EASTER / ĒOSTRE 2026

My very dear Knights, Companions and Fellows,

Here we are at the first Fellowship Newsletter of 2026, and one that contains some important information so do please read it through.

During the winter we have all been busy planning for this year’s events, including our Annual Tintagel Dinner on Saturday 6th June 2026 and our Annual European Dinner on Sunday 29th November, as well as special events for next year.

I urge you all to remember that 2027 marks the centenary of Mr Frederick Thomas Glasscock (pictured below) bringing the Order to Tintagel.

No, it’s not the centenary of the Halls’ opening but marks our Fellowship’s re-birth to that which we have become. (If we waited to celebrate the Halls’ centenary, many of us might not be around)!

So, please read through and keep your eyes peeled for future revelations.

By the way, we have a special 3-day-long weekend of festivities next year for the Fellowship’s centenary, with a range of events lasting from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th June 2027.

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Believe it or not, I’ve actually had some UK members contact me asking when the dinner is! To put your minds at rest, it’s always the first Saturday in June. Irrespective of date. It’s actually been the same for the past 33 years, so I can understand your confusion!

As usual the hostilities commence at 18:00 for pre-dinner drinks at the Halls. Carriages at 23:00. The price stays at 45 GBP per head. Great value by anyone’s standards. You can see the menu is as varied as ever with something for everyone. And all wine included.

Now we have something revolutionary: a brand new method of payment. This is all you have to do to ensure your place at dinner.

Simply e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and in that email state your name and the name of your guest/guests as well as your first course choices. (The menu for the Dinner is included in this mailing.)

Include in the e-mail any dietary needs (vegan etc) and also if you wish to attend the Informal Gathering on the Friday evening at King Arthur’s Arms.

Then all you need to do is to turn up on the night of the dinner with the CORRECT cash in an envelope clearly marked with your name.

That’s all. Nothing else is necessary. The book must close on Monday 25th May. No bookings can be taken after that date. Also please remember that if you book and don’t turn up you will be expected to pay.

Your dinner tickets will be waiting for you at your place at table. Couldn’t be simpler!

Forward warning notice: Our European Dinner will be at Kasteel De Berckt in the Netherlands on Sunday 29th November 2026 – the first Sunday of Advent. Those of you who have attended previously will be well aware of the incredible dinner and accommodation supplied by the castle for us. This year is no different.

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We do want to point out, however, that the Dutch Government has increased the “Hospitality Tax” from 9% to 22% (Don´t quote me, it could be 21% or 23%). Despite of this, our friends at the castle are keeping the cost at the same price: 110 euros per head for dinner, bed and breakfast, or 85 euros per head for the dinner only.

This is incredible as I know they have made a loss each year they host us! They have asked one favour, though. If you want a single room they will ask you to pay a 25 euro supplement. More than fair.

However, more on this in the next newsletter.

And now a word about the annual charity walk held by our old friend and colleague Dr Alan Jones.

As you know, each year the noble young Alan and his team hold a merry yomp in the peaks and this year is no different.

Sunday 17th May will see them setting out on a 10 mile jaunt near Monyash in Derbyshire.

The proceeds are for our UK charity, Children’s Hospice South West. This event has always been a great success and has proved to be a trail blazer for others seeking to put on charity events.

Do support Alan if you can. Don’t forget that on the front page of our website is a “Donate” button. You can make donations there, make sure you mark it “Walk” or read the piece in this Newsletter from Fiona our Fundraising Officer.

Fiona has arranged a special QR code to help with donations to CHSW. Please remember, the QR code is for UK members only. Funds raised in the EU are for Warchild and kept separately.

Cadre Command Officers: We are pleased to include a real “Rogues Gallery” on pages 4-5 depicting some of our new Cadre Command Officers and Chapter Knights. Please note that the new Bursar will be installed in June and added then.

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More of our “Rogues” – including some of our longer serving Fellowship “veterans” will be on parade for our next Newsletter.

In the meantime, to recap on the information given in the Yuletide 2025 Fellowship Newsletter, here is the full list of the Fellowship’s Cadre Command Officers with their e-mail addresses in brackets:

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Guy Clifford This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Robert Perko This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

David Gallop This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Guus Leideritz This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Bjorn Simonek This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Andy Smith This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

These officers are all contactable via the e-mail addresses shown above.

As you know, we also have Chapter Knights who provide grass-roots support for the Order. We hope in time to issue Chapter Knights with designated emails also to assist.

A newer position has been added, and this is someone who has had an amazing impact already:

Charity Fundraising Officer UK: Fiona Rainbird-Clark This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We hope to add a European counterpart to handle EU charity fund raising later this year.

Hello, fellow Knights. I hope this issue finds you all well!

Fundraising to me means turning actions into impact. It isn’t just about money, it’s about relationships, trust and shared purpose. It’s about us being reliable in raising money, this then allows Children’s Hospice South West to plan and grow, and to be able to meet any challenges head on.

Joining the Fellowship creates a network of Knights that all care about the vow we all make, to raise funds for our chosen charities. As we reach out to more people and recruit more members, with them they bring new ideas that allow us all to move forward and smash the targets we set.

I want to briefly touch on business sponsorship. Wessex Chapter have been really lucky to have two businesses sponsor events in our local area. Their reach increases getting the word out about the work that the Fellowship does in their respective chapters.

They can provide money and promote our fundraising events, and building this network of relationships is, and will be, important for us to grow in our capability to

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raise money in the future. In return we can give back by putting their company name out there on our promotional flyers etc. It is as they say a ‘win, win situation’. In essence fundraising is an invitation to be part of change, and to turn people’s generosity into an impact we can all be proud of.

urge you all to support your fellow Knights in the events they hold. We have made it as easy as possible now for you to collect donations. The new QR Code (left) is a permanent way for any of The Fellowship UK to collect funds for Children’s Hospice South West. All donations made this way will automatically be identified as a Fellowship payment.

It’s due to the wonderful relationship that we have developed with the charity, that for the first time in their history, we have made this connection. In the not-so-distant future Children’s Hospice South West will be trialling a similar fundraising platform as the ‘Just Giving’ type of pages. The difference will be that the Children’s Hospice South West page will not have any charges. If and when this comes on board, I will let you all know.

If you are holding an event in 2026, please remember to let me know.

This brings me on to Gift Aid. When, at point of contact you are given money that is a pure donation. An example of what I mean is that it’s a donation of money on its own, not for any product i.e. raffle tickets, etc. If the person is a UK resident and pays tax, the Government will match 25p for every £1 donated.

Recently we had a business donate with sponsorship, £500 for an event that we held. We were able to raise another £125 on top of that, from the Government, through Gift Aid, so it’s well worth doing if you can.

If I can help you to navigate the world of fundraising, please let me know?

FUNDRAISING EVENTS

Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th April 2026, Medieval Fayre at Glastonbury Abbey. The Fellowship will have stand and will be selling trinkets and raising money for the Hospice. We will have Knights in armour and Princesses in attendance. Please save this date, and come and help out if you can. It’s a fabulous event and the more of you that turn out, the more time we all get to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Medieval Abbey. Please let me know if you are available to do a shift.

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Friday 5th June 2026, Perranporth, Cornwall. On the day before the Fellowship’s Annual Dinner in Tintagel, a group of crazy knights are going to do a 10,000ft freefall in aid of Children’s Hospice South West. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the film “Aliens”, our group will be falling out of a plane in Colonial Marines Armour, made by our very own Armourer to the stars, Terry English. The event is taking place at Perranporth Airfield, Cornwall, if you are able, please sponsor them or come along to support them.

July 2026, Art Exhibition. This is a two-fold event being held in both Charlton Farm Hospice and The Heart of the Tribe Galley in Glastonbury. John Mason has been painting on scratched, un-playable vinyl records for customers for donations. Along with the Arts team at the Hospice, we will be providing them with records for the children and siblings to create works of art, to be displayed at the Family Fun Day, at the Charlton Farm Hospice in the summer.

The second exhibition will again be on vinyl records, this time the work is to be done by Artists. We have charged the children with picking a subject or character the Artists have to include in their work. The work is to be displayed in the Gallery before being auctioned online. If you know any Artists who would like to help, please let me know.

***** HIGH ALERT TO WESSEX CHAPTER*****

(or if you want to travel to the West Country).

SANTA ON THE RUN. I am, this year, personally asking for your help. This event is one day in December where, as a chapter or the wider Fellowship, we could make a massive difference. Never before has the Fellowship done an event that has called for us all to turn out in numbers. Yes it could be wet and cold, yes it’s in the month of Christmas, yes we all have our own difficulties, but it is possible. We will be running/walking alongside families who have and are going through the unthinkable.

So, December brings on the chaos that is the Children’s Hospice South West “Santa on the Run”. John Mason and I took on the 2k course at Charlton Farm last year. It was a great day to meet up with our friends whilst being a bit silly (lets face it, we don’t really need an excuse for that). You sign up for £12.00 and each person is asked only to raise just £30.00 sponsorship.

In 2025 John and I raised £400.00 between us. This money pays for the vital emergency phone lines at the Hospice to be manned over the Christmas and New Year period as well as the rest of the year. Please encourage your family and friends, under the banner of The Fellowship, to sign up to do the event alongside you. You can run, walk, wheelchair, mobility scooter or pram. There is also a children’s run and lots of well-behaved dogs on leads. Let’s see how much we can smash last year’s total by?

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I would be so proud if we could give them thousands. As soon as the dates are confirmed I will let you all know. All three Hospices hold this event, so you have three venues to choose from, or we can hit Charlton Farm in numbers! Costumes can be a Santa hat, or full kit. Suits of armour or elf costumes. Reindeer and snow men and women, in fact anything Christmassy is welcome. Fun is at heart of this event, so please, please make this a ground-breaking Fellowship fundraiser!

Fiona Rainbird-Clarke

As you can see from Fiona’s report above, the Fellowship in the UK is making huge strides in the area of raising funds for our chosen charity, Children’s Hospice South West. Truly incredible amounts have been raised so far for this very deserving charity, with more on the way.

Our adopted charities benefit greatly from the efforts of our members. I would like to mention though that whereas the UK is making wonderful progress the same is not to be said for the EU.

I am always the first to mention that we are a Fellowship with an incredible history and that we are in the business of keeping alive the legends and traditions that the Arthurian lore gives us. But please bear in mind we are ALSO a charity support organisation.

Many of you are both young and active. (Many of us are not)!

Do give thought to how you can assist. Ask yourself “What can I do to help?” If you need advice, you can contact Fiona, our UK Fundraising officer, until a suitable officer is appointed for the EU. We know laws are different in many countries but perhaps ideas can be given. Don’t let our wonderful European charity, Warchild, lack the funds that we could be raising for them.

Walks? Bike Rides? Swims? Bake Offs? Just give thought as to how you can help, if you are able.

Roly

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At Christmas we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ – God’s entry into human history as the Babe in the manger. At Easter we celebrate God’s conquest of evil and death, as Jesus – the Resurrected Champion – walks from the tomb.

What are the principal messages that Easter holds for King Arthur’s Knights in 2026?

The first is that in the great battle between Good and Evil, however hard the strife, Good will prevail. It can and it will overcome all that harms God’s great universe. This moral and ethical battlefield is never an easy place in which to fight. Evil plays many tricks, and disguises itself in many ways. But this first Easter Message is that whatever difficulties we have to overcome during the conflict: Good will prevail.

The second Easter message is the vital importance of endurance. We must fight continually against evil, no matter how many hardships and difficulties confront us. The Knights who fight for goodness never retreat and never surrender. No matter how long the battle goes on, they endure it until evil is finally and utterly defeated. Christ’s sufferings on the Easter Cross revealed His powers of endurance – and His endurance inspires ours.

The third Easter message is that Christ’s great courage and endurance inspired one of the men being crucified alongside him to turn to him in faith. Our fight against evil today can and will inspire new followers to join us. The Knight who makes war on evil today will inspire and lead others to join in that great battle.

The fourth Easter message is that it is for us today in 2026 as directly and as relevantly as it was in Palestine and the Roman Empire two millennia ago. Easter is for all of us today: Kings, Princes, Knights and Noblemen – as well as for every Priest and his congregation.

So, as the Easter Feast Days involve us, let us involve others – especially by helping those in most need.

Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe

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Once again, we find ourselves having to remind you of our annual subscription payments. Please try and remember that each year your renewal is due on 1st January each year. (The only people who don’t need pay for this year are those who were invested at the Tintagel Dinner in June 2025 and the De Berckt Dinner in November 2025. For those members, your renewals will not be due until 1st January 2027.)

Please try to help us if you can. Prompt payment means less work for the Membership Secretary and the Bursar. I’m afraid we have to say that if you do not renew by the end of May 2026 for this year, we will have to assume you no longer wish to be a member, which would be very sad. But if you do wish to continue, which we hope you do, you can renew on-line by using the payment button on our website:

www.thefellowship.co.uk

Please don’t make the Knight Seneschal get his cane out! It’s not a pretty sight!

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The Fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table of King Arthur

Administration address:
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The Fellowship of King Arthur
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