A happy group of ladies met at the usual venue, the Ladybird Inn, to enjoy lunch and to listen to a good speaker afterwards.

Bernard Mills, of Kays of Worcester, is the chairman of the Kays Heritage Group, and as such has the 200 years of the history of the company at his fingertips, aided by his computerised slides and projector.

The entire business started off in the late 19th century by a William Kilbourne Kay, who was known as a "Jewellers Assistant" - how about that for shrewd business acumen? He rapidly became a wholesale jeweller, who realised that customers wanted to buy goods but could not afford to pay outright, so he invented the first mail order catalogue, whereby money could be repaid on a weekly basis.

The ladies were given the good news that Joyce Hopkins is well on the way to recovery after her spell in hospital but the bad news followed that Joyce Parker died suddenly, early in April. She will be sorely missed by her friends at the luncheon club.