On Tuesday, 24th March, 20 members of the Chiltern District Welsh Society met at the Wycombe Swan for our annual cultural trip to the theatre.
We all met in the bar at 7pm to collect tickets and chat, before taking our seats at 7:30.
This year’s event was to see the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s latest work, The Complete History of Comedy (abridged).
The Complete Shakespeare Company is not quite as highbrow as our usual shows. Three American comics ran through the history of comedy from cavemen to the present day in a non-stop series of quick change sketches, gags and monologues which succeeded in breaking most taboos and taking as their subjects a mixture of scatological, sexual and xenophobic settings. They were very fair and tried to offend everyone equally, even the Welsh – very funny.
Ralph Broomby was press-ganged onto the stage (not very reluctantly) to take part in an improvised sketch and demonstrate his ability to provide sound effects to the action provided by the comics.
The show was very fast paced and finished at 9:30. At we made our way out, the cast were at the door to say farewell.
Our annual Dinner to celebrate our patron saint was held at the Gerrards Cross Golf Club.
We all met at about 6:30pm, with a few stragglers coming in a few minutes late, flushed with the news that Wales had defeated France in the Six Nations 20-13 in Paris.
Chairman Jonathan Pegler and President Ann Evans
We were greeted with a glass of bubbly, which gave us time to chat to old friends, catch up on news and find out where we’d be sitting.
Over 70 people attended, a very good turnout and we filed into the dining room at about 7:15 to find our places among the 8 tables.
Our President, Ann Evans said grace and we sat down to dinner.
The menu was a little different this year with a choice of Ham Hock Terrine or Stuffed Mushrooms, Welsh Cawl or Salmon en croute, Crème Brulee or Welsh Cake Bread and Butter pudding followed by Coffee and mints. The food and service were excellent, as usual at the Golf Club.
Jonathan Pegler introduced our guest speaker, the Right Honourable David Jones, MP for Clwyd West and until last year, Secretary of State for Wales.
David Jones gave us an entertaining talk, starting by telling stories about his hero, Winston Churchill. Entering parliament had been David’s ambition since he was a child. His Ministerial and parliamentary career had led to travels around the world, giving rise to some unexpected experiences and amusing anecdotes for his appreciative audience. He finished his speech by saying how proud he was of his Welsh antecedents and revealing his passion for keeping the United Kingdom together.
He mentioned that, with the election coming up he was looking forward to the canvassing, especially as it gave the opportunity of going out and meeting people outside the political circle.
Rob Britton, who himself had been a parliamentary candidate, gave our thanks for such an entertaining and enlightening talk and we then all sang the Welsh National anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
Later, we gathered around the piano with our song sheets to sing along whilst John Breese played many of our old favourites.
Click on the link below to download a video of the singing:
We’ll keep a welcome
Or just listen to us sing I bob un sy’n fyddlon here:
Comments about the evening included Muriel Knight “A very successful evening with an interesting and entertaining speech” and Frank Birbeck said ”Good food, good company, nice wine – I’ve never had a bad evening with the Welsh Society”.
Our thanks go to the staff at the Golf Club and to Gwyn and Jean Owen for arranging the evening.
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onto the stage (not very reluctantly) to take part in an improvised sketch and demonstrate his ability to provide sound effects to the action provided by the comics.
