AFTER welcoming members and guests and singing Jerusalem and doing a little business, president Doreen Kelly introduced our speaker.

This was Ann Hardy, who spoke of her experiences as a theatrical costumier.

She told us of her attempts to enter the theatrical side of dressmaking, and eventually worked for a Mr Nathan who was a key figure in that area, dressing many famous stars of stage and screen at that time.

Ann had many photographs of stars dressed in their costumes for various roles. She gave us lots of stories about the stars, their costumes and their personalities. Val Swain thanked her for a very interesting talk.

Our president had laid a wreath on behalf of Aveley WI in the Aveley garden of remembrance last Sunday.

Names were taken for those who wanted to go to St Pauls Cathedral for the Carol Service, and details were sorted for the Brick Lane panto trip.

Details were also given about the afternoon WI, the Thames Group WI Carol Service at Orsett, and our Christmas Party.

Two of our members, Val Swain and Vera Adams, recently underwent white water rafting to raise money for St Luke’s Hospice.

At the close of the meeting, long-standing member Jackie Garwood was presented with a plaque on behalf of Aveley WI as she will shortly be moving away from the area.