There was a good attendance at the March meeting inspite of the wintry weather. Percy Nunn, Chairman, thanked everyone for all their kindness and good wishes on the occasion of his 90th birthday last month. Members were reminded that the AGM in April would start at 7pm followed by a talk by Robert Borridge about Lord Nelson. This is a change to the programme.

The speaker for the evening was social historian, Tom Doig. His talk, "The Victorian Way of Death" was the third part of his series about Victorian life, having already spoken to the Society about Birth and Marriage in previous visits. Much of his talk was centred around village life and the traditions and rituals following a death, the first acts were to tell the bees and then the sexton so he could pass on the news by tolling the bell. For such a sensitive subject, he spoke with respect, authority and humour and gave a good insight into how attitudes have changed since the 19th Century. It was a very interesting and instructive talk and members now know what "taphephobia" means!

Meetings are held in the WI Hall at 7.30pm. Information is avaliable from Dorothy(01440 820376) and Gillian (01440 820052).