Firstly I would like to thank member Grace Eavis who handwrote this report for me as I was away she covered many side of paper!
After a wet and windy March it was good to see the sun again. Opening the meeting, Chairman Sybil Saunders took advantage of April Fools Day to tell us about some tricks her father had played on her mother. Our visit to see the apple blossom at Blackdown Apple Farm has been arranged for Tuesday 29th April when the minibus will leave the village hall at 1pm, all seats are now taken but you can put your name down in case any become available.
Sybil then introduced Mrs Fay Foster to speak on her year as a Mayor. In her case as Mayor of Haslemere in 2000/2001, she began by explaining that the mayor is chosen by the 18 Councillors for a one year term. Duties can include chairing meetings, being ‘first citizen’, meeting dignitaries and attending various functions – 302 in her year! Sometimes four in a day so it is a tiring job.
Mr & Mrs Foster have lived in Haslemere for 47 years and have always been involved in the local community – helping in the fight to stop the Georgian Hotel being developed into flats being one of them. One of the highlights of the year was the visit to Bernay, the twin town in France, where she was picked up in a Rover car ‘British Cars are best’ said her hosts and they also approved of our runner beans, so different from the French beans and they were even served at dinner that night as the French mayor had bought seeds in West Street on a visit to Haslemere. The German twin town is Harb-am-Neckar and on a visit there she was presented with a huge picture which proved very difficult to bring back to the UK.
In Fay’s particular year the most important event was the possible closure of HaslemereHospital. She was instrumental in getting the media involved and in pushing beds from the hospital to the town hall - the police wouldn’t let them go as far as Lion Green – complete with Doctors, nurses and balloons. She took a petition to Downing Stand the hospital was saved – but for how long!
Her interests in that year embraced both the old and the young, her charity was Hasleway and she worked to raise funds for that, she gave talks to local schoolchildren as part of their citizenship studies and was involved in the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline.
The most exiting event of the year was an invitation to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party, two of 8000 guests and she remarked that although she had seen the Queen at close quarters the cakes were ‘very ordinary’. They also went to the House of Commons and were shown around by Peter Bottomley.
This talk showed us how busy a year can be but Fay Foster was glad to have been able to help the community and meet so many people. We finished as usual with refreshments and a raffle. On May 6th our speaker will be Jill Grainge ‘The Sleeping Dragon Awakes’ about China
