INSTEAD of our usual meeting in December we had our Christmas lunch at the Worcestershire Golf Club. This was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, so much so that we are already looking forward to this year's lunch, which has already been booked ! At this month's meeting the music section said that they had two new bookings, with the ladies of the United Reformed Church and Court Road residents. Members were asked for help to decide what to sell on the sales table, for instance what would be the most popular, and also for suggestions for outings.

At the AGM in March we will need new members on the Committee as some Officers are retiring.

Our speaker this month was Julia Steels on The Magistracy. Magistrates are a part of the criminal justice system, which has been around for more than 650 years. For a long time all magistrates were men and one of the things the women's suffrage movement wanted was that there should be women magistrates. The first World War also helped women to get jobs they had not previously done, and 1919 saw the first lady magistrate. By 1948 20% of magistrates were women. They have to be aged 18 and over and they retire at 70. There is a witness support scheme to help people who are nervous about appearing in court. There are also interpreters needed for both defendants and prosecutors when any people are being charged who do not speak English. There is always also a fully qualified lawyer in court. Magistrates can give different sentences, these include fines, which are based on income and which should not take longer than a year to pay, community service (doing useful work like clearing roads, litter etc.), conditional discharge (do not do it again !), absolute discharge, amongst others. At the end of the talk members were given two case studies and were asked to comment on the type of people the defendants were and the circumstances of the crimes, and also to suggest what the sentences should be. This was a very interesting exercise. Mrs Steels gave a very informative talk, and judging by the number of members who asked questions and commented on the case studies everyone enjoyed the morning.

Our Speaker next month will be Rosemary Prosser with her talk To Cornwall and Back.

The Guild meets on the third Thursday of the month at 10.15am at Clarence Park Village hall and visitors are always welcome.

EDNA O'CONNOR