Category: Events

The connection between nursing and the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) would appear to be tenuous but, in fact, one emanated from the other.

At our AGM at the Exeter Golf and Country Club on March 8th, Julia Tremlett  provided an illuminating, informative and entertaining presentation, laced with humour, on the NGS and augmented by an excellent visual program.

The origins of the scheme date back to 1859 when a benefactor, William Rathbone, asked his former wife’s nurse, Mary Robinson, to find a suitable beneficiary for his largesse. Unsurprisingly, Mary nominated a need for the training of District Nurses, so that Rathbone built a training school for that purpose. Eventually the need to raise funds to maintain nursing training was recognised by Elsie Wagg who, in 1927, recommended fundraising via the opening to the public, on one day a year, of suitable gardens for which a charge would be made. With Royal approval and support this blossomed into the NGS we have today.

The NGS now donates to a range of charities with four prime beneficiaries being Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK and Carers Trust.

Julia illustrated her talk with many photographs of the Devon gardens within the scheme and members were able to take away the NGS 2018 booklet.

Julia was thanked by Chairman Garry for a first-class presentation which had been hugely enjoyed by members. The photo shows Julia (second from left) flanked by Peter and Barbara Johnson, who organised the speaker, and Chairman Garry Adams.

At the formal AGM, there were no changes to the officers or committee.  Garry, who is also the Treasurer, stressed the benefits of Club membership with the subsidies  on lunch functions plus free coffee mornings and cream teas.

Any member requiring a copy of the full AGM minutes should email Les Rendell  on lesrendell41@gmail.com or phone 01884 254375

Our Christmas Lunch does it again !

At the risk of being boring, Exeter Spread Eagles enjoyed another sunny day for their 2017 Christmas Lunch. In fact, the photo to prove this was so similar that we need only refer you to last year’s picture on these pages.

As we arrived at the Victoria Hotel, Sidmouth, we were greeted in style by a very cheery doorman.

Inside the Victoria was decorated in its usual sumptuous style.

But a real surprise was to see Cinderella (or so it seemed) being re-enacted in the Hotel Lounge.

Apparently, so we were told, Wendy had a breakage with one of her shoes, and a Hotel maintenance man came to assist.

Despite these dramatics, Chairman Garry Adams summoned us all to order, and so we sat down to enjoy a delicious festive meal, with good wine and even better company.

If you are a local Barclays pensioner, and haven’t been to one of our lunches before, why not resolve to come along to one next year? You will be made most welcome.

A new venue proved a success as around 30 members attended the Hartnoll Hotel near Tiverton for a Tuesday afternoon cream tea on October 3rd.

In very comfortable surroundings and with excellent service plus delicious scones (fruit or plain) and plenty of jam and cream, a very pleasant couple of hours passed by – and all of this was free! It is clear that our coffee mornings and afternoon teas are becoming popular and the committee is trying to organise these at a variety of places, not always in south coast venues.

Mick Mabbutt brought along a terrific replica of the Golden Eagle he had made (see ‘That Golden Spread Eagle’ article on another page) and provided one of the many talking points generated among a happy bunch of Barclays pensioners, partners and friends.

A party of club members gathered on 24th August to enjoy a performance of ‘Birthday Suite’, a light-hearted farce, by Robin Hawdon at Sidmouth’s Manor Pavilion Theatre and where we were able to spend some social time together in the bar beforehand.

The general consensus from the group was that this first night performance was a successful evening and that further theatre outings should be considered in due course.

Exeter Spread Eagles enjoyed another splendid afternoon Cream Tea at Froginwell recently.

But the dilemma of the day for members was “Which way up?”

Wendy favoured the Cornish way with jam first, and then the cream.

Her husband, Hugh, was clear that, as we were in Devon, the jam should be on top.

Mick could not make his mind up, and tried to have it both ways.

Let us know what YOU think !

We were extremely fortunate to have as our guest speaker for the Club AGM, the Reverend Canon Dr John Searle OBE. That full title hints at John’s life-long participation in Medicine, the Hospice movement in Exeter and the Church.
If you use the power of the internet, and Google John Searle, there you will find lots about his amazing career.

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The imposing Spread Eagle that used to be on display in the old Barclays Exeter High Street banking hall has re-surfaced, after many years of being carefully stored in an ex-employee’s garage. It would have been scrapped long ago, were it not for that concern.
It was placed on display at the AGM, and we were delighted to see it again.

In the photo, Chairman Garry Adams is shaking hands with club member Mick Mabbutt. Mick, with his wife Sandra, have very kindly agreed to give the Eagle a new home with them. They will bring it back annually to attend our future AGMs.
Doug Drysdale, who remembered it well in its former setting, and Sandra are happily looking on.

Read Mick Mabbutt’s very interesting article That Golden Spread Eagle by clicking here.

Andrew Green took this photo from the Victoria Hotel at Sidmouth on the day of the Spread Eagle Christmas Lunch in 2016. What a sky for December.

The sun always shines on the Spread Eagles!

Members enjoying a pre-lunch drink in the newly-refurbished premises of the Sidmouth Harbour Hotel.

Exeter Spread Eagle Club are always looking for new venues to add to our calendar of events. So when Lynne Ring suggested Froginwell to the committee, they were intrigued. “Froginwell ?”  “Yes” said Lynne, “It is a new Vineyard, Wine Shop and Café. If you say the name slowly, you will understand why they called it that.”
And so we made Froginwell the venue for an up-coming coffee morning. Kate Jenkins, the co-owner, made us most welcome, with excellent hot coffee and tasty biscuits. In the vineyard they grow six varieties of grape, five white and one red, all very neatly tended and providing a lovely backdrop to the Café/Shop Barn. Some of us so enjoyed ourselves that we stayed for lunch!
But the real surprise was lurking in the shadows of that barn…a ten tonne steam traction engine! Kate explained that her father had owned it for more than thirty years, so it was almost part of the family. It certainly looked at home in its new location and provided a lot of interest amongst the assembled coffee drinkers. Lynne would have to work very hard to find another venue for the Club with such an interesting attraction.

Exeter Spread Eagle Club welcomes the digital age !

Some seventy members of the Exeter Spread Eagle Club welcomed a team of local Barclays Digital Eagles to join them at their Annual General Meeting at the Exeter Golf and Country Club in March.

After the formalities of the morning were over, Jade Wood and her three colleagues gave a presentation about the work of the team. Digital Eagles can help people get the best out of their smart phones, tablets and laptops. They showed how easy it was to set up for on-line banking, and how to stay secure, whilst embracing all the opportunities of the digital world. Members were encouraged to hear of the support that was available to them, all from the friendly local Barclays branch.
Then the Club did what it likes doing best, enjoying each others company over a splendid lunch. The Exeter Spread Eagle Club puts out a quarterly newsletter and organises four subsidised lunches a year around their patch in Devon. Regular coffee mornings and careful attention to the welfare of its members are all part of the package organised by an enthusiastic committee, ably led by Chairman Chris Moss. They warmly welcome new members (there were two at the AGM), whether from folk who worked in Devon, or who have moved to the area in retirement. Contact details can be found on the Committee page.

Andrew Green
Hon Secretary – Exeter Spread Eagle Club