THE guest speaker at our meeting on Monday September 15 was Mel page, Civil Contingencies Officer for Staffordshire County Council.

He explained the various functions of the unit and how Staffordshire was linked to the West Midlands region.

Since 2004, all services must co-operate with each other to provide the facilities needed to cope with emergencies. part of this function is to inform and liase with the public and companies on precautions necessary to keep things running. The unit is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We were shown photos of major emergencies around the country during last year due to floods, fires and an unexploded bomb.

We were surprised to hear that your home can be flooded, by a freak rain storm even if you live at the top of a hill. Mel answered many questions and gave information on basic items we should have to hand in case we needed to evacuate our homes in a hurry. The Vice Chairman Janet Morgan, thanked Mel for a most interesting presentation which had given us all a lot to think about.

Our next meeting is on Monday October 20 at Edgecliff Sixth Form Centre, when we will be surprising someone with our Annual Commendation Award.

The evening will end with a slide presentation by David Bills.

New members and visitors are always welcome. For more information about the society, please contact David Tibbetts on 01384 872066.