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What a great turn out for the Christmas Lunch at the Butcher’s Arms in Alltwen. An excellent meal was enjoyed by 17 of our hard working members. Wonderfully organised by Alan who gave us each a hand-tooled calligraphic reminder of our chosen menu (we selected them two months ago and memories are not what they…..sorry, forgotten the word. Oh yes, ‘were’). How much we owed was also included in festive red ink (a lovely touch, Alan).

Liz gave subtle reminder to all the Work Party that this, being a Tuesday, was a work day, by including a personalised fridge magnet in every cracker showing each member in active service on the canal. Some recipients, overcome with guilt, had to be prevented from leaving the party for an hour’s compensatory litter picking.

Gill, freed from her year round onerous Catering Officer duties, had prepared a special ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ Canal Carol, with the gifts received including ‘3 Brush Cutters’, ‘2 Bats a Batting’ (have you ever seen a bat with pads on??) and ‘A Canoe store in Coed Gwilym Park’. Move over, Bernie Taupin.

Mindful of the inability of anyone to remember song lyrics beyond the first line (a fatal flaw at the famous WRG Sing-In at the Wern Pub in September) Alan had again come up trumps with printed song sheets including such gems from his classical repertoire as ‘My Old Man’s A Dustman’, and ‘My Grandfather’s Clock’ (a beautiful solo rendition here from Lynne Gent). Had he also included Clive Dunn’s ‘Grandma’ we would have had a complete family tree to sing.

John, our Treasurer and self styled ’embarrassing uncle’, at last brought a note of class to the proceedings by quoting verbatim John Betjeman’s tale of farmgirl lust, ‘Agricutural Caress’. He was given a round of applause and a cold shower.

Such was the intense programme of fun and frivolity that some events, eagerly anticipated for weeks, had to be rolled over to another day. The quiz and its magnificent Arts and Crafts decorated Milk Jug prize is in abeyance until Friday when it will be the hors d’oevres before the Christmas Tree festival visit to St. Peters Church.

Many thanks to everyone who attended and made it all a fantastic afternoon.

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