Winter Talks: Sept - Dec 2010
15th December 2010: Churchill's Navigator
Written by Nick Hopwood Wednesday, 01 December 2010 16:33
Ex-LTSC member 92 year-old John Mitchell has just published his memoirs. John was awarded the DFC and the US Legion of Merit early in World War Two. He was then selected to join the crew of Churchill's aircraft. Join us to hear John's wartime stories and experiences of transporting a very special Briton, a history-maker, in his task of shaping his country's destiny.
24th November 2010: German U-Boats of WW2 and their Heroic Commanders
Written by Fred Bassett Monday, 06 September 2010 22:28
By Adam Reay
Winston Churchill confessed that the only thing that kept him awake at night during WW2 was the German submarine menace that almost brought Britain to its knees. The commanders of these boats were courageous and deadly foes. The talk will salute this honourable ( but eventually doomed) group of men, linking together German newsreel footage, interviews with surviving U-boat captains, and many photographs. Adam will recount stories of prominent commanders such as Gunter Prien "The Bull of Scapa", Erich Topp "The Red Devil" and Otto "Silent Otto" Kretschmer. The talk includes a short clip from the movie "Das Boot" and the real story of U-96.
1st December 2010: Southampton's Town Sergeants - A Short History
By Paul Tickner
6th October 2010: Avril Owton - From Tiller Girl to businesswoman
By Avril Owton
Avril Owton is the owner of The Cloud Hotel at Brockenhurst in The New Forest, England. A former professional dancer with The Tiller Girls, she took over the running of the hotel when her husband died suddenly at the age of 45, leaving her with an ailing family hotel, four children and no life or mortgage insurance.
Her show business background provided no experience in management,, administration, finance, or how to run a business, but that didn't stop Avril. She refurbished the hotel, began to make a significant profit and soon had increased her business turnover 800%.
Avril, a past Hampshire Business Woman of the Year, was awarded the prestigious Shine Woman of the Year Award in 2006. The Shine award is presented to the woman in travel, tourism and hospitality industry who has achieved and inspired others. Her particular business experience and her passion for encouraging women to reach their full potential has made her a sought after speaker in both professional and personal development.
In 2007, she became the local branch Chair of the Institute of Directors, an association for directors and Chief Executives. Only 11% of her branch's 2000 members are female.
"My talk is about how a Tiller Girl became a successful businesswoman covering my career as a dancer and the challenges I faced when struck by adversity and how I overcame them." Avril Owton
3rd November 2010: - Salvage Master, A career in commercial diving and marine salvage
By Kevin Patience
A Power Point presentation by Kevin Patience, who was resident in East Africa and the Middle East for many years. He took up diving as a sport while serving in the Royal Air Force and was involved with aircraft and shipwrecks while serving in Malta and Cornwall. Returning to Kenya he worked on two major ship salvage operations and in 1977 began a career in commercial diving in the Middle East oilfields of Saudi Arabia and latterly as a ship salvage specialist based in Bahrain. He returned to Kenya to run Divecon International on contracts around East Africa and in 1984 returned to Bahrain and established Tech Dive, responsible for a number of successful salvage operations in the Arabian Gulf. He published a number of books on East African transport and military history including a history of shipwrecks of the region. Salvage Master is well illustrated talk and covers an unusual hobby that subsequently became a full time job in an extremely hazardous environment.
13th October 2010: Keyhaven and Hurst Now and Then
Experience a guided tour around Keyhaven and Hurst from the luxury of your chair, using modern day illustrations of views taken up to one hundred years ago. Learn about the history of some of the older properties, events and past residents which has shaped the communities of Keyhaven and Hurst making this a most special area of Hampshire.
10th November 2010: Canine Partners
By Alison Bailey
Canine Partners train dogs to meet the needs of people with even the most complex disabilities including members of HM Armed Forces.
They are trained to help with everyday tasks such as opening and shutting doors. unloading the washing machine, picking up dropped items. pressing buttons, switches and getting emergency help. These life transforming dogs also provide practical, physiological, psychological and social benefits including increasing independence and confidence as well as increased motivation and self esteem. A canine partner also brings companionship, a sense of security and increased social interaction.
Alison Bailey has been working as a volunteer for Canine Partners for the past four years. She is a puppy parent, fundraiser, speaker and has been recently employed by the charity on a part time basis as schools coordinator. She is married with two children. She will be talking about the charity, how the dogs are trained and how they are placed with a client. There will be a demonstration of dogs in training and an opportunity to ask questions. Please do not touch the dogs when they are wearing jackets as they are under training. Thank you
20th October 2010: Down an Odder and Odder Moonpath
By David Burgess
Physicist David Burgess is again sailing down the Moonpath on an imaginary starry night whilst contemplating the cosmos. In his earlier talk, “Musing Down the Moonpath” he wondered about things like the origin of the solar system, the latest news from Mars, and whether on Friday 13th April 2029 the asteroid Apophis will indeed just miss us. This time he ponders some odd things about the cosmos. Will you age more slowly living on top of a mountain or at sea-level? Are there places where time stops altogether? How do we know our universe is 13.75 Billion years old? Why would we be somewhere else if it was not for dark matter? Where and when did life begin? And why is Teleology, whatever that may be, dangerous?.
17th November 2010: Eye Eye Captain
By Neil Constantine-Smith's
Most of us think we know about eyes – we all have a pair. Neil’s talk will tell us all sorts of things we don’t know, starting with 'Eyes and Sailing' where he will talk about UV light and its affect on the eye as well as the effects of drying from the wind. Then he will move onto protection and what are the best products for sailing.
The second half will briefly cover the three most common eye conditions that can develop through life, for which preventative steps can be taken, - cataracts, macular degeneration and dry eye. Neil will give a brief, hopefully easy to understand, description of each with symptoms, signs and strategies for avoidance.
There will be a Q&A session after the talk.
27th October 2010: - Imperial War Graves
By Ian Small
8th December 2010: In No-One's Footsteps
By Neil McGrigor
In 2006 Neil McGrigor completed the most unbelievable journey. Neil and his party navigated their boats from the sea all the way up the river Nile to its furthest source. The longest river journey in the world. They were poisoned, shot at, charged by crocodiles and turned over by the power of the river. We can be sure of a memorable evening as we listen to the story of this great adventure.
Neil McGrigor was born in Kenya. He has a degree in engineering and spent five years working in corporate finance before starting Teacrate plc which grew into the largest crate rental company in England shifting more than 5 million crates per year. In 2002 Teacrate was sold to the PHS Group.
Neil's sailing record is impressive - sail and power. He completed the ARC in 1998, cruised the whole of the Caribbean and has raced in almost every Cowes week for the past 20 years. He currently races an RS Elite. In 2003 he convincingly broke the World Record for the fastest circumnavigation of Britain in a RIB (33 Hrs) and came back in 2005 to break the outright world record in just over 27 hours.
On land Neil has conducted numerous micro adventures in America, Panama, Oman and Africa - but none of these are equal to the story we will hear on 8th December.
Winter Talks Overview
Written by Nick Hopwood Tuesday, 02 February 2010 20:48
The club has a fine record of providing a winter programme of Wednesday evening talks. The subjects vary widely and there is something that will appeal to everyone during the season. Most speakers are recruited by their reputation and we are always delighted to be entertained by a club member. Subjects have varied from a wide range of natural history and New Forest topics to several sailing and ocean topics as well as local history, outer space, aircraft, Beaulieu Motor Museum and more.
Details of the talks are to be found on the web site, in Tell Tales and on notice boards. The club is open for supper from 6.30.pm and the talks begin at 7.45. pm. Entrance fee - £1.50. Per person. There are no talks during the summer months.
