On Thursday 4th November Friends were treated to an excellent talk by Bill Stotesbury about the research undertaken to produce the Maidstone Wall Chart.

But, he started with a resumé of his fascinating life as a painter and designer – from his college days through to working for big companies in London. As he said himself, some companies may be very uninspiring but their work on the design of objects and print is fascinating.

He developed a niche in the market to design and produce Wall Charts for schools, and was effective in this right across the country. He had many examples of these available on the night & he demonstrated how they were put together right from the first sketch layout.

He took Friends through the Maidstone Wall Chart, explaining the research into its contents, and the ideas for the presentation of the information. But as he explained himself they have subsequently realised important omissions in the story – & he could even produce a Maidstone Wall Chart II!  Bill was assisted in his talk by referring to a very large version of the Wall Chart (probably twice the size of those for use and sale). This was produced especially for the night, and made seeing the entries that much easier.  This large version still hangs in the Pop-Up Shop for all to see.

A thoroughly good evening was had by all – the 26 people who braved the cold weather. Our effusive thanks to Bill.