THE November meeting got under way when the chairman, Betty Long, greeted nearly 60 members and guests at the Ladybird Inn.

This greeting was shortly followed by the bombshell of a letter read out by the secretary, from the owners of the Ladybird Inn. Due to the new hotel being built behind the pub, the function room, which is used by many clubs and societies, will not in future be available for hire after the end of January, as it will then become a restaurant.

This announcement was met with shock and horror. However, the indefatigable committee members did a recce around Bromsgrove for another suitable venue and have decided on the Bromsgrove Golf Club Centre, which has a very pleasant room upstairs. This will be our new home from February onwards.

The rest of the meeting continued with the usual amounts of information given, such as the outing to Norcutt Garden Centre and Stratford-upon-Avon yesterday (Tuesday). The winter dinner menus were distributed for January 12 and the programme planning for 2004 is complete and ready for printing.

Our speaker was Vince Williams, who belongs to a canal and narrow boat society, and who are the lucky owners of a boat called Cecilia, which is moored at Tardebigge. This boat is very lovingly cared for by a group of volunteers but of course takes a great deal of money in its upkeep. We were shown slides of the outside and interior, and were surprised to know that as well as doing day trips for up to 12 people at a time, the Cecilia can also accommodate six passengers sleeping as well as having a skipper on board with them. The boat is available for hire for a cruise along the canals - sounds very attractive. Betty Long gave the vote of thanks and the meeting ended after coffee and tea, and the pleasant end of meeting chatter had finished.