New President Kathy Baldwin welcomed members to the December meeting of Crowton WI. Kathy ran through the business part of the evening which included details about the New Year lunch, the Group Carol Service, outings, and plans for celebrating the NFWI Centenary and Cheshire’s 95th birthday.

The speaker for the evening was Karen Corcoran whose claim to fame is that she was the first ever mounted police lady for the Greater Manchester Police Force. Karen gave a very interesting talk about her love of horses and how she joined the police force as a cadet in 1975. She had to battle to become part of the mounted unit because in those days only men were allowed, but her skill as a horse rider could not be denied and she eventually became a valued member of the unit. The media loved the idea of a young police woman on a horse and she was the star of a Granada TV Documentary and often appeared in the local press. In 2002 Karen was very proud to be part of “All the Queen’s Horses”, a special pageant to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Everyone enjoyed Karen’s talk and the evening was rounded off with festive refreshments and carols sung by some members of the choir.

The first meeting in the New Year is on January 6, and the speaker is Elizabeth Allen whose talk is entitled “Skin Camouflage”. Visitors and potential new members are always welcome.