The Committee and Associates of your Aviva Fellowship, Croydon Area, organise a programme of Events for the enjoyment of Members. Here's a sample of what we've been up to in 2024.

On Wednesday, 17th July, event organiser Hilary Kearney arranged a private visit to the Eel Pie Island Museum, where members learnt about the historic significance of this island in the Thames, and its wild days back in the Swinging Sixties The Eel Pie Island Museum brings the island's history of musical and river related heritage to life. Our visit started with coffee and biscuits and an introductory talk by one of the team, followed by a trip round the museum. After the museum there was a guided walking tour of Twickenham Embankment, overlooking the island, including a visit to the church of St Mary where Alexander Pope is buried, and a secret garden containing a pool with white marble water nymphs. Eel Pie Island is a private island accessible only via footbridge, and it has many stories to tell. The island got its name from the pies baked using locally caught eels and sold by the island's residents to passing river traders. This trend didn't last, but the name stayed. Now, it's a mysterious place only open to visitors for a select few dates throughout the year. Once a hub for jazz, blues and rock'n'roll you might have seen The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton or The Who play in the ballroom at the legendary Eel Pie Island Hotel in the 1960s.

Chris Hall Website Manager Chroydon Chronicle Aviva Fellowship Croydon Area

Museum website - www.eelpiemuseum.co.uk Read more on Pope's life and his burial in St Mary's Church, Twickenham Read about York House Gardens and the nineteenth century water nymphs