Royal British Legion - Women's Section, Little Common Branch - May 30

Our shoe box collection has now come to a conclusion resulting in 34 boxes of goodies plus a contribution of eight large cartons of sweets from our social section for distribution to our brave troops away from home.

The title of our speaker's subject this month was a Potpourri of London which outlined the development of the capital through the centuries from small villages and hamlets each with its own cultures and characteristics gradually combining to form the whole. Many of the names of these areas reflected the trades that took place there. Anne Carter our speaker, pinpointed Wapping as a known noisy place in the past due to its activity in the wheelwright trade involving a lot of hammering. The word wapp is defined as to beat or hammer hence Wapping.

Anne gave us a vivid description of the cold spell in 1683 lasting three months when the River Thames froze over.

The people of London enjoyed a period of festivities on the river including hog roasts, skating, horse racing etc.

Our programme of outings includes a visit to Bewl Water on June 12, a day trip to Boulogne on July 17 making an early start, and travelling to the historic city of Canterbury in September.

We welcome visitors to our meetings the next being on June 11 at the Royal British Legion Club in Little Common. A visit from members of the Air Ambulance on that evening will provide an insight into the work they perform from which many of us or members of our families could benefit.