Dedicated Glen owners Alan and Geraldine have made a major contribution to the latest Kennel Club Art Exhibition being held at the Kennel Club itself.
Some pictures have been published in the breed magazine we have, however, great pleasure in printing all the photographs that Alan took and some of those he provided on the website for your enjoyment.

PHOTOGRAPHY GOING TO THE DOGS

A short while ago we were approached by a friend, who enquired “you’ve got some old photos of dogs, haven’t you?” and followed by “would you be prepared to loan them the Kennel Club for an exhibition?”
Naturally we said, “Ooh we’re not sure about that, haven’t they got enough of their own?”
We then agreed to speak to the Kennel Club and discuss it with them. This was early June.

A week later a call came from ‘Above’ and a conversation ensued about what items we had and what they were looking to exhibit. They had no idea what we had and they agreed to leave their ivory tower and enter the wilds of Lincolnshire (north of Watford) to visit us. They even rescheduled the date, as we were going on holiday on the day they proposed to come.

We met them at the station on the 20th June and brought them to our humble abode to show our treasures. As soon as they entered, a detectable gasp was heard, as they realised that we had items beyond their expectations. None of which has been on public display before. There was also a vociferous welcome from Brodie, not just for the visitors, but also for their companion, a Chinese Crested called ‘Louis’, who arrived inside a shoulder bag. Fortunately Brodie had already had breakfast!

PHOTOS OF GLEN AND SEASIDE (2)
                                                                                            
The emissaries from the south proceeded to inspect our collection, amid “we must have this” and “we’ve got to have that and this as well”. This was even before they had come to the real treasures. In the end they spent the next 6 hours sorting through what they would like and negotiating the condition of the loan etc. They admitted that they had not expected anything like the items we had and it would make a large proportion of the exhibition if we could agree to let them borrow it and “by the way the exhibition opens in 4 weeks time!”

PHOTOS OF POSTCARDS (2)

We agreed to take the selected pieces, (about 100 items), to the Kennel Club on our return from holiday. This we did and said goodbye to many images and artefacts which are normally on display in our home. Our lounge and bedroom will be bare for the next 6 months! Hopefully they will all come back safely.

We were asked to attend the opening and invited to lunch, which we expected to be a fairly casual affair. How wrong can you be!

PHOTOS OF EXHIBITION (4)

The 18th duly arrived and we went smartly dress and arrived in plenty of time. This was our first experience of a function at HQ and we were impressed by the permanent exhibits and also the exhibition containing our material, which had been done very professionally. They looked terrific. There was also the Crufts ‘Best in Show Cup and the Terrier Cup on display. One slight embarrassment was that although I was wearing a suit, I had omitted to wear a tie, which is ‘de rigeur’ for such occasions (for men) and I had to borrow one of theirs.

Lunch preceded the opening ceremony which was a formal arrangement in the Kennel Club dining room, (the upper room), with the Chairman and committee members all present around the table. Not at all what we had expected.

PHOTOS OF GERALDINE WITH CUP AND ALAN WITH TERRIER CUP (2)

After an elaborate lunch we were summoned to the gallery for the official opening and speeches. There were about 50 guests  present, nobody we knew and nobody who knew us, but it was an interesting and worthwhile experience.

PHOTOS OF GUESTS AT EXHIBITION (2)

For those who have not been to the Kennel Club HQ, the gallery and library are open to the public free of charge and it really is worth the effort to go.

PHOTOS OF KENNEL CLUB BOARD ROOM (1)
The exhibition ‘Photography going to the Dogs’ runs from the 18th July 2011 until 13th Jan 2012, at 1-5 Clarges Street, Piccadilly, London W1J 8AB. The Kennel Club Art Gallery is open Monday – Friday from 9.30am – 4.30pm by appointment only. Telephone 020 7518 1064 or e-mail artgallery@thekennelclub.org.uk to book an appointment. 
You can also look on the web at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/artgallery or ring Alan and Geraldine on 01949 842192, if you would like more information.