Dolphin Island
					Introduction
					The Name
					How the Club works…..
					News and Events……
					Members' Comments
					Contact Details
Introduction
			Dolphin Island is a social club for arts enthusiasts in the 20s to 50s age range.  Most members live in Richmond upon Thames, Kingston, Hounslow and Chiswick, and most of our events take place locally, but with regular visits to the South Bank and many other exciting parts of London.  The monthly Programme gives all the details of our events.  This is a small club, and the members are intelligent and friendly, and good at welcoming newcomers.         Richmond is a beautiful and lively part of London, popular with all ages, and a very good place to run an arts-based club.  But despite the many local attractions, it’s surprisingly difficult to meet people and build up a circle of friends here – until you reach retirement age, when there are many more opportunities.   Because this is an expensive area, not many young single people actually live here, and most people of working age have little time to get involved in local activities: and so the many busy local clubs are mostly run by and for the retired.       Dolphin Island aims to fill in this gap in the local club scene. Most of our members are single, but our main aim is simply to cater for anyone who enjoys the arts, and wants to meet people and make friends in pleasanter and (slightly) quieter surroundings than the traditional pub-and-party social clubs.   Some of us live in Richmond, but most of us just wish we did!   Although the Club is arts-based, other popular events include suppers at members’ homes, walks, trips into the countryside, and many other events that are interesting but not too expensive. Our favourite meeting-places are coffee shops and wine bars.
						Some views of our Island, which we often pass on walks along the river, or to open air concerts, on boat trips to Hampton Court, or an occasional rowing trip!
Back To Top
The Name…..
			The Club is named after an island in the river at Richmond, actually called Glover’s island, after a Victorian boat-builder who fixed it in its present shape. On the map, it looks like a dolphin coming up for air.  Because we cater for people of working age, members sometimes disappear from view when they haven’t got time to come to events, but then they reappear – like dolphins – and are welcomed back!   So the Island has become a sort of mascot for the Club, and a background to many of our summer events.       The name was also inspired by the heroine of a French film called ‘The Green Ray’, which has delighted audiences around the world since winning the Golden Lion Award for Best Film at the 1986 Venice Film Festival.  It tells the story of a sensitive young woman who has a difficult time one summer when she has to go on holiday alone.  Her name?  Delphine…….
Back To Top
How the Club works…..
				Enquirers are welcome to receive one or two monthly Programmes and visit the Club a few times before deciding whether to join. There is a once-only joining fee of £10, and then members pay between £5 and £10 per month: the incomes of the members vary, so everyone is allowed to pay according to their circumstances. Every third Programme is sent to you with a renewal form, so you can pay for another three months, or go on hold if you’re busy – and then, hopefully, come back!  At the end of every year, the Annual Statistics and Accounts are published, so members get an idea of how the Club is doing, and how their subscription money is spent. The Club is non-profit-making, and it is affiliated to the Richmond upon Thames Council for Voluntary Service (RCVS), a co-ordinating body for voluntary groups in the Richmond area.
Helping to run the Club…..
			The Programme is worked out at a Monthly Meeting, open to all subscribing members, or at one of the other events.  Some of the events are hosted by the Club Organisers, and some by the members.  We try to ensure that every event is hosted by at least two members.  Hosting is rewarding, and gives you more opportunities to make friends and share your special interests.  Advice on how to be a successful host is available!       There’s also a need to research events for the Club – to work out the plan for an afternoon outing, visit new venues, or even go to see films which the critics didn’t like but might actually make good Club events!   So you can help the Club without actually being a host yourself.  But the best kind of support you can give the Club is - being friendly to other members.       Since it was launched in 1993, more than fifty friendships have begun in the Club, most of them close ones.  And they often bridge differences of age, sex and nationality: in Dolphin Island the older members are happy to mix with younger members, the younger with the older, and the British with the foreign members.       We’ve even had a few romances – although we must point out that this is the exception, not the rule: this is not the best club to join if you are searching for a partner. You would need to try one of the larger clubs or organisations.  But we wish you success with your search.  And maybe our members can be of help: they are not afraid to talk frankly, even about this sensitive subject…..          But if you are keen to meet people of your own age, our Programme includes a system for designating events for particular age groups – usually the 20s-30s or 40s-50s.  This means that only members in this age group (and their guests) can attend.  Incidentally, we don’t ask your age on joining, and as long as you are in the right age group at the time you join – or you feel you are! – you can stay a member as long as you like.
Back To Top
News and Events……
			The Club’s events include cinema and theatre visits, art exhibitions, festivals, concerts and picnics, and every year we think up new events: the total of new venues and events introduced since the Club began is now over two hundred and fifty.   With London developing in such an exciting way now, there’s no danger of running out of ideas….       But recently, we have been concentrating on events which don’t depend on what is showing where, and where everybody can enjoy the atmosphere, and remember the occasion for a long time after.       One example was the Club’s Tenth Anniversary Celebration in 2003.  After a lunch at the venue where the Club held its very first meeting – which now, conveniently, is a restaurant! – ten members with ten dolphin balloons went on a procession down to the river for a photoshoot in front of the Island…. This picture is useful for reassuring enquirers that we’re perfectly normal people!       2004 was also a tenth anniversary – of the name ‘Dolphin Island’, which wasn’t thought of till the year after the Club was launched.        The answer was an ‘After-Dark Anniversary Picnic’ in front of the Island.  To add to the atmosphere, no further details were divulged to the members  – which meant that many of them lost their nerve about coming!   But for those of us who did come, we knew that night would have to become an annual event, as we had some photographic fun with the Club’s two symbols………       Dolphins and starfish appear together on many household objects today, which is a lovely coincidence for the Club, since stars were the Club’s original symbol: chosen because, when placed in a row, they look like a row of people – in fact, like the members of a social club!   But the stars we held that night were set with a mirrored surface – so when you looked into them you saw……yourself!
Back To Top
			Epilogue… In 2005, two attempts to restage this event were thwarted by the workings of Fate. But this only increased the suspense as we got ready for another attempt in 2006. So, did we recreate the event of two years before? We did! And we even saw the first attempt at a procession! And we hope that in future years this event will grow into a sort of miniature After-Dark Carnival, in imitation of the one that takes place every year on London’s South Bank. Meanwhile, it has become a regular feature of the Club that we take photos of our events, and include them in the Newsletter that is posted out with the monthly Programme. So, in between watching other people’s adventures on stage or screen, we’re having our own….!
Comments by members and ex-members 2002-2009….
			‘The Programme is written in a very friendly and welcoming style.’ ‘Congratulations on the Programme!  A lot of thought has gone into it.’ ‘I don’t know how you do the Programme, with all the information and arrangements!’ ‘The events are very imaginative, and the Club is unique.’ ‘What a good idea the Club is.  And we enjoy the Programme so much!’ ‘This is a fantastic Programme!’ ‘A lot of charm comes through in this Programme – you’re creating a community for the members to belong to.’ ‘I always looked forward to your reviews.’ ‘Reading about my event afterwards makes it all worthwhile!’ ‘I enjoyed the Brazilian Evening more than I enjoyed my own birthday party!’ ‘I always felt at ease with everyone in this Club.’ ‘Your Club helped me through a difficult time in my life.’ ‘We had a lovely time celebrating the tenth anniversary of the wonderful club you’ve established and run for such a long time!’ ‘I’m looking forward to the Twentieth Anniversary of Dolphin Island!’ ‘I feel very lucky to have found such a wonderful group of fun-loving people.’ ‘I’ve made so many friends, and we’ve had such wonderful   conversations.’ ‘If I had to invent a club for myself, this would be it - it’s the restricted age-groups and activities of other clubs that have always put me off joining them!’ ‘Your Newsletter is like a diary of my life…’ ‘I’ve liked everyone I’ve met in this Club.’ ‘I feel I can be myself in your Club, which is a unique thing…’
Back To Top
Contact Details
			Telephone: Jeremy on 020 8412 7050 (daytime best) Or call Amber on 07799 8792340. Address: Dolphin Island, c/o RCVS, 1 Prince’s Street, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1ED. Email: dolphinisland@btopenworld.com
Back To Top
			ã THE INFORMATION IN THIS SITE IS THE PROPERTY OF DOLPHIN ISLAND
			ã  DOLPHIN ISLAND INC.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
			USE OF THIS WEBSITE SIGNIFIES YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE
			TERMS OF USE