By the light

Our village has a social group called 'The Lunar Society', in conscious imitation of the prestigious and influential group of the same name that met in Birmingham in the 18th and 19th centuries. They met on the night of the full moon, making it easier and safer to navigate homeward on unlit streets. We meet once per calendar month on a Mo(o)nday in deference to the name. They were the cutting edge minds of their day - leading scientists, engineers, entreprenneurs and intellectuals, exchanging ideas for their mutual benefit and stimulation. We are mostly retirees, looking for companionship and mental stimulation - an entertaining night out in the pub

The original group really was a pretty impressive roll-call, including Matthew Boulton (steam-engine poineer), Erasmus Darwin (Charles's grand-dad), Joseph Priestley (pioneering chemist), James Watt (partner with Boulton), Josiah Wedgwood (pottery), William Herschel (astronomer) and James Brindley (pioneer of canal engineering)

Tonight we were addressed by a former president of the British Beekeepers Association. As always, it is a subject that captures people's imagination and provokes enthusiastic questions. The speaker is not just a master beekeeper but a professional educator, and it showed in their ability to pack a great deal of complex information into few words and a short time, without confusing and losing people

By the time we left, the new moon had set