Sunday 28 August 2011

request for visit to Weston Court

A few weeks ago our good friends in Southampton City Council told us of a request by the residents of Weston Court for us to visit them and give a talk.  We were delighted to receive this request but Weston Court is way over the other side of Southampton and falls  within the area so well covered by the Bitterne Historical Society, so we sent Bitterne a letter (copied to the City Council) asking them to follow this up and if possible make a visit to Weston Court.

So far we have heard no more on this matter, but still have it in mind, and will follow up as necessary.

John Gurney

Tuesday 23 August 2011

An update on what is happening

On 16 august we met with Julie Patterson and Els Tompkins of the Sue Ryder History and Legacy Team, and we look forward to 12 September when Julie will talk to us about the life of Lady Sue Ryder, OBE, and the work of Sue Ryder Care - the extent of which is sure to surprise a lot of us.

At the committee meeting held on 22 August it was announced Marie Whiteford has resigned through ill health and John Sillence has resigned due to pressure of his work as Chairman of the Lordshill Tenants Association.

Our thanks to Marie and John for their support during the early days of getting this Society off the ground, and we wish Marie a speedy recovery back to good health.

Arrangements for the 9 September outing are now well in hand by Robert Sanday, for which the programme is as follows
10 a.m. Depart from Kinloss Court.  Call at Manston Court. Then to Calshott Castle,  Ashlett Creek - visit the Mill and have lunch at the pub.  Then to Beaulieu, and if time permits we will visit Bucklers Hard.   Back at Manston Court/Kinloss Court around 4 p.m.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

12 September: The Story of Sue Ryder

Sue Ryder's shop in Lordshill is so very much part of the community that many people - myself included - never go to the shopping centre without calling in there in case a bargain is missed, but not only that, I am quite sure there are a lot of our elderly, perhaps rather lonely  residents of Lordshill who  call  there simply to hear the friendly and welcoming voices of the staff of the shop.

Most people know of the good work Sue Ryder Care does in caring for the terminally ill, but there are many who do not know the incredible story of the life of Lady Sue Ryder, OBE, her exploits as a member of Special Operations Executive during WW2, her marriage to Leonard Cheshire VC, founder of Cheshire Homes, and of course her never ending care for other people.

It is then with the greatest of pleasure I advise that on 12 September the presentation at our meeting will be by Julie Patterson of Sue Ryder's History and Legacy Team, but before then we will be meeting with members of the team to see where, and how we can work with Julie to  fit into a programme of visits to places in Southampton to help spread the story of Sue Ryder's and gain more support for their cause.

John Gurney


Monday 1 August 2011

Back to Manston Court

Sorry to have been off the air for a while but there has been a bit of sorting out to do behind the scenes and it is only this morning it is all in place.

The meeting on 8th August will be held in Lordshill Church Hall, Lordshill District Centre, from 10.30a.m. to noon.

As from the meeting to be held on Monday 12 September we will be back to the TV Room, Second Floor, Manston Court, Lordshill, and that will be our permanent home for meetings on the  second Monday of  every month.

Committee meetings will be held in the Computer Lounge, First Floor, Kinloss Court, Lordshill.

The presentation on 8th August will be a short talk on the history of brewing, delivered by our Chairman, the Rev. Robert Sanday, which will be followed by the main talk, which is 'Minden Day', being a day celebrated on 1st august every year by six regiments of the British Army to commemorate the Battle of Minden in 1759, in which the men of Hampshire were involved. The talk will be delivered by Major Michael Humme, MBE.

On Friday, September 9th there is a trip to the New Forest, followed by a pub lunch.  Leaving Lordshill at 10.30 a.m. and back around 4 p.m.   Cost per person £6 for transport, plus the cost of lunch, for which we hope to get a 'Special' at a convenient pub.  More about this at the meeting on 8th August when we must go firm on numbers.

The talk on Monday 12 September has not yet been decided between two alternative subjects, which will be sorted at the August committee meeting, so watch this space.

In October we have our honoured member, the prize winning author, Penny Legg, talking to us about her latest book 'Voices of Southampton'

November 1st will see us at Hollybrook Cemetery where, by request of members of his family we will place flowers on the grave of a German air force man killed during WW2.

November 11th.  we will again be in Hollybrook Cemetery to put poppies on the graves of WW2 servicemen.

Incidently, this is becoming something of a objective for the Society, as on 21 February 2012 we will place a wreath on the memorial in Hollybrook Cemetery, commemorating 649 soldiers of the South African Army who died when the ssMendi sank off the Isle of Wight on 21 February 1917.  It having come to our attention they have not been specifically rememberd in the past, in spite of their names forming the majority of those on the memorial. 

Our regular meeting on Monday 14 November will see a presentation on the history and work of SSAFA - Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Families Association, a joint effort between our Chairman, Secretary, and Bruce Hartnell, Secretary of the Southampton Division of SSAFA.   From this talk it will be very apparant that SSAFA does rather more than 'Give Advice'  to people.

That takes us to December when we will hear about the origins of Santa Claus, and hopefully a Christmas party.

Bye for now,

John Gurney