PEMBROKE Ladies Probus Club recently held their September meeting at the Cleddau Bridge Hotel.

The ladies had expected a talk by author Pam Hunt, but due to a recent fall she was unable to attend. She was wished a speedy recovery and it is hoped that she will come at a later date.

At very short notice, Jan Lawler and Bianca Gillingham, beauty and holistic therapists, stepped in and spoke enthusiastically about aromatherapy and its benefits to healthy living.

Aromatherapy uses plant compounds and oils to improve psychological and physical wellbeing.

Jan explained how and why different oils are used on various parts of the body and how they can be used to ease unpleasant symptoms of some medical conditions.

Lavender is thought to be the most versatile of essential oils. It is commonly used for its relaxing effects on the body and can be used to cleanse cuts, bruises and skin irritations.

Bianca is in the process of developing a lavender farm at Freshwater East and hopes it will become a thriving business in the future.

Two of the members, Vanessa Owen and Pam Watton, volunteered to be models for Jan and Bianca to demonstrate aromatherapy facials and both experienced the relaxing effect first-hand. Before lunch was served some of the ladies took advantage of hand massages from Jan and Bianca as they went from table to table answering questions and showing samples of oils.

The talk and demonstration proved to be both interesting and informative and much appreciation was shown to Jan and Bianca for giving their time to explain this fascinating subject. Vanessa Owen gave the vote of thanks expressing how relaxing and enjoyable the facial had been. The next meeting is on October 18, when Ginny and Russ’s talk is entitled Silent World Moves On.