This club closed as usual, at Easter for the summer months, and will re-open in October. About fifty members have spent during the past season very pleasant evenings in the Church Room, where a good supply of papers and participation in games were welcome attractions. Before the Club closed there was a billiard competition, which resulted in Leonard Pateman securing the cup prize.

The annual meeting of the village cricket club was held in the old boy’s school on Friday evening, when the Vicar, the Rev SM Stanley was voted to the chair. He reported that last season the Club played 14 matches winning three, losing eight and three were draws. The income for the year was £6 15s 5d and the expenditure had exceeded this sum by 19s 9d. He had been able to give the club £1 from the proceeds of a concert, so they started the year clear of debt. Last season they had 20 playing members and he congratulated TJ Whitaker on heading both the bowling and batting averages. These two lists were read out and occasioned much interest. The meeting elected the officers as follows: Rev SM Stanley, captain; Mr John Corby, Vice Captain; Messrs H Drage and H Martin, joint match secretaries. The Committee included the above names mentioned, with the addition of Messrs Edgington, Whitaker and Barley. A small selection committee was appointed. A list of seventeen matches was approved, and this will enable a match to be played every Saturday except one up to August 15th. The Chairman agreed, at the request of the meeting to obtain any new cricket material that may be required. A discussion arose respecting the ground, and the meeting closed by passing a vote of thanks on the motion of Mr W Edwards, to the Chairman and Mrs Stanley for so kindly providing teas at all the home matches. The Chairman expressed the pleasure it gave him and Mrs Stanley to aid in any way the pastime of cricket in the village.

On May 10th, 1779, the Braughing Youths rang a complete peal of 12,240 changes of Bob Major in 7 hours and 34 minutes. The anniversary of this unique event in ringing annals has ever since been commemorated. Formerly the Braughing ringing festival on May 10th attracted the chief ringers from the district. The late Squire Proctor of Bennington never failed for many years to bring his band of Bennington ringers. This year the anniversary fell on a Sunday, but the ringers celebrated it by ringing the following day by ringing early in the morning a good peal on the Braughing eight. Afterwards, the party numbering eleven went by train to London, a compartment being reserved for them, and passed a very enjoyable day. In the morning they visited the Zoological Gardens and spent the afternoon in witnessing the sensational spectacles at the Hippodrome.

The twelfth annual meeting of the association was held in the church room, Braughing on Wednesday evening, Mr H Shepherd Cross, the President, occupying the chair, and there were also present on the platform Mrs CJ Longman (Hon Treasurer) and Mrs H Le Blanc Smith (Hon Secretary). There was a large attendance of subscribers.

The Chairman read the annual report, which showed that Nurse Higginson had paid 2,595 visits during the year in connection with 184 cases. The income from 336 subscribers amounted to £149 15s and the expenditure to £120 5s 9d, or about the same as the previous year. In moving the adoption of the report, the Chairman said the steady work and excellent results produced by the association were due to the exertions of the Executive Committee, and especially of their Hon Treasurer and Hon Secretary. (Applause) He thought the addition of a baby’s weighing machine to the Nurse’s requirements, though a novelty, was an excellent thing. He suggested it would be well to offer a prize to the mother whose baby increased the greatest in weight in twelve months. After speaking of the finances he said that they all regretted the departure from the neighbourhood of Mr Barnes, who was always ready to render any assistance to the Association. (Applause) They had also sustained a loss by the deaths of Mr Weir and Mr Newman. He hoped the rising generation would come forward and assist them in the same way as those who had gone before. He emphasised the excellent work done by Nurse Higginson, to whom they returned their best thanks, for by her knowledge and advice she was able to do much to diminish the hardship of sickness and alleviate pain. (Applause)

Mr F Draper is seconding the resolution, also bore testimony to the great amount of good done in the district by means of the association. The resolution was carried unanimously, and on the motion of Mr CJ Longman, seconded by the Rev SM Stanley, Mr A Weir was added to the general committee in place of the Rev W Barnes. The Rev W Crofton proposed the re-election of the officers and the two committees, eulogising their work; and the motion was seconded by Mr WC Mole and carried. This part of the meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chairman, proposed by Mr Longman and seconded by Mr H Le Blanc Smith.

An entertainment followed consisting of two duologues entitled "Sixes and Sevens" and "Mrs Hillary’s Regrets". Both were full of humour and odd incidents, causing much amusement. Mrs Hugh Gayton gave a charming and natural portrait of the rich heiress and the equally rich widow in the two pieces; while Mr AL Bedwell made a typical Captain George Hope and his impersonation of the Irish doctor was excellent. During the interval, the Rev SM Stanley won hearty applause for his songs "At the Concert" and "Visitors". He also recited several very laughable anecdotes. A vote of thanks was passed by acclamation to Mrs Hugh Gayton and Mr AL Bedwell both of whom were recalled.

The late Rev PG Ward very faithfully discharged his duties as Vicar of the parish for 24 years. His memory is cherished by the inhabitants, who have long felt that some memorial of him should be placed in the parish church he loved so well. The fund necessary for this object was readily obtained from 123 subscribers. The memorial has taken the appropriate form of an unornamented brass tablet, suitably inscribed, which has been placed in the south wall of the chancel above the reading desk. The tablet will be unveiled tomorrow (Sunday) at the morning service. Those who knew the late Vicar will welcome the form by which the parishioners have perpetuated his memory. The inscription is as follows: "To the Glory of God and in affectionate remembrance of Philip Gordon Ward BA, for 24 years Vicar of this Parish. Entered into rest September 1902, aged 54 years. This tablet is erected by his parishioners."

Mr CJ Longman of Upp Hall, Braughing writes to us – "In reference to the note in your issue of last week respecting the brass erected in Braughing Church to the memory of the late Rev PG Ward, a few technical details may be of interest. The brass was engraved and erected by the well known engraver, Mr Emery Walker who was one of the founders of the arts and crafts society, which has had so marked an influence on recent art. The design was made by Mr ARR Gill who was a pupil of the London County Council Central School of Arts and Crafts in Regent Street, and the lettering adopted is of the type produced under the influence of Mr Edward Johnstone, the instructor in calligraphy of that school. The design of the roman capitals is based upon that used in Roman inscriptions, one of the most notable examples being that upon the Trojan column at Rome. While the style of the smaller letters is derived of the English MSS of the 12th century, but freed from the archaism of the period. Mr Gill has much experience of designing inscriptions, having cut them in buildings and monuments in Oxford, Cambridge and elsewhere. In this county, he lately executed, to the order of the Earl of Lytton a tombstone in the memory of Mr Kipling, for many years head gardener at Knebworth. Mr Emery Walker was anxious that the work should not be executed on what is known as the ordinary commercial brass, which owing to its want of durability is already giving trouble in some churches. The brass for the tablet was specially cast (not rolled) by the Birmingham mint from a formula obtained by an analysis of a fragment of medieval brass of about the date 1300 AD. As regards the proportion of copper and zinc, it is practically identical with this except that in the older brass the zinc was obtained directly from Calamine, and therefore contains certain impurities. The metal was generally known in the middle ages under the name of Latton and it was generally used for monumental brasses of that period. An analysis of another brass two hundred years later dated 1504, gives similar results. The engraving has been etched into the brass by method of analogous to that used for engraving book illustrations by what is technically known as lite etching process. I am indebted for the details which I believe will be of general interest to the kindness of Mr Emery Walker."