International Women's Day Luncheon 2016
Dianne Mannering spoke about
her experience in the 1960s.
Having failed her 11-plus, her
parents sent her to a private
school where her teacher told her
she would make money whatever
she chose to do. She married at
19 and had two children, while
also working in the car insurance
business with her husband.
However, he was an alcoholic
and the business was in danger
of going under. Her parents
helped them save it and, after
divorcing her husband, Dianne
ran the business herself, proving
that not only was she capable of
running a business, but she
could make a great success of it.
‘Tubab’ is what Gambian
people call white visitors, and
our second speaker, Lynda
Thompson, told us about going
to the Gambia in 1995. She
stayed with a family, but had her
own very basic room – the bed
boards had termites in them and
were sometimes eaten through.
The men had several wives and
they all lived together, but it was
hard work for the women, who
got up at 5.30am to collect water.
People’s homes were made of wood and
corrugated sheets,
with an outside toilet
housing cockroaches and
maggots. But the locals made
Lynda feel so welcome and it
was a wonderful experience.
After lunch we were entertained
by John Thompson, guardian of
a knight’s armour, accompanied
by his daughter-in-law, who acted
as his squire. Bit by bit, he dressed
in armour worn in medieval
times, explaining what each piece
was and how they fitted together.
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