Supported by Southampton City Council

I am delighted to tell you we have received a grant of money from the Southampton City Council Community Chest, which will enable us to buy the equipment we need to be able to take our presentations to other sheltered housing units in the area.

It also means we are much more flexible in our choice of meeting place, no longer being reliant upon the well equipped TV Room at Manston Court, which our membership has now grown too big for.  We have no wish to leave Manston Court, particularly after the way we are so well looked after by the staff there;  and are working on that one.

We are now allowed to display the Southampton City Council Logo, and the narration 'Supported by Southampton City Council'.    It is something we are proud of.

John G

A Full House

 Monday 9 January  saw such a good turn-out of people for our meeting the room was packed to capacity. I would like to think they flocked there to hear me talk, but as I was a last minute substitute as a speaker, then I have to admit they were there to hear my good friend Ryan Cooper talk about the Mulberry Harbours in WW2, a presentation now scheduled for the March meeting.

In spite of what must have been a big disappointment at Ryan not being there,  we did get three new members sign up, so at least I did nor scare everybody away, for which I am most grateful, and a big welcome to Lynda, Vivienne, and Joan.  (Edited to add:  Welcome also to Mavis - completed form now received by post)

Fact is we have outgrown the capacity of the TV Room at Manston Court, and at a committee meeting later this month we will have to urgently consider our options.

With the grant of money now being made available to us  by the Southampton City Council Community Chest we will, among other things, be able to purchase our own DVD projector and will not be reliant on the equipment in the TV Room at Manston Court.   This means we will be more mobile and able to take our talks to other sheltered housing units in Lordshill, which is one of the objectives of the Society - helping to alleviate the social isolation of elderly people.  It also means we can look for bigger premises for our monthly meetings.

It would be great to be able to stay at Manston Court, and perhaps we will be able to 'make a plan', but the day best suited to us is a Monday, on which day the main lounge at Manston Court is used for other activities.  Robert is looking into that one and I am weighing up Kinloss Court as an alternative.

Kinloss Court has a number of advantages, and now we will be better equipped it is a strong contender as an alternative venue.  We will see what we can come up with and will bounce it off our members to get their opinions.

The February meeting will be on the history and work of SSAFA (Solduers, Sailors, Airmen, and Families Association) at which we look forward to the presence of Bruce Hartnell, Secretary of SSAFA Southampton Division.

Bye for now

John G.

Dingani School, Dete, Matabeleland

In the blurb about the revised programme  for 9 January I showed a picture of Dingani School, Dete.  If you would like a pre-view of the children at that school - with the completed and painted Cleveland classrooms  in the picture -  log on to Dingani School, Dete, for a You Tube production.

Sorry to have had to move the talk on the Mulberry Harbours to March, but that was due to circumstances entirely beyond our control, and, well never mind - we still have that one to look forward to, delivered by a speaker who really knows his subject.

Regards,
John

Programme for 9 January

We now have it sorted.

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.

 Dingani School, Dete, Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe
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

Change of Programme

A quick note to tell you the talk on the Mulberry Harbours has been rescheduled to the March meeting.  I am in the process of putting together a new programme for Monday 9 January from material I keep handy for just such a late change.

Happy new year.

John

The Mulberry Harbours

We have an interesting one coming up for the January 2012 meeting, at which Ryan Cooper will talk to us about  the Mulberry Harbours, and specifically the involvement of Southampton, Gosport, Portsmouth, and I think the Isle of Wight.

Inspired by this coming talk I have looked up a few things about those chunks of masonry which were towed across the channel and have been fascinated by the little I have learned of how they were built at several locations in UK, including from the rubble of the London blitz, and the part played by  Southampton.

Like everybody else, I had heard of  the Mulberry Harbours  and what they did, but I never really thought about the story behind them.

Ryan Cooper  (Known as 'Charlie 585' in some circles) is regarded by his contemporaries  as something of an authority on his chosen subjects of military history, which includes the Rifle Brigade and regiments associated with Hampshire.This is one not to be missed.

Merry Christmas to all.

JG

Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas,  Father Christmas, Santa Claus, call the old chap what you will, but do come and listen to the Rev. Robert talking about him at our next meeting on Monday, 12 December at the usual place:  Manston Court, Lordshill, from 10.30 a.m. to 12 noon.

The December meeting will be followed by a 'Bring and Share Lunch', and I do believe one of our members has undertaken to bake a cake for the occasion; perhaps it will be iced with the words 'Happy First Christmas LHS'

JG