Happy 30th birthday to us!

MNTV had its inaugural meeting on 21 April 1986 at Altrincham Library and signed up 35 members.  Who'd have thought that 30 years later we'd be as active as ever?  It makes me wonder how many acres of rhody we have bashed, how many miles of hedges we have laid and how many miles of fences we have built in that time... plus how many hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of time we have given to the Trust.

The longevity of the group is testament to the enthusiasm of generations of members, the unwavering support of rangers at the properties where we volunteer, the many committees over the years who have kept the group running smoothly and all the worksite leaders who have coordinated the hundreds of workdays.

Eleven of us met at the Ship Inn, Styal for a meal and drinks to celebrate.  No founder members were present (we will see some at the 30th birthday party on 11 June) but Hazel Pryor was with us and is almost a founding member.  She remembers the advert in the Altrincham newspaper for the inaugural meeting.  Hazel first went out with the group on the Morville Hall, Shropshire weekend in September 1986 where the showers weren't working and members cleaned themselves by plunging into the swimming pool!

Here's hoping the next 30 years are just as good and that we continue to go from strength to strength!

Daniel Black
MNTV Chairman