I am pleased to report on our 3rd June 2009 Meeting, which to my mind was one of the most memorable WI Meetings I have attended. The sun was shining on this very warm morning and our speaker for the day was Mr. Tony Strafford.
He arrived resplendent in the uniform of Yeoman Warder (Beefeater at the Tower of London). Mr Strafford who must be 6 feet 5 inches tall made a very impressive figure as he walked into the W.I. Hall. His talk was on the Ladies of the Tower. He had been a Beefeater for 19 yrs.. Prior to that he served 22 years in the Army, much of it as a Sergeant Major !! During his talk he did not refer to any notes and spoke for three quarters of an hour without `hesitation or repetition`. To say he held his audience -- you could have heard a pin drop. He related happenings in our history, particularly regarding Henry the Eighth`s wives, some of which were particularly gruesome. We all felt that if history lessons had been told in this rich and amusing way, it would bring to life, what to many children can be a somewhat boring subject. He also told stories and related these to present day sayings we all use, explaining their origins. Mr Strafford answered many of our questions -- one of which was `where did the name beefeater originate` He said that no one really knew – `its lost in history`
We will endeavour to bring back Mr. Strafford next year and would definitely recommend as many people as we can fit into our hall, to hear his further numerous accounts of what has taken place in the notorious Tower of London and the humorous tales of his days as a Beefeater conversing with a multinational public.
The next Meeting of Dean Rise W.I. will be at 9.45 a.m. Wednesday 1st July. The Speaker will be Mr N Stewart - he will talk about `Life on the Reef` with slides.
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