MAMBLE CUM BAYTON WI: The meeting in June had been a most enjoyable visit to Toll House Cottage Gardens, Bewdley and Pauline Blumer was thanked for making all the arrangements.

At the July meeting, the secretary Lyn Bowen announced that there were two Bursaries available through Worcestershire Federation to attend Denman College and a delegate was required to represent the Institute at the Annual Council meeting in October. Names were taken for lunch with the speaker on October 13.

Congratulations were extended to Juliet Hole whose book on drawing has just been published.

We welcomed Paul McGuire who had been a warm-up man for BBC television when it was based at the Shepherd's Bush theatre and studios. He recalled many amusing anecdotes of what happened behind the scenes prior to transmission and some of the celebrities of the day who, at times, were quite difficult to deal with. All the singing in The Black and White Minstrel Show was pre-recorded and mimed on the day to keep the sound constant as the Minstrels danced and moved around. He worked on the New Faces series, and also with David Nixon and the Billy Cotton Band show, The Goons and Frankie Howard, to name a few! He certainly took members back on a nostalgia trip.

On August 3, members will visit The Secret Garden in Ludlow, meeting there at 2pm. We return to Mamble Village Hall on Monday, September 12, when Mr R Morris will talk about Teme Valley Hop Pickers, starting at 7.30 pm. The competition is an item beginning with Z.