FOLLOWING on from the December carol concert, members were in a position to make a donation towards the local MacMillan Palliative Care Nurses who are based in Basingstoke hospital. A vote was taken for the 2011 charity of our choice which will be for the local Salvation Army.
The speaker in January was John Hollands, who is an archivist at The Willis Museum, and the talk was about some of the history of Basingstoke going back to 1820. This included times when the Basingstoke Canal was still in use, men were being press-ganged into service and the, then, Prince and Princess of Wales stopped in Basingstoke while their train was taking on more water before proceeding. They were on their way to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight for their honeymoon.
Members also heard about local people, who made a difference in Basingstoke such as John May. They also saw photographs of Basingstoke long before the development started, what a variety of shops.
Members had a belated Christmas lunch in Winchester, which was enjoyed by all. The arts and crafts group met and are now preparing for the Federation Rainbow day in June.
The ramblers walked around Greywell which was followed by lunch at the Fox and Goose pub. The coffee morning was again held at The Willis Museum.
If you would like to know more about the Townswomen’s Guild, come along as a visitor. We meet every second Tuesday of the month at Sarum Hall, Basingstoke, from 10am to noon.
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