On This Day in Wembury — 15 March 1991
A Warm Afternoon with the Wembury Women’s Institute
On Friday 15 March 1991, members of the Wembury Women’s Institute gathered for their monthly meeting — a welcome burst of warmth and humour on what the Evening Herald described as “a cold and miserable afternoon outside.”
The guest speaker was Mrs Jean Lee, who, together with her husband, had once run a hotel at Hope Cove. Her talk offered a light-hearted “view from the other side of the fence” — the perspective of a hotelier observing the many personalities of holiday guests. According to the report, her stories were both “hilarious and almost not true to life — but they were,” a phrase that perfectly captured the blend of disbelief and recognition that made her anecdotes so entertaining.
Mrs Lee described her years welcoming visitors to the South Devon coast, from the courteous and cheerful to the eccentric and demanding. “It seems we are all very well-behaved, determined to enjoy ourselves, and always very polite,” she told the group, adding that if people in everyday life were as considerate as hotel guests, “the world would be a much easier place.”
After laughter and lively discussion, Mrs B. Luger gave a vote of thanks for “a very stimulating talk.” The afternoon continued with the Bloom of the Month competition, won by Mrs Little, and a handmade bookmark contest, won by Mrs Wyn Stockwell, with Mrs Jean Hailstone as runner-up. The meeting closed, as tradition demanded, with tea and home baking — a comforting close to a grey March day in Wembury.
Source: Evening Herald (Plymouth), Friday 15 March 1991 — “Wembury WI.”