News from around the clubs - March 19, 2010

Many of his first pictures took us to the border country between England and Wales, to the Brecon Beacons, to visit, among other places, the cathedral at Brecon, and to St David's, which boasts two cathedrals.

Then it was onward into Wales, with many pictures and stories of natural features and castles and other architectural gems.

We saw Caernavon castle, Brunel's famous Menai bridge, enormous slate quarries in Snowdonia and the famous Italianate gardens and buildings at Portmeiron.

Then, after a short break we were off to the Irish coast in the Killarney area. It was a visual feast, greatly enjoyed by more than 70 of our members.

On Tuesday March 9 we welcomed as our speaker Mr Patrick Coulcher, who has visited us several times before, and has published several books on various aspects of our county of Sussex. This time, however, he took us much farther afield, to the highlands of Scotland, showing us many excellent photographs of plant and animal life in these regions. Starting in the island of Skye, Fingal's Cave and much of the Western Isles we saw many fine pictures of birds and plants never seen here in the South '“ the golden plover, red deer and grey seals. On then to the uninhabited island of Handa, now in the care of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and then to the mainland, the west and central Highlands, with animals great and small, of all shapes and sizes, and many beautiful plants growing wild in their native habitats. Mr Coulcher also brought a number of his books, now available in paperback, and many beautiful cards, and our appreciation of his visit was shown in the hearty vote of thanks at the end

Society of Bexhill Museums

FOR the last of the winter afternoon lectures at St Augustine's Hall a capacity audience was treated to an extremely lively and entertaining musical performance.

Joy Lewis and Derrick Hughes kept everyone enthralled with their dexterity and musicianship.

Part of their large collection of instruments had been brought and not only was the history of these carefully explained, but a musical journey through folk music of Great Britain and Ireland was conveyed by their performances.

The range of instruments, large and small, was considerable from the simplest tin whistle to Joy's favourite the elegant Celtic harp.

Some of these were modern pieces, some even made by Derrick, all from designs of instruments of earlier times.

Curiosities from Tudor days, such as the favourite of Henry VIII the oddly-shaped reed cromorne and the even more bizarre serpent, were demonstrated with skill (and humour) by Derrick.

The hammer dulcimer, a modern craftsman-made version of the medieval instrument which was a very early relative of the piano, was played by Joy in several of the folk tunes.

Her sweet singing voice with the accompaniment of guitar or pipe while she played this simple instrument was very charming.

The performance of a 1701 dance tune on the psaltery (a small stringed instrument of medieval design, played with a bow) was a delight and certainly conjured up ancient stateliness.

The musicians were keen to encourage audience participation and hornpipes and polkas brought forth a certain amount of foot-tapping; a rendering of the Skye Boat Song on a tiny ocarina had them singing too.

This instructive entertainment was concluded with a virtuoso piece of simulated bell-ringing performed by Derrick on his 1920s concertina, to great applause.

Little Common Ladies' Club

Our meeting held on February 24th was quite unusual for The Ladies Club.

One of our members Mrs Jacqueline Davies got all the members together for an evening of country/barn dancing. This was entered into with much enthusiasm and everyone joined in.

During the interval and much needed rest hot refreshments were served by the committee. Following the break there was more dancing, laughing and fun. Finally coffee and tea was served.

It was a very successful evening enjoyed by all. Thank you to Jacqueline.

Our next meeting is March 24th. The talk will be given by Mr Colin Page on 'wildlife on the Seashore.'

We meet at the Little Common Community Centre at 7.45 and all visitors will be given a warm welcome.

Havoverian Study Group

On February 16, we were delighted to welcome back Mr Hugh Miller to speak on the history of 'Pevensey Without the Castle'.

This event attracted a good audience fascinated by the sites and the events that took place throughout Pevensey in bygone times. There is still much evidence of the past to be found when one knows where to look. Mr Miller's account was both informative and amusing, leaving his listeners wanting to hear more.

This month, our talk is to be given by Rev. James Bogle, a long-standing member of the BHSG. He is descended from James Oliver Lindam of 2nd Light Battalion. King's German Legion who fought in the Peninsula War and at Waterloo. Rev. Bogle's talk, 'A Gallant Company '“ the 2nd Light Battalion of the KGL and the Guelphic Medal will tell of the courage and exploits of the battalion and the award of the Guelphic Medal. We are also expecting one of our guests to bring a Guelphic Medal for us to see.

We are still trying to recruit help for our research and with our ever growing amount of correspondence and queries we receive from the international interest in our group?

Volunteers would find involvement both fascinating and rewarding. Please contact Mrs Child ( 01424 212130) or Mrs Hemingway (01424 842785)

Civil Service Retirement Fellowship

FOLLOWING our AGM on February 23 we said farewell to Sam Chisholm, our chairman for the past 13 years and grateful thanks were expressed for all he had undertaken in that capacity.

We then welcomed Megan Traice as our new chairman and wish her well for the future.

Laurie Sharp, a very long standing member of the group, has also retired from the committee.

During his time he was treasurer and, with his late wife, Vassiliki, for many years arranged all outings.

Phyl McEwan took over as treasurer in 2008 and Monika Clarke and Jackie Potter have been responsible for outings for the past few years. All present were urged to support as many outings as possible, also to bring a friend, as the larger the support the cheaper the cost. To conclude the morning and the usual monthly raffle with its many prizes, for which we thank all donors very much indeed, all present were treated to a mouthwatering array of sandwiches and sausage rolls.

At our meeting on March 23 we welcome a speaker whose subject is 'Tax help for the elderly' so we hope as many of our members as possible will be present together with any friends they wish to bring along. We meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month at Bexhill Sailing Club, commencing 10am, and always pleased to welcome new members when they will find details of all our outings for the year.