Author Archives: David

AGM – Join the Committee!

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The next meeting of the Chiltern & District Welsh Society will be on Friday 17th May at 7:00 for 7:30pm at the Coleshill Village Hall.

This meeting will propose to update the Society’s Constitution (the first amendment in over 10 years) to reflect the way the the society is currently run.

The Agenda for the evening is:
1. Apologies for absence.
2. Approval of Minutes of AGM 2012.
3. Chairman’s Report.
4. Membership Secretary’s Report.
5. Treasurer’s Report.
6. Revised Constitution – proposal and adoption
7. Election of Officers and Committee.
8. Any other business.

Attachments:
AGM Details 2013
AGM Minutes 2012
CHILTERN DISTRICT WELSH SOCIETY CONSTITUTION proposed May 2013

After the formal meeting there will a Buffet Supper prepared by Ann Tennant and her team, followed by a interesting and amusing talk by Maldwyn Pugh on “Growing up in Soho”.

Please note – Bob Ford, Hugh Griffith, Eileen Mitchell and Maldwyn Pugh are standing down at the AGM after many years of valuable service to the Society. If any members would be interested in joining the committee please put yourselves forward or nominate a suitable willing volunteer, as fresh faces with new ideas are always welcome. Contact Gwyndaf John on telephone 01753 884490 or email gwyndafjohn@btconnect.com.

Next events:

Highgrove House 12th June
Ann Thomas has one or two tickets left for a visit to the Prince of Wales’ garden at Highgrove on Wednesday 12th June. Cost approximately £40

Summer Lunch, Sunday 14th July
12:30 until 4pm
Hosted by Diane & Colin Thomas, Windsor Road, Gerrards Cross

Trip to Cardiff 9th to 12th September
Organised by Jonathan Pegler
Among the attractions: Magnificent Caerphilly Castle, the Brecon Mountain Railway, and the National Trust’s Dyffyn House & Gardens visit to the Penderyn Distillery and a lunch at the Glyndwr Vineyard

The Society’s Annual Golf Day – Friday 30th August 2013
at Oaklands Park Golf Club
Four ball followed by lunch

St David’s Day Dinner

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About 55 members and their guests gathered at Gerrards Cross Golf Club on Friday 1st March to celebrate Saint David’s Day.

The evening started with the usual welcoming drink at 6:30. On taking our seats at the tables our Chairman Gwyndaf John greeted everyone and our Life President, Ann Evans, said grace. This was followed by the meal of prawns, lamb and bread and butter pudding, well prepared and efficiently served by the staff, during which conversations flowed freely.

The meal really was incidental; everyone awaited the entertainment, harpist Claire Jones.

A slip of a girl off stage away from her harp, turned into a colossus on stage with it.

Her programme included traditional Welsh tunes and modern compositions, each accompanied by comments on the piece, some historical, others personal, some of her experience as the official harpist to the Prince of Wales. She told us of her career, playing for the Prince, and, on one occasion, a private session for the Queen herself. She described her tours around the world, including the time when she played the Men of Harlech on the arrival of the Welsh Rugby team at one official function. She showed us many photographs to illustrate these occasions.

She played like an angel, the audience was enthralled. Unfortunately it had to end, but not before a question and answer session on the harp and its intricacies.
Claire Jones
Many of the audience were so impressed that they bought some of Claire’s CDs.

No Saint David’s Day evening is complete without the traditional singing around the piano, John Breese was in good form on the ivories, and helped bring a very memorable evening to a rousing end.
St Davids Delilah
An evening all those present will never forget.

You can find out more about Claire on her website

Future Events
Our next event will be the AGM at Coleshill village hall on Friday 17th May.

Ann Thomas is booking tickets for a visit to the Prince of Wales’ garden at Highgrove on Wednesday 12th June

Please let Gwyndaf know if you’d be interested in a trip to Cardiff, organised by Jonathan Pegler on September 9th to 12th
Highlights will be visits to Tintern, Caerphilly Castle, Brecon Moutain Railway, Duffryn House and Raglan Castle.

The Summer Lunch will be on Sunday 14th July

St David’s Day Dinner & the Quiz Night

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St David’s Day Dinner

Our St David’s Day Dinner this year will be held on Friday 1st March at Gerrards Cross Golf Club.

The entertainment this year will be provided by the renowned harpist Claire Jones.

A Welcome drink will be served from 18.30pm with Dinner from 19.15pm

Tickets are £40 per person.

Wine with the meal is not included in the ticket price but can be purchased on the night from an excellent selection available.

The three course meal will be served, with coffee & mints to finish. The menu will be:

 

Marinated Prawn Skewers (Lemon & herb) with mixed leaves

Alternative option: Leek & Potato Soup

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Roast Saddle of Lamb with Roasted Winter Vegetables, New Potatoes, Apricot Stuffing, Red Current Jus

Alternative Vegetarian option: Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable and Pesto Tagliatelle

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Bread & Butter Pudding & Custard

Alternative option: Fruit Salad (with cream)

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Tea/Coffee & Mints

Song-sheets will be ready for our usual rousing finale with John Breese at the piano, so all we need is for plenty of members and guests to turn up!

 

Please return the booking form, with your cheque(s) made payable to Chiltern District Welsh Society. So that we have an early indication of numbers please would you email Gwyndaf with numbers. If you wish to form a table with certain other members & guests let Maldwyn or Gwyn know.

 

Quiz Night Friday 25th January

Twenty four brave members of the Welsh Society braved the winter weather to venture to the Coleshill Village Hall on a dark night in January.

We arranged ourselves into 5 teams of between four and six people.

Mr Jonathan Pegler set the fiendish questions in 7 rounds with subjects such as General Knowledge, 2012, Quotations, Chilterns & London and a Welsh round.

Fish and chips arrived to great acclaim about 8:30pm and gave a brief break from the questions. Jonathan reassured us that the questions were really very easy, it was only finding the answers that was difficult!

Competition was fierce, with each team trying hard not to be last. After a challenge to the electronic scoring system and a re-count a team called ‘the Odd Group’ declared themselves the winners and rushed to claim the glory and prizes.

Quiz Winners - The Odd Group

Quiz Winners – The Odd Group

We finished about 10pm and it was amazing how quickly the hall was cleared of tables and chairs with so many volunteers.

Thanks to Jonathan for all your hard work in preparing and running the quiz.

 

January Update

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The first event in the Society’s 2013 Calendar will be the Quiz Evening with Fish & Chip Supper at Coleshill Village Hall on Friday the 25th January at 7 for 7.30pm.

Post Code: HP7 0LN
Map

The cost will be £12 each (including the Fish’n’Chips). Please bring your own drinks, glasses and cutlery.

The quiz on this occasion will be ‘home grown’ – I hope it won’t be not too difficult!

Please let Maldwyn know if you wish to attend (01494 763461).

We are finalising the rest of the 2013 programme and the programme cards will be distributed shortly, but the next event will be :

St David’s Day Dinner at Gerrards Cross Golf Club on 1st March 2013 with Harpist Claire Jones – 7 for 7:30pm.

 

 

Additionally:
The London Glamorgan Society are having an event on Tuesday 29th January.
Chris Bryant MP will be talking about his personal experiences surrounding the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The scandal led to the establishment of the Leveson Inquiry.
Venue- Medical Society of London, 11 Chandos Street, Cavendish Sq, W1G 9EB
Drinks and light refreshments at 6.30pm and the main event of the evening will commence at 7.15pm. The cost of the evening will be £27 (if you’d like to go email  Geoffwalters52@googlemail.com).

Chairman’s Report – Winter 2012

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The Annual Golf Day at Oakland Park at the end of August was held in glorious weather, despite it being one of the wettest years on record. It was decided by acclamation that we would seek to repeat the event at the same time and the same place next year.

For the two events in September, most members restricted themselves to just one choice so attendance was widely spread and both were much enjoyed. Thanks go to Anne Thomas for her inspiration and detailed planning of the Buckingham Palace trip. Hugh Griffith’s daughter studied at Jesus College and thanks to that connection he started organising the Oxford event. The attendees took lunch in the panelled dining hall at Jesus College and enjoyed the rare privilege of a tour of the Fellows’ Library. There we were allowed to read and touch some special books of great historical significance. These included a first edition of the Bible in Welsh dating from the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth. The two official guides who then took us around central Oxford added to the pleasure by their humour as well as their knowledge.

A coachload of members travelled in for the biennial London Welsh Festival of Male Voice Choirs at the Royal Albert Hall Concert. On this occasion we sat in the front rows of the balcony – an excellent position for the concert except for Kay Day’s guest who suffers from vertigo! We heard exceptional Brass Band music as well as the wonderful singing from the massed choirs. As usual several choirs had come up from Wales and also one from as far away as Glasgow.

Looking ahead, Christmas drinks will be held at the home of Jonathan & Jayne Pegler for the second year in succession. The catering will again be in the capable hands of Ann Tennant, this time with the assistance of a couple of young helpers to serve. The wine and canapés are provided free of charge but members are required to come prepared to join in some carol singing!

A highlight of our 2013 programme will be the presence of the renowned harpist Claire Jones at our St David’s Day Dinner. We have been fortunate that our President, Ann Evans, knows Claire personally. Until recently the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales, Claire performed for the newly married Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at their wedding reception in Buckingham Palace and she is now ready to perform for our Society. The Dinner will be on March 1st. Get ready to book your tickets soon.

A suitable venue is required for our Summer Lunch next June. Could you provide one?

And finally thanks to all who have chosen to pay their subs by Standing Order.

Gwyndaf John

September 2012 Update

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This is an update on the two events we’ve had so far in August and September.

On 20th September we will also have our Tour of Oxford with a Welsh theme, and I’ll add a report as it becomes available.

Maldwyn still has some tickets available for the Male Voice Choir Concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 13th October, so please contact him if you’d like to come along.

 

At the end of August we had the  very enjoyable Golf day at Oakland Park Golf Club.   A full description will follow, but I’ve added Maldwyn’s photographic record of the event below (bottom of the page).

Buckingham Palace

On 4th September,  Anne Thomas organised a trip to see the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace and a tour of the gardens.

Here is Jayne Pegler’s account of the day.

Tuesday 4th September was a glorious day. Some twenty five of us met at Buckingham Palace for our tour of the State Apartments.

Equipped with our earphones we were guided through the Throne Room, the Picture Gallery, the Dining Room, the Music Room,  the Ballroom, to name but a few; and instantly became absorbed into the lavish and historic world surrounding us. Elaborate cornices, lanterns and domes rose resplendent above us encrusted with symbolic motifs such as shamrock, rose and thistle (where was the daffodil or the leek?!) whilst regal red and gold engulfed us. The great masters from Titian to Van Dyke graced the walls and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s manuscript of the anthem he’d composed for the Diamond Jubilee was a centre-piece in a calm blue, lapis-lazuli pillared Music Room. The Ballroom, much loved by Queen Victoria, was home to eleven foot high and almost six foot wide English crystal chandeliers which apparently are lowered and sprayed with water before being hand dried with a soft cloth and raised into position. Did anyone recall that particular episode in “Only Fools and Horses?!”

Nash had a field-day when he transformed Bucks House into Buckingham Palace. No wonder he was relieved of his duties for exceeding the budget!

The dazzling diamond display of royal crowns, tiaras, necklaces, earrings and brooches was truly spectacular. When you read this, Jonathan, I particularly like the necklace …..

Our afternoon was spent in the gardens with Keith, our highly informative and entertaining guide.

We strolled along the Queen’s Walk admiring the champion trees, shrubs and the design of the borders. Apparently, only ten gardeners attend to the vast grounds! The roses were still in bloom and we viewed the particular rose bed the Prince of Wales had laid in memory of the Queen Mother. The tennis court on which Fred Perry played, and later McEnroe and Borg, gave rise to some interesting tales and all too soon we finished our delightful visit on a peaceful note beside the lake.

Many  thanks to Anne Thomas for organising such a wonderful outing for us. How ever did she even manage to get the weather right?!

 

Golf day at Oakland Park Golf Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman’s Report – July 2012

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Chairman’s Report
Once again it is my great pleasure to report that the Society has had an enjoyable period of very well attended events. And of course the sun shone – even on our Summer Lunch in the midst of the wettest summer on record.

At the AGM the entire committee was happy to stay in office – which goes to show that it is a pleasure rather than a chore! We were joined by Jonathan Pegler as our new Vice
Chairman. He will take the chair in May 2013.

A highlight of our programme was the presence of Roy Noble as our guest speaker
at the St David’s Day dinner. An exceptional entertainer and a lovely man too. Not only did he entertain us so well that evening after driving all the way up from the BBC studios in Cardiff, he even wrote and thanked us afterwards. Special thanks go to Hugh
Griffith for his dogged determination to get us such a special guest speaker.

The cold wet weather stopped for just a few days while a party of 23 members went to
Snowdonia in May. The glorious scenery was seen at its best in lovely sunshine and the
train journeys were a highlight. The group descending Snowdon’s PYG track managed
to keep up with Mike Stythe without mishap, whilst Margaret Broomby and Chris Thomas in the group descending the supposedly easier Llanberis trail managed to get in some acrobatics practice en-route (but survived to tell the tale). Many thanks go to Mike for the idea of the trip and for his experienced advice, and excellent choice of hotel.

In June Bob Ford organised a superb trip to the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen (see below).
Looking forward the 2012 schedule includes the Golf Day – in glorious weather again?
There are two exceptional trips in September to Buckingham Palace and to Oxford,
followed in October by the biennial Festival of Male Voice choirs at the Royal Albert Hall.
Finally, Ann Tennant has been our regular caterer at events and her meals and service
much appreciated. I am pleased to report that she received an MBE in the recent honours
list. Our congratulations go to Ann.
Gwyndaf John

Visit to Snowdonia 20th-23rd April.
“The day we went up Snowdon & returned by the Llanberis path”
Another sunny & hot morning in north Wales, & the intrepid walkers all wait in anticipation at Llanberis Station. None of the glitz of St. Pancreas or Waterloo, but quaintness personified. With justifiable Welsh pride we all await the pre-journey video – “good to get out of the sun”! What an engineering feat to think that all of this was put in place over 100 years ago – 1896 to be exact – the grand opening.

With all tickets duly dispensed we are allowed onto the platform – where a small engine & carriage glides slowly backwards to squeeze us in. The weather just perfect – we could see for ever! The engine climbed the 3,650 feet to the summit whilst we were entertained by brilliant commentary from the driver. A journey to be long remembered. A photo opportunity around every bend.

Fifty minutes & we are at the summit.

Here the party divided into 3 groups; some waited for the return trip by train; another party prepared for the Pen Y Gwryd (PYG) track – 11 kilometres with descent of 2,370
feet; whilst a 3rd group departed on the Llanberis path – 14.5 kilometres with descent
of 3,200 feet.
Despite a few mishaps (3), the Llanberis path/walk was brilliant. The silence
in the mountains “had to be heard to be believed”!!- all this, occasionally interrupted
by the screams from a fallen climber or walker. Everyone arrived back with a real
sense of pride & achievement. Even for the seasoned walkers – the Llanberis path was
’tough’ but rewarding, especially as we had views of the trains creeping cunningly along
carefully & classhcally constructed cog cortege – ah!, the alliteration – one gets
carried away !

A day to catalogue. Well done to our organisers.
Gwyn Owen

Summer Lunch 10th June
About 50 of us were exceptionally lucky with the weather. It had been raining all week, but
the rain held off for our annual garden party, held this year courtesy of Tony & Irene Glyn-Jones in their beautiful garden.

While we were tucking in to a delicious meal prepared and served by Ann Tennant, Mr
Jonathan Pegler had devised a teasingly difficult cryptic quiz – Gwyndaf’s team won (again).
John and Thelma Lusher organised an enjoyable ‘heads or tails’ auction for a bottle
of Penderyn Welsh whisky, raising £100 for the Tenovus Cancer charity.

The fine weather lasted until about 4 o’clock, by which time a fine team of volunteers had
packed everything away before the rain started.

Llangollen International Eisteddfod
We arrived in good time at the Bryn Howel hotel with luggage and much needed macs, umbrellas hats etc.

Later, on site and after seeing usual numerous stalls and stages, we took our seats for the evening performance of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert. Top artists: Alison Balsom (solo trumpeter) was fantastic, Nicola Benedetti (violinist) magnificent and Lesley Garrett excellent with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, all first class. About 9.30pm the heavens opened, heavy storms in competition with the music!
Flood and mud were everywhere, but thankfully we returned to the hotel safely.

On Thursday 5th July we toured the shops, then back on site in the Royal Pavilion we
saw fantastic dancers in beautiful costumes from different countries. At one o’clock
everyone held hands for a minute’s silence, the Llangollen message of peace, a new idea
and most moving. Solo artists and choirs followed, two outstanding ones were from
Singapore and South Africa. Weatherwise the sun shone, and it was too hot to sit in! That
evening seventeen members from the Chiltern Welsh Society assembled in the
marquee for Alfie Boe to a packed, enthusiastic audience house.

On Friday, some of us visited Plas Newydd House. It rained again but it was a delight to
see the home of the Ladies of Llangollen. All the rooms were beautifully oak panelled and it
had wonderful, manicured gardens.
That evening, we all met up in the hotel for a truly, lovely meal, good in both quality and
quantity. Thank you, Bob, for a good choice of hotel.

With purchases of a 2013 Snowdonia National Park calendar, Welsh honey and
Penderyn whisky we set off for home with lots of memories. I’m looking forward to the next
time.
Eilwen Turner.

 

Forthcoming events
Golf day at Oakland Park Golf Club, Three Households, Chalfont St.
Giles – 31st August
The annual follow up to the Open! Nonplayers are welcome at the after-golf lunch.

 

Visit to the State rooms and Gardens at Buckingham Palace on the 4th September.
A tour of the State Rooms will start at 12.45pm, last approximately two and a half hours. The Garden Tour will follow at 3.15pm and the visit should finish at 4pm.

March Update

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St. David’s Day Annual Dinner 2012
Our annual dinner was held on March 2 at Harewood Downs Golf Club. As always the evening began with a ‘Welcome‘ drink and time to chat and meet new members. Our chairman Gwyndaf John then led us into the dining room which had been beautifully and appropriately decorated with daffodils. After taking our seats the majority of us commiserated with unfortunate minority who had been supporting England on the previous Saturday. Then Ann Evans our President led us in the Grace before we all settled down to enjoy a delicious dinner. There was a happy buzz in the room as everyone was having a good time.

Coffee was served and then Gwyndaf introduced our guest speaker—Mr. Roy Noble. Roy is a well known personality being a very popular and award winning Radio and Television presenter for BBC Wales. The reason for his popularity soon became obvious. The humour poured seamlessly from a most relaxed and charismatic story teller. We were challenged to consider who we are. Do we have a direct lineage to the Mabinogion of old or are we a patchwork quilt from chance encounters? I must admit that I’ve always believed mine to be pure North Pembrokeshire Welsh – but who knows? Roy opened up all sorts of possibilities! His colourful journey through life encompassing so many experiences and told in such an easy humorous style made for a fantastic and long to be remembered after-dinner speech. Laughter rang around the room and will keep us laughing for quite a while I suspect.
The evening ended with our beloved National Anthem and our equally beloved informal sing song thanks to Jonathan Pegler at the keyboard.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our wonderful committee (or sub-committee!) for making such an evening possible and thereby ensuring that we celebrate our Patron Saint in style. Diolch yn fawr i bob un ohonoch.

Heulwen Longhurst.

 

London Glamorgan Society

Anwen Rees has extended an invitation to all members of the Chiltern District Welsh Society to the next meeting of the London Glamorgan Society on Wednesday April 25 at the Medical Society of London, 11 Chandos Street, London.
William Roddick CB QC will address the Society on “Reshaping Britain”. He was the first Counsel General to the National Assembly of Wales and was awarded The Order of the Bath in recognition of ‘conspicuous services to the Crown’.
(6:30 for 7:15, cost £27 per person, contact Anwen on anwenrees@gmail.com).