A Malawian chief has said that the people of Alton are “very, very special” in a Christmas thank you message to the town.

Alton has forged close links with Malawi through the Alton Climate Action Network (ACAN), which fundraises to support a farm and training centre for sustainable agricultural methods in the Gumbi region of the African country.

Chief Edwin Mponela said: “On behalf of all the people in Gumbi community in Malawi, I would like to thank all our donors who have been very kind to us in Malawi.

“I do also extend my thanks to all the people of the town of Alton who have recently donated six million Malawian Kwatcha - approximately £3,000 - for maize. This is very great and wonderful. Whatever you are doing for us cannot be done even by the government of Malawi. You are very, very special to us.”

ACAN works in partnership with the Gumbi Education Fund to help Malawi, which is badly affected by drought because of the climate crisis despite generating less than 0.04 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Jenny Griffiths from ACAN said: “The Gumbi permaculture demonstration farm is thriving, but a severe drought has caused widespread acute hunger just now.

“The staple maize crop failed on many homestead farms in the 19 villages across the Gumbi community. The government has declared a nationwide state of disaster but has been unable to help, and there is little international aid.

“The community asked ACAN for assistance to buy food for January to March for vulnerable households who have run out of maize. In little more than a month, people from Alton and the surrounding villages contributed no less than £3,000 to the appeal. We are incredibly grateful.”

ACAN has now secured a £5,000 grant for training courses from environmental justice foundation the Margaret Hayman Charitable Trust, and received an anonymous donation to buy two solar-powered water pumps.

For more information visit https://altonclimatenetwork.org.uk/our-groups/gumbi-alton-permaculture-community-training-centre/ or email [email protected]

The Arts Society Farnham’s December lecture was entitled Jane Austen - Literary Superstar.

On the precise date of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, the society enjoyed an engaging talk about her life from Annalie Talent.

Austen’s books, published anonymously as “by a Lady” before her death, could have disappeared without trace without strong advocacy from family and friends, though her surprise burial in the nave of Winchester Cathedral made no mention of her books.

Austen’s gift was to write about “ordinary” people and ordinary lives with wit, insight, a touch of satire and the promise, always fulfilled at the end, of a happy marriage with pecuniary advantages.

Not everyone appreciated her talent - the contemporary poet laureate took issue with why a woman should be writing at all, other than as a pastime - and definitely not for business. Her books infuriated Mark Twain but were admired by Rudyard Kipling.

A late 19th-century biography by her nephew helped rescue her from relative obscurity, and as more people started to read she found a new audience.

During the First World War some shellshocked soldiers found her works a calming influence. Churchill had similar feelings in the Second World War.

But it was the screen adaptations - from the 1930s film of Pride and Prejudice with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson to the Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle version on television in the 1990s - that helped propel Austen into the ranks of literary superstardom, where she has stayed ever since!

Jo Watson

The Arts Society Farnham’s next talk is about The Mayan Civilisation of Central America, by Duncan Pring, at Farnham Maltings on January 27 at 10.30am.

The Maya lived in Central America between 1000 BC and 1528, when they were conquered by the Spaniards.

At the peak of their civilisation, between 300 and 900 AD, they built enormous monuments, produced jade and ceramic items of great beauty, and developed a calendar far more advanced than anything in Europe at the time.

They had an advanced understanding of mathematics and astronomy and developed a hieroglyphic script which scholars are beginning to decipher, allowing us to understand their achievements more fully.

Non-members are welcome, for a fee of £8 at the door. For more information visit www.theartssocietyfarnham.org.uk

The Alton Art Society enjoyed a wonderful demonstration using many unusual techniques by Mark Warner at the Alton Assembly Rooms on December 20.

Mark used heavy body acrylic paints and flat synthetic brushes in a variety of sizes. When painting outside he uses mount board to which he has applied gesso.

He paints several sketches on different sizes of board. Mount board is light, more rigid than paper and less expensive than canvas. He takes the sketches home to use as the basis for a painting.

He sketches using a water soluble pen in a Seabright travel journal. Once he has sketched he applies water and then, when dry, more detail in ink - after which he can also apply paint.

In the studio he works on two paintings of the same scene - they may be slightly different compositions - moving between the two.

When sketching he looks at shapes rather than detail, and the final painting is not drawn first - instead he roughs out shapes using the side of a flat brush with sweeping movements, and then paints mid-tones before adding darks and lights.

He then likes using cerulean blue as the main colour, adding white, greens, reds and other colours to it - one at a time - to make the painting have a continuity, then makes sure the marks are different but uses the same colour in several places on the painting.

Mark applies the paint thinly, adding several layers. He uses all sides of the brush - sometimes he pushes against the bristles, and sometimes he rolls the brush for clouds and hedgerows.

Once happy, he adds texture using thicker paint or a palette knife, plus darks and lights and small patches of bright colours, but often comes back to old paintings to change or add things.

It was a hula hooping workshop night at the last 2025 Bake, Natter and Roll Farnham WI meeting on December 18.

The team were delighted with the wonderful cakes and bakes that had been created by Fliss and Hilary and prepared themselves to work the calories off hula hooping.

After the members had been updated by Jenny about forthcoming events and activities, such as the book club meeting in January, the curry club in February and the melange quiz in March, they moved on to the important activity of the evening when the wonderful Tracey took them through how to hula hoop.

There was a great deal of laughing and giggling regarding the members’ attempts. Some of the gathering really were very good and were able to keep the hoop going round and round. Others were not so dextrous but still had great fun.

For the finale to their attempts, Tracey took them through a hula hooping routine which turned out to be very effective. The members kindly presented Jenny with some truly lovely Christmas presents - luckily she did not cry.

Members closed the evening with the wrapped Christmas raffle and the pulling of crackers. Best wishes for Christmas and the new year were given to all, and there was a reminder about the next meeting on January 15, when it will be party night as Bake, Natter and Roll will be ten years old.

The meeting starts at 7.45pm in the Small Hall at the Spire Church in South Street, Farnham. For more information email [email protected]

Bramshott & Liphook Arts & Crafts Society’s next demonstration will be on January 8, when Stewart Beckett will show how to paint a portrait in oils.

Between 2014 and 2020 Stewart was a heat participant on Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year, painting Gregg Davies and Ncuti Gatwa, Scotney Castle in Kent and Viking Bay in Broadstairs.

He has exhibited at the Royal Portrait Society and Royal Institute of Oil Painters annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries London.

All demonstrations are held at The Canada Room, Millennium Centre, 2-10 Ontario Way, Liphook, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Demonstrations are free to members and £5 to non-members. Annual membership costs £30.

Stewart will hold a portrait painting workshop on January 17, a fun session for beginners and the experienced, working with acrylics or oils.

The cost is £40 for members and £50 for non-members. It will be held at the Triangle Centre in Liss. Artists should arrive at 9.30am to set up, with tuition from 10am to 4pm, including a break for a packed lunch. To book and pay for a place visit https://www.liphookartsandcrafts.org.uk

On January 1 the group renamed itself as 3 Counties Arts and Crafts to reflect its geographic location.