London Appreciation Society [Founded in 1932 by Dr H.L. Bryant Peers] Secretary: John Mann, 109 Chatsworth Road, London NW2 4BH. T 020 8459 5419 Website: www.las.org.uk * The Society is a secular, non-political and non profit-making organization for adults interested in the past, present, and future of London * President: Dr Simon Thurley CBE Vice-Presidents Roger Cline Valerie Colin-Russ The Ven. Peter Delaney Gerald R Charles Dickens Andrew Davies Jonathan Fryer Committee Chairman: Christopher Claxton Stevens Deputy Chairman: John Mann Secretary: John Mann Registrar: Clive Page Treasurer: John Tritton Assistant Treasurer: Mary Moore Programme Co-ordinator: Julia Foyle Tour Leader Co-ordinator: Patricia Howard Jacqueline Anda Shelagh Blackham MBE Arthur Fordham Mary Lewis Daphne Steele Officers Membership Secretary: Christine Bevan Committee Secretary: Roger Cline Honorary Life Members John Barrett Valerie Colin-Russ Don Buchanan Daphne Hart Roger Cline Anne Oxenham 1 Programme Organisers Shelagh Blackham Liz Harwood and Robin Key James Nadarajah Rosemary Bolingbroke Carole Lee Arthur Fordham Joy and Mike Lever Anne Ramon Julia Foyle [IT Support] Margaret and John Mann Daphne and Chris Steele Simon Gillingham Gayna Martine and Simon Masterton Smith Judith and Richard West Tour Leaders John Ackroyd Geoff Donald John Mann Jacqueline Anda Paul Dye Mary Moore Rosemary Bolingbroke Mary and Keith Evans Pamela Mundy Christopher Claxton Stevens Simon Gillingham Anne Oxenham Roger Cline Pat Howard Chris Redfern Valerie Colin-Russ Mike Lever Hilary Taylor Julie Crouch Rhoda Lewis John Tritton John Dodwell Judith West Contacts If you have a query, please email or write to the relevant Officer below, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope if you need a reply by post. Printing services or non-receipt of Blue Book Colin Watson, 22 Leonard Avenue, Morden SM4 6DW Email: [email protected] Non-receipt of booking confirmation Dr Clive Page, I Durler Gardens, Luton LU1 3TA Email: [email protected] General Enquiries and Information Don Buchanan John Tritton Email [email protected] Email: [email protected] Membership Enquiries or Change of Address or Email Christine Bevan, 52 Greenwich Park Street, Greenwich, London SE10 9LT Email: [email protected] Queries about Paper Booking Forms Mary Lewis, 64 Ferndown Avenue, Orpington BR6 8DF Email: [email protected] Tel: 01689 810466 Correspondence to the Committee Roger Cline, Flat 13, 13 Tavistock Place London WC1H 9SH Email: r [email protected] Suggestions for Future Events The Secretary at the address at the top of page 1 Email: [email protected] 2 Booking arrangements Those previously deterred from booking events on-line by the need to pay by direct-debit should note that we are now also allowing on-line booking combined with payment by cheque, so there are now three booking options. In order of the Registrar’s preference these are: 1. Book on-line by starting at the LAS home page www.las.org.uk then follow the obvious links. After the deadline the fee will be collected by direct-debit. If you have already set one up and used it at least once in the year it should still be active so no further action is necessary. We aim to return on-line booking confirmations by email within a week of the booking deadline. 2. Book on-line as above but pay by posting us a cheque before the booking deadline. Please write on the cheque the maximum fee in words but leave the figures box blank for the LAS to complete when the actual amount is known . Post the cheque to the address shown below. If the names on the cheque and booking form differ please enclose a note to clarify. No SAE is needed as your booking confirmation will be returned by email. 3. Book by post and pay by cheque: printed forms are enclosed for those who have used them in the past. For cheque instructions see above. Either send us your email address or enclose a stamped addressed envelope for your booking confirmation. There is no longer any additional fee for booking by post. Please allow two weeks for your confirmation to arrive by post. Where to send postal bookings and cheques Mary Lewis, 64 Ferndown Avenue, Orpington BR6 8DF General Booking Rules . Any two members may book on the same form whether they have the same address or not. In such cases an event requested by both will be allocated to both members or to neither. If there are two direct-debits in force then the fee will be split appropriately between them. Please remember to give your order of preference for each event. These guide the allocation of events and also give the LAS useful information on which events are most popular. When the same event is available on two or more dates/times you may select any or all: the booking program will allocate you a place at no more than one of them. Multiple requests for the same event may, exceptionally, be given the same order of preference value. Before the booking deadline guests may be invited only to events where this is explicitly shown in the Blue Book, but applications for guests will not be successful if an event is fully booked by members. Whenever tickets are needed for an event such as a concert the Tour Leader will hand them out on the day at the designated meeting place. Please note the booking deadline (see page 5): all postal and on-line bookings received on or before that date will be included in the general ballot. After that, typically, only a small number of events will have vacancies. The on-line booking form will be updated to show which events are still available for late bookings and at that stage applications for guests can be made for all such events. 3 What to do if you cannot use a place you have been allocated Most events are oversubscribed so we try to re-fill vacancies wherever possible from the waiting list. If you cancel your place and we are able to refill it then you will automatically be given a credit for it in the next booking period. • If you can access the Internet the events booking section of the LAS website now allows you to notify us that you wish to cancel a place that has been allocated to you. If there is a waiting list and there is enough time then all those on the waiting list will told of the vacancy by email. We have found such vacancies are quickly filled, so waiting list members should not delay making their application. Once the place is filled the event will disappear from the list of events with spare places. • If you cannot access the Internet then please telephone Joy or Mike Lever on (020) 8462 9241. They have volunteered to use the on-line system on your behalf. Note that a few hosts insist on having in advance the names of every member of any visiting group “for security, you know”. Asterisked events in this Blue Book are 29, 68 and 76. If you have to drop out of such an event LAS will not be able to replace you or allow you a credit, but it is still helpful to know if you are not planning to attend, so please use the cancellation system outlined above anyway. Dietary Requirements. When you book an event which includes a meal for which we have to pre-order we will send you details of any choices available. Insurance against Injury or Loss. LAS tries to ensure that all the venues we visit and all the guides we use are fully insured and LAS also has its own Public Liability Insurance. But the Society and its officers cannot be held responsible for death or injury to members or loss or damage to property at any time or however caused. General Data Protection Regulations. These Regulations came into force on 25 May 2018. They require LAS to tell you what data about you LAS holds and how we use it. The only data we hold is what you provided on your membership application form and booking forms: i.e. title, names, postal address, telephone numbers, email address, your status within the LAS such as officer or committee member, any dietary or access needs, which events you applied for and booked, and what method you use for booking and payment. The data are stored on paper or on the personal computers of the Membership Secretary, the Registrar and where necessary other members helping to run the Society. The LAS also stores some data on an external database in order to operate the event booking system and so that the LAS can send emails to all members. Only those who help to run LAS have access to your data and only for the purposes of running the society. We do not share any of it with any other organization. The secure servers of Go Cardless store the bank account information you provided to them for direct-debits, but these details cannot be accessed by the LAS. 4 Attending Events • The Blue Book is prepared some months before events take place so it is in your interest to check the details of travel arrangements before you set out. For National Rail telephone 03457 484950, website www.nationalrail.co.uk : for Transport for London telephone 0343 222 1234, website www.tfl.gov.uk. • Unless the Blue Book mentions car parking explicitly, assume there is none. • Always meet, please, at the designated meeting place and not at the venue if this is different.