Potters Bar & Barnet Local RSPB Group
by Jacky Walker
It doesn’t seem possible that five years have gone by since our 30th anniversary in 2007 but we shall be celebrating our 35th anniversary in 2012. In order to mark the occasion, we have booked a Wine & Cheese Evening on Friday, 8 June, at Tilbury Hall, with a jazz band to help us celebrate.
Quite a lot has happened in five years: Stan Bailey retired as our Group Leader in 2010 after 19 years, and we welcomed Lesley Causton as our new leader. Stan was appointed Life President of our Group. Fran Attrill has retired as our outings organiser after some 19 years, although she is still organising the holidays. We now have a team comprising Jenny Arnold, Gillian Barlow, Elaine Eyles and Hilary Sharp who have organised next year’s midweek and Sunday outings.
We have also lost our sales team who comprised Vivien and Brian Mardlin, Gordon Daniels and Jacky Walker, primarily because Viv and Brian moved to Welwyn Garden City. This team had put up the RSPB gazebo at various events, including the Potters Bar Carnival, the Fun Day at Oakmere Park, and Ridge Fete, for approximately nine years. Although latterly we had help from Ron Crummey and Deirdre Thompson, it was felt that we were all “of an age” whereby it was time to retire! The equipment is now stored in a member’s garage, so if you feel you would like to resurrect the sales team, please get in touch with one of the Committee and we will help to get you started.
The Group changed its evening meeting venue from the Wyllyotts Theatre in December 2008 because of increased hire charges, and moved to the new St. John Ambulance headquarters in The Walk. We continued to hold these meetings on a Monday, but such was the success of the change of venue, we had difficulty in seating all who attended. After two years, the Committee reluctantly decided to change the venue again in order to accommodate the increased number and Tilbury Hall at the United Reformed Church in Darkes Lane was booked in January 2010. This is a very popular venue and the church could only offer us a Friday evening in their busy schedule. We have continued to enjoy a series of good speakers, both for the afternoon meetings at St. John’s, New Barnet, and the evening meetings. The number of members attending the evening meetings is down slightly (perhaps because of the change to a Friday evening?) but we are enjoying the new hall and its amenities and the services of Steve the caretaker who puts out all the tables and chairs and sets up any equipment we may need.
The last five years has seen the Group enjoying the various social activities and fundraising events which have been organised by the Committee, ranging from quizzes, Autumn and Christmas Fayres at Barnet Library, publicity events in The Spires and the Dutch Nursery,
garden open days, coffee mornings, etc. and Bruce Bennett continues to give talks to other societies, his fees all being donated to the RSPB.
In 2008, members spent a long weekend in Devon and enjoyed a Christmas dinner held at Woodlands Manor Hotel near Bedford. In 2009, the Group went to Portland Bill for the weekend and enjoyed a Christmas dinner at Waddesdon Manor. In 2010, members went to Croatia and Gibraltar Point, and Christmas dinner was again held at Waddesdon Manor. 2011 saw members travel to Estonia in April and for a weekend in Norfolk in November based in Hunstanton.
Between 2009 and 2011, the following members were presented with their long service awards:
Stan Bailey 25 years
Ron Crummey 25 years
Deirdre Thompson 25 years
Fran Attrill 20 years
Marian Crecraft 20 years
Myra Huber 20 years
Jan Luke 20 years
Ian Stewart 20 years
Mark Mead 15 years
Lesley Causton 10 years
Sally Bennett 10 years
Bruce Bennett 10 years
Pam Dickinson 10 years
Pamela Moore 10 years
Peter Newberry 10 years
Jacky Walker 10 years
Ian Cook 5 years
Gordon Daniels 5 years
You may be interested to know that, since 1977, the following members were Group secretaries:
Wendy Norris
Rosemary Grimsby
Wendy Ellis
Sue Ford
Phyllis Coleman
Joan Shoults
Jan Luke
Pamela Moore (our current secretary).
During the five years under review the Group has donated £22,934 to the RSPB, not including sales goods, 100 Club or pin badges.
Our thanks go to everyone mentioned for their hard work. Thanks must also go to all those members who work so hard behind the scenes, all of which goes to make us a thriving and active Group.
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