Page 60 - Phonebox Magazine September 2014

Olney WI Garden party
On a hot and sunny day this summer, the Olney WI held a gardenpartyintreasurerSandyBrock’sbeautifulgarden. A buffet lunch was served, followed by strawberries and cream, along with a bring-and-buy-stall and a raffle. A
sum of £210 was raised for Willen Hospice.
Throughout the year, we have varied programmes of talks by visiting speakers, outings and events. Recently, members visited Rangers House at Blackheath and Eltham Palace at Greenwich.
At our next meeting on 3rd September, Helen Crabtree will be giving a talk on telephone kiosks and the competition is an address book. The Olney WI meet on the first Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm in Room 4 of the Olney Centre.
New members are always welcome or just come along and chat with our friendly group. We look forward to seeing you soon.
A champion of all our
Tom Paine (1737-1809) was a man of republican persuasion who despised King George the third, and considered the idea of having a monarchy as introduced in Norman times as
absurdity. He was persuaded by Benjamin Franklin to go to America where he was soon writing in support of the colonists’ desire for independence. He also spent time and energy supporting the French republicans, but America was the centre for most of his work and writings. He is most acclaimed for The Rights of Man, and much of the constitution of the United States was built around his words. It goes without saying that the King was highly displeased, and Tom was tried and deemed guilty in absentia for sedition.
To this day he is a cult figure in America, the land of the free. One of many societies over there provided the splendid statue of him which stands in his home town of Thetford in Norfolk. Visitors approaching Norfolk meet a sign welcoming you to Nelson’s County. Without detracting from an incredibly fine fighting admiral, I’m not too sure about choosing Nelson for the county which gave us Newton (I have a childhood memory of an elderly relative assuring me “Oh yes Geoffrey, he invented gravity”). How long, I wonder, would any government now survive if Tom Paine were with us to knock over any suggestion of a statutory press complaints commission? Geoff Bacchus
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60 Phonebox Magazine