Monthly Archives: November 2017

The Battle of Britain, Victory, Defeat or No Result

On the 29th of November 54 members of the Forum attended at the Church Centre, the highest number for the current season.

The guest speaker, introduced by John Spinner, was Martin Cocker whose subject was The Battle of Britain, Victory, Defeat or No Result. He brought with him a very realistic life-size model of a WWII aviator who he introduced as Arthur Aaron from Leeds who was awarded the Victoria Cross when he brought home his damaged plane saving the lives of his crew although seriously injured himself.

This set the scene for his talk which started with a summary of the causes of the war. Martin then moved onto the invention of radar which was crucial in the conduct of the Battle of Britain.

After the German Army swept through Western Europe, Britain stood alone and Adolf Hitler published a leaflet titled Last Appeal to Reason which was ignored, after which Goering offered his Luftwaffe to defeat Britain without the necessity of an invasion.

Martin assessed the tactics of the British and Germans up to the end of the battle which is generally accepted as October 31st1940 after which a land invasion would not have been possible.

Martin then considered the question posed by the title of his talk, coming to the conclusion that the answer was somewhere between a British victory and no result.

Some of the Forum members gave their own opinions before Mike Earle thanked Martin for a fascinating and well-presented talk.

Songs and Laughter (Part 1)

The Forum’s Deputy Chairman Duncan Verity produces a series of video presentations with which he occasionally entertains our Forum and others in the area.

On the 22^nd of November the Wetherby Forum enjoyed one of his features titled Songs and Laughter (Part 1) in which he introduced recordings of musical and comedy performances dating from the 1950s to the present day.

The musical bits were Country and Western, classic pop or show performances whilst the laughter was provided by old favourites the Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise and Les Dawson.

The quality of the performances was much enhanced by Duncan’s presentation equipment, the sound being crystal clear throughout the performance. The presentation was rounded off by a comedy item which surprised everyone.

Chairman Mike Earle thanked Duncan for brightening every members’ morning. The Forum looks forward to enjoying further parts in Duncan’s Songs and Laughter series.

Guy Fawkes Yorkshireman

Wetherby Mens Forum

The Forum’s meeting on the 8^th of November was attended by 51 members.

The guest speaker was Gillian Waters, a part time teacher from York whose chosen subject was Guy Fawkes Yorkshireman, very appropriate for a meeting held three days after Bonfire Night.

Gillian introduced us to the key participants in the Gunpowder Plot including the leader Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes who was invited to join the gang as a “gunner” because of his knowledge of explosives.

The plot extended beyond blowing up the House of Lords with King James and his sons to an armed insurrection in Warwickshire and the kidnap and installation of the King’s young daughter Elizabeth as a puppet Queen.

The cause of their dissatisfaction was the enmity in England between the Protestant and Catholic churches.

Guy Fawkes was born into a Protestant family but became a Catholic in his youth in York, it is believed as a reaction to the martyrdom of Margaret Clitheroe in York.

He then moved to the Netherlands where he received a Catholic education and joined the army of the King of Spain.

The plot was uncovered when Fawkes was found under the House of Lords after information obtained from a spy in the Catholic ranks.

Some of the plotters escaped to Warwickshire where they attempted an armed insurrection which was defeated. All the surviving plotters were executed in London by the process of hung drawn and quartering.

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks for an excellent talk complimenting Gillian on remembering the many participants without using notes.

Estate Planning

On the 18^th of October 49 members attended the meeting at the Church Centre, the largest turnout for the current season.

Guest speaker for the meeting was Matthew Taylor from St. James Place Wealth Management who was accompanied by Jill Waddington and Victoria Maude representing the Huddersfield solicitors firm of Ridley and Hall.

The subject of their presentation was Estate Planning and Matthew opened proceedings by introducing his company and summarising the subjects he would cover, namely inheritance tax, what happens if no will exists, providing for long term care and why one would set up a trust fund.

Jill and Victoria then spoke on the subjects of wills and lasting powers of attorney.

Finally Matthew returned to talk in detail on how to minimise payment of inheritance tax and the management of retirement pensions before mentioning a couple of case studies to illustrate the points made.

He handed out cards to enable members to register to receive financial advice, the cards being entered into a draw with a prize of a bottle of champagne

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks to Matthew, Jill and Victoria for an interesting presentation.

Brock the Badger – Friend or Foe

On the 25^th of October the Forum welcomed as guest speaker Bill Mitchell from Ilkley.

Bill’s talk was titled Brock the Badger – Friend or Foe and it soon became clear that Bill regarded all badgers as his friends.

Of the 42 members present only three had ever seen a live badger and we were all quickly won over by Bill’s splendid pictures of the animals with which he illustrated his talk.

The badger is a mainly nocturnal animal with very poor eyesight which is compensated by a highly developed sense of smell and excellent hearing.

Each badger exudes its individual perfume and can navigate its way home by following the scent trail it has left. The badgers live in an underground burrow called a sett where they sleep, breed and spend most of the winter.

They are however very clean animals and establish a toilet area clear of the sett which all the badgers use. They have a tolerant relationship with foxes and have been known to share their sett with them although the badgers ensure that the foxes stay a safe distance away.

Bill mentioned the problems caused by badger digging and baiting and raised the controversial topic of the spread of bovine tuberculosis by badgers.

A lively question and answer session followed, members being very concerned with badgers digging up their lawns in the search for a meal of earthworms.

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks commenting that members now know a lot more than previously about badgers.

Bed Pans and False Teeth

On the First of November 51 members attended the Forum’s meeting at the Church Rooms, the largest attendance so far this season.

The guest speaker was Denise Adlard, a retired nurse from Denholm near Bradford whose talk was titled Bed Pans and False Teeth – 47 Years in the NHS, although she promised not to talk about false teeth and to only make passing mention to bed pans.

Denise had wanted to be a nurse from the age of four and at seventeen obtained a post as a student nurse at the Bradford Royal Infirmary in the face of opposition from her father. She recalled that this was the only occasion when her mother stood up for her against her father.

On completion of her training she qualified as a District Nurse but then trained as a midwife at St. Luke’s Hospital. She described her first home birth when, as a trainee, she delivered the baby on her own which was strictly against the rules.

She returned to district nursing in Bradford where her district included the Holme Wood estate, at that time reputed to be the most deprived estate in Europe. She related her brushes with the local police, usually caused by speeding between cases, and she also related her problems with unfriendly dogs.

What were the most important lessons which nursing taught her?

How to be scrupulously neat and tidy and to do complicated tasks with a steady hand.

Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks to Denise for giving the Forum a very entertaining morning.