PRESIDENT Sue Grimsted opened the meeting welcoming members and visitors.

We then all joined in singing Jerusalem.

The minutes from the last meeting were read and approved and duly signed.

Sue reported that our painting day on August 12 was a great success and also great fun.

Our lunch club meet next on Friday, September 15 at the Fox at about 1pm.

Our secretary Margaret read the correspondence and our treasurer Jackie gave the financial report.

The tickets for our skittles evening on Saturday, October 7 are on sale and also at our October meeting, at the price of £6.50 which includes a ploughman’s supper.

Sue introduced our speaker Jean Burnett with her talk titled ‘Jane Austen Made Me Di It’.

She talked of the life of Jane and her books.

What is so fascinating is that some 200 years after her death her books are still being sold all over the world.

Even more amazing is that spoof books have been written, with some characters being Aliens, Sea Monsters and Vampires.

I wonder what Jane would have made of all this or even Rudyard Kipling who was an avid fan of Jane.

It was a most fascinating talk on one of our most famous authors. Jean herself has written books inspired by Jane, The Bad Miss Bennett Abroad and Who Needs Mr. Darcy.

Sue thanked Jean for such an interesting and amusing talk.

Sue told us her sewing group were having an exhibition of their work on Saturday, September 23 at the Jubilee Centre from 10am-4pm and hoped to see some of us there.

Our speaker for the October meeting is Alan Mildren on ‘Margaret Gatty - Seaweed Collector’.