Songs and Laughter (Part 1)

The Forum’s Deputy Chairman Duncan Verity produces a series of video presentations with which he occasionally entertains our Forum and others in the area.

On the 22nd of November the Wetherby Forum enjoyed one of his features titled Songs and Laughter (Part 1) in which he introduced recordings of musical and comedy performances dating from the 1950s to the present day.

The musical bits were Country and Western, classic pop or show performances whilst the laughter was provided by old favourites the Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise and Les Dawson.

The quality of the performances was much enhanced by Duncan’s presentation equipment, the sound being crystal clear throughout the performance.  The presentation was rounded off by a comedy item which surprised everyone.

Chairman Mike Earle thanked Duncan for brightening every members’ morning.  The  Forum looks forward to enjoying further parts in Duncan’s Songs and Laughter series.

Guy Fawkes Yorkshireman

Wetherby Mens Forum

 

The Forum’s meeting on the 8th of November was attended by 51 members.

The guest speaker was Gillian Waters, a part time teacher from York whose chosen subject was Guy Fawkes Yorkshireman, very appropriate for a meeting held three days after Bonfire Night.

Gillian introduced us to the key participants in the Gunpowder Plot including the leader Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes who was invited to join the gang as a “gunner” because of his knowledge of explosives.

The plot extended beyond blowing up the House of Lords with King James and his sons to an armed insurrection in Warwickshire and the kidnap and installation of the King’s young daughter Elizabeth as a puppet Queen.

The cause of their dissatisfaction was the enmity in England between the Protestant and Catholic churches.

Guy Fawkes was born into a Protestant family but became a Catholic in his youth in York, it is believed as a reaction to the martyrdom of Margaret Clitheroe in York.

He then moved to the Netherlands where he received a Catholic education and joined the army of the King of Spain.

The plot was uncovered when Fawkes was found under the House of Lords after information obtained from a spy in the Catholic ranks.

Some of the plotters escaped to Warwickshire where they attempted an armed insurrection which was defeated.  All the surviving plotters were executed in London by the process of hung drawn and quartering.

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks for an excellent talk complimenting Gillian on remembering the many participants without using notes.

Estate Planning

On the 18th of October 49 members attended the meeting at the Church Centre, the largest turnout for the current season.

Guest speaker for the meeting was Matthew Taylor from St. James Place Wealth Management who was accompanied by Jill Waddington and Victoria Maude representing the Huddersfield solicitors firm of Ridley and Hall.

The subject of their presentation was Estate Planning and Matthew opened proceedings by introducing his company and summarising the subjects he would cover, namely inheritance tax, what happens if no will exists, providing for long term care and why one would set up a trust fund.

Jill and Victoria then spoke on the subjects of wills and lasting powers of attorney.

Finally Matthew returned to talk in detail on how to minimise payment of inheritance tax and the management of retirement pensions before mentioning a couple of case studies to illustrate the points made.

He handed out cards to enable members to register to receive financial advice, the cards being entered into a draw with a prize of a bottle of champagne

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks to Matthew, Jill and Victoria for an interesting presentation.

Brock the Badger – Friend or Foe

On the 25th of October the Forum welcomed as guest speaker Bill Mitchell from Ilkley.

Bill’s talk was titled Brock the Badger – Friend or Foe and it soon became clear that Bill regarded all badgers as his friends.

Of the 42 members present only three had ever seen a live badger and we were all quickly won over by Bill’s splendid pictures of the animals with which he illustrated his talk.

The badger is a mainly nocturnal animal with very poor eyesight which is compensated by a highly developed sense of smell and excellent hearing.

Each badger exudes its individual perfume and can navigate its way home by following the scent trail it has left.  The badgers live in an underground burrow called a sett where they sleep, breed and spend most of the winter.

They are however very clean animals and establish a toilet area clear of the sett which all the badgers use.  They have a tolerant relationship with foxes and have been known to share their sett with them although the badgers ensure that the foxes stay a safe distance away.

Bill mentioned the problems caused by badger digging and baiting and raised the controversial topic of the spread of bovine tuberculosis by badgers.

A lively question and answer session followed, members being very concerned with badgers digging up their lawns in the search for a meal of earthworms.

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks commenting that members now know a lot more than previously about badgers.

Bed Pans and False Teeth

On the First of November 51 members attended the Forum’s meeting at the Church Rooms, the largest attendance so far this season.

The guest speaker was Denise Adlard, a retired nurse from Denholm near Bradford whose talk was titled Bed Pans and False Teeth – 47 Years in the NHS, although she promised not to talk about false teeth and to only make passing mention to bed pans.

Denise had wanted to be a nurse from the age of four and at seventeen obtained a post as a student nurse at the Bradford Royal Infirmary in the face of opposition from her father.  She recalled that this was the only occasion when her mother stood up for her against her father.

On completion of her training she qualified as a District Nurse but then trained as a midwife at St. Luke’s Hospital.  She described her first home birth when, as a trainee, she delivered the baby on her own which was strictly against the rules.

She returned to district nursing in Bradford where her district included the Holme Wood estate, at that time reputed to be the most deprived estate in Europe.  She related her brushes with the local police, usually caused by speeding between cases, and she also related her problems with unfriendly dogs.

What were the most important lessons which nursing taught her?

How to be scrupulously neat and tidy and to do complicated tasks with a steady hand.

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks to Denise for giving the Forum a very entertaining morning.

Industrial Archaeology

On the 27th of September the Forum welcomed its guest speaker Mike Bowers from Boston Spa.  Mike is a retired school teacher whose lifelong interest has been the history of industry and he titled his talk Industrial Archaeology.

The basis of his talk was a selection of his slide collection taken over the last fifty years most of which featured scenes from his native Derbyshire where much of the early developments of the Industrial Revolution took place.

The first source of power was water which was exploited by the ancient Egyptians and featured in the Domesday Book and Mike’s slides featured derelict water wheels of various designs.

The textile industry began in the weavers’ cottages and the first factory as we would understand it was built by Richard Arkwright in Cromford, Derbyshire.  Although Arkwright employed child labour he was a relatively benevolent employer compared with some of his contemporaries;

Arkwright provided housing for his workers and schools for their children.  Early factories had armed guards to protect them from groups such as the Luddites who saw the machines taking away their jobs.

Mike’s presentation moved on to the iron industry in Shropshire and Sheffield before concentrating on the development of transport, particularly canals and wagon systems powered by fixed engines.

After questions and comments from the Forum members Mike Earle thanked Mike Bowers for a fascinating talk.

Percy Shaw inventor of the Cats Eye road stud

At the Forum’s meeting held on the 20th of September Speaker Finder John Spinner re-introduced an old friend, Chris Helmes.

The subject of his talk was Percy Shaw – the man who put the Cats-eye on the road.

Percy Shaw was born in Halifax in 1890, one of a poor family of 14 children. As a child he moved to the nearby village of Boothtown to a house where he lived for the rest of his life.

He left school aged 13 and, after a number of dead-end jobs, he and his father set up a business doing any small jobs and repairs required.  His social life involved a regular visit to the Old Dolphin pub in Queensbury and it was whilst travelling home on his motor cycle that he realised the need for road markings visible in the dark.

It is not clear how he devised the cats-eye but he set up the Reflective Roadstud Company which was an instant success.  He became a local celebrity due to his eccentric lifestyle, always dressing scruffily and restricting his social life to visits to the Old Dolphin; his one luxury being a Rolls Royce car.

He achieved national fame when he was the subject of an interview by Alan Whicker and received an OBE in 1965 for services to exports, dying in 1976 age 86.

Chris circulated a cats-eye for us to see its unique features including self-cleaning and ability to withstand heavy traffic and the forum members plied him with many questions.

Chairman Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks enthusiastically supported by all the members.

Stories and Legacies of the First World War in Leeds and Yorkshire

The Forum convened on the 13th of September after its summer break.

Members stood to remember a former committee member Doug Emmingham who passed away during the break.

The first speaker for the season was Professor Alison Fell from Leeds University whose subject was Stories and Legacies of the First World War in Leeds and Yorkshire.

Professor Fell ran a project in 2014 with schools, museums and other organisations to establish six research groups covering various subjects related to how the war affected our area.

The majority of local men who joined the army were either drafted into the Leeds Rifles or the Leeds Pals Regiment.  Although a large number of them died in France many also fought in Gallipoli alongside Australians and New Zealanders.  The death rate for British troops was 12%, lower than is generally believed.

Alison related the problems experienced by large employers such as Tetley’s Brewery who lost many skilled workers to the army and related the story of a university academic with a German name although he was British citizen.

The last subject which Alison raised was the settlement of 250,000 Belgian refugees, a large number of who settled in Leeds and were treated as heroes but became less popular as the war progressed.

Duncan Verity proposed a vote of thanks which was enthusiastically supported by Forum members.

My Gallant Hussar

The Forum’s guest speaker on the 5th of April was Anne Batchelor, a retired schoolteacher from Seacroft.  Anne’s hobby since retirement has been historical research and she described to the Forum the story of her research which commenced with an enquiry about her great-grandfather called George Batchelor who is buried in a graveyard in York.

An enquiry into Mr. Batchelor was confused with another man of the same name buried in the same graveyard in the same year (1906) as Anne’s ancestor.  Anne became interested in this second person who had been a soldier in the 18th Hussars and won the DCM medal in the Boer War, hence the title of her talk ‘’My Gallant Hussar’’.

She established a connection for him to Hemel Hempstead and a letter in the local paper resulted in a phone call from a lady in Southampton and enabled Anne to trace Mr. Batchelor’s descendants to California and, although she was unable to visit them, she had many telephone conversations with George’s son until his death at a very old age.

During a stay in hospital Anne wrote a book about her research which sold three thousand copies although it is now out of print.

Mike Earle thanked Anne for an absolutely fascinating talk well told.

After the Forum’s Annual General Meeting on the 12th of April our meetings recommence on the 13th of September.

Choosing Sides

The forum’s Vice-Chairman Duncan Verity has assembled a collection of video presentations mainly dealing with the aviation industry.

On the 22nd of March he introduced one of his videos titled Choosing Sides.

The subject of the video was the crash of an airliner travelling from Heathrow to Belfast which suffered an engine failure en route and was diverted to East Midlands Airport but crashed onto the side of the M1 on its approach.  The video started with a very realistic reconstruction of the crash followed by details of the crash investigation and the conclusions of the investigation team.

The aircraft was a Boeing 737-400 which was only one month old carrying 118 passengers and 8 crew members, 47 of whom lost their lives.

One of the plane’s two engines caught fire but the pilots shut down the healthy engine and didn’t realise their mistake until it was too late.  The cause of the fire was found to be a broken fan blade in the engine but the crew’s error was blamed on the layout of the control panel.

The high loss of life was blamed on the method of anchoring the passenger seats and poor design of the overhead lockers.

A lively discussion followed with a forum member reporting that he had been a passenger on an aircraft in South Africa which suffered a similar failure although in this case it successfully returned to the airport.