INTEREST AND LEISURE CLUB: Visit to The Red House Glass Cone in Stourbridge - a glassmaking experience. After arrival and fortified with coffee, club members were split into two groups each with a very nice guide.

Inside the cone you could see the working conditions of yesteryear (it was built between 1788 and 1794). The cone houses the furnace around which the glassmakers worked. It also acted as a giant chimney drawing in air through underground tunnels to enable the furnace to reach a sufficiently high temperature to melt the glass.

Members were given a good lunch and then able to purchase glass items from the shop. This report has only skimmed the surface there is an enormous amount to see and learn about this wonderful craft.

It was a fascinating day and Dudley Smith gave a warm vote of thanks to Angela and Alan.