CHAIRMAN Julie Wacey welcomed two new members to the April meeting of the Guild, which is very encouraging.

The leisure group is walking on the hills this month to see the beautiful spectacle of the millions of bluebells that now adorn the Malvern Hills.

On May 13 they will be visiting Westonbury Mill Water Gardens at Pembridge. The group will meet on the Link Common at 10.30am. Visitors welcome.

The speaker for the morning was Ray Sturdy who gave a most interesting talk on New Zealand. Part of his trip was a trek of 92 miles to raise money for Mencap and the rest sightseeing.

The journey started in Auckland, moving on to Christchurch and Picton, Wellington Queenstown and back to Auckland, on the way exploring many areas of natural beauty from lush rainforests to the geysers in Rotorua and visiting towns of interest on the way.

Ray illustrated his journey with slides showing views of snowy mountain tops, beautiful vistas across lakes and plains to magnificent flowers, fruits, birds and animals. Quite spectacular.

One of the highlights was seeing the boiling mud at Rotorua with geysers spurting hot water, with the smell of sulphur in the air. Rotorua is the place where there are more Maoris than anywhere else in New Zealand, due no doubt to it being the warmest place to live in New Zealand.

What an enjoyable morning everyone had. Ray Sturdy's enthusiasm for this wonderful country was infectious.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 17, when the speaker will be Sandra Soanes, talking about Lifetimes. Visitors are always welcome.

MAUREEN WILLIAMS