Maxine joined the club in 1987 - 88 around the same time as I rejoined after a lapse of 13 or so years. I was delighted to meet her at Waterloo station on my way to join one of my first rambles. At that time the programmes did not give as clear guidance on what ticket to buy as they do nowadays so meeting another person who looked like a rambler was like a gift from heaven. And Maxine looked every inch a rambler - rucksack on her back a bottle of water in one hand and stick in the other which she had obviously picked up on a previous ramble. I learned more about her habit of picking up sticks at a later date when I visited her flat in North London and found that on her balcony she had a large and varied collection of them. Part of her preparation for going on a ramble was deciding which stick to select to support her on her way.

Maxine made her living by acting and acting is renowned for the hard times actors go endure through lack of opportunities and Maxine knew about this at first hand. However she was not one to sit around and grieve over her difficulties but undertook bookings entertaining at children's parties, and demonstrating items of clothing for sale such as ladies' scarves. I never saw any of these but I'm sure they were entertaining and put people in a mood to purchase. I did however see one great performance which she did at the Club's 60th anniversary celebration.  It was a take-off of Margaret Thatcher whom she impersonated very well with her fair hair and blue costume and for some of the humorous statements which she put in Mrs Thatcher's mouth she substituted names of members of the club for people who would have been targeted by the "Leaderene". On another occasion several of us went to the Wite Bear Pub Theatre in Kennington to support her in a  performance of  "DA" by Hugh Leonard which we thoroughly enjoyed. On yet another occasion some of us went to a fringe theatre in Chelsea to see her in a chellenging role in "The Pygmalion" - a George Bernard Shaw play on which the musical "My Fair Lady" was based. 

Maxine followed a strict vegan diet and always carried her own special brand of tea bag which met all the restrictions by which vegans are bound. She would ask in pubs and resturaunts if she could have a cup of hot water instead of tea or coffee but always  said she would pay the price of a cup of tea. I never saw any caterer accepting the payment.

In her later years Maxine left London and settled on the South Coast, I think in Taunton, where some members of the club visited her. She sadly died on 30 May 2018. May she rest in Peace.