Our meeting at Holy Trinity Social Club ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING February 2009

This AGM was amazingly well attended and at one point we had to start finding more chairs.  This was great to see.  Although the occasion was very lively, your photographer seems not to have been on good form, though really, of course, it was his camera that was having a day off.  But any road up, here are some photos of the event.

	The Secretary and the Treasurer sign people in, enrol them for the coming year and issue new membership cards.  Meanwhile Bill Pope, Alan Bickley and lady who had again come all the way down from Yorkshire, discuss the common ancestor they had found - back in the 1500s!		Sandwiches, cobs, sticky buns and much else were available, prepared as ever mainly by Megan Fitzgerald-Plummer.  In the background you can see members poring over some large and splendid books of local photos which Reg Aston had made and brought along.
And Sandra Aston was there with Reg.  We all appreciated their determination to attend, despite health problems.		Gerald Hanrahan fronts this picture as members fortify themselves for the AGM and his talk.
	And the fortifying continues.		Gerald, with John Workman and John George - and a whole lot of high tech equipment for the talk.  Henry Metzger had even more equipment.  It's all very impressive - what would Professor Wood have made of it?
The room was soon full.		John Elwell was also down from Yorkshire, and had also turned up despite health problems.
	And Kath Keily was another who was determined to attend, despite a very sad personal loss.  She officiated over the tea bar as usual.		Then the AGM got under way.  All the existing committee members were re-elected en bloc and with the thanks of the Chairman and members for a job well done.
The Chairman is surprised by the length of the list, prepared by Alma Darby, of events which the Club had staged or assisted at, many of them connected with local schools telling children about their heritage.		Our most valuable treasurer, Barbara Presland, gives her report.  The Chairman is impressed by the good health of our finances.
	John Elwell conducted the elections and handed the mike back to the Chairman - who was amazed that John had not		And then on to the main entertainment of the day.   Gerald Hanrahan, shown here in relaxed pose, showed an amazing range of memorabilia, produced as a slide show by Gerald, Henry and John George.

The members thoroughly enjoyed the slides which brought back many memories of how Bilston was and how we lived in what now seems like a different world.

And after that there was more tea and chat.  Then everyone packed up the high tech equipment, Reg managed to get back his books of photos which had been in much demand, David and George did the washing up, and your reporter nattered to Barry Hodgson, Eric and Wynn Woolley, and others and generally managed to avoid doing any work.  Then we all went home

click here to return to our home page