Bromyard Methodist Hall was full for the January meeting of the Bromyard and District Local History Society. This was in spite of predictions that the Calendar Girls showing at the Conquest Theatre would tempt some members away. Chairman Alex Hoyle opened the meeting with very good tidings for the Society. News had just been received that a bid for a Lottery Grant had been approved. The exact amount still has to be determined but it is thought to be circa £40,000. Alex paid tribute to those who had worked so hard on preparing the bid, filling in the multifarious application forms and dealing with a bombardment of supplementary questions. The money will enable work at the Sherford Street Centre to be completed. The chairman reminded members of coming events. On Sunday, January 35, members are invited for guided tours of Pauline and Graham Perkins late 17th century house in Cruxwell Street. Those attending will assemble in the Public Hall where a light lunch will be available and will be given guided tours in groups of four by Barbara Stewart. On February 13 there will be a members meeting where members are invited to speak on their particular interests for around 15 minutes each. The speaker for the evening was Peter Jenkins, formerly of Bromyard, but for some years sub-postmaster in Llandrindod Wells. Peter has built up a collection of 20,000 postcards over the last 15 years. He opened his talk with a resume of the history of the postcard. The idea of a postcard was first mooted in Prussia in the mid 19th century. The proposal was initially dismissed - who would want the postman to see what you had written? Fortunately in Austria they were more imaginative and the idea was launched in 1869. Britain followed in 1871 when De La Rue printed 100 million cards for the Post Office with embossed stamps. Postcards caught on immediately. For a long time the postage rate was a halfpenny but for novelty cards, some very ingenious, which the Post Office hated, a special rate of one penny was imposed. Milestones in the development of the card were the introduction of the dividing line separating message and address and, closely associated, the use of one side for a picture. Mr Jenkins showed many examples of early cards and described their features. The messages written by the correspondents over 100 years ago were frequently quite touching and clearly not inhibited by any fears of the postman reading the card. One card just said 'Good Morning'. With five deliveries a day it was possible to post a card at 8 am and have it delivered before noon.