Luncheon Club celebrates

Thirty years young
At the September meeting of the Old Buckenham Luncheon Club there were some special celebrations. The Club had reached its thirtieth birthday having been set up in 1981.
People in the village had been contacted by church organisers in Norwich to see if it would be possible to start a luncheon club for those who were living on their own and residing within the church group covering Banham, New Buckenham, Quidenham, Eccles and Wilby as well as Old Buckenham. So discussions started with Old Buckenham WI and the Luncheon Club was formed, meeting fortnightly in the village hall. As well as the volunteer cooks and helpers, other people were recruited to provide transport to and from the meetings.
A coffee morning is held once a year to raise some funds as the only income in the early days was what the members paid for their lunches (75p when things started). Funds have come from other sources since such as the New Buckenham Recycling scheme, Old Buckenham 2000 Trust, Age Concern and various grants for items such as a heated food trolley.
There are also four outings held each year where members are taken out by coach to some interesting location and then have a meal out before returning home. One year the Club went to Hunstanton and was having a picnic lunch when rain looked likely. They asked at the Little Theatre if they could shelter there and were let in to see the show at a reduced rate!
So many people have been involved with helping run the Luncheon Club that it is difficult to name just some of them. They know who they are, whether cooks, vegetable preparers, table layers, ‘taxi drivers’, treasurers, tea ladies or general helpers, and they can all give themselves a big pat on the back for all the hard work that they put in.
This thirtieth birthday lunch was special in many ways – a roast chicken dinner with wine was followed by fresh fruit salad – and a beautifully iced cake was then cut to complete the celebrations. Finally the members were only charged just 75p for their meal, just as they had been thirty years before.
May the club continue for many years to come.