document was well meaning and well thought out and Lois didn't make many changes, she did look very closely, with dedication and concentration, at the statement and found areas within it that needed re-defining. She simplified and clarified points to fit today's COS.

It was therapeutic for her and beneficial for us, but she could not have envisioned how her work would affect the COS committee. We found that we have taken for granted the policy statement - indeed, we have assumed that we have all read it recently enough to remember it. We spent an entire meeting going over the statement and were amazed at how much heated discussion there was on issues that each of us thought were obvious. Lois had caused us to look thoughtfully at Cambridge Open Studios' purpose. We must not lose sight of this as we so easily can in the daily paperwork. The decision was made that with every change of chairman, there should be one meeting set aside to discuss the policy statement. With this discovery in mind, we decided that the cover of this year's Guide should state the basic aim of Cambridge Open Studios.

Finally, we give our thanks to the very generous sponsorship of Camstead Homes for a fourth year running. We are able to continue to give our artists the highest possible service and exposure at an affordable fee. In the complicated environment of funding, it is very important for us to have this corporate sponsorship. It demonstrates our credibility in the eyes of public funding bodies and the sponsorship from "local authority partnerships" combined with our "corporate partnership" with Camstead have enabled COS to benefit from continued funding from Arts Council England East. We are also grateful to the many other corporate bodies who have supported us throughout the year.