At the end of June we held our annual BBQ at papercourt Sailing Club.
The event was attended by nearly 40 people who tucked into burgers, chicken, sausages, baked potatoes all accompanied by a wide range of salads and relishes!
And all washed down with copius amounts of wine and soft drinks and followed by delicious strawberries and cream!
Our chairman and his helpers once again did a sterling job with the cooking and all members of the committee were instrumental in making the event a huge success.
In early June we went to Bridge End cottage, a National Garden Scheme garden in Ockham. Eleven of us were treated to very comprhensive tour of the garden and adjacent fields.
Of particular note was a mink trap set in the small stream that ran through the property. Apparently a local mink farm had some years ago ceased trading and released the minks into the environment. Being at the top of the food chain they can devastate the local small mammal population, hence the need to catch them.
Afterwards we were teated to delicious tea and cakes, home made by the owner!
In May we held our annual spring luncheon party at Papercourt Sailing Club. With food prepared by members of the committee, kind helpers and generous contributions, we were able to put on a superb lunch for around 30 members and their guests.
This was followed by once again by the fabulous “Show Choir” who kept us in fine voice for 45 minutes .
In April we were entertained once more by the Riverside Players of Sunbury to a highly comical “radio” play. Written by one of our members, Geoff Buckingham, “Not a Penny More” explored the adventures of the residents of Botchington- on- sea who, using all the gags found in a Whitehall farce kept us in stiches for a full 45 minutes!
On March 6th we held our Annual General Meeting. I am pleased to report that all the current committee were re-elected to their respective offices.
Catherine Domgoole had decided to step down as her work commitments clashed with committee duties. She hopes to return in the not too distant future. We would like to thank Catherine for all her help and hope to see her at future events.
Whilst there was no raffle the Chairman invited those present to share a glass of bubbly which was well received and rounded off a nice evening!
In February we held our annual medical meeting.
We were greatly indebted to Dr Dhanuka Perera of St Bartholomew’s hospital in London to attend and gave a presentation on stem cell therapy for heart disease.
The meeting was very well attended and Dr. Perera gave an excellent presentation after which he answered many questions.
One of our members, Paul Harris, who had received this treatment in 2023 gave an account of his experiences which was extremely interesting.
It is with great sadness that we said goodbye to our long standing patron, Dr. David Fluck.
David had been at St Peter’s Hospital for 28 years, arriving first as a cardiologist and eventually rising to the position of Medical Director.
He leaves a great legacy of change at the hospital which is too large to repeat here. However David was an instigator of our volunteers who attend Birch (the Cardiac) ward twice a week and do such sterling work in helping with the rehabilitation of heart patients.
David is moving to Cardiff where he will be Executive Medical Director of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and we wish him well in this prestigious appointment.
With departure of Dr. David Fluck we lost our long standing patron.
Your committee discussed who could be approached and invited to take over. In the end we decided to invite Drs. Adam Jacques and Ian Beeton to be joint patrons. I am pleased to announce that they both accepted!
