St. Marin's Church Wives 40th Anniversary
Well, it's all over bar the shouting - and there was plenty of that on the night, shouts of laughter mainly. What a fantastic evening we all had at the Old Shire Inn and many thanks to the staff who helped the event go so smoothly and also our own committee for setting the arrangements into motion back in the spring.
A combination of 39 members, past and present, met, ate, supped a little and talked a lot! It was lovely to see Jill Dyer join us as she was the founder member and chairperson of the St. Martin's Church Wives back in 1967. She and husband Tony came down from Cheddar for the occasion so hope you enjoyed it, Jill. Other past members included Margaret Stephens and Josie Macdonald, Fay from Taunton (ex Hughville Street), Maggie and Avril's daughters, Heidi and. Kay, the latter now busy looking after her 18 month old twin boys. You seemed to be missing something on the night, Kayl It was great to see Jean Symons and Phyllis Howell as we had a job to contact them. Lionel, Phyllis's husband, brought her down especially from St. Cleer that evening. The ex-member who gets the prize for travelling the furthest was Betty Prothero - from Alabama!! To be fair, I think she was visiting her mother in Wales anyway.
The celebration started with a welcoming drink, courtesy of our long standing chairperson (no pun intended), Val. Greetings were exchanged, meals ordered, then down to the serious business of 'catching up'. There were several photo albums circulating of past exploits concerts etc. involving the Church Wives. Some of us looked so young, we had to explain to newer members who we were! My white boots caused quite a stir - well, it was the 70's! A lovely surprise of the evening was when Gordon Mills arrived and presented Val with a beautiful bouquet, his personal gift to all the Church Wives. Of course, Val got the kiss but I suggested he stood by the door and puckered up as we all filed past. Never seen a man leave so quickly!! Another totally unexpected gesture was a wonderful cake baked by Maggie and contributed to by Avril - thank you so much, girls. Talking of girls, it was great to hear Edie and Heidi comparing notes on their respective daughters, Elinor and Minnie - future Church Wives, perhaps? Sorry, Kay, don't think the twins will qualify!
Not to be overlooked are our 31 current members, all of whom attended except Connie who was poorly. Sorry you missed out, Con. One of the highlights of the evening was an impromptu appearance of "Fringe and Tassel" - minus costumes and props! Jill had never heard Val and Celia as their alter egos so requested a short recital. Their rendition of "Tit Willow" was hilarious as was the expression on the faces of a couple standing out by the bar. I suppose they thought it was amazing what a few sweet sherries would do!
Dessert bowls emptied, coffees quaffed and phone numbers exchanged - a relaxing end to a feel-good evening, with the hope that we shall see local ex-members at future meetings. Here's to the next 40 years - Deo volente.
