ASTLEY WI: Following the presentation of birthday posies, ladies who had provided flowers and the raffle prize and those who had kindly manned the urn and provided everyone with welcome cups of tea and coffee were thanked by President Veronica Herridge.

There was an update of activities occurring around the county in the coming months. There was news of a new members’ day, a sugarcraft workshop, a social media workshop, a visit to the National Space Centre in Leicester, a sing ‘Joseph’ day, a session on preserves and a Centenary Battlefield Tour covering the First World War. There is plenty more on offer but there is far too much to mention here!

Speaker Nick Channing gave a slide show entitled From Downton Abbey to Watership Down in which a 35 mile walk was depicted in a series of photographs. There were many points of interest along the way and the scenery was truly beautiful.

As the evening drew to a close, members had the chance to browse through the items on the Bring and Buy table set up by Katie Reynolds.

The next meeting will be in Astley and Dunley Village Hall on March 2 at 7.30pm when David Clark will giving us a talk entitled "Sentenced to beyond the seas, eight Worcestershire convicts".