On Thursday Aug 28th more than 50 of our members gathered at the Georgian Hotel in Haslemere for a luncheon, paid for by an anonymous wellwisher. We all very much enjoyed the occasion and were very grateful for the kind gesture. As an added bonus we were able to have free transport to the hotel thanks to a generous donation from the HiddenGardensof Grayshott.
On Tuesday September 2 members gathered in Grayshott Village Hall for the regular monthly meeting. Sybil Saunders thanked our benefactors once again for our lunch and transport and has in fact had 29 letters of thanks from members themselves. Everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Gladys Burley before our speaker for the afternoon Mrs Katherine Minchin was welcomed. The subject was ‘Without The Veil In Saudi Arabia’ and was a recollection of when her husband went to work in Jeddah as a dental surgeon in 1978.
Much of her talk of life there concerned the role of woman in an Islamic country – they could not be visible to men other than their husbands or go out without them and the difficulties surrounding the hygiene when what water there was collected in tanks on the roof which became covered in sand or was sold in shops with a questionable level of cleanliness.
She told how wearing the veil is a relatively new custom because historically the people lived in tribes and never met outsiders, now from puberty, a girl is required to wear the veil but interestingly because water was scarce they used perfumes to freshen their bodies which wasn’t very good for the skin. Another interesting story concerned cutting off the right hand as punishment for stealing – that hand being used to eat with as the left is used for personal ablutions.
Katherine had many colourful tales to tell and left us with the thought that Islam teaches that men are rewarded in heaven but what about the women?.
After thanks from our Chairman for a very informative and interesting talk members enjoyed a cup of tea and cakes.
At our next meeting on 7th October our Speaker will be Mrs Lydia Shaxson ‘ Down Under With Her Harp’
