In January we had an interesting talk about EMICS, the East Midland Immediate Care charity. Doctors from EMICS are volunteers that attend emergencies within the East Midlands in order to provide vital immediate assistance. We learnt about the type of emergencies that the EMIC doctors deal with and that all the doctors work on a voluntary basis with no cost to the NHS. Funds raised by the charity are used to fund the equipment that they need. We are lucky to have such a group in our area and are appreciative of the excellent work they do.
For our February meeting we had an interesting talk from John Martin on the history of crime fiction. He started by talking about the very first crime books and then took us through the Golden Ages of Crime writing and such authors as Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the age of television detectives such as Morse and to the growing popularity of Scandinavian crime writers. John talked about books we all knew and some that we now might be tempted to read. After his talk there was a lively discussion and no doubt some members going to buy or borrow books discussed.
At our March meeting we had a very entertaining talk from David Price on the history of th cancan. We learnt that the term can can comes from the French word concon meaning scandal and certainly at the time the dance must have been seen as scandalous. David illustrated his talk with video clips and illustrations which gave us a real feel of how fit the dancers must have been, especially doing the splits He advised us that there were classes run in Paris should we wish to learn but not surprisingly there were no takers!
Our speaker for our April meeting was Diane Sutton from Rutland Water Garden Centre http://www.rutlandnursery.co.uk/ who advised members on how to make and maintain a number of different types of hanging basket including one with tumbling tomatoes. Her talk insired us all to go out and get creating!
May is the month for discussion of the resolutions put forward by the National Federation. This year's resolution dealt with mental health and was vigorously discussed. Gillian will take forward our vote to the AGM.
After tea and cake we had an interesting talk from Sarah Iveson about the role and work of Rutland Healthwatch in improving local health care services. Further information can be found on their website: healthwatchrutland.co.uk/
For June our speaker was Martin who travelled from the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, near Lichfield to give us an entertaining and informative talk about the history of the arboretum and the stories associated with some of the memorials. We learnt that not all the memorials were to do with the armed forces and that there is a lovely W.I. memorial. He made us want to visit and see the many memorials in their peaceful surrounds.
There was a packed meeting in July to hear Anne Halsey talk about the funny side of the funeral business. Anne had become a funeral advisor after being treated insensitively when her husband died. She told us amusing stories about some of the things she had been asked to do and also provided advice about setting our own affairs in order. She also talked about vaious ways we could choose to deal with ashes including having a firework party!!
There was another packed meeting in August to hear about the Oakham Canal. Paul Dadford from the Melton & Oakham Waterways Trust gave us a fascinating talk covering the history of the Oakham Canal which was open between 1802 & 1847. He showed us maps of where the canal ran and where Oakham Wharf was.
Paul went on to tell us the aim of the society to preserve the canal for the benefit of locals and tourists. A fascinating talk.
In September we were pleased to welcome Rosie from Rosie makes Jam who gave us a fascinating talk on the history of preserving foods and why we should be doing it today. She also debunked some of the myths about sugar and told us about the problems associated with many of the sugar substitutes.
Some members had a go at making mincemeat which filled the hall with lovely smells and provided us with something tasty to take home. Rosie also provided us with recipes to try at home.
For our October meeting we had a talk from Marianne from The Old Candleworks. She gave us a fascinating insight into the history of candles and how they are used in her native Denmark to create hygge.
She then went on to show us how she makes the different types of candles that she uses and sells. She also showed us how she creates wedding centrepieces and how she decorates her Christmas tree. Finally members had the opportunity to buy some of her lovely candles.
In November we held our AGM and also had a demonstration by one of our members, Olive Saunders of Christmas table decorations. She produced a variety of lovely centrepieces which were then raffled. She inspired us all to make our own decorations using foliage from our gardens.