Chandler's Ford Today

education

Always Annoyed in August (Are Exams Easier?)

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Parenthood changes your outlook in many ways. One way is when it comes to secondary school education and beyond, with exams in the offing, you can be guaranteed every August without fail your blood will boil.  You will be annoyed. Why?

Because, without fail, somebody will claim, as the national exam results are much improved, the exams must be getting easier. That same old tired mantra comes out every August. Your blood boils every August. QED. [Read more…] about Always Annoyed in August (Are Exams Easier?)

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Richard Hardie’s Book Writing Fun at Chandler’s Ford Library

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Chandler’s Ford author Richard Hardie will be signing copies of his Young Adult novels, Leap of Faith and Trouble With Swords, at Chandler’s Ford Library.

Richard Hardie will be hosting two sessions on Thursday, 29th October.  The first one will be between 10.30 and 12 noon and is called Let’s Write A Book.  This session is aimed at 10 to 12 year olds. [Read more…] about Richard Hardie’s Book Writing Fun at Chandler’s Ford Library

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Gill James: Top Tips to Writers’ Networking

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This post continues from yesterday’s article where Gill James shared some of her thoughts on life as a creative writing lecturer and author.

Gill gave me my first publishing credit via Alternative Renditions, a Bridge House anthology, and I have since had other work published online and in Limerick Nation and The Shamblelurklers Return. I’m currently working on a short story collection. [Read more…] about Gill James: Top Tips to Writers’ Networking

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Gill James: Teaching Writing

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Earlier this year, I posted my interview with Gill James who as author, creative writing lecturer and small publisher gave me my first break into publication with my short story, A Helping Hand, when it appeared in the Bridge House Publishing anthology, Alternative Renditions. [Read more…] about Gill James: Teaching Writing

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Best of Chandler’s Ford Today: Top 12 Theatre Reviews

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Chandler’s Ford Today has published nearly 800 posts in two and a half years.

Today’s summary post celebrates local theatre reviews written by Chandler’s Ford writers. [Read more…] about Best of Chandler’s Ford Today: Top 12 Theatre Reviews

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VJ Day

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We have had many reminiscences about WWII. Here is one about the end of it all. The newspaper is dated 1945. At the time I was with my family, on holiday in Filey, Yorks. Picnics and games were organised for us children on some waste ground at the rear of our lodgings. [Read more…] about VJ Day

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My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 (Part 6)

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Doug Clews lived in Chandler’s Ford between 1938 and 1966. Now living in Perth, Western Australia, Doug shares his fascinating childhood memories of Chandler’s Ford with us.

Part 6 (Final)

I remember that, due to the shortage of diesel (distillate) and petrol, the buses were powered by gas, generated by a converter of some description, which was located on a little trailer towed behind the bus (very dirty and smelly).
[Read more…] about My Memories of the War Years in Chandler’s Ford 1939 – 1945 (Part 6)

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Why Visit Hampshire?

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In my 15 years of living in Hampshire (since birth), I have seen enough interesting places in this humble county in the South of the UK to call it a great place to be.

There is so much history and exotic locations, some of which are very important to the country’s history. Here are some reasons why Hampshire is an important and must see British location. [Read more…] about Why Visit Hampshire?

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My Memories of ‘The War Years’ in Chandler’s Ford: 1939 – 1945 (Part 5)

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Doug Clews lived in Chandler’s Ford between 1938 and 1966. Now living in Perth, Western Australia, Doug shares his fascinating childhood memories of Chandler’s Ford with us.

Today I’m going to share an eye-witness’ account of what happened in WWII in Winchester, recalled and written by David J. Ward, at that time a student at Peter Symonds’ School, Winchester. [Read more…] about My Memories of ‘The War Years’ in Chandler’s Ford: 1939 – 1945 (Part 5)

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Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: Breaking Free from North End School (Part 8)

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The Big Freeze in 1963 was followed by the ‘Chandler’s Ford Floods’!

As the snow melted, the resulting melt water had to go somewhere – and the river systems were unsuited for the rush!

Monks Brook and its tributaries were much narrower then and the bridges formed obstructions to the passing waters which rushed through. [Read more…] about Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: Breaking Free from North End School (Part 8)

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Easy Steps to Create Images with Text Using PicMonkey

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In this tutorial post, I’ll be showing you step-by-step how to create an image with text.

On Chandler’s Ford Today, all images with added text are created on a free photo editor called PicMonkey.

For each post, I also create a Featured Image measuring 240 x 240 pixels.

You can see all Featured Images to the left of the published posts on the Chandler’s Ford Today Blog page. [Read more…] about Easy Steps to Create Images with Text Using PicMonkey

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My Memories of ‘The War Years’ in Chandler’s Ford: 1939 – 1945 (Part 4)

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Doug Clews lived in Chandler’s Ford between 1938 and 1966. Now living in Perth, Western Australia, Doug shares his fascinating childhood memories of Chandler’s Ford with us.

Extracts from The Doug Clews Story, or As I remember it, 81 years on.

[Read more…] about My Memories of ‘The War Years’ in Chandler’s Ford: 1939 – 1945 (Part 4)

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Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: The Big Freeze in 1963 (Part 7)

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In the winter of 1963 we suffered the worst winter weather for many years.

Snow started falling on Boxing Day 1962, and snow covered the ground for over two months or more.

I was 15 when the coldest winter occurred.

We still rode to school on our bikes, on icy roads and still carried out duties as paperboys, delivering the newspapers. [Read more…] about Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: The Big Freeze in 1963 (Part 7)

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Thornden Hall: Alive with the Sound of Music

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It must be slightly daunting when planning to perform a well-known and loved musical. Everyone knows the story. Everyone knows what the songs are supposed to sound like. Can we do it justice? No such qualms need to have worried the cast and crew of who treated audiences to a feast of entertainment with Thornden School’s summer production of The Sound of Music last week.

The production required a large cast of over 100 performers – [Read more…] about Thornden Hall: Alive with the Sound of Music

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My Memories of ‘The War Years’ in Chandler’s Ford: 1939 – 1945 (Part 3)

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About the writer: Doug Clews lived in Chandler’s Ford between 1938 and 1966. Now living in Perth, Western Australia, Doug shares his fascinating childhood memories of Chandler’s Ford with us.

Extracts from The Doug Clews Story, or As I remember it, 81 years on. [Read more…] about My Memories of ‘The War Years’ in Chandler’s Ford: 1939 – 1945 (Part 3)

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Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: A Summer of Hope and Sorrow (Part 6)

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I remain a club cyclist to this day, having ventured into competitive cycling in the 1970s. I won a few trophies with the Sotonia Cycling Club of which I am a Vice-President.

I remain involved in riding, timekeeping races, and enjoy the companionship and camaraderie the sport offers those of all ages. Some of my present day clubmates are over 80 years of age, and are still active, so there must be some benefits to cycling! [Read more…] about Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: A Summer of Hope and Sorrow (Part 6)

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My Memories of ‘The War Years’ in Chandler’s Ford: 1939 – 1945 (Part 2)

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About the writer: Doug Clews lived in Chandler’s Ford between 1938 and 1966. Now living in Perth, Western Australia, Doug shares his fascinating childhood memories of Chandler’s Ford with us.

Extracts from The Doug Clews Story, or As I remember it, 81 years on.

At the start of the war, there were no such things as shelters, but when the bombing started, community surface shelters began to appear. [Read more…] about My Memories of ‘The War Years’ in Chandler’s Ford: 1939 – 1945 (Part 2)

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Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: Bicycle, Bicycle! (Part 5)

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Herewith another saga……

While I was attending North End Secondary School, I became interested in cycling, not just as a means of transport, but as a sport and pastime.

I was pretty useless at conventional sports like football and cricket, so a chance discussion with another paper boy, introduced me to the Southampton group of the Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC). This was and still is, a National & International club, with local “Sections” based around the country. [Read more…] about Growing up in Chandler’s Ford: 1950s – 1960s: Bicycle, Bicycle! (Part 5)

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Review: Little Shop of Horrors by Toynbee School

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Last night I watched Toynbee School’s production of the comedy musical Little Shop of Horrors.

There are two more nights (Thursday and Friday), so grab your tickets now.

It was a highly entertaining and successful production, with lots of surprises, such as a talking and moaning gigantic plant. [Read more…] about Review: Little Shop of Horrors by Toynbee School

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