Speakers' Secretary's Report 2018-19
April
2018:
London’s Air Ambulance 2017 Guild
Charity. We had Dr John Chatterjee to
come and accept the £750 the Guild had raised on their behalf the previous
year. He gave us a fascinating talk about how the service operates and how it
is funded.
May:
We invited the CEO of the Whitgift
Foundation to tell us a little about the history of the Foundation but also to
update us on the progress of the Whitgift centre development. He explained that
things had moved forward and that it should not be too long before things
started to happen. Also that there would be more residential as well as retail
and leisure, making the town more acceptable for all residents. He also advised
Fairfield would reopen in 2019. Importantly he emphasised that at both venues
there would be more parking and accessibility.
June:
Summer Tea Party.
July:
Colin Jones kindly stepped in for us with his
interesting talk on poisonous plants, which was quite scary when you realise
how many deadly plants reside in our gardens. The scheduled speaker from Guide
Dogs sadly could not come as his dog had fallen ill.
August:
Coffee Morning.
September:
Deputy
Lord Lieutenant Mark Bryant who came to
tell us about how he became a Deputy Lord Lieutenant and how he uses that role
in particular with children involving them in his activities.
October:
Hilda Burden – Interiors through the ages. Hilda brought with her 12 boxes which
displayed a room of a Victorian house each one showing how a sitting room would have looked in each era. The tiny
fittings were amazingly detailed and her talk very
interesting.
November:
Peter Thompson – You the Jury. Peter gave us a very entertaining talk about
some of the cases where he was a defence
barrister also with many anecdotes which kept us laughing.
December:
Christmas Lunch at The Chateau. As usual no speaker but a slap up lunch.
January 2019:
Eleanor Redshaw - My Grandmother was a Suffragette. Eleanor gave us a talk with slides about her
grandmother who had been a suffragette and knew people such as Emily Pankhurst
and had spent time in jail.
February:
Ian Bevan
- Nell Gwynn to Willy Wonka. Ian
gave us a very interesting talk on the history of the Drury Lane Theatre, how it had changed over
the years and the owners from gentry to actors. This also included snippets of
songs, photographs and film. It is now undergoing another refurbishment.
March:
AGM. As usual no speaker but the Drama group provide good entertainment.
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