Yes, weve clocked up another year you have any feedback on ... · Monthly aeroplane videos. Talks from aeroplane professionals. Visits to aeroplane places. Anoraks orner. Local flights

Andrew Negus November speaker

December was the Christmas buffet

Malcolm Nelson January speaker

David Sheehan February speaker

Yes, we’ve clocked up another year bringing us to the fifth year of your

friendly, fun filled, local U3A. Over the years membership has continued its steady upward rise. We currently have around 660 members. Keeping in step with the increase in membership has been a growth in the number of interest groups. While the committee is, naturally enough, pleased with the increase there is always a nagging concern that we could do better? So, we ask you, please, if you have any feedback on what we’re doing, whether we’re doing it well or bad or anything we could do to make a difference do let us know by emailing us on [email protected]

To keep our members up to date with what’s going on in T&D U3A and to encourage even more people to join in the fun we will be having an Open day in the Community Centre, Tuesday 21st March. The day will run from 10:00 – 15:00 so do pop in.

On a final note - one of the more interesting articles that popped up in February’s Third Age Matters was ‘Experts pour scorn on demographic timebomb’ the basic premise being that while we may be living longer we are also fit and healthy for far longer so age is irrelevant. Financially we also contribute more to the economy than we take out whether that be because more of us are still working and paying taxes, our pensions are taxed, grandparent duties enable our children to work, or simply the ‘grey pound’ that we spend in all those National Trust shops, holidays, etc. So, next time someone whinges about the cost of us senior members of the community give them a whack around the ear with a rolled-up copy of Third Age Matters and tell them to read the article.

Trips and Events have, as usual, been busy with a trip to SW19 otherwise known as The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon.

Monthly Speakers Our November speaker Andrew Negus gave us the first part of his talk on Southampton way back in November 2015! Andrew painted such a tantalising image of Southampton that a number of U3A members have visited Southampton as a direct result of his talk. Andrew’s second talk “Southampton - water, slaughter and trade – Part 2” took us on from the mid-18th century to the present day. For Southampton this was a continuing period of reinvention for example in 1750 Southampton became a spa town. The first dock was opened in 1842 with the huge Eastern dock being constructed between 1850 and 1920 followed by the Western docks in 1930. Servicing the demands of the empire made

Southampton the premier port in the UK. The ill-fated Titanic departed from Southampton. With 4 out of 5 of its crew coming from Southampton, the impact of its sinking on the town’s population was significant. Southampton was, and continued to be over the centuries the main embarkation point for troops going overseas from the wars with France, the Crimean war up to D day. During WWI over 8 million troops passed through the town including over 1 million injured soldiers. Due to its significance as a port it suffered from heavy bombing during WWII, especially the night of November 30th 1940 with over 40,000 homes being damaged or destroyed. D-day preparations made Southampton the biggest military port of all times with over 3.5 million personnel, vehicles, etc passing through the port. With cruise ships delivering 2million passengers to the town, over 1million containers and 1million cars moving through the port Southampton continues to be a busy port (and I haven’t even mentioned the shopping in West Quay).

In December we had our Christmas buffet

For what’s becoming a regular visit our January speaker ex-HMRC customs officer Malcolm Nelson continued his series of talks with “40 Years of Catching Smugglers - A Case Study”

As the title suggests Malcolm took us through the range of lies and excuses used by suspects ranging from the plausible through the possibly to the you’re joking! What was different in this talk was that Malcolm walked us through a series of events involving 2 suspects that had taken place at Heathrow. One suspect was patently suspicious and had been stopped by customs officials who suspected them of carrying drugs. The second suspect was slowly

drawn into the scenario as a result of their irregular behaviour when the first suspect was stopped.

You get the feeling that everyone's waiting

for Santa to arrive!

Malcolm outlined how evidence was collected and the case prepared. The evidence was laid before us and we were asked to be judge and jury. We found both defendants guilty as charged, as had the real jury. We were then asked to pass sentence. It may be that over time we have got used to drug offences as the sentences we recommended were considerably lighter than the sentences passed by the judge in the mid ‘80s!

In February we had an interesting talk by David Sheehan, a 45 year John Lewis (JL) veteran, on The John Lewis Partnership. Gavin is a volunteer at the JL Heritage Centre in Cookham. The Heritage Centre maintains an archive not only on the history of JL but also contains 1000s of original fabric designs. The rise of JL is almost a classic rags to riches story. The original, and real, John Lewis started work in a local shop then moved to Peter Jones in Sloane Sq where he was a successful haberdashery buyer. Opened his own store on Oxford St in 1864 with a unique proposition that everything was priced whereas previously customers where charged on the basis of what they looked like they would pay! When the owner of Peter Jones died he sold his store to JL for £21000. JL’s son took on the Peter Jones store but had to work a full day for JL first! It’s at Peter Jones that the partnership concept of sharing rewards with the employees was started by JL’s son (1919). When JL died his son took over and set up the partnership agreement across JL and Peter Jones (1929). The group expanded considerably with the purchase in 1940 of the Selfridge Provincial Group when Harry Selfridge sold up and left the UK at the start of WWII.

The other strand of JL, Waitrose started with a single grocers Waite, Rose and Taylor. Taylor sold up and the Waitrose brand was formed. JL took over Waitrose in 1937. The first Waitrose supermarket appeared in 1955 (at the end of rationing).

David also outlined some of the difficulties facing high street retailers. JL receives 40% of its custom via its website, of that 40% 50% is click-and-collect. Which means that while 20% of its customers do not want to shop in a shop they will happily go to a shop to collect their purchases! As Gavin said, it’s difficult to work out the future direction of retailing.

Trips and Events

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon On Wednesday 15th February we made our first trip of 2017 when we headed off to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club. We had fifty-nine members on board who were all looking forward to the visit, and I’m pleased to say we weren’t disappointed.

It was extremely interesting to see the hidden areas that the public never have the chance to look around. We visited the Broadcasting building where television companies from all over the world relay their broadcasts.

Interestingly this vast area is used only for the Championships and otherwise lies silent for the remainder of the year.

We were pleased to be shown Sue Barker’s studio where she holds court each year chatting with “the experts” and reporting on the day’s play.

Our group was taken up on to the roof where the whole of Wimbledon is on view and beneath our feet the positions for the world’s sports commentators are marked out. At the end of our Guided

Tour we were taken into the Centre Court stadium, which even with a seating capacity of 15,916 seems intimate and gives a feeling of closeness to the court.

We were then free to visit the museum at our leisure; enjoying the history of the game, viewing the changing costumes and commenting on the transformation in racquet design over the years.

After our very enjoyable visit, we headed into Wimbledon Village where everyone was looking forward to a little later than usual lunch. We left for home at 3.30pm and with a little extra daylight now, we were home before dark.

If you have any enquiries regarding this or future events then please contact: Angie & Ken Pickering at: [email protected] Tel. 0118 981 2489

Dates for your diary All monthly meetings are held in Tadley Community Centre. Doors open at 10:45 with the meeting starting at 11:15 and finishing at 13:00.

Monthly Meetings. 20th April 2017 “Plastic – Destroyer or saviour of the

environment?”

Professor Averil MacDonald OBE

18th May 2017 “The musical world of Cameron Macintosh”

Lynda Warren

15th June 2017 “The loss of the Titanic and a Wiltshire family” Lt Cmdr Geoffrey Carr

20th July 2017 "Death in disguise”

Gary Powell

Interest Groups A full list of interest groups and Group Leader contact details can be found at the end of this newsletter.

The Guitar group has been set up and is in the capable hands of Peter Langdon. If you are interested then do contact Peter on [email protected]

Due to the outstanding success of the Ukulele group we have had to set up another one with the snappy title of Ukulele Beginners. Jenny Batson is in charge and can be contacted on [email protected]

Group Reports

Aviation Group WHAT MORE COULD AEROPLANE ANORAKS WANT?...Monthly aeroplane meetings. Monthly aeroplane videos. Talks from aeroplane professionals. Visits to aeroplane places. Anoraks’ Corner. Local flights to the Isle of Wight for lunch. Listening to hi-

level Royal Aeronautical Society lectures during the dark and dank winter months. We do a lot and even have time for tea and dark chocolate digestives during our meetings at Heath End Hall.

Since my last scribblings we have listened to David Keen, recently retired from the RAF Museum, giving us the “The Amy Johnson Story”. The story of her astonishing solo flight to Australia in her DH Gypsy Moth from Croydon to Darwin over 19 days in 1930; her career in the Air Transport Auxiliary delivering new aircraft from the factory to the front line operational stations; and her sad demise in an aircraft crash into the Thames Estuary in January 1941. She was flying an Airspeed Oxford from Prestwick to RAF Kidlington near Oxford when she went off course and out of fuel

crashed in the Thames Estuary. Her parachute was spotted by HMS Haslemere but the combination of heavy seas, a strong tide, snow and intense cold prevented her rescue. In fact the captain of the Haslemere, Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher dived into the water but he couldn’t help her and he himself died in hospital days later. A tragic end to an astonishing flying career.

A second visit to the Fleet Air Arm Museum and Cobham Hall at Yeovilton was enjoyed by those who took on the hassle of the A303 last December. The main museum is a delight for all. The youngsters will love it with its noisy rattling shaking helicopter ride to the operational flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Cobham Hall, named after Sir Alan Cobham is the aircraft restoration hangar for the museum’s exhibits and extraordinarily interesting.

January and February saw us take advantage of the RAeS Winter Lecture programmes at both Heathrow and Southampton.

Our upcoming programme will be crammed with visits to aeroplane places including trips to 2 Excel Engineering at Lasham Airfield. 2 Excel took over the aircraft maintenance facility following the sad closure of ATC Lasham. Building on over 60 years of engineering excellence at Lasham 2 Excel is re-establishing Lasham as the partner of choice for Boeing aircraft maintenance. We are also looking to make further visits to the iPilot B737 Flight Simulator facility where we can take off from Heathrow and hopefully land the aircraft successfully at New York or New Guinea or wherever we choose. Great fun especially watching each other trying to find the long bit of the runway.

By the time you read this if you do, we will have listened to Paul Smy giving us his talk “Route Direct .... Air Traffic Control the pilot’s friend”. Paul has been an Air Traffic Controller for the last 34 years at a number of locations around the world. Looking forward to it.

Come and spend an afternoon with us to see what we get up to. You will be made most welcome and you never know you might enjoy it.

Group report by Roland Higgins

Bus Pass Trippers

In November we braved the elements for a tour of the centre of Reading led by our very own Bob Halliday - it is a much more interesting place than you might think, especially if you look up, above the shopfronts. In December we visited Winchester for the Christmas market. More recently we've been trying to keep

warm, with visits to the cinema in Basingstoke Leisure Park (we all plumped for A Streetcat Named Bob for maximum warm glow) and Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium. Join us on the second Tuesday of the month for a relaxing day out in good company.

Group report by George Porter

Camping and Caravanning Group The vans have been tucked up for the winter but although it is snowing today thoughts are already turning to our camping rallies. We have 5 planned for 2017 starting in April with Lynton, May in Cambridge, June Nottingham, July Sandringham, and September Birmingham. If you would like to join us contact me on [email protected] and I will give you dates, further details, etc. On site a

number of traditions have sprung up! The day starts with a group breakfast, much to the envy of the rest of the site; afternoon tea on Wednesdays with delicious sandwiches, cakes and scones and on Thursday evenings we eat out at a local pub. Recreation wise we play boules while Chris brings along a selection of games. We have lots of fun. Join us and see.

Group report by Cilla Radley

Computing Group The excitement engendered by windows 10 has long gone with the majority of the group having decided to bite the bullet and carry out the upgrade (those who haven’t upgraded are mainly dependant on applications that are not available on Windows 10). The good news is that this means we now have enough time to help out people

who are having more everyday problems with their computers (and phones and tablets!). You don’t need to come regularly, if your laptop’s having a problem do pop in and we will do our best to help you.

Group report by Colin Hewitt

Country Dancing We’ve got used to the combination of Scottish dancing and English dancing with the realisation that English dancing doesn’t have quite the same vigour as would the Scottish version and certainly wouldn’t keep you as warm on a cold day! But we’re a flexible lot and have taken on the twin

cultures with our normal aplomb and just enjoy the dancing.

Do join us every Wednesday 2:30 – 4:30 Scout Hut, Southdown Road.

Group report by Colin Hewitt

Country Music Group The Country Music Group is still attracting new members who seem to enjoy the programme we put together every month.

We have a Featured Artist slot; sometimes a well-known performer and at other times someone who is new to the group. The rest of our two hour programme is made up from a selection from all genres of country music shown on the big screen.

On Saturday 21st January sixteen of us went to a local Country & Western evening in Bramley Village Hall where we listened and danced to live music played by Bear Faced Country. A good time was had by all.

On Sunday 5th February eighteen of our group went to the Country Music Festival at Lakeside in Camberley. This is an all-day event where various Country Bands played for a couple of hours at a time. We all enjoyed the atmosphere, the music and the dancing.

Our sessions are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month in Heath End Village Hall at 3pm until 5pm, so, if you think you may be interested or you have a couple of spare hours to fill, why not come along and join us

Group report by Ken Pickering

Cribbage Group

The cribbage group continues to meet every Monday at the Library. Nothing new to say about the group really, except to re-iterate that much fun is had by all, particularly by those who win all too often!

Group report by Group report by Andy Imms

Exploring by Bus with Bus Pass The group travelled by the Stagecoach bus service from Baughurst to St Michael's hospice bus stop at Basingstoke Hospital to attend their annual Christmas lunch at the Ark Conference Centre.

Due to the numbers attending, Stagecoach had arranged for a special bus for the group, so as not to overfill the normal service buses and thereby upset other members of the travelling public. The bus stopped at each stop between Baughurst and Pamber End picking up members en route.

The group members entered into the spirit and fun of the occasion by wearing festive headgear with the driver joining in as well, whilst Pat Hopkins dressed up as an elf.

On arrival at St Michael's Hospice, the group were met by two fundraising members of the hospice who collected donations for the St Michael's Hospice organisation which is the fundraising charity being supported by Stagecoach throughout the festive season. Stagecoach have been running a number of their local Basingstoke buses with drivers dressed as Santa Claus in order to encourage donations for the hospice.

The bus pass group members then carried onto the Ark Conference Centre for their festive Christmas lunch.

Group report by David Gent

Family History Many members of the Family History Group are making good progress in finding out who they think they are, both by research in the Library and by swapping news, views and ideas at the group meeting in Pamber Heath Memorial Hall.

Group report by Andy Imms

History Group We have had a couple of months off, resuming in February with a talk on English Paleography - the study of old handwriting - by our resident local historian Stan Terrett, who had to get to grips with it for his researches in the Hampshire Record Office.

Our approach is strictly non-academic, and we can tackle any subject or dive off onto side roads as the mood takes us. Join us on the fourth Thursday at 10:30am.

Group report by George Porter

Jazz Appreciation Join us on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 11:00am for an unscripted wander through the riches of jazz from the 1920s to today, from the archives on Youtube.

Group report by: George Porter

Mah Jong Group

Nothing over exciting has happened over the last couple of months. The membership is growing and we now have 14 regular players. If we get over 16 we will have to move to a hall as I only have 4 tables and 16 chairs!!! I am sure we will cope and look forward to being able to grow without the limits of my

house. We still meet every other Monday from 2:00 until 4.30ish. If you would like to join us contact me on [email protected]. It's not as hard as you think it will be, honest.

Group report by Cilla Radley

Model Workshop Christmas has come and gone and the group are hard at work making their models again.

Of some note is Lyn who has finished her metal detector and has had great fun with her family finding hidden coins in the garden. This has aroused the interest of John who now wants to make one, I can confirm the rumour that he lost a 50p coin in his garden is false! Mike has finished making some miniature wood turning tools that will enable him to turn very small items such as thimbles on his lathe. This is to counter the rising cost of good timber. Keeping with miniature items, Alan is slowly rebuilding a tiny Myford lathe, his high level of skills is resulting in a quality rebuild. Norman continues his delicate and painstaking work on tiny steam model locomotives. Colin continues to be a prolific swarf maker with the prospect of a novel paint shaker in the future. Clive has moved away from philosophy and has started an ambitious project of a working steam engine. This will take a while and give an interesting challenge. Finally, Chris and I are finishing a small CAD/CAM machining centre which is a very challenging task consuming huge amounts of time and ingenuity.

Our first aid kit remains like an unopened Christmas present from mother-in-law.

Group report by Dennis Cowdery

Nordic Walking It's never too late to decide on a New year's resolution so if you've been considering getting fitter there is no better exercise than Nordic walking which involves walking with poles. According to the NHS Choice website "Nordic walking is a full-body exercise that's easy on the joints and suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Regular Nordic walking can lower your risk of chronic illnesses,

such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers. Nordic walking, like any other form of exercise, can also be used as part of an exercise programme to lose weight."

Our very friendly group meets twice a week; our "fixed" walk at 10am every Friday from the car park adjacent to The Broomsquire Restaurant on the corner of Silchester Road/Tadley Common Road/Broadhalfpenny Lane and our "rolling" walk when we meet up at 10am at the chosen starting point which varies from week-to-week i.e. Monday 1st week, Tuesday 2nd week etc.. For the "rolling" walk we always go further afield to take the opportunity to explore the beautiful countryside we have on our doorstep. So, if you want to give it a try then just turn up at The Broomsquire on a Friday or email/ring me.

Group report by Linda Evans

Petanque/Boules Group Thanks to Reuben at The Pelican in Pamber Heath for building us a petanque ‘terrain’. We are now playing weekly and being very hardy (or foolish) souls, continue throughout the year. We meet at 11am on Wednesday mornings for a drink and a chat before adjourning outside and playing. New members are always very welcome - so come and give it a go. We have boules for you to use while you try us out.

Group report by Gail Biggs

Quilting Group We are a very friendly self-help group of dedicated quilters who have produced a wide variety of items over the last year ranging from small items such as cushion covers to king-size quilts. Don't worry if you've never even picked up a sewing needle before as help is always there to guide you through your first quilting project. We have books and magazines to inspire you as well as a sewing machine, iron, ironing

board, cutting mats etc.. We arrange trips to quilting shops or shows to purchase fabric to add to our growing fabric stash. So, if you're interested in joining us just come along to the Salvation Army Hall on Mulfords Hill (opposite the Esso petrol station) every 2nd and 4th Monday in the month from 1:45 to 3:45pm.

Group report by Linda Evans

Reading Circle A mixed bag of books this time around, two were enjoyed by everybody, views on one were mixed and on one everybody asked ”what was the point of this book?”.

A short history of tractors in Ukrainian, Marina Lewycka, As is not unusual we were divided on this one. Some took the book literally and didn't appreciate the humour while others looked for a deeper meaning. Several owned up to skimming the bits about the history of tractors! I'd classify it as one that got us talking but not necessarily about the book! - Report by Sherry Worley

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George proved to be an interesting read that was generally liked although opinions did differ as to whether it could have been chopped in half with no loss of enjoyment? Jean Perdu runs a bookshop on a barge on the Seine, he possesses a sensitivity for which books would soothe the troubles of his customers. He on the other hand nurses a broken heart from many years back from when his lover left only leaving behind a letter which he had never opened, until now….

Graham Greene’s Travels with my Aunt is a well known book if only for its opening line "I met Aunt Augusta for the first time at my mother's funeral...".

The novel follows Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager as he travels with his eccentric Aunt Augusta across Europe and beyond. To say that Aunt Augusta has led a full and interesting life is an understatement, to say that Henry hasn’t is equally true. The story

of Aunt Augusta gently unwinds as their travels continue much to the consternation of Henry. Most of us agreed it was a good, and humorous, read but not a “can’t put it down read”.

Ernest Hemingway’s Torrents of Spring proved to be a unique book in the history of the Reading group in that no one had a good word to say for it!! Lack of plot, characters with no shape, just pointless. The only upside was that it was a very, very short book!

Group report by Colin Hewitt

Spanish We have a new Group leader for the Spanish group.

Please can you contact us on [email protected] to confirm your interest even if you have telephoned. We will be in touch once we have final numbers to arrange date, venue, etc.

Group report by Mike Cassidy

Sunday Plus We are a group of people who are on their own and, as the name suggests, we meet on a Sunday. We currently have 26 members but everybody doesn’t turn up to every meeting, typically anywhere up to 16 of us gather at any one time. We meet at 1:00pm on the second and fourth Sunday of the month at various locations.

We mostly meet at Sainsbury’s café where we usually manage to move tables and chairs so that we are all one group (the staff are quite happy for us to do that). We have a drink, some of us lunch, and we just sit and chat. Numerous topics are discussed usually with a large dose of humour. When the weather’s better we travel further afield, the tea room at Aldermaston Wharf being a favourite. It’s also not unknown for us to visit a pub or two in the area.

We’re not constrained to meet up on a Sunday so we have made a couple of trips to the Haymarket and Anvil during the week. If it’s a matinee performance we quite often meet for lunch beforehand.

So, if you are on your own and don’t see many people in the course of the week this group could be the group for you? It has been for us because we now have many more friends and should you need company at any other time there’s always someone you can contact.

Group report by Diane Carter and Patricia Bailey

Ten pin Bowling We meet every 2nd and 4th Thursday, 11am, at the Hollywood Bowl, Basingstoke Leisure Park. We play just one friendly game for a concessionary rate of £3 plus 50p for the U3A. We don't play during the school holidays or half terms as it's too busy and costs more! You can wear your own (sensible) shoes.

You are welcome to come along and join us.

All the dates for this year are on the website.

Group report by Pam Stone

Ukulele Group Since Christmas, the TUGs have spawned a beginners group, run by Jenny Batson. It meets in the small hall in Heath End Village Hall on the Monday afternoons, alternating with the Computer Group. It is being attended by about 15 or so at present and the new members will, hopefully feed into the

main group as they develop the skills, talents and digestive system needed to cope with the Custard Creams.

We played at the Pamber Heath Christmas concert, with the Tadley Concert Brass and have performed at Applewood Care Home in Bramley in February. Playing for the residents is so rewarding and great fun, as well as researching possible futures for us! We also entertained(?) at the Ambrose Allen Centre after a fabulous Xmas lunch provided by the Tadley Fire Brigade.

Special mention must be made to the Tugettes, organised by Bev, who provide the volume needed to drown our mistakes and who have extended the range of animal noises to accompany "How much is that doggy in the window", a favourite for all the cats in Tadley.

Please listen to us at lunchtime at the Open Day in March; both Ukulele groups will be playing, plus backing from the glamourous Tugette.

Group report by Taff Powell

Walking Group 15 walkers took part in a walk starting at the Queens College Arms on the 17th October 2016. This was a pleasant walk although the navigation through Pamber Forest left a little to be desired but on the upside at least we finished at a pub.

5 walkers took part in a walk starting from Sydmonton on the 16th November 2016. This was an enjoyable walk made in fine weather. We shall make this walk some other time when hopefully more walkers will be able to appreciate the views.

8 walkers took part in a walk starting from the Rowbarge on the 12th December 2016. This walk was a relatively short easy walk on level ground in the busy period leading up to Christmas.

This year we have produced a programme of dates and walks up until the end of the year. All the walks have been scheduled to be on the 2nd Monday of each month in the morning. This new approach will hopefully allow anyone interested in a particular walk to plan the event ahead in their calendar.

Walking Group Schedule for 2017

DATE LEADER DETAILS

JAN 9 LYNNE

JONES

Walk length 5.0 miles.

Start from the pavilion car park in Silchester.

Walk to Roman Wall then left to Wall Lane car park, down Stone Hill then up towards Mortimer West End, to Englefield Estate and back to Silchester.

FEB 13

GERRY

SMITH

Walk length about 5.0 miles.

Start from Rowbarge car park.

Walk west along canal path, pass over Brimpton road bridge and cross over A4. Make way up hill towards Midgham Green, Douai Abbey, Elstree School and back to start. Exact route to be decided by weather conditions on day.

MAR 13

MALCOLM

CARR

Tadley Tracks walk 3. Walk length 4.0 miles.

Start from Queens College Arms car park.

Circular route around Pamber and Wyford. This walk passes through pleasant woodland and includes the sight of some attractive old buildings.

APR 10

GERRY

SMITH

Walk 3 from Walks near Basingstoke. Walk length 5.5 miles.

Start from the Vine Inn car park at Hannington.

This walk is a circular walk using the Wayfarers’ Walk and returning via Freemantle Farm and North Oakley. This walk is over arable land on high chalk with long views.

MAY 8

LYNNE

JONES

Bluebell walk around Silchester. Walk distance about 4 miles depending on route selected

Start from Silchester Wall Lane car park.

JUNE 12 GERRY Walk 1 from Walks near Basingstoke. Walk length 5.5 miles.

SMITH

Start from Kingsclere at the car park in Anchor Road.

Walk up to the Hannington transmitter mast and using the Wayfarers’ Walk cross over the main road on to Watership Down. Then return to Kingsclere.

JULY 10

LYNNE

JONES

Walk 17 from Walks near Basingstoke. Silchester and Pamber Forest. Walk length 5 miles.

Circular walk via Latchmere Green and Little London

AUG 14

LYNNE

JONES

Ramble 5 from Kennet Valley & Watership Down Rambling for Pleasure. Walk length 5.5 miles.

Start from Car Park close to Blade Bone Inn, Chapel Row.

Bucklebury Common and Jennettshill Wood

SEPT 11

MALCOLM

CARR

Tadley Tracks walk 5. Walk Length 6 miles.

Start: Pamber Heath Memorial Hall.

This is a circular walk passing through Pamber Forest to Silchester, skirting the walls of Roman Silchester.

OCT 9

LYNNE

JONES

Ramble 17 from Kennet Valley & Watership Down Rambling for Pleasure. Walk length 5.0 miles.

Start from Ecchinswell village hall car park.

Ecchinswell and Nuthanger Farm.

NOV 13

MALCOLM

CARR

Tadley Tracks walk 7. Walk Length 6.5 miles.

Start: The Pineapple public house or nearby lay-by.

Circular walk via Wasing Wood and St Nicholas Church.

DEC 11

LYNNE

JONES

Ramble 15 from Rambling for Pleasure around Reading. Walk Length 6 miles.

Start: Lay-by just NE of Stratford Mortimer, more details to follow.

Walk passes through farmland to the south & east of Stratfield Mortimer, about a quarter of which follows the ancient Devil’s Highway.

All walks start at 10:00 and take roughly 2 hours to walk 5 miles.

Group report by Gerry Smith

Wine Appreciation Wine Appreciation Group meets every third Wednesday in the month at Pamber Heath Village Hall at 2.30pm.

In recent meetings wines we have tasted have included: A selection of dessert wines which went down really well with the Christmas nibbles and a bottle of Russian red wine,

compliments of Bob of St Petersburg. Unfortunately, all the relevant information on the bottle was in Cyrillic script. Undeterred I interrogated the web site of the producer but I could not find any information. We also tried a bottle of St Emilion as it was £4 off at Tesco’s and a Portuguese 2003 red which said on the label "best drank young" but despite that still tasted OK.

We welcome new members to our friendly sociable group. Contact Tony at [email protected]

Group report by Tony Pounds

Miscellany In response to our request for articles that may be of general interest to our members Joyce Harrison submitted the following tale of a graveyard mishap.

IN GRAVE DANGER - August 2016 My daughter Julie and I recently spent a very happy weekend in my dear “native” Yorkshire, enjoying the wedding of my great niece in Kirkby Malham, visiting old friends and relatives, and admiring favourite views in and around Halifax.

One of the things we did was to visit my parent’s grave in the cemetery at Mount Zion Chapel, Ogden. I knew the number of the grave so we thought it would be an easy task. However, as the graveyard is seriously overgrown with waist high grass and beautiful heather spreading over most of the graves it proved to be very a difficult task. We spent a long time searching but we

were ultimately unsuccessful. As my father was decorated in the First World War with the DCM and MM while serving with the West Yorkshires I was especially intent this year on tidying his, and my mother‘s, headstone and grave.

Whilst searching I brought my umbrella into a, not designed for, use by leaning forward to try and push the high grass away, unsuccessfully as it turned out, from one of the headstones. Unfortunately, this was an old, deep, and EMPTY (ah! but was there a body and coffin under me?) grave into which I fell headlong! Below is a view of the said grave (which I would point out is not my parent’s grave!)

My daughter was horrified to find her mother with feet and arms sticking up from the grave (but uninjured) and had to drag me out - this was not the way we intended for me to be measured up for my final resting place - even though I am 8?!!!

I write this story (after much hilarity in the family I must add) just to warn others to be aware that there may be emptiness under the overgrown heather and grass so one does have to be careful where one steps!

Joyce Harrison

Spare Page As we had a blank page we’ve included a colouring page at the end, enjoy!

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View of the hole (a.k.a. grave) into which I fell

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