TOWN mayor John Ward and his Waverley counterpart Christopher Storey joined other distinguished guests at Farnham museum’s Garden Gallery last week to launch this year’s Heritage Open Days.

Organised by The Farnham Society with support from the town council, this year’s event will be themed around the town’s proud art and craft heritage – and between today (Thursday) and Sunday, a varied mix of properties across the town will welcome visitors, adding to numerous exhibitions and walks guided by experts.

For full details of all events and building openings, look for the Heritage Open Days brochure in public buildings around town, including the Herald offices on West Street, and online at farnham.gov.uk.

Meanwhile, The Maltings will next week host an exhibition and sale of watercolours and prints by Michael Blower, a highly-regarded architect and artist from Farnham.

The artwork will go on show from September 10-17 in conjunction with Heritage Open Days 2016.

It is Michael’s ninth exhibition for Farnham’s Heritage Open Days and this year he has introduced a new and fascinating theme, summed up in the title for this latest exhibition – ‘Place is where the heart is’, which features a special selection of paintings, drawings and sketches, chosen to illustrate the meaning of ‘Place’.

Michael asks visitors to consider what this word might mean. It is a question of how and why a certain place, town, village or community is a special place for the people who live there.

The exhibition catalogue puts it this way: “Perhaps it is the house you live in, the homes and neighbours around you, certain special buildings, the character and feel of your community?

“For most people the place where they live gives them a sense of belonging and it’s where they come home to. But it’s not just a case of the old saying ‘home is where the heart is’.

“They will feel that sense of belonging, of being ‘in place’, from a whole catalogue of important things around them. It may be an understanding of how their special place has evolved, its history, a view of a familiar skyline, landmark buildings, how green spaces and the environment allow them to breathe, the cultural and community benefits they enjoy with friends and family, a sense of common identity and purpose, even as the community develops and grows.”

Many of the works exhibited are of places that people in Farnham will instantly recognise but others depict the hidden or unfamiliar, lost places, notable buildings from the town and around, and a few are of buildings slightly further afield.

The proceeds of the sale will all be donated to The Farnham Society, the amenity group that for more than a century has devoted itself to protecting and enhancing the town’s unique character.