PRESIDENT, Marion Wardell welcomed everyone to the April meeting and introduced the speaker, Maureen Rose, who had been dressmaker to the Queen for 30 years.

Mrs Rose began by saying that, at the age of eight, she had decided what she wanted to do in life and had been lucky enough to pursue her dream after studying needlecraft at a polytechnic, learning about every aspect of the trade.

She told us that she had at first worked in a shop in Bond Street in London, which had an exquisite fan collection, some costing as much as a house, and it was here that she met some very famous people.

A little later, when she was married with two children, she worked from home making wedding dresses and wedding party outfits.

She them worked for Norman Hartnell (who had the Royal Warrant as dressmaker for the Queen) on a freelance basis, making outfits from his sketches.

She described her first visit to Buckingham Palace and said she had also visited Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Sandringham many times.

Mrs Rose went on to describe some meetings with the Queen.

The meeting continued with birthday cards being distributed and the raffle drawn. The next meeting is the annual meeting on May 6.

Our plant sale will be held on May 17 from 9am at 116 Bulford Road, Durrington.