January Meeting 2008

Having been actively cheering Saracens on to a great win over Biarritz, we arrived at the church hall at St Mary’s, Hemel Hempstead towards the end of the tea interval. Having previously alerted the organisers of our probable late arrival, we were both delighted and dismayed to be presented with two enormous plates each of sandwiches and cakes, with strict instructions to “eat it all up”. I’m afraid we did not quite manage this, but we did our best, and, with our own teapot on the side, we were soon feeling much fuller and less cold!

The ADM began in earnest as we munched through our pile of food, with County Secretary Elizabeth Bowen elected to the chair. This was probably her last official visit to the Western District, as she is not standing for re-election in April (perhaps she will come and see us unofficially!) There were a few changes in the line-up of officers for the coming year. Mary Rixon, our secretary for the last two years, has discovered that marriage means that (strange as it may seem) there are more exciting things to do than take minutes of meetings and keep Committee members up to scratch, so she has decided to stand down. Stepping into her shoes is Valerie Clark, who, although not vastly experienced on the ringing side, has awe-inspiring organisational skills and an impressive list of contacts. As one who knows, I can say that these will stand her in very good stead as she familiarises herself with the job. Sally Ball, the Deputy Ringing Master, also stood down (also because of a wedding – this time impending, and because she will be moving away afterwards). Her mantle was ably assumed by Liz Middleton. Chris Hoare remains in the post of Ringing Master.

The District Calendar for the year has been finalised, and we look forward to Surprise Practices, outings and the Quiz Night. With our support they will all be resounding successes.

Evening ringing continued until 8pm, and then we spent some time roaming the High Street in search of a pub with room for us all. We were finally accommodated in the Rose and Crown, admittedly on tables at opposite ends of the bar, but various members migrated between the two, and beer and conversation flowed freely. .