Ripon group announces 50th anniversary celebrations

One of Ripon's longest-standing and most celebrated community groups will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on November 29.
Members of the Ripon and District Forum.Members of the Ripon and District Forum.
Members of the Ripon and District Forum.

Providing friendship and an impressive range of interesting speakers, the Ripon and District Forum has 90 members continuing on a beloved city tradition.

The Forum was founded in 1967 when a group of Rotarians headed by Roland K Wilson held an inaugural meeting at Ripon YMCA, and the current Chairman said Wilson's passion for the group continues to inspire members and drive it forward.

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Brian Mawson, who has been Chairman for two years, and been part of the Forum for six years, said: "He was so enthusiastic about it, it pushes me on in his memory. He was a lovely man. His son comes along as well, so we have a second generation of the family."

The success of the Forum over so many years is down to a number of factors, Mr Mawson said.

He told the 'Gazette: "The quality of the speakers we have is always really good, we get quite a wide cross section of people. There is also the social side of it - people make friends along the way and look forward to chatting."

To mark their 50-year milestone on November 29, Neil Hanson, author and previous landlord of the well-known Tan Hill Inn, will be the Forum's guest speaker at Allhallowgate Methodist Church. Members will gather from 10am.

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Mr Hanson's talk will be entitled Inn and Out at the Top - Tales from Britain's highest inn in the 1970s and 1980s', starting at 10:30am.

Entry costs £2, which includes hot drinks and cakes or biscuits. To find out more about the Ripon and District Forum, go to: ripondistrictforum.org

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