Another story involved an old spinster who lived in Wallflower Cottage in a little village. He was curious about the name of the cottage, and after several visits discovered the reason. The lady had been engaged to a man in her early years until she discovered that he had several ‘girl friends’ and was very annoyed; unfortunately he died very suddenly before they could get married, but not before he had willed everything he had to his fiancé. After his death she bought the cottage and had lived there happily for many years. She then slipped into the conversation with John Lilley that the oil of wallflowers was a deadly poison in the correct amount. He put two and two together and made a swift visit to the police to tell all!
The stories and poems that John read were very amusing and told with great expression and feeling. We all agreed that we should invite this charming gentleman another time to tell us more stories.
Our next get together is on 25th February when D. Chignall will talk to us about Beatrix Potter & The Lake District. Currently membership is closed but visitors are very welcome at the cost of £3.50 which includes refreshments.
Details of all our meetings and speakers can be found on the diary of the home page of the Winstread 100 website. If you would like further information about P.A.W.S please ring one of the following committee members: Alice Holmes 01206 735510, Jane Banks 01206 735004 or Jane Anderson 01206 735505.
There was no meeting in December but instead on Tuesday 10th December 42 members met at the Coast Inn, West Mersea for the PAWS Christmas dinner, which certainly was a lovely way to set off the Christmas festivities. The restaurant was decorated for Christmas and very welcoming. Between eating our three course meal, we had a Christmas quiz and a raffle, which everyone enjoyed, in fact, they all agreed that it had been a fantastic evening. Going home was a little slow as there was very thick fog but thankfully we all did so safely.
Our November speaker was David Ryan, who from an early age, had always had a passion for cooking. He started out at the age of 16 with Brian Turner at the Connaught Hotel in London. As an apprentice he spent 18 months preparing potatoes! In the early seventies he decided his destiny was France. He was lucky, he shared a flat with a French friend who managed to secure him an entry into the Carlton Hotel in Cannes. After spending weeks labouring for long hours with no pay he was in a state of despair. One day he was walking along the Promenade Anglais worrying about his future when someone tapped him on the shoulder. It turned out to be David Niven who came to his rescue, marched him back to the Carlton and sorted out his predicament with the Manager and the Chef. The Chef took him under his wing and two brilliant years followed.
David Vroobel was our speaker in October and he told us how he started his career as a diamond cutter and polisher in Hatton Garden. He went on to design and set jewellery for some years, finally having a shop with his wife. However after two armed robberies they decided to give up the shop and David set up a workshop at home, selling stones that he had cut and polished in his workshop, to retailers. He now spends his time giving talks to groups and on cruise ships.
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.
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.
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!
At last month’s meeting 42 members and 3 visitors came along to hear a talk by Bob Harding-Jones “Can I help you? I’m a Paramedic”. Bob gave us a very amusing talk about his time as a Paramedic with the Hertfordshire Ambulance Service.