The new chairman, Rosalyn Clarke, welcomed everyone to the December meeting of Melksham and District Flower Arrangement Society, especially Rachel Fear from Alzheimer’s Support who was there to receive a cheque for money raised during the course of the year.

Christine Oughton, the previous chairman, was invited to present the cheque for £1,200 (£1,000 from fundraising and £120 a donation from Steeple Rocks Choir from Steeple Ashton in lieu of their fee). Rachel was very grateful for this generous amount and assured the meeting that the money would be put to good use.

Rosalyn Clarke said: “I used to work for the charity when it started up, so I know first hand the good work it does, and it makes my heart glad to see how much they’ve developed since.

“We haven’t settled on our charity for next year yet, but we’ve got it down to two very worthy causes.”

She then introduced Veronica Coe who presented her demonstration of Season’s Delights. Veronica came from Gloucestershire and had stepped in quite recently to visit the club. She used beautiful plant material and introduced the club to some new flowers, including a Flamingo flower, very similar to an anthurrium, in pale green and pink, some lovely pink amaryllis and a topic for conversation, a very contemporary Christmas tree with red amaryllis hung upside down with red carnations placed in their hollow stems. An unusual combination. Lovely large chrysanthemums and a selection of gerbera and roses were also used. The afternoon concluded with tea and mince pies.

The next club meeting will be on Tuesday, January 21 at 2pm with guest speaker Elaine Barwick talking about Magicked by Mushrooms. A practice class Back to Basics will take place from 11am at Spencer’s Sports and Social Club, Beanacre Road, Melksham. Contact Rosalyn Clarke on 01225 705007 for more details.