June 1st
Gary Atterton gave an interesting talk on ‘Bedminster Coal – Blood, Sweat and Tears’. It was in two parts, the first part about the history and development of coal mining in Bedminster and the second part about a pit disaster which occurred in Dean Lane Colliery in 1886. The talk and the research backing it up were prompted by the knowledge that in Gary’s family was a long line of miners under the Garland name – many of his ancestors. Seven of them died in pit accidents. Bedminster was part of the Bristol Coalfield and Gary showed from maps that by 1828 it was still very rural. However, with the development of the coalfield the population grew fast and by 1898 was a highly populated urban suburb. The mines were mostly small in nature, some of the prominent ones being Ashton Vale, North Side, Dean Lane, South Liberty and Malago Vale. The relationship between the owners and the miners was a master-servant one, and when accidents occurred the blame was usually applied to the miners. Prominent owners were the Smyth family, and it was estimated that they were taking £600,000 per annum from the mines which they owned, so there was much poverty amongst the miners. By the 1930s, most of the mines had closed. The Dean Lane disaster occurred on 10th September 1886, an explosion which killed 38 miners with many injured. Only the day before, an inspection by some seniors declared that there was no gas and it was safe to operate the mine. Gary gave an hour-by-hour account of the killed and injured as they were brought up by the mine’s cage to those family, friends and fellow miners gathered at the entrance. Included were Garlands, including a William Garland who had started only the day before. The impact on Bristol was enormous and the miners decided to strike for better pay and conditions. Large sums of money were raised in Bristol for the miners’ families. The subsequent inquest came to the amazing conclusion that there was no gas and it was just an accident! A good illustrated talk which filled a gap in our knowledge of life south of the river.
Gary Atterton gave an interesting talk on ‘Bedminster Coal – Blood, Sweat and Tears’. It was in two parts, the first part about the history and development of coal mining in Bedminster and the second part about a pit disaster which occurred in Dean Lane Colliery in 1886. The talk and the research backing it up were prompted by the knowledge that in Gary’s family was a long line of miners under the Garland name – many of his ancestors. Seven of them died in pit accidents. Bedminster was part of the Bristol Coalfield and Gary showed from maps that by 1828 it was still very rural. However, with the development of the coalfield the population grew fast and by 1898 was a highly populated urban suburb. The mines were mostly small in nature, some of the prominent ones being Ashton Vale, North Side, Dean Lane, South Liberty and Malago Vale. The relationship between the owners and the miners was a master-servant one, and when accidents occurred the blame was usually applied to the miners. Prominent owners were the Smyth family, and it was estimated that they were taking £600,000 per annum from the mines which they owned, so there was much poverty amongst the miners. By the 1930s, most of the mines had closed. The Dean Lane disaster occurred on 10th September 1886, an explosion which killed 38 miners with many injured. Only the day before, an inspection by some seniors declared that there was no gas and it was safe to operate the mine. Gary gave an hour-by-hour account of the killed and injured as they were brought up by the mine’s cage to those family, friends and fellow miners gathered at the entrance. Included were Garlands, including a William Garland who had started only the day before. The impact on Bristol was enormous and the miners decided to strike for better pay and conditions. Large sums of money were raised in Bristol for the miners’ families. The subsequent inquest came to the amazing conclusion that there was no gas and it was just an accident! A good illustrated talk which filled a gap in our knowledge of life south of the river.
May 18th
We had stories from member Phil Scull in May 2022 when he stepped in at short notice to replace a speaker who was ill. This month he did it again with ‘More Stories of a Proper Copper’. Phil joined the police force in 1958 and retired in1980. When he started there were 27 active police stations, there are now THREE! He wrote about many of his experiences and his son had the privately published as ‘Recollections of a Proper Copper’ and presented him with a copy on his 80th birthday. Some of these stories he regaled us with. One incident he remembers was when he ‘rested’ on the back seat of a parked empty coach. He dozed off and when he woke he was many miles away from his beat. Fortunately the driver did not report his misdemeanour. Phil told stories of when he was an acting sergeant including the time he checked on his team only to find that all five of them were at the hospital nursing babies and feeding them instead of carrying out their duties. Phil is a natural speaker and told of his time as a police officer with humour.
We had stories from member Phil Scull in May 2022 when he stepped in at short notice to replace a speaker who was ill. This month he did it again with ‘More Stories of a Proper Copper’. Phil joined the police force in 1958 and retired in1980. When he started there were 27 active police stations, there are now THREE! He wrote about many of his experiences and his son had the privately published as ‘Recollections of a Proper Copper’ and presented him with a copy on his 80th birthday. Some of these stories he regaled us with. One incident he remembers was when he ‘rested’ on the back seat of a parked empty coach. He dozed off and when he woke he was many miles away from his beat. Fortunately the driver did not report his misdemeanour. Phil told stories of when he was an acting sergeant including the time he checked on his team only to find that all five of them were at the hospital nursing babies and feeding them instead of carrying out their duties. Phil is a natural speaker and told of his time as a police officer with humour.
May 4th
Navigation in the Bristol Channel is notoriously difficult but speaker Andy Darlington, a 'Bristol Channel Pilot', made it sound easy. He comes from a seafaring family in Fleetwood and decided to go to sea when he visited a friend of his father who had a cabin to himself, a luxury! He started as a deck boy with Shell, progressing to deck officer and then at the age of 27 gained a Master's license. He spent time sailing all over the world but eventually decided to train as a pilot to stay near the UK. The UK Marine Pilots Association was founded in Bristol by Captain George Cawley in 1884. The law demands that all large ships entering a port require a pilot to ensure local knowledge is available to the captain. Training is on the job, utilising simulator’s and attending a manned model lake near Southampton. The Bristol Pilots were originally from Pill but are now recruited from all over the UK. Early pilots raced to incoming ships to get the business of guiding the ships through the treacherous waters of the Bristol Channel, they developed swift sailing vessels which were used until 1923 when steam driven skiffs came into use. Most of the work of Bristol pilots involve guiding ships into Avonmouth, Royal Portbury and Bristol City docks (via the River Avon). The lock at Portbury is over 40 metres wide and on a flood tide pilots have to swing the ship through 270 degrees before entering. Andy was able to make a complicated story into an understandable talk enjoyed by the audience.
Navigation in the Bristol Channel is notoriously difficult but speaker Andy Darlington, a 'Bristol Channel Pilot', made it sound easy. He comes from a seafaring family in Fleetwood and decided to go to sea when he visited a friend of his father who had a cabin to himself, a luxury! He started as a deck boy with Shell, progressing to deck officer and then at the age of 27 gained a Master's license. He spent time sailing all over the world but eventually decided to train as a pilot to stay near the UK. The UK Marine Pilots Association was founded in Bristol by Captain George Cawley in 1884. The law demands that all large ships entering a port require a pilot to ensure local knowledge is available to the captain. Training is on the job, utilising simulator’s and attending a manned model lake near Southampton. The Bristol Pilots were originally from Pill but are now recruited from all over the UK. Early pilots raced to incoming ships to get the business of guiding the ships through the treacherous waters of the Bristol Channel, they developed swift sailing vessels which were used until 1923 when steam driven skiffs came into use. Most of the work of Bristol pilots involve guiding ships into Avonmouth, Royal Portbury and Bristol City docks (via the River Avon). The lock at Portbury is over 40 metres wide and on a flood tide pilots have to swing the ship through 270 degrees before entering. Andy was able to make a complicated story into an understandable talk enjoyed by the audience.
April 20th
It must be said that during rare talks some of our members have been known to fall asleep! Not this time. The talk on 'Fraud and Cyber Crime' by Jordon Coates and Megan Haldene from the Avon & Somerset Constabulary not only kept us awake but frightened some members. Fraud, at 41%, is the largest single cause of reports to the police. Jordon covered fraud and ran through some of the most used scams, giving background and ways of spotting the fraud. She gave us a Golden Rule – “Take 5 Tell 2”. Stop and consider before continuing, many fraudsters urge you to act quickly, but stop and think. If you do get scammed, or even nearly, do not be ashamed, tell others to help them become protected. Megan followed with guidance on getting better protection against Cyber Crime, often through social media. The main message was get a strong and difficult to guess password. Do not use things like date of birth, house number or personal information. She recommended using three random words together with the usual capital, number and upper case. Use a password manager, not a free one as they are often faulty. Victims of cyber fraud sometimes have their system infiltrated and even have their computer hard drive deleted, the answer is to have back-up systems, preferably a second hard drive and even an online backup programme. The last piece of good advice was to always install updates to programmes, remember an update means the programme originator has identified a fault, which scammers quickly try to use. There were more questions than usual, not because the speakers were unclear but because the subject had so many facets. An enlightening talk which gave us many things to consider.
It must be said that during rare talks some of our members have been known to fall asleep! Not this time. The talk on 'Fraud and Cyber Crime' by Jordon Coates and Megan Haldene from the Avon & Somerset Constabulary not only kept us awake but frightened some members. Fraud, at 41%, is the largest single cause of reports to the police. Jordon covered fraud and ran through some of the most used scams, giving background and ways of spotting the fraud. She gave us a Golden Rule – “Take 5 Tell 2”. Stop and consider before continuing, many fraudsters urge you to act quickly, but stop and think. If you do get scammed, or even nearly, do not be ashamed, tell others to help them become protected. Megan followed with guidance on getting better protection against Cyber Crime, often through social media. The main message was get a strong and difficult to guess password. Do not use things like date of birth, house number or personal information. She recommended using three random words together with the usual capital, number and upper case. Use a password manager, not a free one as they are often faulty. Victims of cyber fraud sometimes have their system infiltrated and even have their computer hard drive deleted, the answer is to have back-up systems, preferably a second hard drive and even an online backup programme. The last piece of good advice was to always install updates to programmes, remember an update means the programme originator has identified a fault, which scammers quickly try to use. There were more questions than usual, not because the speakers were unclear but because the subject had so many facets. An enlightening talk which gave us many things to consider.
April 6th
The meeting did not begin comfortably for speaker Robert Cutts as he had technical problems with his presentation, sorted out just in time for the meeting to start. He then commenced his talk entitled 'Lima to Punta Arenus'. Unfortunately we had a problem with the blackout screen and too much sunlight came in and made many of the slides difficult to see. Robert started with a potted history of Chile and its politics then bravely battled on to give us a tale of travel down Chile with trips into Bolivia. With his wife Pauline he travelled with a group of six younger people visiting Lake Titicaca, La Paz, a tin mine in Potosi and the Valley of the Moon in the Atacama Desert which has served as the moon in several films. To reach Santiago it was necessary to move into Argentina as the Andes Mountains make travel south too difficult in Chile. Santiago is the capital of Chile and the largest city. They visited a monument to the 2279 victims of the Pinochet rule and a statue of Bernardo O’Higgins who is revered as the person who liberated Chile from the Spanish colonial rule in the early 1800’s. A talk with a mixture of history and travel we enjoyed despite the problems.
The meeting did not begin comfortably for speaker Robert Cutts as he had technical problems with his presentation, sorted out just in time for the meeting to start. He then commenced his talk entitled 'Lima to Punta Arenus'. Unfortunately we had a problem with the blackout screen and too much sunlight came in and made many of the slides difficult to see. Robert started with a potted history of Chile and its politics then bravely battled on to give us a tale of travel down Chile with trips into Bolivia. With his wife Pauline he travelled with a group of six younger people visiting Lake Titicaca, La Paz, a tin mine in Potosi and the Valley of the Moon in the Atacama Desert which has served as the moon in several films. To reach Santiago it was necessary to move into Argentina as the Andes Mountains make travel south too difficult in Chile. Santiago is the capital of Chile and the largest city. They visited a monument to the 2279 victims of the Pinochet rule and a statue of Bernardo O’Higgins who is revered as the person who liberated Chile from the Spanish colonial rule in the early 1800’s. A talk with a mixture of history and travel we enjoyed despite the problems.
March30th
This was the third Thursday of the month so was a ‘Ladies Day’. We always have our ladies at the normal meetings but make a special effort for ladies day. The speaker delighted us all with guidance on gardening in a talk entitled ‘Ready, Steady Go for Summer’. John studied horticulture at Bath University and spent over 35 years as a garden centre manager where he answered many questions from the customers. He retired seven years ago but now passes on his experience in talks. He covered pruning in the first section of his talk, his main message was “cut back and let the sun shine in”. Soil composition included advice on improving the growing quality of soil with the use of compost and feeding the ground. He recommended that boarders should be sometimes dug out and the larger plant split and replanted, giving space for easy weeding and growth. He included many simple points to make gardening more effective including keeping a tidy shed and cleaning glasshouse windows. A rousing talk giving us plenty to think about for the spring and summer.
This was the third Thursday of the month so was a ‘Ladies Day’. We always have our ladies at the normal meetings but make a special effort for ladies day. The speaker delighted us all with guidance on gardening in a talk entitled ‘Ready, Steady Go for Summer’. John studied horticulture at Bath University and spent over 35 years as a garden centre manager where he answered many questions from the customers. He retired seven years ago but now passes on his experience in talks. He covered pruning in the first section of his talk, his main message was “cut back and let the sun shine in”. Soil composition included advice on improving the growing quality of soil with the use of compost and feeding the ground. He recommended that boarders should be sometimes dug out and the larger plant split and replanted, giving space for easy weeding and growth. He included many simple points to make gardening more effective including keeping a tidy shed and cleaning glasshouse windows. A rousing talk giving us plenty to think about for the spring and summer.
March 16th
David Cheesley has been a frequent speaker for us and this time his subject was ‘Picture Postcards’. He has been collecting Postcards for many years and the talk covered some of his favourite subjects. The postal system started in England in 1840 and early cards were blank but by 1870 pictures started to appear. It was in 1902 the style of a picture or drawing on one side and space for the address and message on the other was developed and continues to this day. One subject was seaside images and pictures of cards were accompanied by George Formby singing “A little Bit of Blackpool Rock”. Images from Weston Super Mare including the pool with the 40ft diving platform brought back memories. A set of WW1 cards were shown to “Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line” and other music from the period. Many cards from our locality were shown including charabanc trips to Cheddar and Portishead. Some of the most decorative cards were silk embroidered from the WW2 period. David finished with a collection of comic cards typically chosen to send from holiday with optimistic messages about the weather. An entertaining and thought provoking talk.
David Cheesley has been a frequent speaker for us and this time his subject was ‘Picture Postcards’. He has been collecting Postcards for many years and the talk covered some of his favourite subjects. The postal system started in England in 1840 and early cards were blank but by 1870 pictures started to appear. It was in 1902 the style of a picture or drawing on one side and space for the address and message on the other was developed and continues to this day. One subject was seaside images and pictures of cards were accompanied by George Formby singing “A little Bit of Blackpool Rock”. Images from Weston Super Mare including the pool with the 40ft diving platform brought back memories. A set of WW1 cards were shown to “Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line” and other music from the period. Many cards from our locality were shown including charabanc trips to Cheddar and Portishead. Some of the most decorative cards were silk embroidered from the WW2 period. David finished with a collection of comic cards typically chosen to send from holiday with optimistic messages about the weather. An entertaining and thought provoking talk.
March 2nd
The club is always keen to hear talks about railways and Paul Gregory provided us with one about a line most of us had never heard of . ‘The History of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway’ was most interesting. In 1884 it was proposed to link the three coastal towns with a standard gauge track and building commenced in 1887 but was not completed all the way to Portishead until 1907. The track was 14 miles long with 19 stations, many of them just stops near villages and roads. A journey would take about an hour. Paul was a treasure house of detail about the engines and rolling stock. During the life of the railway it purchased most of the 17 steam engines second hand. Paul showed us many images from the life of the railway including some fascinating pictures of the railway passing right through the centre of Clevedon before a bypass track was built. The line eventually closed in 1940. The detail included in Paul’s talk was impressive and too much to include in this brief description, do look at the WC&PR web site at https://wcpr.org.uk/index.html.
The club is always keen to hear talks about railways and Paul Gregory provided us with one about a line most of us had never heard of . ‘The History of the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway’ was most interesting. In 1884 it was proposed to link the three coastal towns with a standard gauge track and building commenced in 1887 but was not completed all the way to Portishead until 1907. The track was 14 miles long with 19 stations, many of them just stops near villages and roads. A journey would take about an hour. Paul was a treasure house of detail about the engines and rolling stock. During the life of the railway it purchased most of the 17 steam engines second hand. Paul showed us many images from the life of the railway including some fascinating pictures of the railway passing right through the centre of Clevedon before a bypass track was built. The line eventually closed in 1940. The detail included in Paul’s talk was impressive and too much to include in this brief description, do look at the WC&PR web site at https://wcpr.org.uk/index.html.
- February 16th
- Georgina Green arrived well dressed for her talk about 'Tai Chi' and mindfulness. She explained that Tai Chi, is a gentle form of exercise and martial art that promotes and improves health. She explained how it had developed in the 1970’s from a Chinese martial art into a western version incorporating slow and deliberate moves which concentrate the mind. One of the objectives is to create stillness and space for the mind and body to relax. A key aspect of Tai Chi philosophy is to work with the flow of yin (softness) and yang (hardness) elements. When two forces push each other with equal force, neither side moves. Georgina said it was not possible to teach Tai Chi in such a short time but was able to get us all on our feet to try a few moves. Certainly an eye-opening experience for us.
February 2nd
Peter Chaplin spent 28 years in the police and spent 20 years of this time in the Police Dog Section of Avon & Somerset Police. The police dogs are used for three main purposes. First arresting people, secondly searching for missing persons and lastly the location of stolen property. In 1978 he had his first dog, Dena. She was useless and spent 8 months with no successful events. One story was about a burglar trapped in a fur shop in Broadmead, Dena was so afraid to go in after the culprit that Peter had to catch the man himself. His second dog, Major, became his favourite and he has written a book about him called ‘A Job with a Bite’. He took on Major when he was an 8 month old puppy and he lived with his family getting on well with his three daughters. Once trained they became a formidable team. In five years he bit 34 people and assisted in many arrests. His teeth became quite blunt as he had the habit of carrying bricks and chewing anything hard. In the 14 years after major Peter had another 4 dogs but none of them reached the standard of Major. Clearly here was a man in love with his work and his dogs, especially Major.
Peter Chaplin spent 28 years in the police and spent 20 years of this time in the Police Dog Section of Avon & Somerset Police. The police dogs are used for three main purposes. First arresting people, secondly searching for missing persons and lastly the location of stolen property. In 1978 he had his first dog, Dena. She was useless and spent 8 months with no successful events. One story was about a burglar trapped in a fur shop in Broadmead, Dena was so afraid to go in after the culprit that Peter had to catch the man himself. His second dog, Major, became his favourite and he has written a book about him called ‘A Job with a Bite’. He took on Major when he was an 8 month old puppy and he lived with his family getting on well with his three daughters. Once trained they became a formidable team. In five years he bit 34 people and assisted in many arrests. His teeth became quite blunt as he had the habit of carrying bricks and chewing anything hard. In the 14 years after major Peter had another 4 dogs but none of them reached the standard of Major. Clearly here was a man in love with his work and his dogs, especially Major.
January 19th
Bernard Merrick is an accomplished photographer and a keen observer of the many places he has visited with his wife. This talk was about the ‘Glories of Venice’. He promised us it would not be a holiday travel story and so it turned out. He told us a little of the history of Venice, how it was founded and built on piles driven through the mud into the underlying clay. A look at some of the canals was accompanied by Vivaldi music. He described how food was brought to places and rubbish removed, all by boat. The provision of clean water was difficult and the Venetians developed a system of collecting rainwater and filtering it into wells. The many gondolas are 36 feet long and 4.5 feet wide. They are constructed to a common design and the gondoliers have to undergo ten years of training, there are currently 400 of them, many with long family traditions. Photographs of costumes from the Venice Carnival, revived in 1979, gave us a colourful finale to the talk. Bernard took many of the pictures early in the morning before the tourists arrived from the cruise liners; he recommended this to anyone visiting Venice.
Bernard Merrick is an accomplished photographer and a keen observer of the many places he has visited with his wife. This talk was about the ‘Glories of Venice’. He promised us it would not be a holiday travel story and so it turned out. He told us a little of the history of Venice, how it was founded and built on piles driven through the mud into the underlying clay. A look at some of the canals was accompanied by Vivaldi music. He described how food was brought to places and rubbish removed, all by boat. The provision of clean water was difficult and the Venetians developed a system of collecting rainwater and filtering it into wells. The many gondolas are 36 feet long and 4.5 feet wide. They are constructed to a common design and the gondoliers have to undergo ten years of training, there are currently 400 of them, many with long family traditions. Photographs of costumes from the Venice Carnival, revived in 1979, gave us a colourful finale to the talk. Bernard took many of the pictures early in the morning before the tourists arrived from the cruise liners; he recommended this to anyone visiting Venice.
January 6th
An interesting illustrated evening presented by Chris Bigg on 'The Heart of Bristol in Pictures'. Chris started by showing several old maps which illustrated the growth of the centre of the city. The Bristol Bridge featured in the maps with paintings and photographs showing the development of the bridge from a crossing with houses and shops on it to the current bridge with an extra pedestrian section added to increase the width. The history of the Bristol Castle was explained but very few sections remain to be seen on Castle Green. Much of the centre was destroyed in a German raid in 1940 and large areas were not rebuilt for many years. The redevelopment of the Broadmead area including the infamous Coop building in Fairfax Street brought back memories of the Paternoster lift which you had to jump on and off while it continued to move. Corn Street, St Nicholas Market and Temple Church were other site well illustrated. Some of the older pictures were taken from the internet but they were well coordinated with Chris’s own photographs. A wonderful trip down memory lane.
An interesting illustrated evening presented by Chris Bigg on 'The Heart of Bristol in Pictures'. Chris started by showing several old maps which illustrated the growth of the centre of the city. The Bristol Bridge featured in the maps with paintings and photographs showing the development of the bridge from a crossing with houses and shops on it to the current bridge with an extra pedestrian section added to increase the width. The history of the Bristol Castle was explained but very few sections remain to be seen on Castle Green. Much of the centre was destroyed in a German raid in 1940 and large areas were not rebuilt for many years. The redevelopment of the Broadmead area including the infamous Coop building in Fairfax Street brought back memories of the Paternoster lift which you had to jump on and off while it continued to move. Corn Street, St Nicholas Market and Temple Church were other site well illustrated. Some of the older pictures were taken from the internet but they were well coordinated with Chris’s own photographs. A wonderful trip down memory lane.
December 15th
Graham Walker had planned and created a 'Desert Island Discs' programme but unfortunately was too ill to present it on the day. His PowerPoint presentation was shown by Alan Wallington using Graham’s script. The presenters and their chosen music were:
Eric Arnold – Barcelona by Freddy Mercury and Monserrat Cabal
Roger Evans – Apache by the Shadows
Malcolm Smith – Adagio by Thomas Alboni
Mike Bendrey – Three Blind Mice by John Dankworth
Peter Blackmore – A Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams
John Turner – The Blue Danube from 2001 a Space Odyssey
Dave Moore – The Girl that I Marry by Howard Keel
Ken Spilman – A Wonderful Life by Louis Armstrong
A great variety of excellent music accompanied by videos chosen by Graham.
See the gallery below
December 1st
Our Annual General Meeting after which a group photograph was taken.
See the News page.
Our Annual General Meeting after which a group photograph was taken.
See the News page.
November 17th
Steve Goddard is one of the few people who have visited North Korea' frequently. He has been visiting since 2002 and had many fascinating stories to tell. He started with a Korean song video which apparently was a welcome to us. He gave us a potted history of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official title of North Korea as opposed to the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea). At the end of World War II the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to partition Korea along the 38th parallel, with the Soviets occupying the north and the Americans occupying the south. Tensions between the two resulted in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. The war ended in a stalemate in 1953, but without a formalised peace treaty. It is estimated that over 3.5 million people were killed or injured during the conflict and the two countries are still officially at war. Steve’s visits were on behalf of a Christian outreach charity. He has visited orphanages and schools and told us of the work carried out. A colourful set of photographs and videos accompanied the talk including extracts for a recent BBC programme when Michael Palin visited North Korea. He often travelled by train and showed us the poor condition of the rail system with little regard for health and safety. In the capital Pyongyang he stayed in a fairly modern hotel which was mostly unoccupied with many floors unused. The scenery was varied and often spectacular but conditions outside the main cities was poor. He emphasised the difference between the Korean people, when able to contact then, with the officialdom and state control exercised at nearly all times. Steve was able to give us a glimpse into an unknown country.
Steve Goddard is one of the few people who have visited North Korea' frequently. He has been visiting since 2002 and had many fascinating stories to tell. He started with a Korean song video which apparently was a welcome to us. He gave us a potted history of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official title of North Korea as opposed to the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea). At the end of World War II the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to partition Korea along the 38th parallel, with the Soviets occupying the north and the Americans occupying the south. Tensions between the two resulted in the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. The war ended in a stalemate in 1953, but without a formalised peace treaty. It is estimated that over 3.5 million people were killed or injured during the conflict and the two countries are still officially at war. Steve’s visits were on behalf of a Christian outreach charity. He has visited orphanages and schools and told us of the work carried out. A colourful set of photographs and videos accompanied the talk including extracts for a recent BBC programme when Michael Palin visited North Korea. He often travelled by train and showed us the poor condition of the rail system with little regard for health and safety. In the capital Pyongyang he stayed in a fairly modern hotel which was mostly unoccupied with many floors unused. The scenery was varied and often spectacular but conditions outside the main cities was poor. He emphasised the difference between the Korean people, when able to contact then, with the officialdom and state control exercised at nearly all times. Steve was able to give us a glimpse into an unknown country.
November 3rd
Paul Evans has entertained us before and he did not disappoint this time. The title of his talk was ‘An Interlude of Humour’ and it proved to be so. He gave us a series of readings, poems and stories about his life in Wickwar. The first poem by Thomas Masefield was “Sea Fever” starting with the well-known words “I must go down to the seas again to the lonely sea and the sky” This classic contrasted with a rendition of “Albert’s Return” about young Albert and his stick with a horse’s head handle. His poems were varied and amusing with several coming from Wickwar residents including “When I” about what it was like when I were a lad . He finished with “A bit of binder string” written by one of the Wickwar locals, Lou. All the items were performed with enthusiasm and in a variety of accents. Truly ‘an interlude of humour’.
Paul Evans has entertained us before and he did not disappoint this time. The title of his talk was ‘An Interlude of Humour’ and it proved to be so. He gave us a series of readings, poems and stories about his life in Wickwar. The first poem by Thomas Masefield was “Sea Fever” starting with the well-known words “I must go down to the seas again to the lonely sea and the sky” This classic contrasted with a rendition of “Albert’s Return” about young Albert and his stick with a horse’s head handle. His poems were varied and amusing with several coming from Wickwar residents including “When I” about what it was like when I were a lad . He finished with “A bit of binder string” written by one of the Wickwar locals, Lou. All the items were performed with enthusiasm and in a variety of accents. Truly ‘an interlude of humour’.
October 20th
Alan Jocelyn is speaker who really knows his subject! 'The Bristol Riots of 1831' were comprehensively covered with a fine selection of images. He started by outlining the conditions in the 1930’s There was a cost of living crisis, a population increase, mass starvation, and the country had a large national debt following the recent wars with France. The government had introduced Income Tax to try to recover the nation’s finances. The prime reason for the riots was that there were large discrepancies in the size of constituencies of the lower house, some very small constituencies had two MPs but large urban areas such as Manchester had none. In March 1831 the whig party attempted to introduce a Reform Bill but it was defeated in the House of Lords. The rejection of the bill resulted in serious disturbances in many towns and cities. The Bristol Recorder (senior judge) Charles Wetherell was a noted opponent of the Reform Bill and was due to attend the court of assizes in Bristol at the end of October. On the 29th of October Wetherell's entrance into the city had been changed for security reasons but soon became common knowledge and he was met by a mob upon his arrival. Things soon got out of hand and Colonel Brereton of the 14th Dragoons was called in to try to control the mob. There was much looting and many buildings were set on fire, it is said you could see the flames from Newport. The riots continued through night but eventually the 3rd Dragoons charged the rioters in Queen’s Square and brought the situation under control. 102 rioters were tried in January 1832. 31 were sentences to death but clemency was granted to all bar four of those sentenced to death after a petition of 10,000 names was presented. Colonel Brereton was court marshalled but committed suicide before the trial ended. The Third Reform Bill, known afterwards as the Great Reform Act, finally passed in 1832. An amazing history lesson about Bristol’s past.
Alan Jocelyn is speaker who really knows his subject! 'The Bristol Riots of 1831' were comprehensively covered with a fine selection of images. He started by outlining the conditions in the 1930’s There was a cost of living crisis, a population increase, mass starvation, and the country had a large national debt following the recent wars with France. The government had introduced Income Tax to try to recover the nation’s finances. The prime reason for the riots was that there were large discrepancies in the size of constituencies of the lower house, some very small constituencies had two MPs but large urban areas such as Manchester had none. In March 1831 the whig party attempted to introduce a Reform Bill but it was defeated in the House of Lords. The rejection of the bill resulted in serious disturbances in many towns and cities. The Bristol Recorder (senior judge) Charles Wetherell was a noted opponent of the Reform Bill and was due to attend the court of assizes in Bristol at the end of October. On the 29th of October Wetherell's entrance into the city had been changed for security reasons but soon became common knowledge and he was met by a mob upon his arrival. Things soon got out of hand and Colonel Brereton of the 14th Dragoons was called in to try to control the mob. There was much looting and many buildings were set on fire, it is said you could see the flames from Newport. The riots continued through night but eventually the 3rd Dragoons charged the rioters in Queen’s Square and brought the situation under control. 102 rioters were tried in January 1832. 31 were sentences to death but clemency was granted to all bar four of those sentenced to death after a petition of 10,000 names was presented. Colonel Brereton was court marshalled but committed suicide before the trial ended. The Third Reform Bill, known afterwards as the Great Reform Act, finally passed in 1832. An amazing history lesson about Bristol’s past.
October 6th
We had Gary Gowens speak to us in January about the Roman Navy in Britain and a welcome return this time gave us an insight into the 'Golden Age of Roman Villas'. He started by outlining the background to the period in the late 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. Britain was a very wealthy part of the Roman empire and became the breadbasket of Europe with excellent manufacturing facilities and abundant minerals. This wealth was displayed in the building and decorating of many luxury villas, over 100 have been discovered and investigated. He described several with good slides to illustrate a range of sites. Fishbourne Villa near Chichester was shown in great detail. There have been over 60 mosaics uncovered and we were shown details of the amazing scenes depicted including Cupid on his Dolphin. The villa was burnt down in 270 A.D. but the excavations revealed a very effective central heating system, a hypocaust, and extensive gardens, both formal and kitchen. A local villa at Gatcombe was destroyed in the 1800’s but the estate survived with an extensive industrial area, which was excavated in the 1970’s. Gary finished his talk with a series of slides showing what the interior of such villas would probably have looked like. The reconstructions were based on evidence found in the villas of Pompeii, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius when the ash covered the site and preserved much detail. One detail which intrigued us was a flushing toilet! Clearly Gary has an encyclopaedic knowledge on the Roman period and speaks with enthusiasm and clarity on it.
We had Gary Gowens speak to us in January about the Roman Navy in Britain and a welcome return this time gave us an insight into the 'Golden Age of Roman Villas'. He started by outlining the background to the period in the late 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. Britain was a very wealthy part of the Roman empire and became the breadbasket of Europe with excellent manufacturing facilities and abundant minerals. This wealth was displayed in the building and decorating of many luxury villas, over 100 have been discovered and investigated. He described several with good slides to illustrate a range of sites. Fishbourne Villa near Chichester was shown in great detail. There have been over 60 mosaics uncovered and we were shown details of the amazing scenes depicted including Cupid on his Dolphin. The villa was burnt down in 270 A.D. but the excavations revealed a very effective central heating system, a hypocaust, and extensive gardens, both formal and kitchen. A local villa at Gatcombe was destroyed in the 1800’s but the estate survived with an extensive industrial area, which was excavated in the 1970’s. Gary finished his talk with a series of slides showing what the interior of such villas would probably have looked like. The reconstructions were based on evidence found in the villas of Pompeii, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius when the ash covered the site and preserved much detail. One detail which intrigued us was a flushing toilet! Clearly Gary has an encyclopaedic knowledge on the Roman period and speaks with enthusiasm and clarity on it.
September 29th
Brian Griffiths is an enthusiastic cyclist but he told us he had never cycled in Italy however he has made two trips to Italy and spent the next 40 minutes telling us about 'Italy Bellisimo'. His first visit was to Sorrento in the Region of Campania where he commented on the many thousands of scooters parked everywhere. Sorrento is famed for its sea cliffs, the town's steep slopes look out over azure waters to Ischia, Capri and the Bay of Naples. The most famous visitor attraction is Pompeii, visited on a short day out. The city was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79A.D. He was able to show us some fascinating slides of the ruins and illustrated images showing what they would have looked like before the destruction. In 2014 Brian and his wife visited Florence and Tuscany, many excellent slides charted their visit. The Pont Vecchio, a medieval bridge with its shops upon it is now a pedestrian precinct with expensive shops where butchers, bakers and other shops once traded. They much enjoyed a visit to a Leonardo da Vinci museum where many of his inventions have been recreated, including a wooden bicycle, much to Brian’s delight. A captivating glimpse of Italy.
Brian Griffiths is an enthusiastic cyclist but he told us he had never cycled in Italy however he has made two trips to Italy and spent the next 40 minutes telling us about 'Italy Bellisimo'. His first visit was to Sorrento in the Region of Campania where he commented on the many thousands of scooters parked everywhere. Sorrento is famed for its sea cliffs, the town's steep slopes look out over azure waters to Ischia, Capri and the Bay of Naples. The most famous visitor attraction is Pompeii, visited on a short day out. The city was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79A.D. He was able to show us some fascinating slides of the ruins and illustrated images showing what they would have looked like before the destruction. In 2014 Brian and his wife visited Florence and Tuscany, many excellent slides charted their visit. The Pont Vecchio, a medieval bridge with its shops upon it is now a pedestrian precinct with expensive shops where butchers, bakers and other shops once traded. They much enjoyed a visit to a Leonardo da Vinci museum where many of his inventions have been recreated, including a wooden bicycle, much to Brian’s delight. A captivating glimpse of Italy.
September 15th
Graham Walker again stepped in to fill a vacant slot in our programme. He entertained us for a rousing 40 minutes with 'Music from the Land of Songs'. Graham spent a lot of time in Wales during one of his jobs and explained that he had a love of the country and its music. His first video offering was a taster for things to come – Max Boyce at the 1999 World Cup leading the Welsh rugby fans in a magnificent rendition of “Hymns and Arias”. Harry Secombe gave us “How Great Thou Art” and there followed a collection of videos covering many styles of music. We enjoyed some wonderful talent and two standout performances were by Katherine Jenkins and Mary Hopkin, both with beautiful diction, a contrast to many of today’s so called singers. Graham finished as he started with Max Boyce, this time singing “The Glory that was Rome”
Graham Walker again stepped in to fill a vacant slot in our programme. He entertained us for a rousing 40 minutes with 'Music from the Land of Songs'. Graham spent a lot of time in Wales during one of his jobs and explained that he had a love of the country and its music. His first video offering was a taster for things to come – Max Boyce at the 1999 World Cup leading the Welsh rugby fans in a magnificent rendition of “Hymns and Arias”. Harry Secombe gave us “How Great Thou Art” and there followed a collection of videos covering many styles of music. We enjoyed some wonderful talent and two standout performances were by Katherine Jenkins and Mary Hopkin, both with beautiful diction, a contrast to many of today’s so called singers. Graham finished as he started with Max Boyce, this time singing “The Glory that was Rome”
September 1st
John started by telling us he was going to raise our spirits by exercising our ‘chuckle muscles’. His talk entitled 'Going to Blazes' certainly did this. John had been a fireman since joining the service in 1963 at the age of 18 and retired in 2000. He worked in several brigades and rose to become Chief Fire Officer for Wiltshire. During his time as a fireman he encountered many different reactions to emergencies and told us of some of the more humorous ones. He mentioned the hydraulic cutters introduced to improve rescue in motor accidents. They were manufactured by a company called Hurst and firemen called the equipment a ‘hurst’. When rescuing one motorist he had a panic when he thought the firemen were calling for the hearse. He mentioned the rescue of animals including a giraffe at Longleat which could not stand up and the removal of a horse from a swimming pool of a very cold day. He had to get into the freezing pool to attach the lifting harness, for this he was awarded an RSPCA merit certificate. John spoke without notes or images but his stories were colourful and certainly lifted our spirits.
John started by telling us he was going to raise our spirits by exercising our ‘chuckle muscles’. His talk entitled 'Going to Blazes' certainly did this. John had been a fireman since joining the service in 1963 at the age of 18 and retired in 2000. He worked in several brigades and rose to become Chief Fire Officer for Wiltshire. During his time as a fireman he encountered many different reactions to emergencies and told us of some of the more humorous ones. He mentioned the hydraulic cutters introduced to improve rescue in motor accidents. They were manufactured by a company called Hurst and firemen called the equipment a ‘hurst’. When rescuing one motorist he had a panic when he thought the firemen were calling for the hearse. He mentioned the rescue of animals including a giraffe at Longleat which could not stand up and the removal of a horse from a swimming pool of a very cold day. He had to get into the freezing pool to attach the lifting harness, for this he was awarded an RSPCA merit certificate. John spoke without notes or images but his stories were colourful and certainly lifted our spirits.
August 18th
Peter Lamb gave a very interesting illustrated talk on the 'History of Lighting'. He covered the development of the electric light from the early arc lamps of 1808 to the lamps of today – the LED. Humphrey Davey, who had spent some time in Bristol, did many of the early experiments at the Royal Institution in London, assisted by Michael Faraday. Although Davey did much of the work on gases, Faraday worked on the generator in 1831 and developments of the dynamo and the electric motor. The battery was also developed at this early time, with experiments taking place in France, Germany, Italy and the USA. The early lamps in the centre of Bristol were of the carbon rod system which was switched on daily until midnight when they were switched off, the two-rod system lasting for about 16 hours. They were a high maintenance AC and DC system, restricted to a small area. In 1881 William Siemens formed the Godalming 1st Public Electrical Generating Station, and gas-filled lamps were developed by Joseph Swan in the UK and Edison in the US as early carbonised fibre filament lamps. By 1881 the Savoy Theatre was lit by the system and Lord Armstrong, who supported Swan, electrified his house in the North of England. Osram used a metal filament as an improvement and by 1897 Walter Nerst developed a filament that glowed. Halogen lamps were beginning to be developed. Further developments were Mercury Vapour lamps by 1906 and by 1926 Compton had developed Sodium lamps, but fluorescent lighting can be traced back to Edison in 1896. The Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) came in 1976, a very efficient system. The modern Light Emitting Diode (LED) came in various colours in 1968, and from work at the University of Illinois, a system which contained no gas but producing white light was developed. The LED works on a DC system, so contains up to 18 parts which convert AC to DC. The race is now on to produce an LED which works from AC directly, with no conversion. The development of lighting continues.
Peter Lamb gave a very interesting illustrated talk on the 'History of Lighting'. He covered the development of the electric light from the early arc lamps of 1808 to the lamps of today – the LED. Humphrey Davey, who had spent some time in Bristol, did many of the early experiments at the Royal Institution in London, assisted by Michael Faraday. Although Davey did much of the work on gases, Faraday worked on the generator in 1831 and developments of the dynamo and the electric motor. The battery was also developed at this early time, with experiments taking place in France, Germany, Italy and the USA. The early lamps in the centre of Bristol were of the carbon rod system which was switched on daily until midnight when they were switched off, the two-rod system lasting for about 16 hours. They were a high maintenance AC and DC system, restricted to a small area. In 1881 William Siemens formed the Godalming 1st Public Electrical Generating Station, and gas-filled lamps were developed by Joseph Swan in the UK and Edison in the US as early carbonised fibre filament lamps. By 1881 the Savoy Theatre was lit by the system and Lord Armstrong, who supported Swan, electrified his house in the North of England. Osram used a metal filament as an improvement and by 1897 Walter Nerst developed a filament that glowed. Halogen lamps were beginning to be developed. Further developments were Mercury Vapour lamps by 1906 and by 1926 Compton had developed Sodium lamps, but fluorescent lighting can be traced back to Edison in 1896. The Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) came in 1976, a very efficient system. The modern Light Emitting Diode (LED) came in various colours in 1968, and from work at the University of Illinois, a system which contained no gas but producing white light was developed. The LED works on a DC system, so contains up to 18 parts which convert AC to DC. The race is now on to produce an LED which works from AC directly, with no conversion. The development of lighting continues.
August 4th
Cyril Routledge entertained us with an interesting illustrated talk on 'Signs of the Times'. He opened with the ‘City & County of Bristol’ concrete signs situated on the boundaries of Bristol, pointing out that the County of Bristol came from a charter granted by Edward III in 1373 – a rare honour. Different signs for ‘School’ were shown and warning signs for horses, sheep, frogs or toads and deer were illustrated. Many of the early advertising signs brought back memories – many different ‘Coleman’s Mustard’, ‘Fry’s Chocolates’ and ‘Veno’s Cough Medicine’ signs were remembered by many in the audience. Cyril pointed out that railway premises and heritage railways were a good hunting ground for interesting signs. As well as the usual advertising signs, guides to ‘Ladies & Gentlemen’ and railway company signs, he illustrated a warning sign to deter trespassing on the railway, the penalty being 40 shillings or, failing payment, a month in gaol. A mileage post from the Great Western Railway was shown, with the quarter miles shown by strokes. Some newspaper signs were shown, namely ‘The People’, The Western Gazette’ and the now defunct ‘News of the World’ and some of the very interesting ones were the hand signs showing fingers pointing in the direction of a particular village or town. To add to the international flavour a German sign to a hospital – ‘Krankenhaus’ – was also included. A fascinating talk which highlighted many of the day-to-day sights of both modern and old signs over the years, which are often ignored, but nevertheless brought back many memories. It emphasised how important signs are in giving information and warnings to drivers, pedestrians and the general public.
Cyril Routledge entertained us with an interesting illustrated talk on 'Signs of the Times'. He opened with the ‘City & County of Bristol’ concrete signs situated on the boundaries of Bristol, pointing out that the County of Bristol came from a charter granted by Edward III in 1373 – a rare honour. Different signs for ‘School’ were shown and warning signs for horses, sheep, frogs or toads and deer were illustrated. Many of the early advertising signs brought back memories – many different ‘Coleman’s Mustard’, ‘Fry’s Chocolates’ and ‘Veno’s Cough Medicine’ signs were remembered by many in the audience. Cyril pointed out that railway premises and heritage railways were a good hunting ground for interesting signs. As well as the usual advertising signs, guides to ‘Ladies & Gentlemen’ and railway company signs, he illustrated a warning sign to deter trespassing on the railway, the penalty being 40 shillings or, failing payment, a month in gaol. A mileage post from the Great Western Railway was shown, with the quarter miles shown by strokes. Some newspaper signs were shown, namely ‘The People’, The Western Gazette’ and the now defunct ‘News of the World’ and some of the very interesting ones were the hand signs showing fingers pointing in the direction of a particular village or town. To add to the international flavour a German sign to a hospital – ‘Krankenhaus’ – was also included. A fascinating talk which highlighted many of the day-to-day sights of both modern and old signs over the years, which are often ignored, but nevertheless brought back many memories. It emphasised how important signs are in giving information and warnings to drivers, pedestrians and the general public.
July 21st
Jenny Noakes came to us to tell us about the 'Bath City Pastors'. She started by saying a bit about her background as a nurse, married to a doctor. The Bath City Pastors started in 2008 and are volunteers from churches in and around Bath based at the Manvers Street Baptist Church. The Pastors have permission from the police and city council and undertake training before deployment. They come from many different walks of life but share a Christian faith. They patrol the centre of Bath each Friday and Saturday nights in teams of four from a total of 40 volunteers. Jenny explained the way they worked with radio contact and two way exchange of information to the Police and Bath City Marshals. The Pastors offer help, care and listening to mainly young people who can get intoxicated or drugged during their revels. They carry a rucksack with essential items to help including water, blankets, cereal bars and wet wipes. She mentioned two special items carried: Flip-flops, as many young girls take off their shoes when they start to hurt and there is always glass about, plus lollipops - useful to shut people up! Jenny spoke fluently without notes or visuals and told us many stories of her adventures as a Pastor; she clearly loves the activity.
Jenny Noakes came to us to tell us about the 'Bath City Pastors'. She started by saying a bit about her background as a nurse, married to a doctor. The Bath City Pastors started in 2008 and are volunteers from churches in and around Bath based at the Manvers Street Baptist Church. The Pastors have permission from the police and city council and undertake training before deployment. They come from many different walks of life but share a Christian faith. They patrol the centre of Bath each Friday and Saturday nights in teams of four from a total of 40 volunteers. Jenny explained the way they worked with radio contact and two way exchange of information to the Police and Bath City Marshals. The Pastors offer help, care and listening to mainly young people who can get intoxicated or drugged during their revels. They carry a rucksack with essential items to help including water, blankets, cereal bars and wet wipes. She mentioned two special items carried: Flip-flops, as many young girls take off their shoes when they start to hurt and there is always glass about, plus lollipops - useful to shut people up! Jenny spoke fluently without notes or visuals and told us many stories of her adventures as a Pastor; she clearly loves the activity.
July 7th
At 10.05 our booked speaker rang to say she had a family problem and could not come to us. What to do? Wally stepped in with an impromptu talk about 'Bees'. He has been keeping bees for six years but is still learning. He covered the life cycle of a bee and how and why a new queen is made. Queens are made by the bees when either the old queen is failing or if the hive is too crowded and the bees decide to split and make a new family somewhere else. The bees select a newly laid egg and feed it special ‘Queen Jelly’ which then produces a new Queen. The virgin Queen bee goes on a mating flight and is mated with about 12- 15 drones (male bees) this mating gives her enough sperm to sustain the laying of fertilised eggs for the rest of her life, about three years. At peak times in the summer she can lay 2,000 eggs a day. Many other facts were presented to the listeners and a lively question session followed. Wally admitted the talk was ‘off the cuff’ and unstructured, he apologised but was pleased with the quality of the questions asked.
At 10.05 our booked speaker rang to say she had a family problem and could not come to us. What to do? Wally stepped in with an impromptu talk about 'Bees'. He has been keeping bees for six years but is still learning. He covered the life cycle of a bee and how and why a new queen is made. Queens are made by the bees when either the old queen is failing or if the hive is too crowded and the bees decide to split and make a new family somewhere else. The bees select a newly laid egg and feed it special ‘Queen Jelly’ which then produces a new Queen. The virgin Queen bee goes on a mating flight and is mated with about 12- 15 drones (male bees) this mating gives her enough sperm to sustain the laying of fertilised eggs for the rest of her life, about three years. At peak times in the summer she can lay 2,000 eggs a day. Many other facts were presented to the listeners and a lively question session followed. Wally admitted the talk was ‘off the cuff’ and unstructured, he apologised but was pleased with the quality of the questions asked.
June 30th
We were wonderfully entertained by Tim Lewis and Sheila Furneau who told the tale of the 'Wind in the Willows' in a unique fashion. Tim started by telling us some of the history of the author Kenneth Grahame. Born in 1859 he became a successful man working for the Bank of England. He married at the age of 40 and had one son, Alastair, who was born blind in one eye and plagued by health problems throughout a short life. In 1908 Grahame took early retirement and moved with his wife and son to an old farmhouse in Berkshire where he used the bedtime stories he had told Alastair as a basis for the manuscript of The Wind in the Willows first published in 1908. Tim did not just read sections of the book but has rewritten the story and put his words to familiar songs which he sung, accompanies on the keyboard by Sheila. The story was illustrated by delightful drawing of Mole, Ratty, Toad and Badger in action. A very suitable talk for Ladies Day.
We were wonderfully entertained by Tim Lewis and Sheila Furneau who told the tale of the 'Wind in the Willows' in a unique fashion. Tim started by telling us some of the history of the author Kenneth Grahame. Born in 1859 he became a successful man working for the Bank of England. He married at the age of 40 and had one son, Alastair, who was born blind in one eye and plagued by health problems throughout a short life. In 1908 Grahame took early retirement and moved with his wife and son to an old farmhouse in Berkshire where he used the bedtime stories he had told Alastair as a basis for the manuscript of The Wind in the Willows first published in 1908. Tim did not just read sections of the book but has rewritten the story and put his words to familiar songs which he sung, accompanies on the keyboard by Sheila. The story was illustrated by delightful drawing of Mole, Ratty, Toad and Badger in action. A very suitable talk for Ladies Day.
June 16th
Speaker Garry Bressington has been involved in the 'Royal National Lifeboat Institution' for over 30 years and his knowledge and enthusiasm reflected this. He started by impressing us that the RNLI is a charity and not government controlled relying on donations and legacies to cover running costs. The RNLI was founded in 1824 when Sir William Hillary decided that there was a need for a coordinated system to rescue mariners using purpose built boats. It was called the Shipwreck Society in those early days but changed the name to RNLI in 1854. Early lifeboat men were predominantly fishermen but now the majority are healthy civilian volunteers. They now have specially designed lifeboats ranging from inshore inflatable 3 man crafts to 56 foot rigid, self-righting craft with a crew of 6. There are 238 stations around the coast and rivers with a total of 445 lifeboats. Over 5,500 volunteers including 600 ladies handle the craft. In 1989 the pleasure steamer the Marchioness sank on the River Thames with 51 deaths and as a result the RNLI started an inland rescue service using specially designed boats that are water jet driven with open backs to facilitate retrieving drowning persons. In 2002 a new service was trialled with beach lifeguards manning potentially dangerous beaches. It was so successful that there are now over 1,500 lifeguards covering 250 beaches.
Speaker Garry Bressington has been involved in the 'Royal National Lifeboat Institution' for over 30 years and his knowledge and enthusiasm reflected this. He started by impressing us that the RNLI is a charity and not government controlled relying on donations and legacies to cover running costs. The RNLI was founded in 1824 when Sir William Hillary decided that there was a need for a coordinated system to rescue mariners using purpose built boats. It was called the Shipwreck Society in those early days but changed the name to RNLI in 1854. Early lifeboat men were predominantly fishermen but now the majority are healthy civilian volunteers. They now have specially designed lifeboats ranging from inshore inflatable 3 man crafts to 56 foot rigid, self-righting craft with a crew of 6. There are 238 stations around the coast and rivers with a total of 445 lifeboats. Over 5,500 volunteers including 600 ladies handle the craft. In 1989 the pleasure steamer the Marchioness sank on the River Thames with 51 deaths and as a result the RNLI started an inland rescue service using specially designed boats that are water jet driven with open backs to facilitate retrieving drowning persons. In 2002 a new service was trialled with beach lifeguards manning potentially dangerous beaches. It was so successful that there are now over 1,500 lifeguards covering 250 beaches.
June 2nd - Visit to Winterbourne Medieval Barn
May 19th
Our planned speaker had called off due to illness but member Phil Scull was able to more than adequately fill the spot. Phil joined the police aged 26 and spent over 30 years serving the public. He kept all his work in his pocket book and eventually wrote a book entitled 'Recollections of a Proper Copper', published by his son. He started by describing his uniform and equipment including his truncheon, which he said he never drew in anger during his service. One day a postman reported a possible bomb in a parcel, he took it to the station where the bomb disposal squad was called in. His sergeant was not pleased when it turned out to be a Hornby clockwork motor. One time he was called when a lad stole a gas meter coin box. He caught up with him but the lad threw the money at him and ran away. Phil tracked him down to a local toilet; one stall was occupied so he knocked the door down only to be embarrassed by the occupant who was a man with a turban. Phil is obviously a natural story teller who kept us amused.
Our planned speaker had called off due to illness but member Phil Scull was able to more than adequately fill the spot. Phil joined the police aged 26 and spent over 30 years serving the public. He kept all his work in his pocket book and eventually wrote a book entitled 'Recollections of a Proper Copper', published by his son. He started by describing his uniform and equipment including his truncheon, which he said he never drew in anger during his service. One day a postman reported a possible bomb in a parcel, he took it to the station where the bomb disposal squad was called in. His sergeant was not pleased when it turned out to be a Hornby clockwork motor. One time he was called when a lad stole a gas meter coin box. He caught up with him but the lad threw the money at him and ran away. Phil tracked him down to a local toilet; one stall was occupied so he knocked the door down only to be embarrassed by the occupant who was a man with a turban. Phil is obviously a natural story teller who kept us amused.
May 5th
We were pleased to welcome Mike Britton back to show us pictures and videos from the 'Swinging Sixties'. He covered a lot of ground from the depression when 67.000 jobs were lost during the restructuring of industry, to fashion and music. It was a time of protest; Anti-immigration demonstrations and the Londonderry riots in Ireland which eventually led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The Vietnam War in which 60,000 Americans died. It was not all dreadful news. Fashion was a big thing in the 60’s: Carnaby Street ruled and dictated the length of ladies skirts. Lady Chatterley’s Lover was the subject of watershed obscenity trial and sold 200,000 copies on the first day of publication in the UK. We were delighted to be able to relive advertisements for long forgotten food and drinks, it was the time of the introduction of sliced white bread and pull tags on tine. Mike finished with a selection of videos from old TV shows, comedy classics and panel games. A wonderfully nostalgic hour.
We were pleased to welcome Mike Britton back to show us pictures and videos from the 'Swinging Sixties'. He covered a lot of ground from the depression when 67.000 jobs were lost during the restructuring of industry, to fashion and music. It was a time of protest; Anti-immigration demonstrations and the Londonderry riots in Ireland which eventually led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The Vietnam War in which 60,000 Americans died. It was not all dreadful news. Fashion was a big thing in the 60’s: Carnaby Street ruled and dictated the length of ladies skirts. Lady Chatterley’s Lover was the subject of watershed obscenity trial and sold 200,000 copies on the first day of publication in the UK. We were delighted to be able to relive advertisements for long forgotten food and drinks, it was the time of the introduction of sliced white bread and pull tags on tine. Mike finished with a selection of videos from old TV shows, comedy classics and panel games. A wonderfully nostalgic hour.
April 7th
Mike Britton is a frequent and welcome visitor to our group and he stepped in at short notice to replace a speaker who was taken ill. His subject was 'Secret Societies' (Fraternal Societies and Friendly Societies); a wide ranging talk on a complicated subject. He started by explaining how the medieval guilds came into being to protect crafts and ensure proper training and apprenticeships were managed. Fraternal Societies tend to get membership by invitation where like-minded people gather, they collected money for charitable purposes and support its members when needed. Friendly Societies on the other hand usually have a foundation of membership support, based on mutual savings, pensions and funding of the members in difficult times. Both society types were predominantly Christian based and only men were involved in the early days. The Fraternal Societies all tend to have a similar style of structure with three stages of membership with complicated rituals and regalia to make the members aware of the ‘special’ nature of membership. Many of the Fraternal Societies were formed in the 1700s but membership in most is declining now. Friendly Societies seem to have survived better with many, again founded in the 1700s, still in existence as mutual benefit companies with large capital funds. We heard of many organisations including Oddfellows, the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, the Ku Klux Klan, the Orange Order and the Masons, a well-illustrated and fascinating talk.
Mike Britton is a frequent and welcome visitor to our group and he stepped in at short notice to replace a speaker who was taken ill. His subject was 'Secret Societies' (Fraternal Societies and Friendly Societies); a wide ranging talk on a complicated subject. He started by explaining how the medieval guilds came into being to protect crafts and ensure proper training and apprenticeships were managed. Fraternal Societies tend to get membership by invitation where like-minded people gather, they collected money for charitable purposes and support its members when needed. Friendly Societies on the other hand usually have a foundation of membership support, based on mutual savings, pensions and funding of the members in difficult times. Both society types were predominantly Christian based and only men were involved in the early days. The Fraternal Societies all tend to have a similar style of structure with three stages of membership with complicated rituals and regalia to make the members aware of the ‘special’ nature of membership. Many of the Fraternal Societies were formed in the 1700s but membership in most is declining now. Friendly Societies seem to have survived better with many, again founded in the 1700s, still in existence as mutual benefit companies with large capital funds. We heard of many organisations including Oddfellows, the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, the Ku Klux Klan, the Orange Order and the Masons, a well-illustrated and fascinating talk.
March 31st
An interesting illustrated talk entitled 'Life Before Tea Bags' was given by Elizabeth Rhodes. It was really a history lesson of life for rich and poor through the reigns of Victoria, Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II, a period from 1889 to 1953, although the tea bag was first used in 1905, but obviously not in the numbers in use later. She started with examples of Leisure Centres in the early years where tea was drunk by the well-off population, there being over 200 such centres in London alone. Later came the Twinnings tea and coffee shops, and tea became a commodity drunk by the population as a whole. The Boer Wars, WWI and WW2 were covered and the ways in which they had an effect on social mobility. Women came from largely working in service to working in munitions factories, buses and other services, which led to later demands for the vote and equal pay. Also covered were the General Strike, the effects of radio and television and other social changes all illustrated by photos of the rich, the poor, kings and queens and photographs of her own family over the years. A thoroughly interesting talk.
An interesting illustrated talk entitled 'Life Before Tea Bags' was given by Elizabeth Rhodes. It was really a history lesson of life for rich and poor through the reigns of Victoria, Edward VII, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II, a period from 1889 to 1953, although the tea bag was first used in 1905, but obviously not in the numbers in use later. She started with examples of Leisure Centres in the early years where tea was drunk by the well-off population, there being over 200 such centres in London alone. Later came the Twinnings tea and coffee shops, and tea became a commodity drunk by the population as a whole. The Boer Wars, WWI and WW2 were covered and the ways in which they had an effect on social mobility. Women came from largely working in service to working in munitions factories, buses and other services, which led to later demands for the vote and equal pay. Also covered were the General Strike, the effects of radio and television and other social changes all illustrated by photos of the rich, the poor, kings and queens and photographs of her own family over the years. A thoroughly interesting talk.
March 17th
A life on the ocean wave was our enjoyment when Cyril Routley gave his talk entitled Life On Board the SS Great Britain. He started with a short history of the building and use of the ship from the launch in 1843 to the return to Bristol in 1970. Cyril has made a study of the diaries books and letters of passengers who sailed on the SS Great Britain to Australia. They tell a fascinating story. One of the main impressions of the talk was the great difference of experiences between the classes of passengers. Those in first class enjoyed spacious accommodation and fine dining. Steerage passengers did not enjoy the journey! The ship had a line on deck to separate the classes. First class had about 100 ft of deck space for 70 passengers and the other 500 passengers has 300 ft. What made the talk so interesting was the ‘personalisation’ of the stories with passenger names and details linked to the events described. The captain arranged religious services on board and any travelling minister was offered an upgrade in class in return for holding the services. On one voyage there were 5 nuns on board and they visited 300 Irish labourers to offer comfort and services. Towards the end of each voyage the captain had all crew were ‘hands on deck’ for a great clean-up of the vessel to ensure it presented as fine a spectacle as possible to the spectators. Cyril’s talk and images gave us a fine impression of life on board the SS Great Britain.
A life on the ocean wave was our enjoyment when Cyril Routley gave his talk entitled Life On Board the SS Great Britain. He started with a short history of the building and use of the ship from the launch in 1843 to the return to Bristol in 1970. Cyril has made a study of the diaries books and letters of passengers who sailed on the SS Great Britain to Australia. They tell a fascinating story. One of the main impressions of the talk was the great difference of experiences between the classes of passengers. Those in first class enjoyed spacious accommodation and fine dining. Steerage passengers did not enjoy the journey! The ship had a line on deck to separate the classes. First class had about 100 ft of deck space for 70 passengers and the other 500 passengers has 300 ft. What made the talk so interesting was the ‘personalisation’ of the stories with passenger names and details linked to the events described. The captain arranged religious services on board and any travelling minister was offered an upgrade in class in return for holding the services. On one voyage there were 5 nuns on board and they visited 300 Irish labourers to offer comfort and services. Towards the end of each voyage the captain had all crew were ‘hands on deck’ for a great clean-up of the vessel to ensure it presented as fine a spectacle as possible to the spectators. Cyril’s talk and images gave us a fine impression of life on board the SS Great Britain.
March 3rd
Our speaker Sue Parsons was a most persuasive speaker when telling us about the Winterbourne Medieval Barn. She started by explaining why the barn was so important. Most medieval barns were built by churches and monasteries to collect and store grain collected as tithes but Winterbourne is believed to be the only surviving example of a medieval barn of this size that was built and used by the lord of the manor, Sir Thomas de Bradeston, rather than by the church. It was built in 1342 and used as an agricultural facility until the 1990’s but it was in a very poor state. In 1997 it was purchased by the local authority and a new roof installed. Winterbourne Medieval Barn Trust was formed and in 2016 obtained a Heritage Lottery Grant of £1.8 million. Since then major refurbishment has taken place and it is now a flourishing local community centre with many activities and events. Clearly the barn is an enthusiasm for Sue and she ‘sold’ it to us well with an invitation to visit the web site at www.winterbournebarn.org.uk to see what is on offer.
Our speaker Sue Parsons was a most persuasive speaker when telling us about the Winterbourne Medieval Barn. She started by explaining why the barn was so important. Most medieval barns were built by churches and monasteries to collect and store grain collected as tithes but Winterbourne is believed to be the only surviving example of a medieval barn of this size that was built and used by the lord of the manor, Sir Thomas de Bradeston, rather than by the church. It was built in 1342 and used as an agricultural facility until the 1990’s but it was in a very poor state. In 1997 it was purchased by the local authority and a new roof installed. Winterbourne Medieval Barn Trust was formed and in 2016 obtained a Heritage Lottery Grant of £1.8 million. Since then major refurbishment has taken place and it is now a flourishing local community centre with many activities and events. Clearly the barn is an enthusiasm for Sue and she ‘sold’ it to us well with an invitation to visit the web site at www.winterbournebarn.org.uk to see what is on offer.
Feb 17th
Jo Richardson is a “Space Detective”. She started a company called ‘Space Detectives’ in 2013 and spends most of her time in schools encouraging and educating children in the mysteries of space. Her talk was entitled Our Place in Space. She did not treat us as children but still managed to instil a wonder in the vastness of space. An enthusiastic speaker with a detailed knowledge of her subject she kept us enthralled during her talk. It covered the subject from the beginnings of planets and galaxies to an explanation of the relative size and position of the earth in our solar system. The history of astronomy was covered from the earliest examination of the moon by telescope to the recent launching of the James Webb space telescope and the information it is hoped it will provide.
Jo Richardson is a “Space Detective”. She started a company called ‘Space Detectives’ in 2013 and spends most of her time in schools encouraging and educating children in the mysteries of space. Her talk was entitled Our Place in Space. She did not treat us as children but still managed to instil a wonder in the vastness of space. An enthusiastic speaker with a detailed knowledge of her subject she kept us enthralled during her talk. It covered the subject from the beginnings of planets and galaxies to an explanation of the relative size and position of the earth in our solar system. The history of astronomy was covered from the earliest examination of the moon by telescope to the recent launching of the James Webb space telescope and the information it is hoped it will provide.
Feb 3rd
David Hardwick suffered a speaker's worst nightmare when his equipment failed to upload his PowerPoint presentation. However we have never seen such a magnificent recovery. His original talk was to have been "60 years of change in the Bristol Coalfields". Without illustrations he proceeded to give us a masterly talk on Coal, Stone and Gold Mining through the ages. His command of the subject ranged from Bristol coalfields, geology, the development of the Newton engine, the life of Handel Cossham and how religion and mining worked together. David is a member of the South Gloucester Mine Research Group and his enthusiasm and knowledge were a pleasure to see and hear.
David Hardwick suffered a speaker's worst nightmare when his equipment failed to upload his PowerPoint presentation. However we have never seen such a magnificent recovery. His original talk was to have been "60 years of change in the Bristol Coalfields". Without illustrations he proceeded to give us a masterly talk on Coal, Stone and Gold Mining through the ages. His command of the subject ranged from Bristol coalfields, geology, the development of the Newton engine, the life of Handel Cossham and how religion and mining worked together. David is a member of the South Gloucester Mine Research Group and his enthusiasm and knowledge were a pleasure to see and hear.
Jan 20th
Gary Gowens told us in great detail the story of how the Roman Navy supported and allowed the Roman empire to expand into Britain and stay there for over 400 years. His command of the subject was impressive and he was able to answer many questions without referring to notes.
Gary Gowens told us in great detail the story of how the Roman Navy supported and allowed the Roman empire to expand into Britain and stay there for over 400 years. His command of the subject was impressive and he was able to answer many questions without referring to notes.
During the one brief relaxation of the Covid restrictions we were able to fit in one social event...
Cream Tea at Little Nannies Cafe - June 17th 2021
We have been holding a weekly Virtual meeting on Zoom since April 2020
Here are screen shots taken from some of them
Cream Tea at Little Nannies Cafe - August 27th
click to cycle show
Picnic in Page Park August 19th 2020
Christmas Lunch at Chippng Sodbury Golf Club
A visit from Bristol Zoo volunteers
Past President Peter Blackmore installing President Eric Arnold on October 17th 2019
Visit to Kings Weston House - August 29th 2019
Guided by the owner Norman Routledge
Click 'Play' to see slide show
Guided by the owner Norman Routledge
Click 'Play' to see slide show
May 30th - Ladies Day
Bristol Docks with the Kingswood Y's Men's Club
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Bristol Docks with the Kingswood Y's Men's Club
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We enjoyed a trip to London with the Kingswood Y's Men's Club
Visiting the Royal Mail underground 'Mail Rail' and then a flight on the Emerite's cable car over the Thames at Greenwich
Click 'Play' to see the slide show
Visiting the Royal Mail underground 'Mail Rail' and then a flight on the Emerite's cable car over the Thames at Greenwich
Click 'Play' to see the slide show
Visit to Cardiff March 2nd
November 29th visit to Oakham Treasures
Click on the image to scroll through the pictures full size.
Click on the image to scroll through the pictures full size.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening
Click to see full image
Click to see full image
The Insallation Lunch at BAWA - Friday October 26th
Annual General Meeting October 18th 2018
Examining items from John Bates's collection on June 21st
Visit to Almondsbury Garden Centre - May 31st
Pictures from the Bath College Lunch May 15th 2018
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Click on an image to see full size
Pictures from the Spring Lunch April 13th 2018
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Click on an image to see full size
Visit to Aerospace Bristol - March 22nd 2018
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Click 'Play' to see slide show
President Peter Blackmore welcomes new member John Morris
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Click on an image to see full size
Visit to Almondsbury Garden Centre - December 7th
Visit to Avon Valley Railway for Lunch - August 31st
Lunch at the Grove Restaurant, Weston Super Mare College -May 19th
Talk by the Almondsbury Garden Centre - March 30th
Click Play to see the slide show
Click Play to see the slide show
Visit to the Royal Mint at Llantrisant - February 15th
