At their February meeting, members were introduced to the history of Clogs by Ron Bolton in his talk entitled ‘The Clatter of Clogs’. Working class footwear, with a design unchanged for centuries, records of rudimentary clog type footwear dating from c13/14th, and by c15/16th recognisably those of c19/20th ; clogs were found throughout the north west of England with its industrial environment, and by mid c18th there were an estimated 3000 cloggers at work; by post WW2 the industry was in decline, following a wartime resurgence, with now only a few specialist cloggers remaining; there followed a description of the method of manufacture, from the shaping of the alder or beech wood soles, through the shaping and stitching of the cow hide uppers, initially of one piece, stitched at the heel before being nailed to the sole, with later styling requiring coloured leather and supplementary decoration, to the securing of the irons, with slight difference in style in differing geographical areas, and differences in style of clog determined by the environment in which they were to be used. Examples of tooling, clogs, and appropriate dialect anecdote supported an interesting and informative talk. At the next meeting, to be held on 19th March, Margaret Curry will continue her pictorial journey around MorecambeBay, travelling from Cartmel to Fleetwood, at Edenfield Community Centre, off Exchange Street, Edenfield, 7.30 pm; Membership details may be obtained from Jackie MacDonald, Secretary, 01706-823183.