MEMBERS of Chard Ladies’ Evening Guild were intrigued by John Burgess’ talk at their July meeting.

Having worked for many years with BBC radio programmes, he had developed an interest in recording listeners’ memories of events in their past.

One lady had described to him how the introduction of steam agricultural machinery in her small community at the start of the twentieth century had caused enormous celebrations amongst the villagers.

Along with many other recorded examples of local people speaking in their own accents, he explained that he had helped to produce a number of oral histories of villages. His closing words encouraged members to record or write down their memories to pass on to future generations.

Two members, Beryl Genge and Mary Pring were presented with flower baskets to mark their special birthdays.

The competition was won by Judith Minter and Trish Phippen, with Kathy Trott, Heather Manning, Chris Williams, Kay Black and Pat Dixon winning the raffle.

The games group will meet on July 11, the new lunch club on July 14, and handicraft group on July 20.

The next meeting will be on August 2, when Luke Simon will talk about School in a Bag. New members and visitors will be very welcome to join us at Manor Court School at 7.30pm.