Our president, Mrs. Prior, was happy to report that we had had a very good turn-out for our Christmas carol concert at St Katherine's, Blackwell, which had been much appreciated by the congregation.

The Christmas lunch on the following day had been so good that it has been booked for 2005. The inaugural meeting to start evening sessions of our WI had been enthusiastically received, and plans were underway to carry on in the New Year.

Mrs Prior read out some of the names of ex-members and absent friends who sent their seasonal greetings to her for us all. This year, the prize-winners for the highest number of competition points was as follows:- first, Mrs Pearman and second, Mrs Denning, who, incidentally, provides such a lovely floral arrangements, ably assisted by Mrs Sefton-Fiddian. Thanks, in the form of a small gift, also went to Mrs Court for her excellent organisation of our outside events.

Mrs Prior then went on to tell us that this year, we are planning two fundraising events - a fashion show early in the year and an autumn fair. Details will be announced later.

The treasurer read out a healthy statement of accounts with good results from raffles and the car boot sale. The next outing will be on March 2 to see Romeo and Juliet. This is now fully booked. The skittles team were pleased to report a win for their last match.

Our speaker for the afternoon was Mrs Hearne, whose talk was entitled Aspects of The Titanic.

The general outlines of the dramatic sinking and loss of life is well-known but Mrs Hearne was able to give us various less well-known facts, such as the number of Midlands firms involved in the building of The Titanic. For instance, the anchor and anchor chains, the largest ever forged, were made in Dudley, taking 20 horses to pull the anchor. The blocks and davits for the life-boats were made in Brierley Hill; the glassware came from Stourbridge, and the silverware from Litchfield. The Bromsgrove Guild built the memorial for the band-leader who played until the boat sank.

The Marconi SOS signal was used for the very first time, and it was only owing to the enthusiasm of the wireless operator on The Carpathia, who stayed on duty at the end of his shift, that the message was picked up at all.

February 9 is the date of our next meeting, at 2pm in Burcot Village Hall, with refreshments. A friendly welcome awaits you.