We all met at Milton’s Cottage at 10am on Friday 10th October. Most of us arrived early and, as the weather was good gathered in the garden.
This pretty cottage was built in the late 15th Century for workers on the local estate, The Vache.
We were hosted by Kelly, who showed us around the cottage and described its history and the life and works of John Milton. Kelly was remarkably knowledgeable, answering all sorts of questions as she showed around the 3 or 4 rooms open.
The cottage may be very small, but there was so much to see and read.
Milton took refuge from the plague in London by escaping to this cottage in 1665, and, although he lived here for less than two years, wrote his most famous work Paradise Lost and began Paradise Regained, whilst living here with his third wife.
Milton was a staunch republican, who wrote books and pamphlets in support of regicide, the abolition of the monarchy and divorce, but was spared from retribution during the restoration of the monarchy.
The cottage contains many of his original works as first and second editions along with artifacts from his time.
We then walked down the hill to the parish church of Chalfont St Giles. Here we met our guide Tony Ferguson, who is not only an author and speaker, but also a member of the St Giles watch, which helps to ensure that the church remains open to visitors.
The church itself dates back to around 1150, during the reign of Henry II, but has been remodelled several times over the following centuries. Parts of the original Norman church are clearly visible and on the wall is a list of the rectors through the years dating back to the early 13th century.
One of the most striking features of the church is a set of 14th century wall paintings depicting scenes from the bible. These were discovered and revealed by the Victorians, but about 20 years ago suffered damage as a result of thieves taking lead from the roof.
Tony also pointed out ancient graffiti around the church dating back to the time of the civil war and a stained glass window with a small depiction of the devil, though he was a very small figure inside a red circle of hell!
Outside we were shown interesting features and graves, including a method used to protect the recently buried from ‘the resurrection men’ by placing long heavy stones across the grave.
After a very interesting tour of the church, we continued our walk into the village, ending up at the pub, ‘Merlin’s Cave’ for lunch.
Thanks to Gwyndaf for arranging this interesting and informative outing.
The advance party arrived at 9:30am to put up the gazebos in Ann Evans’ lovely garden, and as there were only 4 of us and we were dealing with a new gazebo, it took a bit longer than expected.
It was lovely to meet with old friends again. In total there were 33 of us, and, after mingling and greeting everyone, we chose which of the four tables to sit at.
provided us with a choice of chicken or salmon salads (or a combination of the two), and a wide array of desserts.
After the meal Kay Day thanked Ann Tennant for the lovely food and Ann Evans for coming to the rescue at the last moment with the offer to host the event.
We had a great turnout for our AGM on Friday 9th May. There must have been 55 people attending.
Chairman Gwyndaf John opened proceedings by welcoming everyone and saying that we had apologies from another 17. He said that as this was a special occasion, marking the 25th anniversary of the Society the celebration would be free and we would look back over the first 25 years since the Society’s creation. As he spoke, there was a slide show on the screen behind him showing photographs of our events over the 25 years – approximately 1,000 photographs!
Sue Jones then proposed a vote of thanks to past and present committee members.
Bob Ford then spoke about his time as chairman, and the 2004 trip to visit the Norwegian Welsh Society.
the organisers who had arranged outings, golf days and trips and all our committee members (giving special thanks to Jonathan Pegler and Maldwyn Pugh).
We all met at The Queen’s Head in Little Marlow at 10:00 for a 10:30 start. There were about 18 of us in all. We ordered our lunches before setting off.
We started off by heading off to the parish church of St John the Baptist.
Norman times, was constructed from materials from the convent, one of the oldest parts is the font.
We were able to spot swans, great crested grebes, tufted ducks, and various geese (greylag, bean or was it pink footed?).
As we went, Gwyndaf pointed out features of the flood plain, including the alder trees that grew along the river. Alders love moist or boggy ground, and Gwyndaf showed us the unusual female catkins, which look just like very small pine cones. It is the only deciduous tree which produces a cone.
We gathered at 6:30 to be greeted with a glass of fizz or a soft drink, and this gave us the chance to catch up with old friends and to talk of anything except rugby.
This year we were particularly pleased to be joined by Bob Ford (who was chairman when I first joined in 2010) and Jayne Pegler as well as Peter & Pat Chapman, who had travelled from their home in Brecon to be with us. It was also good to see Ernest Morris back with us after his accident.
As usual with Gerrards Cross Golf Club, the food was very good, with the most popular choices being Beetroot and Orange Gravadlax and Lamb Tagine followed by Merlot poached Pears with Blackcurrant Sorbet.
After the meal, Gwyndaf introduced our speaker for the evening, Sarah Green, the MP for Chesham and Amersham.
Sarah was born and grew up in Corwen, Clwyd and speaks Welsh fluently.
John Breese then took to the piano and played the National Anthem, followed by a number of old favourites and everyone joined in using the song sheets provided.
The evening finished about 10:30pm, another successful St David’s Day celebration.
Colin Picton had created the quiz and was acting as question-master, assisted by his glamourous assistant Kate, though she introduced herself as ‘Samantha’ (after the fictional assistant on Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I haven’t a Clue).
Colin and Diane’s house was all ready for Christmas, with festive decorations in every direction and a large Welsh flag in the front window.
Diane and Colin greeted everyone as they started arriving from about 12:30 onwards, and people migrated first to the kitchen, where drinks were being served.
To our left, Ann Tenant was already there, preparing all the different canapes.
People drifted between the living room, where the canapes were served and the kitchen, where the drinks were laid out on the table. This year there was a good supply of Prosecco, as there had been comments that this was overlooked last year.
Towards four o’ clock, John Breese started playing a selection of Christmas carols, with everyone joining in.
Each team included a member of Oakland Golf Club, who would be familiar with the course. Rob Britton led the first team to tee off, accompanied by Rob Brett and Ray Brown. The latter was a last minute replacement for the injured Brian Evans, but was an eminently well-qualified substitute as his wife is Welsh. Despite sharing the same initials this team did not always share the same opinion when trying to choose their “best” shot. Perhaps a consequence of putting two retired legal eagles in the same team.
Whitworth, and the third saw Colin Thomas partnered by Pat Whitworth and Alun McCarthy.
The end result was very close indeed. Though there were no birdies recorded, there were plenty of pars recorded on all the scorecards. In the end Pam, John and Gwyndaf scraped home as the winners. They took 81 strokes, just one stroke less than the two Robs’ and Ray. Another three behind were Colin, Pat and Alun.
After the golf the players were joined by other members of the Society for a splendid two course lunch. Among those attending were Elan and Robin Preston-Whyte who had travelled over from Egham. A later than usual start to the golf meant a late sitting for the meal, so thanks are due to all the non-playing guests for their patience.
Prizes were awarded to the winning team, and Gwyndaf and Rob were thanked for arranging the event.