General Meeting: April 2026 Dr Ann Featherstone gave us an entertaining, very well researched talk about the difficult working conditions of waitresses in 1908, a time when the Women’s Suffrage was at its high point. Waitresses at the time were poorly paid for long shifts, fed poor quality meals, had to pay for their uniforms, and worst of all, were allowed no tips to supplement their pay. They could also be dismissed on the spot if customer complained, which is what happened at an ABC cafe in central London in April 1908. However on this occasion, led by the head… Read More

General Meeting: March 2026 Jon Fryer and Roger Wakefield gave a very entertaining and informative talk about their work with Blood Bikes a voluntary service which began in 1962 and in Nottingham in 2013 in which there are 161 volunteers, 10 bikes, 9 cars and some mini bikes. Jon is a biker and a driver, Roger is a driver only. There is no government funding and all volunteers completely unpaid. They offer an out of hours service for the NHS between the hours of 18:00 and 06:00 and 24 hours at weekends and bank holidays. As the name of the… Read More

General Meeting: February 2026 Janina from Co-Op Estate Planning spoke clearly and knowledgeably on a topic highly relevant to mostly retired listeners.  However the very nature of the subject meant it was serious and complex. The two main topics centred around Wills and Lasting Power of Attorney. Writing and executing wills was the first topic and Janina went through the various partnerships and family groupings which would all have a bearing on the writing of a will and how the wishes of the deceased were followed or not.  There were numerous permutations as to what may constitute a partnership and… Read More

General Meeting: January 2026 Bharat Patel talked to us about his time as a journalist travelling the world and now semi-retired he raises funds for Hope Against Cancer. Bharat describes being brought up by a madcap Indian family in Gudjurat and by the time he was eight years old he had lived in three continents, India, Africa and now UK. He delivered a long, fast talk with endless fantastic tales involving a Spanish speaking parrot, Princess Anne, a Bison Burger, Rampton Prison Hospital, the Red Arrows and many, many more. He observed how people from abroad adapt to our customs,… Read More