This event followed immediately after the annual Christmas carols outside The Wheatsheaf.  Around 50 people came to warm themselves in St James' Church, Badsey, with tea/coffee and mince pies.  Musyck Anon, who performed in 17th-century costumes, then sung several early English carols.  They are an Evesham-based “a cappella” group with particular interest in early music.  A total of £130 was raised for their chosen charity, Children with Cancer.

We asked members who had hit a brick wall in their research, to contact us to see if we could sort it out.  Research was undertaken by Maureen Spinks, Tom Locke and Shirley Tutton, making use of the various subscription sites which the Society pays for.  After 80 years of not knowing, Ivor Martin, whose father was adopted, at last found out the identity of his paternal ancestors.  Will and John Dallimore learned more about the family of their late mother, Myrtle Grace Dallimore (née Blakeway), who was orphaned as a child.

Alan Tutton spoke to us about some of the skeletons in his family history.  This was a precursor to the family history event which was taking place the following month.  

Berkeley Castle has been the home of the Berkeley family for 850 years (the oldest in the country to be inhabited by the same family who built it). Our visit began with a guided tour of the castle.  After lunch we visited Dr Jenner’s house, where Edward Jenner developed the idea of smallpox vaccination, and saw where he established a free vaccination clinic in his garden. There was then free time to follow the Jenner Trail and to visit St Mary’s Church.  

David Wood, who once worked at The Evesham Journal, The Worcester News and other local newspapers, talked entertainingly to us about his experiences of working in the newsroom.  On one occasion he interviewed Norman Wisdom in the bath!

It was rather challenging during the first hour of the Flower Show when we were coping with holding down exhibition boards in the gusts of wind, dealing with flying coffee cups, and pushing the books back when it started to rain.  But we survived, the weather calmed down, and we had some interesting chats with people.  Thanks to Jane Neill, the exhibition included a lovely display of WI memorabilia.  Many thanks also to Ross Davis and Dave who were extremely helpful at the end of the show in helping to dismantle the gazebos and exhibition boards. 

Thanks to Shirley Tutton, we had a successful trip to Tewkesbury.  In the morning, John Dixon, President of Tewkesbury Historical Society, took us on an industrial historical tour from the Abbey Mill to Healings and King John’s Bridge.  After lunch, members were free to explore the town on their own. 

Who’d organise an outdoor event in a British summer?!  On the evening before and on the morning of the event, we nervously kept a check on the weather forecast before finally deciding what to do – whether to hold the musical soirée which had been planned for some time in the back garden of the Tuttons’ home, or to abandon to the church.  Depending on which weather forecast you believed, there was a 30% or 40% chance of rain on Friday evening.