CASINO: Nearly 50 Ellisfield Ladies and friends gambled the night away last Saturday night at The Fox Inn.

We were treated to bubbly and canapés on arrival, and a delicious buffet supper. The competition was fast and furious at the roulette and blackjack tables but, in the end, the overall winners were Lyn Boakes, who won a magnum of champagne, followed in second and third position by Denise Riddell and Tony Trown, who both won bottles of champagne.

Speaking as a loser, we all had a fabulous time as we could throw caution to the wind and gamble with pretend money!

HORTICULTURAL Society: last Thursday’s meeting was well attended. Nearly 30 people enjoyed Jim Love’s fascinating presentation on “Plants and Pandas in Sichuan”.

Jim had been part of an expedition to China taking local buses and camping in remote places; where he had taken some marvellous photos of plants and landscape that really gave a feel for the country.

The next meeting of the Horticultural Society will be on Wednesday, March 25, at Ellisfield, when Kelvin Mason will give a talk on “Vegetable Growing,” an opportunity to pick up some tips for the summer show.

SEVERE weather: Traffic virtually ground to a halt through Ellisfield and Farleigh at the beginning of the week.

Only the most intrepid seemed to tackle the roads.