WEST NEWTON: Local TV presenter entertains the Queen at WI meeting
HM the Queen arrives at West Newton village hall to attend the Sandringham WI meeting.
The Queen made her traditional visit to the Sandringham and West Newton Women’s Institute meeting yesterday, where a familiar face on the area’s televisions was the guest speaker.
Wearing a pink outfit and accompanied by a lady-in-waiting, the Queen, who is the branch’s president, arrived at West Newton village hall shortly before 3pm, where she was greeted by the institute’s chairman, Yvonne Browne.
Freelance television presenter Carol Bundock, who appears on the BBC’s Look East, was the guest speaker and before the meeting told waiting reporters and cameramen how she had reacted when she received the letter inviting her to address the monarch.
A deputy lieutenant of Norfolk and president of Girlguiding Norfolk, she said: “I thought it was a joke at first, but I’m very delighted to be here.”
Although the contents of her speech remain secret, it is thought she was going to talk about life in Norfolk.
Long-time royal watcher Mary Relph, 78, of Shouldham, said: “She was going to put me in her speech, but what it’s about I don’t know.”
Mrs Relph, who has watched the Queen arrive for her annual winter visit to the WI for 25-plus years, was among a small crowd of well-wishers, reporters and cameramen gathered outside the hall in near-freezing temperatures as The Queen arrived.
Around 35 branch members were at the meeting, which began with the National Anthem, followed by the singing of Jerusalem then a short welcome speech from Mrs Browne.
Traditionally, the Queen, as president, addresses members then presents them with competition prizes before the guest speaker entertains the meeting.
Mrs Browne said the Queen likes to make the WI members feel at ease. She said: “She enjoys coming here and it’s an afternoon where she can relax among the people she knows. A lot of our members are estate residents so she sees them around here.”
The chairman said this year’s guest speaker was making it two Carols in a row, as last year BBC Breakfast TV weather presenter Carol Kirkwood gave a talk.
On her Twitter page, Carol Bundock describes herself as “a reluctant TV presenter, Cocker Spaniel addict and devoted granny-of-four”.
She joined BBC Radio Norfolk in 1989 after doing a degree in English and drama at the University of East Anglia.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Saturday 25 May 2013
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Sunny spells
Temperature: 5 C to 13 C
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