Ian Beer, our Speaker on 18th January enjoyed a career in education as headmaster at Ellesmere College, Lancing College and Harrow. But it was his hobby, rugby football which peaked with his becoming president of the Rugby Football Union in 1993-94. He presented a passionate tour de force on his time on the governing body of the game which culminated in his disappointment at the current state of the sport.

Ian had played Rugby for Cambridge University and for England in 1955 and became a campaigner to establish a structure for team coaching. Being amateurs, players who suffered serious injuries received no support from the Rugby Football Union and he campaigned for the reduction in injuries and assistance to such players.

At the time of his presidency, there were threats to the sport’s amateur status. The widespread payment of backhanders to rugby players for opening supermarkets and other promotional activities lead to accusations of ‘shamateurism’ and international pressure for Rugby Union to become professional. He explained how, at the time when South Africa were boycotted by international sporting teams, they were desperate to maintain the status of rugby football and started to pay top players from abroad to play for local teams. This then lead to ordinary players wanting to be paid and the amateur status of the game in that country was lost.

In spite of valiant efforts by Ian, the International Rugby Board in 1995 declared rugby union to be open to professionals. His battle to maintain Rugby Union’s amateur status was lost.

Professional status has lead to serious commercial pressures to win - leading to interference by sponsors, the purchase and development of huge, dangerous players, gladiatorial matches causing further injuries and a less entertaining and intelligent game.

Ian’s talk left us feeling a bitter sense of loss for the relaxed, amateur sport that we knew and loved.
 

Most of us have been taught that the wonder drug Penicillin was discovered and developed by Alexander Fleming but Denys Thompson told us the full story which had been shrouded in secrecy because the development was carried out during the War. He pinpointed the dates between Dunkirk and D-Day as the period during which the development and production took place.

Denys outlined the history of ground breaking discoveries including Malaria, Smallpox and the first microscope highlighting Pasteur, Kock, Erlich and Jenner. He then moved on to Alexander Fleming who in 1928 had returned to work after a holiday to find that a patch of mould on a Petri dish had killed off bacteria around it. That bit we knew but what we didn't know was that, apart from noting the observation and photographing the Petri dish, Fleming had not been able to carry out any further research or development.

It fell to a team at Oxford in 1939 to develop the antibiotic and the real, unsung hero who carried this work forward was Norman Heatley, a talented and resourceful member of that team who succeeded in isolating the mould and, using 'Heath Robinson' equipment managed to develop the drug and produce sufficient quantities to test it on mice and humans, all in a remarkably short time.

Due to secrecy surrounding the project and lack of funds, no British drug company was able to produce the drug so Heatley undertook a clandestine journey to the United States, flying from 'somewhere in Cornwall' to Lisbon where he boarded a PanAm Clipper to New York taking with him the necessary containers of the raw mould. Heatley stayed in the 'States for a year while the American drug company ramped up mass production by 1941.

Footnote: The BBC produced a programme "Breaking the Mould" which featured the story of Norman Heatley and Penicillin. There is a short snippet of video on the web site.
 

As a sequel to this talk, a Probus member, Michael Houghton briefly updated the story. He explained that, to counter the threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria, many new drugs have been synthesised. Michael is a director of ICNet, a software company based here in Painswick and the company is producing software to enable medics to identify the best antibiotic to prescribe for a particular medical solution. So there is a Painswick connection with the continuing fight against disease.
 

Norman Snowden, one of our own members who is over 90, delivered an excellent talk entitled “Field Gun Battery in WW2” illustrated by a Powerpoint presentation.

Norman was dressed in his wartime uniform complete with cap and Sam Browne belt, which incredibly still fitted!

He gave us a comprehensive description of the operation of a field gun and its crew which included communications (by field telephone and unreliable radio) and calculations (by slide rule) required in the field.

It was sobering to think that places such as Kings Stanley, Brockworth, Chalford or Quedgeley could have been targeted by one of these guns if it had been based in Painswick. Because of the distance from to targets there was a need for forward observation posts.

We learned that officers had to take account of trajectory, shell charge, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, temperature, height differences, variations in propellants and even age and wear of gun! All these variables had to be calculated in difficult conditions using paper, slide rule and books of tables.

Mark Wilkins had spoken to us before about the County Air Ambulance service and broadened our knowledge this time by looking at the history of helicopters from earliest times with Leonardo Da Vinci to the present day. It was clear that today's helicopters owed their existence to Igor Sikorsky, a Russian emigree to the United States.

Mark describing how the design of helicopters has to overcome their innate unwillingness to fly. He likened the skills needed to fly these machines to balancing on a beach ball such is the extremilycomplicated controls.

We learned that helicopters' speed tends to be determined by rotor speed because the combined speed of the aircraft itself plus the forward motion of its advancing rotor blades will exceed the sound barrier, causing unpredictable problems. We also learned that the the forward motion of the aircraft minus the speed of the retreating rotor blades can reduce the blades to stall - which can cause the helicopter to overturn!

We had a most illuminating talk by Nigel Dimmer, who’s family have owned and run “Martins" the jewellers in the Promenade, Cheltenham for 104 years – a remarkable record and now being run by the fifth generation. He gave us a wonderful insight into the days of graceful living and demonstrated this with some beautiful pieces of silver which highlighted the design and craftsmanship over the years. Sadly this craftsmanship is waning as silver designs become less intricate, together with the lack of young people engaged as apprentices.

Nigel explained how much of our silver heritage has unfortunately been lost over the years as many fine family pieces have been sold and subsequently melted down.

It was fascinating to learn, whilst examining an example of a silver tea caddy of the important part these articles played in Victorian times. Business was often conducted over a cup of tea and tea being an expensive commodity would be kept in a locked caddy.

Nigel showed us an example of a silver jug which started life as a small punch ladle where the long handle had been removed and a lip and small jug handle had been added, demonstrating that not all may be as it seems. The question of provenance was discussed; it being acknowledged that the British system of Hallmarking has led the way compared to many other countries in Europe and elsewhere.

After a most comprehensive and humorous talk we departed to consider our pieces of silver in a different light.

Graham Tilt

Outgoing president Davin Linsell thanked the committee for its support and outlined the past year's activities. He then handed over to Peter Roberts as our new President and David Walker was installed as our new Vice President. Other committee members retained their positions but we were sad to lose Ken Gibson from the Committee - his able contribution as Events Organiser was remembered. Mike Hill now takes the strain as our new organiser of events.

The meeting was rounded-off as we leaned on the bar for a welcome srink courtesy of the outgoing President.

We were treated to a talk on Chile. The account by Bob Price of his travels introduced us to a country with friendly people and strong European influences in outlook and history.

We learned about the vast contrasts in geography throughout Chile, ranging from the Atacama desert which has vast mineral wealth to the wine growing areas and then to alpine and rolling landscapes of the coastal strip. The one constant being the ever present and spectacular Andes range.

Bob’s wealth of photographs showed great holiday destinations interspersed with grand gestures like the huge glaciers. We learned that a terrible Tsunami with 25ft waves had devastated the coast of Chile in 1960 - a fact that was poignant following the recent destruction in Japan.

Our speaker, Norman Brown gave a talk on Big Bands in place of the advertised talk on King Cotton. In his unusual approach to the subject he took us on a tour of various countries playing Big Bank music from each country.

The talk was sprinkled with humour and historic information. He mentioned a local venue where big band music is played and one of our members provided us the web address - www.crescendoband.co.uk/zzzzzzz

We were joined by the Probus ladies for a Wine Tasting at the Church Rooms. The proceedings started with a fascinating presentation from ‘The Barge Women’ who brought into sharp focus the tough lives endured by families who crewed narrow boats on Britain’s canals.

We then proceeded to the serious business, tasting four wines from Alsace selected by Paul Sparks. Finally, we enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch prepared by the Probus Ladies, led by Joan Hardwidge.

Fred Jones gave us a sobering talk entitled 'Battle of the Atlantic Revisited'. The scene was set when he pointed out that the German Admiral Dönitz’ strategy was to sink British ships at a faster rate than they could be replaced.

What followed was a devastating attack by German U-Boats on British shipping, reaching a crecendo in 1942. From a fleet of 3350 British ships at the outbreak of the war plus ships of other nations and ships built during the conflict, 3500 merchant ships were sunk and 175 warships were lost as well as 783 submarines. The human cost was horrific 36,200 naval sailors killed as well as a similar number of merchant seamen. Most seamen who were lost had been torpedoed 2 or 3 times.

The defence was largely depth charges from naval warships. Coastal command had 193 aircraft but because of their range, air cover was confined to the coast - there was no cover in mid-Atlantic. The British had ASDIC but submarines were difficult to detect and depth charges were too slow. U-Boats would position themselves in the middle of a convoy then attack in all directions.

We learned that Germany may have won the battle but for two crucial factors: firstly, the breaking of enemy codes by Bletchley Park and secondly, with the help of American shipyards, 2710 ‘Liberty Ships‘ were built in 18 months, turning out six merchant ships per week!

Peter Higginbotham gave us an interesting talk about The National Arboretum at Westonbirt. His illustrated presentation started with the history of the Westonbirt Estate which was established by one of the wealthiest families in the country, the Holfords who made their money from a canal supplying London with fresh water.

In particular, it was Robert Stayner Holford who built the mansion which is now the school it was an advanced building for the 1860s having a steel frame. He also established the arboretum - sending out plant hunters throughout the world.

The present site comprises the original arboretum plus 'Silk Wood' which is a traditional working woodland. We learned that the site is managed with 8 full time woodmen calling on additional contractors when necessary.

Peter outlined some of the events and facilities at the arboretum and urged us to join the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum. However, above all we were treated to a feast of information about the trees.

Mike Walker gave us some reminiscences of his time in Military Intelligence during the Cold War. There were revealing insights of the barrier between East & West Germany which was not simply a fence but also mine fields, tank ditches, a border force, dogs and watchtowers and in some cases a false border so that escapees had a false sense of security before meeting the real border.

He was not able to give us too many details of his exploits to avoid being obliged to shoot us but we received a flavour of the games of cat and mouse played by protagonists on both sides. He outlined the lengths that East Germans would go to in order to entrap people into compromising positions.

We learned that trainees to the force had to learn high speed driving from the British police in order to tail suspects at 150mph on German autobahns. We also learned that surveillance operations required meticulous planning and huge commitments in manpower to avoid tipping off well trained espionage operatives.

Pam Slater presented an interesting talk entitled ‘The Story of Tea’. She described the history of the beverage from its secret beginnings in China, how that secret moved to Japan and finally, due to one Robert Fortune passed to the British in India.

We also looked at how tea arrived in Britain and Europe and how the expensive commodity found its way into the teacups of wealthy ladies who put milk in first to avoid cracking bone china crockery. Tea later moved downmarket to Tea Gardens where mixed company could socialise. There we learned that the word ‘tips’ as gratuities came from the initials of ‘To Insure Prompt Service’.

Pam described the growing, processing, shipping, marketing and preparation of tea including the art of tea tasting and blending. The need to bring the new crop from China led to races by tea clippers to ensure good prices.

We learned how the British hit upon the bright idea of paying the Chinese for tea with Indian opium, causing the Opium Wars and how an unacceptable tax on tea led to the Boston Tea Party which was the beginning of the end for the American colonies.

Paul Stevenson gave us a fascinating, illustrated talk on the Falkland Islands. He presented a knowledgeable account of The Falklands’ complex history and of the war but, in addition showed the Falklands in a new light regarding its economy and attractions.

Prior to the present British occupation, the islands had been occupied by a number of nationalities including French, Spanish, Dutch and Argentinian which unsurprisingly gives rise to sovereignty claims by others. Port Stanley was founded in 1841 and anywhere else in the Islands is called 'the Camp' by the islanders.

Apart from the recent Falklands war there was also a skirmish against the Germans in World War 1 and a Royal Naval presence in the 2nd World War.

We learned that the islands are the same latitude south as London is north and that it is warmer and drier than Kew Gardens. Although there is no fishing from the Falklands they have been a base for whaling in the past. Their main economic activity has been based on sheep farming. Increasingly now, the islands are being promoted for tourism with their penguins, landscape, wrecks and wildlife including sealions.

We also learned that prisoners in Port Stanley gaol are given the key of their cells so they can go home to lunch!

In spite of icy weather, our annual Christmas Dinner at The Hill in Stroud was well supported and an excellent meal was enjoyed by all.

There was a brief speech from Joan Hardwidge representing the Probus Ladies she proposed a toast to the club. Out President David Linsell gave a brief speech highlighting the activities throughout the year and thanking the committee for their efforts. The formal proceedings were ended by a toast to the ladies.

We are grateful to Paul Sparkes for organising the event with quiet efficiency.

Our guest speaker Michael Burge is a steam engine enthusiast and has visited railways and railway workshops in many countries. His talk covered the railway system in Pakistan. We learned that the railways were built by the British starting mid way through the 19th century and that before independence and the partition of the former British Raj, the railway systems in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were integrated. They are a splendid legacy and a tribute to the engineers and workmen coping with very difficult terrain in the mountainous regions.

Michael took us on an extensive journey using slides which starting in the splendid  main station in Lahore and ending, with the protection of armed guards, on the borders with Afghanistan having travelled via the Khyber Pass. He showed many types of locomotives and rolling stock including some pretty old steam engines which were still in operation.

We did not realise that refereeing rugby could so hillarious. Having informed us that we had all passed our referees examination (without or knowledge) Mike Wallace , an experienced referee, went on to look at some of the tips that any rugby ref should know and to hear anecdotes and jokes about the game of rugby and the things that happen to refs.

We learned that a referee should have two of everything including whistles, notebook, pencil etc and we learned the best way to wear a whistle to avoid getting it caught up in the scrum. The talk was accompanied by recordings of rugby songs to set the mood and slides of cartoons including ugly and dangerous players.

We very much enjoyed the talk and questions came thick and fast at the end.

Mike Speed's presentation was a tour de force on the role played by our radar station on the North York Moors. We learned that its purpose was primarily the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System but also space surveillance and support for US missile programs.

He described the global surveillance network including installations in Alaska, Greenland and Cheyenne Mountain Air Station. We also learned that the old 'golf ball' radar sets at Fylindales have been replaced by a pyramid of three state-of-the-art radar arrays which don't have to move to track the sky and rely on computer power to detect objects in the sky in any direction. The entire site is self sufficient with its own water supply, power station and sewage works.

It was intriguing to learn that space surveillance involves tracking over 12,000 objects in space to avoid collisions and to provide warning when any object should start to fall. These include any object over 10cm in size, including tools lost by astronauts.

Mike's knowledge of the installation and systems was boundless and the talk was delivered with humour and panache.

Peter Petrie gave us an illustrated talk about fakes, forgery and fraud in art, literature and music.  We learned the difference between copying and forgery and looked at some well-known and less known cases. Many of us remembered the Hitler Diaries which fooled experts but were only exposed by scientific analysis which found them to be printed on modern paper using modern ink. We also remembered the eccentric Greenhalgh family and Sean Greenhalgh who knocked up a remarkably diverse range of art works in his garden shed.

We learned about a Dutch forger Hans van Meegeren who was possible the most prodigious forger ever. An excellent artist, he produced a vast output of fake old masters during the World War II passing them off as works smuggled out of Italy.  His downfall came after he sold a fake Vermeer to Herman Goering, the second in command of the Nazi Reich. He was arrested in 1945 when the sale was exposed and was accused of the capital offence of 'collaboration with the enemy'. He was forced to confess the lesser crime of forgery and was obliged to produce another fake in the courtroom to convince the jury that he was capable of it.

We all went home to carefully examine our own 'Old Masters' for signs of fraud.

Over 50 of us descended on the Morgan Motor Works in Malvern.  Thanks to publicity in The 'Beacon' we filled our coach and a further car was despatched to accommodate the overspill.

We were impressed with the way that a small British motor company can thrive in a world of giants, producing high quality hand-built vehicles, mostly for export.  It was fascinating to tour the works seeing the use of both high-tech and traditional skills and crafts, from joiners using spoke shaves to produce ash wooden frames to the use of aerospace techniques to form aluminium frames and body panels.

It is not known whether anyone placed an order for a new Morgan but having witnessed the loading of some excellent cars into a vast, closed French car transporter, we set off in our own transport to a great meal at a local pub, The Swan.

Click here for Photographs

Following in our Gloucester theme, our speaker was Hugh Conway-Jones.  His talk gave us a great insight into the docks, prompting many of us to consider a future visit. A brief history of the docks and the Sharpness canal left us with the impression of a port which had been a hive of activity and vital to the midlands via the Severn and canal systems.

Hugh went on to give us a picture of the many events which take place in the docks and current restoration work including the splendid work done to restore a great old steam dredger which had capsized in the dock.

Philip Moss gave us an illustrated talk on little know facets of Gloucester.

We looked as buildings which included a stunning Masonic Hall hidden behind an unprepossessing door in a back lane of Gloucester.

We also looked at an historic cellar below a city centre shop which had been found by climbing through from an adjoining cellar and which was a complete surprise to the occupants of the premises above.

Not so hidden is a recent recent project has been the meticulous restoration of Robert Raikes House, one of Gloucester's oldest buildings in Southgate Street. Starting life as the home of the founder of Sunday Schools, the building has been a pub and a shop and is starting a new life as a pub/restaurant.

Another un-hidden gem is the statueof Roman Emperor Nerva on horseback outside Gloucester's Eastgate shopping centre. Excavations in the area found the foundations and traces of a Roman equestrian statue which gave rise to a millennium project to recreate a statue as it may have been.

The talk helped us to look at Gloucester in a new light.

On 8th September we reconvened after the summer break to hear a very lively and fascinating talk by our own Peter Roberts who stood in at very short notice in place of the scheduled speaker.

Peter is a retired British Airways senior captain who spent 34 years with the airline and its predecessor and he illustrated how many of the safety improvements to modern passenger aircraft and air traffic control stem from incidents in aircraft flights. For example, Peter was taking off just after dusk from Vancouver in 996 on a Boeing 767, en route to London, when the plane unexpectedly ran into a huge flock of ducks. The vibration from one of its two aircraft engines was so severe that the effect could be felt throughout the aircraft. The inevitable decision was made to return to Vancouver airport after dumping fuel as the long flight to London was considered too risky to cover that distance with a damaged engine and possible damage to the wing flaps. On examination on the ground it was found that the engine fan blades had been severely bent by the impact and there was damage to the wing flaps. Peter was amused when one of the ground staff presented him with a large bag of duck parts collected from the runway.

The subsequent action taken at Vancouver airport because of this incident was to ensure bird scaring procedures were operational at all times instead of stopping at dusk as was the previous practice.

The Ladies Summer Luncheon was held earlier this year at The Hill in Stroud on Wednesday 21st July.

Once again this was a very enjoyable occasion  and is one of the highlights in our social calender.

Guests were welcomed by the Club President David Linsell who complimented the ladies on their clothes and thanked the Committee for their continued support and for organising the Club activities throughout the past year.

Joan Hardwidge replied with a vote of thanks and a toast  to the Club on behalf of the ladies.

A special thanks should be given to Paul Sparks for making the arrangements for the luncheon and also to the catering management of The Hill for a very good menu and presentation.

Our speaker, Chris Witts is an undoubted expert on the Severn Bore and the River Severn. It is also clear that he knows the community and characters who live on and around its banks.

We learned about the Bore, why it happens and its frequency. We also learned how dangerous the tides are in the Severn Estuary with a tidal rise and fall of some 15 m. Chris discussed the sites where it was possible to see the Bore at its best and introduced us to some of the people who live, fish and surf on the river.

Surfing the Bore is a favourite sport and people come from all over the world to have a go.

Our talk was illustrated with slides and a video and we all learned a lot about this local phenomenon.

Tore Fauske was no stranger to us having talked to us last year about growing up during the German occupation of Norway. Much of his career has been involved in interpreting and translating between English and Norwegian. This was the subject of his talk to us and his many anecdotes about language and translators were, at times, hilarious.

He touched on the pitfalls of simultaneous translation and the idiosyncrasies of the English language, for example, sporting phrases like 'hit for six' or 'had a good innings'. He also pointed out that when we watch football we sit in the stands! Another example was that the saying 'out of sight out of mind' could be translated as 'blind and insane'.

It was interesting to learn that anyone interpreting from German has to wait until the end of the sentence before attempting to speak as it is vital to wait for the verb at the end.

We learned that in the European Union, all meetings have to be simultaneously interpreted into 27 languages and on average there are about 50 meetings per day!

About thirty members, their wives and in some cases, their dogs enjoyed a very pleasant Midsummers Day evening at the Painswick Rococo Garden on 21st June. The visit started with a glass of wine and a short talk by Paul Moir, Garden Director, on the history of the garden.  Members then strolled around the gardens at their leisure.  The gardens were beautiful  and peaceful with no other members of the public in the Garden.  The weather too, was fantastic thanks to Ken who once  used to work for the Met Office!

Thanks also to Ken for organising the evening

Roger Jones has had an exciting carreer as a BBC producer of wildlife programmes. His talk focused on the subject of filming deep in the oceans underlining the fact that we know less about the deep oceans that we do about outer space. He also touched on his new career as an artist and organiser of painting holidays.

We learned about the techniques, tricks and dangers of filming first in depths where divers can work but moved on to look at the problems of working in the deepest oceans. It became clear that collaboration with scientific bodies and governments was vital when producing this kind of work. Knowledge about what to home in on and where to find it is vital and the costs of putting to sea and using very expensive equipment can only be borne by collabortion with those who already have that equipment.

Roger has a wide selection of photographs as well as video clips and his talk was illustrated with fascinating images of sea creatures and of the difficulties of bringing them to our TV screens. We looked at some of the submarines which can take people down to immense depths, equipped with devices for probing and taking samples of creatures and material for scientific study. These sumarines can take several hours to descend and must withstanding the massive pressure and severe temperatures at those depths.

He finished with a fascinating glimpse at how people can now use the sea for leisure, not just for scuba diving but also the use of submarines almost as one would use a family car or even undersea 'coach trips'.

Gregg Pilley the founder and prime mover of Stroud Brewery gave as an absorbing talk about brewing, beer and much more. Gregg started this thriving little business with capital borrowed from friends in 2006. They promptly won 'Gloucestershire Beer of the Year' in that year with their early brew 'Budding' named after the inventor of the Lawn Mower. Mr Budding's original workshop just happened to be on the site of the brewery.

We learned a lot about the brewing process and where the ingredients come from. The brewery's organic barley comes from the Cotswolds and then travels to a traditional maltings in Warminster then all the way back to Stroud - incurring minimal food miles. We learned of the importance of hops in flavouring the brew - providing the bitter taste but also the addition of fresh hops to the brew in its later stages.

Gregg talked about his career leading up to his entry into the brewing business. It became apparent that his guiding principles have been sustainability and sustainable communities. He lived for a spell in Nigeria working on a National Park and studying local brewing in his spare time. Following that, sponsored by a large brewing company, he toured Africa to study the brewing and drinking habits of African people - a tough job but somebody had to do it!

Returning to the UK, he ended up in Stroud where he has thrown himself into local schemes for sustainable food production as well as an innovative scheme for bankrolling small, struggling businesses.

Many of us were impressed with Gregg's boundless energy and enthusiasm as well as his entrepreneurial skills. We wish him well in all his ventures.

Today's talk was not what many of us expected. Philippa Roberts had inherited poems from her grandmother who had lived in Cheltenham, many of them written in wartime. In addition, she has collected poetry by other women in wartime. She has published two books privately which she sells mainly to libraries and schools.

We were treated to an interesting and nostalgic selection of poems ranging from sad through to funny and whimsical. Phillippa who was at one time a resident of Painswick read the poetry and talked about the background stories in a personal and sometimes emotional way.

It was a heartfelt talk which was much appreciated by us all.

The AGM went to plan. Outgoing president Jim McNamara thanked the committee for its support and outlined the past year's activities. There was much discussion about the total membership which is now hovering around the 60 mark.

David Linsell was installed as our new President and Peter Roberts was voted in as our new Vice President. Other committee members retained their positions but Ken Gibson expressed his wish to retire from the commttee when a new Events Organiser comes forward.

The meeting was rounded-off as we leaned on the bar for a quick 'snifter' courtesy of the outgoing President

This was a thought provoking talk by Richard Long on the history and practice of Islam.

We were introduced to Islamic history and the life of the prophet Mohammed who was born in Mecca in 570 ad and became a merchant. In Mecca he gathered around him a number of followers. Then, to escape persecution in Mecca, he moved to Medina, this move being the starting point of the Islamic calendar and giving rise to the split between Sunni and Shia beliefs. We learned that during his latter years in Medina, his philosophy changed. He also became more aggressive in his later years, being implicated in the massacre of a jewish tribe, initiating a war with Mecca and finally subjugating the whole Arabian peninsular.

The Qur'an (or Koran) was prepared from 'messages' received by Mohammed over a long period and is believed to be the "Word of God". However, because the Qur'an is published, not in chronological order but in order of verse sizes, it is not known which verses were written in Mecca and which originated in Medina. In addition to the Qur'an, the Hadith is the collected quotes by Mohammed running into many volumes as well as Sharia which is the comprehensive body of Islamic law.

These writings contain many inconsistencies and reveal a violent, unforgiving undertone which, over the years has lead to much criticism of Islam.

We learned that the chilling underlying agenda of Islam is nothing less than global domination, subjecting all people to Sharia law. Many of us were left with a strong belief that Islamic political ambitions should be resisted at every turn.

On Wednesday 31st March we enjoyed a very informative talk by Peter Talbot.

He described the tragic loss of the pleasure boat 'Princess Alice' following a collision with a coal carrying ship on the Thames near Beckton in the 1880's. The loss of lives was estimated to be between 600 and 800 men, women and children mainly from the East End of London . The 'Princess Alice' was on the return journey after a day out  taking day trippers down river to Sheerness and back. The much  larger coal carrying ship was on its way down river after under going repairs in Millwall.

The speaker drew parallels with the sinking of the 'Machioness'  when it collided with a dredger just over 20 years ago. In both cases there were boards of enquiry and court prosecutions, however the way these were handled were very different reflecting the passage of time and current day litigation practices.

It was a very interesting talk and brought to light a Victorian tragedy long forgotten.

Ian Eastwood

Iain Willox is a pipe major with the correct accent to be talking about Scottish islands and whiskey. He gave us an entertaining travelogue of the islands of Arran and Islay. His talk was illustrated with slides and and was uniquely enlivened by samples of excellent scotch whiskey.

Having located the islands, we learned of their geology, their stunning scenery and the unique water is various parts which is ideally suited to producing fine whiskeys.

Our own Ken Gibson treated us to a riveting discourse about a tour of duty in Antarctica as a meteorologist in the '50s. This was pure 'Boys Own' adventure in the days when huskies were the form of transport - the accommodation was basic wooden huts and your hot water bottle froze solid in the bed overnight. Seal was a good staple source of food for both humans and dogs and the toilet arrangements were dire!

We had a real touch of drama when a supply ship 'Shackleton' taking Ken to Antarctica was holed below the waterline with no other shipping to come to their assistance. A nonchalant description of how the hole had been temporarily stuffed with canvas and the ship limped on kept us on the edge of our seats.

The talk was illustrated with excellent colour slides, most of which Ken had taken himself and history and geography lessons about Antarctica were also thrown in. It was sad to learn that the age of adventure and romance in Antarctica has long gone. Huskies along with any other non-native animals have been exiled to avoid contaminating the continent and current operations are carried out in comfort with transport by air and snowmobile.

We joined with the ladies for an excellent buffet lunch in the Church Rooms in Painswick preceded by a musical progress by Ron Nott.

Ron Not has entertained us in the past with his offbeat humour on other subjects including a talk on his experiences as the Registrar in Stroud.

Our thanks go to the ladies for the excellent spread.

Brian Partridge was an experienced tennis umpire and has officiated as linesman and umpire at Wimbledon. The title of his talk was a dead giveaway.

Brian gave us a fascinating rundown of the laws of tennis and the way the game is managed. He had played tennis for Gloucestershire but, after a knee injury, decided to try his hand at umpiring, finally working his way up to the 'big one', Wimbledon.

He officiated at matches with some of the great names in tennis including Nastase, Sampras, Newcombe and others. His last match at Wimbledon was a boys' doubles involving a certain you Andy Murray.

An experienced helicopter pilot, Mark Wilkins introduced us to the work of the County Air Ambulance Trust. In addition to acquainting us with the work carried out by this excellent service, Mark entertained us with amusing and salutary anecdotes about his earlier experiences of flying aircraft and helicopters during the Cold War in Eastern Europe.

We learned for instance that bomber crew flying at times of particular political tension were instructed to wear an eyepatch over one eye in case they were blinded by nuclear explosion - so that the other eye could keep them flying.

The County Air Ambulance Trust is the Region’s oldest independent air ambulance charity, launched in March 1993. It was founded to help ensure the financial future of the first red air ambulance helicopter based at Cosford. Since those early days the number of air ambulances in the region has increased to six with a total of thirty now providing essential cover in England and Wales.

Our Christmas dinner this year was held at The Hill in Stroud. Joined by the ladies, the evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Jim McNamara rounded off the evening with his presidential speech.

Our thanks go to Paul Sparkes who organised the event.

Following the stress of battles at Crecy and Poitier, this was another in the popular series of talks by Ian Shapter following the exploits of the English archers in France. This blow by blow report of the Battle of Agincourt on St Crispins day, October 1415 was graphically described to the point that we could almost smell the conflict!

The venture seemed doomed to failure as the English suffered heavy losses at the siege of Harfleur and from dysentery even before reaching Agincourt. Still suffering from the effects of the disease and also from severe lack of food, the demoralised army were then confronted by a French army, far superior in numbers also fresh, healthy, well fed and better equipped.

There was heavy rain the night before which turned the field of battle into a quagmire favouring the English. This factor, their superior tactics and of course the prowess of the archers enabled the English to win the day.

We also learned that Agincourt was the origin of the "middle finger salute". The French threatened to cut off the middle fingers of the English bowmen if they were captured. The mighty English longbow would have been impossible to draw without the aid of the strongest finger. When the English won the battle, they allegedly waved their middle fingers at the defeated French in a gesture of defiance.

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