The first half of the 2025-26 season at Alton Camera Club was a very positive one.

Back in September it welcomed nine new members, along with many returning members, through its doors and they got stuck in from day one, entering competitions - and gaining high marks - attending field trips and making the tea.

The club is at the midway point in its closely fought print and projected digital image competition leagues, and the challenge competitions, which have produced some high-scoring images.

The most recent projected digital image challenge competition, Two of a Kind, resulted in tens for three images, with Nick Brock’s Dance No More placed first, Wendy Davies’ Nature’s Strength second and Steve Smith’s Mid-Air Dispute third.

Print league and projected digital image league competitions resulted in tens for Paul Booker’s And We Have Take Off, Wendy Davies’ Buronga River, Victoria, Paul Milsom’s The Smile, Renee Smith’s L’Ombrello Rosso, and Nick Brock’s Unknown Soldier and Prayer.

November saw members visit Windsor, where they took a guided walk to get their bearings, witnessed the Changing of the Guard, and strolled through Eton, the Long Walk and along the Thames.

They also visited Petworth House and the nearby Newlands House Gallery to see an exhibition on the work of photographer Jane Bown, a former resident of Alton.

The club is looking forward to its Christmas trip to the London lights. In January it will visit Salisbury for the Southern Counties Photographic Federation exhibition, and the Natural History Museum for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

Upcoming talks include Waterscapes by Jonathan Geneveux, Abstract Photography by Pete Clarke, Natural Light Portraiture by Helen Hoffman, Mongolia by Julian Elliott and Skye at Night by Andrew Tobin. Club competitions will continue, with challenges on weather, minimalism, portraits and water.

The membership fee will be reduced in the new year and the club welcomes new members at any level, from enthusiastic beginner with mobile phone to experienced professional with the latest Leica.

Visitors are welcome for a free taster session - a small charge will apply if there is a talk at the meeting. The club meets in Holybourne Village Hall every Wednesday at 7.30pm. For more information visit www.altoncameraclub.org

The Rotary Club of Farnham is delighted to be one of the sponsors supporting the 40Degreez youth club in the 2025-26 educational year.

This is a place for young people from in and around Farnham to meet, socialise, have fun and develop skills in a safe, comfortable and friendly environment.

Individual clubs are all open access but are also aimed at young people at risk of social or educational exclusion, and who might have vulnerabilities associated with neurodiversity.

On Monday afternoons there is a Hangout Club for Year 6 pupils to help them transition between primary and secondary school. Monday and Tuesday evenings provide a girls’ self-defence class especially for those who might have low self-esteem, building confidence and life skills while learning important self-defence techniques.

Friday evenings see two Health Hub sessions which include an array of activities and provision of varied food options for young people attending. The mind-body-spirit ethos is often used to help address personal, social or mental health problems of some of those attending, with the prospect of building longer-term and more sustainable solutions to those issues.

On Saturdays there is a drop-in café/games club for 11 to 18-year-olds, using board games such as Dungeons and Dragons. This has encouraged role play and increased exchange of conversation among young people normally shy to express themselves. Apart from reducing weekend isolation, it has developed teamwork and leadership for neurodivergent and socially anxious young people.

A therapeutic gardening project runs alongside on a Saturday, promoting growing skills and encouraging the use of home produce. The café, which is a key element of the social activity, is open for food - often donated from Sainsbury’s food bank - allowing young people to make their own.

There are also independent sessions focused on life skills, relationship, anxiety and modern social challenges. There is space for self-expression and group activities, plus separate meeting rooms and practice spaces.

There is already a fledgling band, getting ready to promote its own brand of music.

In addition to the in-house activities there is an outreach programme, sponsored by Farnham Town Council, encompassing The Chantrys, central Farnham, the skatepark and places where young adults may congregate without being aware of the risks and dangers.

The aim is always to provide support, encouragement and friendship, while promoting harm reduction where it may be lacking elsewhere, to young people at critical stages in their lives, allowing individuals to reach their full potential.

The effective and sustained efforts of the 40Degreez staff and volunteers provide a vital service to young people in Farnham, particularly those who have carried vulnerabilities through their early years.

By providing a safe place where young people can meet and be themselves within a non-judgemental environment, be heard and counselled when necessary, 40Degreez has enabled a growth of confidence and self-esteem that in turn has promoted a development of positive changes into adulthood, often leading to successful employment and further education.

It was a joyful Christmas atmosphere on December 3 for the meeting of the Williams Club for the blind and partially sighted of Farnham.

Members were entertained by Accord, a wonderful a cappella choir, with their conductor Sue. There were marvellous songs interspersed with carols that the audience joined in with, including one where not only did they have to sing but they had to do actions as well.

Members were treated to a fabulous afternoon tea provided by the amazing team at Farnham Baptist Church, rounded off with a delicious home-made Christmas cake.

The 2026 programme was presented to the members, highlighting that they will have the pleasure of listening to various musical entertainers and talks, enjoy a quiz, go on the popular seaside outing in June and have a strawberry tea in July. As a Christmas gift, each member was given a pot of hyacinths to take home.

The first 2026 meeting of the Williams Club will be on January 7, starting at 2pm in Farnham Baptist Church.

For more information visit www.williamsclubfarnham.co.uk or email [email protected]

Alton Lions Club took great pleasure recently in presenting the charity Young Lives vs Cancer with a cheque for £6,000.

The money was raised by the Alton Lions Classic Car Show 2025, held in the town centre at the end of August and attended by almost 200 drivers and their vehicles from across the south of England.

The Classic Car Show has supported Young Lives vs Cancer for the past four years, donating a total of £10,900.

In thanking the Alton Lions for their support, the charity’s senior fundraising engagement manager Liz Blunt said the donation was having “an amazing impact”.

This level of funding could pay for 419 hours of practical, emotional and financial support from a specialist social worker or almost 156 nights for a family to stay at Jean’s House - the charity’s home-from-home next to Southampton General Hospital - to be near to a child receiving treatment for cancer.

Ms Blunt said: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, as I know how much work goes into organising such a fantastic event.

“On behalf of the children and young people with cancer and their families, a massive ‘thank you!’.”

A message received recently via the Alton Lions Club Facebook page echoed this sentiment, confirming how much the services provided by Young Lives vs Cancer are valued.

It came from a local mother whose baby was recently diagnosed with cancer. She said: “Young Lives vs Cancer charity has been invaluable to us while needing to stay in Southampton and has supported us and our older two children. We are grateful for the money raised by Alton Lions.”

In September Susan Purcell gave a very interesting talk about The History of Crosswords, which began in America in the 1920s and reached the UK in the early 1930s.

Jackie Dimmock entertained members in October with her third talk about her 30-year career in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.

And in November Ann Ogle-Skan organised a team to provide tea for the Williams Club for blind and partially sighted people at Farnham Baptist Church.

On November 26 some 23 members attended the club’s 59th Anniversary Lunch in the beautiful Oak Room at the Bush Hotel, and on December 16 members were entertained by Robin Maddy’s magic show.

The club’s longest-serving member, Christina Williams, died suddenly on August 28. She had been treasurer and ramble leader, and demonstrated her baking, jam-making and gardening skills on many occasions.

Many members attended a celebration of her life at St Thomas-on-The Bourne Church, and she will be greatly missed.

The club meets at 7.15pm for 7.30pm at the Rowledge Club in Fullers Road, Rowledge. For more information email Ros Cranham at [email protected]