Our January meeting was on 10th January 2012 (earlier than usual due to the Pantomime) when Rebecca Perry from Colchester Zoo came to talk to us. Rebecca is Director of Conservation and actually works for “Action for the Wild” which is the charity side of the Zoo. She explained all about how Zoo’s came into being with the earliest recorded menageries dating back as far as 4000 years ago. London Zoo opened in 1828 to Fellows only and to the public in 1847. Colchester Zoo (or Stanway Hall Park as it was originally known as) opened in 1963 by Frank Farrar and his wife Helena before being sold to his niece in 1983. At the time there were 5 keepers and 5 other staff, no running water or electrics. Now it’s the largest privately owned Zoo in the U.K. with award winning enclosures, over 60 acres of land, 270 species and a successful captive breeding programme. Action for the Wild now owns a Nature Reserve in South Africa – Umphafa Private Nature Reserve – which has seen the release of many animals including White Rhino, Impala, Antelope, Wildebeest, Zebra and Rock Pythons to name but a few. It was a very interesting and very enjoyable evening.
Our next meeting is on 28th February when Ann Hardy will reveal the “Secrets of the Royal Jewels.” Details of all our meetings and speakers can we found on the diary on the home page of the Winstred 100 website.
We didn’t have a meeting in December but we did have our members’ Christmas Dinner which was on the 13th December in the Balkerne Restaurant at Colchester Institute. 42 of us enjoyed a cocktail before tucking into a wonderful 4 course meal. (see photo’s above). At the end of which we were entertained by a singer (student) with keyboard accompaniment (see photo below). At 10.00pm our coach promptly arrived to take us home. It was another very enjoyable night.
At our meeting on Tuesday 22nd November, we had a very entertaining and much travelled speaker. Roger St Pierrre was born in Dorset and grew up in Essex. At an early age he developed a passion for cycling and at the age of seven rode from Romford to Southend! The famous cyclists of his youth became his heroes and he longed to be one of them; his knowledge was so extensive that local journalists enlisted his help in identifying cyclists in races. At the age of 15 he was asked to write a regular column on cycling for the Romford Recorder and this later blossomed into a career in journalism lasting a number of years and including papers such as the Mirror, The Mail and the London Evening News. Work on Music for Pleasure led him to write about all the pop stars of the time like Jerry Lee Lewis, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and Glen Campbell to name but a few. During his time as a music writer he met and wrote about many of the big names from both pop and classical music and travelled to America and beyond for interviews.
We don’t have a meeting in December but we do have our members’ Christmas Dinner to look forward to which is in the Balkerne Restaurant at Colchester Institute on Tuesday 13th December. Our next meeting is on 10th January 2012 when Rebecca Perry from Colchester Zoo is coming to talk to us. Membership is currently full but visitors are very welcome at a cost of £3.50.
41 members and 4 visitors, attended our October meeting when Catherine Steel came along with a collection of her Jewellery Designs.
40 members and 2 visitors, attended PAWS September meeting when Linda Scoles told them all about her “Around the World in 23 years”. Linda gave a very hilarious account about coming from a ranch on the Squilchuck Creek in America, and meeting her husband a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Airforce, before traveling with him on his various postings the first of which was in Guam in the middle of the Western Pacific Ocean. After spending three years there her Husband was posted to Vietnam so she returned to the States with their 3 children. Finally in 1971 they were thrilled when they got a posting to England and settled for 5 years in Great Barton and had another son, named Barton of course. They then returned to the States for a period of time before being posted back and settling in England. It was a very entertaining evening and PAWS are sure they will see Linda again with one of her other talks.
41 members and 18 visitors, in a wonderful creation of hats, attended our July “Great Britain Night” on the 26th July. We were welcomed with a glass of Pimms before being entertained by Singer Helen Abbey (pictured right) and Ted Beameant on the Piano with renditions from Summertime, Down at the Old Bull and Bush, A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square and Roll out the Barrel to name but a few. Hopefully something for everyone.
Between the music sessions we had a lovely selection of sandwiches and cakes made once again by talented member of the committee. The best hat, as judged by Helen and Ted, went to Marianne Smith in her own creation as seen on the left. It was another lovely evening.
46 members and 6 visitors attended our May meeting when Jane Maylon (right in the photo) told us all about “Adopting an Attitude”. It was a most intriguing title and most of us had guessed incorrectly when Jane proceeded to tell us all about her Adoption in the mid 50’s, at the tender age of just 6 weeks from the “Waifs and Strays” now known as “The Childrens Society.” She talked about the change in attitude to adoption relaying many amusing stories along the way. She also told us how she had tracked down her birth Mother in Canada, and having written to her for several years, finally meeting her. It was a very uplifting experience and Jane was a delight to listen to.
44 members and 3 visitors attended our April meeting when Brian Curtois told us all about his “30 years with the BBC.” Brian started his early career as a Reporter with a small newspaper in Hornchurch before progressing onto the Ilford Recorder. He then moved to Nottingham before returning to London as part of the Press Agency. He covered a number of major events including the Great Train Robbery and the wedding of Peter Sellers to Britt Ekland. On his first attempt at joining the BBC he got a rejection letter but one year later his second attempt to be offered the post of General News Reporter. For 3 years he covered the Middle East and then Northern Ireland. Over the years he has interviewed numerous people including Ian Paisley, Margaret Thatcher, Mohammad Ali and Bruce Forsythe to name but a few and worked with people like Alan Freeman and Terry Wogan on Late Night Extra and David Dimbleby when working as the Political Correspondent at Westminister. He saw lots of changes over the years with the change from radio to television and relayed several amusing stories. Another very enjoyable evening.
42 members, in a variety of wigs and waistcoats, attended our AGM in March when we appointed a new President, Gen Fretwell, from the re-elected committee. Gen takes over from Julia Dymond who had a very “enjoyable year” despite her original misgivings. Once the business side of the evening, which included reports from both the President and Treasurer, had been conducted, we then had a lovely supper of shepherd’s pie followed by a choice of sumptuous deserts made by various members of our very talented committee. The evening was rounded off with a Quiz.