The Philip Larkin Society AGM and Annual Distinguished Guest Lecture will take place in the Treasure House, Beverley (Champney Road, Beverley HU17 8HE) on Saturday, 10th June. The Treasure House contains the local library, the Beverley Art Gallery and the East Riding Museum and Archives. 
 
The AGM is for members only and will start at 11.30 a.m in the Education Room, followed by a light lunch provided by the Society. The papers for the AGM will be circulated to all members in advance of the meeting.
 
The annual distinguished lecture, which is also open to non members and free to attend, will be given by Geoff Weston, who worked with Larkin for 16 years in the Brynmor Jones Library. He is long retired from his post as Associate Director of Academic Services at Hull University. He will be talking to us about his bibliographical research into Larkin’s early works and the ‘curiosities’ he has found. This will be a fascinating Larkin-related delve into the professional world of publishing and printing. The talk will begin at 2 p.m.

The lunchtime will break new ground for the Society as we seek to honour the memory of Eddie Dawes, our founding chairman, who died in March. We have been liaising with the engaging colleagues in the Hull Magicians’ Circle where Eddie was President for 57 years. And very kindly they have agreed to entertain us with some ‘strolling magic’ as we eat our sandwiches. It promises to be mystifying! The Circle colleagues will also show a short video featuring Eddie as magician.

The afternoon will end with another mystery. During our work with the Beverley Art Gallery on their exhibition, ‘Home is So Sad’, the new curator, Hannah Willetts, discovered a painting by well-known local artist, James Neal. The painting (on the back of another framed picture) has been described as a sketch for the ‘famous painting Philip Larkin and Me in Queen Victoria Square’. One of the mysteries is that nobody has any idea what this famous painting is nor where it is…Hannah will introduce her find…

Beverley is a beautiful town about 9 miles north of Hull and is popular amongst weekend-breakers. That weekend, Beverley Races take place on the Saturday and Sunday, so book early if you are staying overnight!

There are regular trains from Hull and indeed some services from London travel directly to Beverley but please check timings given the frequency of replacement bus services. In Beverley, the Treasure House is a 10 minutes’ walk from the station. Pay and display car parking is available behind the close-by East Riding Theatre on Lord Roberts Road (HU17 9BE) and behind the Treasure House itself (HU17 8HE).