Heart of England, Stratford-upon-Avon Talk on Aviation and the Principles of Flight Friday 10th February 2012 Geoff Bridgewater gave an illustrated talk on Aviation and the Principles of Flight. Geoff has held a Private Pilot Licence and has also been an instructor. The talk was held in the Side Lounge at the Methodist Church in Stratfordupon-Avon. 1
Heart of England, Stratford-upon-Avon Visit to Sarehole Water Mill, Hall Green Friday 9th March 2012 A group of U3A members from the Science and Nature Group had a guided tour of the Water Mill. There has been a mill at Sarehole for over 400 years and the current mill is 200 years old. Matthew Boulton once rented the mill before he moved on to handsworth. The mill and surrounding area was an inspiration for the stories of JRR Tolkien who spent his childhood around here. 2
Heart of England, Stratford-upon-Avon Visit to Blaenavon Iron Works. Friday 13th April 2012 The iron works was opened in 1829 with 3 blast furnaces, using local coal, iron ore and limestone. A model shows the final state of the ironworks with 5 blast furnaces and a balance tower to haul loaded wagons of coal, etc, to the top level of the furnaces for loading into the furnaces. 3
Heart of England, Stratford-upon-Avon Visit to Blaenavon Iron Works Friday 13th April 2012 The top image shows a view of the blast furnaces with casting shops in front of two of them. The lower image is of the balance tower used to haul loaded wagon of ore, etc to the loading level of the furnaces. 4
Heart of England, Stratford-upon-Avon Visit to Blaenavon Iron Works Friday 13th April 2012 Members of our party by the site of the Blowing Engines that fed an air blast to the furnaces, Our guide telling us about the blast furnace in which we are standing. Close up of one of the blast furnaces. Ingredients are tipped into the top and molten iron is run off into pigs at the base in the casting shop. (missing from this image) 5
Visit to Blaenavon Iron Works. Friday 13th April 2012. Members on top of the Balance Tower Below Inside of a worker s cottage 6
Visit to Blaenavon, South Wales. Friday 13th April 2012. The Miners Institute built with subscriptions from the miners. The building was large, held function rooms, a theatre, a library. It is now owned and run by the local council and is very busy. There is now also a cinema included. The Blaenavon Heritage Centre Traces the history of the area and the Industrial Revolution that happened here. 7
Visit to The Big Pit, Blaenavon. Friday 13th April 2012. Members of the party outside the Big Pit entrance Winding Tower for the main pit shaft. Typical locomotive and trucks on the sidings where coal was loaded for transport to customers. Members of the party kitted out to go down the pit. Cameras were not allowed down the pit. 8
Talk on The Geology of Warwickshire - Friday 11th May 2012. Brian Ellis of the Warwickshire Geological Conservation Trust gave a talk entitled Warwickshire Landscapes the 600 million year story. In fact the story covered from about 650 million years to 65 million years ago. He explained a lot about the various layers in the crust that provide the minerals for today, including build stone of differing types. 9
Heart of England Group, Stratford-upon-Avon Visit to the Studio of James Butler, Sculptor. Members of the group travelled to Radway to visit the studio of James Butler. The outbuildings of a former farm are used as a studio and display gallery. James has produced statues of numerous heads of states, historical figures and some moving war memorials. 10
Visit to the International Festival of Glass at Stourbridge Saturday 25th August 2012 Athena led a small group of members to Stourbridge to visit the festival. Several venues were involved including the Glass Museum, Red House Glass Cone, Glasshouse Arts Centre, Ruskin Glass Centre, Bodenham Arboretum. Visit to Slimbridge Wild Fowl Trust and to Chavenage House, near Tetbury Tuesday 11th September 2012 21 members and guests travelled to Slimbridge in Gloucestershire for a guided tour of the Slimbridge Wildfowl Reserve. There were many resident birds to be seen, including 6 species of Flamingo as well as the more usual Mallard ducks, Mute and Bewick Swans, Avocet, Coots, Moorhens, etc. We saw some otters being fed. We were too early for most of the migratory geese and ducks. We travelled towards Tetbury to have our lunch at the Hunters Hall Hotel. Afterwards we continued on to Chavenage House for our guided tour. A house has stood on the site for close on a 1000 years. The present house dates mostly from about 1576 with later Edwardian additions. The current family has been there, in several generations, since 1898 and are only the second family since 1576. The family were most welcoming and provided a very interesting and informative tour, led by the owner s son, George Lowesley- Williams. This was followed by a very welcome cup of tea with cakes and further information and stories from his father, David Lowesley-Williams. Avocets near lake 11
Visit to Slimbridge Wild Fowl Trust and to Chavenage House, near Tetbury Tuesday 11th September 2012 Black Headed Swans Greater Flamingoes Type of Duck 12
Visit to Slimbridge Wild Fowl Trust and to Chavenage House, near Tetbury Tuesday 11th September 2012 American Otters being fed Most of the group awaiting lunch at the Hunters Hall Hotel. Front view of Chavenage House. 13
Talk on Antarctica Heroes by Angie Butler Friday 12th October 2012 Angie Butler gave a riveting talk about Antarctica and the heroes of the heroic age, lasting from 1902 to 1922 when 7 expeditions went to Antarctica and the South Pole was reached. The main thrust of her talk was about Frank Wild who went on 4 of the expeditions. She has been researching his life for 7-8 years and recently published a book about him. 14
Christmas Social and Quiz Friday 14th December 2012 Geoff Bridgewater was quizmaster and set a science based quiz which we should all have been able answer. Over twenty members were present including three new members. We were organised into teams of 4 with one exception, which was a team of three. In the end, the latter team of three ladies ended with the highest score of 23 out of 30 and won the prize of a tin of sweets, which were promptly shared amongst the other teams and eaten. Everyone had contributed towards a buffet, organised by Heather and Sandra. 15