January 2nd 2020
Cyril is a welcome regular speaker for us and this time he had ‘From Pillar to Post’ as his subject. It turned out to be a slide show of street furniture, the things we do not usually notice as we move around the city. He started with a selection of post boxes. The first was a very early Victorian one painted green; apparently this was the choice of colour until they decided it did not stand out against the foliage and changed to the now familiar red. Bristol has four post boxes from the short reign of King Edward VIII. Water was the next subject with water fountains covered including a wonderful one in the wall of St Nicholas market commemorating Queen Victoria’s 40th birthday. Toilets are associated with water and two magnificent cast iron versions at Horfield and the top of Whiteladies Road were shown. Many plaques and memorials are around Bristol and one unusual one of Nipper, the dog from the HMV advert. A small statue of Nipper can be seen perched above a doorway in the Merchant Venturers Building on the corner of Park Row and Woodland Road in Bristol; this building, part of the University of Bristol, stands near the site of the old Prince's Theatre. Shop figures are relic of the time when many people could not read so appropriate signs indicated the wares sold. He finished to very interesting talk with several clocks including the first electric public clock outside Langford’s the jewellers at the bottom of Park Street. It is quite surprising what you miss when you look but do not see!
Cyril is a welcome regular speaker for us and this time he had ‘From Pillar to Post’ as his subject. It turned out to be a slide show of street furniture, the things we do not usually notice as we move around the city. He started with a selection of post boxes. The first was a very early Victorian one painted green; apparently this was the choice of colour until they decided it did not stand out against the foliage and changed to the now familiar red. Bristol has four post boxes from the short reign of King Edward VIII. Water was the next subject with water fountains covered including a wonderful one in the wall of St Nicholas market commemorating Queen Victoria’s 40th birthday. Toilets are associated with water and two magnificent cast iron versions at Horfield and the top of Whiteladies Road were shown. Many plaques and memorials are around Bristol and one unusual one of Nipper, the dog from the HMV advert. A small statue of Nipper can be seen perched above a doorway in the Merchant Venturers Building on the corner of Park Row and Woodland Road in Bristol; this building, part of the University of Bristol, stands near the site of the old Prince's Theatre. Shop figures are relic of the time when many people could not read so appropriate signs indicated the wares sold. He finished to very interesting talk with several clocks including the first electric public clock outside Langford’s the jewellers at the bottom of Park Street. It is quite surprising what you miss when you look but do not see!
December 13th
Our annual Christmas Lunch was held this year at Chippimg Sodbury Golf Club. A fine venue with a room which fitted our needs perfectly. The food was excellent and the company a pleasure.
See the pictures on the Gallery page
Our annual Christmas Lunch was held this year at Chippimg Sodbury Golf Club. A fine venue with a room which fitted our needs perfectly. The food was excellent and the company a pleasure.
See the pictures on the Gallery page
December 5th
We all thought we had heard everything about the famous local Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Chas Ashley brought a new dimension to his work with his talk on ‘Mr Brunel's Big Battle’. Chas explained that he was not a train expert but interested in the social and financial impact of the railways. The battle was all about the width of the railway track. For the Great Western Railway project from Bristol to London he proposed "broad gauge" of 7 ft 1⁄4 in, instead of what was later to be known as "standard gauge" of 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in. He was primarily a scientist rather than a railway engineer and decided that the wider gauge would provide a smoother, faster and safer ride for the GWR. Chas told us of the complicated legal and practical problems his decision caused. The majority of track laid by other rail companies were standard gauge and this caused many problems where the two systems met. The problem was partially solved by laying dual tracks with three rails but it was an expensive solution. Following many legal battles for primacy the standard gauge won and by 1844 broad gauge was effectively dead. Dual tracks continued until 1895. One of the reasons for the delay in its death was that GWR could charge very high prices for the journey to London. A first class ticket cost about the modern equivalent to a Concorde ticket to New York. It is said that two first class tickets covered the total cost of the journey and all other fares were profit. A fascinating talk with great detail of the manoeuvrings between the various rail companies of the time.
We all thought we had heard everything about the famous local Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Chas Ashley brought a new dimension to his work with his talk on ‘Mr Brunel's Big Battle’. Chas explained that he was not a train expert but interested in the social and financial impact of the railways. The battle was all about the width of the railway track. For the Great Western Railway project from Bristol to London he proposed "broad gauge" of 7 ft 1⁄4 in, instead of what was later to be known as "standard gauge" of 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in. He was primarily a scientist rather than a railway engineer and decided that the wider gauge would provide a smoother, faster and safer ride for the GWR. Chas told us of the complicated legal and practical problems his decision caused. The majority of track laid by other rail companies were standard gauge and this caused many problems where the two systems met. The problem was partially solved by laying dual tracks with three rails but it was an expensive solution. Following many legal battles for primacy the standard gauge won and by 1844 broad gauge was effectively dead. Dual tracks continued until 1895. One of the reasons for the delay in its death was that GWR could charge very high prices for the journey to London. A first class ticket cost about the modern equivalent to a Concorde ticket to New York. It is said that two first class tickets covered the total cost of the journey and all other fares were profit. A fascinating talk with great detail of the manoeuvrings between the various rail companies of the time.
November 19th
We were treated to a very comprehensive story of the 'GWR Badminton Line' by Alan. He is a master of the detail in his subjects and did not disappoint us this time. The official name of the line was The Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway. The original route of the railway line from London to South Wales left the GWR Bristol to London line at Swindon and proceeded via Stroud, Gloucester and Chepstow (it had the nickname ‘The Great Way Round’)but the opening of the Severn Tunnel in 1886 brought the opportunity of a more direct route to South Wales. In 1896 an act of parliament approved the construction of a new line from Filton to Wootton Bassett. This included a long section through land owned by the Duke of Beaufort. As part of his agreement to support the act the Duke demanded that a station should be constructed at Badminton. He also had written into the act that any train could be halted on demand at the Badminton station. This applied to anyone who could tell the station master to stop the train and he had to do it. He also demanded that the Hunt had priority over the trains. These privileges lasted until an act was passed to change the law in 1968. The railway was built using new techniques with mechanised equipment and employed 5000 navies during the construction. The line was 33 miles long with 88 bridges, two tunnels and many, cuttings and viaducts. The line opened in 1903 and Alan gave us many fascinating details about the features along the way. In 1972 a large marshalling yard at Stoke Gifford was used to build Bristol Parkway, originally quite a small station but now much increased in size to cope with the extra passengers who prefer it to Temple Meads. A most interesting talk with many historical and modern pictures to illustrate the story.
We were treated to a very comprehensive story of the 'GWR Badminton Line' by Alan. He is a master of the detail in his subjects and did not disappoint us this time. The official name of the line was The Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway. The original route of the railway line from London to South Wales left the GWR Bristol to London line at Swindon and proceeded via Stroud, Gloucester and Chepstow (it had the nickname ‘The Great Way Round’)but the opening of the Severn Tunnel in 1886 brought the opportunity of a more direct route to South Wales. In 1896 an act of parliament approved the construction of a new line from Filton to Wootton Bassett. This included a long section through land owned by the Duke of Beaufort. As part of his agreement to support the act the Duke demanded that a station should be constructed at Badminton. He also had written into the act that any train could be halted on demand at the Badminton station. This applied to anyone who could tell the station master to stop the train and he had to do it. He also demanded that the Hunt had priority over the trains. These privileges lasted until an act was passed to change the law in 1968. The railway was built using new techniques with mechanised equipment and employed 5000 navies during the construction. The line was 33 miles long with 88 bridges, two tunnels and many, cuttings and viaducts. The line opened in 1903 and Alan gave us many fascinating details about the features along the way. In 1972 a large marshalling yard at Stoke Gifford was used to build Bristol Parkway, originally quite a small station but now much increased in size to cope with the extra passengers who prefer it to Temple Meads. A most interesting talk with many historical and modern pictures to illustrate the story.
November 7th
A local interest talk today with Ken telling us about 'Bristol Coal Mining', with special reference to the pits in our area. He began with a brief geology lesson to show the strata conditions of the Bristol Coal basin, shallow at the edges but deeper towards the centre. The seams are only about 3 feet. In the 1600’s bell pits were dug, a straight hole to the seam and a bell shaped enlargement to dig out the coal; unfortunately the pits did suffer from flooding. The invention of the steam driven beam engine in the 1700’s allowed deeper workings and provided the power for ventilation and water removal. The rotary steam engine gave rise to winding gear to lower the miners and remove the coal. Ken then concentrated on the local pits with detailed information about Brandy Bottom pit at Shortwood. The pit was first sunk in 1837 and Handel Cossham opened his Parkside pit in 1851. Once Parkfield was operating Cossham took over the lease of Brandy Bottom in 1871, sinking the New Shaft and building the Horizontal Engine House. Cossham died in 1890, but his estate did not sell his Kingswood and Parkfield coal mining interests until 1900 as these had been held in trust for his wife until her death. The £60 000 raised by the sale was used to build the Cossham Memorial Hospital in Kingswood. Mining activity ceased at Parkside and Brandy Bottom in 1936 and the site fell into dereliction. The site is not easy to reach with no road nearby so has not been flattened and built on as many other mines have. The site was made a Scheduled Ancient Monument on 22 January 2001, and the Avon Industrial Building Trust started working on the conservation of the buildings in 2007. The site is accessible from the Avon Cycle Path and we are considering a visit in the summer next year.
A local interest talk today with Ken telling us about 'Bristol Coal Mining', with special reference to the pits in our area. He began with a brief geology lesson to show the strata conditions of the Bristol Coal basin, shallow at the edges but deeper towards the centre. The seams are only about 3 feet. In the 1600’s bell pits were dug, a straight hole to the seam and a bell shaped enlargement to dig out the coal; unfortunately the pits did suffer from flooding. The invention of the steam driven beam engine in the 1700’s allowed deeper workings and provided the power for ventilation and water removal. The rotary steam engine gave rise to winding gear to lower the miners and remove the coal. Ken then concentrated on the local pits with detailed information about Brandy Bottom pit at Shortwood. The pit was first sunk in 1837 and Handel Cossham opened his Parkside pit in 1851. Once Parkfield was operating Cossham took over the lease of Brandy Bottom in 1871, sinking the New Shaft and building the Horizontal Engine House. Cossham died in 1890, but his estate did not sell his Kingswood and Parkfield coal mining interests until 1900 as these had been held in trust for his wife until her death. The £60 000 raised by the sale was used to build the Cossham Memorial Hospital in Kingswood. Mining activity ceased at Parkside and Brandy Bottom in 1936 and the site fell into dereliction. The site is not easy to reach with no road nearby so has not been flattened and built on as many other mines have. The site was made a Scheduled Ancient Monument on 22 January 2001, and the Avon Industrial Building Trust started working on the conservation of the buildings in 2007. The site is accessible from the Avon Cycle Path and we are considering a visit in the summer next year.
October 31st
Mary started with a potted history of zoos. The first recognised zoo was created in 1254 when King Louis IX of France gave King Henry III an elephant. It was installed at the Tower of London and became a popular attraction until its death four years later. 'Bristol Zoo' was founded in 1836 and is the world's oldest provincial zoo. The original animals would have been bought from sea captains returning from foreign lands. It is small by international standards but has an enviable reputation for breeding firsts, including the first black rhino born in Britain in 1958, the first squirrel monkey born in captivity in 1953 and the first chimpanzee born in Europe in 1934. Mary told us about Rosie the elephant who gave rides, many members remembered this. The Monkey temple was popular with Rhesus Monkeys keeping all entertained. In the 1960s the zoo came to national prominence by appearing in the UK television series, Animal Magic, hosted by the comic animal 'communicator', Johnny Morris. Morris would play keeper and voice all the animals there. Nick told us an amusing tale of Alfred the Gorilla. At his death in 1948, Alfred was the oldest gorilla in the world kept in captivity. Alfred became so important for the city that after his death his body kept on display at Bristol City Museum. In March 1956 Alfred's body disappeared from the glass cabinet of the museum for several days before turning up in a doctor's office. The identity of the kidnappers remained unknown for over 50 years until it was revealed to have been University students. After the talk Mary and Nick brought round a Giant Spiny Stick Insect, a Chilean Rose Tarantula and an African Land Snail for us to observe up close.
Do look at the Gallery page for pictures of the event
Mary started with a potted history of zoos. The first recognised zoo was created in 1254 when King Louis IX of France gave King Henry III an elephant. It was installed at the Tower of London and became a popular attraction until its death four years later. 'Bristol Zoo' was founded in 1836 and is the world's oldest provincial zoo. The original animals would have been bought from sea captains returning from foreign lands. It is small by international standards but has an enviable reputation for breeding firsts, including the first black rhino born in Britain in 1958, the first squirrel monkey born in captivity in 1953 and the first chimpanzee born in Europe in 1934. Mary told us about Rosie the elephant who gave rides, many members remembered this. The Monkey temple was popular with Rhesus Monkeys keeping all entertained. In the 1960s the zoo came to national prominence by appearing in the UK television series, Animal Magic, hosted by the comic animal 'communicator', Johnny Morris. Morris would play keeper and voice all the animals there. Nick told us an amusing tale of Alfred the Gorilla. At his death in 1948, Alfred was the oldest gorilla in the world kept in captivity. Alfred became so important for the city that after his death his body kept on display at Bristol City Museum. In March 1956 Alfred's body disappeared from the glass cabinet of the museum for several days before turning up in a doctor's office. The identity of the kidnappers remained unknown for over 50 years until it was revealed to have been University students. After the talk Mary and Nick brought round a Giant Spiny Stick Insect, a Chilean Rose Tarantula and an African Land Snail for us to observe up close.
Do look at the Gallery page for pictures of the event
October 17th
Our Annual General Meeting when our officers were installed.
Secretary Peter Blackmore, President Eric Arnold & Treasurer Tony Clift
Our Annual General Meeting when our officers were installed.
Secretary Peter Blackmore, President Eric Arnold & Treasurer Tony Clift
October 3rd
Hattie came to talk to us about deafness and how to cope with it. The charity she represented was HISS, 'Hearing Impairment Support Scheme'. The charity serves people with a hearing problem who use hearing aids. She ran through the various types of aides including National Health and privately supplied. Her first message was that it is not sensible to allow hearing difficulties to reduce your life enjoyment, get an aid. When living with a hearing problem it is best to make the listener aware of your difficulty early in any conversation, it is the responsibility of the communicator to ensure the message is understood but they can only be sure of this if you have alerted the speaker to your situation. Apparently there may be only 5 vowels but there are 21 sounds they can produce. This can cause difficulty when lip reading and clear pronunciation, without facial distortion, is essential. HISS exists to provide help with the maintenance and use of hearing aids for those who cannot get to a doctor and give a home service, including changing of the tubes of aids and replacement of batteries where necessary. A valuable talk for those members who have hearing problems and an interesting subject for those who are lucky enough not to suffer.
Hattie came to talk to us about deafness and how to cope with it. The charity she represented was HISS, 'Hearing Impairment Support Scheme'. The charity serves people with a hearing problem who use hearing aids. She ran through the various types of aides including National Health and privately supplied. Her first message was that it is not sensible to allow hearing difficulties to reduce your life enjoyment, get an aid. When living with a hearing problem it is best to make the listener aware of your difficulty early in any conversation, it is the responsibility of the communicator to ensure the message is understood but they can only be sure of this if you have alerted the speaker to your situation. Apparently there may be only 5 vowels but there are 21 sounds they can produce. This can cause difficulty when lip reading and clear pronunciation, without facial distortion, is essential. HISS exists to provide help with the maintenance and use of hearing aids for those who cannot get to a doctor and give a home service, including changing of the tubes of aids and replacement of batteries where necessary. A valuable talk for those members who have hearing problems and an interesting subject for those who are lucky enough not to suffer.
September 19th
We all enjoyed an interesting and informative talk given by Paul Burnett at our Probus meeting in September. Paul’s talk ‘Light in the Darkest Hour’ was about the retreat from Dunkirk in June 1940 and gave a largely statistical analysis of the retreat. He mentioned in particular the original estimate of 45,000 individuals who were due to be saved, this figure ending up as 338,000 although 68,000 were captured or killed. He referred to the 861 vessels used of which 243 did not return and 850 private boats also “volunteered” for service. Paul brought a degree of cynicism to the “miracle” of Dunkirk pointing out that the French suffered badly during the retreat and that the French have never get over the way they were treated. He tempered his cynicism with talk of great heroism and courage shown by many Nations and wished that to be the reason for remembering his talk so vividly. Thanks again to Paul for the detail he described and particularly for giving a factual slant to such a “romantic” story so that we could all see “Light in the Darkest Hour”.
We all enjoyed an interesting and informative talk given by Paul Burnett at our Probus meeting in September. Paul’s talk ‘Light in the Darkest Hour’ was about the retreat from Dunkirk in June 1940 and gave a largely statistical analysis of the retreat. He mentioned in particular the original estimate of 45,000 individuals who were due to be saved, this figure ending up as 338,000 although 68,000 were captured or killed. He referred to the 861 vessels used of which 243 did not return and 850 private boats also “volunteered” for service. Paul brought a degree of cynicism to the “miracle” of Dunkirk pointing out that the French suffered badly during the retreat and that the French have never get over the way they were treated. He tempered his cynicism with talk of great heroism and courage shown by many Nations and wished that to be the reason for remembering his talk so vividly. Thanks again to Paul for the detail he described and particularly for giving a factual slant to such a “romantic” story so that we could all see “Light in the Darkest Hour”.
September 5th
Ken Spelman stood in to deliver an excellent presentation on 'Future Developments in Technology', at two days’ notice, as the arranged speaker was unable to attend the meeting. His talk included ten short videos and stills to illustrate how the 5G network (3.4Ghz – 3.8Ghz frequency band) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is beginning vast changes to our social and business lifestyles.
From a social viewpoint, a universal wage will be necessary, as many people will be unemployed, including such areas as Accountancy and Medicine. People will have retraining many times in their lifetime to be available where human involvement is required. Shopping, Warehousing, Farming & Agriculture will largely be automated by AI, supported by many stations receiving and transmitting data. In Japan already, one hotel is run completely without human intervention for all aspects of customer care. Robotic insects are already in use by the military for terrorist searches in buildings as well as medical procedures carried out by remote operators from battlefield backgrounds.
Robotic hydroponics systems for lettuce leaf production are in operation on the continent. Drones for delivering and collecting parcels are well under way in parts of America at present and developed by Amazon. Automatic warehousing, with few people present, for stock control and package distribution are already well establish too. One farm in the UK has an automatic cow milking system, where cows with identity collars wander into the dairy to be milked whenever they wish!
Ken opened our eyes to a changing world situation, with big changes expected even in the next decade. He finished with a question and answer session and was thanked by the President for an absorbing and interesting presentation.
Ken Spelman stood in to deliver an excellent presentation on 'Future Developments in Technology', at two days’ notice, as the arranged speaker was unable to attend the meeting. His talk included ten short videos and stills to illustrate how the 5G network (3.4Ghz – 3.8Ghz frequency band) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is beginning vast changes to our social and business lifestyles.
From a social viewpoint, a universal wage will be necessary, as many people will be unemployed, including such areas as Accountancy and Medicine. People will have retraining many times in their lifetime to be available where human involvement is required. Shopping, Warehousing, Farming & Agriculture will largely be automated by AI, supported by many stations receiving and transmitting data. In Japan already, one hotel is run completely without human intervention for all aspects of customer care. Robotic insects are already in use by the military for terrorist searches in buildings as well as medical procedures carried out by remote operators from battlefield backgrounds.
Robotic hydroponics systems for lettuce leaf production are in operation on the continent. Drones for delivering and collecting parcels are well under way in parts of America at present and developed by Amazon. Automatic warehousing, with few people present, for stock control and package distribution are already well establish too. One farm in the UK has an automatic cow milking system, where cows with identity collars wander into the dairy to be milked whenever they wish!
Ken opened our eyes to a changing world situation, with big changes expected even in the next decade. He finished with a question and answer session and was thanked by the President for an absorbing and interesting presentation.
August 29th
We have heard Chris before and knew we were in for an interesting exposure to ‘Concorde’. Chris called the aircraft Queen of the he did not disappoint us with his presentation. He ran through some of the aircraft that preceded Concorde. The best of them could manage about 600 mph with the French Caravelle attaining 620. In the mid 50’s a lot of development took place on delta wings with the best based on the Ogee design. In 1962 an agreement was signed between the British and French governments to develop a supersonic passenger aircraft which became the Concorde after Wedgwood Benn acceded to the French desire to have an ’e’ added. The design and development took many years with large scale mock-ups and fuel rigs. The early orders for the Concorde amounted to 57 by 1966 but when the Americans decided to forbid supersonic flight over land it became less commercially viable and eventually only 20 were built. The rollout of the British built Concorde took place in September 1968, the same day as the rollout of the Boeing 747, a rival for airline orders. The first flight of 002 was in April 1969 from Filton to Fairford where test flying took place. The engines were developed from the military engine Olympus 22R and designated Olympus 593, largely manufactured in Bristol by Bristol Siddeley Engines. Chris covered the Russian version, the Tupolev Tu- 144 and the American rival, the Boeing 2707, both of which never achieved service. In July 2000 a Concorde crashed at the Paris Airshow, caused by debris on the runway, 113 people were killed. The aircraft flew again a few years later following modifications but the service never recovered and the last ever flight of Concorde was on 26 November 2003 with a landing at Filton. This plane is now the centre piece of the Aerospace Bristol Museum.
This was a Ladies Day for us and we welcomed our visitors who later joined us on a trip to Kings Weston House. Do visit the Gallery page to see photographs of the afternoon.
We have heard Chris before and knew we were in for an interesting exposure to ‘Concorde’. Chris called the aircraft Queen of the he did not disappoint us with his presentation. He ran through some of the aircraft that preceded Concorde. The best of them could manage about 600 mph with the French Caravelle attaining 620. In the mid 50’s a lot of development took place on delta wings with the best based on the Ogee design. In 1962 an agreement was signed between the British and French governments to develop a supersonic passenger aircraft which became the Concorde after Wedgwood Benn acceded to the French desire to have an ’e’ added. The design and development took many years with large scale mock-ups and fuel rigs. The early orders for the Concorde amounted to 57 by 1966 but when the Americans decided to forbid supersonic flight over land it became less commercially viable and eventually only 20 were built. The rollout of the British built Concorde took place in September 1968, the same day as the rollout of the Boeing 747, a rival for airline orders. The first flight of 002 was in April 1969 from Filton to Fairford where test flying took place. The engines were developed from the military engine Olympus 22R and designated Olympus 593, largely manufactured in Bristol by Bristol Siddeley Engines. Chris covered the Russian version, the Tupolev Tu- 144 and the American rival, the Boeing 2707, both of which never achieved service. In July 2000 a Concorde crashed at the Paris Airshow, caused by debris on the runway, 113 people were killed. The aircraft flew again a few years later following modifications but the service never recovered and the last ever flight of Concorde was on 26 November 2003 with a landing at Filton. This plane is now the centre piece of the Aerospace Bristol Museum.
This was a Ladies Day for us and we welcomed our visitors who later joined us on a trip to Kings Weston House. Do visit the Gallery page to see photographs of the afternoon.
August 15th
Graham told a most interesting and entertaining story of his two years ‘National Service’ in the RAF. His interest in planes started very young with building model aeroplanes, this with his other hobby of photography, was to shape his time serving the Queen. In July 1954 he was called up and did basic training. During this time he applied for aircrew and was sent for assessment, which he passed, but when told aircrew had to sign up for 12 years he declined. In September he was sent to the RAF School of Photography where he was trained in the use of a large range of equipment. He was assigned to a posting in Aden but on the way by chance was diverted to RAF Eastleigh in Kenya. He described vividly the conditions in Kenya including the risk of malaria. The main work was photo-recognisance, processing pictures of Mau-Mau terrorists in the jungle for the Army and Airforce to attack. Twin cameras were employed which gave a stereoscopic view revealing detail of the jungle camps. Apart from the routine processing work Graham was also used for general photography for the camp. These included pictures of damaged aircraft and official ceremonies, like the Queen’s Birthday parade in 1955. Graham was able to take two short holiday breaks; one by train to Lake Victoria and one in a hire car to Nairobi and Mombasa. Excellent pictures illustrated these trips. Troop entertainment by ENSA included visits by Terry Thomas and Jimmy Edwards. In January 1956 he was transferred to RAF Khormaksar, Aden where he encountered very different photographic requirements. The aircraft stationed there were Venoms with gun sight cameras. In January 1957 he returned to the UK to RAF Pembrokeshire where he undertook 2 weeks reserve training and finally left the service in May 1957. Graham clearly enjoyed his National Service and we certainly enjoyed his story.
Graham told a most interesting and entertaining story of his two years ‘National Service’ in the RAF. His interest in planes started very young with building model aeroplanes, this with his other hobby of photography, was to shape his time serving the Queen. In July 1954 he was called up and did basic training. During this time he applied for aircrew and was sent for assessment, which he passed, but when told aircrew had to sign up for 12 years he declined. In September he was sent to the RAF School of Photography where he was trained in the use of a large range of equipment. He was assigned to a posting in Aden but on the way by chance was diverted to RAF Eastleigh in Kenya. He described vividly the conditions in Kenya including the risk of malaria. The main work was photo-recognisance, processing pictures of Mau-Mau terrorists in the jungle for the Army and Airforce to attack. Twin cameras were employed which gave a stereoscopic view revealing detail of the jungle camps. Apart from the routine processing work Graham was also used for general photography for the camp. These included pictures of damaged aircraft and official ceremonies, like the Queen’s Birthday parade in 1955. Graham was able to take two short holiday breaks; one by train to Lake Victoria and one in a hire car to Nairobi and Mombasa. Excellent pictures illustrated these trips. Troop entertainment by ENSA included visits by Terry Thomas and Jimmy Edwards. In January 1956 he was transferred to RAF Khormaksar, Aden where he encountered very different photographic requirements. The aircraft stationed there were Venoms with gun sight cameras. In January 1957 he returned to the UK to RAF Pembrokeshire where he undertook 2 weeks reserve training and finally left the service in May 1957. Graham clearly enjoyed his National Service and we certainly enjoyed his story.
August 1st
Usually our speakers bring projector equipment and a pictorial show, this time Peter relied entirely on his voice to give us ‘Aviation Anecdotes’. He was superb and painted vivid pictures of his time as a commercial pilot. He started in 1968 at the London School of Flying at Elstree. While there he saw a squadron of German Heinkel aircraft, this surprised him until he was told they were representing the German fighter in the filming of the Battle of Britain film. In June 1969 he joined Dan-Air as a second pilot on the DC3 based at Lulsgate. However when he arrived it was found he could not fit in the co-pilot seat because a redesign had removed the seat adjustment making it impossible to reach the controls safely. He was instead offered a position flying the Ambassador aircraft at a salary 50% more than his original contract. This led to him flying all over Europe at the age of only 24 and he was able to sample the delights of the continent. One anecdote involved a challenge in Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ when he was asked if he was a Catholic or Protestant. He quickly replied he was a Jew to which the questioner asked if he was a Catholic Jew or a Protestant Jew! On one trip when leaving Reims airport he was told the approach runway was out of order but the plane was already on the runway. The pilot turned the aircraft as far as possible to the right and then asked the passengers to alight and push the aircraft round to face back the way it had come. The incident was photographed by a passenger and resulted in a feature in the Daily Express. There was an official reprimand and an unofficial word of congratulations. He eventually transferred to the Comet aircraft which he described as a magnificent plane to fly. He later moved to the Boeing 707 aircraft and spent some time doing freight transport. This involved many flights to Kenya and he told tales of corruption during the time when Jomo Kenyatta was President. He left Dan-Air when it was sold to British Airways for £1 in 1992. A fascinating talk of life as a pilot with many more stories that I can fit into this review.
Usually our speakers bring projector equipment and a pictorial show, this time Peter relied entirely on his voice to give us ‘Aviation Anecdotes’. He was superb and painted vivid pictures of his time as a commercial pilot. He started in 1968 at the London School of Flying at Elstree. While there he saw a squadron of German Heinkel aircraft, this surprised him until he was told they were representing the German fighter in the filming of the Battle of Britain film. In June 1969 he joined Dan-Air as a second pilot on the DC3 based at Lulsgate. However when he arrived it was found he could not fit in the co-pilot seat because a redesign had removed the seat adjustment making it impossible to reach the controls safely. He was instead offered a position flying the Ambassador aircraft at a salary 50% more than his original contract. This led to him flying all over Europe at the age of only 24 and he was able to sample the delights of the continent. One anecdote involved a challenge in Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ when he was asked if he was a Catholic or Protestant. He quickly replied he was a Jew to which the questioner asked if he was a Catholic Jew or a Protestant Jew! On one trip when leaving Reims airport he was told the approach runway was out of order but the plane was already on the runway. The pilot turned the aircraft as far as possible to the right and then asked the passengers to alight and push the aircraft round to face back the way it had come. The incident was photographed by a passenger and resulted in a feature in the Daily Express. There was an official reprimand and an unofficial word of congratulations. He eventually transferred to the Comet aircraft which he described as a magnificent plane to fly. He later moved to the Boeing 707 aircraft and spent some time doing freight transport. This involved many flights to Kenya and he told tales of corruption during the time when Jomo Kenyatta was President. He left Dan-Air when it was sold to British Airways for £1 in 1992. A fascinating talk of life as a pilot with many more stories that I can fit into this review.
July 18th
WOW! We get many excellent speakers but Dr Carolyn Morton kept us spellbound with her talk entitled ‘The Scientific Detective’. She explained that the job was to collect evidence and seek out the truth. Evidence can be by witness, video, confession or other means but they are all subjective. Witness evidence is often unreliable; no two people can recollect the same incident the same way. Scientific evidence has a far greater chance of being unbiased. She gave many examples of different trials where the scientific evidence swayed the verdict. One fascinating example involved blood spatter. The way an injury was caused can result in very different blood spatter patterns, she told us of a case where someone set up a scenario to try to show the victim was killed after a struggle but the blood spots clearly showed they had been caused by a self-inflicted wound after the death of the victim. Carolyn explained that a finger print has to be taken directly from the finger and what is collected from a crime scene is a finger mark. DNA is a complicated subject and probably deserved a separate talk but one fascinating fact was that only identical twins have identical DNA, but they always have different finger prints. Carolyn’s talk was wide ranging and was given in an enthusiastic and knowledgeable way by a most fluent speaker.
WOW! We get many excellent speakers but Dr Carolyn Morton kept us spellbound with her talk entitled ‘The Scientific Detective’. She explained that the job was to collect evidence and seek out the truth. Evidence can be by witness, video, confession or other means but they are all subjective. Witness evidence is often unreliable; no two people can recollect the same incident the same way. Scientific evidence has a far greater chance of being unbiased. She gave many examples of different trials where the scientific evidence swayed the verdict. One fascinating example involved blood spatter. The way an injury was caused can result in very different blood spatter patterns, she told us of a case where someone set up a scenario to try to show the victim was killed after a struggle but the blood spots clearly showed they had been caused by a self-inflicted wound after the death of the victim. Carolyn explained that a finger print has to be taken directly from the finger and what is collected from a crime scene is a finger mark. DNA is a complicated subject and probably deserved a separate talk but one fascinating fact was that only identical twins have identical DNA, but they always have different finger prints. Carolyn’s talk was wide ranging and was given in an enthusiastic and knowledgeable way by a most fluent speaker.
July 4th
Terry has been a speaker for us before and we knew we were in for a treat. 'Ration Books to Rock & Roll' was the intriguing title and it did not disappoint. He started with a few reminders of the allowances during the rationing which started in January 1939 and continued until July 4th 1954. He showed us images of remembered shops from this time, Home & Colonial, International Stores and David Greig’s. Soon we were into the music of the times with a sing-along version of the Lambeth Walk. ‘We are the Ovaltineys’ and other children songs allowed us to go back to our childhood. Soon it was the 1940’s and a wonderful performance by Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dancing to Begin the Beguine by Arty Shaw. Glen Miller’s Moonlight Serenade brought back memories. It wasn’t all music as Terry visited the 1951 Motor Show with many defunct names on display. In the early 50’s television arrived with the Coronation shown in 1953. Back to music we had the joy of Doris Day singing ‘Once I had a Secret Love’. Another sing-along, this time with Perry Como and ‘Magic Moments’. Children’s TV favourites were aired with images of Muffin the Mule, Andy Pandy, Sooty & Sweep. We finished with the rousing sound of Bill Haley singing Rock Around the Clock - Rock & Roll had arrived! Terry is a master at researching his subject and passes on his enthusiasm to great effect. A wonderful way to spend a morning.
Terry has been a speaker for us before and we knew we were in for a treat. 'Ration Books to Rock & Roll' was the intriguing title and it did not disappoint. He started with a few reminders of the allowances during the rationing which started in January 1939 and continued until July 4th 1954. He showed us images of remembered shops from this time, Home & Colonial, International Stores and David Greig’s. Soon we were into the music of the times with a sing-along version of the Lambeth Walk. ‘We are the Ovaltineys’ and other children songs allowed us to go back to our childhood. Soon it was the 1940’s and a wonderful performance by Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell dancing to Begin the Beguine by Arty Shaw. Glen Miller’s Moonlight Serenade brought back memories. It wasn’t all music as Terry visited the 1951 Motor Show with many defunct names on display. In the early 50’s television arrived with the Coronation shown in 1953. Back to music we had the joy of Doris Day singing ‘Once I had a Secret Love’. Another sing-along, this time with Perry Como and ‘Magic Moments’. Children’s TV favourites were aired with images of Muffin the Mule, Andy Pandy, Sooty & Sweep. We finished with the rousing sound of Bill Haley singing Rock Around the Clock - Rock & Roll had arrived! Terry is a master at researching his subject and passes on his enthusiasm to great effect. A wonderful way to spend a morning.
June 20th
We knew we were in for an interesting and informative talk as we have heard David before. He did not let us down with a talk based on an imaginary boat trip from Cumberland Basin to Nethham Lock. He started with a brief history lesson on the formation of the ‘Floating Harbour’ which opened in 1809. We saw pictures of the central dock area with images of busy dockside activity in the late 19th and early 20th century. Travelling upstream past the old George’s brewery we arrived at the entrance to the Feeder canal. Called ‘the Feeder’ because its function was the feed water into the docks to keep the level even and allow ships to float on an even keel during low tide. The journey along the Feeder evoked memories of many industrial names. John Lysaught was a major employer and David’s Grandfather worked there as galvaniser, a very dangerous environment. William Butler’s Tar Refining works took crude tar from the local Gas Works and refined into creosote for the preservation of wood much used for the preservation of wooden sleepers for Brunel’s railway to London. The Cotton factory employed 2000 at peak. A fascinating illustrated talk ended with a poem written by David entitled Up the Feeder .
We knew we were in for an interesting and informative talk as we have heard David before. He did not let us down with a talk based on an imaginary boat trip from Cumberland Basin to Nethham Lock. He started with a brief history lesson on the formation of the ‘Floating Harbour’ which opened in 1809. We saw pictures of the central dock area with images of busy dockside activity in the late 19th and early 20th century. Travelling upstream past the old George’s brewery we arrived at the entrance to the Feeder canal. Called ‘the Feeder’ because its function was the feed water into the docks to keep the level even and allow ships to float on an even keel during low tide. The journey along the Feeder evoked memories of many industrial names. John Lysaught was a major employer and David’s Grandfather worked there as galvaniser, a very dangerous environment. William Butler’s Tar Refining works took crude tar from the local Gas Works and refined into creosote for the preservation of wood much used for the preservation of wooden sleepers for Brunel’s railway to London. The Cotton factory employed 2000 at peak. A fascinating illustrated talk ended with a poem written by David entitled Up the Feeder .
June 6th
Our speaker today told us that he knew that most speakers who came to Probus Clubs sought to educate, inform, promote a charity or entertain. He was with us solely ‘Just for Entertainment’. His mission was simply to show us some good music, song and dance. He started with a Flash Mob performance of music from ‘Greace’, the musical staged at Antwerp Station. This was followed by an extract from the film Brassed Off, ‘Concierto de Aranjue’z by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. ‘I’m Gonna be 500 miles’ by The Proclaimers led on to ‘O Myfanwy’ with an English translation of the Welsh words read out before being sung by Rhydian Roberts. Changing the tempo completely he then gave us an edited Best Man speech which caused a lot of laughs. Fiddler on the Roof came next with one of the less well known songs, ‘To Life’. Graham mentioned the discipline and precision of Trooping the Colour on the Queen’s official birthday, he then showed a six minute display by the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band; several hundred students marching in amazing patterns and playing their instruments. Then the song ‘I Hate Men’ from the musical Kiss me Kate performed at the Albert Hall a few seasons ago. Staying with musicals the next item from Oklahoma, ‘I Hate Men’ was sung by two student from an American drama school. Graham had told us several times of his love of the Welsh accent and singing so the penultimate song was from a young Welsh choir singing ‘The Prayer’ on Britain’s Got Talent. Finally from the Musical ‘Guys and Dolls’ the rip roaring song ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat’. A wonderful hour and Graham certainly achieved his mission to entertain us.
Our speaker today told us that he knew that most speakers who came to Probus Clubs sought to educate, inform, promote a charity or entertain. He was with us solely ‘Just for Entertainment’. His mission was simply to show us some good music, song and dance. He started with a Flash Mob performance of music from ‘Greace’, the musical staged at Antwerp Station. This was followed by an extract from the film Brassed Off, ‘Concierto de Aranjue’z by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. ‘I’m Gonna be 500 miles’ by The Proclaimers led on to ‘O Myfanwy’ with an English translation of the Welsh words read out before being sung by Rhydian Roberts. Changing the tempo completely he then gave us an edited Best Man speech which caused a lot of laughs. Fiddler on the Roof came next with one of the less well known songs, ‘To Life’. Graham mentioned the discipline and precision of Trooping the Colour on the Queen’s official birthday, he then showed a six minute display by the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band; several hundred students marching in amazing patterns and playing their instruments. Then the song ‘I Hate Men’ from the musical Kiss me Kate performed at the Albert Hall a few seasons ago. Staying with musicals the next item from Oklahoma, ‘I Hate Men’ was sung by two student from an American drama school. Graham had told us several times of his love of the Welsh accent and singing so the penultimate song was from a young Welsh choir singing ‘The Prayer’ on Britain’s Got Talent. Finally from the Musical ‘Guys and Dolls’ the rip roaring song ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat’. A wonderful hour and Graham certainly achieved his mission to entertain us.
May 30th
It is always obvious when a speaker talks about a subject he knows and cares about. Charles is such a speaker on the subject ‘Bear Facts’. Charles started by running through some of the fictional bears we all had heard about from our childhood. Rupert Bear, Yogi Bear, Pudsey Bear and, his favourite, Poo Bear. There are also many ways bears have been co-opted into mascots and team names. The Bristol Bears being one recent example. The name Teddy came from the American President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. While hunting, Roosevelt declared the behaviour of the other hunters “unsportsmanlike" after he refused to kill a bear they had captured. From fictional bears Charles moved on to real bears. There are 8 species of bear and 6 are at risk in the wild. Probably the best known is the Panda. We were shown delightful videos of young Pandas playing like children in a breeding centre in China. The Panda was adopted as the logo for the World Wildlife Fund in 2961 and the inspiration came from Chi-Chi, a Giant Panda living in London Zoo at that time. The largest Bear is the Polar Bear. On average, Polar Bears on all fours are 3.5 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) tall, but when standing on its hind legs, an adult male polar bear may reach more than 10 feet (3 m) and weigh up to 800 kg. The smallest bear is the Sun Bear from South East Asia and weigh 27-65 kg. Stunning photographs accompanied the talk taken by Charles on visits all over the world seeking more knowledge about this fascinating subject.
This was a Ladies Day for us and we welcomed our visitors who later joined us on a trip on the Bristol Docks. This was a joint event organised with the Kingswood Y's Men's Club. Do visit the Gallery page to see photographs of the afternoon.
It is always obvious when a speaker talks about a subject he knows and cares about. Charles is such a speaker on the subject ‘Bear Facts’. Charles started by running through some of the fictional bears we all had heard about from our childhood. Rupert Bear, Yogi Bear, Pudsey Bear and, his favourite, Poo Bear. There are also many ways bears have been co-opted into mascots and team names. The Bristol Bears being one recent example. The name Teddy came from the American President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. While hunting, Roosevelt declared the behaviour of the other hunters “unsportsmanlike" after he refused to kill a bear they had captured. From fictional bears Charles moved on to real bears. There are 8 species of bear and 6 are at risk in the wild. Probably the best known is the Panda. We were shown delightful videos of young Pandas playing like children in a breeding centre in China. The Panda was adopted as the logo for the World Wildlife Fund in 2961 and the inspiration came from Chi-Chi, a Giant Panda living in London Zoo at that time. The largest Bear is the Polar Bear. On average, Polar Bears on all fours are 3.5 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) tall, but when standing on its hind legs, an adult male polar bear may reach more than 10 feet (3 m) and weigh up to 800 kg. The smallest bear is the Sun Bear from South East Asia and weigh 27-65 kg. Stunning photographs accompanied the talk taken by Charles on visits all over the world seeking more knowledge about this fascinating subject.
This was a Ladies Day for us and we welcomed our visitors who later joined us on a trip on the Bristol Docks. This was a joint event organised with the Kingswood Y's Men's Club. Do visit the Gallery page to see photographs of the afternoon.
May 16th
Nearly a catastrophe this meeting when our speaker was caught up in a massive traffic jam on the M5 due to an accident. He arrived just after we started the meeting and then, to compound his misfortune, had a problem with his lap top. Douglas Lindsay had come to talk about ‘The Ffestiniog Railway’ and our wait was well rewarded with a comprehensive cover of the subject despite having to shorten the talk. He is an enthusiastic member of The Ffestiniog Railway Society which exists to support the oldest independent railway in the world, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and now a historic and world-class tourist attraction. The railway is roughly 13 1⁄2 miles (21.7 km) long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, travelling through forested and mountainous scenery. Its original job was the transport of slate from the quarries down to the docks. The first trucks were powered by gravity with horses dragging the trucks back up the mountain. In 1871 the first steam engine was commissioned, the Princess, and by 1872 the first passengers were carried in crude waggons. During the First World War the quarries lost all the German trade and struggled to survive. In 1946 the line closed and fell into disrepair. In the early 1950’s the Ffestiniog Railway Society was formed with the objective of restoring the line. It took until 1982 to finally reach Blaenau and the whole track became operational carrying over 200.000 passengers a year. Douglas’s talk was illustrated with many fine pictures of the locomotives and the countryside the track passes through.
Nearly a catastrophe this meeting when our speaker was caught up in a massive traffic jam on the M5 due to an accident. He arrived just after we started the meeting and then, to compound his misfortune, had a problem with his lap top. Douglas Lindsay had come to talk about ‘The Ffestiniog Railway’ and our wait was well rewarded with a comprehensive cover of the subject despite having to shorten the talk. He is an enthusiastic member of The Ffestiniog Railway Society which exists to support the oldest independent railway in the world, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and now a historic and world-class tourist attraction. The railway is roughly 13 1⁄2 miles (21.7 km) long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, travelling through forested and mountainous scenery. Its original job was the transport of slate from the quarries down to the docks. The first trucks were powered by gravity with horses dragging the trucks back up the mountain. In 1871 the first steam engine was commissioned, the Princess, and by 1872 the first passengers were carried in crude waggons. During the First World War the quarries lost all the German trade and struggled to survive. In 1946 the line closed and fell into disrepair. In the early 1950’s the Ffestiniog Railway Society was formed with the objective of restoring the line. It took until 1982 to finally reach Blaenau and the whole track became operational carrying over 200.000 passengers a year. Douglas’s talk was illustrated with many fine pictures of the locomotives and the countryside the track passes through.
May 2nd
We were pleased to welcome Mike Ogborne, who last spoke to us in July 2017 about the charity work he does in Romania. This time it was ‘After the Tsunami’, the disaster on Boxing Day 2014 which hit Sri Lanka and the south of India. A wall of water 30 to 40 feet high hit the coast at the speed of an F1 car and caused devastation to the coast and many miles inland. Mike linked up with a Dutch charity to go to the Indian province of Tamil Nadu. His task was to monitor the arrival of ten trucks of relief equipment and ensure it was delivered straight to the needy. The lorries travelled overland from Holland taking 5 weeks for the13,000 mile journey. He showed us pictures of the devastation he saw on his arrival. Most families had lost members but one of the good signs was the resilience of the children left. Boats made of heavy logs were swept more than a mile inland. One of the biggest fears was the threat of cholera from the poor state of sanitation and supply of fresh water in the tented relief village. The supplies were packed in boxes and contained many essential items. He was able to supervise the distribution and with the help of local officials was able to ensure all went to the needy.
We were pleased to welcome Mike Ogborne, who last spoke to us in July 2017 about the charity work he does in Romania. This time it was ‘After the Tsunami’, the disaster on Boxing Day 2014 which hit Sri Lanka and the south of India. A wall of water 30 to 40 feet high hit the coast at the speed of an F1 car and caused devastation to the coast and many miles inland. Mike linked up with a Dutch charity to go to the Indian province of Tamil Nadu. His task was to monitor the arrival of ten trucks of relief equipment and ensure it was delivered straight to the needy. The lorries travelled overland from Holland taking 5 weeks for the13,000 mile journey. He showed us pictures of the devastation he saw on his arrival. Most families had lost members but one of the good signs was the resilience of the children left. Boats made of heavy logs were swept more than a mile inland. One of the biggest fears was the threat of cholera from the poor state of sanitation and supply of fresh water in the tented relief village. The supplies were packed in boxes and contained many essential items. He was able to supervise the distribution and with the help of local officials was able to ensure all went to the needy.
April 18th
David is a voluble speaker who can tell a good story about the ‘Funny Side of Town Crying’. He started when he retired in 1989 and saw a note about a competition for the position of Town Crier for Kingswood Urban District Council when it was part of Avon. He won the position and after two years as a postulant he was able to join the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers. The guild arranges regular competitions and he attended one, found he enjoyed the rivalry and comradeship and soon began attending competitions all over the world. His first experience of a World Competition was on the Isle of Wight where he had some success. His travels include Ghent, Belgium, where he won and the World Championship in Washington State in 2001 where he was in the top 10 of all criers. He regularly attends competitions in the UK in his regalia of long coat, breeches and tri-corn hat. In 1996 Avon was dismantled and he became the Town Crier for South Gloucester. He is very proud of the bell he rings to attract attention. It carries the inscription KUDC, meaning Kingswood Urban District Council, he is not sure who owns the bell now that the KUDC does not exist but feels it is in good keeping with him. He finished his talk with a demonstration of his “OYES, OYES, OYES” call and a final “God Save the Queen”.
David is a voluble speaker who can tell a good story about the ‘Funny Side of Town Crying’. He started when he retired in 1989 and saw a note about a competition for the position of Town Crier for Kingswood Urban District Council when it was part of Avon. He won the position and after two years as a postulant he was able to join the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers. The guild arranges regular competitions and he attended one, found he enjoyed the rivalry and comradeship and soon began attending competitions all over the world. His first experience of a World Competition was on the Isle of Wight where he had some success. His travels include Ghent, Belgium, where he won and the World Championship in Washington State in 2001 where he was in the top 10 of all criers. He regularly attends competitions in the UK in his regalia of long coat, breeches and tri-corn hat. In 1996 Avon was dismantled and he became the Town Crier for South Gloucester. He is very proud of the bell he rings to attract attention. It carries the inscription KUDC, meaning Kingswood Urban District Council, he is not sure who owns the bell now that the KUDC does not exist but feels it is in good keeping with him. He finished his talk with a demonstration of his “OYES, OYES, OYES” call and a final “God Save the Queen”.
April 4th
David is a regular and welcome visitor. This time he stepped in at short notice as our booked speaker was indisposed. 'Remember the 60’s' was the subject and he took us through the period with a nostalgic feel to the pictures and music. Remember how we would play in the streets and stay out all day he asked with shots of streets with only a few cars in view. The new motorways opened but the cars of the 50’s and 60’s were not suitable for the speed now possible, many broke down. A selection of cars of the period was accompanied by The Shadows music, most of us could remember the models shown. Pictures of the central area showed how much has changed. Fairfax House, impossible to find your way out once you entered! Old Market was devastated when the underpass cut off the area from the new Broadmead shops, it has still not fully recovered. The Docks have probably seen the biggest changes in central Bristol. In the 60’s there were still some ships coming to the floating dock but this changed with the growing size of ships who had to dock at Avonmouth or Portway. With the change of use of many of the warehouses life returned to the dock area led by a wine fair at the Exhibition Centre. He took us on a journey to Weston-Super-Mare by train where the Beetles were pictures on the Weston donkeys. Another session of music let us to some of the groups who visited Bristol during this time. The end of the 60’s saw the moon landings and the flight of Concorde. A fitting end to a super talk.
David is a regular and welcome visitor. This time he stepped in at short notice as our booked speaker was indisposed. 'Remember the 60’s' was the subject and he took us through the period with a nostalgic feel to the pictures and music. Remember how we would play in the streets and stay out all day he asked with shots of streets with only a few cars in view. The new motorways opened but the cars of the 50’s and 60’s were not suitable for the speed now possible, many broke down. A selection of cars of the period was accompanied by The Shadows music, most of us could remember the models shown. Pictures of the central area showed how much has changed. Fairfax House, impossible to find your way out once you entered! Old Market was devastated when the underpass cut off the area from the new Broadmead shops, it has still not fully recovered. The Docks have probably seen the biggest changes in central Bristol. In the 60’s there were still some ships coming to the floating dock but this changed with the growing size of ships who had to dock at Avonmouth or Portway. With the change of use of many of the warehouses life returned to the dock area led by a wine fair at the Exhibition Centre. He took us on a journey to Weston-Super-Mare by train where the Beetles were pictures on the Weston donkeys. Another session of music let us to some of the groups who visited Bristol during this time. The end of the 60’s saw the moon landings and the flight of Concorde. A fitting end to a super talk.
March 21st
Mike Hooper used to work in the Environmental Department of Bristol and during his time there he came across some fascinating surveys into slum conditions done in the 1930’s. The records were in danger of being destroyed but he was able to rescue them and they formed the basis of a most interesting talk on 'The Slums of Bristol'. The area he concentrated on was a small part of Bedminster near Bedminster Bridge covering many small streets off East Street which have now vanished. The area had many small industrial premises, most of them dirty and smelly. I amongst the narrow alleys and closed squares slaughter houses, glue factories and workshops invaded the living spaces of the population. Mike showed maps illustrating the changes which occurred over time. He has obtained many old photographs of the area showing how the people lived. A fascinating story saved from the dustbin of history, he will be donating the records to the Bristol Archives.
Mike Hooper used to work in the Environmental Department of Bristol and during his time there he came across some fascinating surveys into slum conditions done in the 1930’s. The records were in danger of being destroyed but he was able to rescue them and they formed the basis of a most interesting talk on 'The Slums of Bristol'. The area he concentrated on was a small part of Bedminster near Bedminster Bridge covering many small streets off East Street which have now vanished. The area had many small industrial premises, most of them dirty and smelly. I amongst the narrow alleys and closed squares slaughter houses, glue factories and workshops invaded the living spaces of the population. Mike showed maps illustrating the changes which occurred over time. He has obtained many old photographs of the area showing how the people lived. A fascinating story saved from the dustbin of history, he will be donating the records to the Bristol Archives.
March 7th
John Penny told us of 'Three Violent Moments' in Bristol History with excellent illustrations, including some of his own photographs. His first moment was the riots of 1831 when as a result of the rotten boroughs and slow implementation of the Bill of Representation the citizens rose up and attacked the city authorities. On October 30th Queen’s Square was severely damaged and on the 31st the Light Dragoons charged the rioters and killed and injures over 100 people. 81 were arrested, 4 hanged and 27 deported to Australia. In June 1832 the Reform Act was passed. The second violence was the bombing of Bristol in the Second World War. Between 24 November 1940 and 11 April 1941 there were six major bombing raids. The most devastating raid was a single 500lb bomb which fell on Broad Weir hitting two busses loaded with passengers. 45 were killed, 26 seriously wounded and 30 with slight injuries, this was the biggest death roll of the many raids on Bristol. The last event was the St Paul’s Riots of April 2nd 1980. The riot started near the Black & White café on Grosvenor Road the John was working in the locality and took many photographs of the damage. Over 2000 people joined in the riots and 21 police, 3 firemen and 4 civilians were injured. John was able to show us BBC and ITV films taken on the day but not broadcast.
John Penny told us of 'Three Violent Moments' in Bristol History with excellent illustrations, including some of his own photographs. His first moment was the riots of 1831 when as a result of the rotten boroughs and slow implementation of the Bill of Representation the citizens rose up and attacked the city authorities. On October 30th Queen’s Square was severely damaged and on the 31st the Light Dragoons charged the rioters and killed and injures over 100 people. 81 were arrested, 4 hanged and 27 deported to Australia. In June 1832 the Reform Act was passed. The second violence was the bombing of Bristol in the Second World War. Between 24 November 1940 and 11 April 1941 there were six major bombing raids. The most devastating raid was a single 500lb bomb which fell on Broad Weir hitting two busses loaded with passengers. 45 were killed, 26 seriously wounded and 30 with slight injuries, this was the biggest death roll of the many raids on Bristol. The last event was the St Paul’s Riots of April 2nd 1980. The riot started near the Black & White café on Grosvenor Road the John was working in the locality and took many photographs of the damage. Over 2000 people joined in the riots and 21 police, 3 firemen and 4 civilians were injured. John was able to show us BBC and ITV films taken on the day but not broadcast.
March 2nd
We joined Kingswood Y’s Men’s Club for a combined coach trip to Cardiff. We started with 29 booked but eventually 22 hardy souls braved the border, although we did meet Sam, Jerry and Sandy there, outside the castle walls. Cardiff is a fine city with much of interest to see. Most of our party initially visited the castle which is an enormous structure with a fascinating history which goes back to Roman times. More recently it was owned by the Marquis of Bute who constructed residential accommodation with spectacular rooms and ceilings. There was a lot of money in coal in those days! Well worth a visit. The rest of the day was spent in various ways. A small party went to the National Museum of Wales (it was free!), some took a sight-seeing tour by bus, and others even went shopping! A projected loss for the trip was avoided by Roger Cromwell’s wizard idea of buying a bottle of wine, which was raffled on the coach. Thanks to all who supported the trip from both clubs.
Do look at the Gallery for a few photographs
We joined Kingswood Y’s Men’s Club for a combined coach trip to Cardiff. We started with 29 booked but eventually 22 hardy souls braved the border, although we did meet Sam, Jerry and Sandy there, outside the castle walls. Cardiff is a fine city with much of interest to see. Most of our party initially visited the castle which is an enormous structure with a fascinating history which goes back to Roman times. More recently it was owned by the Marquis of Bute who constructed residential accommodation with spectacular rooms and ceilings. There was a lot of money in coal in those days! Well worth a visit. The rest of the day was spent in various ways. A small party went to the National Museum of Wales (it was free!), some took a sight-seeing tour by bus, and others even went shopping! A projected loss for the trip was avoided by Roger Cromwell’s wizard idea of buying a bottle of wine, which was raffled on the coach. Thanks to all who supported the trip from both clubs.
Do look at the Gallery for a few photographs
February 21st
The title of Dudley’s talk was ‘A Life of Crime’ but it turned out to be about his story as a crime fighter not criminal. He talked about his career in the legal profession starting as a clerk in a solicitors office and ending as a Stipendiary Magistrate. At school he had difficulty with exams but did manage to gain enough passes to become an articled clerk in a solicitors office in Bath. After two years he secured a job in the Bath Magistrate’s Court as the collector of fixed penalty parking fines. Within a few years he was promoted to a Court Clerk and in 1970 he moved to Bristol to work as a Senior Court Clerk. He had now qualified as a solicitor. In 1971 he joined a practice working as an advocate doing mainly criminal work. He continued working as a solicitor until 1988 when became a Barrister joining Gray’s Inn. In 1990 he was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen to the office of Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate working for the first nine years in the London Magistrate’s Courts and in 1999 he returned to Bristol to become the first Stipendiary Magistrate in the City. He regaled us with many humorous stories of his time, far too many to recall here. One story got him into the newspapers when he felt sorry for an old man he was dealing with and he gave him some sandwiches. The Daily Mail came up with the headline “Beak gives Nutritional Discharge”. Sometimes legal arguments were his problem. He gave an example of a scrap merchant charged with driving with an ‘unsafe load’. This turned out to be a towed scrapped car. It posed the question "Is a towed object a ‘load’?" A very interesting and amusing talk.
The title of Dudley’s talk was ‘A Life of Crime’ but it turned out to be about his story as a crime fighter not criminal. He talked about his career in the legal profession starting as a clerk in a solicitors office and ending as a Stipendiary Magistrate. At school he had difficulty with exams but did manage to gain enough passes to become an articled clerk in a solicitors office in Bath. After two years he secured a job in the Bath Magistrate’s Court as the collector of fixed penalty parking fines. Within a few years he was promoted to a Court Clerk and in 1970 he moved to Bristol to work as a Senior Court Clerk. He had now qualified as a solicitor. In 1971 he joined a practice working as an advocate doing mainly criminal work. He continued working as a solicitor until 1988 when became a Barrister joining Gray’s Inn. In 1990 he was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen to the office of Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate working for the first nine years in the London Magistrate’s Courts and in 1999 he returned to Bristol to become the first Stipendiary Magistrate in the City. He regaled us with many humorous stories of his time, far too many to recall here. One story got him into the newspapers when he felt sorry for an old man he was dealing with and he gave him some sandwiches. The Daily Mail came up with the headline “Beak gives Nutritional Discharge”. Sometimes legal arguments were his problem. He gave an example of a scrap merchant charged with driving with an ‘unsafe load’. This turned out to be a towed scrapped car. It posed the question "Is a towed object a ‘load’?" A very interesting and amusing talk.
February 7th
Our booked speaker was taken ill and unable to come to us on the morning. Member Alan Wallington rushed home to fetch equipment and was able to fill the void with a slide show and talk about a visit 'India in 2004'. He went to India as a member of Kingswood Y's Men's Club to visit charity projects supported by the Y's Men and to attend an international convention in Kochi, Kerela in the South East of India. Impressions of India included horrific traffic conditions with frightening trips to visit Indian Y's Men's Clubs and eating mainly curry. Hospitality of his Indian hosts was excellent including a weekend on a houseboat on the Kerela equivalent of the Norfolk Broads and a visit to Vivekananda Rock Memorial at the tip of India where the Pacific Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. Charity projects visited included a Blind School where attendees learnt skills to help them make a living and an orphanage where pupils were trained in plumbing, electrics, building skills and sewing. The objective was to give the children an opportunity to return to their villages as useful citizens and not become dependant on begging. Alan lost about 14 pounds during the visit and was never sure if he was eating curried meat, fish or cardboard!
Our booked speaker was taken ill and unable to come to us on the morning. Member Alan Wallington rushed home to fetch equipment and was able to fill the void with a slide show and talk about a visit 'India in 2004'. He went to India as a member of Kingswood Y's Men's Club to visit charity projects supported by the Y's Men and to attend an international convention in Kochi, Kerela in the South East of India. Impressions of India included horrific traffic conditions with frightening trips to visit Indian Y's Men's Clubs and eating mainly curry. Hospitality of his Indian hosts was excellent including a weekend on a houseboat on the Kerela equivalent of the Norfolk Broads and a visit to Vivekananda Rock Memorial at the tip of India where the Pacific Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. Charity projects visited included a Blind School where attendees learnt skills to help them make a living and an orphanage where pupils were trained in plumbing, electrics, building skills and sewing. The objective was to give the children an opportunity to return to their villages as useful citizens and not become dependant on begging. Alan lost about 14 pounds during the visit and was never sure if he was eating curried meat, fish or cardboard!
January 31st
A Ladies Day for us when our partners and widows join us. The talk by Squadron Leader Sue Haggo, Rtd, entitled 'Nursing in Afghanistan' was very well received. In 2006 Sue was deployed as an Auxiliary Medical Nurse in Afghanistan for six months. Before going she undertook 6 weeks of military training, including weapon use and had to carry a loaded rifle at all times while there. The task was the aero medical evacuation of wounded service personnel, either to hospitals in Afghanistan or back to the UK. The base was at Kandahar and it was hot, dusty and often under attack by Taliban rockets. Sue lived in a large American built hangar with 400 beds and little privacy. Mice were a constant irritation and all clothes had to be wrapped in plastic for protection. The medical and nursing facilities were available to all irrespective of nationality and included Taliban soldiers and Afghan civilians brought to the base. Injured personnel were treated on site or transferred to bigger hospitals about 45 minutes flight away. One of the most difficult jobs was accompanying the bodies of those killed in action and returned to the UK; Sue had to do this 6 times during her tour of duty.
A Ladies Day for us when our partners and widows join us. The talk by Squadron Leader Sue Haggo, Rtd, entitled 'Nursing in Afghanistan' was very well received. In 2006 Sue was deployed as an Auxiliary Medical Nurse in Afghanistan for six months. Before going she undertook 6 weeks of military training, including weapon use and had to carry a loaded rifle at all times while there. The task was the aero medical evacuation of wounded service personnel, either to hospitals in Afghanistan or back to the UK. The base was at Kandahar and it was hot, dusty and often under attack by Taliban rockets. Sue lived in a large American built hangar with 400 beds and little privacy. Mice were a constant irritation and all clothes had to be wrapped in plastic for protection. The medical and nursing facilities were available to all irrespective of nationality and included Taliban soldiers and Afghan civilians brought to the base. Injured personnel were treated on site or transferred to bigger hospitals about 45 minutes flight away. One of the most difficult jobs was accompanying the bodies of those killed in action and returned to the UK; Sue had to do this 6 times during her tour of duty.
January 17th
'Invasion South West' was the title of Garry's talk and we were expecting to hear about a recent event from WW2. Garry soon stopped this idea by introducing us to Emperor Vespasian and the year 43AD. This was when the Roman Empire started to arrive on our shores. He first explained the structure of the Roman Army.80 soldiers formed a Century, 6 Centuries became a Cohort and 10 Cohorts formed a Legion. Together with Cavalry, light specialist troops and reserves a total of 5,500 soldiers. The first place captured was Chichester where a main base and supply depot was established. From here the army moved west along the coast building roads at a rate of one to two miles a day. The success of the army was largely based on superior logistics in supplying troops with arms and provisions from continent and transported by the British Fleet manned by professional sailors. He explained how the superior weapons, including the Scorpio, a torsion siege engine and field artillery piece capable of firing 240 iron bolts per minute, overpowered the British defenders. The Roman occupation of Britain lasted over 400 years and was based on the brilliance of Vespasian as a military commander. In 69AD he became Emperor and founded the Flavian dynasty. A fascinating tale told with great flair and detail.
'Invasion South West' was the title of Garry's talk and we were expecting to hear about a recent event from WW2. Garry soon stopped this idea by introducing us to Emperor Vespasian and the year 43AD. This was when the Roman Empire started to arrive on our shores. He first explained the structure of the Roman Army.80 soldiers formed a Century, 6 Centuries became a Cohort and 10 Cohorts formed a Legion. Together with Cavalry, light specialist troops and reserves a total of 5,500 soldiers. The first place captured was Chichester where a main base and supply depot was established. From here the army moved west along the coast building roads at a rate of one to two miles a day. The success of the army was largely based on superior logistics in supplying troops with arms and provisions from continent and transported by the British Fleet manned by professional sailors. He explained how the superior weapons, including the Scorpio, a torsion siege engine and field artillery piece capable of firing 240 iron bolts per minute, overpowered the British defenders. The Roman occupation of Britain lasted over 400 years and was based on the brilliance of Vespasian as a military commander. In 69AD he became Emperor and founded the Flavian dynasty. A fascinating tale told with great flair and detail.
January 3rd 2019
Cyril visited us in June 2018 and gave us a talk on Gadgets of Yesteryear. This time talk 'Time at Tyntesfield' had gadgets that were a bit more sophisticated - being clocks and watches. Cyril started volunteering at Tyntesfield shortly after the National Trust bought it in 2002. Cyril's interest in timepieces led him to specialise in the many clocks and watches to be found in the main house. He took us through the more interesting ones with excellent photographs and detailed descriptions. There was once a large chiming clock on the main building tower used to let the workers know how the hours were passing. This clock is now on the Bristol Motor company HQ at Long Ashton. Some of the long case clocks were from the 1700's and quite valuable. He finished the talk with an image and detailed description of a superb carriage clock commissioned by Lord Wraxall and made by the famous company Leroy & Fils. A wonderful trip in time.
Cyril visited us in June 2018 and gave us a talk on Gadgets of Yesteryear. This time talk 'Time at Tyntesfield' had gadgets that were a bit more sophisticated - being clocks and watches. Cyril started volunteering at Tyntesfield shortly after the National Trust bought it in 2002. Cyril's interest in timepieces led him to specialise in the many clocks and watches to be found in the main house. He took us through the more interesting ones with excellent photographs and detailed descriptions. There was once a large chiming clock on the main building tower used to let the workers know how the hours were passing. This clock is now on the Bristol Motor company HQ at Long Ashton. Some of the long case clocks were from the 1700's and quite valuable. He finished the talk with an image and detailed description of a superb carriage clock commissioned by Lord Wraxall and made by the famous company Leroy & Fils. A wonderful trip in time.
December 6th
Unfortunately our booked speaker was ill but member Ken Spilman volunteered to take his place at short notice. Ken is a computer expert who worked for many years for BAC. He started his talk on Computers by giving a history lesson with pictures of early home computers and calculators. He had brought with him all the component parts of a computer to show us. Most of us use a computer but few have any idea what goes on inside the case so it was interesting to be able to handle them and be told of their place in the computer. He gave a demonstration of the power of static electricity and warned about making sure you were earthed if ever you ventured inside your computer. He told us that the computing power of a modern phone was far greater then the power of the computer which controlled the Apollo 11 craft which took men to the moon in 1969. He finished his absorbing talk with a brief look at what he though might be future developments in computing.
Unfortunately our booked speaker was ill but member Ken Spilman volunteered to take his place at short notice. Ken is a computer expert who worked for many years for BAC. He started his talk on Computers by giving a history lesson with pictures of early home computers and calculators. He had brought with him all the component parts of a computer to show us. Most of us use a computer but few have any idea what goes on inside the case so it was interesting to be able to handle them and be told of their place in the computer. He gave a demonstration of the power of static electricity and warned about making sure you were earthed if ever you ventured inside your computer. He told us that the computing power of a modern phone was far greater then the power of the computer which controlled the Apollo 11 craft which took men to the moon in 1969. He finished his absorbing talk with a brief look at what he though might be future developments in computing.
November 29th
Following our morning talk we visited Oakham Treasures at Portbury, a fascinating collection of oddities from yesteryear. There are thousands of individual items and carefully reconstructed examples of old fashioned shops. The collection also has a number of interesting vehicles together with a large collection of tractors and farm implements. We joined Kingswood Y's Men's Club for this visit to make up the number for a group rate. The visitors also sampled the excellent food in the Acorn Cafe attached the the Museum.
Do have a look at the Gallery page for some of the delightful exhibits and mock up stores.
Following our morning talk we visited Oakham Treasures at Portbury, a fascinating collection of oddities from yesteryear. There are thousands of individual items and carefully reconstructed examples of old fashioned shops. The collection also has a number of interesting vehicles together with a large collection of tractors and farm implements. We joined Kingswood Y's Men's Club for this visit to make up the number for a group rate. The visitors also sampled the excellent food in the Acorn Cafe attached the the Museum.
Do have a look at the Gallery page for some of the delightful exhibits and mock up stores.
November 29th
Another suitable speaker and subject for our Ladies Day. Emma was an enthusiastic and delightful promoter of the 'Children's Hospice South West'. She started with a brief history of the Hospice and how it was founded in 1991 by Eddie and Jill Farwell after they experienced for themselves the urgent need for hospice care for their two eldest children, Katie and Tom, who had life-limiting illnesses and they had to travel over four hours, from their home in North Devon to Helen House in Oxford, then the country’s only children’s hospice. CHSW runs three hospices across the South West. Little Bridge House in Barnstaple (opened 1995), Charlton Farm in Bristol (opened 2007) and Little Harbour in St Austell (opened 2011). It costs around £9.8million to run the three hospices each year and relies almost entirely on voluntary contributions. CHSW is dedicated to making the most of short and precious lives, providing the best possible hospice care for life-limited children and their families. The layout and staff are set up as far from the image of a hospital as possible, a home-from-home atmosphere is encouraged. The average time a family is supported by CHSW is eight years. A photographic tour of the Charlton Farm facilities was accompanied by details of the work carried out. The hospice is clearly a place of great comfort to the patients and families who visit, not only the child affected but also the siblings who are included in all types of activities. A wonderful story told by a dedicated supporter.
Following the talk we visited Oakham Treasures at Portbury and a picture tour can be seen on the gallery page.
Another suitable speaker and subject for our Ladies Day. Emma was an enthusiastic and delightful promoter of the 'Children's Hospice South West'. She started with a brief history of the Hospice and how it was founded in 1991 by Eddie and Jill Farwell after they experienced for themselves the urgent need for hospice care for their two eldest children, Katie and Tom, who had life-limiting illnesses and they had to travel over four hours, from their home in North Devon to Helen House in Oxford, then the country’s only children’s hospice. CHSW runs three hospices across the South West. Little Bridge House in Barnstaple (opened 1995), Charlton Farm in Bristol (opened 2007) and Little Harbour in St Austell (opened 2011). It costs around £9.8million to run the three hospices each year and relies almost entirely on voluntary contributions. CHSW is dedicated to making the most of short and precious lives, providing the best possible hospice care for life-limited children and their families. The layout and staff are set up as far from the image of a hospital as possible, a home-from-home atmosphere is encouraged. The average time a family is supported by CHSW is eight years. A photographic tour of the Charlton Farm facilities was accompanied by details of the work carried out. The hospice is clearly a place of great comfort to the patients and families who visit, not only the child affected but also the siblings who are included in all types of activities. A wonderful story told by a dedicated supporter.
Following the talk we visited Oakham Treasures at Portbury and a picture tour can be seen on the gallery page.
November 15th
Bernard Merrick's talk was entitled 'A Pirate of Exquisite Mind' and we were intrigued to find out who this was. He introduced us to William Dampier. He was born in Somerset in 1651 and joined the Royal Navy in 1673. He was an English explorer and navigator who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. In 1679 he joined the crew of the privateer Captain Bartholomew Sharp on the Spanish Main of Central America Bernard explained the term Privateer as a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. The commission, also known as a letter of marque, empowers the person to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war, including attacking foreign vessels during wartime and taking them as prizes. Historically, captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided between the privateer sponsors, ship owners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission. He has also been described as Australia's first natural historian, as well as one of the most important British explorers of the period between Sir Walter Raleigh and James Cook. After his first circumnavigation he wrote a book A New Voyage Round the World and impressed the Admiralty, Dampier was given command of a Royal Navy ship and made important discoveries in Western Australia, before being court-martialled for cruelty. On a later voyage he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a former crewmate who may have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Others influenced by Dampier include James Cook, Horatio Nelson, and Charles Darwin. The talk was well researched and gave a fascinating insight into 17th century life at sea.
Bernard Merrick's talk was entitled 'A Pirate of Exquisite Mind' and we were intrigued to find out who this was. He introduced us to William Dampier. He was born in Somerset in 1651 and joined the Royal Navy in 1673. He was an English explorer and navigator who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. In 1679 he joined the crew of the privateer Captain Bartholomew Sharp on the Spanish Main of Central America Bernard explained the term Privateer as a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. The commission, also known as a letter of marque, empowers the person to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war, including attacking foreign vessels during wartime and taking them as prizes. Historically, captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided between the privateer sponsors, ship owners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission. He has also been described as Australia's first natural historian, as well as one of the most important British explorers of the period between Sir Walter Raleigh and James Cook. After his first circumnavigation he wrote a book A New Voyage Round the World and impressed the Admiralty, Dampier was given command of a Royal Navy ship and made important discoveries in Western Australia, before being court-martialled for cruelty. On a later voyage he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a former crewmate who may have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Others influenced by Dampier include James Cook, Horatio Nelson, and Charles Darwin. The talk was well researched and gave a fascinating insight into 17th century life at sea.
November 1st
We had a session when two of our members related stories from their work experience. Tony Clift worked in a bank during the IRA problems. Someone found a plastic bag with wires coming from it in the bank. Tony decided to clear the bank while the bomb squad was called. They inspected the package and decided it was hoax. A bank inspector was called in and challenged the decision to close the bank. Later a director praised the decision and Tony was vindicated.
John Morris is a mathematician and he told us of the Fibonacci sequence named after Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci. It is a sequence of numbers starting with 0 or 1 and every number after the first two is the sum of the two preceding ones. Nature seems to follow this sequence. Flower petals or for tree cones. Another example is that paper, looks right to most people, if the shape follows this sequence. John made a complicated subject approachable.
The two member talks were followed by a visit by Sarah Maitland and Emma Bodman from the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm screening programme run by South Glos Health Authority. They clearly explained the value of over 65's having the screening done. An aneurysm is not normally obvious to a patient as there are not usually symptoms but if left untreated can cause death. South Glos offer a free service to ultrasound scan the abdomen. We were given a direct phone number to call Sarah or Emma to book a screening test (0117 4148610). Details of the procedure are shown on the Gallery page of the web site.
We had a session when two of our members related stories from their work experience. Tony Clift worked in a bank during the IRA problems. Someone found a plastic bag with wires coming from it in the bank. Tony decided to clear the bank while the bomb squad was called. They inspected the package and decided it was hoax. A bank inspector was called in and challenged the decision to close the bank. Later a director praised the decision and Tony was vindicated.
John Morris is a mathematician and he told us of the Fibonacci sequence named after Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci. It is a sequence of numbers starting with 0 or 1 and every number after the first two is the sum of the two preceding ones. Nature seems to follow this sequence. Flower petals or for tree cones. Another example is that paper, looks right to most people, if the shape follows this sequence. John made a complicated subject approachable.
The two member talks were followed by a visit by Sarah Maitland and Emma Bodman from the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm screening programme run by South Glos Health Authority. They clearly explained the value of over 65's having the screening done. An aneurysm is not normally obvious to a patient as there are not usually symptoms but if left untreated can cause death. South Glos offer a free service to ultrasound scan the abdomen. We were given a direct phone number to call Sarah or Emma to book a screening test (0117 4148610). Details of the procedure are shown on the Gallery page of the web site.
October 18th
The AGM was well attended and new officers installed. It was decided to increase the meeting attendance fee from £1.50 to £2.00, this includes the tea or coffee at the start of the meeting. We also decided to stop the draw held every meeting as it seemed to be an expense we could well do without. Our finances are healthy and these economies meant we did not need to increase the annual membership fee. Eric Arnold was installed as President 2018/19.
The AGM was well attended and new officers installed. It was decided to increase the meeting attendance fee from £1.50 to £2.00, this includes the tea or coffee at the start of the meeting. We also decided to stop the draw held every meeting as it seemed to be an expense we could well do without. Our finances are healthy and these economies meant we did not need to increase the annual membership fee. Eric Arnold was installed as President 2018/19.
October 4th
I must confess to having no interest in Football at all. However Steve was a most interesting speaker who fluently explained his job in his talk entitled 'The Role of the Referee in Professional Football'. He started at the amateur level while working in engineering but eventually graduated to professional status. He explained that he is now employed by an independent organisation funded by FIFA to train and supervise referees. He went into great detail about the development of technology in refereeing from the Hawkeye system which can tell if the ball has gone over the goal line with an accuracy of half a millimetre to the newest system for communication between the referee and linesman. The earliest communication system tried included a transmitter in a backpack which was designed for the Army and was impossible to use on a football pitch. He explained the methods used to train referees and monitor their activities including reviewing all matches after the game. A most fascinating insight into the workings of the football world.
I must confess to having no interest in Football at all. However Steve was a most interesting speaker who fluently explained his job in his talk entitled 'The Role of the Referee in Professional Football'. He started at the amateur level while working in engineering but eventually graduated to professional status. He explained that he is now employed by an independent organisation funded by FIFA to train and supervise referees. He went into great detail about the development of technology in refereeing from the Hawkeye system which can tell if the ball has gone over the goal line with an accuracy of half a millimetre to the newest system for communication between the referee and linesman. The earliest communication system tried included a transmitter in a backpack which was designed for the Army and was impossible to use on a football pitch. He explained the methods used to train referees and monitor their activities including reviewing all matches after the game. A most fascinating insight into the workings of the football world.
September 20th
Our booked speaker was unable to come at the last minute so one of our own members stepped in. Barrie told us about 'Toys for Boys'. He started by recalling his first attempts to build and fly a model glider while serving in the RAF at Kinloss, Scotland. The radio control equipment was basic, very large and heavy. Later at RAF Aldergrove trials were undertaken by launching the glider by towing with a tandem. A crash led to one of the team breaking a leg and the station officer though it would be safer if they borrowed his staff car for towing. Barrie left the RAF in 1961 and took up model aircraft building seriously from then. He brought three models to demonstrate the type of flying he now does. The models are launched with power but when sufficient height is reached the power is turned off and gliding takes over. The development of more powerful and lighter batteries means that most models are now electrically driven. In competition the motor is used for 30 seconds to gain height then turned off. The object is to keep the aircraft in the air for a further four and a half minutes and if possible land in a small circle target area, apparently not easy. Barrie's time in the RAF and subsequent model making has given him a wide knowledge of aircraft and he was able to entertain us with many stories.
Our booked speaker was unable to come at the last minute so one of our own members stepped in. Barrie told us about 'Toys for Boys'. He started by recalling his first attempts to build and fly a model glider while serving in the RAF at Kinloss, Scotland. The radio control equipment was basic, very large and heavy. Later at RAF Aldergrove trials were undertaken by launching the glider by towing with a tandem. A crash led to one of the team breaking a leg and the station officer though it would be safer if they borrowed his staff car for towing. Barrie left the RAF in 1961 and took up model aircraft building seriously from then. He brought three models to demonstrate the type of flying he now does. The models are launched with power but when sufficient height is reached the power is turned off and gliding takes over. The development of more powerful and lighter batteries means that most models are now electrically driven. In competition the motor is used for 30 seconds to gain height then turned off. The object is to keep the aircraft in the air for a further four and a half minutes and if possible land in a small circle target area, apparently not easy. Barrie's time in the RAF and subsequent model making has given him a wide knowledge of aircraft and he was able to entertain us with many stories.
September 6th
Following his talk on July 19th Mike came to give us part 2 of his illustrated talk on 'Bedminster'. This time he started at Bedminster Bridge and took us along Coronation Road into Ashton, past the Cumberland Basin, on to North Street and via East Street back to Bedminster Bridge. The New Cut, bypassing the city docks, was opened in 1809 and the bridge built in 1883. The General Hospital was opened in 1832 and closed in 2012; it is now being developed for housing. The journey along Coronation Road was accompanied by many pictures including the Vauxhall Bridge, a swing bridge built in 1900 by Lysaght's. I was last swung in 1936. At the end of Coronation Road we visited Ashton Park, donated by Greville Smyth in 1881. A brief view of the Bristol City ground was met with groans from some of the audience! The return journey took us through the heart of Bedminster with special reference to the damage made to the area by bombing during WW2. There were two major raids in Sept 1940 and Good Friday 1941. A total of 205 were killed in the raids. Many changes have taken place in Bedminster; most striking was the demise of the corner shop and the rise in residential accommodation. A fascinating tour with wonderful detail and super pictures.
August 30th
The talk entitled 'Illegal Immigrants (in the Garden)' given by Dr Francis Burroughs was very much appreciated by all at the August Ladies Day. He related how many of our favourite garden flowers and vegetables arrived in this country ending up in our gardens and supermarkets. Trading ships and invasions introduced most of our now established plants and shrubs, particularly from the Roman invasion and colonisation. From the Mediterranean came:- onions - Israel, broccoli - Cyprus, cucumber - Egypt, and roses from Italy. Rhubarb came from Siberia! Some imports were accidental, resulting from discharged ship ballast, including many weeds. One garden picture shown had only one native plant in it, which was the fern, slugs and snails are also native creatures to Britain. Illustrated with slides he held the interest of his audience as he guided them through his fascinating story. Following the meeting members and their guests repaired to the “Bird In Hand” at Saltford where a very pleasing lunch was enjoyed. To round off the day the group visited the Saltford Brass Mill and were entertained with an informative guided tour.
The talk entitled 'Illegal Immigrants (in the Garden)' given by Dr Francis Burroughs was very much appreciated by all at the August Ladies Day. He related how many of our favourite garden flowers and vegetables arrived in this country ending up in our gardens and supermarkets. Trading ships and invasions introduced most of our now established plants and shrubs, particularly from the Roman invasion and colonisation. From the Mediterranean came:- onions - Israel, broccoli - Cyprus, cucumber - Egypt, and roses from Italy. Rhubarb came from Siberia! Some imports were accidental, resulting from discharged ship ballast, including many weeds. One garden picture shown had only one native plant in it, which was the fern, slugs and snails are also native creatures to Britain. Illustrated with slides he held the interest of his audience as he guided them through his fascinating story. Following the meeting members and their guests repaired to the “Bird In Hand” at Saltford where a very pleasing lunch was enjoyed. To round off the day the group visited the Saltford Brass Mill and were entertained with an informative guided tour.
August 16th
David is a regular and welcome visitor to us. He always brings an interesting talk. This time the title was 'Milk, Coal and Any Old Iron' it turned out to be a nostalgic journey through examples of the traders who travelled the highways to bring us products and services. He started with milk delivery, which in the old days was by churn on a cart. You would bring out your own container to be filled by the milkman from the churn. Quality control was minimal and hygiene non existent. This was overtaken by the advent of sealed bottles and the regular delivery of milk to the doorstep started. It was interesting to find that no one in the audience has milk delivered to the home now, supermarkets and plastic containers have taken over. The range of traders who worked the roads was impressive, and included coal, fish, chimney sweep, British Road Services delivering parcels, knife grinding, rag and bone men and oilmen. The oilman is an interesting case. In the days before gas and electric heating most houses would have a paraffin heater and this was delivered by the oilman. They often branched out into other services and became travelling hardware stores; photographs of heavily overloaded lorries showed the variety of products carried. The range of photographs was impressive and illustrated a fascinating trip back in time.
David is a regular and welcome visitor to us. He always brings an interesting talk. This time the title was 'Milk, Coal and Any Old Iron' it turned out to be a nostalgic journey through examples of the traders who travelled the highways to bring us products and services. He started with milk delivery, which in the old days was by churn on a cart. You would bring out your own container to be filled by the milkman from the churn. Quality control was minimal and hygiene non existent. This was overtaken by the advent of sealed bottles and the regular delivery of milk to the doorstep started. It was interesting to find that no one in the audience has milk delivered to the home now, supermarkets and plastic containers have taken over. The range of traders who worked the roads was impressive, and included coal, fish, chimney sweep, British Road Services delivering parcels, knife grinding, rag and bone men and oilmen. The oilman is an interesting case. In the days before gas and electric heating most houses would have a paraffin heater and this was delivered by the oilman. They often branched out into other services and became travelling hardware stores; photographs of heavily overloaded lorries showed the variety of products carried. The range of photographs was impressive and illustrated a fascinating trip back in time.
August 2nd
As you can see from the picture on the left Linda was with us to tell of her life and journey to become a soldier with the 'Salvation Army'. She did this with poems and stories from the book. Born in 1946 she was brought up in a Salvation household and at the age of 15 she was offered a job in journalism but it required a college education. Her father had died when she was still a baby and her widowed mother could not afford the college fees so she had to turn down the offer. She married in 1965 and had two daughters. During her marriage she attended a Church of England congregation and lost touch with the Army. Her husband became deaf and they acquires a Hearing Aid dog. In 2000 she was invited to attended a Salvation Army concert at the Colston Hall and give a presentation about Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. This re-ignited her interest in the Salvation Army and she started attending meeting occasionally. In 2009 she eventually became a soldier in the Salvation Army and now works as a volunteer with the Bristol Easton Corps. An inspiring talk by an enthusiastic lady.
As you can see from the picture on the left Linda was with us to tell of her life and journey to become a soldier with the 'Salvation Army'. She did this with poems and stories from the book. Born in 1946 she was brought up in a Salvation household and at the age of 15 she was offered a job in journalism but it required a college education. Her father had died when she was still a baby and her widowed mother could not afford the college fees so she had to turn down the offer. She married in 1965 and had two daughters. During her marriage she attended a Church of England congregation and lost touch with the Army. Her husband became deaf and they acquires a Hearing Aid dog. In 2000 she was invited to attended a Salvation Army concert at the Colston Hall and give a presentation about Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. This re-ignited her interest in the Salvation Army and she started attending meeting occasionally. In 2009 she eventually became a soldier in the Salvation Army and now works as a volunteer with the Bristol Easton Corps. An inspiring talk by an enthusiastic lady.
July 19th
Mike visited us in January and we were delighted to welcome him back for a talk on 'Bedminster'. He started by telling us that the church of St John the Baptist, founded in 1003 and the mother church of St Mary Redcliffe. Several churched occupied the site until the last version was consecrated on 30th October 1855. On the 24th November 1940 the church was burnt out by incendiary bombs. The ruins were finally cleared away in 1967 and the churchyard has been made into a small public park. Mike showed us early maps and pictures of the area which showed a district of slum housing and industrial work places. There was a coal mine, three tanneries, and a glue factory so the environment was not very pleasant. Bedminster was radically changed by two events. The second World War saw great damage to the area with a major raid in November 1940. Large areas were cleared of bombed out sites leaving gaps in the streets. In the 1950's the area was deemed to be of poor housing and a slum clearance programme meant the disappearance of some roads altogether. High rise flats were built in Bedminster and Redcliffe and many people were re-housed to new estates on the outskirts of south Bristol. The site of W D & H O Wills was opened in 1886 and not hit by bombing so survived but eventually closed in 1986. Mike illustrated his talk with many old and new photographs showing how the area has changed over the years. A fascinating look at a part of Bristol many of us did not know that well. Mike will return to tell us more of another part of Bedminster on September 6th.
We were pleased to welcome new member Barrie Cook. See the gallery
Mike visited us in January and we were delighted to welcome him back for a talk on 'Bedminster'. He started by telling us that the church of St John the Baptist, founded in 1003 and the mother church of St Mary Redcliffe. Several churched occupied the site until the last version was consecrated on 30th October 1855. On the 24th November 1940 the church was burnt out by incendiary bombs. The ruins were finally cleared away in 1967 and the churchyard has been made into a small public park. Mike showed us early maps and pictures of the area which showed a district of slum housing and industrial work places. There was a coal mine, three tanneries, and a glue factory so the environment was not very pleasant. Bedminster was radically changed by two events. The second World War saw great damage to the area with a major raid in November 1940. Large areas were cleared of bombed out sites leaving gaps in the streets. In the 1950's the area was deemed to be of poor housing and a slum clearance programme meant the disappearance of some roads altogether. High rise flats were built in Bedminster and Redcliffe and many people were re-housed to new estates on the outskirts of south Bristol. The site of W D & H O Wills was opened in 1886 and not hit by bombing so survived but eventually closed in 1986. Mike illustrated his talk with many old and new photographs showing how the area has changed over the years. A fascinating look at a part of Bristol many of us did not know that well. Mike will return to tell us more of another part of Bedminster on September 6th.
We were pleased to welcome new member Barrie Cook. See the gallery
July 5th
Paul spoke to us in May about lost boats on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal but this time the loss was much bigger. The subject was 'Titanic Effort'. When he started he told us he was from the Tyneside and had grown up in the shadow of the Wallsend ship building yard. We wondered what this had to do with the Titanic as we remembered it was built in Belfast. All was revealed when he told us of the great job done by RMS Carpathia, built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in Wallsend. When the Titanic hit the iceberg there were several ships within reach but it was the Carpathia who arrived two hours after Titanic sunk and saved all 706 survivors. He told us of many details surrounding the disaster not often mentioned. The Titanic had four funnels, however only three of them were functional. The fourth funnel was for ventilation only, and was added for aesthetic reasons, to make the ship look more powerful and majestic.The number of people on board is the subject of much argument but it was about 2,220. There were only 20 lifeboats, enough for 1,176 people though the maximum the Titanic could carry was 3547. This was the legal requirement of the Board of Trade at the time but was changed as a result of the Titanic experience. 306 bodies were recovered but there was a 'pecking order' of treatment. First class passengers were put in a coffin, second class in canvas bags, they were taken to America where they are buried. 166 third class bodies were returned to the sea. The RMS Carpathia was launched in 1903 and was sunk on 17 July 1918 after being torpedoed by the German submarine. The title of the talk - Titanic Effort - referred to the work of the Carpathia rather than the sinking of the Titanic and Paul was clearly proud of the link to the Tyneside.
We were pleased to welcome new member Ken Spilman. See the gallery
Paul spoke to us in May about lost boats on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal but this time the loss was much bigger. The subject was 'Titanic Effort'. When he started he told us he was from the Tyneside and had grown up in the shadow of the Wallsend ship building yard. We wondered what this had to do with the Titanic as we remembered it was built in Belfast. All was revealed when he told us of the great job done by RMS Carpathia, built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in Wallsend. When the Titanic hit the iceberg there were several ships within reach but it was the Carpathia who arrived two hours after Titanic sunk and saved all 706 survivors. He told us of many details surrounding the disaster not often mentioned. The Titanic had four funnels, however only three of them were functional. The fourth funnel was for ventilation only, and was added for aesthetic reasons, to make the ship look more powerful and majestic.The number of people on board is the subject of much argument but it was about 2,220. There were only 20 lifeboats, enough for 1,176 people though the maximum the Titanic could carry was 3547. This was the legal requirement of the Board of Trade at the time but was changed as a result of the Titanic experience. 306 bodies were recovered but there was a 'pecking order' of treatment. First class passengers were put in a coffin, second class in canvas bags, they were taken to America where they are buried. 166 third class bodies were returned to the sea. The RMS Carpathia was launched in 1903 and was sunk on 17 July 1918 after being torpedoed by the German submarine. The title of the talk - Titanic Effort - referred to the work of the Carpathia rather than the sinking of the Titanic and Paul was clearly proud of the link to the Tyneside.
We were pleased to welcome new member Ken Spilman. See the gallery
June 21st
John Bates came to Bristol in the 1980's and his wife bought a dog for company. A dog needs to be taken for walks and soon they discovered that Bristol had many antique shops, junk shops and bric-a-brac places. It was John's wife who first started collecting interesting art type pieces but John became more interested in curiosities. This gave rise to his talk entitled 'Collectables with a Difference'. He now has hundreds of fascinating items and gave us a slide show interspersed with actual articles from his collection. The range was far too great to cover in a short article but most of them attracted John's interest because of the design and engineering involved. One early surprise was what appeared to be an ordinary coffee mug but when turned round revealed a special pocket cast in the flattened back to hold a biscuit. A beautiful copper kettle from the 1920's had a special receptacle inside which held a block of iron, which could be heated red hot and placed in the kettle to keep the water at boiling temperature. Several items were about cigarettes including a cigarette dispenser which featured on the Antiques Roadshow. Every few slides John had a blank slide to allow items to be shown against the screen. A wonderful trip back into memory lane for those items we remembered and new knowledge about those we had never seen before.
John Bates came to Bristol in the 1980's and his wife bought a dog for company. A dog needs to be taken for walks and soon they discovered that Bristol had many antique shops, junk shops and bric-a-brac places. It was John's wife who first started collecting interesting art type pieces but John became more interested in curiosities. This gave rise to his talk entitled 'Collectables with a Difference'. He now has hundreds of fascinating items and gave us a slide show interspersed with actual articles from his collection. The range was far too great to cover in a short article but most of them attracted John's interest because of the design and engineering involved. One early surprise was what appeared to be an ordinary coffee mug but when turned round revealed a special pocket cast in the flattened back to hold a biscuit. A beautiful copper kettle from the 1920's had a special receptacle inside which held a block of iron, which could be heated red hot and placed in the kettle to keep the water at boiling temperature. Several items were about cigarettes including a cigarette dispenser which featured on the Antiques Roadshow. Every few slides John had a blank slide to allow items to be shown against the screen. A wonderful trip back into memory lane for those items we remembered and new knowledge about those we had never seen before.
June 7th
Quite a few years ago Cyril bought a book entitles Edwardian Gadgets and decided it would be a good subject for a talk. The resulting talk entitled 'Gadgets of Yesteryear' proved to be a correct decision. Cyril has copied many line drawings of gadgets and was able to tell us the background, patent history and use of the items. Most of them were from the period 1903 to 1910. A lot of the gadgets were intended for use in the home for cooking; examples included a hot water heated knife for cutting butter, which was always hard from being kept in a pantry. Another was an ingenious gadget for the prevention of milk boiling over during pasteurisation; a saucer shaped vessel suspended over the liquid surface filled with milk and caused a lid to slide over the flame of the heater to stop the boiling. Outdoor gadgets included a shoe with bellows in the heel to cool the feet. One gadget I liked was a small canvas bag for soap attached to a spring loaded wire from the ceiling which allowed the user to wash in the bath without dropping the soap in the water. A fascinating glimpse of Edwardian enterprise.
Quite a few years ago Cyril bought a book entitles Edwardian Gadgets and decided it would be a good subject for a talk. The resulting talk entitled 'Gadgets of Yesteryear' proved to be a correct decision. Cyril has copied many line drawings of gadgets and was able to tell us the background, patent history and use of the items. Most of them were from the period 1903 to 1910. A lot of the gadgets were intended for use in the home for cooking; examples included a hot water heated knife for cutting butter, which was always hard from being kept in a pantry. Another was an ingenious gadget for the prevention of milk boiling over during pasteurisation; a saucer shaped vessel suspended over the liquid surface filled with milk and caused a lid to slide over the flame of the heater to stop the boiling. Outdoor gadgets included a shoe with bellows in the heel to cool the feet. One gadget I liked was a small canvas bag for soap attached to a spring loaded wire from the ceiling which allowed the user to wash in the bath without dropping the soap in the water. A fascinating glimpse of Edwardian enterprise.
May 31st
Ladies Day talk by Terry Merrett-Smith was followed in the afternoon by a visit to Almondsbury Garden Centre. We were met by Richard who clearly loves his job and was able to give us an interesting tour. The business is privately owned and was founded in 1932 by the current owner's Grandfather, Fred. In 1969 Fred died and his son Keith took over and expanded the site and the business. We were lucky enough to be allowed to visit the private garden of Keith who lives in the original house on the site. In 1997 the running of the company passed to the third generation when Phil took over. Development of the site continues with the recent moving of the aquatic centre into the main building and its site transferred into a versatile area used in the summer for outdoor furniture and at Christmas time it will be transformed into a Santa venue suitable for family visits. Our visit finished with a tasty tea of sandwiches, salad, chips and a scone with jam & cream. A most enjoyable afternoon. Do look at the pictures on the Gallery page.
Ladies Day talk by Terry Merrett-Smith was followed in the afternoon by a visit to Almondsbury Garden Centre. We were met by Richard who clearly loves his job and was able to give us an interesting tour. The business is privately owned and was founded in 1932 by the current owner's Grandfather, Fred. In 1969 Fred died and his son Keith took over and expanded the site and the business. We were lucky enough to be allowed to visit the private garden of Keith who lives in the original house on the site. In 1997 the running of the company passed to the third generation when Phil took over. Development of the site continues with the recent moving of the aquatic centre into the main building and its site transferred into a versatile area used in the summer for outdoor furniture and at Christmas time it will be transformed into a Santa venue suitable for family visits. Our visit finished with a tasty tea of sandwiches, salad, chips and a scone with jam & cream. A most enjoyable afternoon. Do look at the pictures on the Gallery page.
May 31st
We were due to hear from Gina Merrett-Smith for our May Ladies Day but unfortunately she was not well so husband Terry stepped into the breach. The subject he chose was 'Song and Dance Musicals' but he suffered some problems with his presentation which meant he had to juggle the files from his computer to show us the clips. Terry is an accomplished speaker and he was still able to give us a super show with lots of incidental information to accompany the films. Early Busby Berkeley film of the elaborate sequences he devised was followed by well known extracts from Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers films. One of the highlights was the full 4 minute 50 second rendition of Gene Kelly's "Singing in the Rain". Later musicals included Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Mary Poppins and West Side Story. He finished with a wonderful playing of Lara's Theme from Doctor Zivago by André Rieu. Once again Terry gave us a memorable morning of music and dance. We look forward to eventually hearing from Gina.
We were due to hear from Gina Merrett-Smith for our May Ladies Day but unfortunately she was not well so husband Terry stepped into the breach. The subject he chose was 'Song and Dance Musicals' but he suffered some problems with his presentation which meant he had to juggle the files from his computer to show us the clips. Terry is an accomplished speaker and he was still able to give us a super show with lots of incidental information to accompany the films. Early Busby Berkeley film of the elaborate sequences he devised was followed by well known extracts from Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers films. One of the highlights was the full 4 minute 50 second rendition of Gene Kelly's "Singing in the Rain". Later musicals included Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Mary Poppins and West Side Story. He finished with a wonderful playing of Lara's Theme from Doctor Zivago by André Rieu. Once again Terry gave us a memorable morning of music and dance. We look forward to eventually hearing from Gina.
May 17th
We were entertained last October by David when he talked about the Golden Age of Severn Beach. This time the subject was 'All the Fun of the Fair' and showed his knowledge and enthusiasm for travelling fairgrounds. It was in 2972 that his father took him to a steam rally but it was the colour and sounds of the fair that captivated him. He told us tales and showed pictures of many of the local fairs owned by well known families, Rogers & Sons, Charles Heal and the Coles family. Originally many of the fairs were hiring occasions or a time for purchases before the days of shops and supermarkets. The world famous Barnum & Bailey Circus came to Bristol in 1880 and amazed the citizens with a parade of elephants up Whiteladies Road to the Downs. He told of the visit to Bristol of Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show in 1891. 100,000 people visited the show which was held on the site of what is now the Memorial Ground, Horfield. The show had over 250 performers and was moved by train all over Europe. The development of the various rides of a travelling fair was covered with many interesting slides from the early simple circular rides to the waltzers, dodgem cars and complicated machinery of today. Fairground organs were on show with music to accompany even more photographs. David gave us a nostalgic visit to the past.
We were entertained last October by David when he talked about the Golden Age of Severn Beach. This time the subject was 'All the Fun of the Fair' and showed his knowledge and enthusiasm for travelling fairgrounds. It was in 2972 that his father took him to a steam rally but it was the colour and sounds of the fair that captivated him. He told us tales and showed pictures of many of the local fairs owned by well known families, Rogers & Sons, Charles Heal and the Coles family. Originally many of the fairs were hiring occasions or a time for purchases before the days of shops and supermarkets. The world famous Barnum & Bailey Circus came to Bristol in 1880 and amazed the citizens with a parade of elephants up Whiteladies Road to the Downs. He told of the visit to Bristol of Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show in 1891. 100,000 people visited the show which was held on the site of what is now the Memorial Ground, Horfield. The show had over 250 performers and was moved by train all over Europe. The development of the various rides of a travelling fair was covered with many interesting slides from the early simple circular rides to the waltzers, dodgem cars and complicated machinery of today. Fairground organs were on show with music to accompany even more photographs. David gave us a nostalgic visit to the past.
May 15th
27 Members of Bromley Heath Probus Club attended Lunch at Bath College in the Shrubbery Restaurant. All the dishes are prepared, served and cooked by the students as part of their training under professional supervision. Only fresh, local and seasonal ingredients are used where possible. College students also served the meal and we were very pleased with the quality of the food and the pleasant manner with which it was served. Many thanks to John and Valerie Ball for making the arrangements for the meal and for arranging the sunny weather! Our best wishes go to the students for successful careers in the catering industry.
See the Gallery for pictures of the event.
27 Members of Bromley Heath Probus Club attended Lunch at Bath College in the Shrubbery Restaurant. All the dishes are prepared, served and cooked by the students as part of their training under professional supervision. Only fresh, local and seasonal ingredients are used where possible. College students also served the meal and we were very pleased with the quality of the food and the pleasant manner with which it was served. Many thanks to John and Valerie Ball for making the arrangements for the meal and for arranging the sunny weather! Our best wishes go to the students for successful careers in the catering industry.
See the Gallery for pictures of the event.
May 4th
Our speaker Paul Barnett is Chairman of the Friends of Purton, a group established after it had been discovered that no protection existed for the 'Purton Ships Graveyard'. The aim of the Friends of Purton is to secure these remains of archaeological interest. The story started in 1909 following the intentional beaching of a small fleet of semi-redundant timber lighters to strengthen a nearby eroding canal bank. Eventually the graveyard numbered 81 vessels which represented the largest collection of maritime artefacts on the foreshore of mainland Britain today. Louis became particularly interested in this project 19 years ago following which there has been an ongoing programme of research which has shown that this collection could be lost because of the ravages of time, natural attrition and the destructive forces of man. The Friends of Purton are engaged in a systematic programme of archaeological surveying, photography and recording of each vessel for posterity. Paul was particularly proud of the work done to protect the “Harriett” in 2010 following the intervention of the then Culture Secretary, Margaret Hodge. The group are also keen to promote the collection as a site of regional, national and international importance which can be enjoyed by both the local community and the worldwide academic fraternity. Paul gave us such a fascinating insight into the work of the Friends of Purton and we wish them every success in securing these remains of archaeological interest.
Our speaker Paul Barnett is Chairman of the Friends of Purton, a group established after it had been discovered that no protection existed for the 'Purton Ships Graveyard'. The aim of the Friends of Purton is to secure these remains of archaeological interest. The story started in 1909 following the intentional beaching of a small fleet of semi-redundant timber lighters to strengthen a nearby eroding canal bank. Eventually the graveyard numbered 81 vessels which represented the largest collection of maritime artefacts on the foreshore of mainland Britain today. Louis became particularly interested in this project 19 years ago following which there has been an ongoing programme of research which has shown that this collection could be lost because of the ravages of time, natural attrition and the destructive forces of man. The Friends of Purton are engaged in a systematic programme of archaeological surveying, photography and recording of each vessel for posterity. Paul was particularly proud of the work done to protect the “Harriett” in 2010 following the intervention of the then Culture Secretary, Margaret Hodge. The group are also keen to promote the collection as a site of regional, national and international importance which can be enjoyed by both the local community and the worldwide academic fraternity. Paul gave us such a fascinating insight into the work of the Friends of Purton and we wish them every success in securing these remains of archaeological interest.
April 20th
The annual Spring Lunch was held as usual at the BAWA facility in Filton. 41 members, partners and friends enjoyed a lovely meal followed by entertainment given by the Probus Choir under the leadership of Eric Arnold.
See the Gallery for pictures of the event.
The annual Spring Lunch was held as usual at the BAWA facility in Filton. 41 members, partners and friends enjoyed a lovely meal followed by entertainment given by the Probus Choir under the leadership of Eric Arnold.
See the Gallery for pictures of the event.
April 19th
We were greeted with a rolling video of views the earth from the International Space Station (ISS) and these breathtaking images set us up for a most interesting talk entitled 'On Board the ISS'. Jo is one of 10 UK Space Ambassadors and represents the South West, working on behalf of the National STEM Learning Centre and funded by ESERO (European Space Educational Resources Office). The talk centred on the journey of astronaut Tim Peake when he went to the ISS from December 2015 to June 2016. The training took seven years and included many hours of underwater space simulation and six days isolated in a Japanese cave. An impressive video of the launch was followed by details of the journey to the ISS and information on life and work on board the station. The ISS is about the size of a football pitch and travels at about 17,500 mph around the earth 16 times each day. Tim took a space walk to repair the solar panels and impressive photographs were shown. Jo finished her presentation with an awe-inspiring montage of videos taken from the observation window of the ISS.
Jo's web site www.spacedetectives.com has this statement by her - "I have long held the belief that if I manage to inspire just one person to look above them and see the wonders of what lies beyond our planet, then my job has been wholly worthwhile." She certainly inspired us all with her knowledge and enthusiasm.
We were greeted with a rolling video of views the earth from the International Space Station (ISS) and these breathtaking images set us up for a most interesting talk entitled 'On Board the ISS'. Jo is one of 10 UK Space Ambassadors and represents the South West, working on behalf of the National STEM Learning Centre and funded by ESERO (European Space Educational Resources Office). The talk centred on the journey of astronaut Tim Peake when he went to the ISS from December 2015 to June 2016. The training took seven years and included many hours of underwater space simulation and six days isolated in a Japanese cave. An impressive video of the launch was followed by details of the journey to the ISS and information on life and work on board the station. The ISS is about the size of a football pitch and travels at about 17,500 mph around the earth 16 times each day. Tim took a space walk to repair the solar panels and impressive photographs were shown. Jo finished her presentation with an awe-inspiring montage of videos taken from the observation window of the ISS.
Jo's web site www.spacedetectives.com has this statement by her - "I have long held the belief that if I manage to inspire just one person to look above them and see the wonders of what lies beyond our planet, then my job has been wholly worthwhile." She certainly inspired us all with her knowledge and enthusiasm.
April 5th
Peter Gosson has been a welcome speaker on subjects to do with the Port of Bristol and this time the subject was 'Charles Hill Shipbuilding' He is a most knowledgeable expert with a remarkable memory for the details of the slides he showed, all without notes. The firm was founded in 1845 when Charles Hill took over the established firm Hillhouse. Peter's talk took us from about 1912 to the closure of the company in 1978. One anecdote from the early days was when Charles Hill discovered his workers were leaving the dockyard at the lunch time to visit a pub. He decreed that this was not to be allowed and built a tea/coffee house on site for them to use. The Albion Dockyard was the base for the company in the city docks but it was quite small with a difficult launching platform as the ships entered the docks and immediately headed for the Mardyke Wall opposite, several hit it and caused damage to the wall and ship. In World War One the company obtained contracts to build ships and again in World War Two. One contract was for Flower Class Corvettes at a cost of £90,000 each. The company built 8. One of the last ships to be built in the Albion Dockyard was the Miranda Guinness in 1976. The company built about 360 ships, dredgers, cranes and other floating units and at its peak employed 1,800 but it closed with a workforce of only 250. Peter's slides of many of the ships and dockyard facilities were fascinating and accompanied with a story about each one.
We were also pleased to welcome a new member, Peter Sheppard. See the Gallery.
Peter Gosson has been a welcome speaker on subjects to do with the Port of Bristol and this time the subject was 'Charles Hill Shipbuilding' He is a most knowledgeable expert with a remarkable memory for the details of the slides he showed, all without notes. The firm was founded in 1845 when Charles Hill took over the established firm Hillhouse. Peter's talk took us from about 1912 to the closure of the company in 1978. One anecdote from the early days was when Charles Hill discovered his workers were leaving the dockyard at the lunch time to visit a pub. He decreed that this was not to be allowed and built a tea/coffee house on site for them to use. The Albion Dockyard was the base for the company in the city docks but it was quite small with a difficult launching platform as the ships entered the docks and immediately headed for the Mardyke Wall opposite, several hit it and caused damage to the wall and ship. In World War One the company obtained contracts to build ships and again in World War Two. One contract was for Flower Class Corvettes at a cost of £90,000 each. The company built 8. One of the last ships to be built in the Albion Dockyard was the Miranda Guinness in 1976. The company built about 360 ships, dredgers, cranes and other floating units and at its peak employed 1,800 but it closed with a workforce of only 250. Peter's slides of many of the ships and dockyard facilities were fascinating and accompanied with a story about each one.
We were also pleased to welcome a new member, Peter Sheppard. See the Gallery.
March 29th
It was the third Thursday of the month so a Ladies Day. A large and enthusiastic audience were entertained by Terry with music, stories and videos of 'Dance Bands' from the early 1920's to the late 1950's. From the 20's we heard from Louis Armstrong and other dixieland bands. We were treated to Bing Crosby's first ever recording. As the years past by memorable names were paraded before us, Henry Hall, Paul Whitman, Roy Somers and the Savoy Band and Billy Cotton. We were encouraged to sing along with many of the tunes and words were provided on the screen to help our memories. As a marvellous alternative to the bands there were some wonderful sequences from Busby Berkeley films and two sensational dance extracts from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Terry has a very dry humour and raised many laughs. The equipment Terry brought is excellent and gave high quality sound and pictures. He finished with a superb version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Ted Heath and Winifred Atwell.
It was the third Thursday of the month so a Ladies Day. A large and enthusiastic audience were entertained by Terry with music, stories and videos of 'Dance Bands' from the early 1920's to the late 1950's. From the 20's we heard from Louis Armstrong and other dixieland bands. We were treated to Bing Crosby's first ever recording. As the years past by memorable names were paraded before us, Henry Hall, Paul Whitman, Roy Somers and the Savoy Band and Billy Cotton. We were encouraged to sing along with many of the tunes and words were provided on the screen to help our memories. As a marvellous alternative to the bands there were some wonderful sequences from Busby Berkeley films and two sensational dance extracts from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Terry has a very dry humour and raised many laughs. The equipment Terry brought is excellent and gave high quality sound and pictures. He finished with a superb version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by Ted Heath and Winifred Atwell.
March 22nd AEROSPACE BRISTOL VISIT
The club organised a visit to see the new air museum at Filton on the 22nd March 2018. There were exhibits covering the whole of the aviation history of Bristol, starting from the Bristol Boxkite up to the iconic Concorde. The Concorde on display was the final production aircraft Alpha Foxtrot, which was also the last Concorde to fly when it travelled from Heathrow to Filton on 26th November 2003. We enjoyed the services of a guide, who told us all about the exhibits viewed. It was a very interesting visit, especially for those of us who had previously worked on the project during our working life. It was a very enjoyable visit with so much to see. We ended our visit with a cup of tea/coffee in the excellent on-site cafe. With so much to see and take in, another visit will be on the cards, making use of the 1 year ticket offered to each of our party who upgraded their entry ticket for a very reasonable additional sum.
March 15th
Peter Shore became a diver almost by accident. He joined the navy in 1948 and by mistake told an officer he could swim. This led to him being assigned to the diving unit, but only to clean the toilets! One day someone was ill and he was told to hold the end of a rope and help a diver. This resulted in being drafted into the diving course and he never looked back. His talk about ‘Clearance Diving’ covered a brief history of the methods used to go underwater and progressed to his time serving with the navy diving team. He served on a frigate in Korea in the early 1950’s where his work was mainly clearing war debris. He went on a nine month course to learn about mines and mine clearance. When based in Malta he helped clear 2,700 bombs, mines and missiles in one year. Towards the end of his time in the Navy he was involved in the filming of “The Silent Enemy” a film loosely based on the life of Buster Crabb. In the film he performed many of the underwater sequences and finished his fascinating talk with video extracts from the film.
Peter Shore became a diver almost by accident. He joined the navy in 1948 and by mistake told an officer he could swim. This led to him being assigned to the diving unit, but only to clean the toilets! One day someone was ill and he was told to hold the end of a rope and help a diver. This resulted in being drafted into the diving course and he never looked back. His talk about ‘Clearance Diving’ covered a brief history of the methods used to go underwater and progressed to his time serving with the navy diving team. He served on a frigate in Korea in the early 1950’s where his work was mainly clearing war debris. He went on a nine month course to learn about mines and mine clearance. When based in Malta he helped clear 2,700 bombs, mines and missiles in one year. Towards the end of his time in the Navy he was involved in the filming of “The Silent Enemy” a film loosely based on the life of Buster Crabb. In the film he performed many of the underwater sequences and finished his fascinating talk with video extracts from the film.
March 1st
This was the day of the big freeze and only 10 managed to get to the meeting to hear Robert and Pauline give an interesting talk about 'Alexander Hamilton'. A few years ago not many of us would have heard of Alexander Hamilton but in 1915 a musical based on his life was first performed on Broadway and now is a very successful show in London. He was born in St Kitts and his early exposure to slavery greatly influenced his ethical and political views. He is known as one of the American Founding Fathers and played a major role in the creation of the United States of America. He served under the second President, John Adams, and the third President Thomas Jefferson, but never became President himself but was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution. He became the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Vice President Burr ran for governor of New York State in 1804, and Hamilton crusaded against him as unworthy. Taking offence, Burr challenged him to a duel in which Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton, who died the next day on July 12, 1804.
This was the day of the big freeze and only 10 managed to get to the meeting to hear Robert and Pauline give an interesting talk about 'Alexander Hamilton'. A few years ago not many of us would have heard of Alexander Hamilton but in 1915 a musical based on his life was first performed on Broadway and now is a very successful show in London. He was born in St Kitts and his early exposure to slavery greatly influenced his ethical and political views. He is known as one of the American Founding Fathers and played a major role in the creation of the United States of America. He served under the second President, John Adams, and the third President Thomas Jefferson, but never became President himself but was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution. He became the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. Vice President Burr ran for governor of New York State in 1804, and Hamilton crusaded against him as unworthy. Taking offence, Burr challenged him to a duel in which Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton, who died the next day on July 12, 1804.
February 15th
Ray has spent many years in Health and Safety and in his talk 'Elf 'n Safety' he was able to dispel many of the myths around the subject. He started with show of typical headlines from the papers about incidents. Statistics demonstrated that we often worry about things which are very unlikely to ever affect us but often ignore more dangerous things. For example the likelihood of being struck by lightning is one in a million but many still are frightened by this natural event. Dogs bite over 5000 people a year but are kept as pets and allowed to play with children. Ray believes they are by nature wild animals and can never be trusted; he even went as far as asking if we should ban dog ownership. He gave examples of disasters which have changed the way health and safety is though of. The Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea exploded in 1988 killing 197 people. The detailed investigation which followed made many recommendations which have significantly improved the safety in the industry worldwide. The 1974 Health and Safety at Work act has had a major impact and plays a big part in protecting workers and keeping workplaces safe. He gave a long list of popular myths which are blamed on H&S but are not actually covered. Examples included banning playing conkers, stopping pancake races and putting up office decorations at Christmas. He claimed H&S bans very little but encourages good practice in accessing hazard against risk.
Ray has spent many years in Health and Safety and in his talk 'Elf 'n Safety' he was able to dispel many of the myths around the subject. He started with show of typical headlines from the papers about incidents. Statistics demonstrated that we often worry about things which are very unlikely to ever affect us but often ignore more dangerous things. For example the likelihood of being struck by lightning is one in a million but many still are frightened by this natural event. Dogs bite over 5000 people a year but are kept as pets and allowed to play with children. Ray believes they are by nature wild animals and can never be trusted; he even went as far as asking if we should ban dog ownership. He gave examples of disasters which have changed the way health and safety is though of. The Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea exploded in 1988 killing 197 people. The detailed investigation which followed made many recommendations which have significantly improved the safety in the industry worldwide. The 1974 Health and Safety at Work act has had a major impact and plays a big part in protecting workers and keeping workplaces safe. He gave a long list of popular myths which are blamed on H&S but are not actually covered. Examples included banning playing conkers, stopping pancake races and putting up office decorations at Christmas. He claimed H&S bans very little but encourages good practice in accessing hazard against risk.
February 1st
We were impressed by the knowledge shown by Ian Caskie when he gave his talk 'The Launch and Re-launch of SS Great Britain'. He started with a background on how and why Brunel was given the task of designing the ship. During construction he saw the Rainbow, an iron hulled ship and the Archimedes, a screw driven ship. His genius was to combine the two new technologies in the design and construction of the SS Great Britain. This enabled him to make the largest, lightest and fastest ship of the era. She was first used on the transatlantic route but on the 5th trip it was beached off the coast of Ireland. The delay and complication of salvage bankrupted the company and it was eventually sold and converted to be used on the Australian route during the gold rush of 1850/57. The journey took two months and the ship carried 30 pigs, 2 bullocks, a cow, 300 turkeys, 130 sheep, 400 geese, 420 chickens and 300 ducks to feed the 700 passengers and crew. She took over 16,000 immigrants to Australia. In 1882 her engines were removed and Great Britain was converted into a sailing ship to transport bulk coal. She made her final voyage in 1886, after loading up with coal and leaving Penarth Dock for Panama. After a fire on board en-route she was found on arrival at the Falkland Islands to be damaged beyond economic repair. She was sold to the Falkland Islands Company and used, afloat, as a storage hulk until 1937, when she was towed to Sparrow Cove, scuttled and abandoned. The story of her return to Bristol in 1970 and restoration as an award winning museum was graphically told and the details encouraged us to make a return visit. Ian told us of the next phase, due to open in March, which will centre on an exciting new national museum and visitor experience Being Brunel. Visitors will be invited to step into the mind of Isambard Kingdom Brunel as he is brought vividly to life with never-before-seen personal possessions, documents and artefacts. Ian is an enthusiastic supporter of the SS Great Britain Trust and a superb speaker on his subject.
We were impressed by the knowledge shown by Ian Caskie when he gave his talk 'The Launch and Re-launch of SS Great Britain'. He started with a background on how and why Brunel was given the task of designing the ship. During construction he saw the Rainbow, an iron hulled ship and the Archimedes, a screw driven ship. His genius was to combine the two new technologies in the design and construction of the SS Great Britain. This enabled him to make the largest, lightest and fastest ship of the era. She was first used on the transatlantic route but on the 5th trip it was beached off the coast of Ireland. The delay and complication of salvage bankrupted the company and it was eventually sold and converted to be used on the Australian route during the gold rush of 1850/57. The journey took two months and the ship carried 30 pigs, 2 bullocks, a cow, 300 turkeys, 130 sheep, 400 geese, 420 chickens and 300 ducks to feed the 700 passengers and crew. She took over 16,000 immigrants to Australia. In 1882 her engines were removed and Great Britain was converted into a sailing ship to transport bulk coal. She made her final voyage in 1886, after loading up with coal and leaving Penarth Dock for Panama. After a fire on board en-route she was found on arrival at the Falkland Islands to be damaged beyond economic repair. She was sold to the Falkland Islands Company and used, afloat, as a storage hulk until 1937, when she was towed to Sparrow Cove, scuttled and abandoned. The story of her return to Bristol in 1970 and restoration as an award winning museum was graphically told and the details encouraged us to make a return visit. Ian told us of the next phase, due to open in March, which will centre on an exciting new national museum and visitor experience Being Brunel. Visitors will be invited to step into the mind of Isambard Kingdom Brunel as he is brought vividly to life with never-before-seen personal possessions, documents and artefacts. Ian is an enthusiastic supporter of the SS Great Britain Trust and a superb speaker on his subject.
January 18th
Andy Workman talked to us at our meeting on 18th January 'About Body Language' emphasising that he would be focusing on - 'What is every BODY saying'. In order to do this he used his experience as a Hypnotherapist Author and Speaker and particularly as a Police Officer of 32 years standing. He mentioned his experience as a Police Officer in using common signs and signals to detect possible violence and also covered our reactions to other human beings when we make judgements over a period of seven seconds. Particular examples were given as a Guardsman (must be brave and reliable) and a Nun (must be virtuous), judgements being based on clothes, looks, speech, body shape and body language.
Andy referred to the hand movements of Donald Trump as an example of how this can mean different things in different countries identifying the hand movements in the United States meaning “satisfactory” but the same movements in Tunisia and France meaning “worthless”. On a similar theme he showed George Bush and Tony Blair talking about “weapons of mass destruction” without showing their palms which can be an indicator of telling lies. He used Bush and Blair in another example which covered the fact that in the Eastern world the last person entering through the door is the most powerful and showed Bush making sure that he was last in for a meeting with Blair in Downing Street. It was the type of presentation to which we could all relate in our everyday lives and perhaps showed that the roles of Hypnotherapist and a Police Officer are not that dissimilar. Many thanks to Andy for a thought provoking talk.
Andy Workman talked to us at our meeting on 18th January 'About Body Language' emphasising that he would be focusing on - 'What is every BODY saying'. In order to do this he used his experience as a Hypnotherapist Author and Speaker and particularly as a Police Officer of 32 years standing. He mentioned his experience as a Police Officer in using common signs and signals to detect possible violence and also covered our reactions to other human beings when we make judgements over a period of seven seconds. Particular examples were given as a Guardsman (must be brave and reliable) and a Nun (must be virtuous), judgements being based on clothes, looks, speech, body shape and body language.
Andy referred to the hand movements of Donald Trump as an example of how this can mean different things in different countries identifying the hand movements in the United States meaning “satisfactory” but the same movements in Tunisia and France meaning “worthless”. On a similar theme he showed George Bush and Tony Blair talking about “weapons of mass destruction” without showing their palms which can be an indicator of telling lies. He used Bush and Blair in another example which covered the fact that in the Eastern world the last person entering through the door is the most powerful and showed Bush making sure that he was last in for a meeting with Blair in Downing Street. It was the type of presentation to which we could all relate in our everyday lives and perhaps showed that the roles of Hypnotherapist and a Police Officer are not that dissimilar. Many thanks to Andy for a thought provoking talk.
January 4th 2018
Mike gave a talk with the intriguing title 'Up in Smoke'. We were not too sure what this meant but he soon explained it was the story of smoking and its impact on Bristol. He started with a brief history of tobacco and how it came to be such an adductive substance. It is often thought that Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco to England but John Hawkins was the first to bring tobacco seeds to England and tobacco smoking in the country is mentioned as early as 1573. Snuff was an early success story when it became fashionable in the 17th century. The snuff mill at Frenchay was purchased by H.O.Wills in 1805 and ground snuff until 1843. Mike gave a comprehensive story of the development and decline of cigarette manufacture in Bristol. At one time thousands of workers were employed by W.D. & H.O. Wills in several factories in Bristol. It was the first UK company to mass-produce cigarettes and was one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco. The company pioneered the use of cigarette cards within their packaging. The talk was enlivened by video presentations including memorable television and cinema adverts. A once great industry has been finished as no cigarette manufacturing takes place in the UK now.
We were also pleased to welcome a new member, John Morris. See the Gallery.
Mike gave a talk with the intriguing title 'Up in Smoke'. We were not too sure what this meant but he soon explained it was the story of smoking and its impact on Bristol. He started with a brief history of tobacco and how it came to be such an adductive substance. It is often thought that Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco to England but John Hawkins was the first to bring tobacco seeds to England and tobacco smoking in the country is mentioned as early as 1573. Snuff was an early success story when it became fashionable in the 17th century. The snuff mill at Frenchay was purchased by H.O.Wills in 1805 and ground snuff until 1843. Mike gave a comprehensive story of the development and decline of cigarette manufacture in Bristol. At one time thousands of workers were employed by W.D. & H.O. Wills in several factories in Bristol. It was the first UK company to mass-produce cigarettes and was one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco. The company pioneered the use of cigarette cards within their packaging. The talk was enlivened by video presentations including memorable television and cinema adverts. A once great industry has been finished as no cigarette manufacturing takes place in the UK now.
We were also pleased to welcome a new member, John Morris. See the Gallery.
Our 2017 Talks
December 21st
Peter Lamb is the Chief Archivist of the South Western Electricity Historical Society and his talk started with a brief 'History of Electrical Supply in Bristol' from the 1860's. We were surprised to hear that the Victoria Rooms and the Suspension Bridge were illuminated by arc lamps as early as 1864. The Bristol Corporation Electricity Department was formed in 1896 and the first widespread use of electricity was for street lighting to allow people to stay out longer in dark evenings. Gas lighting only gave the equivalent of a 25 watt bulb but arc lights gave out 250watts. Arc lights were complicated and needed regular maintenance to trim or replace the carbon rods. With the availability of Filament Lamps and appliances demand for electric supply grew rapidly but prices varied greatly due to distribution costs. In the 1920' it was 1p a unit in the city but 6p a unit in the countryside. The small generating stations could not cope with demand and in 1926 Portishead generating station was built with distribution cables laid into the city. He finished his talk at the point of the nationalisation of the electricity companies in 1948.
Peter Lamb is the Chief Archivist of the South Western Electricity Historical Society and his talk started with a brief 'History of Electrical Supply in Bristol' from the 1860's. We were surprised to hear that the Victoria Rooms and the Suspension Bridge were illuminated by arc lamps as early as 1864. The Bristol Corporation Electricity Department was formed in 1896 and the first widespread use of electricity was for street lighting to allow people to stay out longer in dark evenings. Gas lighting only gave the equivalent of a 25 watt bulb but arc lights gave out 250watts. Arc lights were complicated and needed regular maintenance to trim or replace the carbon rods. With the availability of Filament Lamps and appliances demand for electric supply grew rapidly but prices varied greatly due to distribution costs. In the 1920' it was 1p a unit in the city but 6p a unit in the countryside. The small generating stations could not cope with demand and in 1926 Portishead generating station was built with distribution cables laid into the city. He finished his talk at the point of the nationalisation of the electricity companies in 1948.
December 7th
We were pleased to welcome Graham Hackett to tell us about 'RAF Operations against the Mau Mau' during his time as a National Serviceman in the mid 1950's. He served with the RAF in Kenya and was based at RAF Eastleigh near Nairobi. This was a time of the Kenya Rebellion when the Mau Mau groups of people, politically dominated by the Kikuyu people, fought against the white European settlers in Kenya and the British Army. The Mau Mau failed to capture widespread public support, partly due to the British policy of divide and rule and the movement remained internally divided, despite attempts to unify its various strands. His job was in aerial photo-reconnaissance and he showed us many pictures taken while on duty. The prime task of the RAF at this time was to bomb and drop leaflets to the Mau Mau in the jungles of the Rift Valley with the aim of dividing the rebels and encouraging them to surrender. A range of aircraft was used, each with a specific job to do. Lincoln bombers were used for higher altitude drops but the Harvard aircraft was best suited to low, slow flying in the deep gullies of the terrain.
We were pleased to welcome Graham Hackett to tell us about 'RAF Operations against the Mau Mau' during his time as a National Serviceman in the mid 1950's. He served with the RAF in Kenya and was based at RAF Eastleigh near Nairobi. This was a time of the Kenya Rebellion when the Mau Mau groups of people, politically dominated by the Kikuyu people, fought against the white European settlers in Kenya and the British Army. The Mau Mau failed to capture widespread public support, partly due to the British policy of divide and rule and the movement remained internally divided, despite attempts to unify its various strands. His job was in aerial photo-reconnaissance and he showed us many pictures taken while on duty. The prime task of the RAF at this time was to bomb and drop leaflets to the Mau Mau in the jungles of the Rift Valley with the aim of dividing the rebels and encouraging them to surrender. A range of aircraft was used, each with a specific job to do. Lincoln bombers were used for higher altitude drops but the Harvard aircraft was best suited to low, slow flying in the deep gullies of the terrain.
November 30th - Almondsbury Garden Centre
For the November Ladies Day we all assembled at the Garden Centre after the morning meeting and were met by our amiable guide, Richard. He showed us slides about the history of the Garden Centre and then took us on a tour covering the Christmas Shop and winter plants and a range of other interesting features. This is the busiest time of the year and it was interesting to hear about the financial implications of business conducted during the Christmas period. We then returned to the restaurant where we were served a sumptuous afternoon tea which was enjoyed by all present. Richard returned with his young daughter to take questions and comments and this completed a highly entertaining afternoon.
See the Gallery for pictures of the event.
For the November Ladies Day we all assembled at the Garden Centre after the morning meeting and were met by our amiable guide, Richard. He showed us slides about the history of the Garden Centre and then took us on a tour covering the Christmas Shop and winter plants and a range of other interesting features. This is the busiest time of the year and it was interesting to hear about the financial implications of business conducted during the Christmas period. We then returned to the restaurant where we were served a sumptuous afternoon tea which was enjoyed by all present. Richard returned with his young daughter to take questions and comments and this completed a highly entertaining afternoon.
See the Gallery for pictures of the event.
November 30th
The fifth Thursday in the month is always a Ladies Day event. The choice of Bob to talk about 'The Yate and Chipping Sodbury Foodbank' was fortunate. It is always a pleasure to hear someone speak with enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge on any subject and Bob fulfilled these qualities superbly. He spoke of the inspiration he received after visiting a conference of foodbank organisers and speaking to a young woman who said her life had been saved by a visit to a foodbank. He arranged a meeting of local churches and after six months of preparation and planning the project opened in 2011. The seed money of £1,500 to start came from Gloucester Cathedral when the Deacon heard of the need. The Yate and Chipping Sodbury Foodbank is backed by the Trussell Trust who support a network of over 400 foodbanks with data systems and procedure guidance. The foodbank is a project founded by local churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in the local area. Vouchers are issued by local agencies who meet people at risk of going hungry, these are exchanged for a food parcel containing a nutritionally balanced three-day emergency food supply, 2,086 were given to people in crisis last year. Yate and Chipping Sodbury Foodbank is a completely volunteer organisation with no paid staff and last year 2,086 three-day emergency food supplies given to people in crisis.
The fifth Thursday in the month is always a Ladies Day event. The choice of Bob to talk about 'The Yate and Chipping Sodbury Foodbank' was fortunate. It is always a pleasure to hear someone speak with enthusiasm, dedication and knowledge on any subject and Bob fulfilled these qualities superbly. He spoke of the inspiration he received after visiting a conference of foodbank organisers and speaking to a young woman who said her life had been saved by a visit to a foodbank. He arranged a meeting of local churches and after six months of preparation and planning the project opened in 2011. The seed money of £1,500 to start came from Gloucester Cathedral when the Deacon heard of the need. The Yate and Chipping Sodbury Foodbank is backed by the Trussell Trust who support a network of over 400 foodbanks with data systems and procedure guidance. The foodbank is a project founded by local churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in the local area. Vouchers are issued by local agencies who meet people at risk of going hungry, these are exchanged for a food parcel containing a nutritionally balanced three-day emergency food supply, 2,086 were given to people in crisis last year. Yate and Chipping Sodbury Foodbank is a completely volunteer organisation with no paid staff and last year 2,086 three-day emergency food supplies given to people in crisis.
November 16th
Bruce Jackson MBE MC gave us a fascinating talk on 'The Gurkha Welfare Trust' and a comprehensive background to the reasons why the Gurkhas serve in the British forces. The Trust ensures that Gurkha veterans, their widows and their wider communities are able to live their lives with dignity. This is primarily achieved through the provision of financial, medical and community aid in Nepal. A field arm in Nepal operates through 22 Area Welfare Centres spread across traditional Gurkha recruiting areas, and two residential homes. In the UK, in conjunction with other service charities and government bodies it offers advice and support to help the thousands of retired Gurkhas and their families who choose to settle here. Bruce comes from a family with three generations of service in the Gurkha regiments. He spoke of the dedication of Gurkha soldiers and the fact that he owes his life to one. Today only 350 are recruited in Nepal from over 15,000 who apply; the selection process has been described as one of the toughest in the world. It culminates in the gruelling doko race, which involves carrying 25kg of sand while running up a steep 4.2km course. This is one of the factors which ensure only the finest get to become a Gurkha. Many anecdotes reinforced his passionate support to the Welfare Trust and the brave soldiers who serve in the British forces.
Bruce Jackson MBE MC gave us a fascinating talk on 'The Gurkha Welfare Trust' and a comprehensive background to the reasons why the Gurkhas serve in the British forces. The Trust ensures that Gurkha veterans, their widows and their wider communities are able to live their lives with dignity. This is primarily achieved through the provision of financial, medical and community aid in Nepal. A field arm in Nepal operates through 22 Area Welfare Centres spread across traditional Gurkha recruiting areas, and two residential homes. In the UK, in conjunction with other service charities and government bodies it offers advice and support to help the thousands of retired Gurkhas and their families who choose to settle here. Bruce comes from a family with three generations of service in the Gurkha regiments. He spoke of the dedication of Gurkha soldiers and the fact that he owes his life to one. Today only 350 are recruited in Nepal from over 15,000 who apply; the selection process has been described as one of the toughest in the world. It culminates in the gruelling doko race, which involves carrying 25kg of sand while running up a steep 4.2km course. This is one of the factors which ensure only the finest get to become a Gurkha. Many anecdotes reinforced his passionate support to the Welfare Trust and the brave soldiers who serve in the British forces.
November 2nd
We were well entertained by our own Members with 3 of them sharing anecdotes with us – some more recent than others.
President Peter Blackmore began the talks by relating his early working days at the Fishponds Railway Station, which included a “near miss” when he crossed the line and the Devonian Express missed him by inches. He particularly remembered a trip which he organised for his work colleagues to a London Ice Rink and the journey back home on the railway when he had the great experience of riding on the footplate.
…....
Alan Wallington then reported on his trip to Russia in September when he stayed at Vsevolozhsk, a town outside St Petersburg. The trip was not as a tourist but primarily to see Olya's family including mother, sister and the new baby. His talk was to comment on some of his impressions whilst in the country. These included excellent motorways but side roads with enormous potholes, apartment blocks with shops at the bottom, supermarkets where products were not pre-wrapped in plastic and houses surrounded by high fencing and with little or no gardens. He noted in particular that all services were delivered above ground. He strongly recommended a visit to such an interesting country.
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Eric Arnold had also taken a recent trip – this time to the United States and primarily to Houston and Dallas over a 16 day period. He described the visit as “awesome” and “epic” despite his pet hate of waste of food and plastic. He related in detail a spectacular visit to the Houston Space Centre with its long history of American and Russian technical innovation and then his journeys through San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth before reaching Dallas. Here he concentrated on the conspiracy theories, still rife following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and the fact that the truth cannot be established over 50 years later. How about his pet love? The answer is - no roundabouts.
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A very interesting and informative morning for us all and we look forward to some more of our Members coming forward to entertain us.
We were well entertained by our own Members with 3 of them sharing anecdotes with us – some more recent than others.
President Peter Blackmore began the talks by relating his early working days at the Fishponds Railway Station, which included a “near miss” when he crossed the line and the Devonian Express missed him by inches. He particularly remembered a trip which he organised for his work colleagues to a London Ice Rink and the journey back home on the railway when he had the great experience of riding on the footplate.
…....
Alan Wallington then reported on his trip to Russia in September when he stayed at Vsevolozhsk, a town outside St Petersburg. The trip was not as a tourist but primarily to see Olya's family including mother, sister and the new baby. His talk was to comment on some of his impressions whilst in the country. These included excellent motorways but side roads with enormous potholes, apartment blocks with shops at the bottom, supermarkets where products were not pre-wrapped in plastic and houses surrounded by high fencing and with little or no gardens. He noted in particular that all services were delivered above ground. He strongly recommended a visit to such an interesting country.
…....
Eric Arnold had also taken a recent trip – this time to the United States and primarily to Houston and Dallas over a 16 day period. He described the visit as “awesome” and “epic” despite his pet hate of waste of food and plastic. He related in detail a spectacular visit to the Houston Space Centre with its long history of American and Russian technical innovation and then his journeys through San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth before reaching Dallas. Here he concentrated on the conspiracy theories, still rife following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and the fact that the truth cannot be established over 50 years later. How about his pet love? The answer is - no roundabouts.
…....
A very interesting and informative morning for us all and we look forward to some more of our Members coming forward to entertain us.
October 19th
Annual General meeting when Peter Blackmore was confirmed as our new President. A pleasant and short meeting with a break for refreshments and a time to chat. Thanks given to last year's officers for the work in keeping the club active and a super place to meet friends. We look forward to another year of good speakers and social occasions.
Annual General meeting when Peter Blackmore was confirmed as our new President. A pleasant and short meeting with a break for refreshments and a time to chat. Thanks given to last year's officers for the work in keeping the club active and a super place to meet friends. We look forward to another year of good speakers and social occasions.
October 5th
A nostalgic time for many members when David Cheesley took us on a trip to 'The Golden Age of Severn Beach' - when it was in its heyday. From the early 1920's to about the mid 1970's Severn Beach was one of the prime destinations for the people of Bristol and even further north to Birmingham. The rise in popularity started with the arrival of the railway in 1922. In the first year alone over 12,000 people visited. The famous Blue Lagoon was a big draw and picture showed there was hardly room to move let alone swim. Holiday camps were started in the mid 1930's using redundant busses from Bristol Omnibus Company and in the 50's caravan parks arrived. From 1928 to 1981 Charles Heal had a permanent showground sited near the beach. The talk was illustrated by a wonderful collection of photographs and postcards with musical items to accompany some of the show, including songs from Cliff Richard and Adge Cuttler.
A nostalgic time for many members when David Cheesley took us on a trip to 'The Golden Age of Severn Beach' - when it was in its heyday. From the early 1920's to about the mid 1970's Severn Beach was one of the prime destinations for the people of Bristol and even further north to Birmingham. The rise in popularity started with the arrival of the railway in 1922. In the first year alone over 12,000 people visited. The famous Blue Lagoon was a big draw and picture showed there was hardly room to move let alone swim. Holiday camps were started in the mid 1930's using redundant busses from Bristol Omnibus Company and in the 50's caravan parks arrived. From 1928 to 1981 Charles Heal had a permanent showground sited near the beach. The talk was illustrated by a wonderful collection of photographs and postcards with musical items to accompany some of the show, including songs from Cliff Richard and Adge Cuttler.
September 21st
Brian Griffiths provided a very interesting talk entitled 'Free in France'. His story was about his travels around France in 1981 on a bicycle after losing his parents and settling their estate. He went to France for the first time with virtually no knowledge of the language and very little money but decided to earn his way around. This he did successfully by working as a Sports Therapist at various places. During his 4,000 mile trip he visited Bordeaux (Bristol's twin), Paris, La Rochelle and many other cities and sustained 5 punctures!! He also visited the site of the memorial to cyclist Tommy Simpson, who was reported to have “rode himself to death” in the 1967 Tour de France.
Brian Griffiths provided a very interesting talk entitled 'Free in France'. His story was about his travels around France in 1981 on a bicycle after losing his parents and settling their estate. He went to France for the first time with virtually no knowledge of the language and very little money but decided to earn his way around. This he did successfully by working as a Sports Therapist at various places. During his 4,000 mile trip he visited Bordeaux (Bristol's twin), Paris, La Rochelle and many other cities and sustained 5 punctures!! He also visited the site of the memorial to cyclist Tommy Simpson, who was reported to have “rode himself to death” in the 1967 Tour de France.
September 7th
What a remarkable lady Astrid Domingo Molyneux is! In 2006 she celebrated her 50th birthday by announcing she was going to cycle round the world. Plenty of people have mad ideas but it takes determination to follow them through. The trip was not primarily a fund-raising exercise, but was an opportunity to raise awareness of the work of a couple of charities: The Leprosy Mission and Deaf Studies Trust. The photographs Astrid showed us were spectacular in their range. The journey started well through Europe until an accident in Greece when she had to fly to a friend in Cyprus to recuperate. The stories she told were too varied to relate in this short summary but she continued through the Middle East and on to Asia including a trip through Tibet. Travelling by container ship she got to Alaska and cycled all the way down Canada and America followed by another container ship journey to Spain. The final leg up through Portugal got her home after 20,000 miles in two years. An inspirational talk by an inspiring lady.
Astrid finished her talk with some "Trip Truths", which bear repeating.
You CAN achieve more than you thought you could.
The world IS friendlier, less frightening than you think
GOD is a great travelling companion
You do NOT need padded Lycra to stay free from saddle sores
It is COMPULSORY to write a book when you come home.
What a remarkable lady Astrid Domingo Molyneux is! In 2006 she celebrated her 50th birthday by announcing she was going to cycle round the world. Plenty of people have mad ideas but it takes determination to follow them through. The trip was not primarily a fund-raising exercise, but was an opportunity to raise awareness of the work of a couple of charities: The Leprosy Mission and Deaf Studies Trust. The photographs Astrid showed us were spectacular in their range. The journey started well through Europe until an accident in Greece when she had to fly to a friend in Cyprus to recuperate. The stories she told were too varied to relate in this short summary but she continued through the Middle East and on to Asia including a trip through Tibet. Travelling by container ship she got to Alaska and cycled all the way down Canada and America followed by another container ship journey to Spain. The final leg up through Portugal got her home after 20,000 miles in two years. An inspirational talk by an inspiring lady.
Astrid finished her talk with some "Trip Truths", which bear repeating.
You CAN achieve more than you thought you could.
The world IS friendlier, less frightening than you think
GOD is a great travelling companion
You do NOT need padded Lycra to stay free from saddle sores
It is COMPULSORY to write a book when you come home.
August 31st - AVON VALLEY RAILWAY
The fifth Thursday of August was one of our 'Ladies Days'. In the morning we had all enjoyed a talk from Paul Evans in the morning which featured his many monologues and anecdotes. The afternoon saw us visiting the Avon Valley Railway at Bitton. The Avon Valley Railway is a major tourist attraction receiving up to 80,000 visitors a year. We added to the number when twenty-five members, wives and friends had lunch at Bitton Railway Station in a converted railway carriage and experienced excellent food and service. Fortunately our Treasurer, Tony, was celebrating his birthday which meant that we all had slices of his birthday cake. There was a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" and we gave a well deserved vote of thanks to the staff. A very entertaining and lively day – all on the right lines!!
Roger Clutsom, Social Committee Chairman.
See the Gallery for pictures of the event.
The fifth Thursday of August was one of our 'Ladies Days'. In the morning we had all enjoyed a talk from Paul Evans in the morning which featured his many monologues and anecdotes. The afternoon saw us visiting the Avon Valley Railway at Bitton. The Avon Valley Railway is a major tourist attraction receiving up to 80,000 visitors a year. We added to the number when twenty-five members, wives and friends had lunch at Bitton Railway Station in a converted railway carriage and experienced excellent food and service. Fortunately our Treasurer, Tony, was celebrating his birthday which meant that we all had slices of his birthday cake. There was a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" and we gave a well deserved vote of thanks to the staff. A very entertaining and lively day – all on the right lines!!
Roger Clutsom, Social Committee Chairman.
See the Gallery for pictures of the event.
31st August
A raconteur is a posh name for a story teller. Paul Evans deserves this title. His tale of 'Wheni' from the pub in Wickwar was a classic. Wheni was full of the woes of modern life and the joys of the old days. Paul's repertoire ran from the poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling, written in 1895, to an extract from Dylan Thomas's 'Under Milk Wood'. He told us that 'Under Milk Wood' was set in Llareggub, a fictional Welsh fishing village ('Llareggub' is 'Bugger All' backwards, implying that there is absolutely nothing to do there). It was the many comical poems and monologues that caught the attention of the audience, Albert and the Lion was a good example but many more were unusual and raised many laughs. We try to ensure that when our ladies join us for a meeting the speaker is enjoyed by all. Paul certainly did that.
A raconteur is a posh name for a story teller. Paul Evans deserves this title. His tale of 'Wheni' from the pub in Wickwar was a classic. Wheni was full of the woes of modern life and the joys of the old days. Paul's repertoire ran from the poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling, written in 1895, to an extract from Dylan Thomas's 'Under Milk Wood'. He told us that 'Under Milk Wood' was set in Llareggub, a fictional Welsh fishing village ('Llareggub' is 'Bugger All' backwards, implying that there is absolutely nothing to do there). It was the many comical poems and monologues that caught the attention of the audience, Albert and the Lion was a good example but many more were unusual and raised many laughs. We try to ensure that when our ladies join us for a meeting the speaker is enjoyed by all. Paul certainly did that.
17th August
It is always nice to listen to a speaker who clearly knows and loves his subject. Chris Biggs certainly is such a speaker. He spoke with passion on the 'Warbirds of WW2' with plenty of back details of the various planes covered. His passion developed from early building of Airfix models which hung from his bedroom ceiling. He has assembled a wonderful collection of colour pictures and the slides showed his subjects beautifully. He started with the famous Spitfire from the earliest models in 1938 to the last type 24 variant made in 1948. Photographs of famous pilots and anonymous pilots from the war time gave human interest. Fighter aircraft and bombers were covered with special reference to those designed in Bristol. He covered the early jet aircraft including the Gloster Meteor, the only jet to reach combat operations in WW2. As an engineer he was able to explain clearly the background and development of both aircraft and engines. Many familiar names came up, Hurricane, De Havilland Mosquito, Lancaster, Blenheim and Beaufort to name only a few. A super talk illustrated with exceptional photographs.
It is always nice to listen to a speaker who clearly knows and loves his subject. Chris Biggs certainly is such a speaker. He spoke with passion on the 'Warbirds of WW2' with plenty of back details of the various planes covered. His passion developed from early building of Airfix models which hung from his bedroom ceiling. He has assembled a wonderful collection of colour pictures and the slides showed his subjects beautifully. He started with the famous Spitfire from the earliest models in 1938 to the last type 24 variant made in 1948. Photographs of famous pilots and anonymous pilots from the war time gave human interest. Fighter aircraft and bombers were covered with special reference to those designed in Bristol. He covered the early jet aircraft including the Gloster Meteor, the only jet to reach combat operations in WW2. As an engineer he was able to explain clearly the background and development of both aircraft and engines. Many familiar names came up, Hurricane, De Havilland Mosquito, Lancaster, Blenheim and Beaufort to name only a few. A super talk illustrated with exceptional photographs.
3rd August
We were delighted to have Peter Gosson back for another talk, this time on 'Clevedon's Maritime Past'. Peter has an amazing memory and regaled us with an hour of information and pictures covering local history, dozens of ships, captain's names, shipwrecks and dates, all without a single written note. We learnt that the Clevedon pier was made using Barlow rail, discarded from Brunel’s broad-gauge South Wales Railway and opened in 1869. In 1970 Disaster struck Clevedon Pier at 10:20 on the morning of Friday, 16th October 1970, when under load testing for insurance purposes, the two end spans failed and collapsed into the sea. A major project by local people eventually resulted in restoration and this was completed in 1998 at a cost of over 2 million pounds. The Toll House at the pier has a plaque reminding readers that the Severn estuary has the second highest tide in the world at 47 feet. Clevedon was also the birthplace of the Mission to Seamen, now Mission to Seafarers. In 1836 the Revd John Ashley established the Bristol Channel Mission as a result of being struck by the loneliness and spiritual needs of the merchant seafarers at anchor. Using his example, a number of Anglican ministries followed suit and in 1856 it was decided to establish a single organisation The Mission to Seamen. As the Misson to Seafarers it now works in 200 ports and 50 countries.
We were delighted to have Peter Gosson back for another talk, this time on 'Clevedon's Maritime Past'. Peter has an amazing memory and regaled us with an hour of information and pictures covering local history, dozens of ships, captain's names, shipwrecks and dates, all without a single written note. We learnt that the Clevedon pier was made using Barlow rail, discarded from Brunel’s broad-gauge South Wales Railway and opened in 1869. In 1970 Disaster struck Clevedon Pier at 10:20 on the morning of Friday, 16th October 1970, when under load testing for insurance purposes, the two end spans failed and collapsed into the sea. A major project by local people eventually resulted in restoration and this was completed in 1998 at a cost of over 2 million pounds. The Toll House at the pier has a plaque reminding readers that the Severn estuary has the second highest tide in the world at 47 feet. Clevedon was also the birthplace of the Mission to Seamen, now Mission to Seafarers. In 1836 the Revd John Ashley established the Bristol Channel Mission as a result of being struck by the loneliness and spiritual needs of the merchant seafarers at anchor. Using his example, a number of Anglican ministries followed suit and in 1856 it was decided to establish a single organisation The Mission to Seamen. As the Misson to Seafarers it now works in 200 ports and 50 countries.
20th July
The title of the talk 'A Tree in Your Tank' only gave a hint of the subject, which turned out to be about alternative fuel for transport. In 1977 Bill was seconded to a study group in Ontario, Canada, where the government was interested in ways to make the province less reliant on imported fuel. They considered planting hybrid polar trees, quick growing and suited to the terrain. Even in the 1970's the technology was there but needed much development. You needed to grow 10 tons of wood to make 2 tons of fuel and it was expensive. Many factors were considered including the need for the newer fuel to be compatible with existing fuels and use the same distribution system. Eventually the geo-political climate and a change of government in Ontario meant an end to the study. Bill was able to give good answers to many questions concerning alternative fuels today. A very useful presentation with a lot of relevance in today's world.
The title of the talk 'A Tree in Your Tank' only gave a hint of the subject, which turned out to be about alternative fuel for transport. In 1977 Bill was seconded to a study group in Ontario, Canada, where the government was interested in ways to make the province less reliant on imported fuel. They considered planting hybrid polar trees, quick growing and suited to the terrain. Even in the 1970's the technology was there but needed much development. You needed to grow 10 tons of wood to make 2 tons of fuel and it was expensive. Many factors were considered including the need for the newer fuel to be compatible with existing fuels and use the same distribution system. Eventually the geo-political climate and a change of government in Ontario meant an end to the study. Bill was able to give good answers to many questions concerning alternative fuels today. A very useful presentation with a lot of relevance in today's world.
6th July
'Blythswood Care' is a charity based in Scotland but has a very active supporter in the West Country in Mike Ogborne. He became involved over 25 years ago when he borrowed a lorry to send a tractor to Romania. His talk ranged from his early impressions of Romania through to the most recent visit he made in June. When he was made redundant he used some of his payoff to train as an HGV driver and has made many visits to take products to deserving projects supported by Blythswood. The early journeys were on terrible roads with many obstructions from the terrain and officials who demanded bribes. Life is better now but in the countryside there is still much poverty and though the old style orphanages of the Ceaușescu era have gone there is still support needed in the newer ones.
'Blythswood Care' is a charity based in Scotland but has a very active supporter in the West Country in Mike Ogborne. He became involved over 25 years ago when he borrowed a lorry to send a tractor to Romania. His talk ranged from his early impressions of Romania through to the most recent visit he made in June. When he was made redundant he used some of his payoff to train as an HGV driver and has made many visits to take products to deserving projects supported by Blythswood. The early journeys were on terrible roads with many obstructions from the terrain and officials who demanded bribes. Life is better now but in the countryside there is still much poverty and though the old style orphanages of the Ceaușescu era have gone there is still support needed in the newer ones.
Thursday, 29th June - TORTWORTH FARM SHOP
27 members of Bromley Heath Probus Club visited Tortworth Farm Shop Restaurant to partake of a cream tea and had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. For many of the group it was their first visit and it was an opportunity to admire the lovely scenery whilst enjoying a delicious meal. A number of members are making arrangements to visit again and are recommending the restaurant to various family and friends so there should be a steady stream of visitors into the future.
Roger Clutsom, Social Committee Chairman
27 members of Bromley Heath Probus Club visited Tortworth Farm Shop Restaurant to partake of a cream tea and had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. For many of the group it was their first visit and it was an opportunity to admire the lovely scenery whilst enjoying a delicious meal. A number of members are making arrangements to visit again and are recommending the restaurant to various family and friends so there should be a steady stream of visitors into the future.
Roger Clutsom, Social Committee Chairman
June 29th
Our good friend Linda Dowsett was with us again, full of energy. This time telling us of her adventures when she appeared on 'The Weakest Link'. As always Linda was a fluent and very amusing speaker with a fund of anecdotes concerning Anne Robinson. She gives her talks to raise money for 'Guide Dogs for the Blind Association' and has raised over £18.000.
Our good friend Linda Dowsett was with us again, full of energy. This time telling us of her adventures when she appeared on 'The Weakest Link'. As always Linda was a fluent and very amusing speaker with a fund of anecdotes concerning Anne Robinson. She gives her talks to raise money for 'Guide Dogs for the Blind Association' and has raised over £18.000.
June 15th
Peter Gosson is a Marine Researcher who has created 18 presentations from his investigations and we were privileged to hear a most interesting illustrated talk on the Port of Bristol Today. We started off the Barry Pilot station where the large ships due to enter the Royal Portbury Dock pick up the pilots who navigated the difficult route into the docks. We were shown many of the very large ships that contribute to Bristol being the third largest import and export shipping facility in the UK. The workings of Royal Portbury and the Avonmouth docks were covered with excellent pictures of the facilities which have received an investment of over £500 million since the Bristol Port Company took over the area from Bristol City council in 1991. In excess of 600,000 vehicles per annum are handled by a permanently employed, highly trained work force. Future plans include the creation of improved facilities to accommodate the newer large container vessels.
Peter Gosson is a Marine Researcher who has created 18 presentations from his investigations and we were privileged to hear a most interesting illustrated talk on the Port of Bristol Today. We started off the Barry Pilot station where the large ships due to enter the Royal Portbury Dock pick up the pilots who navigated the difficult route into the docks. We were shown many of the very large ships that contribute to Bristol being the third largest import and export shipping facility in the UK. The workings of Royal Portbury and the Avonmouth docks were covered with excellent pictures of the facilities which have received an investment of over £500 million since the Bristol Port Company took over the area from Bristol City council in 1991. In excess of 600,000 vehicles per annum are handled by a permanently employed, highly trained work force. Future plans include the creation of improved facilities to accommodate the newer large container vessels.
June 1st
Bob and Pauline Cutts are a double act with Bob telling the story and Pauline adding readings and reminders. The talk began with a potted history of South Africa and its political development. Bob met Trevor Huddleston when he was in school and it started a lifelong interest in Africa. He worked there in the 70's and has a good knowledge of the area. Ten years ago Bob and Pauline took a SAGA tour of South Africa and the pictures and stories were based on their travels. The tour started with a problem when the travel guide failed to meet them at the airport. However they were lucky to be taken under the wing of another company for the first day and were able to tour Soweto where in 1976 students protested against the introduction of the Afrikaans language in teaching. The trip continued along the east coast of South Africa including visits to Johannesburg, the Kruger National Park and Cape Town. Following the illustrated talk, including a picture of Bob on an Ostrich, an interesting discussion was held.
Bob and Pauline Cutts are a double act with Bob telling the story and Pauline adding readings and reminders. The talk began with a potted history of South Africa and its political development. Bob met Trevor Huddleston when he was in school and it started a lifelong interest in Africa. He worked there in the 70's and has a good knowledge of the area. Ten years ago Bob and Pauline took a SAGA tour of South Africa and the pictures and stories were based on their travels. The tour started with a problem when the travel guide failed to meet them at the airport. However they were lucky to be taken under the wing of another company for the first day and were able to tour Soweto where in 1976 students protested against the introduction of the Afrikaans language in teaching. The trip continued along the east coast of South Africa including visits to Johannesburg, the Kruger National Park and Cape Town. Following the illustrated talk, including a picture of Bob on an Ostrich, an interesting discussion was held.
May 19th- A MEAL OUT
The Grove Training Restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of the Knightstone Campus, of Weston-super-Mare College. It offers a realistic workplace environment for the Catering and Hospitality students, and offers amazing dishes at amazing prices. Twenty six of our members had lunch there on Friday May 9th. The meal was prepared and served by their students under the watchful eye of expert tutors. It was an excellent meal and was enjoyed by everyone. This was yet another successful social event for which we all thank John Ball for arranging it.
Go to the Gallery for pictures of the event
The Grove Training Restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of the Knightstone Campus, of Weston-super-Mare College. It offers a realistic workplace environment for the Catering and Hospitality students, and offers amazing dishes at amazing prices. Twenty six of our members had lunch there on Friday May 9th. The meal was prepared and served by their students under the watchful eye of expert tutors. It was an excellent meal and was enjoyed by everyone. This was yet another successful social event for which we all thank John Ball for arranging it.
Go to the Gallery for pictures of the event
May 18th
Alan Freke is a fascinating man, local historian, bell ringer and motorcycle enthusiast among many other interests. He is a major force in the Frenchay Tuckett Society and in this role he undertook research into the life of Frederick Denison Maurice which resulted in a most wide ranging talk. It must be said that none of our members had ever heard of F D Maurice but the story revealed in Alan's talk was of a man who had a great influence in the development of the character of our nation. He lived from 1805 to 1872. His life was guided by strong Christian faith and he translated that faith into action. He went to Cambridge University and there founded a religious discussion group and met many people who he would influence over the years. In 1838 he published a book entitled "The Kingdom of Christ" which many scholars regard as the greatest theological work of the 19th Century. One of his first social projects was the founding of "The House of Charity" in 1846 to provide temporary accommodation for homeless poor people, it still operates today. He became involved in the Christian Socialist Movement which argued that politics and religion were inseparable and the church should be involved in social problems, this led to the creation of co-operatives. He came to believe that lack of education was the thing which held back poor people. In 1848 he founded "The Ragged School" to teach poor children who could not afford education fees. Also in 1848 Queen's College, an institution to educate women to degree level, was opened. By 1854 he had opened "The Working Men's College" with the idea that instead of revolution working men would better themselves better by pooling their resources and co-operating. An enthralling talk by a fluent and knowledgeable speaker.
Alan Freke is a fascinating man, local historian, bell ringer and motorcycle enthusiast among many other interests. He is a major force in the Frenchay Tuckett Society and in this role he undertook research into the life of Frederick Denison Maurice which resulted in a most wide ranging talk. It must be said that none of our members had ever heard of F D Maurice but the story revealed in Alan's talk was of a man who had a great influence in the development of the character of our nation. He lived from 1805 to 1872. His life was guided by strong Christian faith and he translated that faith into action. He went to Cambridge University and there founded a religious discussion group and met many people who he would influence over the years. In 1838 he published a book entitled "The Kingdom of Christ" which many scholars regard as the greatest theological work of the 19th Century. One of his first social projects was the founding of "The House of Charity" in 1846 to provide temporary accommodation for homeless poor people, it still operates today. He became involved in the Christian Socialist Movement which argued that politics and religion were inseparable and the church should be involved in social problems, this led to the creation of co-operatives. He came to believe that lack of education was the thing which held back poor people. In 1848 he founded "The Ragged School" to teach poor children who could not afford education fees. Also in 1848 Queen's College, an institution to educate women to degree level, was opened. By 1854 he had opened "The Working Men's College" with the idea that instead of revolution working men would better themselves better by pooling their resources and co-operating. An enthralling talk by a fluent and knowledgeable speaker.
May 4th
Did you know Ostriches can grow to 8 feet tall, have a stride of 14 feet and can run at 45 mph? We didn't either until we had this amusing and informative talk by Paul Cook. Paul started off with three ostriches and dreams of making a fortune from them. He spent his hour with us detailing the trials and tribulations of being an ostrich farmer. You need a licence from the local authority, checks by animal welfare officers and a large filed with 8 foot fencing. Paul has given up on his dream now and only has three as 'pets' but he runs a business importing and selling ostrich meat and other exotic meal delights. He brought an egg, equivalent to 40 hen eggs, and needing 45 minutes to soft boil. Ostrich skins are the second most expensive skins after crocodile and he brought examples with hand bags and a brief case made from ostrich skin. The cost would be £3,500, too expensive for us poor Probus men. He taught us how to catch an ostrich, very useful, and told us they do not bury their heads - just lie low and stretch their necks along the floor. He gave a witty talk with a slightly insulting way of handling and involving his audience. A super talk by an entertaining speaker.
Did you know Ostriches can grow to 8 feet tall, have a stride of 14 feet and can run at 45 mph? We didn't either until we had this amusing and informative talk by Paul Cook. Paul started off with three ostriches and dreams of making a fortune from them. He spent his hour with us detailing the trials and tribulations of being an ostrich farmer. You need a licence from the local authority, checks by animal welfare officers and a large filed with 8 foot fencing. Paul has given up on his dream now and only has three as 'pets' but he runs a business importing and selling ostrich meat and other exotic meal delights. He brought an egg, equivalent to 40 hen eggs, and needing 45 minutes to soft boil. Ostrich skins are the second most expensive skins after crocodile and he brought examples with hand bags and a brief case made from ostrich skin. The cost would be £3,500, too expensive for us poor Probus men. He taught us how to catch an ostrich, very useful, and told us they do not bury their heads - just lie low and stretch their necks along the floor. He gave a witty talk with a slightly insulting way of handling and involving his audience. A super talk by an entertaining speaker.
April 20th
As a group with 'older' members we were familiar with the tools Rodney brought with him to illustrate the work of the charity 'Tools for Self Reliance'. The charity was founded in 1981 and the Bristol branch is based at Kingswood Heritage Museum, Tower Lane, Warmley. They are a UK based charity working to help relieve poverty in Africa. Working with local African organisations they deliver a programme of tools and training to bring about effective and sustainable change to trades people and their communities. The primary countries worked in are; Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Tools are donated to the group and a thorough reconditioning is made before making up kits for tailoring, carpentry, welding, building, shoe repair and auto mechanics. The Kingswood group is very proud to be one of only two groups whose kits are not reopened and checked before sending to Africa. A fascinating talk and slide show given by Rodney, who appealed for donations of old tools and sewing machines for their work.
As a group with 'older' members we were familiar with the tools Rodney brought with him to illustrate the work of the charity 'Tools for Self Reliance'. The charity was founded in 1981 and the Bristol branch is based at Kingswood Heritage Museum, Tower Lane, Warmley. They are a UK based charity working to help relieve poverty in Africa. Working with local African organisations they deliver a programme of tools and training to bring about effective and sustainable change to trades people and their communities. The primary countries worked in are; Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Tools are donated to the group and a thorough reconditioning is made before making up kits for tailoring, carpentry, welding, building, shoe repair and auto mechanics. The Kingswood group is very proud to be one of only two groups whose kits are not reopened and checked before sending to Africa. A fascinating talk and slide show given by Rodney, who appealed for donations of old tools and sewing machines for their work.
April 6th
How television programmes work is always interesting and Cliff White gave a super description with his talk 'Behind the Scenes at the Antiques Roadshow'. Cliff was Floor Manager from the first programme in 1977 recorded in Hereford. The show was fronted by Bruce Parker and antiques expert Arthur Negus, who had previously worked on a similarly-themed show, Going for a Song. The BBC commissioned 8 programmes in the first series but increased as the years passed and now film 26 a year. He told us stories of the various presenters and experts who featured in the shows. The way venues are found and the complicated procedures involved in setting up each weekly film sequence were expertly described. Stories of programme participants and items brought gave a vivid impression of the show. Cliff finished by explaining the complicated sequence of events which he, as Floor Manager, had to control to ensure the smooth running of the filming of each programme. He retired from the show in 2000 but visits any venues in the area to meet old colleagues ensure his talk is always up-to-date.
How television programmes work is always interesting and Cliff White gave a super description with his talk 'Behind the Scenes at the Antiques Roadshow'. Cliff was Floor Manager from the first programme in 1977 recorded in Hereford. The show was fronted by Bruce Parker and antiques expert Arthur Negus, who had previously worked on a similarly-themed show, Going for a Song. The BBC commissioned 8 programmes in the first series but increased as the years passed and now film 26 a year. He told us stories of the various presenters and experts who featured in the shows. The way venues are found and the complicated procedures involved in setting up each weekly film sequence were expertly described. Stories of programme participants and items brought gave a vivid impression of the show. Cliff finished by explaining the complicated sequence of events which he, as Floor Manager, had to control to ensure the smooth running of the filming of each programme. He retired from the show in 2000 but visits any venues in the area to meet old colleagues ensure his talk is always up-to-date.
March 30th
Spring is with us and to get us in the mood for the garden we had John Hamblin and Richard Truscott from the Almondsbury Garden Centre to advise us on 'Spring Planting'. Richard is the Marketing Manager and told us of the new developments at the centre with a flatter terrain and drive-through area for picking up the heavier items such as compost. John was the acknowledged plant expert and gave an excellent talk on the way to achieve better garden displays. His first piece of advice was about the importance of using the weather as the best indicator of what to do rather than a calendar. The most memorable reminder of this was a saying from his grandfather - "Wait to plant until you can sit on the ground with your trousers down". His advice on planting containers within containers to allow changing planter displays without disturbing the soil and information on pest control was very valuable. Almondsbury Garden Centre kindly donated all the plants and pots used in the talk and they were raffled for those attending. It was an ideal talk for our morning when the ladies joined us.
Spring is with us and to get us in the mood for the garden we had John Hamblin and Richard Truscott from the Almondsbury Garden Centre to advise us on 'Spring Planting'. Richard is the Marketing Manager and told us of the new developments at the centre with a flatter terrain and drive-through area for picking up the heavier items such as compost. John was the acknowledged plant expert and gave an excellent talk on the way to achieve better garden displays. His first piece of advice was about the importance of using the weather as the best indicator of what to do rather than a calendar. The most memorable reminder of this was a saying from his grandfather - "Wait to plant until you can sit on the ground with your trousers down". His advice on planting containers within containers to allow changing planter displays without disturbing the soil and information on pest control was very valuable. Almondsbury Garden Centre kindly donated all the plants and pots used in the talk and they were raffled for those attending. It was an ideal talk for our morning when the ladies joined us.
March 17th - SPRING LUNCH
Bromley Heath Probus Club enjoyed its Spring Lunch at the BAWA Club in Filton. Our Probus Club has two formal lunches a year, the Spring Lunch in March and the Installation Lunch in October. The Spring Lunch is the less formal one where there are no speeches and the club is there to enjoy each other’s company and good food. We were pleased to celebrate the 70th wedding anniversary of long-standing member David Jefferies and his wife Iris, who celebrated their anniversary on 1st March. We also enjoyed the performance of the club choir, on this occasion conducted by Eric Arnold. They sang some traditional sea shanties and, in a break from tradition, some numbers which Doris Day made famous, such as There’s No Business Like Show Business.
Our thanks to Social Secretary Roger Clutsom in arranging such an occasion, enjoyed by all.
Bromley Heath Probus Club enjoyed its Spring Lunch at the BAWA Club in Filton. Our Probus Club has two formal lunches a year, the Spring Lunch in March and the Installation Lunch in October. The Spring Lunch is the less formal one where there are no speeches and the club is there to enjoy each other’s company and good food. We were pleased to celebrate the 70th wedding anniversary of long-standing member David Jefferies and his wife Iris, who celebrated their anniversary on 1st March. We also enjoyed the performance of the club choir, on this occasion conducted by Eric Arnold. They sang some traditional sea shanties and, in a break from tradition, some numbers which Doris Day made famous, such as There’s No Business Like Show Business.
Our thanks to Social Secretary Roger Clutsom in arranging such an occasion, enjoyed by all.
March 16th
Jean Routley was the organist at Backwell Church for 31 years and now, since retirement, is a travelling organist playing wherever she is asked. From wedding to funerals and all in between. This gives her a fund of stories for her talk entitled 'The Thrills and Spills of a Church Organist'. She could not bring a pipe organ but a good electronic player allowed a choice of various musical sounds. The anecdotes were accompanied by a suitable selection of tunes from the Wedding March to The Magic Roundabout. A most entertaining morning.
Jean Routley was the organist at Backwell Church for 31 years and now, since retirement, is a travelling organist playing wherever she is asked. From wedding to funerals and all in between. This gives her a fund of stories for her talk entitled 'The Thrills and Spills of a Church Organist'. She could not bring a pipe organ but a good electronic player allowed a choice of various musical sounds. The anecdotes were accompanied by a suitable selection of tunes from the Wedding March to The Magic Roundabout. A most entertaining morning.
March 2nd
Tim Ryan told a fascinating story of the 'Aust to Beachley Ferry'. His talk centred around a DVD of many historical photographs and films of the ferries from the launch in 1931 to the last ferry on 6th September 1966. He told many amusing and interesting anecdotes about the ferries, the owner, crew and the customers. An example was when a Hearse using the crossing, in addition to the normal charge, was invoiced a further 1/6d for the body in the coffin. There were three ferries, the Severn King and the Severn Queen built in 1931 and for the last few years, the Severn Princess built in Hull in 1959. The Severn Princess was sold when the crossing closed and ended its working life in Ireland; it was beached at Kilkieran in Galway Connemara. It was there that Tim and a friend found it and, after making it seaworthy, bought it for one guinea in 2003. There is now a flourishing support group working hard on a cosmetic restoration. Unfortunately it would never be allowed to sail with today's health and safety rules. Once restored it is hoped that the Severn Princess will become a major feature on the Welsh Coastal Path and form a permanent heritage attraction and reminder of Chepstow’s history and importance to the economic growth of South Wales. A wonderful talk by a real enthusiast who knew his subject and it brought back many memories for members.
Tim Ryan told a fascinating story of the 'Aust to Beachley Ferry'. His talk centred around a DVD of many historical photographs and films of the ferries from the launch in 1931 to the last ferry on 6th September 1966. He told many amusing and interesting anecdotes about the ferries, the owner, crew and the customers. An example was when a Hearse using the crossing, in addition to the normal charge, was invoiced a further 1/6d for the body in the coffin. There were three ferries, the Severn King and the Severn Queen built in 1931 and for the last few years, the Severn Princess built in Hull in 1959. The Severn Princess was sold when the crossing closed and ended its working life in Ireland; it was beached at Kilkieran in Galway Connemara. It was there that Tim and a friend found it and, after making it seaworthy, bought it for one guinea in 2003. There is now a flourishing support group working hard on a cosmetic restoration. Unfortunately it would never be allowed to sail with today's health and safety rules. Once restored it is hoped that the Severn Princess will become a major feature on the Welsh Coastal Path and form a permanent heritage attraction and reminder of Chepstow’s history and importance to the economic growth of South Wales. A wonderful talk by a real enthusiast who knew his subject and it brought back many memories for members.
February 16th.
Author John Doyle gave a most interesting talk entitled 'The Search for the Last Coachman'. John was originally from Ireland and research into his family history led him discover details about his Grandfather who had been a coachman on an estate in Ireland. He moved to Eastriggs on Scottish banks of the Solway Firth to work on a giant munitions factory built to supply the forces in the First World War. John has woven this family history into a novel about Ireland in rebellion and England at war with Germany. He gave a fascinating account of the history and how he used this background to craft the story.
Author John Doyle gave a most interesting talk entitled 'The Search for the Last Coachman'. John was originally from Ireland and research into his family history led him discover details about his Grandfather who had been a coachman on an estate in Ireland. He moved to Eastriggs on Scottish banks of the Solway Firth to work on a giant munitions factory built to supply the forces in the First World War. John has woven this family history into a novel about Ireland in rebellion and England at war with Germany. He gave a fascinating account of the history and how he used this background to craft the story.
February 15th. - VISIT TO THE ROYAL MINT
We changed our currency from pounds, shillings and pence to a decimal system on Feb 15th 1971 so it was Feb 15th Roger chose to organise a guided tour of the Royal Mint at Llantrisant. A full coach load of 49 from Bromley Heath Probus and Kingswood Y's Men enjoyed an interesting and informative day.
An introductory film was followed by a visit to a display of the machinery and dies used in the manufacturing process. We then went on to view the production facilities where automatic machines were turning out the coins with minimum staff in attendance. The final stop on the two hour tour was the Museum. Here we saw a small coin from the reign of King Alfred that was still in glorious condition. We saw the medals made for those who fought at Waterloo as well as wonderful displays of coins from all over the world made at the Royal Mint. There will be a new 12 sided £1 coin issued in March and we were offered the opportunity to strike a coin for ourselves ahead of the official launch. It was a super day out at a magnificent facility.
See the pictures on the Gallery page.
February 2nd.
The lovely Linda returned to us for her talk 'A Taste of Turkey'. It was not about a Christmas dinner but her tour of Turkey. Six hotels in seven days was quite an ordeal but with her sense of humour she made the journey interesting and enjoyable. As always she donated her speaking fee to Guide Dogs for the Blind in memory of her late husband Gordon.
The lovely Linda returned to us for her talk 'A Taste of Turkey'. It was not about a Christmas dinner but her tour of Turkey. Six hotels in seven days was quite an ordeal but with her sense of humour she made the journey interesting and enjoyable. As always she donated her speaking fee to Guide Dogs for the Blind in memory of her late husband Gordon.
January 19th.
The programme said the talk was entitled 'And the Wife Came Too'. However the talk given by Peter Berry was a most interesting photographic story of a visit to the American Rockies to visit railways. Peter is a very accomplished photographer and the light in the Rockies in the autumn gave him the ideal conditions for some stunning pictures. His main interest is railways and he described the engines as living things. Incidentally, his wife went too!
The programme said the talk was entitled 'And the Wife Came Too'. However the talk given by Peter Berry was a most interesting photographic story of a visit to the American Rockies to visit railways. Peter is a very accomplished photographer and the light in the Rockies in the autumn gave him the ideal conditions for some stunning pictures. His main interest is railways and he described the engines as living things. Incidentally, his wife went too!
January 5th 2017
Mike Cooper gave a vivid description of his experiences as a volunteer at the 1996 in Atlanta and the 2014 London Olympics. Both were memorable occasions and he was lucky enough to be stationed in the main arena both times. In London he even had the chance to take part in the opening ceremony.
Mike Cooper gave a vivid description of his experiences as a volunteer at the 1996 in Atlanta and the 2014 London Olympics. Both were memorable occasions and he was lucky enough to be stationed in the main arena both times. In London he even had the chance to take part in the opening ceremony.
