FAMOUS, Shrewsbury! Our speaker, John Butterworth MBE told us stories of the town’s past and in particular of The Lion Hotel, from 1603 when Prince George attended a ball through the days of Mad Jack Mytton, a corrupt Regency rake and politician; the advent of the stagecoach, and its status as carrier for Royal Mail ( Post in the morning delivered in the afternoon – what luxury); the arrival of the railways; guests such as Disraeli, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens and Jenny Lind to name a few , as well as several resident ghosts. John has plenty of stories to tell on this and other subjects. Note him for your future meetings.

Business for the evening was conducted after tea and biccies. The Centennial Fair in September is in Harrogate contact the secretary for details. .Carol Swanson gave an excellent presentation on the resolution on assessment of need for long term care. A complex process at present with distinctions between nursing care and personal care. This will be put forward at the NFWI in June. The meeting is to be beamed by satellite to venues in Malvern and Redditch for our federation.

Paula Stride has been chosen to represent us at the Buckingham Palace Garden Party in June. We are looking forward to her talk about the day and of course a fashion twirl of her outfit.

Tickets for the Centenary event will soon be on sale. £10 for the day including lunch and afternoon tea. Numbers will be limited so keep your eyes peeled for the posters.

Next meeting Tuesday, May 12, 7.30pm Cropthorne and Charlton Village Hall. The Annual Meeting to appoint the committee and receive updates from our Group Adviser. There will also be a stall for unwanted gifts with the evening rounded off by a quiz. Don’t forget that in June we celebrate our birthday at Belle House Pershore.

If you are interested in joining or just want to come along to one or two meetings contact the secretary on 01386 860617.

DIANE BARLOW