Streetwise

Streetwise

Journal of theJournal of theJournal of theJournal of theJournal of theWWWWWAAAAATLING STREET CLUBTLING STREET CLUBTLING STREET CLUBTLING STREET CLUBTLING STREET CLUBOct/Nov/Dec 2011Oct/Nov/Dec 2011Oct/Nov/Dec 2011Oct/Nov/Dec 2011Oct/Nov/Dec 2011VVVVVolume 4 Issue 2olume 4 Issue 2olume 4 Issue 2olume 4 Issue 2olume 4 Issue 2

CHARTER NIGHTCHARTER NIGHTCHARTER NIGHTCHARTER NIGHTCHARTER NIGHTPresident RPresident RPresident RPresident RPresident Roioioioioi

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List of Speakers &Events Diary

If anyone has any suggestions forspeakers or other activities, pleasecontact David Turner.One member per month will beresponsible for finding a speaker.Please Note: Please Note: Please Note: Please Note: Please Note: Unavoidable changes tothis list may occur from time to time.Refer to the club website for the latestupdates:www.watlingstreetclub.co.uk

Chairman Norman BAKERChairman Elect John DAVISImmPast Chairman Patrick WARDSecretary John STEVENSTreasurer Alan BINGHAM

Fellowship John FRANCISFund Raising Patrick WARDProjects Mike CHAPPLESpeaker prog. David TURNERPublicityJournal Editor Tony GOMERSALArchives

Meeting place : The Old HuntersLodge Whipsnade

Meeting time : 19.30 for 20.00

Apologiesfor absence John DENT

Items are accepted for publication at theEditor’s discretion.The Editor reserves the right to edit forclarity or length.Contributors are responsible forensuring material submitted by themdoes not breach copyright or they haveobtained permission, in writing, for itsreproduction.

EDITEDITEDITEDITEDITORIALORIALORIALORIALORIAL

Hello again everyone, Christmas is justround the corner so I hope you have gotmy name on your Christmas present list.No? Oh well, enjoy yourselves anyway.But first we have the Santa street collec-tion to do! That will be fun! I said.......!Lets hope it doesn�t snow!All the events of the past month or twoare reported on in this edition, so if wehave missed anything it�s your fault fornot sending in a report, but my thanks tothose that did.Happy Christmas everyone. TG

Great Grandmother Patricia!Pat Rycroft tells us she was delightedto learn that she is to become a greatgrandmother.Grandson Matthew�s wife Nadine isdue to give birth in April socongratulations all round and fingerscrossed for all concerned.

Nov-17 BUSINESS MEETING 24 Harpers Business Peter HARPERDec 01 Canal Pastor Jenny DIBSTALL 08 BUSINESS MEETING 15 CHRISTMAS PARTY 22 NO MEETING 29 NO MEETINGJan 05 Crystal Palace Youth Coach Gary ISSOTT 12 A talk by Patrick WARD 19 BUSINESS MEETING 26 LADIES NIGHT

Officers in Albania Neil REES

Formed 5th Nov 2008First meeting 13th Nov 2008First Chairman Neil MUNRO

CHAIRMAN�SCHAIRMAN�SCHAIRMAN�SCHAIRMAN�SCHAIRMAN�SCOLUMNCOLUMNCOLUMNCOLUMNCOLUMN

Summer is over and we are looking forward toChristmas.The Pumpkin Fair at Luton Hoo on October the8th was a great success. Not only was it a moneyraiser, it was an enjoyable day for those thatcould come.We have been invited to attend and help nextyear. We have accepted and will look forward to it. We havemore time between now and then to get the Tombola prizes together.

The Charter evening on the 13th October was a great success. A verygood attendance from the Association of Past Rotarians made theevening a good mix of us and them and gave us a chance to get to knowthe individuals that we are talking and communicating with. I�m sure that we will form stronger friendships once weattend more functions together. The latest news is that Stansted havebeen accepted as the next new club and will be chartered in June nextyear. Their Conference is on May 18th next year.

The Dunstable Downs Golf club event on the 27th October was a Greatsuccess, enjoyed by all. We lost our speaker to sickness at the 11thhour, but thankfully a good stand-in speaker was found and this saved the day.As yet we haven�t had a new member apply, which was our objective.

Fellowship was again supreme at the fireworks party held at Patrickand Janet�s house. Due to donation of the fireworks the costs wereunbelievably low and fun was had by all.

We laid a wreath at the memorial in Priory Gardens on Sunday the 13thOctober with the other service clubs and 2000 plus in attendance. Thiswas a moving experience.

Our next event is the Christmas party at the Old Hunter�s Lodge on the15th December. We can look forward to this.

Thanks again for you support.

Norman

LONDONLONDONLONDONLONDONLONDONGLIDINGGLIDINGGLIDINGGLIDINGGLIDINGCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUB

Adrian Hobbs on right with Daniel (seated)with Norman and �Wonky� looking on.

22nd September

Adrian Hobbs with Daniel

Adrian joined the LGC about 15 years ago � after a flight with a businesscolleague.

It is generally a safe hobby � but there are, of course, hazards for which theyhave training to be able to cope with them.

The earliest known attempt at flight was a monk in the 11th century atMalmsbury � who apparently managed a few metres and was rewardedwith a broken leg!

Leonardo Da Vinci was perhaps the next to think about flight � followed bythe Montgolfier Bros in 1783 with their balloon. Then in 1894 Otto Liberthaldeveloped an aeronautical glider, followed by Percy Pilcher in 1897 whowas pipped at the post by the Wright Bros to be first into controlled poweredflight.

In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles banned the Germans from developingpowered aeroplanes � so they went on to develop sophisticated gliders.

The London Gliding Club was formed in 1930 at Downs Farm near IvinghoeBeacon � before moving to Pascombe Pit � with the natural bowl of DunstableDowns behind.

Adrian showed lots of pictures of gliding operations in the early days �including some short films. Some technical problems truncated the numberof slides he could show, but it was sufficient to get over their interestingstory.

Norman, on behalf of the club, thanked both for their presentation andwished the gliding club well in their future development.

Dun The Robber29th September 2011

Paul HeleyThe historic town of Dunstable has a namethat has been at the centre of speculationfor many years. Paul listed the namechanges that have taken place thenproceeded to give his account of thefolklore tales surrounding them.Durocobrivis � RomanDunestaple - MedievalDunstaple - Middle AgesDunstable - Modern

In 1100AD King Henry I built the town of Dunstable �toprevent the mischief of one Dunne�, a famous robber and hisgang.It is claimed that Henry had set a trap to catch the robberDunne by setting his ring on a wooden stake at the crossroadsthereby inviting Dunne to attempt to steal the ring from itsstapled location. This Dun achieved by disguising himself asan old woman to get close to the guard, slash his throat andsteal the ring!!This story was first mooted by a 13th Century Canon at theAbbey � was it a true story?Joyce Godber � who wrote a tome - about the History ofDunstable � did not throw any light on the truth except topoint out that the �stake� appears on the Coat of Arms of theTown.Worthington G Smith was another local historian who referred to a person called Dunnewho he claimed was the former Saxon owner of the Manor and area round the crossroadsand who had lost his lands following the Norman Conquest.Another story claims he was an evil robber based from Bedford who ran a gang whooperated in that area killing and robbing anyone who crossed his path � a posse wasraised and a battle raged with the robbers � Dun himself was executed and his body cutinto pieces.In 1898 A. W. Moring then editor of the Dunstable Gazette, published his own romanticisedversion of events.Paul�s own conclusion is based on an interpretation of the OriginalCoat of Arms.�Dun� refers to the down land and staple with a �p� was a sort ofboundary / marker post. So over the centuries at this crossroads,there would have been some sort of marker postfor the change ofthe county etc. (see diagram of the Coat of Arms here)So Paul believes Dun (or Dunne) was named after the town not theother way round!Norman thanked Paul for his entertaining local interest talk.

How the crossroadsmay have looked in 1100AD

6th October Roger Crews with David Turner

6th October

A Waterway for All

Roger CrewsChairman of the B & MKWaterway Trust

Our Chairman Norman especiallythanked Roger for turning out tospeak on this occasion, asalthough the very next day, early,he and his wife were off onholiday, he had not realised thiswhen accepting our speakerfinder�s invitation, so to allow himto get away at a reasonable time,Roger was invited to speak beforewe conducted any other business matters.Roger lives at Cublington and has a narrow boat which is berthed at the Grove Marina, so itwas only natural that his interest would lean towards the development of the canal system,now having both the means and the time to travel the waterways.

Roger�s presentation centred upon the proposed canal between the Grand Union, at CampbellPark, Central Milton Keynes and the Great Ouse at Kempston. This link had been mooted fora good number of years, the first direct route being drawn up some 200 years ago. The newproposals, which will involve some serious civil engineering solutions, have now beenapproved, but it is the current economic situation, which will dictate when serious progresscan be made.Roger showed pictures of various marinas and waterside developments that have transformedareas of Birmingham and Reading. The proposed link, it is claimed will bring aboutconsiderable economical and commercial benefit to the north of the county.The original link was objected to by Henry Hugh Hoare, hoping that the value of his propertywould increase and he would be able to dictate the price for purchase of land required for thecanal. He failed, but the project was shelved.Brian Young, the first Chair of the Trust had hoped to get approval and funding in place forthe project to be underway in the millennium year. Sadly this was not achieved, and Brianpassed away before this state had been reached.

When looking at the Canal system map of the South Midlands, it is clear that the proposedcanal will close the loop (some 26km in length), which will bring about a waterway that isaccessible to Cambridge, Ely, Peterborough, and Northampton, and will definitely generateboth commercial and tourism benefits.The construction of the canal has to overcome a 60mchange in level, over its length, and this will bring about a 30m single lift near junction 13 ofthe M1. Although not finalised, the proposal is for an engineered solution of the magnitudeof The Falkirk Wheel, a piece of Victorian Engineering, that is a serious tourist attraction inScotland (just off the M9). There will also be two standard lock lifts, and the need to havereconstructed, 2 railway bridges, crossing the Great Ouse, west of Bedford, where headroomhas to be increased.

Roger�s role is to publicise the work of the Trust, and to seek support from all interestedparties. In respect of the former, the Trust are fund raising to purchase a �Community Boat� torun commercial trips on the Ouse. Based in Bedford, volunteers will run educational andleisure trips for schools, colleges, youth and community groups, parishes, local families andvisitors, in fact anyone who can be enthused by having fun on and by water.A vote of thanks for an interesting talk was proposed by Norman our Chairman. This report by John Stevens Photo courtesy of David Turner

Featuringthe

WATLING STREET CLUB

TOMBOLACome along to Help

and/orJoin in the fun of the day

A good number of members volunteered tohelp at the Pumpkin and Apple Gala at LutonHoo Estate on Saturday 8th October. Theweather was relatively kind and all the do-nated items were disposed of via the Tom-bola raising several hundred pounds for ourcharities. Well done..now for next year.....?!

LUTON HOO WALLED GARDENLUTON HOO WALLED GARDENLUTON HOO WALLED GARDENLUTON HOO WALLED GARDENLUTON HOO WALLED GARDEN

President Roilighting the Flame ofFriendship at the com-mencement of theproceedings.

Some of the members shownbeing presented with theirAPP lapel badges.

Chairman Normanreceives the Charterfrom President Roi

Charter Night

13th October 2011

Chairman Norman receives the‘Loving cup’ from Richard Collins (standing)

The visiting Past Rotarians with AllanWalmsley holding the framed Charter

The Dutch trophy The CHARTER

The assembled gathering of members

WATLING STREET CLUB CHARTER NIGHTOn Thursday 13th October the Watling Street Club received its Charter fromthe Association of Past Rotarians, President Roi Thomas. The event was heldat the Old Hunters Lodge in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire and attended by othercouncil members including Vice President Allan Wordsworthand his wife Anne, Extension Officer Alan Walmsley with wife Margaret, Treasurer Roy Limbwith wife Olive, and Richard Collins, Secretary of the West London Club withhis wife Jill.President Roi opened proceedings by kindling the Flame of Friendship andremarking that as the club was registered in May 2010, the Jubilee year of theAssociation, it is known as the Jubilee club.Norman Baker received the Charter from President Roi and was formallyinstalled as the Founder President/chairman of the club by the presentation ofhis ribbon/medal of office. Club members were then each presented with theirlapel badges. The club has 20 members of which 13 were present for theceremony.Norman Baker responded with a few words recalling the history of the cluband the events that lead to joining the APR. He thanked Alan Walmsley for thecontribution he made by attending an initial meeting to explain the workings ofthe APR and providing support and information on an ongoing basis ever since.President Roi spoke of the Association’s beginnings at Bournmouth in 1948and presented a pocket history written by a member covering the first fortyyears, but as the association is now into its fiftieth year there is an addendumto come. Roi went on to mention the Dutch connection and how they operate.He passed round for inspection the small trophy presented by the Dutchcomprising three hands of significance. He concluded by emphasising that Allmembers of the Association are a team working together in service andfellowship.Chairman/President Norman responded and proposed a toast to the guests.The President of the West London Club, Richard Collins then recalled his ownclub’s formation last year and the reasons behind their decision to leaveRotary. He then presented the ‘Loving Cup’ to Norman to hold until the nextnew club is chartered, which won’t be too far away it seems.Alan Walmsley rose to offer greetings from President Rex and the CleethorpesClub. He was pleased that the culmination of a years work has resulted in – anew club for the APR.He concluded with a joke – which we won’t repeat here- he may want to use itagain sometime.

Finally, President Roi extinguished the Flame of Friendship and the eveningclosed with a final toast........’To lasting friendships’ .........from Chairman/President Norman.

This report was published in the Dunstable Gazette on 26th October

Norman thanksMichelle

3rd November

You arewhat youare!Ex Chief InspectorVic Botterill

The Chief Inspector gave a veryamusing and interesting talkwhich examined perceptions andexpectations one individual hasto another.He was helped in his demonstra-tions by Kay Munro and ChrisPage whose reactions to his ap-proaches were clearly the resultof preconceived attitudes andupbringing. In a good way - ofcourse.

Vic was a last minute stand-inwho kindly covered the slot va-cated by Stumpy Sanderson whohad gone down with an ailment.We hope to see him at some fu-ture time.Vic, however, was superb andmore than made up for any dis-appointment we may have felt.

GUY FAWKESGUY FAWKESGUY FAWKESGUY FAWKESGUY FAWKESFIREWORKSFIREWORKSFIREWORKSFIREWORKSFIREWORKSNIGHTNIGHTNIGHTNIGHTNIGHT

atPatrick and

Janet�s inStudham

with thanks tothe Francis

family for thefireworks

andandandandandafter theafter theafter theafter theafter theFIREWORKS...FIREWORKS...FIREWORKS...FIREWORKS...FIREWORKS...the FOOD andthe FOOD andthe FOOD andthe FOOD andthe FOOD andDRINKSDRINKSDRINKSDRINKSDRINKS

The chef’s are readythe food is too!!

Val is first in thequeue.Saga cruises eatyour heart out!

Robert looks pensive - or is he justdisappointed he missed the fireworks?

John Davis preparesto eat the biggestflower sandwichever!

John thanks Janet forthe use of her homeand hopes she won’tmind the mess wemade in her kitchen!

Holly ignores the noisy throng around herand teaches Mum how to play a game.

Now for a good chin-wag.

Dr Mike is on the right in our picturewith chairman of the club Norman

10th November

My life in theMedicalProfessionDr Mike Chapple

Our own member and local paediatrician, now retired, DrMike Chapple gave an interesting and amusing insight intohis life in the medical profession

Dr Mike recalled happy incidents from his early life as astudent doctor even though his working week was anythingfrom 112 to 124 hours! Mike thought this was little short ofexploitation and was pleased when doctors’ hours weremade more amenable in his later years.He recalled being so very tired on one occasion that he fellasleep whilst stitching up a very delicate part of a female’sanatomy; only to be rudely awoken from his head down andhighly compromising position by an indignant and iratematron!Mike’s profession required him to move, with his family,around the country from Reading to Bristol to Southamptonand other places before settling in Luton for the past 30years or so.As you would expect of a pediatrician, Mike is passionateabout the care of babies and small children. Whilst at theL&D hospital he set up a fund raising scheme to provide foressential equipment for the paediatric intensive care unit.As a result the unit’s reputation grew so that its expertisebecame a mecca for the treatment of babies over a widearea of the south east of the country and remains so to thisday; a result of which Mike is justly proud.He will be remembered with affection by many children andtheir families who may have benefited from his skills duringthe years he spent at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.Norman thanked Mike for his amusing and interesting talk.

WE WILL REMEMBER THEMWE WILL REMEMBER THEMWE WILL REMEMBER THEMWE WILL REMEMBER THEMWE WILL REMEMBER THEMThe Royal British LegionPoppy Collection was as-sisted by club members whojoined the ranks of collectorsin Dunstable to help raiseover seven thousandpounds.Our picture shows DavidTurner with John Stevens inAsda.

President Norman accompanied byclub secretary John Stevens attendedthe wreath layingceremony and serv-ice of Remembrance. Norman laid theclub�s wreath (see right).Unfortunately we didn�t get a pictureof Norman laying the wreath on thewar memorial, shown below after theservice.

YOUR HOLIDAY PHOTO GEMS

Norman on holiday in Corn-wall this year with some ofhis family.

This tickled Mike Hicks� senseof humour when he saw it onboard his cruise ship the �Bal-moral� in the Med.

Groan along with me.....Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly.. They lit a fire in the craft,it sank, proving once and for all that you can�t have your kayak andheat it.

Our ice cream man was found lying on the floor of his van coveredwith hundreds and thousands. Police say that he topped himself.

Man goes to the doctor, with a strawberry growing out of his head.Doc says �I�ll give you some cream to put on it.�

�Doc I can�t stop singing �The Green, Green Grass of Home��That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome. ��Is it common?��It�s not unusual.�