January 2012

President, Barbara Aris, wished everyone a very Happy New Year and thanked the Committee and Members for helping to make the Christmas Party last month such a success.  It was agreed that the entertainment was very amusing.   

Members were delighted to see the WI Millenium wall hanging back in time for the party.  Janet Bangay stitched an edging of material around the original before it was reframed.  The cost of £331 was less than expected due to the generosity of everyone involved.  

Secretary Judith Butt read out a letter from long standing member, Beryl Cope, who regretfully wishes to resign from the WI due to ill health. 

An excellent £78.50 profit was made at Janet Forrest’s coffee morning with a further £17.50 on the Bring and Buy stall.   

Eve Brown and Ruth Groves were the runners up in the 2011 competition results with Anne Honour the overall winner.  

An outing has been arranged to RAF Uxbridge Bunker and Museum on Saturday, 28^th April. The guided tour will start at 10.30am.  This trip is open to family and friends. 

Other forthcoming events will be a village treasure hunt and a visit to Highgrove gardens. 

Voting took place for this year’s Resolutions followed by a fascinating talk and slide show on “A Royal Bucks Exile” given by Neal Rees.  When Mussolini invaded Albania in the Second World War, King Zog, his family and entourage escaped via Paris to Britain where he, like other minor royal families from Europe, stayed at the Ritz Hotel in London. 

When London was bombed, King Zog relocated to Parmoor Manor (now known as St Catherine’s) near Frieth, which became available to be leased after Lord Parmoor died in 1941. The King, his Wife and Son together with all his relatives and entourage lived there until 1946 when Britain asked the Albanian King to leave the country as they were supporting the now communist Albania.  There followed many years of him being exiled from one country to another, eventually returning to Paris where he died in 1961. 

Neal has since met a number of relatives of the late King Zog including Princess Michael of Kent, who was a relative of the King’s Late Wife, Hungarian born Geraldine, his Son and Grandson both named Leka.  He had the honour of being invited to King Leka’s state funeral last year.  Later in the year the Grandson visited the Manor to unveil a blue plaque detailing the stay of King Zog in this Buckinghamshire hamlet.  

The next meeting will be on 9^th February at 8pm when Chris Sargeant will speak on “Photography – Getting better Pictures”.  The competition is “The Worst Photo you have Taken”.

Gillian O'Flynn

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