Journalist Alison Parkinson was the guest speaker for the April meeting.

Looking back over her career, Alison recalled her first days with the local Redditch paper before moving on to become the first woman editor nationally of a free newspaper in Solihull.

She then moved into public relations and is now working as a freelance.

Members were interested to hear about aspects of her work that involved her meeting celebrities such as Jasper Carrot and the opening of Birmingham airport.

President Hazel Barnes looked ahead to the joint May meeting with Rotary guests, the garden visit in June and a visit to the National Arboretum in July.

GILLIAN WALTERS