AGM meeting report
April 2024
As is customary we usually ask two speakers from Caddington to present talks about their special interests. This year Louise Skelton and Dave Tims had been invited.
Dog massaging and Street Vets – Louise Skelton
A few years ago Louise, always a dog lover, trained to become a dog masseuse. She emphasised from the start that the techniques used for humans were very similar and had over the last 15 years become adapted for dogs. Her two year training involved 1,200 hours of theory and 12 papers of 10,000 words. There are two styles of massage – Swedish and Sports. They both use stretching and pressing on pressure points. The injuries are often muscular and after one to three treatments it is possible to see progress. Louise said ‘Dogs can never lie. You can see what they are feeling in their eyes.’
When Louise first meets a dog she takes down their history and assesses their gait.
The most common causes of problems are:
• Slippery laminate floors
• Jumping in and out of cars
• Ball throwers cause stresses on legs
• Using a lead not a harness
• Stairs cause repetitive strain injury
Louise is a passionate supporter of Street Vets, a charity that cares for the dogs of the homeless. It was in 2016 that a nurse by the name of Jade saw a dog with a skin complaint on the streets. She began to realise the scale of the problem and other nurses and vets became involved. Often the homeless depend on their dog for company but cannot afford proper treatment. They will feed their dog rather than themselves. Street Vets liaise with the hostels. They now have over 500 volunteers, including vets and nurses who give their time free. They run a soup kitchen and respond to referrals from the general public where there are concerns about a dog. Fund raising to support the cause is constantly ongoing.
Thirty years of Caddhist – Dave Tims
It was thirty years ago on 28th April 1994 that the inaugural meeting of Caddhist was held in the back room of the Cricketers Pub. The Committee was as follows:
Terry Oliver – Chairman with a strong interest in the War
Frank Sutton – our local historian
Ted Watkins – whose ability to extract money was legendary
Peter Tilcock – whose collections in his loft are also legendary and provided ‘emergency material’ for meetings sometimes
Ron Head – Secretary and a true gentleman
Ann Gowlett – Programme Organiser
Fred Starkey – who was Number One
In December 1994, the first Christmas Social was held, hosted by Ann and Colin Parrott in Dunstable Rd establishing a tradition continued to this day.
In 1995, we had outgrown the Cricketers and moved to the upstairs room at the Sports and Social Club. Initially talks featured Caddington and the immediate locality and included walks led by Frank Sutton. As time went on our range extended to the eclectic mix that we now enjoy.
A sub committee was set up to work on restoring the church clock.
Also, in 1995 Frank Sutton won a prize for a lecture that he gave on ‘Caddington as a Mini Welfare State in the eighteenth century.’ It was around this time that his book ‘A History Of Caddington and It’s People’ was printed. Sadly, Frank passed away in 1996.
The church clock, now restored, was rededicated by Robert Runcie, then Bishop of St Alban’s.
In 1998, Peter Graham took on the job of saving photos of the village, a role he still fulfils to this day. Colin Stonestreet joined the committee
By 2000, we had again outgrown premises and moved to the Library at Five Oaks School, ultimately relocating to Heathfield in January 2003. The building has become our spiritual home!
We continue with a vast range of talks – canals, trams, stargazing and the Home guard. We enjoy trips, a Christmas Dinner, a Summer Party and we do enjoy socialising!
Jane Payton