The president, Mary Davis, opened the April meeting and warmly welcomed all members and three visitors.

The meeting had a distinctly floral theme as members arrived with plants and gardening items for the evening's plant sale. Doreen Croxton and Joyce Bottomley admirably organised the event and everyone enjoyed swapping cuttings and plants.

Business matters began with reports on the half-yearly council meeting and the spring group meeting.

Mary gave news of ex-member, Margaret Wheeler, who recently moved to Norfolk. Everyone sent their best wishes to her and hoped she would soon settle into her new home. Twenty-three members had attended the annual dinner held at The Royal Oak. The evening was very enjoyable with plenty of time for a chat.

Mary introduced the guest speaker, Jan Harrington MBE, from the Swan Rescue Centre at Droitwich. Jan spoke about the work of the centre and with the help of slides showed the many problems she encountered with the swans, the main one being lead poisoning. The centre is one of only eight throughout the country, and relies entirely on fund -raising and donations to carry out its valuable work. Mary thanked Jan and everyone had the chance to ask questions. The resolutions meeting will be held on May 9, followed by a beetle drive.