SHOBROOKE Friendly Club held its usual monthly meeting on June 20 at Shobrooke Village Hall. Chairman Jack Fey introduced Phil Keen to those present. In fact Phil was well-known to everyone, having until his recent move to Topsham, lived in the Village.

Phil is a well-known producer of signs and screen prints, many of which depict views in and around Shobrooke. He went on to describe how silk screen printing had originated in China, and had gradually moved westwards.

The principle involves preparing a stencil on paper of what is needed to be printed. The design then being cut out of the paper. The stencil is then placed in a special frame to hold it steady, between a fine mesh screen and the paper onto which the design is to be printed.

Ink, usually an acrylic paint now, is spread on top of the mesh, and forced through it with a plastic or nylon blade, through the cut-out parts of the stencil and onto the paper beneath.

Phil produced a design of a swallow flying over water, and many of the members tried their hand at printing it, some quite successfully.

Phil said that this method could be used for printing on any suitable surface, and was quite commonly used in the production of designs on t-shirts.

Phil was thanked by the Chairman for his interesting talk, and this was then followed by the usual tea and biscuits, and of course the draw. The prizes this month being provided by Betty Lee and Richard and Wendy Duff.

Members were reminded of the next outing to Falmouth on July 18, and treasurer Margaret Gale, collected deposits from those wishing to go.

If anyone is interested in going to Falmouth on July 18, there are still a few seats available on the coach. Please contact either Margaret Gale on 01363 773282, Diane Tutton on 01363 860116 or Eileen James on 01392 851218.

Norman Gale