General Meeting: June 2026

Those of us who were able to attend our June social, wonderfully organised by Gayle Harris, had an excellent time. A mock trial of an actual local 1897 murder case was presented to us as if we were in a court of law, and the audience were organised into juries who had to weigh up the evidence and decide on a verdict.

We were introduced to the case by Mark Reynolds as the narrator, whose introduction was peppered by puns from TV crime dramas for us to recognize and groan at. Then we were treated to Jenni White's portrayal of Marjorie Hunter, the highly emotional housekeeper, Carolyn Broadhurst’s Dr Fitzhugh who as a war surgeon had a high opinion of amputation as a solution to injuries needing medical attention, Teresa Storey as Irene Poole, the dismayed and shocked assailant’s wife, and Janet Whitchurch as Dr Goldblum who wisely assessed the accused after the crime.

The room was in hushed attention as we listened to our fine players deliver their testimonies. More than one of us mentioned that it made us look forward to future offerings from our drama group (we hope).

In the original case the jury’s verdict was that the accused was guilty of murder and given a life sentence, but most of our juries gave a unanimous verdict of guilty due to diminished responsibility which shows our increased awareness of mental health issues.

Thank you so much Gayle and our performers for our entertaining, and thought-provoking morning, and for the free coffee and biscuits.

Sue Warren