The Pembury Society

The Pembury Society held its AGM and Annual Meeting on Thursday 25 October. Those present were welcomed by Ken Watts, the chairman. Apart from the usual AGM business Richard Snow, a committee member, gave a report on the results of the questionnaire that was circulated to members in the spring which was concerned with how members see the society and what it should be doing to protect and enhance the life of the village. Number one issue was car parking and suggestions were invited from the floor as to how the problem might be alleviated. It is proposed that the committee will look at all the points made by members in the survey so that constructive suggestions can be made.

After the business meeting, coffee was served and this was followed by a lively and informative impersonation of Rudyard Kipling by Geoff Hutchinson. His biography, which was all in the first person except the events surrounding Kipling’s death in 1936, was interspersed with poems and prose which showed how Kipling’s writings were influenced by his life experiences. For example, his early work Departmental Ditties is a collection of poems of his observations of the behaviour of the colonial classes in Simla during the hot Indian summer. He is best known for his stories based in India and these were influenced by his great love of the country where he was born. Baden-Powell was a friend of his and he became involved with the Scout movement in its early days. He wrote the Scout Patrol Song which had the refrain ‘Look out’. It was obvious from this presentation that Kipling was a very sensitive man and this was reflected in his writings, both the happy times and the sad.

The vote of thanks was given by Derek Johnson.

Kathryn Franklin

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