AT July's meeting the president, Lynne Reading, welcomed guest speaker, Miss Meriel Hayes. whose talk had the title 'Dear Polly' - letters to a Victorian lady's maid".

Miss Hayes described how she had found a box of 160 letters, written by her grandfather between 1873 and 1880 - and had since written a book featuring them!

Through his letters to Polly, whom he met whilst he was a jobbing boy at Grafton Manor, Miss Hayes had been able to build up a picture of both his and Polly's life over a period of seven years.

The letters stopped in 1880, when they were married. Her father was one of their children.

The annual Summer Lunch raised £195. Future events include the visit to Highgrove this month, and members were thanked for donations for the hamper to be raffled at Tardebigge Annual Fair and Show on August 5.