Following 18 months of Covid where all club contact was via email and Zoom meetings, the Photosub Annual Meal 2021 was the first opportunity for club members to meet and socialise face to face. Normally the annual meal is held at the Farnham House Hotel; however due to a lack of availability a catered “posh BBQ” was planned instead.

Sue and Martyn Guess very kindly provided the use of their garden into which 2 large marquees and 2 smaller gazebos were pitched. The 2 large marquees were joined using good old duct tape to create a very usable 6m x 9m “room” so that it felt like a single event. This included running repairs on one of the marquees that had been damaged by wind and flipped onto it’s back breaking a number of joints … yet again duct tape proved to be the solution. Tables, chairs, plates, cutlery, glasses and lighting were hired and an external caterer was engaged to prepare and cook the main meal and provide desserts.  

A very broken marquee!	The marquees fixed and erected …
… and tables all set	Hoping for a dry evening

The event was attended by 29 club members plus our guest judge Simon Rogerson and his wife Anna. The evening was not without incident as further members had planned to attend but one couple had a gas leak while another had cold symptoms and did not attend as a precaution. A puncture resulted in an irritating delay for Martha and Anthony but they were able to attend the event before all of the food had been devoured. 

Despite heavy rain showers the meal was a huge success and many members later commented about how good it was to catchup face to face.

Pre dinner drinks … Georgette & Bev	Joss & Ian
Sue, Martyn, Wendy, Jo & Roger
Dinner is served

Photos courtesy of Keith Lyall, Pat Deeley & Gillian Marsh

Following the meal the Annual Competition images were projected. The competition comprised the usual 4 categories with a total of 126 images submitted by 17 members. Due to a lack of diving in 2020, images from up to 5 years were eligible.

1. Green Water Macro/Close Up (18 entries)
2. Green Water Wide (27 entries)
3. Blue Water Macro/Close Up (42 entries)
4. Blue Water Wide (39 entries)

The Print Competition category was cancelled due to limited interest. Given the weather conditions and limited space this worked out for the best.

Our competition judge was Simon Rogerson, Editor of Scuba magazine who is well known to many club members, particularly through the annual trip to dive with the seals at Lundy. Images were provided to Simon ahead of the event to allow him to review at his leisure  and Simon also attended the meal as our guest providing feedback on his choice of images.

The competition results are as follows (C=Commended, HC = Highly Commended):

Green Water Macro/Closeup

1st Keith Lyall	2nd Joss Woolf	3rd Keith Lyall
HC Pash Baker	HC George Mitchell

Green Water Wide Angle

1st Martyn Guess	2nd Peter Ladell	3rd Nick Blake
HC Daniel Taylor	HC Pash Baker
C Nick Blake	C Pash Baker

Blue Water Macro/Closeup

1st Jo Horrocks	2nd Martyn Guess	3rd Pash Baker
HC Sue Guess	HC Martyn Guess
C Mario Vitalini	C Georgette Douwma	C Pash Baker

Blue Water Wide Angle

1st Martyn Guess	2nd Martyn Guess	3rd Gill Marsh
HC Jo Horrocks
C Martyn Guess	C Georgette Douwma	C Keith Lyall

Len Deeley Trophy

Following the death 5 years ago of club founder and driving force Len Deeley, a new trophy was created by Pash Baker and Jo Horrocks in memory of Len. This trophy is presented on a yearly basis at the club annual dinner. It has been classed as a “floating trophy” and while on some occasions it will be presented based on a competitive basis defined by the committee, on others it will be presented to a club member who has supported the club and promoted its aims and goals.

Club Chair Martyn Guess introduced this years recipients, Roger & Wendy Eve. Roger & Wendy have been long time members of the club having met Len at a dive resort many years ago. This is the beauty of diving where a shared passion results in life long friendships. Roger & Wendy are regular attendees at club events, with Wendy renowned as the Queen of the Pavlova. Roger has been the club secretary for the past 3 years and just gets things done in a quiet but efficient manner. A well deserved award and thanks to Roger & Wendy for their unwavering support for the club.

Thanks

These events do not run successfully without the help of a number of club members. This event in particular required significant input from a number of people:

• Simon & Anna Rogerson for attending the evening and for Simon’s judging and comments during the results presentation.
• Martyn & Sue for opening up their house and allowing the use of their garden.
• Martyn for organising the caterers and facilities hire.
• Godfrey Bevan for the use of his marquee and gazebo.
• Martyn, Sue, Keith & Jo for pitching the marquees/gazebos and arranging/setting the tables.
• Sue for providing pre dinner nibbles. 
• Martha for providing napkins and nibbles.
• Ian Mills, Bev, Keith, Jo, Martyn & Sue for tidying up on the Sunday.
• Keith for driving many miles around the South East to pick up the tents, Len Deeley Trophy and projector screen.
• Roger for providing all event communication.
• Keith for organising and running the competition.
• The Photosub Committee (Martyn, Martha, Roger & Keith) for the many calls and emails to organise this event.

Thanks to all who who entered and congratulations to all winners.