THE July garden party at Hill House was held in glorious sunshine, and our first act was to join our president Dot Waldron in a period of silent remembrance for the victims of the London suicide bombings of the previous week.

The theme of the meeting was A Mad Hatter's Tea Party and we all wore some form of headgear ranging from elegant through to crazy as we sat around the tables under the trees. Our guest Pamela Green had kindly agreed to judge the hat competition entries and she awarded first prize to Sue Pugh for her charming feathery confection. Runner-up was Elizabeth Mitchell for, in Pam's words, "her utterly crazy 'A Bad 'Hare' Day' concoction."

Our other guest was Margaret Ward from Salwarpe WI who had been our link delegate at the AGM of the WI at the Albert Hall.

Margaret delivered an entertaining and informative account of the occasion, bringing the proceedings there vividly to life for us.