The Rosamund Harrison Group meeting 11.10.23Broughton WI members were amongst 80 others from local WIs who enjoyed a great evening at Whitmore Village Hall hosted by Maer & District WI. We had a fascinating presentation by the speaker, John White, who described the symmetry of the setting of a dinner table in a grand Georgian house and the etiquette and behaviour of those who attended the sumptuous feasts. Symmetry of the table settings was paramount but there were some customs that were rather different 200 years ago…. and because the British were at war with the French in those days…. French wines were banned and serviettes were called ‘napkins’!
The dinner knife was long and round-tipped to avoid cutting of the diner’s tongue - as it was often used to put food into the mouth. The spoon and fork were placed facing downwards to avoid becoming tangled in the voluminous sleeves of the diner or inadvertently trapping debris that might fall from the roof. There were 3 courses and after each course (with the diners still in situ), - the table was cleared, including the table cloth, and a new set of table crockery etc. re-laid on a fresh tablecloth. We were told the tablecloth was often used by diners to wipe their hands and faces when eating. The wide based wine glass (usually filled with Madeira / German wines as an alternative to French wine) was washed in a bowl each time the wine was changed. You did not sip the wine but ‘bottoms-up’ was the order of the day and the glass refilled many, many times. With increasingly full bladders the women would retire to an ante-room and use a small pot called a ‘Bourdalou’ inserted under their skirts to relieve themselves whilst the gentlemen had a row of ‘pots’ at the side of the room for their convenience!! Seating of guests was originally - all ladies on one side of the table and gents on the other, but this gradually changed to the more ‘promiscuous’ (French) arrangement of alternate men/women seating plans. It would be deemed extremely bad manners to ask someone to pass a plate of food across the table - you just had to eat what was on offer on the nearest platter, … like it or not! Of course this was a snapshot of how ‘the other half lived’ and such grand table settings were not to be experienced by most people, - only the very rich. We learnt a lot …. and were probably very pleased that we didn’t have to live our lives in this way in 2023! We enjoyed wonderful refreshments, Audrey Malpass won third prize in the raffle and Judy Thompstone won 3rd prize for her old cheese-churner artefact and Brenda Howe won 3rd prize for her autumnal arrangement in a tin can. The next Rosamund Harrison Group meeting will be hosted by Broughton WI on 19th September 2024 when Frances Carlaw (The Pearl Lady ) will be our speaker. Rosamund Harrison WI Group Meeting
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Rosamund Harrison Group meeting 24.10.19
“Hear ye! Hear ye!”
Shrewsbury Town Crier for the past 35 years, Martin Wood entertained members from WIs at the Rosamund Harrison Meeting held at Ashley Village Hall. Martin is 7ft 2in tall, and has been named the world's tallest town crier. Town Criers have been around since the time of William the Conquerer, and there has been a town crier in Shrewsbury since 1295. In those days, the Crier had to give notice of the ‘cucking’ stool ( or ducking stool) - a punishment metered out in the Bishop’s Pool to women. These had often been nominated by their husband for the crime of ‘nagging him’! Since the 1940s, with the ascendancy of radio news etc there has been a demise in the numbers of Town Criers around the World. The regalia that the Shrewsbury T.C. wears is based on that worn in 1700s, and the specially commissioned bell weighs 12 ½ lbs The meeting concluded with the judging of the competitions for a hand bell and a jam jar of hedgerow flowers (with entries from Lesley and Jayne), followed by delicious refreshments provided by Mucklestone WI. Gardening through the Generations, - an evening with Margaret Thrower
On 23rd March 2017, 20 members of Broughton WI attended the Rosamund Harrison Group Meeting where the guest speaker was Margaret Thrower, daughter of the famous gardener and TV celebrity, Percy Thrower. In her entertaining presentation she talked about her family connections with gardening and Royal Gardens.
Her father, Percy Thrower, became nationally known through presenting various gardening programmes, starting in 1956 on the BBC's Gardening Club then later on the BBC's Gardener's World from 1969 until 1976. He has been described as "Britain's first celebrity gardener. Percy Thrower was determined from an early age to be a head gardener like his father, and worked under him at Horwood House (near Bletchley, Buckinghamshire) for the first four years after leaving school. He then became a journeyman gardener in 1931, at the age of 18, at the Royal Gardens at Windsor Castle, on £1 a week. He spent five years there under the head gardener, Charles Cook, who was subsequently to become his father-in-law. Percy left Windsor in August 1935 for the City of Leeds Parks Department as a journeyman, and then he moved to Derby Parks Department in 1937. While at Derby, Percy Thrower became a leading light in the "Dig for Victory" campaign in the Second World War carrying out educational visits to many of the local parks and even Derby Sewerage Works. He became engaged to Connie Cook), the daughter of Charles Cook, who was now the head gardener at Sandringham His final career move was to Shrewsbury in 1946, as the youngest ever Parks Superintendent. He had a staff of about 35. He had reached the top of his profession at just 32 years of age and it was his sole ambition in life. He expected to stay only four or five years, but in fact remained in post until 1974. There were two competitions and the entries were judged by Margaret Thrower. Broughton WI won 1st prize for a miniature Garden and 3rd prize for a flower-themed piece of jewellery. Congratulations to Judy Glover and Stella Day. The evening was the first presided over by Diane James in her new role as Group Co-ordinator, and was enjoyed by all who attended. Rosamund Harrison Group Meeting
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