Officers and Committee for the Year
| President: | Miss E. A. WILLEY. |
| Vice-Presidents: | Miss WALLACE, Miss
STOWELL,
Miss WATSON, Miss WAILES. |
| Hon. Secretary: | Miss RHODA L. CHAPMAN,
7, Shadwell Walk, Moortown, Leeds. |
| Hon. Treasurer: | Mrs. McCARMICK,
44, Cardigan Road, Leeds, 6. |
| Sports Representative: | Miss B. LOWE
14, Helmsley Drive, Headingley, Leeds, 6. |
| Old "Modern" Players' Rep: | Miss B. IRENE FARRAR,
45, Wellclose Mount, Leeds, 2. |
| Magazine Representative: | Miss IRENE WOOD,
"Kenroyd," Coal Road, Whinmoor, near Leeds. |
| Swimming Representative: | Miss E. KINGSTON,
3, St. Ann's Lane, Leeds, 6. |
| General Committee: | Mrs. Dawe, Misses
B. REED, E. BRIGGS,
M. KINGSTON, E. LUNN, E. PEARSON, C. WALKER. |
Dear Fellow Members,
I have been so fortunate this year in the response to my appeal for news and Magazine contributions generally, that I shall have to make my account of the year's activities much shorter than usual. However, I'm sure no one will object to that, least of all your humble servant, so I will commence operations at once.
First of all, changes in the List of Officers as shown above. We were very sorry to lose the services of Evelyn Briggs this year. She has been Treasurer of the Old Girls' Union for a very long time now, and has been unstinting in the time and energy she has devoted to her work for the Union. Treasurer to the Old Girls' Union is no mere figure of speech, it is, in fact, very hard work, and I do not think there is anyone amongst our Members who would not join me in putting on record our very sincere gratitude for the work Evelyn has done. Nor could we justly complain when she asked to be relieved of the office owing to pressure of business elsewhere. She has served us well and truly, and the least we can do is to "grin and bear it." We wonder what it feels like to be able to attend meetings and socials unaccompanied by the week-end case of clerical material and the "money-box," and to be able to enjoy oneself without having to eternally wield a fountain-pen over a receipt book! Ah, well, perhaps once upon a time Mrs. McCarmick could have told us, but by the time this Magazine is in print she will have forgotten what it feels like. Mrs. McCarmick is the heroine who has very kindly taken on the Treasurership, and thus earned our undying gratitude. We take this opportunity of extending to her a very hearty welcome, and wishing her good "(sub)-hunting" during her first year of office. We hope everyone who reads these words will take them to heart, and give her the financial support all Treasurers yearn for.
You will also notice that there is a new Officer on our list this year, viz., the Swimming Representative. Miss E. Kingston has taken on the task of inaugurating a new office, and we feel sure that she will set her successors (whom we hope are a long way from being required yet) a very high standard to live up to.
Miss Brenda Lowe, our Sports Representative, was married in January of this year and is now Mrs. Goddard Fretton and living at Hull, so that presumably she will soon be our "late" Sports Representative. She will be sadly missed, having "skippered" our Sports Section to very many victories. However, we all join in wishing her happiness and success in the future and trust that she will not forget her "sporting" chums at Lawnswood.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting was held at Lawnswood High School on October 29th, 1935. About forty members were present. Miss Willey opened the meeting with her usual cordial welcome to new members and also announced the date of the School Prize-giving, to which all O.G.U. members are invited. This year it was to be held on November 12th. It was with deep regret that a letter of resignation from the Treasurer was read and accepted. Miss Willey moved a vote of thanks and appreciation to Miss E. Briggs for the splendid work she had done for the Union. It was moved that it should be put on record that the O.G.U. owed her a deep debt of gratitude. The Secretary presented her report of the year's activities, which made mention of the very successful Easter Dinner at the Hotel Metropole in April (reported in last year's Magazine).
She also mentioned that owing to the alterations in the arrangements for Swimming, whereby the baths were only used from May to September, the Balance Sheet showed for the first time a small balance in hand. It was thus hoped that the problem of the O.G.U. Swimming Club had now been solved. The Secretary closed her report by proposing a vote of thanks to Miss Willey and the Staff for their support of the Union and its activities. The Treasurer's Report and Balance Sheet were next read and confirmed. The latter showed the smallest balance that the Union had had for a number of years. There had been a slight loss on the Christmas Social and a profit on the Easter Social, which had taken the form of a Dinner.
The Sports Report, which recorded a very successful year, was next read and confirmed. The report from the Magazine Representative was read and accepted. She made a vigorous appeal to the members for news concerning Old Girls. The Report of the Old "Modern" Players Representative was next read and completed the recording of the various activities of the O.G.U. Sections.
The election of new Officers was next held. It was moved and seconded that a Swimming Representative should be elected and that the General Committee should consist of seven instead of eight members. Refreshments and dancing occupied the rest of the evening.
Christmas Social
The Christmas Social was held in the School Hall on Tuesday, December 17th, 1935, from 7-30 to 10-30 p.m. It was a very jolly affair and quite well attended. There was dancing, followed by an entertainment of musical items and a novelty in the form of a "Silent Talkie," in other words a "Wild West Thriller" in three scenes, burlesqued in dumb-show by members of the Dramatic Section.
Easter Dinner
The Easter Dinner was held this year at the Conservative Club, Leeds, on Friday, April 3rd, 1936, at 7-30 p.m., and the tickets, as before, were 3/9 each. The attendance compared very well with that of last year and a great number of Old Girls were attending for the second time an Old Girls' Dinner. The dinner was again excellent, and after we had all partaken, Miss Willey proposed the toast of "The Union." She remarked how splendid it was that the idea of the Dinner should be repeated again this year with even greater success, and that the moment when she was privileged to propose the toast of the Union was indeed a proud one for her. Miss Willey also commented on the change of venue for the Dinner, and the fact that all O.G.U. members were, in a way, Conservatives by reason of the meaning of the word "conservative." To "conserve" is to preserve and keep alive, and all O.G.U. members unite in conserving the good name and good fellowship of the School to which we owe so much. Miss Willey concluded a very pleasant speech by remarking that she would set subsequent speakers a good example by keeping her own speech short, a boast which was by no means idle, and quite in Miss Willey's ever thoughtful manner. In a very vigorous and entertaining response. Miss Elsie Braithwaite referred to the Old Building at Vernon Road and school life during her last term, when she and others of her Form seemed to spend most of their time "charring" in the house which the School had undertaken to maintain for the use of Belgian Refugees. Miss Winnie Brown seconded Elsie's reply, and one felt glad that the Union had such staunch supporters amongst its members.
Miss Ellen Lennox proposed the toast of "The School." It does not seem very long since Ellen was replying to the toast which was proposed to the School on the occasion of the removal from Vernon Road. However, she has gone far since then, so far, in fact, as she herself said, that now she has to handle children in class herself, she realises much more fully what she owes to those at School who, with patience and skill, guided her steps along the paths she is now helping others to traverse.
Miss Watson replied to this toast in a speech full of reminiscences. She brought to mind many half-forgotten incidents and facts about the old School, chiefly concerning Vernon Road. Her recollections of the days when she was engaged in chaperoning the Art Class during the visits of the Art Master, of the adoption of the Belgian family referred to by Elsie, and of the fact that the cost of this was round about 30/- per week, which was raised in various ways by the School and its members, of the amazing fact that over £7,000 was taken at School in War Savings Certificates during the War years, all of which had to be handled by members of the Staff, who were in charge of that department in addition to their ordinary duties, were all full of interest. She also touched upon a fruit-picking excursion in Scotland, which appears to have been a very riotous affair, and an interesting trip to the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford-on-Avon. Present-day school-girls do not have all the fun apparently, and Miss Watson's peeps into the past served to illustrate this very forcibly. Last year Miss Wallace defined for us an "Old Girl." This year Miss Watson defined an "Old Mistress." In her opinion when one discovered that one was teaching the child of an "Old Girl" one could definitely be said to have become an "Old Mistress." Yes, we suppose Miss Watson is right, but if all "Old Mistresses" can "yarn" as well as Miss Watson they will always be welcome at Old Girls' Dinners! The toasts were concluded by a toast to Miss Willey, proposed by our Secretary, Miss Rhoda Chapman, in which she thanked her for all the help and support she had given to the Union during the past year. In a brief response, Miss Willey said that she was proud of her responsibilities to our Old School with its traditions and records and would always do whatever lay in her power to carry them on both in School and through the Old Girls' Union.
The proceedings were followed by songs from Blanche Reed and Mrs. Noe (Muriel Watson) and a dialogue by Evelyn Briggs and Irene Wood. The guests departed at 10-30 p.m. in very good order. (Please note!)
Swimming
Mention has already been made of the new Swimming Representative. We would remind Members that the new season started on Wednesday, April 29th, and will continue each Wednesday evening to the end of September (no swimming in August). Subscription 2/-, and 3d. per swim. The baths proved very popular last year, and we hope that more than ever will join this Section this year.
Tennis
Tennis on the School Courts is available for Old Girls every Monday and Wednesday evening from April 29th to the end of September. (No play in August.) Subscription 1/- for the season, to defray incidental expenses. The dates of the Tennis Socials will be sent to all Members later.
Saturday, July 18th
A Garden Party will be held at the School at 3-0 p.m. All "Old Girls," whether members of the O.G.U. or not are cordially invited, and married "Old Girls" with their babies (young and old) will be specially welcomed. Admission 1/- (including tea), children 6d.
Things You must not Forget:—
News of Old Girls
We are indebted to Hettie Crown for the following University Notes:—
Sports.
Mary Pedley has sent a very interesting contribution in the form of a list of Old Girls who are officiating in one or other of our Leeds Public Libraries. We are rather gratified to think that our School has contributed so many members to a very efficient Staff.
From Leighton Hall, Beckett Park, comes a very welcome contribution from a trio of Old Girls. We have pleasure in quoting it in full:—
"With great surprise we realise that we have been 'Old Girls' for almost a year. Our first year at Leeds Training College has been a very happy one and we have found both the work and the social side interesting and enjoyable. We have been initiated into the pleasures and trials of School Practice and are 'looking forward' to our second attempt in June."It was with mixed feelings of loyalty to the old School and our present 'place of learning' that we watched the Hockey Match between Lawnswood High School and the Training College.
"There are rather more Old Girls at Leeds this year than there have been in previous years, and it is very pleasing to feel that amongst so many students from different parts of the country we have a corner belonging to Lawnswood.
"We are looking forward to welcoming any new-comers from Lawnswood who will be joining us in the autumn."
PHYLLIS CRASKIN.
MAY SOLITY.
JESSIE GIBSON.
Further items of news were received in a welcome letter from Margaret Gledhill (nee Miller), who informs us that Mary McMillam is now a Nurse at Bingley; Betty Wright is a Domestic Science Mistress and Marjorie Baines a Secretary in London. Nancy Miller, who only left School at Easter, is now a Swimming Instructress at Scarborough. Nancy took her Bronze Medallion at School, so she is making good use of her prowess already. Ethel Pollard, who is in South Africa, now has a baby girl; Margaret Smith is also married and so is Beatrice Leech.
We should also like to offer our congratulations to Evelyn and Brenda Lowe, who were both married this year, and also Gladys Weston, who was married last June. A late Committee member, Mrs. Gray (nee Lillian Rhodes), now has a lovely little girl, who is the god-daughter of our late Treasurer, Evelyn Briggs. They are both lucky! We send our very best wishes to all those other members of whom we have not had details, and wish them one and all the very best of luck.
Whilst dealing with the "matrimonial" section of our news, we must not omit to send our hearty congratulations to MISS TOWLER, who, we understand, has married and is now MRS. TOWLER. Our information comes from a very reliable source, so that although Miss Towler herself strenuously denied any such impending development when she departed from Lawnswood, we feel sure that we are in order in broadcasting the glad tidings. We are compelled to admit that the O.G.U. would have liked to have been in Miss Towler's confidence, but we feel sure she would have a good reason for "stealing a march" upon us, and we freely forgive her. We wish her real happiness, long and lasting, and we hope that she will not forget the Magazine as the days of her leisure begin to mount up. Everyone would be glad to hear how she is "getting along."
Many members will remember Elaine Burton, who was a leading light in our Sports firmament for many years, keeping Pale Blue at the "top" over and over again, and gaining many swimming honours after she had left School as well. We learn that she is now conducting P.T. classes in an Unemployment Welfare Centre in South Wales. We send our best wishes for the success of her venture.
Obituary
Last August we were all very distressed to learn of the death, at the early age of 34, of Bessie Shipham. Bessie had been ill for some little time before that, but nobody expected to hear that she had passed away. Bessie had many friends amongst our Members who, we feel sure, would like to pay this last tribute to a very lovable and popular figure in the O.G.U. She will be sadly missed at our gatherings. We extend our sympathy to her relatives in their bereavement.
Reminiscences of the Old Buildings by a Domestic Science Student Now Training There
(Margaret Kingston, who was awarded a Domestic Science Scholarship for the Yorkshire College of Housecraft, sends us this impression of days spent once more in the "Old Buildings" at Vernon Road. We appreciate the contribution very much indeed.)
Old Girls who were at the Old School in Vernon Road may or may not know that it is now the home of the Yorkshire Training College of Housecraft, more familiarly known as the Domestic Science College.
At first it seemed very strange to be going once more to Vernon Road, but we certainly felt quite at home and even acted as guides on some occasions.
Many alterations have been made, in fact, only the Labs. remain to remind us of the old days. The Gym. is now the Common Room where, during the dinner hour, dance music may be heard being pounded from the old piano. I have sometimes wondered whether this is the original Gym. piano which has been bequeathed to the College.
At 1 o'clock a stream of hungry students may be seen going into the Hall, which is now the Dining-room and which is just big enough to hold about seventy of us.
The Staff may be interested to hear that their private sanctum has now been turned into a cookery kitchen, as have the Class Rooms, and the present Staff have another flight of stairs to climb to the old Upper V rooms.
The houses generally known as "the other buildings" are used as needlework and upholstery rooms. The attics have been mended and here an onlooker may see us measuring each other, cutting out patterns, sewing and, sad to say, sometimes pulling our work out.
We can always hope that we shall once more follow in the footsteps of the Old School and move to still more palatial buildings some day.
M.K.
Fate has smiled very brightly upon the Old Girls' pages this year, and we are delighted to be able to include two accounts of unusual holidays taken by Old Girls of the School. We think very highly of the contributions, and are very grateful that at least two of our members have been willing to devote their spare time to writing the following accounts, which we are certain will be read with great interest by everyone.
Three not very Old Girls decided to try a strenuous holiday at Easter as a change from the "ease" of a working life. They went to the Lakes on a walking tour for six days, staying each night at a Youth Hostel. The tour began in pouring rain at Kendal, and continued with bright intervals to Crossthwaite, Satterthwaite, Coniston, Grasmere, Troutbeck and back to Kendal. Spirits could not be damped even when the walkers were lost on the Fells above Coniston in a snow and hail storm, with only a partly understood map for guidance. At Ambleside, lines from Wordsworth, once learnt under pressure for "Higher," were quoted over his grave and
became a common experience.
One of the chief pleasures of the holiday was to be found in the friendly talks and songs round the fire each night. The double-decker beds never failed to provide amusing incidents, whether in old-fashioned farm house bedrooms or in the modern dormitory of High Cross Castle at Troutbeck. The only uninteresting part of the walk was the Bowness to Kendal main road on the last day. The way was enlivened by singing, and the weary "hikers" were a source of amusement to many passing motorists. One thing they learnt in the Lake District was that they were not "hikers" but "fell-walkers," which fact they now publish with pride.
E.K.
It is not easy to crowd the myriad impressions of the happiest fortnight of one's life into the confined space which a magazine article must occupy. It would have been easier to write a book about it all. Nevertheless, here goes!
After some weeks of planning and consulting maps and guide-books we finally decided upon a walking tour between Cologne and Wiesbaden, roughly speaking, the Middle Rhine. We planned first to sail up the Rhine by steamer to gain a general impression of our district and then to walk back in easy stages. We set off on July's last Saturday, three of us, with no other luggage than a ruck-sack each. That day was spent in travelling; Leeds, London, Dover, Ostende and finally Brussels at 12-10 p.m. We spent Sunday in Brussels in order to visit the wonderful International Exhibition that was being held at the time. Next day we took the train to Cologne and arrived at mid-day.
On our arrival we were hailed in welcome English by a free-lance guide, who, for a small charge, took us to exchange our travelling cheques, found us a good private hotel and a restaurant where English was spoken. This was fortunate, for only one of my friends spoke a little German, but we usually found, throughout our journey, that the Germans all knew sufficient English to make our knowledge of German almost unnecessary.
After a hearty lunch, Herr Wolf, the proprietor of our Hotel, drove us round Cologne in his car; down by the river, between thick groves of linden trees, through the main streets of the city; then out of the town to see the lovely open-air baths and later to the Aerodrome, where we saw the Imperial Airway lines going, one to London, the other to Berlin. Later we walked round the streets, noticing how almost every shop offered Eau-de-Cologne, or Kölnische Wasser, to the welcome tourist. Late in the afternoon we paid homage to the wonderful Cologne Cathedral, a miracle of architectural beauty o'ertopping the whole of the city, its people ever gazing up at it, as at some great god. Inside, all is peaceful, simple and cool. Strangely out of place do the notices seem, which warn the visitor to beware of pick-pockets!
Early next morning we took a Köln-Dusseldorfer steamer, "Princess Juliana die Niederlander," to Wiesbaden. This journey lasted the whole day, for we did not reach our destination until 9-30 p.m. The river wound its way before us wide and blue. A host of smaller tugs and motor-boats kept passing us by, all waving cheerily to us. Slowly we glided past vine-clad hills, each crowned with a ruined castle, each castle with its own quaint legend; past tiny villages, each with its tall church spire, nestling between the hills; past the larger towns fronted with rows of linden trees; past the Lorelei rock, where a sweet-voiced maiden, in days gone by, lured sailors to their death among the rocks below; past the Mouse Tower, where Bishop Hatto of Bingen was eaten by rats as a punishment for his cruelty to his starving peasants.
At last the sun began to set behind the hill-tops and darkness came upon us. Towns and villages were distinguished only by rows of flickering lights in the linden trees. A group of Austrians were singing in the front of the boat—simple folk-songs with merry choruses. We crept closer to listen. Eventually we landed; found an hotel and a welcome bed.
The days that followed were full of sunshine and delight. On the first day, after a lively walk along the river bank, bordered with masses of blue succony and yellow tansy, we reached Bingen. We spent a pleasant evening in the Krône Hotel, where we made friends, in spite of language handicap, particularly with one old gentleman who urged us to go to Munich—"the star of Germany."
On Thursday we lunched in Bacharach, a delightful little town with quaint half-timbered buildings. Here we drank weak tea from a glass in a silver holder and ate huge pieces of cake with layer upon layer of thick cream inside. In the afternoon we reached Oberwesel, a charming old-world village, where we stayed at a lovely hotel, whose beer-garden was roofed with trellised vine. In the evening we played the piano, and the daughter of the house, Fraulein Hartel, who spoke perfect English, sang for us. Later a party of German boys came in, and tables were pushed back for dancing. It was midnight before we retired.
On Friday we arrived at Boppard, a pretentious little place, neither town nor village, with open drains that troubled me greatly. Here we had ice-cream in a shop managed by two young men. As we entered, one jumped up from the piano and put on an English gramophone record— "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream"—a song popular in my matriculation year. That was their idea of a welcome, and a very good one, too. We had our meals in a quaint little restaurant, whose walls were painted with little gnomes and toadstools and bore, as a frieze, this couplet, in German:—
Next day, after a hard morning's walk, we took a street-train to Coblentz, the largest city between Mainz and Cologne. Coblentz is a lively city, with huge shops and restaurants—and a very fascinating Woolworth's Store. Being Saturday, we went to a cinema, enjoying the film immensely and also the clever dancing on the stage in the middle of the programme.
Next morning we arose early and went to pay our respects to the statue of His Majesty Kaiser Wilhelm III, who rides a high horse (very much like our own Black Prince, only on a far bigger scale), at the corner where the river Moselle flows into the Rhine. This is known as the Deutsches Eck. We reached Andernach in the late afternoon and found an hotel on the front. It had been a very hot day and we were glad to rest, in the evening, on the verandah outside our room. From here, we watched the German people walking up and down by the riverside beneath the linden groves; watched the river flow steadily on and the boats sail peacefully up and down. That night two of us shared a large bottle of Rhine wine, pronounced it excellent, but wisely retired to bed. On Monday we made our way to Remagen, passing on our way the factory where the Apollinaris table waters are made. These take their name from the Saint Apollinaris Kirche, which stands high on the hilltops above Remagen. Its quaint churchyard possesses over a dozen little shrines in caves, each illustrating some scene in the life of Our Lord, beginning with his birth in the stable and ending with his crucifixion. We visited the church in the twilight when each shrine was lit up with the tiny candles that visitors buy to place there. There was a solemn stillness here—not a sound reached us from the outside world; the very crickets were stilled. We came away in a silence that was not dispelled until we reached the friendly Rhine again and trod once more beneath the linden trees now twinkling with fairy-lights.
We had breakfast on the verandah next day, a typical Continental breakfast of coffee, crisp rolls, lovely creamy butter and sweet-smelling, homemade jam. We arrived at Rolandseck before noon and were soon bathing in the Rhine in brilliant sunshine. In the afternoon we climbed the Rolandsborg, on whose summit are the remains of an ancient castle.
Konigswinter, where we spent the next day, is a very fashionable holiday resort for both German and foreign tourists. The shops were full of souvenirs; even the food-shops had wrapped up their sausages in silver paper and tied them round with brightly coloured ribbon, to tempt the passer-by. I do not like German sausage! Konigswinter, too, has its ruined tower, which includes a dragon in its legend; hence its name, Drachenfels. It also has its own brand of Rhine wine—"Drachen-blut"—Dragon's blood, which we found very enjoyable. We remember Konigswinter, too, for a little restaurant which supplies a cup of fragrant coffee, a wedge of delicious cherry tart and piles of lovely cream, all for less than sixpence. In the evening we walked beneath the linden trees, counting the glow-worms. Outside one of the brilliantly illuminated hotels on the front, a large crowd of people, French, English and American, were singing and dancing in the middle of the road all linked together. They had Dragon's Blood in their veins!
We said "good-bye" to a friendly waiter, next day, as he stood cleaning shoes in the back garden, and later took the boat to Bonn. We did not like Bonn as a city, although we did admire its University buildings and its Cathedral. Bonn is very proud of the fact that a certain Ludwig von Beethoven was born there. We visited his house, which has been made into a Museum of Beethoven Relics. We trod in the garden where he trod, saw the room in which he was born. It contains, now, a bust of Beethoven, round which are wreaths laid there by distinguished visitors. We found ourselves excited at the prospect of an early return to Cologne, so we took a steamer and arrived a day before we had planned and were soon warmly welcomed by Frau Wolf and her two children.
Friday morning was spent in the open-air baths we had previously visited. Imagine a large park laid out not in gardens but in swimming baths for all grades of swimmers, plus a children's playing field, and that is Cologne's Open-Air Baths; of which the Kölnischers are justly proud. We spent an equally exciting afternoon shopping, buying the usual kinds of things that all tourists buy; a clock which the assistant handed to me, together with a carefully signed guarantee; we both enjoyed the joke. Eau-de-Cologne and Rhinestone jewellery were also purchased and, lastly, a gramophone record which advises the listeners to "Drink, drink, drink brothers, drink!"
All good things come to an end some time and, next morning, as the train bore us towards the frontier, we wondered how much of our holiday we should remember in the days to come. First of all, the natural beauty of the Rhine-land which the German people take such a pride in preserving. Then the charming old-world atmosphere of the villages, the gaiety of the towns; the lovely butter, cream, cakes and coffee; the hard-working house-proud women; smart houses, spotlessly clean and beautifully appointed; the gay Nazi flags that flew over town and village and fluttered on motors, motor-cycles and bicycles; the linden groves and the ground beneath bespread with their fruits. But what I do remember most of all is the kindness of the German people themselves; their charm, gaiety and helpfulness; their power to make the traveller feel safe, comfortable and "at home." I have felt strange and lost in my own country often but never once in Germany. This is my tribute to the German people. Some day I shall go again.
E.D.L.N.
The Old "Modern" Players
Time rolls on and another year's work has been done by the Old "Modern" Players.
This year we have experimented. In November we gave three One-act Plays, primarily to try out new members. The Plays were "You never know your Luck," "The Sanctuary" and "Not What they Seem."
The girls in the first play were Marjorie Bell, Joan Seymour, Dorothy Hall, Cynthia Neeve and Helen Waterer.
"The Sanctuary" had an all-female cast and included Irene Wood, Mary Woodwark, Hilda Waller, Annis Dickinson, Essie Bailey, Elsie Wilson and Marjorie Nutter, and in the last play, Irene Farrar.
Though the plays were given one night only, a very wretched one too, a slight profit was made and some new and useful members were discovered.
Then we had to decide the March Play. This presented some difficulty, as we wanted a good play to follow the "Barretts of Wimpole Street." and final choice rested on "Laburnum Grove," by J. B. Priestley, a difficult play to be attempted by Amateurs, but which we thought was well worth trying. The girls in the cast were Irene Eastwood, Hilda Waller and Joan Seymour, who unfortunately could not take the part after weeks rehearing, owing to illness, and Miss Mona Patrick, of the Halifax "Thespians," stepped in on the Monday before the first night and filled the breach. The play was a great success and the acting splendid, but it cannot have appealed to those who saw "The Barretts" as we had a considerable deficit. If only every member would try and sell as many tickets as possible, I think we need never have any losses. The Old "Modern" Players' aim is to give good plays, not necessarily sophisticated drawing-room comedies, and to vary the cast as much as possible, and it seems a pity that when new names are introduced into the cast that our old supporters stay away through indifference.
B. IRENE FARRAR (Hon. Joint Sec.).
O.G. Netball Club
The close of this season brings to an end the ninth year of the Old Girls' Netball Club.
This year has been a very successful one, with seventeen members we have been able to run two teams each week. The results of our Club matches were as follows:—
1st Team: Played 13, won 7, lost 5. One Drawn. Cancelled 8.
2nd Team: Played 13, won 8, lost 5. Cancelled 6.
We hope to make an excellent record this coming year and also to strengthen the Club with many new members. A hearty invitation to join is extended to all Old Girls and Present Girls who will be leaving at Midsummer.
B. FRETTEN (nee Lowe), Hon. Sec.