Tag Archives: Chiltern

Cliveden Walk – 19th May 2016

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Cliveden 1Cliveden is conveniently local and was an excellent choice for a Society excursion on May 19th.


Cliveden 3The grand house, standing high over the Thames, is surrounded by gardens and extensive woodland. It is owned by the National Trust with the main part of the house leased to a luxury hotel group. An ideal place for our members to meet up and enjoy a convivial lunch, then take  walks in the fresh air before returning for afternoon tea and a tour of the house.

Many members will have visited Cliveden before, but not so many will have enjoyed a guided tour of the house, led by a knowledgeable National Trust volunteer. Our party of twenty members discovered that there seemed to be two ways to become owners of such a magnificent residence. One was by family members consorting extremely closely with their King, whose favour resulted in titles and wealth. The other was for your family to develop housing in Manhattan and eventually become fabulously wealthy slum landlords.  Even after the property passed to the National Trust its association with scandal continued as it featured in the “Profumo Affair” in the early Sixties.

interiorWe were impressed by the opulent interior of the property. The extremely ornate “French Dining Room” had been re-assembled after being transported from a French hunting lodge, and no expense had been spared on wood panelling, ceilings and pictures.  As we wandered through the hotel and stood in the Great Hall we got a  hint of the what it must be like to stay at this luxury hotel as a steady stream of staff passed by us on their service errands. On the banks of the river we saw their beautiful boats of wood and gleaming

Suzy_Ann_Clivedenbrass, ready to be hired for trips along the Thames.

For those who were members of the National Trust, all but three of our group, the event was completely free. Though the Trust café did very well out of us during the course of the day!

 

Gwyndaf John

2016 AGM

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So the AGM took 20 minutes, but it also took the whole evening.

People started gathering from about 6:30, allowing everyone to meet and catch up before the start of the meeting at 7:30.

Kay Day welcomed 67 members of the Chiltern District Welsh Society, including 2 new members and reported 22 apologies for absence. That took 20 minutes.P1060375

Kay described our activities over the last year, the Summer Lunch, Golf day, Tring walk, Christmas drinks, the days in the Brecons, the trip to the BBC studios and Fullers brewery, Quiz evening, St David’s Day dinner with soprano Alys Roberts.P1060377

Kay thanked all our organisers and kind hosts.

This year we are looking forward to the spring walk at Cliveden, going to Ralf & Margaret Broomby’s for the summer lunch, a trip to two Cambridge colleges in September, bird watching at the London Wetlands in October, and Christmas drinks at Colin & Di Thomas’s.

Treasurer, Graham Beavan, reported on our healthy finances, he is managing to subsidise many of our events in order to reduce our bank balance.

Membership is expected to be about 130 this year – we continue to grow in numbers.

The committee all agreed to stand again and were all re-elected. Kay thanked all the committee members for their hard work over the year.

So that took 20 minutes – what took the rest of the time?

P1060381 Well, Anne Tennant’s wonderful team fed us with salmon, chicken or beef, plus a variety of desserts.

That was followed by coffee and a lot of nattering.

 

 

 

P1060384Then Mary Medlicott entertained us with stories from Wales.

Mary last visited us in 2003, and we were very pleased that she could return with more stories including one about ‘2 dreadful women’ and the burial of a dead cat, followed by a series of tall tales about Shemi Wad (James Wade) from Fishguard.

We concluded well after 10pm and made our way home celebrating another successful year.

 

St David’s Day Dinner 2016

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Saint David’s Day Dinner
On 1st March we held our annual St David’s Day dinner at the Gerrards Cross Golf Club.
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We met at 6:30 to give us a chance for members to catch up with friends both old and new and chat over a glass of bubbly or orange juice.

 

 

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At about 7:15 we went into the dining room and Chairman Kay Day greeted a record turnout of 84 people and welcomed 5 new members.

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P1060058There was then a chance to chat to our neighbours at the table. At our table we wished Eilwen Turner a happy birthday as she was born on St David’s Day.
The food was excellent featuring Welsh Lamb Rump (of course) or Haddock as an alternative.
Liz Seely, who was sitting next to me, said that her food was the best she’d ever had in any golf club – up to gourmet standards!

 

I went round and took some pictures of people sitting at their tables.P1060060

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There are more pictures on the ‘gallery’ page of the web site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kay then introduced our soprano, Alys Roberts, accompanied by Iain Ledingham at the piano.P1060071

 

Iain, who lives locally, is a professor in the piano, vocal and opera faculties at the Royal Academy of Music. He coaches many young Academy singers and pianists in preparation for operatic and concert work, and also trains and conducts choirs. Alys is one of his most promising young students.

 

 

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Alys studied music at Durham University and is now at the Royal Academy. She has been a solo soprano at Durham Cathedral and has sung at many other locations.

 

Alys entertained us, starting with some Welsh folk songs, and then moving on to a selection of operatic arias including pieces from La Boheme, Romeo and Juliette.

I particularly liked her version of Summertime in Welsh. Alys finished with some more Welsh folk songs, this time as arranged by Benjamin Britten.

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Kay then thanked our musicians and presented them with small tokens of our appreciation.

Alys and Iain stayed on for a while to chat to people before they left.

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Meanwhile, our stalwart singers prepared themselves.P1060085

I’m afraid that my party were feeling a little tired, and needed to leave at this point, so I am unable to report back on the quality or quantity of the singing, but based on previous years, I’m sure that a great time was had by one and all.

2016 Quiz Night

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Friday 22nd January, 7pm, Coleshill Village Hall saw the 2016 Chiltern District Welsh Society annual quiz evening.

Chairman, Kay Day, welcomed everyone and asked us to arrange ourselves into tab
les of 6 or 7.
I looked around for the table with the best looking array of drinks and nibbles. Then quizmaster, Jonathan Pegler introduced our first task – to think of a name for our 6 newly formed teams.
The names selected were the Travellers, Ospreys, Double Crossers, Newbies, Exiles and Dwygyfylchi (it’s a village near Conwy – I looked it up).
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IMG_0381aJonathan explained that would be 5 rounds of questions plus 2 table rounds. These were sheets of 20 questions placed on each table, to be answered over the course of the evening. The first was a series of 20 photographs of people with a Welsh connection, and the second set of questions involved guessing the language used for 20 different phrases each saying “I’m sorry I don’t speak Welsh” in a different European tongue (including Latvian, Azerbaijani and Bulgarian).
Jonathan, aided by his lovely assistant and score keeper, Gwyndaf John, then started the quiz proper, with 2 rounds of 10 questions, the first on general knowledge and then a second round on the subject of Chad or Chard.
Whilst the scores from these first rounds were being collected, an evening supper was
provided –either chili con carne or fish pie, followed by a wide choice of puddings and tea or coffee.
After supper we had a little time to continue with identifying the people in the photographs, and wildly guessing some of the languages (was that Spanish or Esperanto, Russian or
Bulgarian?) Gwyndaf revealed the half-time scores, and it was really quite close, with all teams still in the running – i.e. we were all failing quite badly in answering Jonathan’s
cryptic questions.
Three more rounds followed, with subjects including events that occurred on 22nd
January in recent or distant history, a tricky round involving estimating distances (in
Wales, around the earth, and a mathematical puzzle based on Jonathan’s swimming regime), and lastly another general knowledge round, with more than a few questions based on the society’s trips to Wales.
By this time my brain was hurting, as Gwyndaf revealed one of the closest sco
res yet, with only 4 points separating the top 5 teams, but Dwygfylchi emerged as clear winners of the 2016 Quiz.
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Congratulations to the team, and many thanks to Jonathan (and Gwyndaf) for the quiz.

Christmas Drinks 2015

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This year Bill & Dilys Dover kindly allowed their lovely house in Gerrards Cross, to be taken over for our Christmas do.

The Committee had been worried – would enough people turn up? The committee were worried – there were too many people accepting invitations, how could they explain the mass invasion to the Dovers?

In the end it worked out fine about 60 arrived – not too many, not too few.

The caterers, ‘To Dine For’ turned up promptly and took over the kitchen, working expertly to create a variety of canapés.

Guests starting arriving at 12:30, several waiting in their cars until the due time, as they had arrived too early.

Bill & Ann

Bill & Ann

The Dover’s house is ideal for such a congregation, and most people descended on their large conservatory with the lovely views of the garden, to catch up and discuss important society gossip matters.

Pam Britton asks treasurer Graham about annual fees

Pam Britton asks treasurer Graham about annual fees

 

 

 

 

Our Treasurer, Graham Beavan, descended gleefully on newcomers to welcome them and demand a token fee for the proceedings.

 

 

 

 

The ladies looked stunning, and many a comment was made about Jayne Pegler’s lovely blouse.

Dinner is served

Dinner is served

The canapés came round and were appreciated by all. Just when you thought you were quite full, another really interesting plate came around, which would be a shame to miss.

 

 

 

Kay looks for the hosts

Kay looks for the hosts

Our Chairman, Kay Day, rounded up our hosts to thank them for their generous hospitality and present them with a token our appreciation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman Kay thanks hosts Bill & Dilys

Chairman Kay thanks hosts Bill & Dilys

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan prepares for the carols

Jonathan prepares for the carols

 

Around 4pm as the light began to fade, and people drifted towards the living room where Jonathan Pegler was ready at the keyboard to orchestrate the carols and singing of Welsh favourites.

Hugh singing quietly

Hugh singing quietly

BBC & Fullers Brewery plus Brecons tour

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Early morning, 16 October 2015: a party from the Society set out for London to visit both the BBC and the Fullers Brewery.  The coach dropped us in Portland Place, outside the BBC, in good time for security checks and a coffee; and in New Broadcasting House we formed two groups to start our tour.

The first stop was above the news floor, a familiar view for TV watchers.  Having seen how UK and World news services are produced, we moved to the One Show studio, which was much smaller than it appears when the TV show is transmitted.  It’s quite amazing how they get so much done in this limited space.

CDWS at the BBC

CDWS at The One Show Studio

 

In contrast to the TV facilities we visited the beautiful Art Deco Radio Theatre, which not only is the venue for many music concerts but also has been the home for famous comedy programmes ranging from The Goon Show to the News Quiz.

In order to encourage us to participate in “live TV” our guides allowed volunteers to present news reports and weather forecasts.  And then, to ring the changes, we saw some items of historical and artistic interest; and were reminded of some past events which highlighted the BBC’s important place in UK history.  By this time we had been outside in the impressive courtyard and had now reached the creatively named “Old Broadcasting House”!

Back to participation, we took roles in a scary radio play, with sound effects and a gruesome climax.  It gave the volunteers a chance to experience microphone technique and instant acting.

Overall the time seemed to go quickly although our guides always seemed to have time to answer our questions and give us context.  At lunch afterwards there was general acclaim for the enjoyable tour.

We left Central London for Chiswick in order to do our tour of the Brewery.  Again, in two parties, we saw how water, barley, hops and yeast are skilfully combined to produce London Pride and a range of other beers, exported now to over 60 countries.  Fuller Smith and Turner, the full name of the company, is still a family run business which recently acquired Gales Brewery in Sussex.

Inevitably the tour ended in the bar for a trial of the products – what a hardship!  It was then left to Derek our coach driver to cope with the Friday evening rush hour traffic and get us safely back to the Gerrards Cross and Amersham drop-off points.  Well driven; and the tour was very well organised and led by Graham Beavan, who certainly deserved all our thanks.

David Bevan

 

Trip to the Brecons

Colin, our coach driver, picked each group up at the allotted time and we set off for our five day trip to Brecon. We made good time and were able to stop in Burford for a quick look around and a coffee. Then on to Monmouth, which proved to be very rain swept, for a longer lunch stop. The local conveniences proved to be an excellent place for us to shelter, while waiting for the coach to return to take us to Tretower  Court and Castle. This was a beautiful medieval building, all the more atmospheric in the swirling mists. We were given a lively talk and then allowed to stroll around for a while before heading off to the Castle Hotel, Brecon, where we were booked to stay.P1040691 (2)

During the coach journey, Jonathan began to enlighten us with the varied stories of some of the historic families we would be following during our tour, in particular, Sir David Gam and his lovely daughter Gwladys.

Not everyone knew of The Castle Hotel’s illustrious past, having been chosen by Alex Polizzi  of Hotel Inspector fame to turn it around! The most infamous room was Number 18 and by coincidence, Colin and I were the lucky guests to be allocated this room! All however, was well!

The following morning, after an ample breakfast, we set off for Hereford Cathedral, where we had the opportunity to see the famous Mappa Mundi, the Chained Library and a copy of the Magna Carta. We had also all been given the chance to choose either the tower tour or the garden tour, both of which were wonderful. Whilst here, we had the opportunity to listen to an organ recital or to continue looking around the cathedral.

From there we travelled to Talgarth Mill for a tour of the working flour mill and an opportunity to have afternoon tea. Here the guides were both very enthusiastic and knowledgeable but at times had to admit defeat due to the ‘Barry effect’, when one of our group, who was just so curious to know all about the mechanical workings, plus accurate measurements, made them struggle for  answers!!

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Jean Owen on duty

The following morning we departed for Hay on Wye where we had ample time to explore the town with all it’s many retail opportunities. From there we travelled back to the Regimental Museum of the Royal Welsh in Brecon and we had a lengthy talk by one of the resident regimental historians.

 

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Most of the group then walked down to the Monmouth and P1040652 (2)Brecon canal to the narrow boats where we cruised part of the way along the canal, through peaceful countryside at a very gentle speed! For the return journey several of the group decided to walk swiftly back, to work up an appetite for dinner!!

 

On Thursday morning we set off for Aberglasney Gardens, via Llandeilo, which happened to be the birth place of one of our party, strangely we couldn’t find the blue plaque! Aberglasney Gardens were beautiful in their early autumn splendour. To begin with, we had an enlightening talk from one of the guides, then were able to explore at our leisure before continuing to Newton House and Dinefwr Castle.

Here we had two enthusiastic young guides who, with their lively repartee, informed us of the history of the house, the castle and grounds.  The brave, or foolish, were allowed to climb up onto the roof of the house to get a wonderful view of the estate, including the famous white cattle and the deer. Some even managed the climb to the top of Dinefwr Castle, which was close by, for more wonderful views.

Our final day took us to Abergavenny, where we visited St. Mary’s Priory and saw the remarkable carved Jesse Tree and the Millenium Tapestry and finally put a face to the name of Gwladys, as she lay serenely carved in marble, in the chapel.

P1040719 (2)The next stop was Raglan Castle, where we were able to climb towers, explore dungeons and enjoy the wild, windswept scenery and take many photos.

 

 

 

The final visit which Jonathan had organised was to a wonderful vineyard, Ancre Hill. Here the owners gave interesting talks about growing grapes, wine tasting and their vision, which has allowed it all to happen. Extremely interesting plus the wines and cheeses were quite delicious.

So back on the long road home which became even longer due to local accidents and excessive Friday traffic. However everyone was agreed that we had enjoyed our Brecon trip due to excellent planning by Jonathan and the friendly company of the Chiltern Welsh members who attended.

 

Di Thomas

2015 Summer Lunch

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Chiltern District Welsh Society 2015 Summer Lunch at our chairman’s home in Chesham Bois.

The beginning and end of the day looked like this respectively:
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And in between it was transformed for the Cymru ar Wasgar yn y Chilterns.

And the sun shone on Kay and Peter’s lovely home and garden in Chesham Bois which is where we were this year. Of the 47 people who turned up, approximately 20 had been involved in preparing for it in one form or another: from the erection team who magicked

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the gazebos, table and chairs, to the ladies led by our President Ann Evans who prepared the lovely table decorations, the committee who scheduled the event, printed notices and published it on the web site, and Maldwyn and Gwyndaf who collected and delivered the equipment a couple of days before, and returned it a couple of days afterwards. Thank you all.

We were at Kay and Peter Day’s home in Chesham Bois. Some of us felt at home because we thought the “boys” from the valleys had already been here, whereas in reality the Bois comes from the de Bosco family (the French version of which was ‘de Bois’) as far back as 1213 when a William du Bois was holding the local manor.

We arrived at 9:30 to put up the equipment. There has to be something in management training about 5 leaders telling 3 subordinates what to do. This saw us getting everything installed in record time. WelshSummerLunch2015 014a

This allowed everyone to return home, dress up and appear as guests! And fine we all looked too.

 

 

WelshSummerLunch2015 019aSomeone wanted to know where to put up the Welsh bunting, whereas of course bunting was an English Royal Naval term and therefore an antithesis when used with Welsh.

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Our Chairman Kay Day welcomed everyone in Welsh and English and, ably accompanied by chorister Jonathan, led us in our national anthem. Gwyn Owen, Colin Thomas, Jean Owen, Ann Thomas, Ann Evans and John Breese’s voices were prominent, so much so that they acted like a homing beacon for Ann and Barrie Reece who were still lost on Clifton Road!!

The garden looked lovely – Colin Thomas said you wouldn’t get a garden like that in Gerrards Cross because they would have sold half of it for development.

Two eminent members of the society took opposite views as to who should take credit for the garden – one said it was due to Kay’s hard work, whilst the other said it was Peter’s. I think it was a joint effort. This year’s 30 question quiz was to find, from 30 places in the garden, where the fishpond had been – and that’s how the Welsh became good at the loose maul!

WelshSummerLunch2015 026Conversation flowed as we caught up with hwn ar llall. Each table developed its own personality: Margaret and John Edwards’ table was consumed in lively, humorous and energetic conversation with science and technology as a probable theme. Our table talked holidays, golf, theatre and opera and, the upcoming Brecon trip in September.

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I heard conversations about food and restaurants from another table. And laughter came from all tables.

Eager to catch up with others, we meandered at leisure amongst the other tables.

 

 

Our caterers this year were To Dine for Catering. They provided us with Salmon en croute, Chicken breast wrapped in Parma ham, new potatoes, roasted Mediterranean vegetables, asparagus/mixed leaf salad,   Lemon Tart, fresh fruit salad, cream,  Tea/coffee mints. Pryd perffaith!

And the sun shone all day.

But a gust of wind saw me frighteningly and single handedly, for a few brief fleeting seconds when everything seemed to go into slow motion and appear longer as they do in accidents alone, on the wrong side of the gazebo trying to keep it from flying off!

That was until others leapt at the trailing legs. Had we not had such brawn as Gwyn Owen, Ralph Broomby, Jonathan Pegler and Peter Day leap into action, we could have seen the gazebo carving a path across tables and garden, and then taking off with me still hanging on to a leg as if in a take for Mary Poppins. In the event we had 6 men offering various pieces of advice on how to get one of the struts back into place.

Di Thomas was serenaded to a happy birthday by the mixed voice choir of the Chiltern District Welsh Society. Barrie Reece demonstrated how to sing the “soh lah te doh” to a climax on the final line of the verse!

And whilst Gwyndaf John had come to help us in the morning, he and Janet couldn’t be with us. They’d just become grandparents the Thursday before, and hadn’t yet seen their grandson because they’d been on holiday in Ireland until the Saturday evening. Likewise David and Irene Powell couldn’t be with us because their parents were unwell and they also had a granddaughter on Thursday. We missed them all. Congratulations to both families on their new arrivals!

Later in the afternoon Jonathan and Kay distributed the 2015 Summer Newsletter which had been prepared by David Powell. What a fine job David does of it, including the stapling, layout and design. Thank you David – your fine work on the website, photos, write ups and news letters are really appreciated by the society. It reminds us that we’ve been going for 15 years, and at nearly 130 members makes us one of the largest Welsh Societies in Britain – could be even 2nd according to one scholarly research.

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And then Jonathan, saving our chairman’s embarrassment of giving the host (herself) a thank you gift! presented Kay and Peter with flowers and a bottle of wine respectively to thank them for opening up their lovely home and garden to us.

What I learnt was how many of us spoke Welsh, and yet we don’t so much at our society’s events. For example, I didn’t know that Maldwyn spoke such excellent Welsh. Kay, who comes from DwyGyfylchi near Penmaenmawr, and I spoke Welsh for the first time together. Cadwch yr iaith yn fyw!

Ceiriog – one of Wales’s greatest poets in the mid 19th century – wrote of the Welsh’s shyness when living in (Manchester) the land of the English (or saeson from the word Saxon). Our summer lunch showed another side, a thriving confident true community and society, working together and enjoying each other’s company – what a difference from the “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt” world of today.

And with a 1,2,3, down the gazebos came, and everything was packed for next year.

What a heart-warming, thoroughly enjoyable day! Courtesy of our hosts and volunteers.

Ac ymlaen!

 

Bill Jones.

 

 

AGM Friday 8th May 2015

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Chairman’s report.

P1050746aJonathan Pegler welcomed everyone to the meeting, including 10 new members. The Press coverage has been excellent this year, and the society is thriving with healthy finances. Jonathan continued and reviewed the various events throughout the year.

The 2015/16 year will include the following :-

  • local walk on the 18th June – Marsworth in Herts along the Grand Union Canal.
  • Summer lunch – 10th July at Kay & Peter Day, Chesham Bois
  • Golf Day 28th August at Oakland Park Golf Club, Chalfont St Giles
  • Short break centred on Brecon on14th September ( 4-5 days)
  • During October it is hoped to finalise a London Day both to the BBC TV Centre and a visit to a Brewery.
  • In November it is planned to attend The Singer of The Year event in London. Details not yet confirmed.
  • On 13th Christmas Drinks at Dilys and Bill Dover’s home in Gerrards Cross.

We start 2016 with The Quiz evening, to be followed on Tuesday 1st March with our St David’s Day Dinner, at Gerrards Cross Golf Club.

Jonathan hinted that there may be a “Special Speaker” at the 2017 St. David’s Day event. He also thanked all the Committee for their hard work & support throughout his period as Chairman.

Treasurer’s Report.

Graham presented the Accounts up to 15th March 2015. Membership is now up to 127, an all time record. We have a healthy balance despite the higher costs of printing, primarily associated with the larger newsletters and also expenditure on a new hi tech projector.

After his 2 years as Chairman, Jonathan is stepping down and Kay Day was nominated as the next Chairman. Jean Owen will be the new Minutes Secretary.

P1050767Kay Day welcomed everyone in both English and Welsh and proposed Jonathan Pegler as vice Chairman.

Ann Evans thanked Jonathan for his 2 years hard work & presented him with a thank you gift.

Ann Evans reported that Mike Stythe had been an active member of the Society for many years, organising walks and holidays. For health reasons he can no longer attend meetings and other activities , so Ann suggested we make Mike an Honorary Member.

The formal business being completed the members enjoyed an excellent supper prepared by Ann Tennant.

P1050751aChicken Curry & Rice or Beef Stew, followed by a wide choice of desserts including profiteroles, rhubarb fool, raspberry brule, ginger meringue, white chocolate cake and cheese and biscuits.

 

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Entertainment was provided by a  duo of 2 leading tenors, members of the London Welsh Male Voice choir: Geraint Lewis and David Jones.