THE speaker at the November 13 meeting was Mary Smith with a talk entitled Table Manners.

She started by explaining how people ate in Norman times.

The main meal was served at 11am; no forks were used, only knives and fingers.

There were no potatoes, mostly bread soaked in meat and gravy in a communal bowl and what was left went to the poor.

They drank mostly beer and strong ale as water was too dirty and milk was for cheese.

In 1660, tea came in but was not popular.

When forks with two prongs arrived from Italy in 1719, they were used to hold what was being cut and food was put into the mouth with the knife.

A lot of deaths were caused by ladies' clothes catching fire whilst cooking.

She also spoke about today's eating habits, that food is increasingly eaten in front of the TV.

Mary was thanked for a very interesting talk by Polly, refreshments were served and the raffle drawn.

The club would like to thank everyone who attended the Christmas Fayre and made it a huge success.