Well, someone forgot to take the photos! (sorry)

Anyway, we had a lovely time at Alan & Di Longshaw’s home in Austenwood (Chalfont St Peter). They are wonderful hosts and have held our Christmas Drinks and the Summer Lunch at their home many times before. There is lots of room to circulate and try to get round to seeing everyone.

Kay Day had made the arrangements and asked Ann Tennant to do the catering. Ann worked on her own and was like a dervish – she was preparing the canapes and serving them and seemed to be everywhere at the same time offering a wide selection of different goodies, and even remembering people’s food requirements.

As Ann was working on her own, we were able to reduce the price of the event from £18 in 2021 to £14 this year.

Guests started arriving at around 12:30 and we had a very good turnout this year with 50 members in total, including many new faces, which is really nice, although illness prevented one or two from attending at the last moment.

Kay and Ann handed guests a drink as they arrived, but after that people served themselves from the well-stocked dining table.

The World Cup was a frequent topic of conversation, with most deciding that Wales had played bravely and that this was the best result for decades, but as they were no longer in the competition, then, under the circumstances, many felt that it was now permissible to support England.

Another topic was the sadness that a number of our most stalwart members had passed away this year. They will all be missed.

We had no piano or keyboard this year, but that did not deter us. Towards the end of the afternoon, Kay, Barrie Reece, Colin Thomas and Jean Owen formed the core of our cerddoriaeth and soon got everyone joining in in a succession of carol songs and Welsh favourites, culminating, of course, with the National Anthem.

Colin Picton thanked Alan and Di for their hospitality, and we all thought that Kay and Ann Tennant had done a splendid job in planning and delivering the food.

Our thanks go to all those who contributed to making this such a success.