CHAIRMAN Betty Long greeted 61 members and visitors to the meeting and immediately read the very apt poem November. We all feel sad at the thought of the end of summer and warm weather.

However, life goes on and we can turn our thoughts to the lovely outings that there are planned, starting off with the visit to Cheltenham for lunch and the German Market with the Christmas lights - definitely something to cheer ourselves up.

Next month we will be able to enjoy another treat, the Appalachian Dancers are coming to entertain us at our Christmas party. This, of course, will include the mandatory Christmas cake and mince pies, together with coffee and tea to get us properly in to the Christmas spirit.

Our speaker in November was the wonderful Brian Draper who had brought slides, some taken at ground level and others were aerial views of the River Teme and its valley. He is an absolute mine of knowledge and had a story to tell about almost every church and village along the entire length of the river. We usually like to follow his talks by persuading him to take us on a coach trip to see for ourselves what he has been telling us about. I hope we will be able to do the same again!