Previous Summer Meetings
	The Meeting in Western Sicily 12–20 October 2006
	The Newsletter contains an account of the highly successful Meeting in Sicily. Here we present a few snapshots of that sun-drenched (and occasionally rain-drenched) but highly instructive event.
	Our introduction to the treasures of Palermo's Regional Archaeological Museum.
	Our leader ponders a metaphor for the complexities of tour organisation at San Giovanni degli Eremiti.
	Disoriented by the approach to the Cefalu, differences of opinion emerge on the location of the Cathedral.
	In Enna the entire party is arrested and escorted to a secret location for removal by coach.
	Finally, if you felt frustrated by being unable to record or acquire any pictures of Mazarro del Vallo’s dancing satyr, you might find it worthwhile to Google ‘Satiro Danzante’.
	Summer Meeting in the Low Countries, July 2008
	This Summer Meeting encompassed visits to three countries and any number of towns and sites. It included a large number of interesting visits, starting with the very first to the Blockhaus at Eperlecques, only a few kilometres from Calais, our continental port of arrival, and continuing until the final one to the Swimming Pool Museum in Roubaix, which we visited on the final leg of our odyssey as we returned to Calais. The Museum proved so interesting that it caused us to miss our scheduled ferry but, although those of us attending the meeting literally missed the boat, we were not the ones who did so metaphorically.
	In the interests of keeping this report to the customary length, we shall report here only on one aspect of the part of the meeting that took place in The Netherlands. From our base in Amsterdam, we visited Delft, Leiden, Utrecht and Hoorn, all of which are within comfortable striking distance. At each place, the Town Archaeologist greeted us and showed us the archaeological and architectural highlights. The mere existence of a Town Archaeologist is, of course, indicative, but the very real pride of the inhabitants of these towns in the history and the fabric of their surroundings was obvious.
	Delft was, I think, the most striking and attractive of all, and not just because we visited it first. Our guide gave us a wonderful tour, placing the buildings in the context of the town just as he placed the town in its European setting. The canals shimmered in the sun, and you could almost see the tall towers sinking into the Dutch mud.
	Leiden has canals, too. But, just as we didn’t have quite enough time to do justice to Delft, so later on the same day, we had too little time here. We climbed the citadel from where we had a fine view of the town. It looked more solid than Delft, but the presence nearby of a ruined church suggested that looks might be deceptive.
	Utrecht suffers by comparison with the prettiness of Delft, but it rewards an informed examination. Its cathedral has the tallest spire in The Netherlands, and its canals, which lie below street level, are unique in that they have wharves that are below street level too, so that goods can be moved directly from barges into the cellars of the buildings adjacent to the canals.
	Hoorn feels like a coastal town, although it is actually on the Ijselmeer, the inner sea. It doesn’t have canals. And on the day of our visit it poured, not that that affected our welcoming and enthusiastic guide, Michiel Bartels, who was less prepared for the weather than we were, but who cared not a jot. He showed us the town and the waterfront, and then entertained us in the Town Hall where, with our coffee, we were given a chunk of the local speciality, which I can only describe as stick-you-to-the-ground cake.