drove and we went for a meal at Chigwell. We got to know Harry’s two guests very well. Good contacts were made One couple was named Danel, and we visited them many times and kept in touch outside Rotary. We enjoyed their company, even though our French was not that good. We had many happy times and it was sad when their Club had difficulties. Happily, it has now recovered and is in good heart. I did not go in the later years, because all those I knew well had died.
Sport and More Sport
A lot of our fellowship in the Club was due to sport. We joined in with other Clubs, particularly in the Canon’s Bowls Cup and the Golf Cup. Practically everybody came and had a wonderful day there. The competition was excellent. The snooker was great also. Sometimes it was played on Harry Wilson’s snooker table in South Ockendon and every time we had a council meeting it ended up with a snooker evening. We got through our business very much quicker than we normally did at council meetings.
My Committee Work
About this time I gave up being on the Council, although I was still an attendance officer. I got involved in the Essex Veterinary Society that a few of us had formed.
1958, so that took quite a bit of my time. I was still attendance officer, and I was on the International Committee and Information Committee. The International Committee at that time was very active and did a lot of work for the old people at Christmas, much as now. When the Hospice came along, we kept this going too.
More on Christmas and those Donkeys
At this time the Christmas tree was in Upminster and the first year we had it at the Congregational Church. Then it came down to Corbets Tey Road opposite Woolworths, where there is now a big fir tree. At that time there was not a tree there. We planted one some years later and had to erect it every year. There was also a Sainsburys in Corbets Tey Road, so nearly all our money came from collecting outside Sainsburys and Woolworths . It kept us very busy. We had it there for years. Later we had donkeys there and had the permanent Christmas tree. It was near the Lodge, so was very
28 It was finally formed in 1955 and I was President in
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