The speaker for the evening was Chris Cooke accompanied by his wife Melanie. Mr Cooke took us through a brief history oo corn dollies. He became interested after a visit to Avoncroft 30 years ago. He said the tall wheat Maris Widgeon was grown specifically for the thatching of roofs. It was common practice for the thatcher to put a corn sculptor on top of the roof when he had finished and another when he had been paid. The goddess of corn was known as Ceres by the Romans and a corn dolly was supposed to contain her spirit. It was thought she would die when the corn was harvested unless some was saved.

We were given a lesson on how to make a heart-shaped dolly. Our next meeting, on March 6, is on cooking for Easter.

Sue Harte