Bletchley Park 22 April 2017

Bletchley Park

On Saturday 22^nd of April a group of ladies joined a Jay & Kay coach tour to Bletchley Park, Home of the Codebreakers.

After a pleasant journey with a jolly coach driver we arrived at about 11.30am. We were greeted and shown into the visitor centre where we were given a map and saw an introductory exhibition about Bletchley.  I think many of us were surprized by the size of the site, there is the visitor centre, museum, the Mansion and 12 huts, many of which have been restored to how they were during the war.

Hut 8 was home to the office of Alun Turing the famous code breaker. His office with his desk and typewriter was like stepping back in time, you can even see his enamel mug that he kept chained to the radiator! By all accounts he was a genius and just a little bit eccentric.

In the Museum in block B we saw the Cipher machines used by Hitler and learnt how the code breakers devised the first computer to decipher the codes from the Enigma machines.

Some ladies took a guided tour of the site which was very interesting and gave us an insight into what life would have been like working there during the war

We returned to the coach at 4pm in awe of the work that took place at Bletchley. The thousands of men and women who worked there listening to Morse code messages day and night, the people who built the machines and the mathematicians who cracked the codes, all working in total secrecy none of them even knowing what the people in the next Hut to them were doing. Amazing.

And as out tickets are valid for a year I’m sure that some ladies will be returning to Bletchley Park to see all the bits we missed the first time around.

Florence Nightingale Museum 24 June 2017

Florence Nightingale Museum

On Saturday 24 June 2017 a group of 8 members met at Cannon Street Station and took the tube to Westminster to walk over Westminster Bridge for our self guided tour of the Florence Nightingale Museum at St Thomas' Hospital.  As we arrived early and were still waiting for one more member we went to have coffee & snacks in the M&S Café in the hospital.  After which we presented ourselves at the Museum and were given sheets to show the layout of the museum and then left to look around at our leisure.  Split into 3 areas we first looked at 'The Gilded Cage' detailing her early privileged life 1820-1854.  It was in 1837 that Florence received a calling from God which led to her studying nursing.  The second area 'The Calling' 1854-1856 saw her travel to the Crimea working to improve conditions in the hospital in Scutari.  Lastly the third area 'Return from War' 1856-1910 saw her writing 'Notes on Nursing' which was to become a best seller establishing her as an international authority.  Besides nursing she wrote on religion, philosophy, sanitation, hygiene, hospitals (and their pavilion style), statistics and India.  She founded the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St Thomas' hospital so it's fitting that the Museum is located there.  Not a large museum but plenty to see and read about with a small shop.  After leaving around 1ish a small group of us went off to find lunch and discuss what Florence achieved during her lifetime.

On Saturday 24 June 2017 a group of 8 members met at Cannon Street Station and took the tube to Westminster to walk over Westminster Bridge for our self guided tour of the Florence Nightingale Museum at St Thomas' Hospital.  As we arrived early and were still waiting for one more member we went to have coffee & snacks in the M&S Café in the hospital.  After which we presented ourselves at the Museum and were given sheets to show the layout of the museum and then left to look around at our leisure.  Split into 3 areas we first looked at 'The Gilded Cage' detailing her early privileged life 1820-1854.  It was in 1837 that Florence received a calling from God which led to her studying nursing.  The second area 'The Calling' 1854-1856 saw her travel to the Crimea working to improve conditions in the hospital in Scutari.  Lastly the third area 'Return from War' 1856-1910 saw her writing 'Notes on Nursing' which was to become a best seller establishing her as an international authority.  Besides nursing she wrote on religion, philosophy, sanitation, hygiene, hospitals (and their pavilion style), statistics and India.  She founded the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St Thomas' hospital so it's fitting that the Museum is located there.  Not a large museum but plenty to see and read about with a small shop.  After leaving around 1ish a small group of us went off to find lunch and discuss what Florence achieved during her lifetime.

Royal College of Needlework 22 February 2017

Fourteen ladies travelled from Waterloo Station to Hampton Court Palace.  We were met by Natalie Threw and escorted through the Palace to the Needlework School based at the rear overlooking the gardens.

An interesting talk was given by a student tutor outlining the history of the School stretching back over two hundred years. We were shown examples of work on screen and she described different types of needlework.  Training is offered through certificate, diploma and degree courses and courses are available for beginners and the more accomplished.  We were shown around the exhibition of Stories in Stitches and the workshop where three ladies were working on a commission for a private chapel. The visit showed stunning work and impressive skills that are being continued and passed on. 

National Theatre Tour 21 January 2017

Saturday 21 January 2017 saw a sparkling, frosty day and a tour of the National Theatre on the South Bank near Waterloo by some 20 of our members.

The creation of a National theatre was first proposed in 1848 by a group including Charles Dickens but not finally realised until the 1960s for various reasons.

We were all decked out in high visibility jackets and then our guide, Natalie began the tour.  The National comprises of 3 theatres - the Olivier with 1600 lilac toned seats (his favourite colour), the Lyttleton which is mid sized and the 400 seater Cottesloe, now renamed the Dorfman for a very generous benefactor.

The National aims to put on 25 new plays a year in addition to the more well known favourites, plus live broadcasts to various cinemas and theatres.  We were astonished to hear there are around 1000 employees including artists, high tech sound studios recently completed and of course, workshops where carpenters make scenery and stage sets. It usually takes between 4-7 hours to strip a stage, rolling massive sets and backdrops using industrial looking pulleys and hooks but the fastest was 1 hour.

All in all a fascinating glimpse of theatre life and well run tour.

Programme 2017

January

Meeting 10th - Board Games
Table Top - Unwanted Gifts
Outing 21st - National Theatre Tour

February

Meeting 14th - Time for You on Valentine's Day
Table Top - Jewellery
Outing 22nd - Royal College of Needlework Tour

March

Quiz 1st - White Hart Pub (Fundraiser)
Meeting 14th -Curiosities of the City of London
Table Top - Raffle
Outing 18th - Florence Nightingale Museum

April

Meeting 11th - Air Ambulance Trust
Table Top - The Garden
Outing 22nd - Bletchley Park

May

Meeting 9th - Business Meetings & Flower Arranging Demonstration
Table Top - Toiletries
Outing 20th - Great Compton Garden

My Life and Work as an Opera Singer

On 3 November, Elizabeth Key our newest member and a full time member of the Royal Opera House Chorus since 2006 gave a talk as part of the Eltham Arts Festival at Eltham Library.  She gave a brief history of when opera started and introduced to this country before telling us more about her life. Born in Mansfield at the age of 12 auditioned for the Cantamus Girls' Choir studying with Pamela Cook MBE who was a great inspiration and influence, giving her opportunities to tour abroad and appear on TV/radio.  When 19 she was accepted at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland studying for 7 years before joining the Royal Opera House. Her work schedule of some 200 performances per year which comprise of singing, acting and dance along with rehearsals and not forgetting the commuting! seems hectic but Elizabeth still finds time to be involved in numerous other musical projects.  A most inspiring young lady who says 'do the very best all of the time' which she certainly does.

I Spy Eltham High Street

Earlier this year we were approached by Eltham Arts Festival to participate in their 2016 event and after some discussion we devised a walking quiz of Eltham High Street which involved planning a route, compiling questions and spending time checking out the finer details.  A non member was asked to try this out and make any comments.  It was then time to design the entry form and arrange printing.  At the start of the festival on 29 October we delivered our leaflets and collection boxes to Eltham, New Eltham and Cold Harbour libraries and members also handed them out in Passey Place.  The quiz runs until 5pm 18 November when entries will be collected, checked and the winner announced at the finale on 20 November at the White Hart Pub, Eltham.  Members below handing out leaflets -