Chairman Bev Langham opened the Vale Royal Group Autumn meeting. She introduced the speaker, Chris Knight, who took members on an amazing journey to realise his “Olympic dream”.

Chris was one of 54,000 people who applied to take part in one of the ceremonies at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He was called to auditions where 200 successful participants were taught all the dance routines to be used in the event by Arlene Phillips, Toby Sedgwick and other leading choreographers, resulting in his invitation to attend rehearsals.

At the first rehearsal they were introduced to Danny Boyle. There were rehearsals held at the 3M Film Studios and the Ford car factory in Dagenham, however, only two absences would be permitted.

After many rehearsals Chris was given a number and chosen to be part of the “Industrial Revolution” phase of the opening ceremony, incurring a personal cost of £2300. The meticulously organised event was concluded with a magnificent firework display costing £28,000.

Don Langhurst, a volunteer for “Shelter Boxes”, gave members an insight into the work carried out by the organisation responding to world disasters. Shelter Boxes contain essential equipment required in the event of a disaster provided at a cost of £590 each, financed by 83 per cent of funds raised, and are distributed in areas where disasters occur.

The next Group Meeting will be held on March 23, 2015 at 7.30pm.