ON a cold, wet and windy November evening, there is a great temptation to prefer to stay at home in the warm rather than venture out to a meeting, but for the large group of members who were there it proved very worthwhile, and something not to be missed.

President, Jenny Pierce, welcomed members, visitors and a new member accompanied by her assistance dog. He is still in training, immensely well behaved and members are delighted to have both of them with them. After a short business meeting, and saying how very much everyone had enjoyed the 60th Anniversary celebrations, it was to the speaker for the evening.

This was Dr David Webster talking about his life as a Bush Doctor in Kenya. He began by producing an enormous spear (difficult to bring through Customs) telling members that when talking to a group of ladies, he felt the need to be able to look after himself if necessary! This set the tone for his talk which proved entertaining, informative and humbling. During his years in Africa, much of it in the time of Idi Amin, he and his wife experienced conditions which most cannot imagine. Gaining the trust of the local tribes, having very few staff, even less facilities, a shortage of drugs and an enormous territory to cover – (here The Flying Doctor came into the picture as did Oxfam who helped fund a proper hospital building) – these were but a few of the problems to be overcome. Members were shown slides of some of the medical conditions he had to deal with, and when his talk was over, felt privileged to have shared the evening with him. He still does a great deal to support the people with whom he shared many years of his life.

The final meeting for this year is on Thursday, December 3 at St. Andrew’s Church Hall at 7.30pm, and will be a talk by Shirley Noble on the subject of Kings, Queens and Mistresses. Sounds intriguing! This will be followed by a Bring and Share supper which is always a very sociable affair, and sets members, hopefully, to putting their thoughts towards Christmas. So, on that theme, to all fellow WI members, we wish you A Happy Christmas”and look forward to another interesting year to come and to sharing our meetings with some more new members. You’ll be most welcome.