PRESIDENT Margaret Coulson welcomed members and one visitor to the meeting.

The minutes from the last meeting were placed on the top table for members to read.

Voting slips for the 2015 Resolutions have been counted and the results sent to County. The resolution with the most votes was Failure to care-assessment of need in long term care.

A Heartstart session has arranged for 12 people to take place on Friday, May 15 at 10am until noon at the hall.

County raffle tickets have been received for members to purchase and two teams are to be entered for the Federation Quiz on March 19. In the current newsletter more details are given for the Annual Council Meeting at Three Counties Hotel on April 13 and there is a five mile walk at Much Birch on April 14 with lunch afterwards.

Margaret then introduced the speaker Lis Dobb-Sandi, who was able to attend at short notice, the scheduled speaker being unable to come. Lis from Zimbabwe was told, together with her husband to leave the country in 2003 with only three days’ notice due to political views. Lis could obtain a British passport due to her grandfather being British and her husband was able to obtain a visa. What do you take that’s irreplaceable? Lots of photos were sorted, the hard drive from the computer and enough clothes for the normal baggage allowance for a flight to London. Not wishing to live in London, and without any contacts or relatives in the country, a random point on a map bought from W H Smiths meant a coach journey to Oxford to begin a new life. There was some money from an account in Jersey, but jobs were urgently needed and accommodation found in student digs. Eventually Lis became a bus driver in Oxford, after a three months’ training course, for over six years. Lis is a natural story teller and entertained members with stories of lost property on the bus, once finding a baby left by a mother distracted by her toddler running off when the bus was stationary. Margaret thanked Lis for such an interesting talk about the upheaval in her life of leaving Zimbabwe and settling into life in England.

After refreshments, birthday posies were given out and details of the various groups (Writers/Craft and Luncheon) were announced.

The next meeting on Wednesday, March 11 at 7.30pm will be a talk on Crewing on a Square Rigged Ship by Jim Tickner.

Meetings are held at the Parish Room, Catholic Church, New Street, Ledbury. Visitors and new members are always welcome.