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Another civic dignitary in attendance was Louise Miles, one of Bilston's councillors. Here she is with Gerald Hanrahan.		A high powered group met in the front room: President Genge and Lord Turner talk to Jim Hewitson, whose uncle was a Mayor of Bilston, Herbert Beech.
	The Mayor and Mayoress had spent most of the morning with us and declared that they had greatly enjoyed a very interesting exhibition. We, in our turn, were very appreciative of their attending. Here they are, providing a video opportunity for Henry Metzger ...		... who duly recorded Kath Kiely and Alan Bickley bidding farewell to the Mayoral party (and the Mayoral Jaguar).
Back inside, David Fitzgerald-Plummer was, as ever, giving yeoman service to the cause, providing much appreciated party fuel.		And we continued through lunch time and on into the afternoon. Reg's albums and display folders were well appreciated.
	Some visitors took the opportunity to try out the Mayor chair for size, though Sue Hall had once been Mayoress of Wolverhampton, Margaret Benton had once occupied Wolverhampton's chair and Lillian Richards had also been Mayoress of Wolverhampton, as well as being a councillor there.		Megan Fitzgerald-Plummer and John Elwall also tried out the chairs but seem to have mistaken them for the back row in the stalls.

A very welcome visitor was Harold Marriott, perhaps the earliest of the surviving Bilston councillors - he was on the council even before Tom Larkin. He still lives locally, not a stone's throw from the Craft Gallery.

Another local councillor, Trudi Bowen (who is expected to be next year's Mayor of Wolverhampton, enjoys a chat with Angela Fellowes, daughter of a Bilston Mayor.

And so, in the late afternoon, ended the opening day of the exhibition. It had been a very remarkable day. About 100 people attended. How long is it since this venerable Bilston building saw such a crowd throughout a day?

THE BLACK COUNTRY MEMORIES CLUB

BILSTON - A TOWN OF ITS OWN