Page 60 - QARANC Vol 14 No 10 2015

58 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Christmas Lunch
As usual our annual Christmas lunch was at Radyr Golf Club on a crisp sunny December day in December.
This is always our most popular event, and 37 members & guests enjoyed a very nice meal and chance to catch up on the gossip with those we had not seen throughout the year.
It was a great start to the Christmas festivities.
Following a busy 2014, we look forward to meeting our friends again at the AGM in March.
Rosy Hubbard
BRANCH SECRETARY
Midland Branch
Chairman: Susan Reading Secretary: Pauline Gretton
Midland Branch held their AGM in March and announced that three outings had been organised for the members during the summer.
On Corps Day members were invited to join RCDM for a service and celebration; only three members attended but received a very warm welcome and hospitality. Our first summer trip was in June when we visited The Three Choirs Vineyard in Gloucestershire where we had a guided tour and wine tasting, it was a lovely warm day and was enjoyed by ten members, and we then followed the tour with Sunday lunch.
Our next trip was to the Black Country Museum near Dudley. Here we had a guided tour on a barge through the canal tunnels, amazing experience. Later in the day we toured the rest of the museum and enjoyed faggots and mushy peas (bostin fettle as they say around this area, it means good food)
The third visit was in Birmingham to Winterbourne Gardens a little gem tucked away in Edgbaston, well worth a visit; we had a guided tour of the gardens where they care for some rare plants. The tour also included a history of the house and gardens. The house and gardens were built by an industrialist from the Nettlefold family and latter
gifted to Birmingham University. Students at the University have free access.
In November we held a meeting and lunch at the Tally- Ho Police and Social Club to which thirty members and also some guests attended. At this meeting we welcomed a guest speaker, Charlotte Webb (who prefers to be called Betty). Betty had worked at Bletchley Park during WW2, and came to tell us about her experience. She had joined the ATS in 1941 and because she was bilingual she was sent to Bletchley. She could not tell anyone about this work for thirty years. A remarkable lady with a fascinating story, she brought with her a large collection of memorabilia, and one of her proudest is the medal that was given to her when this work was eventually recognised over thirty years latter. (Picture shows Betty with Midland Branch Members)
On November 9th eight members joined RCDM for a Service of Remembrance at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital a wreath was laid on behalf of the Association. Another wreath was laid by a member at the NMA.
On December 2nd twenty four members met for a Christmas lunch, we were delighted to welcome five serving members from the University who are in their second and third years of training. The members enjoyed meeting the next generation of nurses, and hope to meet more of them at future events.
Pauline Gretton; January 2015 (Hon Sec Midland Branch)