Author: Gina Roberts

Our President, Lynda Lees, welcomed forty-six members and eight guests to the Garden Rooms at Tennants for our meeting on September 17th.

Members were warmly welcomed back following the summer break and reminded that lunch registration, together with online payment where applicable, is required to secure a lunch place. Christine Spencer also shared details of a local coffee morning taking place on October 16th in support of Breast Cancer Now.

Following lunch, we enjoyed a presentation from Mandy Clements-Hunt, North Yorkshire Poppy Appeal Manager. Mandy spoke movingly about the support she and her family received from the Royal British Legion (RBL) following the death of her husband, who was serving in Germany. This experience inspired Mandy to raise funds for the Poppy Appeal, having seen first-hand that the RBL is not only there for those who have fallen, but also for those who continue to live with the effects of service.

Mandy highlighted the important contribution made by Poppy Appeal volunteers, often described as unsung heroes. Last year, volunteers helped to raise £680,000 across North Yorkshire alone. The appeal is grateful for donations of both time and money, and anyone interested in volunteering can register at rbl.org.uk/pavol.

Angela Batty gave a warm vote of thanks to Mandy for such an interesting and heartfelt presentation.

Our next meeting will be held on October 15th, when our speaker will be Martin Peagam, accompanied by “Inca”, a hearing dog from Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

New members and guests are always very welcome. For further information, please visit our website at www.leyburnlunchclub.co.uk.

Vice-President Lynda Lees welcomed sixty-one members and eleven guests to the Garden Rooms at Tennants for the meeting on March 20^th. Our guests included the Chairman and Secretary of the Richmond Ladies’ Luncheon Club.

Following a particularly delicious lunch, Kathryn Cuthbertson MVO spoke about her working life and how she became Royal Pastry Chef to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 2006 to 2017. During her 32-year professional career, Kathryn has worked in some of the world’s most prestigious five-star hotels, Michelin starred restaurants and has dedicated a lifetime to pastry and the culinary arts. In 2017, she became a Member of the Victorian Order (MVO), awarded by The Late Queen in the New Year Honours List. Highlights of her time working for The Royal Family include creating and executing menus for state occasions, diplomatic receptions, Jubilee and other special celebrations. Examples of her work can be seen in the Royal Collection publications “Royal Teas” and “A Royal Cookbook”. Kathryn has now founded her own business in the Yorkshire Dales creating handcrafted luxurious chocolates, bespoke occasion cakes and holding culinary masterclasses. Stella Swan gave the vote of thanks for Kathryn’s fascinating talk and the opportunity to sample her Finest Collection of Chocolates and Truffles.

The next meeting is on April 17^th when Tennants Auction House Director Jo Fletcher-Lee and Jewellery Specialist Jessica Fall will share the history and work of Tennants. New members and guests are always very welcome, more information can be found on our website www.leyburnlunchclub.co.uk.

Our President Denise Houghton welcomed forty-eight members and three guests to the Garden Rooms at Tennants for our meeting on February 20^th. Members were asked to consider joining the Committee for the new season and Carron Kennedy introduced future online payments.

Following lunch, Angela Metcalfe spoke about the history and making of gin which originated in the 1600s. Masons Gin was founded 2013 in Aiskew with two stills, Steve and Lefty. The main still Steve exploded in May 2019 but following local support, temporary offices were set up to keep the business going. New premises were leased just outside Bedale with a distillery, laboratory, events space, bar, offices and dispatch area. Masons also invested in new stills, Tony and Anthea, although Lefty is still used as a backup. Another crisis was faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, but a skeleton crew continued through lockdown and hand sanitiser was produced which was donated free for non-commercial use as a way of giving back to the community. Masons currently export to USA, Europe, Australia and India but their main market is domestic. Denise Houghton gave the vote of thanks for Angela’s interesting presentation.

The next meeting is on March 20th when our speaker will be Kathryn Cuthbertson MVO, Pastry chef to Queen Elizabeth II. Kathryn has worked within some of the world’s finest hotels and Michelin star restaurants. She now has her own business in the Yorkshire Dales, and creates handcrafted luxurious chocolates, bespoke occasion cakes using world class craftsmanship and high-quality sustainably sourced ingredients.

New members and guests are always very welcome, more information can be found on our website www.leyburnlunchclub.co.uk.

Our Vice-President and Treasurer, Lynda Lees welcomed thirty-nine members and seven guests to the Garden Rooms at Tennants to our meeting on January 16th.

Following lunch, Posie Scrope spoke to us about how a freak accident led her to pilates and changed her life forever. Posie gave an insight into how pilates not only helped her recover from a skiing injury, but also the benefits that pilates brought both physically and mentally. We heard about how she retrained to teach pilates and how she set up her business in North Yorkshire. Posie Pilates now runs classes for all levels, including men only and online courses. She also holds one and three day retreats which combine pilates with breathwork, massage, a speaker and healthy food. Carron Kennedy gave the vote of thanks for Posie’s enjoyable presentation.

The next meeting is on February 20th when our speaker will be Angela Metcalfe who will talk about the history and making of gin, the founding of Masons Gin, the distillery and gin pairings. New members and guests are always very welcome, more information can be found on our website www.leyburnlunchclub.co.uk.

Our Vice-President and Treasurer, Lynda Lees welcomed fifty-four members and eight guests to the Garden Rooms at Tennants for our meeting on December 19^th.

Following a delicious festive lunch in the beautifully decorated function room, we were given a Christmas Flower Demonstration by Shannon Acton from Feather and Fern Florist located in Hawes. Shannon crafted three table decorations which were suitable to be used at different occasions over the Christmas period. All three had a theme and Shannon was very informative on how to use different effects and indeed, using flowers from our own gardens. Diana Dickson gave a vote of thanks. Our Christmas raffle did not disappoint with twelve excellent prizes as well as the three floral decorations kindly donated by Shannon.

The next meeting is on January 16^th when our speaker will be Posie Scrope of Posie Pilates. A freak accident led Posie to pilates and changed her life forever. This will be an insight into how pilates not only helped Posie recover after a skiing injury but also the benefits that pilates bring both physically and mentally. New members and guests are always very welcome, more information can be found on our website www.leyburnlunchclub.co.uk.

President Denise Houghton welcomed forty-nine members and six guests to the Garden Rooms at Tennants for our meeting on November 21^st.

After lunch Diane Smith NYP PCSO Catterick Garrison, Elizabeth Pritchard-Jenkins NYP Domestic Abuse Co-Ordinator Northallerton and Rebecca Hodson IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Services) gave a talk about how North Yorkshire Police deal with domestic incidents from the start to maintaining support afterwards and a presentation on the signs and indicators of domestic abuse.

Diane Smith is a Police Community Support Officer from the Neighbourhood Police Team at Catterick Garrison and has worked in Richmondshire for 21 years.  Neighbourhood Policing Teams deal with low level incidents which cover an array of topics, however as extra training Diane chose to train in Domestic Abuse and to use her training to offer support to victims of Domestic Abuse and Violence in the area where she works.

Domestic Abuse is a topic that people find very difficult to discuss, but it is one that North Yorkshire Police takes very seriously and can affect both men and women.  

Diane and Elizabeth covered how domestic abuse was defined, how to recognise controlling and coercive behaviour, the cycle of abuse and Clare’s Law. Rebecca described how IDAS is now the leading specialist domestic abuse charity in Yorkshire. One in four women and one in six men experience domestic abuse, with one woman killed every three to four days as a result. All new Police trainees receive domestic abuse training and this is now being rolled out to all NYP Officers. Angela Batty gave the vote of thanks for a very thought provoking presentation.

Diane plans to link in with some community groups up the Dale and if anyone is interested in the delivery of an informative session on Domestic Abuse to please contact her direct at: diane.smith@northyorkshire.police.uk

The next meeting is on December 19^th when Shannon Acton from Feather and Fern Florist will give us a Christmas Flower Demonstration. New members and guests are always very welcome, more information can be found on our website www.leyburnlunchclub.co.uk.

Our meeting on October 17^th was very well attended and President Denise Houghton welcomed fifty-four members and twelve guests to The Garden Rooms at Tennants.

After a delicious lunch, Denise introduced our speaker Tom Orde-Powlett who gave a presentation on The Scropes, Paulet and Orde-Powletts of Bolton Castle. This detailed the history of Tom’s family’s connection to Wensleydale, the most significant local and national events they were involved with and how this has influenced the Bolton Estate. Tom described how sustainability was the goal of the Estate and how they contributed to conservation in the local area. One particular focus is the curlew, which is globally threatened and since 1970 has declined 64% across the UK, the Estate has one of the remaining healthy populations of both breeding and overwintering birds left in the UK.

The next meeting is on November 21^st when representatives from the North Yorkshire Police Neighbourhood Team, a Domestic Abuse Officer and a member of the Independent Domestic Abuse Service will talk about how NYP deal with domestic incidents from the start to maintaining support afterwards. New members are always very welcome, as are guests. More information can be found on our website www.leyburnlunchclub.co.uk.

President Denise Houghton welcomed forty-five members and nine guests to the first meeting of the season on September 19^th in The Garden Rooms at Tennants in Leyburn. Denise announced that as this was to be her last year as President, our Vice-President Lynda Lees would chair the December and January meetings to ease her into her forthcoming new role. The Vote of Thanks rota for the forthcoming year will be published and the volunteer members were thanked.

Following lunch and time for everyone to catch up after the summer break, our speaker Neil Mechie spoke about his life as a local vet, racehorse trainer and farmer. Following an internship at York Equine Hospital and working in equine practice, Neil joined Johnston Racing. It was here that his passion for the sport of racing grew and along with his wife and fellow colleague Lucy, Neil successfully trained point to point and National Hunt racehorse winners. In 2020 Neil and Lucy set up Mechie Racing, a 16-box stable yard and also diversified into farming with Northern Dairy Short Horn Cattle and Border Leicester Sheep. Neil, Lucy and their two children are fully involved in all aspects of the racing yard, vet practice and farming. They try to do things in a sustainable and scientific manner intending to protect the environment, profession and sport they are involved in. Julia Barnard gave the vote of thanks for an enjoyable presentation.

At our next meeting on October 19^th, Tom Orde-Powlett will speak about conservation on The Bolton Estate. New members are always very welcome, as are guests. You can find more information on our website www.leyburnlunchclub.co.uk.