Some pictures screened and a short discussion on whether or not Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing were the first to climb to the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, or did Mallory get there first in 1924.
Then will be a talk, given by me, on my years as a volunteer worker - the 'Man on the Ground' for projects in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, which to a great extent involved working with groups of Scouts and Guides who came out from England for three weeks at a time and worked on community based projects way out in the bush, mainly on building and equipping school class rooms, and on clinics.
The two classroom blocks nearest camera were built and equipped by the Scouts and Guides of Cleveland, U.K.
Photo copyright John Gurney 2001
We are in the process of receiving a grant from the Southampton City Council Community Chest with which we will, among other things, be able to buy our own portable DVD projector and a digital voice recorder. This equipment will enable us to seriously get out into sheltered housing complexes in Lordshill, taking talks to residents and recording their stories. I will start it off with a spiel about Matabeleland.
I was given the answer as to how to finish the programme when I was in the Lordshill Library and spotted a book on the history of Heinz Baked Beans*, which brought back a memory of a few months in 1960 when I was in London, on leave from Australia (I never did get back there - I went to Africa instead). I had taken a temporary job with a company who operated barges on the River Thames, and with those barges they moved hundreds of tons of raw beans on a daily basis, I continue to be amazed at the sheer volume of all those beans. So it was with some interest I picked up that book and soon became absorbed in the fascinating history of the Heinz company.
On getting home I telephoned the publishers of the book, Octopus Publishing Group, explaining who we are, and please may we have permission to use material from the book. An exchange of email followed and we were readily given permission to use copyright material, for which we are very grateful.
I have prepared a talk on the history of the Heinz Company and if there is time we will run it on 9 January, if not it will keep for another time......oh, and by the way, there are some excellent recipes in that book for using Heinz Baked Beans, and the book is available at a very reasonable price from Amazon. I lost no time in buying a copy, which will cheer up my breakfast beans on toast no end.
John
*'Heinz Baked Beans. Recipes, History, Trivia and More'
ISBN-13:9780-0-600-61599-6
Copyright: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2006
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