PAM Hewitson, who was standing in for Delice, welcomed members.

Miriam read the minutes of the last meeting, which were approved and signed.

She said all the tickets for the theatre visit in March had been sold and the coach was full.

Margaret, Gill and Marion will hopefully be going to the new speakers' evening at Whitbourne in February.

The speaker for February will be Mrs Anderson, from the Woodland Trust.

The competition is "A Tree", any medium.

Pam then introduced Brian Draper with his talk What Is a River?

He talked about their uses and what they meant to different people.

They provide corridors for wildlife, an amenity for boating, fishing, swimming etc and also a place for work and worship.

Other uses are irrigation, defence in the case of castles and power using dams and reservoirs.

Mr Draper was an excellent speaker and the facts on water requirements for all aspects of life and living, together with pollution, made members think.

An American supper followed.

The competition for six homemade mince pies was won by Judy Smith and the raffle by Margaret Humphries.

January saw 19 members at The Red Hart for the Christmas dinner. They all enjoyed good food and service. January can be a let down after all the festivities and this happy evening helped dispel the winter blues.

Visitors are welcome on Wednesday, February 8, at Kington with Dormston Village Hall from 7.30pm.