Every year, in the summer and in December Arthritis Care changes from its usual 2pmformat to hold a lunch meeting. On July 3^rd this year it was time for our summer buffet lunch but what a difference a year makes – in 2006 we were so hot in 2007 it was very wet and miserable although to be fair we did at least see the sunshine during the afternoon.

 

As members arrived they were offered a glass of wine or fruit juice before they helped themselves to the wide variety of  food  spread out on the buffet table and if they’d left room there was an even bigger selection of mouth watering deserts.

 

Once the food was finished Chairman Sybil Saunders thanked all the Committee for their hard work in preparing the food with special thanks to Carol  Hampshire for the very pretty flower arrangements and Sheila Dorsett and Phyllis Cherriman for organising the food. Sheila and Phyllis were also presented with a gift each. Past Chairman Margaret Dalman thanked the Committee on behalf on the members. With a few minutes to spare before our Speaker arrived Sybil also drew the raffle.

 

This month our Speaker was Mark Brittain from Grayshott Fire Station who dedicated his talk on the history of the Fire Brigade in Grayshott to his Grandmother who had suffered from Arthritis.

 

Mark’s talk coincided with the 100^th anniversary of the fire service in Grayshott which had recently been celebrated at the village Jamboree with dramatic demonstrations, a display of vehicles and a visit from the dog team.

 

Grayshott is a relatively small village but 100 years ago it was rapidly expanding with large new houses which were considered a fire risk and the service was established with voluntary contributions  of £129 which bought 9 hydrants, 1200 feet of hose and  a hose cart. However this was not enough to save Tarn Moor which was the first fire they attended and more equipment was eventually bought. By 1927 the village had a motorised vehicle – one of only two in the whole country at the time.

 

By 1938 the risk came from air raids and the Government made local councils responsible for funding their local brigades but unfortunately not all equipment was compatible so once again the Government stepped in and nationalised the service. By 1948 however it was back to local control and Hampshire Fire Service took control.

 

Our own fire station was built in 1964 and although it is a ‘retained’ fire service they can mobilise in around 4 minutes and are trained for 80 types of incidents from fires to traffic accidents, chemical and environmental problems and even mass terrorist attacks. We’ve come a long way in Grayshott since the early days when messengers on foot rallied the crew and then had to run to the fire itself pulling their hose cart but we have those early pioneers to thank for our local fire station.

 

At the end of the talk members had the opportunity to ask questions and to buy a copy of the excellent commemorative book that has been produced by the Grayshott Firemen.

 

Don’t forget Grayshott Arthritis Care meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 2pm. If you’d like to join us please call Shirley on 01428 643625