William Barnes Society Annual Summer Lunch

By Marion Tait

The William Barnes Society 2017 Annual Summer Lunch took place on Saturday 24th June at Cerne Abbas Village Hall, Dorset. The Chairman, Mr Brian Caddy, welcomed members from Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Sussex, London and New York. In total almost 60 members attended the event.

A superb gourmet seated buffet was served which included platters of cold meats, salmon and assorted salad dishes to tempt all and new potatoes. Then followed a sumptuous variety of desserts, teas and coffee.

After the lunch Brian introduced Reverend Jonathan Still, Rector of Cerne, as our guest speaker. Rev. Still gave a very interesting and at times very humorous insight into his time spent studying at Cambridge College often referring to William Barnes who had studied there for his B.D. all those years ago.

This was followed by musician Richard Buckland who gave us a selection of folk songs including: â€˜I Love My Loveâ€™, â€˜She Moved Through the Fairâ€™ and â€˜Crystal Streamâ€™. Richardâ€™s voice was gentle and meaningful which brought the songs to life. He also recited a William Barnes poem in the Dorset Dialect, â€˜Milken Timeâ€™. The audience were very appreciative and Richard was justly applauded.
To round off the event Brian gave a vote of thanks to Joy and David Parsons for their hard work in preparing such a wonderful buffet. He also thanked all who had made the event possible.

The afternoon ended with â€˜Linden Leaâ€™ sung by all with great enthusiasm. A super ending to a splendid Summer Lunch.