On 19th January we were pleased to be able to hold our meeting as adverse weather conditions had
caused much disruption during the month.
Mrs Sheila Rees our President, gave a particularly warm welcome to everyone.
Mrs Hazel Corbett opened the meeting with an appropriate prayer from ‘A Collection of Prayers’
and everyone joined in saying the ‘Fellowship Prayer’/
An invitation had been received from Clent Mother’s Union to ‘An Entertainment and Refreshments’ on
Thursday 4th February. Three of our members were pleased to attend and we made most welcome for this
enjoyable occasion.
Mrs Diana Pheysey had sent a letter of thanks for her cyclamen – a token of our appreciation for her kindness
in acting as an Independent Examiner for the Fellowship Annual Accounts.
It is now confirmed that this year Broome Fayre will be held on Saturday 26th June.
Mrs Rees then introduced the speaker Mrs Marie Skerratt and Mr Robin Skerratt who kindly acted as
projectionist as Marie gave part 3 of her talk about the USA 63/64. Her talk began with a recorded interview
with Bronwen Hall of the ‘Black Country Talking Magazine’ which had been made into a CD for the hard of hearing.
Marie told us of some of her experiences at an ‘integrated’ school named ‘Douglas Elementary School’ in Kansas.
One of the most outstanding days was the day of the tragedy of the assassination of President Kennedy.
Dealing with the stunned children was difficult and something for which there isn’t any preparation.
However, in her usual resourceful way, Marie coped, giving a little talk and saying a prayer for Mrs Kennedy,
her children and the people of America.
We saw some lovely slides of Marie’s class at happier times. She gave us an outline of the school’s day
which began at 8am and finished at 3pm with ten minutes break mid-morning and mid-afternoon and a
thirty minute break for lunch. It was quite intensive. Staff were obliged to stay later to see films from the
education authority.
The school year ran from September to the end of May. There were opportunities to go to ‘Summer School’
where lectures were from 8am to 6pm.
Formal Elementary Education begins at the age of six (Grade 1) and continues to the age of thirteen.
Marie taught ‘split level’ eight and nine year-olds. Teaching was very formal. She said the text books
were lovely with glorious illustrations.
The climate in Kansas is continental.  Marie lived at 111, Valentine Road a stone house, although most
of the houses are of wooden structure. There was a large, natural woodland garden with beautiful
blossom on the trees. Here Marie used to walk, particularly when, sometimes, she was feeling a little home-sick!
Marie’s life then was not all focussed on teaching. The long summer break gave her time to travel a deal mostly
by ‘Greyhound’ coach. She also had time to visit her aunt and uncle in Sharon, Pennsylvania for Christmas
and to meet her cousins.
Altogether it sounded an exciting, action-packed, experience. Mrs Jessica Fallows thanked Mrs Skerratt
for this wonderful talk.
Mrs Kath Edwards and Mrs Doreen Hughes served coffee and biscuits and we were all pleased  that Mr Skerratt
our visitor won the Raffle Prize.
On Tuesday 16th March at 7.45pm in Broome Village Hall
Lesley and Richard Betts will be showing slides including
GARDENS OF CORNWALL’

20th October Meeting

On the evening of 20^th October Mrs Sheila Rees the President, welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with a reading entitled:
‘This Lovely Memory’ and the Fellowship Prayer.
Members were reminded that the Christmas Party will be held in the Village Hall at 5.30pm on Tuesday 8^th December.
Mrs Marie Skerratt then introduced Mr Brian Draper who gave a fascinating illustrated talk on the River Teme.
The River Teme is the boundary between England and Wales. It is seventy-five and a half miles long and is a tributary to the River Severn.
The Teme rises near Kerry Hills and flows through beautiful county on a circuitous route finally to join the River Seven near Worcester.
We were shown may wonderful slides, not only of the river but also attractive towns and villages along the bank of the river
with churches and other buildings of note.

Mr Draper engaged our interest with snippets of information: Cwn Wyn with its areas of great botanical interest / Knucklas the birthplace
of Queen Guinevere / a glimpse of Offa’s Dyke and at Brampton Bryan the longest Yew hedge in the UK
is kept well trimmed and the clippings collected and used for cancer research.

Watling Street crosses the river at Leintwardine, then down to Wigmore and Mortimer Country where Kingfishers, Sandpipers,
and Dippers may be seen, also Otters and Mink (which are mistaken for Polecats!).

The gorge at Downton was the heart of the early iron industry and Grave Slabs of the great Iron Masters may be found
dated from 1513 to the last ones in the 1700s.
These are but a few of the many things Mr Draper imparted to us before his story about the Teme finally came to an as the
river reaches Worcester to join the River Severn.

Mrs Anne Wood thanked Mr Draper for this most enjoyable and informative talk with so many slides,
interspersed by a commentary with a great deal of humour.
Coffee and biscuits were served by Mrs Kath Edwards and Mrs Doreen Hughes.
The winner of the raffle prize was Mrs Carol Sant.

Please remember the earlier date of the FELLOWSHIP CHRISTMAS PARTY which will be held in the
Village Hall at 5.30pm on Tuesday 8^th December.

Mrs Sheila Rees the President, welcomed Members on a very pleasant evening and said she had just returned from a trip to
Ireland where the weather had been delightfully sunny and warm.
The Opening Prayer was given by Mrs Shelia Gordon and was a charming reading entitled ‘Smile’ followed by the Fellowship Prayer.
Apologies were received from Mrs Doris Hasty, Mrs Joan Ledington, Mrs Jan Snipe, Mrs Anne Wood.
Mrs Marie Skerrat welcomed Mrs Monica Cardin, introducing her and inviting her to talk about her life in the Prison Service.

There had been news that very evening about Hewell Grange absconders and then she went on to explain how she had come to be
involved for thirty-two years – starting as a twenty-one year old at Holloway.
She said that girls in Borstal are extremely difficult to handle. Then she moved to Wakefield to be involved in
Staff Training which became a particular interest and from there promotion to Risley for five years.
In 1976, Equal Opportunities came about and for a while Mrs Cardin worked with the Home Office,
Drakehall which was re-opened to take women and helped in many Community Projects.
As further promotion came she moved to Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire where there were 650 prisoners.
The prisoners decided to help raise money for orphans in Romania – and waited to see if this new woman
Governor would get involved – yes, she did – and so help was provided, but the prisoners could not go direct to
Romania but they were allowed to get extremely involved with raising funding and supplies.
As a senior Governor she travelled around to many different locations and at Hewell Grange she worked on Outward-bound
Courses keen on character-building, sharing her life with the Prisoners, she commented that sometimes the ‘Lifer’
was in many ways easier to deal with. Money was always a problem in getting funding.
When the bringing together of Prison and Probation Officers came about it was good to discuss problems together –
in all there can be as many as 82,000 prisoners in the United Kingdom – the figure can be variable –
there are approximately 200 men in Hewell Grange at present.
Mrs Cardin said that retirement beckoned and she emphasised Prison Life had been extremely rewarding
but she was happy to enjoy life on the ‘Outside’.
The vote of thanks was given by Mrs Doreen Hughes.
The Raffle Prize was won by Mrs Kath Edwards.
PLEASE NOTE THERE WILL NOT BE A MEETING OF THE FELLOWSHIP IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST.
On 15th September Mr Ken Godfrey will be giving a talk about ‘THE KINVER TUNNELS at 7.45pm in the Village Hall, Broome

On Tuesday 18th May the Fellowship Annual Luncheon was held at the Stone Manor Hotel.
Our group assembled in good time for the meal in the
comfort of the lounge, before being ushered into the ‘Oak Room’ which was just the right size for our
comparatively small number this year.
We were pleased that our guests Mr Burnett Reyner, Mr Peter Ingham and Mr and Mrs Rock were able to be with us and sorry our other
guests were not able to join us but trust that they were thoroughly enjoying their holidays in other destinations.
Our president, Mrs Sheila Rees, welcomed everyone and said Grace.
Both the meal and the service at table were good and we were able to relax and chat comfortably before departing well into the
afternoon, feeling quite replete!
Please come along to our next Meeting
at 7.45pm on Tuesday 21sty July in the Village Hall at Broome.
After our Annual General Meeting
Father Paul Harrisonwill be sharing his ‘Memories’ (part 2)

At the April meeting Mrs Shelia Rees, the President, welcomed members and visitors.
Mrs Hazel Corbett opened the meeting with thoughts and a prayer for people having to make difficult decisions.
This was followed by the Fellowship Prayer.
Apologies were received from: Mrs Doris Hasty, Mrs Joan Rand, Mrs Eileen Rock and Mrs Mary Wassell.
The President confirmed that the Annual Fellowship Luncheon would be at the Stone Manor and a list was circulated for those wishing to attend.
There had been an invitation from Clent Mothers’ Union to a Bring and Buy Coffee Morning to be held in the
Church Hall between 10.00 and 12.00 p.m. on Thursday 7th May.
The Annual Gathering of the Worcester Diocesan Association of Church Fellowships is to be held at
St Godwald’s church, Bromsgrove, on Wednesday 13th May at 2.30p.m.
Mrs Marie Skerrat was then pleased to introduce Mr Dennis Berry for a second visit, this time to tell us about his holiday in Peru.
Mr Berry had a magnificent selection of slides of this fascinating country which he visited in November.
The flight to Lima, the capital city of Peru, was terrible!
Mr Berry impressed on us that Peru was a very poor country.
Lima is an interesting city with a beautiful Cathedral. There is a great Spanish influence in the style of the buildings and the
ruling classes are mostly of Spanish descent.
The Archaeological Museum there was the house of the former Admiral and had beautiful gardens.
The artefacts in the museum were very interesting but only one gold exhibit has survived.
Peru was rich in gold and silver but much of it has disappeared!
Mr Berry remarked that it was somewhat unnerving to see tanks mounted all around the grounds of the
Presidential Palace.
Moving on, there is every kind of climate in Peru, arid plains, rich fertile areas in the river valleys and high
snow-tipped mountains.
A good proportion of the population are Inca Indians and Mr Berry appeared to do some of his travelling along with some of them.
Arriving at Arequipa he found his bedroom accommodation sparse but the lovely garden surrounding the property compensated for this.
The pavements in the town were cleaned every morning. The Spanish influence in the town was quite apparent.
Here Mr Berry visited a Convent where, at one time, there had been 200 Nuns.
The Nuns were daughters of nobility who took their servants with them and, after their novitiate, so lived in luxury.
Overlooking the town is El Misti, a volcano where the mysterious ‘Juanita’, a clothed body from antiquity, was discovered on the edge of the crater.
She was ceremoniously brought down to Aquippa.Further inland are the ‘Alto Planes’.
These high planes are part of the Andes and where Lake Titicaca, the highest fresh water lake in the world, may be found.
At the Lake there is a wonderful sight of large numbers of flamingos.
There are wide variations of temperature, hot during the day but very cold at night, so warm clothing is a necessity.
Wool from Alpacas, Llamas and Vicunas helps to provide suitable material.
Vicuna is the softest and warmest wool in the world and these days much of it is exported.
The Inca Trail looked formidable. Regrettably, because of the high altitude and his age,
Mr Berry was advised not to embark on this difficult climb. However, he was delighted to have been able to view such a spectacle.
Finally, in contrast to the great heights, he descended to a lower level to enjoy a trip into the Amazon Forest with its
luxuriant vegetation and wonderful wild life, and a specially enjoyable opportunity to watch the great otters, made this a truly memorable holiday.
Mrs Mollie Thomas thanked Mr Berry for this exceedingly interesting talk with such a superb selection of slides for us to see.
Coffee and biscuits were served by Mrs Kath Edwards and Mrs Doreen Hughes.
The Raffle prize was won by Mrs Shirley Humphries.
***************************
On Tuesday 16th June at 7.45 p.m. in the Village Hall
Monica Cardin
will talk to us about
HEWELL GRANGE

At the meeting in March the President, Mrs Sheila Rees, was pleased to welcome everyone, especially Mrs Joan Rand,
who is now able to attend meetings again and also new member Mrs Eileen Rock.
She opened the meeting with a prayer reminding us of God’s work in the wonder and beauty of spring. She then led the Fellowship Prayer.
Apologies were received from Mrs Kath Edwards, Mrs Doris Hasty, and Mrs Jan Snipe.
Mrs Shirley Humphries is making good progress and so is Mrs Betty Hodgets.
There was a big “Thank You” to Broome members from Mrs Doreen Chatwin for their support at the
Women’s World Day of Prayer service at Blakedown Church which had proved very successful.
The President announced that there would be a Benefice Eucharist at 10.00 a.m. at Broome Church on Mothering Sunday, 22nd March.
The Annual Lunch in May will be held at the Stone Manor Hotel.
Mrs Marie Skerratt then introduced Mr Bernard Mills who talked about “The Sky at Night”.
Mr Mills had already set up his projector and screen. He looked very smart in his star-studded tie to which he drew our attention.
He began by declaring he had been an astronomer for over forty years!
For viewing the sky at night a telescope is not strictly necessary, but Mr Mills did recommend good binoculars, warm wind-proof clothes,
a sleeping bag and a large vacuum flask for hot drinks. One should wrap up warmly even in summer.
Choose a clear night to watch the stars, but avoid a full moon.
Astronomy (unlike astrology) is a scientific study of stars, planets, and other celestial objects.
Light-years are the universal measurement. Our Galaxy is the Milky Way. The nearest Galaxy is 2 million light-years away and has 200,000,000,000 stars.
Because the earth rotates, the sky looks different every day. The nearest star is the sun, and earth’s satellite is the moon.
All the stars appear to be of different colours. The name given to a group of stars is “a constellation”.
Meteors, small particles from comets, and inter-planetary debris occur randomly and can be seen every night.
Using his slides, Mr Mills identified many stars and groups of stars. Some of his pictures were spectacular!
We were familiar with such names as Venus, which is very bright, and Saturn which has pink rings.
He also helped us to recognise “The Plough”, “The Bear” and names we associate with the signs of the zodiac, such as Taurus, Aquarius, Pisces and Gemini.
Finally, Mr Mills showed us a planisphere, a star chart in the form of two adjustable disks that rotate on a common pivot.
It can be adjusted to display the visible stars for any time and date.
One can be bought quite cheaply, and can be set very easily to indicate what may be seen each night of the year if we choose to stargaze.
Mrs Anne Wood thanked Mr Mills for this fascinating talk which has made us much more aware of the beauty and vastness of the universe.
Coffee and biscuits were served by Mrs Hazel Corbett and Mrs Doreen Hughes. The winner of the raffle prize was Mrs Peggy Turner.