Sunday 8th December saw us gather at Colin and Diane Thomasâs house in Gerrards Cross for our annual Christmas get together.
We had been worried that Storm Darragh might ruin our plans, bring down trees and close some of the roads (remembering when the Thomasâs hosted the event in 2017 and roads were closed by the snow). However, we were lucky and the weather didnât stop anyone attending.
Colin and Dianeâs house was all ready for Christmas, with festive decorations in every direction and a large Welsh flag in the front window.
Diane and Colin greeted everyone as they started arriving from about 12:30 onwards, and people migrated first to the kitchen, where drinks were being served.
To our left, Ann Tenant was already there, preparing all the different canapes.
Kay Day and Ann Evans arrived a little late and flustered. They had intended sharing a taxi with Ernest Morris, but Ernest had tripped on the way to Kayâs house, banged his head and was taken off in an ambulance.
We have since heard that Ernest has now left hospital. We all wish him a speedy recovery.
In all, there were about 30 of us there, a little bit down on most years, but it gave us all a good chance to chat to everyone and catch up on the news.
People drifted between the living room, where the canapes were served and the kitchen, where the drinks were laid out on the table. This year there was a good supply of Prosecco, as there had been comments that this was overlooked last year.
Towards four oâ clock, John Breese started playing a selection of Christmas carols, with everyone joining in.
We finished with the National Anthem, and everyone left by about 4:30.
Thanks once again to Colin and Diane for being such generous hosts.
Each team included a member of Oakland Golf Club, who would be familiar with the course. Rob Britton led the first team to tee off, accompanied by Rob Brett and Ray Brown. The latter was a last minute replacement for the injured Brian Evans, but was an eminently well-qualified substitute as his wife is Welsh. Â Despite sharing the same initials this team did not always share the same opinion when trying to choose their âbestâ shot. Perhaps a consequence of putting two retired legal eagles in the same team.
Whitworth, and the third saw Colin Thomas partnered by Pat Whitworth and Alun McCarthy.
The end result was very close indeed. Though there were no birdies recorded, there were plenty of pars recorded on all the scorecards. In the end Pam, John and Gwyndaf scraped home as the winners. They took 81 strokes, just one stroke less than the two Robsâ and Ray. Another three behind were Colin, Pat and Alun.
After the golf the players were joined by other members of the Society for a splendid two course lunch. Among those attending were Elan and Robin Preston-Whyte who had travelled over from Egham. A later than usual start to the golf meant a late sitting for the meal, so thanks are due to all the non-playing guests for their patience.
Prizes were awarded to the winning team, and Gwyndaf and Rob were thanked for arranging the event.
On Thursday 19th September, a group of 15 members met at10:00am on Windsor Bridge for a walk around Windsor and Eton.
David & Gwyndaf had done their homework and planned a walk that was to take in sights of Windsor that many of us had not seen before. The walk was loosely based on The Queenâs Walkway and a series of 63 of the townâs attractions, but we were to cover only the sights in the centre of the town.
There were many unusual attractions:  the death warrant for Charles I, a game of hopscotch based on monarchs connected with Windsor and the parish church of St John the Baptist which held an 18th century picture of the last supper, a wonderful carved altar rail by Grinling Gibbons and the royal pew with two grand wooden  thrones.
And so to the Sunday of the Lunch. At noon the elements decided to make their contribution â another downpour. Come one o’clock some 40 determined guests had arrived â looking dressed for a January walk in the Chilterns â vests included â so I was told by many of the ladies . However, then â the sun decided to shine on proceedings.
UK staff used to use Walther PPK pistols, but changed to bulkier Smith & Wesson revolvers after an incident when the automatic pistol jammed. Lloyd described the care and maintenance of the weapons and the firing practise that they undertook.
First we visited the new church which was built in Victorian times (1867), to house the growing population of the village. Unusually for a Victorian church, it was built in the âArts and Craftsâ style rather than gothic. The church bell was taken from the old church and is said to date from about 1290.
Trish then took us on a path leading behind the new church to a much smaller building. This dated back to about 1220, built by the Cistercian  monks at Missenden Abbey  on a site of an older wooden church. One of the first things that we noticed were the old sun dials on the exterior wall. These were Mass Clocks, for telling the time for mass.
Inside there were traces of the medieval wall Doom painting showing the weighing of souls and another depicting St
Christopher.
figures of St Mary and St John. Below that, the main window depicts three puritans including John Hampden in the centre and Oliver Cromwell to his left. This window was originally meant to be for the church in Little Hampden, Â but was rejected as it contained the figure of Cromwell.
We then walked through the woods, which were carpeted with wild garlic and their aroma filled the air. Some of our walkers took the opportunity to gather leaves as they can make a very good pesto. Luckily, it had not been raining recently so the path was not very muddy.
As The Lee is quite high up, there are no streams and the village used to rely on a pond for its water. In 1897, in the year of Victoriaâs Diamond Jubilee, a well was dug to provide clean water. This was quite a task, as the well is 365 feet deep, 4 foot six inches wide, and the workers had to rely on candles for their light and a blacksmithâs bellows to provide ventilation. It was commissioned by Sir Arthur Liberty and built by Libertyâs craftsmen.
Martin Sheen was wonderful as Nye, appearing in all the scenes dressed in his hospital pyjamas and seemingly bewildered as each scene unfolded before him in random order, as a schoolboy with a stutter, then his fights with Winston Churchill, his open marriage relationship with Jennie Lee and the death of his father (a Welsh miner). Finally he remembers his creation of the National Health Service against very high odds, only winning against the doctorâs opposition by promising them to make them the highest paid professionals in the country (âFilling their mouths with goldâ).
The staging was quite clever, the green curtains reminding one of those in a hospital and also acting as the green seats of the House of Commons, whilst hospital beds were transformed into lobby entrances during the parliamentary scenes.
We found our coach at 5:15 and our driver fought his way through the rush hour traffic to get us back to Gerrards Cross by about 6:30 â well behind those who had travelled by train!
All 50 guests were greeted with a glass of bubbly or soft drink â as appropriate. The lounge provided an excellent space to catch up with old friends and indeed some guests from the principality â Whitland to be precise. I was delighted to meet with the brother of one of my classmates at Narberth Grammar School. Our mutual aquaintances were numerous; a joyful start to the evening.
As usual Gerrards Cross Club did us proud with a very good 3 course meal; the leek and potato soup was so good I thought my mum must have had a hand in it. There were also many compliments directed at the sewin ( sea trout) – main course as well as the suitable lamb dish. The staff looked after us well and added to the friendly ambience of the evening.
