Filey Ladies Monday Club
Filey Ladies Monday Club If you visit Filey Library you will find that it has a list of almost 80 local societies and organisations- a fair number for a small town, but then we are a community! Of these societies one of the oldest and most successful is the Filey Ladies Monday Club which celebrated its 50th anniversary on 6th February 2016.
The club has a membership of around 60 ladies of all ages who meet every fortnight on a Monday evening to listen to a variety of speakers on many topics, or to watch a demonstration of some particular skill, or occasionally just to meet to socialise and chat.
The Club was formed in February 1966 by a Filey-born girl, Margaret Hunter, when she and her husband returned to live in Filey after spending a few years in the Midlands, and in Whitby where she had been a member of a flourishing Young Wives group. Missing the sociability of such a group when she came back to Filey she suggested that maybe a similar group could be set up here – and so it began with her help and eight friends.
Twenty two people came to the second meeting, rising to forty nine by the sixth meeting. The maximum number was in November of that first year when eighty people attended. At that time the Club met in the old Guild Hut in Cromwell Avenue, no longer there, but soon outgrew that and moved on through various venues arriving eventually at the Community Hall in The Methodist Church.
In the early years members of the club, which was then called the Monday Club for Young Wives and Mothers, took part in quite a few energetic projects in support of the community – the Lions’ Bed Races (those baby-doll pyjamas!) and the Rotary Club’s processions, being the winning float one year with their interpretation of the Space Age in the shape of a Sputnik and wearing miniskirts in bright colours with full length capes of clear polythene and silver knee length boots.
Eventually the title of Young Wives became a misnomer and the Club was rechristened The Filey Ladies Monday Club with membership open to all ladies looking for a friendly group to join and to hear talks on different subjects, to eat out occasionally, enjoy social evenings and also help the community by working to give funds to charitable causes.
The Club holds an annual Summer Fair and each year has been able to give several hundred pounds to a local good cause. Over the years donations have been made to St Catherine’s Hospice, Martin House, ( the Yorkshire Children’s Hospice), Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Talking Books for the Blind, the Ambulance Service, The Flying Doctor Service, the Ladies in Pink Campaign and May Lodge, to name but a few.
Although it was begun with the help of Mrs Corner, the wife of Filey’s vicar in 1966, the club is not attached to the Church and has always been a free group, not affiliated to any larger group and quite independent. The golden rule is that there are no Golden Rules and the Club has flourished over the years with goodwill under enthusiastic chairmen with the support of hardworking and staunch committee members and still continues to do so with informality and sociability.
If the Club has a motto it is to meet, enjoy one another’s company and have fun!
15 Jul 2024
2024
A talk by local historian Catherine Welch, including the Battle of Flamborough Head in 1779.
27 Jul 2024
2024
Our annual Summer Fair at the Evron Centre, Filey from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Stalls with crafts, games refreshments and baked goods. All procceds donated to a local Charity.
29 Jul 2024
2024
The evening when we present the proceeds of our Summer Fair to the chosen charity and learn more about their work in the community.
12 Aug 2024
2024
A talk by Mick Couzens, co-ordinator of the the group of over 60 volunteers who are doing their bit to keep the town looking it’s best.