A MEETING of the Hot Peppers was held on Wednesday 26th.October in the Sports Pavilion. Gemma Dewson welcomed members and friends. She announced that the programme for 2017 would be ready for the November meeting and that it sounded very exciting and interesting with several outings in the planning. The flower bed at the Fire Station was looking very tired and it was agreed to replant the following morning at 10am. The trip to Denman and also the outing to the Phoenix Theatre to see Girls were both fully booked. The completed blankets were almost ready for distribution. Val Simcock agreed to take over the tea and kitchen rota and new recipes had been put into the book. It was announced that the Christmas Party would be on 14th December and would be a Tapas evening at the Boathouse in Upton and deposits were requested. The membership for 2017 would be £39 or for a dual membership £58.

Now for our speaker of the evening, Mr.Stan Keyworth from Value for Money in Upton and Malvern. Born during the War years with a mother being a cleaner and a father who enjoyed his alcohol, he was forced to work from an early age. He found employment with a number of prominent firms but as he accumulated money, so he began gambling and it was through his addiction that whilst he was in Australia, his marriage broke up. On returning to Britain and working in Coventry, he met up with Chris Tarrant with whom he enjoyed many happy times. He ventured to China and whilst there he met Margaret Thatcher and was invited to dine with her and other foreign dignatories. The commission he earned was placed directly into a bank overseas. When his son graduated from University, he requested a costly car but when Stan went to withdraw the money, the bank had gone bust and he had lost everything. By this time he had another wife and two daughters but he was penniless and another divorce. He then returned to Britain and by luck met Annette, who ordered him to refrain from gambling. He agreed that he suffered from the 3 'Gs', Greed, Gambling and Gullability. When asked what his best win had been - Stan said that it was his wife Annette. What an interesting story of how others live and survive to tell their story. Stan was thanked and we all enjoyed our tea and cakes. The next meeting will be on 23rd.November and will be "The Great Christmas Craft Off" when members will be able to show their capabilities in a Christmas themed craft evening. Come along, show us your skills in the build up to Christmas.

VALERIE BOWN