A woman reading her poetry might not be what you’d expect at a men’s Rebus Club meeting, but Noel Rose, our dedicated guest speaker organizer, made an inspired choice for the July 2024 gathering.
We needn’t have worried, as the poet was none other than Jan Beaumont, whose light-hearted and relatable verses quickly won us over. Her most famous poem, “Let’s All Drink to Lockdown,” has been mistakenly attributed to the renowned English poet Pam Ayers MBE on numerous occasions.
Jan not only recited a selection of her delightful poetry but also shared the fascinating story of her life. She recounted how she met and married an Englishman from P&O five and a half weeks after meeting him while living in New York and working for the New Zealand Consulate.
Upon returning to New Zealand, Jan worked as a legal secretary and would often dash out of the office to Broadcasting House on Durham Street to host a cooking show on 1ZB. She later started her own cooking school and became a regular contributor to various newspapers.
Jan concluded her engaging talk with a poignant quote from the American activist, author, and poet Maya Angelou: “People may forget what you did, people may forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.”
The newsletter may not have had much to report regarding trips and coffee mornings, but it did showcase a charming photo of Rebus West Auckland members during a coffee morning at Gloria Jean’s Café. Fay Pollard and Suzanne Barrett seemed to be delighting in each other’s company, Trevor Pollard and Andrew Narayan were engaged in a deep conversation, Noel Rose was engrossed in reading something, and Raymond Barrett seemed to be enjoying a peaceful moment by the window.
