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This summer most of our
meetings have been outdoor ones - the weather each time has been superb.
First, a coffee morning in my garden at Meadow Rise. The next month, a
sumptuous lunch prepared by Deanne in her garden, where we were serenaded by
a musician who played all our long-remembered war-time tunes (they don't
write 'em like it any more) and we were reluctant to leave, full of
nostalgia, gossip and with loosened
belts.
Madge Freeman, Lorna
Lansdowne, Marjorie Spears, Doris Galbraith and Peggy Bell at Deanne’s
In August Beryl kindly
arranged a very pleasant afternoon of tea and cakes,
including a treasure hunt and
the opportunity to wander round her extensive and beautifully-kept garden.
We have already dropped hints that next summer it would be
very nice to have our
meetings outdoors again.
We spent our next meeting day
visiting Sheringham, the idea being to sunbathe a bit,
perhaps have a paddle, but
the lure of the Saturday market deflected the majority. It was
just
so
convenient for the coach to
stop. After lunch we went on to the Muckleborough
Collection (the old Weybourne
Camp). It is a very extensive collection of army and RAF memorabilia and
really needs a whole day to see it all.
Beryl Manthorp in front
Standing L-R Liz Winter,
Florence Galbraith, Lorna Lansdwone, Audrey Juby,
Madge Freeman, Irene Warren,
Joan Awbery, Joan Whittingham, Lyn Hatch and Audrey Told
Back to indoors - and in
November we had an unusual talk entitled "Idle Women". We did not know there
were any. We were right in one respect as none of us had heard of their
work. During the war, when the men who had manned the canal boats on the
Inland Waterways were
called to arms, women took over the strenuous and dirty work of
running the canal boats. The
initials had been very unfairly allocated. They had the
exceptionally hard job of
manning these boats, carrying essential commodities, mainly coal and flour,
to various points of distribution along the canal network. Our speaker
described graphically
the cramped and unhygienic conditions which the women endured in these
constrained places, reading us extracts from an account written by one of
the women so employed
and showing photographs. It seems that fresh aspects of life in that
time are still being
revealed.
We are now looking forward to
our Christmas tea-party on December 12th,
inviting our WREN friends and arranging our annual lunch in Norwich on
January 16th
when we hope to rally a strong contingent.
Two of our members have 'gone
to print'. Rosa Riley has published a booklet of
poems which first appeared in
the North Elmham News. If you would like a copy, do 'phone me, 01603 455070
and I will put you in touch with Rosa. Also, Beryl Manthorp,
although she hasn't yet 'gone
public', has written of her life as a PTI. During her ATS
life she travelled the length
and breadth of the country. Her memory for places, people and happenings is
almost photographic, so it makes a most interesting read. If not so
much as now, surely in the
distant future these accounts of women's service during 'The
War' will be of great
interest to those to whom those years are really ancient history.
The September
Lioness
was indeed a Bumper Fun Book which was greatly
appreciated and it was so
good to have news from women serving in the army today. Keep up the good
work!
Too late to wish everyone a
Happy Christmas but not too late to send New Year greetings to everyone and
good health in 2010.
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