| A.E.M.E.S. Report By MIKE BOWLES, NELEA. |
The Ancient Egypt and Middle East Society (AEMES) Weekend was held on 10/11 May 2003 at Horncastle College, on Mareham Road, Horncastle. I managed to attend at the eleventh hour and the cost was £50 for a non-residential weekend. A twin room was £74 and a single room £78 including all lectures and meals. The weekend was organised by Sue Kirk of the AEMES group and was a good event. I met up with Derek and Sue Coates from our NELEA group and we all had an excellent weekend. I was travelling to and from college and allowing for the Lincolnshire traffic took about 90 minutes from the Isle of Axholme but our intrepid travellers from Grimsby only took about 45 minutes. I was assured the overnight accommodation was Spartan but adequate for the job in hand. The weekend started with registration followed by an excellent lunch. Over the past three years I have been attending seminars at Horncastle the standard of catering has been high. As strangers in the camp we were given a warm welcome and managed to do a spot of networking and catch up on comings and going since the last visit. Everyone was keen to know how our evening events were going in Grimsby and Cleethorpes and I was pleased to report back our group had grown since our last visit to Horncastle. The afternoon kicked off with a talk by Shirley Addy on the theme of David Roberts and his excellent pictures. At some point in time we have all seen examples of his artwork as illustrations of Egypt. Some of his work captured monuments that have been lost forever. Shirley is very passionate on this subject and brought the artist and his pictures to life. Over tea everyone seemed to be buzzing because everybody recognised the artwork but not the artist. We all have examples of these famous works in books but several persons had prints, post cards and posters and finally now had the history behind them. The President's Address was conveyed by a video recording because Paul Nicholson could not be present at the meeting. It was rather like a scene from "This is your life" with Paul making a tribute to Mr Baker. Over the few years NELEA members have attended, Mr Baker has been a key figure at these events. I took the opportunity to buy a summary of the talks he has made for AEMES over the years. This was followed by the Baker Memorial Lecture given by Aidan Dodson. Aidan's talk was "The God's Wives of Amun". The talk was very informative and most of the audience were surprised how powerful this cult became. I think we had deduced that the wives really were God's right hand, but the influence these wives accumulated over time raised many questions from the audience. Some of the answers to the floor were the topic of conversation over an excellent dinner. Once recharged with dinner we all settled down to Michael Hoadley's talk on the influence of the Hittite Religion. "Kings, Cults and Sacred Springs: The Origins and Development of the Hittite Religion". I had managed to do some background work on the Hittites prior to this talk and had plenty of questions to ask. The Hittites keep appearing in the Bible and are familiar to most of us through exposure to Religious Education at school. However, the links with other religions and Europeans was fascinating. I had the opportunity to chat to the Michael on Sunday and find answers to my questions. The evening entertainment was rounded off with a topical film-Architecture of Iraq. Obviously with the Middle-east being in the press, especially the Baghdad Museum, the film struck a chord. A strong contingent took to the bar for refreshment whereas I took to the Lincolnshire roads. On Sunday morning the boarders were tucking into a generous breakfast as I arrived. Fully charged with coffee we were treated to a tour from the Nile to Armarna. The talk was given by Dylan Bickerstaffe and replaced the original talk planned for Victor Blunden. Unfortunately Victor could not attend because of a mini-crisis and this is where our Hero stands in at short notice. The talk was very informative and centred around a series of slides taking during a recent trip to Egypt. Several members of the AEMES group had undertaken an adventure into the red lands and black lands with a view to exploring Armarna. The audience participation was obviously high because they were in most of the photographs and several experts were on hand to translate inscriptions when required. All considered, a lively talk for something organised at short notice. Following this talk we all attended a Baker Memorial Tree planting Ceremony held in the grounds of the college. While the AGM was happening it was time to check out the Bazaar and chat to the AEMES group regarding the slide show and tree planting ceremony. The Bazaar was loaded with reasonable priced wares direct from Egypt. I picked a few small items as mementos of the weekend. I took the opportunity to get some first-hand reports on life in Egypt and was pleasantly surprised that British Tourists were well received and security levels were high. The group who had visited Armarna had there own armed guards to help ensure their security while in Egypt. The tree planting ceremony was quite moving and the AEMES group reported that Mr Baker would have thought this a kind gesture. Some of us went into Horncastle and checked out the myriad of antique shops while we had some spare time. On our return we tucked into an excellent lunch. Margaret Beaumont gave the final talk of the program, "It's a pyramid Jim but not as we know it!" Margaret discussed the influence of Egyptian architecture on the west and had plenty of examples in the UK. The examples included buildings with Egyptian facades, Egyptian interiors, Egyptian styles and even pyramids. Margaret has obviously spent a lot of time and effort tracking down these specimens and everyone was astounded at the numbers of places she had visited. This talk inspired you to get out and check out a few existing examples. In summary, the event was well organised by Sue Kirk with a good showing of speakers. The food was excellent, the surroundings relaxing and the enthusiasm was high. Next year Sue is looking to have a long weekend with a view to a Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. For those of you who want a local Egyptian weekend here is an ideal opportunity for 2004. Try budgeting about £2 a week based on this years prices and lessen the impact next May. Regards Mike Bowles |