A VERY festive atmosphere prevailed at the December meeting, with seasonal flowers, mulled wine and mince pies as well as other refreshments.

The guest speaker was Frank Townsend, father of a local resident, presenting Compliments Of The Season.

He began with a fascinating insight into the seasonal post from a thousand years ago, when riders carried messages from monarch to nobles.

When mail became more widespread the recipient paid for delivery and poor people were afraid of receiving post, which led to the sender paying and to the introduction of stamps; now 82 million items of post are handled each day with probably double this amount on December 18, the busiest postal day of the year.

It was interesting to hear of the origins of Christmas cards, and see examples of the earliest ones from the mid-19th century.

We learned too, exactly why we deck the halls with boughs of holly'.

After some amusing poetry and a lively quiz, the new president wished all members a happy and peaceful Christmas and new year.

After the annual dinner in January, meetings begin again on February 6, at 7.30pm at the village hall.

New members are always welcome.

BARBARA BERRIMAN