Talk on the 8th Earl of Berkeley

We had a tremendous turn-out last Sunday for David Smith's entertaining talk on the 8th Earl.

The Earl inherited Berkeley Castle and its estates in 1916 and embarked on an extensive programme of restoration and renovation.  His legacy endures to this day and is enjoyed by each and every one of us whenever we visit the Castle.

Here's a couple of photos from the event:

Beetle Drive

On the evening of 29^th September Friends gathered to attend the first Beetle Drive to be held in Berkeley Castle.

Chairman, Paul Walkden, explained the rules, put us under starter’s orders and let battle commence.  Amidst great hilarity dice began rattling everywhere and shouts of “I’ve got a six - I can start” were heard, as contestants competed to begin and finish drawing a beetle.  The winners and losers on the tables of four soon gave up on the clockwise and anti - clockwise manoeuvres and just headed for an empty chair, some even leaving behind their glasses of wine in the rush!

During the interval, we so enjoyed the delicious food provided by Marg Glover and her fantastic team, who always do us proud.

Then the raffle was drawn before we settled down for the second half of the Drive. Cue more laughter, and getting to know different people, as those dice worked overtime. Our worthy winner was Elizabeth Neal who received a bottle of Pimms and our gallant lady with the least points Sarah Walkden collected some chocolate beetles.

It was a most successful and hugely enjoyable evening and everyone went home the best of friends.

Here's the winning score-card: