In January we started off the year with an excellent illustrated talk from Simon Bentley, director of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife trust. He talked about the work of the trust, its volunteers and how they inspire both adults and children about the natural world and encouraging everyone to take action for wildlife. It was a highly entertaining and informative talk.
For our February meeting we were entertained by a talk from Andrew Brown on his time as Sheriff of Rutland and his life as a farmer.
We were all amazed by the many experiences he had enjoyed including meeting Prince Philip and were interested to learn about the history of the role of the sheriff and its surprising benefits!
Our March meeting saw members able to relax and laugh as Helen Rowe led a number of exercises and explained how laughter and mindfulness can be used as effective tools to help relieve stress.
Members certainly felt relaxed by the end of the meeting.
For our April meeting we enjoyed a visit from Frank, the operations manager of Belvoir Farms. He gave us an entertaining insight into how the business was set up, its expansion and products. He explained about the different cordials and presse that they make and that they actually invented the term presse but failed to copyright it. We then enjoyed tastings of the different drinks and agreed that they were all delicious.
In June members were transported to the Falklands where we saw wonderful wildlife photographs taken by Nigel Spencer. (http://www.nigelspencer.co.uk/) Nigel told us about his travels to the Falklands and his experiences there, all illustrated by his photographs of the islands and their wildlife. He was entertaining and knowledgeable about the wildlife and we all enjoyed his talk.
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For our July meeting we were entertained by Roxanne Dinsdale who gave us a very interesting talk on the myths of belly dancing with demonstrations of the dances. She also showed us some of her beautiful costumes. Many members commented favourably on this speaker who stayed after her talk to answer questions of which there were many. An excellent afternoon.
In August we were taken back to our memories of the sounds and experiences of making bread when we were young. Planet Leicester Bakers told us how they used bread making to help people with dementia and how they ran workshops to help communities come together. We also heard how bread can be made healthily before trying some for ourselves. An interesting afternoon.
For our September meeting we were entertained by Nick Penny who told us about the musical instruments he had made including ones he had made with school children using recycled materials. He played a Paraguayan harp and a handpan, playing music he had composed himself reflecting birdsong and nature. Members said they could not think of a better way to spend an afternoon.
Christmas came early for our October meeting with members making Suffolk Puff Christmas Trees. Despite our scepticism, our speaker Carolyn Boulter assured us that we would all be able to successfully make a tree.
She was right. With clear instructions and support we spent an enjoyable hour chatting and making, all ending up with trees that we were happy to take home.
