The Summer picnic for the History Society has become a regular event and is normally blessed with fine warm weather, however this year was far from the case with very heavy showers and a chill wind, not picnic weather! This was even more disappointing as we had invited Bishop’s Waltham Society to be our guests and to learn about the history of the Abbey. After not expecting too many people to attend due to the weather when the time came our guests from Bishop’s Waltham met at the Abbey whilst members of our Society arrived at The Barn which had kindly been made available for us by Kevin Fraser of Titchfield Festival Theatre. A surprisingly good attendance at both venues resulted. In the Abbey our guests were given an introduction on the History of the Abbey and Place House, followed by a guided tour, which they very much enjoyed. Once everyone had assembled at the Barn, they were entertained initially by a Show & Tell, prepared at short notice by Phil Burner, followed by a quiz and raffle. The evening went well in the end, with thanks being expressed to Marilyn for organising the event despite the conditions. Bishops Waltham are reciprocating our hospitality with a return visit to their Palace in August. Let’s hope Summer has arrived by then!
