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Ladies Friendship
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The First Five Years 1983-1988 |
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May 15th 1983 Mrs Margaret Lines, Mrs Sheila Rodwell & Mrs Margaret Stock decided we would like to start a Ladies’ Afternoon Meeting. Mrs Margaret Stock asked at the P.C.C. meeting if this would be alright with the committee, as it passed with goodwishes. Margaret, Sheila & myself delivered 128 leaflets in every door - Newton Bromswold, Newton Road & Avenue Road. September 15th 1983 Ladies’ Friendship Hour afternoon meetings started. Mrs Margaret Lines as pianist. Mrs Sheila Rodwell reading a Bible reading or Poem and giving the vote of Thanks to our speakers. Mrs Margaret Stock taking the meeting & reading the prayers. It is to be an afternoon outing for Ladies of any age to meet & have a laugh, chat & make friends. Also to have a quiet time with God, with a Hymn, Prayer & a reading from the Bible. Thanking Him for bringing us together on these monthly meetings. An afternoon of Fellowship & Friendship Our first meeting – 15 Ladies came which was very encouraging. Mrs Marion Sanders said she would be our Treasurer. We had a Hymn, Prayer & a poem & instead of a speaker this first meeting, it was a “discussion time”. Deciding what we would like to do. We had a nice afternoon, with plenty to say, with a cup of tea & biscuits. October 20th was our next meeting, we had decided to always start with a Hymn, then a prayer & have a reading, notices, suggestions etc., then have a speaker & finish with a chat with tea & biscuits. Our first speaker was Mrs. Wilkinson to give us a talk about her holiday with her husband, around the world. We did say about 20 minutes for a talk. Mrs Wilkinson brought her clock, but her talk was so interesting & she had only got as far as Russia, I had to say politely “please could we leave your travels there & perhaps you could come back again & finish off your journey?” But I am very sorry to say Mrs Wilkinson died in the December, so we shall never know how her holiday ended. November 17th Mrs Annis from the Christian Book Shop was to be our next speaker, but unfortunately she was ill, but Mrs Rosemary Coles came instead & we saw a film & had a talk on T.E.A.R. Fund, which was most interesting & I think it made us realize how lucky we are in this country. Mrs Coles brought a lot of things to show us what was made & could be bought. Some of the Ladies bought, which made it worthwhile Mrs Coles coming & we enjoyed her visit too. October 29th Saturday 10a.m. to 12.30p.m. was “Our fist Public Event”, it was a Good Clothes & Jumble Sale in St Mary’s New Church Hall, Rushden. We made £37.50. Many thanks to all who helped. December 15th Our Christmas Meeting Mrs Turner came to give us a demonstration on making large & small cakes. It was very interesting as she had made two large sponges & decorated them for us to see how to do them easily, also chocolate cones, mincemeat squares & a marmalade cake. All very delicious, which we could taste & buy afterwards. A surprise visit from the Evening Telegraph that afternoon. We had our photos taken & later on in the week a photo & a writ-up was in the newspaper, which pleased us & gave us something to talk about over Christmas. Mrs Sheila Rodwell had a stall for us at the W.I. Craft Fayre on November 19th & she made “31.50 for us & which we thank her & her family most kindly for all the hard work they had put into making it a profitable day for the Ladies’ Friendship. Mrs Marion Sanders suggested we had a raffle at our meetings. We welcomed the idea. January 19th 1984 We start our New Year meeting with Hymn & Prayer & our first speaker in the year was Mrs Hilda House. She gave us an interesting talk on her Poems. She writes them herself, some about the Bible, others are prayers, she has had two books made up & has had quite a number printed & has sold them for the Baptist Chapel & other good causes. I have put an order in for some too & hope to get them later on in the year, when Mrs House will be coming to speak to us again about her singing & playing the organ. We have decided to call ourselves “Ladies’ Friendship Meeting”, as our meetings are going on longer than an hour. We are averaging 10-15 Ladies each month & we are charging 20p for Tea & Biscuits. We also started a Bring & Buy Stall, to help members, if they sell anything they keep the money & just give a donation to the Ladies’ Friendship Meeting. February 16th Our Speaker this month was Mrs Evelyn. She gave us a most entertaining & interesting talk about “Here, There & Everywhere”. We all were so charmed with her, we have asked her to come back soon & entertain us again. Mrs Joyce Lines said she would the Bring & Buy Stall. We have started an account in the T.S.B. £50, as Mrs Sanders was afraid to have it in her house. Also Mrs Sanders said she would like to run the raffle every month. March 15th Our speaker this month was Mrs Pat Richardson. She is the only lady in the Ian Knox Christian Campaign, coming to Rushden for two weeks. The campaign is called “Good News for Rushden” and included Newton Bromswold. We found her talk most interesting, she told us how she & her husband had found God in later life & are so pleased with their new life that they are going around with the Ian Knox team to spread the good news. It gave us all cause to think & pray for the good work they are doing & may we all be helped by them talking to us. Unfortunately we had two speakers turn up for this meeting. Rev. Sidebottom had come a month early, but he was very kind & said he would go home to Bedford & come again next month. April 19th Rev Sidebottom kept his promise & did come again this month. We were very pleased to see him, he gave us a most interesting talk & demonstration on Meat & Poultry. The Hymn we sang was “There is a Green Hill Far Away” & the Rev Sidebottom told us about the Lady who wrote the Hymn. His mother had known her & he lived in the same village, so that made it a very interesting afternoon. May 17th Mrs Fletcher came & gave us a talk & a film on her holiday in Hong Kong. Unfortunately we never thought about having black-out curtains for the hall, so it was a bit bright to see the film. But Mrs Fletcher understood & gave us a pleasant talk & of course we could ask questions about the pictures. May 12th was the date for our second Jumble Sale. We made £52.68. £25 for Christian Aid. £27.68 for Us. Thanks to all who helped & made it such a success. Mrs Lil Hartop thanked us for the “25 Donation on behalf of the Christian Aid & I have also had a letter from Mrs Coles thanking us. The remainder of the Jumble Sale my husband & I took to Wellingborough – for the “Cats Protection League” Jumble Sale. I have since received a letter thanking the Ladies’ Friendship. June 21st Mrs Smith was our speaker this month; she is the new co-ordinator of S.E.R.V.E. & she had come to tell us all about her new job & all that was being done to help the old, unemployed & sick people of Rushden & district. She asked for volunteers to help with gardeneing, shopping & drivers. It gave us all food for thought & we would help if we could. We now have £75 in the T.S.B. Bank. The children will be on school holidays & we are keeping on our meetings throughout the summer. We said the children could come to the meetings with Mother or Grandmother. July 19th We had a Strawberry Tea with sandwiches, sausage rolls, strawberries with cream or ice cream & cakes. Oour speaker was Mrs S Skinner & she gave us a talk & film on “Home Safety”. It turned out to be a most enjoyable afternoon & Sheils had remembered to bring some blackout blinds so we could see the film very well this time. Helen Lines was on holiday from school, so came & played the piano for our Hymn. August 16th Mrs Jean Hunt came and gave us a talk & demonstration on “Flower Arranging”. She came with her arms full of flowers, leaves & pieces of shrub & we all went home with some, to try some of her ideas when we got home. We found it most educational, learning the different names, some we hadn’t seen before. Helen came & played the piano again for us. We thanked her for coming. She played very well & gave her mother a rest from playing for us. Marion & I have signed to draw out £10 from T.S.B/ towards the Strawberry Tea & our “1st Year Anniversary next month we hope to have Birthday Cake & Sherry. My Thanks go to All who have helped to make this year a success. Margaret Stock. September 20th – 1st Anniversary 1984 The first birthday meeting was a great Success. I had invited the Ladies from St Mary’s Church Mother’s Union & the Ladies from St Peter’s Church Rushden Fellowship to our special meeting. We had 10 of our regular members so we had about 40 ladies in all. The Rector, Rev Alan Smith was our speaker, his wife Linnet gave the bible reading. We started off with a Hymn, prayer & then I read over the year’s events & then the Rector gave his talk. Sheila gave the thanks. I thank Sheila for all her help with the meeting; we both got a buffet tea with Birthday Cake & Sherry. The Evening Telegraph photographer came & took some photos of Sheila & myself holding the cake. Sheila gave a report to the E.T. reporter next morning & both a photo & report was in the newspaper the following week. M<y friend Janet embroidered 4 handkerchiefs with “Ladies Friendship 1st Anniversary” on them (1 for Sheil, 1 for Margaret Lines, 1 for Marion & 1 for myself.) Marion was ill so Sheila & I called in with a card of thanks, the handkerchief & a plate of refreshments. Sheila, Margaret L. & I also had a card of thanks from the Ladies Friendship. October 18th 1984 Our speaker this month was to be Mrs Barbara Evelyn but she phoned to say she was so very sorry & disappointed shoe would not be able to come, but she would like to come at a later date. I could not get another speaker at short notice so we had 9 ladies turn up & we had an enjoyable afternoon b=playing “Bingo” – we all had a good laugh. Sheila read from the Bible. The notices were the W.I. Craft Fayre – October 27th. Tickets on sale for the Ladies Friendship Fish & Chip Supper & Slide Show, November 10th 7.30 serving. £1 Ticket. I asked for them to knit squares for a blanket, but they had knitted them for W.I. November 10th 1984 The Fish & Chip Supper & Slide Show went off very well; we sold 40 tickets & we got a wide age range come which was encouraging. Mr Parsons showed slides of his holiday “Safari in Kenya” and slides on birds he had taken in his own garden. Sheila introduced him by telling us he was the first winner of the award in the Nature Section for the highest placed club member in the R.D.P.S. National Slide Competition. I nervously gave thanks to Sheila & her husband & son, Ernie (my husband) & Mrs Lines for their help and Mr Parsons for such lovely pictures and everyone coming. We made a profit of £1.47 & hope to have another Fish & Chip supper next November. Mrs Jean Perry gave a report about our first Anniversary in the Parish Magazine. November 15th 1984 We had 8 ladies come, the numbers seem to be going down, it is very disappointing. Mrs Sanders has given up her Treasurer job until after Christmas due to ill health. Sheila & I are still determined to carry on & hope we shall get more ladies to come from Rushden. Mrs Hilda House was our speaker & she entertained us with playing tapes of her husband & her singing & then she played the piano. We were told that her husband & herself went around entertaining & that they would be celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary Feb 10th 1985. Mrs House had been to talk to us nine months ago, to talk about the poems she writes. Sheila had read some to us on previous meetings, sadly Mrs House could not get anymore of her poem books printed for us. I asked the meeting not to forget the Bring & Buy Stall, it is to help them as well as the Ladies’ Friendship. December 290th 1984 Our Christmas meeting, we were looking forward to, it was to be a cooking demonstration. But our speaker Mrs Turner did not turn up & we had three ladies visit us from Rushden. So I felt a bit uncomfortable, as it was quite unexpected. I thought Mrs Lines was going to get in touch with Mrs Turner before the date & she thought I would. So no demonstration, but Mrs B Lines & Mrs Perry brought us some lovely mincepies & sausage rolls & Sheila made us a lovely cup of tea, it was an afternoon of talking & eating. Mrs Lines played Carols & Sheila read a poem. Sheila gave 18 Christmas cards to past & present members on behalf of the Ladies’ Friendship. January 17th 1985 First meeting of the new year. We had quite a bit of snow & ice over the week, so Sheila & I were in constant touch all the week, whether to cancel the meeting. But 8.30 a.m. Mrs Evelyn, our speaker phoned me & said the roads were not bad from Rushden so she would still some & talk to us, so we kept the meeting going. We had only 7 ladies come, but Mrs Evelyn gave us such a lovely & interesting talk we all joined in with her. It turned out to be a pleasant afternoon out & we were pleased to have a meeting to cheer us up. Mrs Sanders came after four months away & took over the job Treasurer again. Which I was pleased to hand over. Sheila once again made us a nice cup of tea & provided us with cake. Mrs Lines said she had spoken to Mr Turner & his wife didn’t come last month to give us the cooking demonstration because they had got family problems. I wish they had phoned me & explained before the December meeting. February 21st Instead of a speaker I have booked “Mobile Movies” as it is half-term from school, so I thought if a mother/grandmother would like to bring a child with them, the films would be fine for the Ladies & children as well. Mrs Marion Sanders & I have signed to have £15 drawn out of the T.S.B. bank. With numbers dropping we are hardly making enough each month to cover for the hall & refreshments. We had 11 ladies & 1 little boy come to our meeting. Sheila & I were a bit disappointed. Mrs Bessie Lines suggested we did not have a meeting in January, February & March another year as it is rather cold & bad travelling usually those months. I also asked if the Ladies’ Friendship would like to help with a Spring Bazaar or a Mini Market on April 27th. But again we were disappointed, because St Mary’s hall hiring fee has gone up & they did not think we would get anyone to come out to the Hall at Newton Bromswold. So we have got to think again about where to hold it. Marion ran the raffle & I made refreshments. Sheila gave thanks to the camera-man. March 21st 13 Ladies attended this meeting, 4 of them were visitors which was encouraging. It was a Microwave Oven Demonstration by Mrs Skerritt. We started off with a Hymn, tape recorded by my husband as Mrs Lines our pianist could not make it. I announced I had booked the Salvation Army Hall, Rushden for our Spring Bazaar April 27th 1.30 – 4.30. Proceeds for the Evening Telegraph Cancer Scanner Appeal & asked for help with the stalls, refreshments & anything for sale on the stalls. Gwen won the raffle, a tin of fruit. Sheila gave the vote of Thanks & we wished a “Happy Easter” to everyone. Sheila attended the A.G.M. P.C.C. Meeting 12th March & we gave an account to the Rector of our small attendance & wondered if it was worth carrying on after September. April meeting – Mrs Linnet Smith – Rector’s wife. April 18th Mrs Linnet Smith was to be our Speaker this month, but as she was having to start taking “Deep Breathing” exercises on Thursdays now (getting prepared for when she has her baby June 8th), her husband (the Rector) came instead. He very kindly played the piano for our hymn as Mrs Lines could not come. He also said the prayers & gave us a very interesting talk. Sheila gave the vote of thanks. Mrs jean Perry made us a lovely cake & a bran loaf for our refreshments. Mrs Linnet Smith sent her apologies, also an invitation for our Ladies Friendship to a Women’s Fellowship Ladies Rally May 8th 2.45 at the new church hall. Our Spring Bazaar is well on the way; it’s at the Salvation Army Hall, Rushden 1.30pm to 4.30pm. It is for the Evening Telegraph Cancer Scanner Appeal. May 16th Mr Martin came to play us some of his tapes of his favourite music over the years. It was so relaxing to sit quiet & listen & it was a lovely afternoon with a view over the fields, trees & to see the cows, all out of our windows of our Hall. We are situated right in the country. Sheila gave the vote of Thanks to Mr Martin, also to his wife coming & Sheila provided the cakes. I gave the Thanks to all the Ladies who helped or gave to our Spring Bazaar on April 27th. It was a great success. We collected £160 for the Evening Telegraph Scanner Appeal. Five of our Ladies Friendship went to the Ladies Rally on May 8th at St Mary’s Hall & had a most enjoyable afternoon. May 1st, Sheila & I went on the bus to the Evening Telegraph Kettering Office to deliver the £160 on behalf of our Ladies’ Friendship for their Cancer Scanner Appeal. June 15th Sheila & I arranged a Summer Sale at Wellingborough for the Newly Formed Stroke Club with some of the clothes, books, shoes, left over from the E.T. Cancer Scanner Spring Bazaar. We collected £52.50 towards the cost of a bus to take the Stroke Victims & Families to Hunstanton on a day trip. We were very pleased to have helped. The rest of the things collected from the Ladies Friendship will now go to Newton Bromswold Fete on June 22nd. June 20th Our speaker was Mrs Tysoe from Rushden. What an interesting talk she gave us. It was about spectacles. Which pair of glasses do we wear? Are they dirty so we cannot see out of them clearly, are the rose coloured meaning everything is good for us to look at. Or do we keep them clean, shining & look out to see God’s wonderful way of life. It was such a meaningful talk. I wish I could remember all she said. June 22nd. After Newton Bromswold Fete, Sheila & I had still got a lot of clothes, books & bric-a-brac so my husband & I took them all to Mrs Ansell, Headingly Road, Rushden for her Cancer Jumble Sale. July 18th This meeting was our Strawberry Tea with sandwiches, cakes, strawberries with fresh cream. Mrs Scholes from the Salvation Army was our speaker. Her talk was very interesting, all about the meanings of flowers. With her also, was her husband, friend Betty & a little girl and so they sang some hymns accompanied by Mrs Scholes on her concertina & we had a poem from the little girl. It was a most enjoyable & entertaining afternoon. A big thank you to Mr Rodwell who got the strawberries for us. August 15th Our speaker this month was Mrs Austin, also a member of Rushden Salvation Army. Her talk was also interesting, about the “History of Hair”. Jean is in hospital. We have sent her a card & Marion is getting a pot plant from the Ladies’ Friendship for when Jean is home. Marion & I have signed to have £18 out of the T.S.B. to help pay for our teas & Turners. We have an eventful month coming next. Sept 19th - Our 2nd Anniversary 1985 We are having a birthday tea & some games of Bingo. I haven’t a speaker for this afternoon as I tried to get a booking for Turners Musical Merry-Go-Round, but could not get in until next week Wednesday 25th September. I have had 30 prayer leaflets printed to help me when I get nervous. What a busy month September had proved to be for the Ladies’ Friendship. What a wonderful 2nd Anniversary. The birthday tea went well with 12 Ladies present. After a small account of the year’s progress & a suggestion from Sheila to not have meetings Jan Feb & March because of the bad weather. But I think everyone was in agreement to keep the meetings on, myself I think if we break up, it will be a job to get the ladies together again. But we have plenty of time to discuss it. We had a laugh playing Bingo. Then a birthday tea. Just sandwiches, sausage rolls, scones & fruit cake as we have a big tea in Village Hall on Sunday. Just Mrs Lee & Jean were not at the meeting. I gave a vote of thanks to Sheila, Margaret L, Marion & Jean with a small Lavender Heart & also thanked the Ladies at the meeting for coming & helping me over the year. Sept 22nd – Our own “Special Service” What a special occasion it was. Mr Tony Smith took the service, Mrs Linnet Smith, the Rector’s wife gave a most interesting talk from the pulpit. Mrs Margaret Lines read the lesson. Mrs Lil Hartop said a prayer. Sheila & I took the collection. Jean greeted people at the door. My husband, Ernie played the organ. We had the hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus” which we call our own Hymn. It was a very moving service for me to see my friends all there & that “Thanks be to God” that we have been able to have this wonderful service of our own. I hope we can make it a yearly service. I sent out invitations to our past speakers. Mr & Mrs Cliff Martin came. Afterwards we had tea in the Village Hall, which the Ladies’ Friendship had provided. Sept 25th We had an outing to ‘Turners Musical Merry-go-round’. 12 Ladies all in a mini-bus. It was quite a laugh. At Turners we danced, laughed & sang all afternoon. We had a cream tea. We all enjoyed the outing very much & Sheila gave a vote of Thanks to me & the ladies would like another outing sometime. Jean organised a raffle on the mini-bus. Oct 17th Mrs Linnet Smith came and gave us a most interesting talk about her work & life in Zambia. It was very kind of her to come so soon again, after giving us a talk at our Special Service last month, but she felt she owed us these visits as she had to let us down, over the past year, due to her expecting her baby. Linnet brought Baby Mark with her to the meeting; he is a lovely boy & was very good. Sheila gave the Thanks. Jean organised the Raffle. Margaret played the piano. I gave the posters out for the L.F. Fish & Chip Supper & asked them all to sell some tickets, as I was having a job to sell them. I had ordered The Bell Ringers & Mrs Hawes & her ‘Lady Singers’. But as the date was Nov 2nd, it was held as Bonfire Night all around & most families were going out. Also Sheila was going away for the weekend. Marion & some more ladies were unable to come & help. Nov 2nd The Fish & Chip Supper was a very enjoyable evening with plenty of variety by the Finedon Handbell Ringers & the Ladies of the St Cripsin Townswomens’ Guild. My grateful thanks must go to Jean & her family for the running of the Raffle & to my husband Ernie who helped in everyway he could, so that the evening went off well. My thanks also to anyone else who helped in anyway. I’m sure everyone enjoyed themselves, which is what I like to see at these events. Nov 21st For this meeting, Margaret Lines had invited Mr Harley to come & show his slides of his holiday in America. A few ladies remembered him from his school teaching days; he taught our children. It was a very restful afternoon. Jean asked could the raffle today go towards the Radio Northampton Children in Need Appeal; it was approved of & we collected £6 which I sent off a cheque to Northampton in the Ladies’ Friendship name. Dec 19th We started our Christmas meeting with a carol, prayers & then we were entertained by Mrs Hawes’ monologues & a pianist & 2 lady singers. It was a most enjoyable afternoon, we were soon singing with them. We had a nice tea afterwards with a Christmas Card for everyone. Jean ran a special Christmas Raffle. Sheila gave the vote of Thanks to the Ladies who entertained us & gave them a present of chocolates each. They were delighted. Dec 22nd. Newton Bromswold Church was holding a special service & wanted all Church groups to take part. It was such short notice. What could we do at short notice? We decided not to sing a carol, but to stand & sing ‘our hymn’ – ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’. It sounded great, we sang it smashing, Margaret played for us & my Thanks to Mrs Bertha Ellis for reading a nice poem from a Friendship Book. The Sunday School & Home Meeting took part too. It was a very friendly afternoon. Jan 16th 1986 We started the New Year with a most interesting talk by Mrs Vicky Dykes; her husband John is one of our preachers. So she told us about her life & her family. Her talk was taken from this year’s Church Motto – ‘The Lord Stood By Me and Gave Me Strength’. I have been asked to get Vicky to come again as she warmed our hearts, of what a nice person she is. Linnet sent us an invitation to a Ladies’ meeting at Rushden Vestry Hall about Women’s World day of prayer January 24th. Feb 20th For our meeting this month we have Mrs Annis from the Christian Bookshop. She told us how she came to start the Bookshop & how her life changed; she meets various types of people, some just going in for a chat or maybe help or a talk about God & the Christian activities in Rushden & abroad. It has also led her into going to visit in local prisons, which she finds very rewarding. We have sent a ‘Get Well’ card to Lil, she has been ill with her stomach for some weeks now, we miss her at the meetings. The Ladies World of Prayer afternoon meeting is at the High Street Church, Rushden March 7th 2.15p.m. Margaret Lines’ ‘Barn Dance’ is on March 8th N/B 7.30 p.m. March 20th Mr & Mrs Martin came on a return visit to talk to us about the Talking Newspapers for the Blind. I was so interesting to hear about these wonderful tapes & how much the blind enjoy hearing them. Mr & Mrs Martin fetch & deliver the tapes around the houses in the Rushden area. It’s all voluntary work. I thanked Sheila & the Ladies’ Friendship for sending my husband & I a lovely Silver Wedding Card, signed by them all (in secret. I never saw anything happening.) Also for the message on Radio Northampton and at this meeting I was given a lovely bouquet presented by Mrs Bessie Line. I was surprised & very moved. Sheila took a Bouquet to Lil on March 10th from the Ladies’ Friendship. At the Barn Dance we heard our dear friend had Cancer. It has shocked & upset us all. March 25th. Lil died & on the 28th, ‘Good Friday’ she was buried. We have all suffered a great loss. We must thank God that we were privileged to have known her; she had great faith right to the end which is a help & comfort to us all. We sent a Spray from Ladies’ Friendship for her funeral. April 16th - Sheila, Marion & myself went to St Mary’s Hall Rushden for a ploughman’s lunch, also to hear Mrs Sylvia-Mary Alison talk about Prison Christian Fellowship. April 17th Our Remembrance Meeting for Lil. Margaret Lines played the Hymn: ‘Simply trusting every day’. A hymn Lil wanted played, but unfortunately was not with us to sing it, with her lovely voice, but let us hope she could hear us in heaven. Our speaker was Mrs May Hadley, so fitting for this meeting, as she had a wonderful singing voice & sang us two Gospel songs. Margaret played for her very well, as they had never met until that day. Mrs Hadley also talked about where she worked in her younger days & also brought the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ into her talk, which made her visit so enjoyable. I thanked the Ladies once again for the card & flowers to my husband & me. Sheila & I went to The Women’s World of Prayer afternoon service; we enjoyed it & hope to go next year. Our outing this year is to Althorp House, April 30th 1.30p.m. Newton Crossroads. £3 from the Ladies. The outing will cost £72. Mini bus for 12 is £30. So we have drawn all but a few pence form the Bank & hope to make it up at our next meeting with the Bring & Buy Stall. May 15th Our meeting this month is an ‘Open’ one with a Knitting Machine Demonstration, also a Bring & Buy Stall. April 30th – Our outing to Althorp turned out to be most enjoyable. We went round the house for a start, then round the shop & had a cup of tea & slice of cake. We found everything very expensive, but we understood how much it must cost to keep such a lovely large house in such good order. Jean ran a raffle & Sheila kindly gave a vote of Thanks to me on the way home & it is requested to have another outing later on in the year. Our Open meeting was a great success with the Bring & Buy Stall making £32.45. We missed our talk with the Knitting machine demonstration as Mrs Ray is not a speaker, she kindly came just to show us her knitting machine on request from two of our members. June 19th We had a very interesting meeting with Mrs Miller coming to give us a talk & demonstration on Pillow Lace. Two of our ladies were even having ‘a go’ & they managed it very well. Sheila is very kindly organising the Strawberry Tea & Bingo for next month’s meeting as I shall be on holiday. Mrs Young wasn’t well enough to come as she has broken her wrist, so we have sent her a get well card & flowers. Also we shall send a card for Mr & Mrs C Martin’s Golden Wedding Anniversary on July 11th. July 17th Strawberry Tea This meeting was one of our annual events “A Strawberry Tea”. We missed Margaret being with us, but she sent a card which was read to the Ladies, letting us know both she & her husband were enjoying their holiday in South Africa. I promised to arrange the meeting, which went quite well; my grateful thanks to the Ladies for their help and support. 15 were present including Mrs Teague who had flown in from America only that morning, to stay with her sisters who are members of our ‘Ladies’ Friendship’. Also we welcomed Jennifer visiting from Leicester. It was nice to see Mrs Young back with us again. No speaker was booked, so we had a few games of Bingo and then tucked into strawberries and cream, cakes, sandwiches & tea. S. Rodwell August 21st My Thanks go to Sheila for taking the meeting & also for all the ladies who helped her with the Strawberry Tea, also to Mr Rodwell (Sheila’s husband) who fetched the Strawberries for them. It was nice to come back off my holiday to find they had a most enjoyable afternoon. This month’s speaker is Mrs Jean Hunt back again; it is always a pleasure to have her come. This time Mrs Hunt talked about her flowers in her garden, also made some lovely simple arrangements for the home using useful objects about the home & not using bought flowers, but pretty little flowers from anyone’s garden. We have received a letter from Mr & Mrs Martin thanking us for sending them a Golden Wedding card. Our Anniversary Outing this year is a Mystery Tour & tea at Gretton Village Hall provided by the Ladies W.I. Mrs Young has broken her arm & Mrs Bessie Lines has broken her wrist; we have sent a card to them both. September 11th The outing was a two hour mystery trip around the pretty villages of Northamptonshire with 16 Ladies & we ended up at Gretton for a lovely tea. We enjoyed our afternoon out, but we had to pay £50 for a bus much too large for us. September 18th Our 3rd Anniversary We had a lovely meeting. Mrs Willmott gave little biblical talks in between her singing, her mother played for her, it was so fitting for our special afternoon. Mrs Howard played our L.F. Hymn ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’, as Margaret Lines is ill. We have sent her a card & a plant. This coming Sunday 21st is our special Anniversary Service 10a.m. Linnet Smith will take the Service. I am reading the prayers, Jean & Sheila take the collection. Mrs Teague read the lesson, she & her husband are on holiday from America & she had come to one or two of our meetings. After the service, tea, coffee & biscuits will be served. Sept 21st It was an inspiring service with Linnet talking so well about how important the L.F. Meeting is, but not many of our Ladies came. October 16th Mrs Hawes was sorry she could not make our meeting this month, so I phoned our friend Mrs Eveleyn, but she had to cancel also as she was ill during the night. So I shall book them both again for next year. We had a few games of Bingo, which always goes down well & we discussed our November meeting which we were having a Christmas Bring & Buy. Also we talked about arrangements for our Annual Fish & Chip Supper on Nov 15th, with Mr Izzard showing slides. November 15th The Fish & Chip Supper was well attended but we made no profit as Mr Izzard wanted £10 for his slide show. Jean ran the raffle which helped us to come out of the red with £3.15 over. Once again I must Thank all my helpers with Sheila’s husband, my husband & my cousin & his wife for helping the evening go so well. Nov 20th A very successful Bring & Buy Sale which has helped our funds. Busy Bee Club has been suggested by Mrs Hunt, Bedford Road for anyone who is interested in learning ro crochet, lace making, knitting etc. -First meeting 27th November 2p.m. December 17th Christmas Party We sang carols & had some games. With homemade wine, mince pies & cakes, it was a very happy afternoon to finish the year. Oh God we Thank you for our meetings of Fellowship & Friendship during this past year & may your love be with us & guide us nearer to you in the next year’s programmes. 1987 January Meeting was cancelled as it was snowing & icy on the roads. Mr Apted was to come & talk to us, but was relived we had cancelled the meeting. He will come at a later date to talk about ‘Southwood House’, Wellingborough. Feb 19th Our speaker & demonstrator was Mrs Lane on ‘Skin Care’. She gave Gwen one of our members, a facial consisting of deep cleansing & moisturising, with also a facial sauna. It was very interesting. Some ladies bought some creams etc & Hilda & I are going to Mrs Lane’s house for a facial. Busy Bee meetings are still going on every week. Sheila would like to start a Birthday Book. We start with Birthday Cards for Margaret Lines, Bessie Lines & Sheila. We also thought it would be nice for Sheila to get some flowers & a ‘Thinking of you” card for the lady at the corner shop, who has just lost her husband (42) suddenly with a heart attack. We would like to go to Wimpole Hall, Cambridge, but they want to go when the daffodils are out (when’s that?) March 19th A long awaited visit from Mrs Hawes, our speaker today, came real, she really is a very good speaker and today she told us all about ‘Whole Foods’ & of her job in Rushden Health Shop. It was so interesting & we could also buy from her, as she had brought lots of foods for us to see as she talked about them. It has given us great insight into vitamins & minerals we need & all the wrong foods we eat. We really decided to give it great thought into caring for our bodies. I have booked a 16-seater Mini-bus to Wimpole Hall for April 22nd 12.45 to 5p.m. Marion collected £4 from the Ladies who wished to come. So very sorry Marion & Jean would not be able to come with us this time. The children will be on holiday from school. So delighted we have 22 ladies to this meeting, we are having new ladies gradually joining us now. So encouraging. April 16th Our Easter Holiday meeting, with Easter Bonnet competition. Mrs Boatwright came to give us a talk about her work, years ago, with the Children’s Society. She had very kindly stepped in at the last moment, as Mrs Barbara Evelyn our speaker for that day could not make it. Our grateful Thanks go to Mrs Boatwright who also judged the Easter Bonnet competition. Mrs Phyllis Richardson won 3 small Easter Eggs as first prize. We had a good raffle run by Sheila. I gave out our Outing instructions once more so we should be set for a nice time with nice weather & the daffodils out for Bessie. April 22nd Our outing to Wimpole Hall started with the Mini-bus three quarters of an hour late picking us up & it was two fourteen-seaters instead of one sixteen-seater so we were parted. That made us late arriving at Wimpole & we quickly looked around the house, so we could get to see the gardens. The weather kept fine for us & the daffodils were out & beautiful to see. The refreshments were very expensive at the Hall, so we stopped on the way home in a very nice café & had a good meal, so after a bad start…….. I do hope the ladies enjoyed it. May 13th We had a Ladies’ Friendship Meeting at my home to discuss some events that are coming along during the next few months. Mrs Linnet Smith has invited us to join the Ladies of Rushden to their Rally on Wed. 3rd 2.45p.m. Revd Rachel Stowe will be speaking & teas will be served afterwards. Also we decided to change the Strawberry Tea from July to our June meeting as we are having a chocolate & sweets demonstration & have decided to ask Rushden Ladies to come & visit us. Jean, Marion, Sheila & I were the only ones at this meeting of the future of Ladies Friendship. May 21st Our Speaker this month was Mrs Fletcher talking about her holiday in China; she had hoped to bring her films to show us but they had got lost at the airport, so she gave us an interesting talk and showed us some of her souvenirs. Her last visit to us was May 1984. Marion could not make this meeting so Margaret Lines collected the money for us. Our Rector’s wife Linnet Smith is to be ordained a Lay Reader by Bishop of Peterborough at All Saints Church Wellingborough 6.00p.m. May 31st. Do hope a lot of Ladies will give her their love & support on that evening. June 18th Our meeting this month is an open meeting & have given invitation to the Rushden Ladies Meetings. We had 53 Ladies in all, a demonstration by Mrs Ambridge making delicious sweets. Then tea afterwards. We could not get any strawberries so next month will be our Strawberry Tea as usual. We still had plenty to eat with sandwiches, scones, sausage rolls & cakes, all made by our members. Dates for their diaries: St Peter’s Day at Newton Church 28th June – Tea afterwards. Church Fete Newton July 11th 2.30p.m. Ladies Friendship’s own service Oct 11th 3.00p.m. Newton Church. Linnet has been invited to lead us in worship. July 16th Our annual strawberry tea – I was lucky to get some from Sharnbrook, they had nearly finished for this year. Mrs Leach came from Rushden to show us her Button Collection; it was really marvellous. So many kinds of button right through the ages. Her talk was so interesting & knowledgeable. August 20th Our speaker this month was Mr Apted from Southwood House, Wellingborough; it is the old Cottage Hospital, now bought by the Shaftesbury Society for the physically handicapped people. Mr Apted was a very interesting speaker. Also we could not help admiring him & his wife in all the hard work there goes in running a home like this. I gave out notices for Barn Dance & Plowman’s Supper – Mrs Harris’ Farm barn Sept 5th. Tickets now on sale. Where shall we go for our next outing in September? Next month our 4th Anniversary, we will have a Birthday Tea. So sorry Jean & her mother will not be coming to our meetings anymore. We shall miss them as they were very good helpers, especially with the monthly raffle. Sept 17th Our 4th Anniversary Our speaker for this month was a very delightful person, Mrs Tottendale from the Hard of Hearing Club. She told us how she had first become deaf at the birth of her children & how she had coped with it over all these years & now she was running this club, but was hoping for more helpers next year to keep it going. We had a very nice Birthday Tea & Margaret L gave the vote of Thanks as Sheila was away on holiday. I gave notices out for more helpers please with teas, raffle & organising events. Our outing was Sept 30th. [space left here] Oct 11th The Ladies’ Friendship Anniversary Service 3.00p.m. Rev Mike Talbut came & ministered & brought his wife & children. It was a most enjoyable service & my Thanks go to the ladies who helped by reading, taking the collection. But I was disappointed not more ladies from our friendship meeting came. We had a lovely tea in the Hall afterwards. Oct 15th Mr Hunt from Wymington came to give us a talk & slides about Village Heritage; it was very interesting to see pictures of churches, bridges, waterways & lovely houses all around us – which most of us did not know we lived near, and never noticed if we had driven by them. They were really colourful & interesting slides. Nov 19th We had our meeting first & then the Bring & Buy Sale. We had lots of goods & we made £21.16 towards our Funds. I was selling tickets for our Fish & Chip Supper £1.50 each – November 28th, 7.30p.m. prompt. With colour slides shown by Len Parsons of his holiday “On Safari”. Also I suggested a competition – how many words out of the name Friendship. Hand them in next month. Nov 28th The Fish & Chips were on time this year. Many Thanks to Ernie & Graydon for fetching them. We had a nice lots of people come, but not many of our Ladies’ Friendship members so we have decided it’s our last. Marion has a new idea for a dinner next year. We made £13 for our funds. Dec 17th Our Christmas Party We had Carols & games of Bingo & Sheila had organised a game of “How Many Sweets in a Jar”. A very happy meeting enjoyed by us all & we had mince pies & home made wine. Jan 21st 1988 The start of the New Year & our speaker was Mrs Thompson from Rushden. She was a lady in her 70’s with a talent for writing poems; she has only just started writing & has had a book printed for the Toc H movement. It was very interesting to meet her & to hear some of her poems as Sheila has started to write poems for our Variety Show & we also read one of Mrs Thompson’s poems in the show before we had ever met her. The Friendship Competition was won by Mrs Young, 130 words, Second Prize for Mrs Willmer (112), Third Prize for Mrs James (91). Marion’s Dinner is before our next meeting at 1 o’clock – free for all our members. Hilda has gone into hospital, but kindly sent two prizes for our Raffle. Feb 18th Our Annual Dinner was Jacket Potatoes, Butter, Ham & Chicken Roll & Mixed Veg. With two sorts of Gateaux & tinned Fruit & Cream for afters – smashing meal. Thanks to Marion & helpers. After the meal the meeting took place as usual & our speaker was Mr Church from his China Store in Northampton. He was interesting, telling us about the proper cups & teapots to buy & English Bone China is the best in the world. March 17th Our Easter Meeting. Our speaker was Rev Mike Talbut who read from the bible & gave us a long “Sermon” on the Easter Story. We all enjoyed tea afterwards, provided by our members, we auctioned the rest of the cakes that were left. I announced the outing to Turners Musical Merry-go-Round April 21st. Our Speakers at this meeting were Val 3 & Colin 4 from the Samaritans. Their talk was enlightening to us all, to hear about the work (all volunteers). I announced the details for our outing to Turners. May 4th We all enjoyed our outing to Turners Musical Merry-go-Round. Members of the Newton Variety Club joined us & it made a very happy group. Coming home, I was asked to arrange another visit at Christmas. May 19th Mr Chimes came to talk to us about Dried Fruit from Whitworths. It proved to be an amusing meeting, as he got us to try all different kinds of Sultanas, Currants, Raisins & even Prunes – and telling us about the different countries they came from. After our tasting, none of us wanted any tea. Hope it was not too fattening. I have booked an outing to Turners for December 15th instead of our meeting. June 16th Margaret Lines could not come today, so Mrs Edie Barnes kindly played the piano for us. Sheila wrote out the new programmes for me & her husband Photostatted them. Thanks to them both. Our speaker today was Mr Parkinson – talked about security locks & about safety in your home. He brought a lock with numbers on (a Combination Lock) for us to try & undo & made us laugh as he had forgotten the number, so he couldn’t undo it. July 21st Our Annual Strawberry Tea. We had sandwiches, sausage rolls, strawberries & cream & cakes. We had 21 Ladies come & we charged 50p each. Our speaker was Mrs Barbara Evelyn, our special friend, interesting & amusing. It’s a pleasure to have her. We gave her £3 donation for the Children’s Society & a bunch of garden flowers; she was so delighted. August 18th Mrs Hadley came & gave a wonderful cooking demonstration of Scotch Cooking – called her talk “A Taste of Scotland” & it was too; she made shortbread, broth, scones & pancakes. We all had a taste & were given the recipes; very delicious. She is a very talented Lady. She also goes around singing; she has a lovely voice. But Mrs Hadley made us laugh when she said what she cannot do is pass her driving test, 6 times she has tried. I announced we would like someone to run the raffle for us. Mrs Joan Hill who has just joined us said she would do it for us. Sept 15th Our 5th Anniversary Our special Speaker today was Mrs Brenda Courtie, she is a vicar’s wife and a writer & broadcaster; she gave us a most interesting & entertaining talk. We also had a lovely tea & birthday cake. We had invited the ladies groups in Rushden to join us, but only one or two turned up. I gave Thanks to Sheila, Margaret & Marion who have helped me over the 5 years, also the ladies who help with the tea each month & Joan for running the Raffle. We give Thanks to our Loving God. We are building up our meeting, strength by strength. October 9th This is our own Ladies’ Friendship Service. Mrs Linnet Smith took the service; our Thanks to her. Also Many Thanks to the ladies who did come & take part, as not many ladies come to this Service. Sheila & I wonder whether to still have it. We even thought a lot were coming from Rushden, but Linnet said she had announced it, but had no response. We had a huge tea ready, provided by our own members, so we gave this away afterwards. October 20th Mrs Christine Carter was our speaker today & what a lovely lady she is. Such a cheerful and amusing person to listen to. Her talk was about Flowers & what part they have meant in her life. I announced that I had paid all the money in for out Turners Musical Merry-go-Round outing for 48 people on Dec 15th. Nov 17th It’s our Fund Raising event, a Bring & Buy Sale, we also have Hilda with Musical Clocks & Boxes to sell, Ruby with Slippers & Margaret O’Dell with Cosmetics & M Lines with Honey. They all will give us a donation. It is an open meeting. Dec 15th Instead of a Christmas meeting we had an outing to Turners Merry-Go-Round. It was a very happy outing. Everyone enjoyed themselves. I was presented with a tine of Biscuits from Turners for arranging the outing; you can imagine my delight. |
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