From the first meeting in November we moved upstairs to the Upper Hall (spaced well apart) for our future meetings. At our meeting on 1st November we heard from Jim Buttress, of horticulture fame who spoke to us about his 65 years in horticulture. It was very entertaining and told us about his training at RHS Wisley, working for the London parks department and at Buckingham Palace amongst other things. For our next meeting on 15th November we travelled to various airports around the world to be told us about the goings on behind the scenes. Our speaker, Neil Sadler, is a retired police officer who worked at Gatwick Airport and also in several countries around the world.
Looking to the future meetings at the time of writing:
29th November – A schoolgirls War. Mary King will give us an illustrated and evocative record of school life in war time
13th December – Buckland through the years. We welcome Duncan Ferns, a resident of Buckland. We shall be taken round the village from your seat He is author of the book “Buckland 1000 – 2000”. He hopes to have copies of this book and postcards to sell.
10th January – History of OXO. Rhod Jones joins us to tell the history of Oxo, reveals insights into the fascinating social history of our nation, Europe and the wider world of the British Empire.
24th January – Burmese Days. A frequent speaker, Paul Whittle gives us a wide-ranging tour of this beautiful former British Colony now known as Myanmar, including an Irrawaddy river steamer trip from Mandalay, historic religious sites, the heritage of the former capital Rangoon and the country’s uncertain future following the recent military coup.
You are most welcome to any of our meetings, you don’t have to be a member. We would love to see you.
Peter Salisbury – Secretary