A report on our meeting held on 4th December 2017
The Augustinian Christmas evening ended with mince pies, drinks and a chat with friends. It began with reflections and lots of funs. Our Scribe Bro George Parrott acted as master of ceremonies. Between introductions he regaled us with Christmas cracker style posers. Sadly some of us knew the answers, the rest just groaned.
The evening began with a song. Chris Gatenby organised us into groups to sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. Between each verse she read from imaginary thank you letters to “My dearest darling Edward” with exasperation mounting – “please no more birds”. I can’t repeat here what the “Nine Ladies Dancing” got up to. Suffice to say the last letter was a cease and desist instruction from her solicitors.
Carol French read the poem “Old Sam’s Christmas Pudding”. Sam got into trouble, but a battle was won when Sam loaded a cannon with his mother’s Christmas pudding by mistake. The trouble was that when he was at last allowed to eat his pudding, all he had was a cannon ball.
Maureen Bell brought in and demonstrated a set of “Lion Quick Action Scales” which dated from about 1910. She bought these in the company of a good friend many years ago whilst he was adding to his old gramophone collection. Maureen and her younger sister would insist on using these when helping Mum to cook. Happy memories.
Joan Turner reflected on her family’s love of books. In her Grandma’s loo was a notice “Only One Chapter Please”. She explained how different books guided her in her life. One book inspired her to enter nursing. “Ann of Green Gables” made her realise it is boring to be good all the time. In marriage one “should stand together, but not too near”.
Bro Rick Hudson told the tale of a supernatural event he witnessed involving the Gansey Girl leaving her plinth to gaze out to sea when a sailing coble mysteriously appeared. Few members believed him until he was able to show a video of the event. A suspicious few felt that some clever animation was involved.
Our Prior Bro Garry Sunley concluded the entertainment with a poem. He discarded Tennyson and Wordsworth and settled instead on the unequalled Pam Ayres. Her Christmas poem involved “turkeys getting murdered” and a man hacking off mistletoe so he could kiss his neighbours wife who he had fancied all year.
The Prior Bro Garry Sunley thanked everyone for coming and the particularly those who entertained