VOLUNTEERS have been reflecting on the end of an era after an elderly people's lunch club ceased after 25 years.

The organiser of the Pelly Court Luncheon Club, which provided meals and entertainment at the sheltered housing off Hemnall Street, Epping, twice a week, said interest in the club had dried up after changes in the organisation that provides the meals.

Dorothy Whitehouse, 70, who has been helping at the club for about 25 years, blamed a loss of interest in the club partly on meals being delivered cold by the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS).

The charity has recently moved its base from Loughton to Pitsea, near Basildon, and now heats meals in the delivery van on the way out.

“Before I started helping, there used to be a proper dinner, cooked in the kitchen with fresh meat and vegetables,” she said. “People were put off after the meal arrived cold. Recruiting people also gets more and more difficult, so it was the two things combined.”

Another long-term helper, Brenda Sebire, who started volunteering about 25 years ago, said the club had provided a good meeting place for elderly people.

“It was lovely for the ladies,” she added. “Some of them were lonely so they used to get together and were so happy to see you. You could chat to a lady who might not have seen anyone all week.

“It was a really happy atmosphere and a real pleasure to make it jolly for them.”

Mrs Whitehouse added that there had been some memorable characters on the club's books over the years.

“There was one woman who used to breeze in and in five minutes, she'd have cheered everyone up,” she added.

One of the club's last remaining members, Hilda Moody, 86, said: “It's been very good and the prices are very reasonable. The people are friendly enough.”

The separate Evergreen Club, which meets after lunch on a Thursday afternoon, will continue after Christmas.