Monthly Archives: November 2016

Yorkshire Air Ambulance

On the 23rd of November the Forum welcomed Helen Murray-Sharpe as guest speaker.  Helen is a volunteer fund raiser with Yorkshire Air Ambulance which was the subject of her talk.  The talk covered two aspects of the work of the Air Ambulance, the operational side of the organisation and how it works as a charity.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance began in 2000 operating from a Portakabin at Leeds /Bradford Airport.  After it was involved in the rescue of TV personality Richard Hammond in 2007 he featured the organisation in a programme titled Helicopter Heroes which greatly raised its profile.  There are now two helicopters, one based at RAF Topcliffe and the other at Nostell Priory near Wakefield.  These bases enable 90% of the population of Yorkshire to be reached within one hour.  At the Nostell base there is an air desk whose operator monitors all 999 calls in the area and can break in to the conversation to offer air ambulance assistance.  Patients are usually flown to the nearest of four major trauma centres, in Leeds, Hull, Sheffield or Middlesbrough.

Helen also related how the air ambulance works with Embrace, an organisation based in Barnsley which provides emergency care for young children.  Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a charity totally reliant on donations for its existence.   For instance its cost is £44 million each year and the average cost of each mission is £3,420.

Helen summarised the methods of fund raising used which never involve harassment of potential donors.  Forum members posed many questions to Helen and a collection was taken to which members generously contributed.

Legends of the Brass Band World

On the 16th of November the Forum’s guest speaker was Chris Helme.  Among his many interests Chris played the tuba in the West Yorkshire Police brass band, having joined his local brass band at the age of nine.

His talk was titled Legends of the Brass Band World and he began by explaining the appeal of this form of music where most styles can be presented.  He illustrated this by playing short extracts of music by Abba and Tchaikovsky played by well-known bands.  He then related the history of brass bands from their inception at the start of the nineteenth century as village bands and the formation of bands sponsored by industrial concerns until the First World War intervened when many bands disappeared or were temporarily disbanded.

Many bands reformed when peace returned and band competitions became as important as they are today.  Chris related the careers of two bandsmen, Edwin Firth from Skipton who was featured on a celebrated recording produced in 1913 but who was killed in June 1918 and Arthur Laycock from Todmorden who was one of the first full-time professional bandsmen but died at the early age of 42 whilst fulfilling an engagement in Cornwall.

Chris Helme has written a successful book on this subject What Brass Bands Did for Me.

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks to Chris for using his passion for brass bands to provide the Forum with an entertaining morning.

The Amusing Side of Traffic Law

On a cold and snowy 9th of November 31 members struggled through to the Church Centre for the Forum weekly meeting.  After Chairman Mike Earle had told his weekly joke Speaker Finder John Spinner introduced our guest speaker Philip Solity.

Until his recent retirement Philip was legal adviser to a magistrates’ court where his duties involved guiding the magistrates in their interpretation of the law and ensuring that defendants were aware of their rights.  His talk was titled The Amusing Side of Traffic Law.  After explaining the methods that the courts use to decide on the penalties for various motoring offences Philip quizzed the Forum members on their knowledge of traffic laws, a test that they performed surprisingly well at.  We learnt the intricacies of the regulations applied to breathalysers and speed cameras before Philip finished with a number of amusing anecdotes relating to motoring cases in the magistrates court.  Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks before the members departed to find that it was still snowing.