is hoped we can get a grant to cover the bulk of what will be a substantial cost.
Our theme this year will be in support of the Marske Fishermen’s Choir who are celebrating their 40th anniversary. As well as bringing joy to many people they have done tremendous work in aid of the Lifeboat Association and other charities and we trust that our display will compliment their formidable achievements.
Before we re-open at Easter we shall be installing a visitor interactive audio feature which will enable people to hear different short stories at the press of a button. These tales are less than one minute long and if any of you fancy your hand at becoming another JK Rowling please get in touch with me as we need more. Stories from the younger FOWC members would be extremely welcome.

In addition we have obtained a manikin (or mannequin, whichever you prefer) to add some reality to our commemorative display of Jack Anderson. I have christened him Johannes as he was sent to us from Holland and he does not speak any English. In fact he is very quiet all the time, unlike Jack!

JOHANNES & WINKIE AT REST
In 2007 we continued to have regular committee meetings and occasional co-ordination meetings with other local museums. These latter are organized by Kirkleatham Hall’s Curator and are very useful in helping us to work with the other organizations and to share our experiences. The two main benefits are access to more grants and some additional publicity but we need to continue this liaison to get even more benefit.
Our only real concern is the very small committee (8 strong) which we have to manage Winkies affairs. We desperately need a dedicated Secretary, a Publicist and someone to apply for grants. Whilst none of these posts are particularly onerous the current committee members are already stretched and we are losing out on grants and publicity. If you can spare a few hours a month or if you know of someone who can please, please help us out. The offer of free tea and biscuits the first week still stands.

By Chris Taylor, Chairman, FOWC.

WEBSITES & E- MAIL
We have now got our own website as well as being included in links from other sites.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
23rd February - Coffee Morning in the White House – Tombola, Raffle, Exhibits.
1st March - Membership Renewals Due
13th March - AGM at 7pm in The Ship Inn with Talk/Songs by the Fishermans Choir.
22nd March - Easter Saturday – Winkies Castle re-opens with Fishermans Choir Theme and many new interesting additions.
AWARDS
In September Winkies was awarded a “Quality Assured Visitor Attraction” accreditation by the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Service who reported :-
“This cosy, well managed attraction, is a little gem”
“The enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers take a great deal of pride in Winkies and it shows”

SANTA’S VISIT - DEC. 12th

SANTA AND HIS HELPERS, CHRISTMAS 2007
MARSKE FISHERMEN’S CHOIR
The Choir was not actually founded – rather it evolved in the 1960s from local natural talent and enthusiasm. The fishing community in Marske at that time bounded with energy and, amongst the fishermen, were some with a musical bent who liked to sing or play instruments. Without need for any excuse they would gather together, usually at The Ship Inn after the fishing was done for the day.
From this spawning ground the Choir was borne due to the interest and dedication of one man, the late Jimmy Madden, who offered to arrange some songs associated with the sea. Thus the keel was laid and the first concert was given in December, 1968, some 40 years ago.
The Choir has appeared all over Britain, and even abroad, at all sorts of musical occasions such as the Tall Ships Festival at Newcastle. For milestone anniversaries some special songs have been written for the Choir to sing such as The Newbiggin Lifeboat, the Fraserborough Lifeboat and, nearer home, The Zetland Lifeboat. Concerts have been held in support of social, community and fundraising events for a wide variety of charities and organizations. These have not only provided welcome entertainment but also raised thousands of pounds for deserving causes, in particular the RNLI.
Come and learn more from Bill Porritt, founder member and Musical Director, at our AGM in The Ship Inn on March 13th.

WINKIES CASTLE FOLK MUSEUM ANNUAL NEWSLETTER,
JANUARY 2008

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