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The following excerts were taken from the article 'Neston Ladies’ Day: Centuries of caring and tradition', written by Emma Pinch of the Liverpool Daily Post on May 5 2008.
"Neston Ladies’ Day has been the highlight of the town’s calendar for hundreds of years.
The Ladies’ Day Walk, held on the first Thursday in June every year, is the highlight in the social calendar of the redoubtable Neston Female Society.
With the motto “bear each other’s burdens” it was formed in Jane Austen’s day to shore up financial support and comfort for respectable women left behind when their husbands answered the call of duty to go off and fight against Napoleon.
To this day, it pays out £10 to members on the birth of any child – born in wedlock, of course – and £60 to the family in the event of the member’s death and about £1.50 towards the cost of the doctor’s sick certificate.
The society’s historical charter also dictates that the secretary of the group is male, and Rob Halsall is the man who currently holds that honour, as he has for the past 20 years. Right now, it is the busiest time of his year, in the run-up to Ladies’ Day, when around 200 children and 80 adults will be in the procession and thousands more will flock to line the route."
"Keeping Neston’s proudest tradition on track hasn’t always been a walk in the park.
Originally the Neston Female Friendly Society, they had to jettison the “friendly” label because Financial Services Authority costs of £1,300 per year could not be supported by membership fees of just £2.
Police reluctance to safeguard the route free of charge a few years ago could have threatened its future but, in the end, they backed down. Plans to build a Sainsbury’s in the big space where the fair is normally held – essential to attract the families and children – are grounds for current concerns.
But though it’s the last remaining society of its type in Britain, membership and finances, at present, are healthy. It is regarded with much pride and affection locally. Wallis’s Amusements provides the fair for the Ladies’ Day."
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