BY WAY of a pleasant change, we held our meeting at The Fleece in Bretforton on Thursday, September 17. President Brian Melville opened proceedings by formally welcoming Phil Bawn as the latest recruit to our Club.

We then listened to a fascinating presentation about its history by Nigel Smith, Mine Host of The Fleece. He spoke about the very early days of the pub, the various artefacts and fabric of the building, the witch’s circles and the Hollyhocks, about the Byrd family and Lola in particular, and of course the fire of February 2004. He listed the many famous celebrities who have graced the inn and that 28 weddings have been held there so far this year.

He was followed by Stan Brotherton of Bengeworth, who was the full-time unpaid volunteer project manager of Evesham’s Bell Tower restoration during the development phase. He outlined the problems that necessitated the current work and described the project to restore the Bell Tower to its former glory. Many of us remembered seeing the various Cherry Pickers used to inspect the damage and of course the scaffolding continues to be a talking point.

David Way thanked Stan on our behalf and said it was good to see quite how badly corroded the stonework was. He also said he personally was able to keep up with progress with a view of the work from his kitchen window!

We then enjoyed an excellent lunch with Nigel’s staff looking after all of us extremely well. Congratulations and well done to all at The Fleece!

We meet next on September 24 back at the Rowing Club Boathouse when we shall hear about Beethoven by our own Dr Tony Davies followed on October 1 with a talk on nature by Ian Andrews.

CHRIS DONOUGH