Our July themed social this year was “Back to the 60’s” which was well attended by 44 members and 15 visitors, 11 of these being the Layer Ladies.
As with most of our themed events, members entered into the spirit of the night in an array of “Mini’s” and “Flower Power” outfits. The winner of the best dressed went to Angela Clark in her hotpants!
Everyone was given a glass of Cava on arrival and then Babycham accompanied our party food whilst we enjoyed a couple of quizs. Then Ray Spiller turned up the music and we had the opportunity to dance to various numbers including the Twist and the Locomotion – which ended up in the Village Hall Gardens!
There were also spot questions on various singers to which Vivienne Ohmke excelled. I think everyone would agree it was another successful night and the reason why the club is as enjoyable as it is.
This month (August) there is no meeting, but our next get together is 24th September when “Frock Horror! Confessions of a Costume Designer” will be delivered by Pauline Baker. As ever, visitors are welcome at a cost of £3.50. Details of all our meetings and speakers can be found on the diary on the home page of the Winstred 100 website.
If you would like any further information about P.A.W.S. please ring any of the following committee members: Alice Holmes 01206 735510, Jane Banks 01206 735004 or Jane Anderson 01206 735505.
The full schedule for the Five Parishes Horse Show is now available to download from the 
In June our speaker was Henry Brickwood and he told us all about “Beautiful Gardens to visit”. Henry began his talk by telling us he is a fanatical gardener and was a previous Gold Medal winner at Chelsea a few years ago. He currently belongs to 2 gardening groups and appeared with Monty Don last year. He then continued with a slide presentation of various gardens mainly in and around a 70 mile radius of Chelmsford. These included Tudor Roost at Fingringhoe, with its very colourful private garden, Beth Chatto’s Garden at Elmstead Market with its famous “Dry Garden” and Marks Hall Gardens at Coggeshall which is known for its enclosed wall garden of snowdrops, summer borders and autumn colour to name but a few. As well as having a fantastic knowledge of various gardens he also appeared to be very knowledgeable about the restaurants and refreshments available. He finished his slide show with a preview of his own gardens at Rayleigh where he specialises in Lilies (he has over 2,500) and suggested we might visit as a group next year and promised us excellent tea and cake.
The schedule for the Five Parishes Horse Show is now available to download from the 
Details of the 81st Annual Five Parishes Show, taking place 4th August, and the main show schedule are now online 
Tom & Tilly Turnip’s Wacky World of Tomfoolery
Main show schedules from:
In May our speaker was Stephen Lester, an auctioneer, and 42 members enjoyed his talk on his “Experiences of a Provincial Auctioneer”. Firstly he dispelled a few myths about going to a public auction. Contrary to popular belief, pulling your ear or rubbing your nose will not end up with you having purchased a rare antique! Some bidders do use signs like that, but only when it has been previously arranged with the auctioneer; most people just raise their catalogue to indicate their interest in a particular lot. He has had some spectacular ‘finds’ when going to inspect sale items at a private house. One lady was clearing her house as she was moving to somewhere smaller; after getting an idea of the value of her goods and chattels she mentioned that she had a little bottle that had been in her family for a while. It turned out to be a Fabergé glue pot worth £10,000! At another house he found a very old and tatty writing desk in the attic, which turned out to be one of only 7 items made from an elm tree on the site of the battle of Waterloo; this was worth £36,000 once it had been restored. So the moral is, check before you throw things away!