We had a great turnout for our AGM on Friday 9th May. There must have been 55 people attending.
People started arriving at 6pm, greeting old friends as well as welcoming new members. It was good to see some of the long-time members again too, like Verlie Heal, Bob Ford and Hugh Griffith.
Colin and Diane Thomas greeted people as they came in with a glass of fizz or juice.
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!
In his Chairman’s Report, Gwyndaf described many of our activities over the past 12 months, including our walk around Windsor, where we had been recorded on YouTube watching as the Welsh Guards marched past.
Membership was reported to be approximately 115 (to be confirmed when final subscriptions were received). Gwyndaf welcomed new members Teifion and Barbara Jones, Russell and Veronica Fowler and Huw Meredith (Eirwen’s son).
Lloyd Jones then gave his treasurer’s report, indicating that the Society’s finances were in good shape, even after financing the evening’s food and drink!
Gwyndaf then reported that two new committee members have been seconded – Mike Owen as Minutes Secretary and Colin Thomas, who will initially assist with the Golf Day.
All the committee members were willing to stand again, and were duly unanimously re-elected.
Before closing Gwyndaf said that the committee intended to add an ‘In Case of Emergency’ contact to our membership details, and during the year members would be asked to nominate a suitable contact.
Sue Jones then proposed a vote of thanks to past and present committee members.
The formal part of the meeting then ended and we replenished our glasses while Ann Tennant provided us with an excellent evening meal with a choice of chicken or salmon.
The slide show of photographs continued during and after the meal as Gwyndaf opened the review of 25 years of the society’s history.
Ann Evans described how she came up with the idea and the first meeting in 2000 – a barbeque hosted by Gwyn and Jean Owen.
Gwyndaf then read out short reports from Ralph Broomby and Gwyn Owen, who were amongst our first chairmen, neither of whom could attend as they were on holiday in the Mediterranean.
Bob Ford then spoke about his time as chairman, and the 2004 trip to visit the Norwegian Welsh Society.
David Powell recounted his time in the society, featuring an eventful trip to the Magic Circle, and his chairmanship during Covid, when we all had to learn how to use Zoom and we had the Archbishop of Canterbury addressing us on the small screen.
Finally, Gwyndaf thanked all the people who had helped make the society such a success, including those who had lent us their living rooms and gardens for Christmas drinks and summer lunches, our caterers (especially Ann Tennant), as well as 
the organisers who had arranged outings, golf days and trips and all our committee members (giving special thanks to Jonathan Pegler and Maldwyn Pugh).
After a successful and enjoyable evening we turned off the projector, cleared the tables and chairs, and went home by 10pm.
UK staff used to use Walther PPK pistols, but changed to bulkier Smith & Wesson revolvers after an incident when the automatic pistol jammed. Lloyd described the care and maintenance of the weapons and the firing practise that they undertook.
This year we chose a new venue for the AGM – the Jubilee Hall in Amersham. This is a new building on Rectory Hill, near the railway bridge, and just down the hill from Dr Challoner’s and is the home of the 2nd Amersham-on-the-Hill Scout Group.
There were about 33 members in attendance, and chairman, Colin Picton, kicked off the meeting at 7:30. Colin went through the formal part of the evening with approval of last year’s minutes and a run through of all the events we had enjoyed over the past year. Membership remains at about 110, and Colin welcomed several new members to the Society.
2Ann Lawrence asked a question about older members. Some members are no longer able to attend any of our meetings but still wish to keep in touch with the society. Ann asked whether it would be possible to let these members become ‘honorary members’ with no fee, but still included in emails and sent copies of the newsletter. David Powell said that, as treasurer he should point out that newsletters and postage would cost £4 per annum. The chairman proposed a vote on the issue and it was carried unanimously. The society will now offer an honorary membership to those who can no longer attend meetings.
Ann Tennant then served us all with dinner with three choices of main and several alternate desserts. We are all very thankful to have Ann, and are constantly surprised at how she prepares such good food on her own at such reasonable prices.
locations in the UK, both in Snowdonia. The flower is the only Alpine bulb in the UK and is probably a remnant from the ice-age.
Colin thanked David for his chairmanship over the past 3 years and went on to introduce our speaker – Neil Rees, an IT professional who is also a keen amateur historian and writes for the Bucks Free Press and has some fascinating facts about Aneurin Bevan.
The old farmhouse came with just over 50 acres, plus farm buildings, and 2 cottages. The farm manager and cowman were kept on, together with the herd of Guernsey cows and 60 hens. Nye became an enthusiastic farmer. He built up the herd to 60 cattle, and also started to keep pigs. 
This year we had a distinctly odd AGM.
Our Chairman, David Powell got off to a good start (this being his first year as Chairman and hence his first chairing of the AGM) by welcoming us all. In particular Thelma and John Lusher who had traveled all the way from the New Forest. The reports for the year were encouraging; membership strong at one hundred and sixteen; finances in good shape; two new members of the committee have volunteered their services – Merle Davies and Peter Chapman; and there has been strong support for all the events over the year. Particular thanks were directed towards Graham Beavan on his retirement after a long tenure as Treasurer.
by a meal. The caterer was Anne Tennant who clearly knows exactly what the members of the CDWS enjoy, and on this occasion was like a human dynamo. The rest of her team were at an event catering for the mayor of Beaconsfield so Anne was chief cook and bottle washer and everything in between. Well done Anne! The choice of desserts was particularly appreciated. Bread and Butter pudding and custard, Chocolate mousse, cheese and biscuits, Fruit Pavlova and I spotted a fruit salad for someone dairy intolerant. The gentlemen on our table made a bee-line for the Bread and Butter pudding, and then when Anne explained that she really didn’t want to take anything home, they were happily also tucking into Pavlova. No doubt belts were loosened.
After the meal came the entertainment. This year it was the place of Bertie Pearce whose web site says that he “…brings wonder and laughter to your event”. We were not disappointed on either count. The theme was “Now you See it-Now you Don’t, The Art of Visual Deception”. This was a whistle-stop tour through Surrealism, Trompe L’eoil, Ambiguous Imagery, Optical Art and Camouflage. Fascinating, thought provoking, puzzling, entertaining, amusing and all delivered at a pace that kept you on your toes, engaged and surprised. A particular ripple of amusement occurred when Bertie said that in America artists had used illusionary methods to paint potholes on the road which appeared to be 3D in order to reduce speeding. Here in Buckinghamshire we have no need for artists’ illusions. We have the real thing.
future event to offer magical entertainment?
The minutes for the previous AGM were agreed and Kay reviewed the past year, starting with the passing of Mike Stythe, an enthusiastic supporter of CDWS and who had organised memorable trips to Snowdonia. Kay remembered how Mike’s army background meant that he always planned for the unexpected, including carrying a foldable stretcher in his rucksack in case of mishaps on the walk!