If, like me, you are rather keen on heritage, you might have come across The Georgian Group – a charity that works to preserve Britain’s heritage.
The Georgian Group is the national charity dedicated to preserving Georgian buildings and gardens. Every year we are consulted on over 6,000 planning applications involving demolition or alterations.
In addition to the worthy stuff you would expect of such an organisation, they also organise a wide range of events, which is partly how I became aware of them – as I keep an eye on them for my own events calendar. However, many of their events are for members only, which does mean that a) I rarely list their events on the calendar, and b) most of the interesting events are not open to me.
For various reasons, I am a bit twitchy about joining organisations, mainly as I know I would end up with TONS of memberships all over the place. I have also been a bit burnt in the past by organisations who are happy to take my money but offer very little in return.
Yes, I know I should have joined the organisation to help fund their activities – and I do – but I do feel that I want to get something in return as well – even if just an occasional newsletter. It would also help if organisations would use Direct Debits more often – letters asking for cheques in the post will end up being lost in my (ignored) pile of paperwork.
Anyhow – The Georgian Group are offering free membership for one year to anyone who follows them on Twitter during the month of February, and I thought, “why not”.
Not expecting much more than a Thank You and a chance to attend members-only events, I was delightfully surprised to get quite a large envelope in the post with a hefty 160 page journal and a 70 page magazine. The current issue, in addition to glossy adverts for restoration services and opportunities to buy expensive houses, also has some interesting articles, including quite a detailed article on threats to the historic flavour of London’s Spitalfields.
To claim your free year’s membership, please email ‘FF claim’ to office@georgiangroup.org.uk giving your Twitter username and your name and address. Offer runs until 28 February.
If you want to have a look at a Georgian era building before deciding if you want to join, then I can recommend either Dr Johnson’s House or Benjamin Franklin House as good examples.
I found out about this via your twitter feed, and joined too – thank you! – and I’d also recommend the Victorian Society. No free offer, but they do organise some really good events and again, send out regular publications.