Patti Miller, Member 11465, emailed us with the startling news that The Cloud Appreciation Society is not the first society to have been formed purely for the celebration and enjoyment of clouds. During the 1960s in Australia there existed an organisation, founded by Patti herself, called the Cloud Club.

Just like the C.A.S., the 1960s Cloud Club had a manifesto. This was simply “to observe the beauty of the clouds”. It also held weekly meetings in its club house, located in the central western region of New South Wales. According to Patti, this was a “sandy clearing in a wheat paddock, decorated with flowers, interesting stones and broken pieces of china”.

How come the Cloud Club had never come to our attention at The Cloud Appreciation Society? It had never become famous, explained Patti, for three reasons: the internet had yet to be invented as a means of bringing like-minded people together; there was a long drought at the time in that region of Australia making clouds somewhat of a rarity; Patti was 11 years old and the only other member was her little sister. At each meeting of the Cloud Club there was just one point on the agenda. The two of them would lie back, look up and discuss what they saw in the clouds.