AT the July meeting of Tottington Townswomen's Guild, we welcomed Mr and Mrs Aspinall and their puppet family.

Mr Aspinall was fascinated with puppets from an early age, and at the age of 11, he put on his first show at the local Women's Institute. The couple met at university where they both obtained art and design degrees but continued with puppetry as their hobby.

They began their demonstration with simple glove puppets. They have a wide variety of puppets, and related the history attached to each, from the Italian Punchinello to Muffin the Mule. The art of the puppeteer was known in Roman times, and our guests treated us to an extract from their latest charity show, mostly with puppets they had made themselves.

Eileen Smith thanked the couple for an informative and enjoyable evening. Several of our members will attend the Annual General Meeting of Townswomen to be held in July at Glasgow. Our patron, Princess Anne, will address the meeting.

The guild's summer outing will be in August, so the next meeting in Tottington Methodist Church will be on Tuesday, September 11, at 7.30pm. All are welcome.