Fifty six members attended the November meeting of Chelmsford and District Welsh Society to hear one of their own, Mike Price, recount tales of his most interesting, happy and fulfilling life. His early childhood was spent in the Rhondda during WW2, with his grandparents playing a prominent role as his father was in the RAF in Canada. Mike thought he must be fighting polar bears. One grandfather, a stonemason, was a deacon in the Baptist Church. Only once did he manage to occupy the important corner seat, claimed by the senior deacon, by surreptitiously getting him to take a tasty laxative. An earlier valley doctor was the famous A J Cronin, an inspiration for the creation of the NHS. As a schoolboy, Mike worked for a butcher for two shillings and six pence, before getting a job paying 7/6 at the television shop. The coronation inspired the erection of many TV masts and a temporary hike in pay. Music was an important part of valley culture and oratorios were performed regularly by members of chapels and clubs. At the age of 17 he joined the famous Treorci male choir. Classical music has been an important part of Mike’s life ever since. It was whilst in teachers’ training college that he met Ivy (now President of the Society), who became a regular back seat driver on the pillion of his motorbike and eventually his wife. Ivy warned Mike against disclosing any further information! He began “proper work” as a science teacher in an Essex school, where 80 per cent of the teachers were Welsh! It was a a job he enjoyed immensely, but he had always been interested in a career in broadcasting, and when he saw an advertisement for a job as a Studio Manager with the BBC he applied. His application was successful and he worked with the BBC until his retirement. The Vice-president, Liz Armishaw, congratulated him on delivering such an entertaining evening. There remains much still to tell and Mike promised to continue his musings later, during her year of office.
A fund raising/charity 'Sing for your Supper' event including a fish and chip super raised £485.
A fund raising/charity event, Christmas Tea hosted by Liz and Jim, raised £300.
