Gloucestershire Echo

PITTVILLE TOWNSWOMEN GUILD

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At our October meeting we had a talk by Alan Pilbeam about a holiday in the Forest of Dean in 1880. The talk was based on a book by John Bellows who wrote this to describe his holiday in the Forest.

Up until then the Forest wasn’t a tourist destinatio­n, in fact there were no transport links into the Forest. After the railway bridge over the Severn at Sharpness was built this all changed.

The book detailed John Bellows route from Speech House, visiting various landmarks on the way to Symonds Yat. Not only was John interested in buildings, but he wrote a good account of the flora in the Forest.

A really interestin­g talk about a book that is still available today and really started the tourism in the Forest.

Our next talk is on Wednesday November 23 at 7.15pm in Highbury Church Hall. This will be a talk by John Beckingham about four greats of jazz: Nat King Cole, Billie Holliday, Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald. John is a keen jazz pianist and singer, his talks are always very entertaini­ng.

Visitors and new members are always welcome. For more informatio­n contact cmhyett@ virginmedi­a.com.

Pittville Townswomen Guild

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