Chandler's Ford Today

storytelling

VE Day – Thursday 8th May 1945

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We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing, but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead – Winston Churchill.

VE DAY CELEBRATIONS IN LONDON, 8 MAY 1945 (MH 21835) HM King George VI and Queen Elizabeth with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret joined by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London on VE Day. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205021954
VE DAY CELEBRATIONS IN LONDON, 8 MAY 1945 (MH 21835) HM King George VI and Queen Elizabeth with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret joined by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London on VE Day. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205021954

Tuesday, May 8 th 1945, was an ordinary day. I was seven years old, and the only special event was that we had an egg for breakfast, a real egg, not dried egg powder, which came in
packets from America. When the newspaper dropped through the letterbox, mother picked it up.

‘The war is over,’ she cried, waving the paper high above her head. She rushed out into the street. ‘It’s over, the war is over,’ she shouted gleefully to an empty road. She gave me a hug and a kiss. ‘The war is over, it’s peacetime now.’ [Read more…] about VE Day – Thursday 8th May 1945

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Who are the Mysterious Postbox Topper Ladies in Chandler’s Ford?

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Dear readers, you must have seen many intriguing postbox toppers around Chandler’s Ford. They surprise us, delight us, and make us smile. A splash of colour; a creative design; a world re-imagined. For the past few years, the remarkable ladies (with some of their ‘helpers’) from Chandler’s Ford u3a have graced our streets and quiet lanes with their creations made with love and crafted with great skills. You may even feel a bit uplifted on a mundane trip to Asda, as the topper may remind you of an upcoming special celebration or a significant historical event, or its playful, whimsical nature may take you back to your childhood.

The ladies who have brought us joy with their Postbox Toppers.
The ladies who have brought us joy with their Postbox Toppers.

Credit: Special thanks to Sandra and Dave Claxton for providing the story and all the photographs in this article below.

Since the amazing response to our 25th Anniversary Postbox Toppers of 2023, our “Topper Ladies” have barely stopped in their endeavours producing themed Toppers for the King’s Coronation, Remembrance Week, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Summer, the Olympics and were even asked to produce a Postbox Topper to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Eastleigh Borough last May.

Eastleigh Borough Council's AGM at The Point, Eastleigh, on Monday 20th May 2024. The new Mayor Councillor David Pragnell was elected. Photo by Chris Balcombe for Eastleigh Borough Council. Chandler's Ford U3A created a postbox topper to celebrate 50 years of Eastleigh Borough Council.
Eastleigh Borough Council’s AGM at The Point, Eastleigh, on Monday 20th May 2024. The new Mayor Councillor David Pragnell was elected.
Photo by Chris Balcombe for Eastleigh Borough Council. Chandler’s Ford U3A created a postbox topper to celebrate 50 years of Eastleigh Borough Council.

[Read more…] about Who are the Mysterious Postbox Topper Ladies in Chandler’s Ford?

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Author Interview – Debz Hobbs-Wyatt – If Crows Could Talk – Part 2

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Image Credits:-
Many thanks to Debz Hobbs-Wyatt for supplying book cover and author pics. Some images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Some images are directly from Pixabay. Screenshots were also taken by me, Allison Symes.

Introduction – Part 2

It is a great pleasure to welcome Debz Hobbs-Wyatt back to Chandler’s Ford Today for Part 2 of an in-depth interview celebrating the launch of her new novel, If Crows Could Talk (Walela Books).

Part 1 from last week covered Debz’s writing journey and wonderful advice regarding agents and the writing life. She also discussed the small presses (both of us are connected to Bridge House Publishing). Link at the bottom of this section of the interview if you missed Part 1. Whatever stage of the writing life you find yourself at now, do check both parts of this interview out. Debz has shared lots of wonderful tips.

[Read more…] about Author Interview – Debz Hobbs-Wyatt – If Crows Could Talk – Part 2

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Star of Wonder

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We read in Matthew’s Gospel that the magi observed the star at the nativity ‘at its rising’. Knowing this to be a sign fulfilling a prophecy of a Messiah’s birth, they followed it to Bethlehem. But what was this star? The last 2000 years has given us a feast of knowledge based on solid research, so that we are now in a position to unwrap the story of this wonderful and significant sign.

Star image by congerdesign from Pixabay
Star image by congerdesign from Pixabay

The most likely interpretation seems to be that this was a supernova [Read more…] about Star of Wonder

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Flying an Autogyro

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An autogyro is a strange flying machine resembling a helicopter but has no engine power to the rotor. Forward thrust is provided by a conventional propellor, usually mounted at the back. There are no wings; lift is provided by the rotor blades. Power for rotation comes from the wind moving through the rotor, like a child’s windmill. I set out to fly in one.

The author with the M16 autogyro
The author with the M16 autogyro

To get the autogiro into the air, its propellor pushes the machine forward, and the slipstream flows through the backwards tilted rotor. When the rotor is up to speed, it is tilted slightly forward to provide upward lift. Because the rotor blades are long and heavy, it takes a while to get them going. Modern machines have a flexidrive from the engine to start them off. The drive is disconnected when the rotor is up to speed, about 200 rpm. [Read more…] about Flying an Autogyro

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The Posada Journey

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“Mary and Joseph played with my Barbie dolls. But they didn’t have Santa hats to wear.” Alys, aged six, and her brother Jamie, three, were just two of the children who took part in the local Posada journey here in Chandler’s Ford. This annual event is become increasingly common in the weeks of Advent, as we prepare for Christmas.

"Welcome Mary & Joseph to stay at your place" - from Church of England website
“Welcome Mary & Joseph to stay at your place” – from Church of England website

The journey involves the nativity figures of Mary and Joseph, who will later adorn the crib in church during the Christmas season. The idea is that they make their way around the area, staying in people’s homes, usually for one night, before they move – or are moved – on. Families and individuals sign up for a roster so that the holy couple is passed from home to home each day. [Read more…] about The Posada Journey

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The Mosque

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A group of us from U3A visited the Masjid Abu Bakr (Masjid means Mosque) in St Marys, Southampton. St Marys boasts three mosques within 150 yards of each other. This one caters for 1000 of the 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide.

Why would a group of elderly Christians visit a mosque, particularly in times like these? All of us were brought up in the Christian tradition, some practising, some C of E by default, some, like the author, with no religious belief and others hovering between ­– the agnostics. Curiosity united us. We were invited to remove our shoes and the ladies covered their hair.

The verger

We were met by the ‘verger’ who explained the five pillars of Islam; the obligatory rituals and practices of all Muslims. The Shahada ­– the creed “I bear witness that there is no deity but God…” equivalent to the Apostles’ Creed. Salah – the practice of prayer, five times a day while facing Mecca. Zakat – almsgiving, set at 2.5% of what you have remaining after meeting your household expenses. Sawm – fasting during the month of Ramadan and, finally, the Hajj – a pilgrimage to Mecca to be made once in a lifetime by all who can afford it. [Read more…] about The Mosque

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Pure Nostalgia

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Last Century

Long ago, my little sister and I had a holiday with our parents and grandparents in Dunoon, Scotland. Grandfather loved things mechanical, steam-driven and related to the sea, so the opportunity to sail aboard the Waverley, a paddle-driven steamship, was as close to heaven as he could get on this earth. He bought tickets lasting a week and we sailed the Clyde with him every day.

From Dunoon, the Waverley set across to Wemyss Bay for more passengers, and the adventure began. We approached the Isle of Arran, a misty blue hillock on the horizon. Gradually, it resolved into a mountain of colour, green bracken on the lower slopes, replaced by yellow gorse and then purple heather over the top backed by the blue sky. At Lochranza, groups of young people disembarked to visit the Youth Hostel. Would I ever be old enough to be considered a youth and leave for an adventure on an island? I hovered between childhood and being a youth, wanting to be considered grown-up.

We sailed on to Campbelltown and then by bus to Machrihanish, where North Atlantic rollers dashed against the rocky shore. Against the wind, the roar of the waves and sea spray like a fog on the land, we held bags of chips in our hands and felt good to be alive.

In the gloaming, we sailed the smooth obsidian-black waters of Loch Fyne with mountains on either side. We had a feeling of space and stillness on the quiet waters. Sheep grazed the hillsides, and white-washed cottages dotted the shore.

Later that year, the Scottish Nationalists removed the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey and took it back to Scotland.

SS Waverley off Swanage image by Robert Mason CCO
SS Waverley off Swanage image by Robert Mason. CCO

Last Month

Seventy or more years passed, and my sister and I embarked, once more, on the Waverley but in Southampton. On a beautiful sunny day, our cruise took us to Portsmouth, Yarmouth, around the Needles to Freshwater Bay and back. [Read more…] about Pure Nostalgia

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Winchester United Nations

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At 4.30 am on a Sunday, as the sky was lightening, an ambulance with me on board rocked and bumped from our house en route to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester. A sudden fever and collapse caused Madam some alarm, and fortunately for me, her 999 call brought the ambulance within 30 minutes.

‘We’ve got to strap you in, by law,’ explained the ex-soldier paramedic. No need, I thought. But the potholes and ambulance suspension showed it was necessary.

Embed from Getty Images

The RHCH was quiet at dawn on a Sunday, and I was soon in a bed.

‘What’s been happening to you?’ asked Dr Hemeda as he looked me over. I asked him where he qualified. ‘Ein Shams, Cairo. We’ll get you x-rayed.’ We chatted about Ein Shams, as I have lectured there a few times. It is the oldest of Cairo’s Universities and the Centre for Muslim Studies. On my first visit there, I took a bottle of Whisky for my host but thought better of it and kept it in my bag. [Read more…] about Winchester United Nations

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Sri Lanka – a Travel Journal

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After COVID, cancer, the cold and a few other obstacles, we have found our way back to Kandy. We spent a few days sofa-surfing, including a few days in the Hanthana Hills at Jungle Tide, a lovely place to stay. The track up to a lovely traditional house was interesting; see the picture. The views across the valley to the opposite Knuckles range of mountains are fantastic. Eventually, we found a spacious apartment beside the Mahawali River. I told my friend where we were. His response was, ‘We’ll come over for dinner tonight. The whole family.’

The Road to Jungle Tide
The Road to Jungle Tide

[Read more…] about Sri Lanka – a Travel Journal

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Mary’s Christmas Story – In Her Own Words

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MARY’S STORY

Oh, I’m so tired. I’m glad I’m able to ride some of the time on Eysl, our donkey, though I do have to walk some of the time, to give him a rest too. I hope we’re nearly there. My back aches and I’ve had some pains – I wonder if that’s the baby coming. I haven’t mentioned those to Joseph – I don’t want to worry him. He’s already worrying about where we‘ll stay when we reach Bethlehem, what with so many people on the road going for the census, like us.

I’m tired and I’m afraid. I’m afraid of what people say about me being pregnant and unmarried. Afraid that the shame will mean we can’t find anywhere to sleep tonight. Afraid of what having the baby – the Son of God – will mean for the family. Will Joseph and I be able to have a normal family life? I’m afraid of what the future holds for us all.

The Virgin in Prayer. Artist: Sassoferrato. © The National Gallery, London. Via Wikimedia.
The Virgin in Prayer. Artist: Sassoferrato. © The National Gallery, London. Via Wikimedia.

I do love Joseph. I already did, when we got betrothed. But then when I had to tell him I was with child, I was sure he’d want to walk away. He told me he thought he might, but without making too much of a fuss. But he didn’t, he said he’d stand by me and the baby. He told me he had a dream where an angel told him to take me as his wife, that what I’d said was true – that the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that it’ll be a boy and we’re to call him Jesus. And that he’ll save people from their sins. I’m not sure how that last bit works – but we’ll see. I wonder if it’s what the prophets foretold all those years ago. Could he be the Messiah? My little baby? [Read more…] about Mary’s Christmas Story – In Her Own Words

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Hiltingbury Polish Dependants’ Hostel in Chandler’s Ford

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My name is Pawel Basisty and I’m member of Friends of Polish Veterans Association in Southampton. Our organisation is trying to make sure that our army veterans and important history dates are not forgotten but celebrated. Often we take part in the same events as British Legion.

This time we will celebrate the unveiling of the commemorative plaque for 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Hiltingbury Polish Dependants’ Hostel in Chandler’s Ford.

The story of the Polish Dependants' Hostel, Hiltingbury by Marian Sobieraj
The story of the Polish Dependants’ Hostel, Hiltingbury by Marian Sobieraj

Unveiling of the commemorative plaque will take place at 4.30 pm 27 of November 2022 in Polish Club Southampton 507 Portswood Road SO17 2TH.
Unveiling of the commemorative plaque will take place at 4.30 pm 27 of November 2022 in Polish Club Southampton 507 Portswood Road SO17 2TH.

[Read more…] about Hiltingbury Polish Dependants’ Hostel in Chandler’s Ford

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Making Monarchs

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The Accession Council

The most urgent matter after the death of a Monarch is a meeting of the Accession Council. When King George VI died, the council met the same day to decide that Elizabeth was the rightful heir to the throne. They adjourned and met again a couple of days later when Elizabeth had returned from Africa. At the second meeting, she was asked to take the Oath. Next came the Proclamation.

Beautiful flower tributes for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. at Winchester Cathedral.
Beautiful flower tributes for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
at Winchester Cathedral.

For me, the Proclamation of Elizabeth as Queen was on a cold February day in 1952. It was an event presaging a brighter future. We assembled at school in Cheltenham while the mayor proclaimed the Queen in his broad rural Gloucester accent. He reminded us to sing ‘God save the QUEEN’, not King, and we became Elizabethans. Now we change back. I sang God save the King in Winchester on September 11th. We are now Caroleans.

St James Palace where the first Proclamation is read. (by Helloworld314 CC BY-SA 4.0)
St James Palace where the first Proclamation is read. (by Helloworld314 CC BY-SA 4.0)

1952

In those days, city centres were being cleared of rubble from the blitz and slowly rebuilt. Some foods, sugar especially, were rationed, and hardly anyone had a TV or a car. Some public buildings, like our school, had central heating but it didn’t work. Wartime identification cards were abolished that year.

In the arts, The Archers was already established, and The Mousetrap opened; both are still running. The church of Rome banned the works of André Gide (who died 1951), while the Soviet Union executed thirteen Jewish poets. The diary of Anne Frank was published. In the sciences, Alan Turing published an important paper on Morphogenesis and was arrested for indecency. Experiments showed DNA to be the material of genes, not protein, as previously thought. Understanding DNA is one of the great scientific advances of the Elizabethan age. Two animals were sighted for the last time before becoming extinct. Britain declared that it had the atomic bomb. That winter, we suffered the Great London Smog, which killed thousands.

Civic and Army dignitaries arriving for the Proclamation in Winchester
Civic and Army dignitaries arriving for the Proclamation in Winchester

Who shall be King?

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Old School Reports

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All parents will have received a school report this summer depicting their offsprings’ achievements during the Summer term. From those achievements, they will extrapolate the next 10 years of the child’s life. My parents must have despaired when they received this report from the Spring Term of 1949 when I was 11 years old. How did it all turn out for me? The school reports I have seen in recent years are wordier and less direct.

Image by Simona from Pixabay
Image by Simona from Pixabay

Holy Scripture – Must put more energy into this important subject. The school was run by a religious fanatic, and we were forced to read and memorise parts of the bible. By this time, I would have read the Bible through once. In the next two years, we were forced to read it again. A few years later, I got a distinction in Divinity for GCSE. As a result, I am one of the best-informed atheists in the Christian religion. In recent years I have learned something about Buddhism also.

French – Tended to laziness. I tried but was it le, la or les: de, du or de la? I had a 33% chance of getting it right. When I needed to learn some French as an adult, I began to make progress only when I forgot all about school French. [Read more…] about Old School Reports

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Photography on the Isle of Wight

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We like to think of the Isle of Wight as quaintly fifty years behind the times, but one hundred and fifty years ago, Hester Fuller, William Thackeray’s granddaughter, declared Freshwater was equivalent to the Golden Age of Athens under Pericles. The analogy does not hold up as Pericles was involved in the Peloponnesian Wars, whereas Freshwater’s Golden Age was roughly coterminous with Queen Victoria’s reign, the period known as Pax Brittanica.

Julia Margaret Cameron
Julia Margaret Cameron

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) was the facilitator of the Freshwater intellectual powerhouse. Her house, Dimbola, became the site of an artistic Salon from 1860 onwards. Alfred Tennyson, the poet laureate, lived nearby at Farringford and was a regular visitor, as was G F Watts, the artist with his child bride, Ellen Terry, actress. Members of the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt were also visitors. [Read more…] about Photography on the Isle of Wight

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St George’s Day Glide

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St George’s Day, April 23rd dawned clear and sunny. A cold front had passed, and a gentle breeze from the North covered the land. With no rain for a while, the land was dry, and so was the air. The sun warmed both and the warm air rolled gently southwards over England. When the air rolled up against the South Downs, it had to rise and being warm, it continued to rise as thermals from the top of the Downs.

This was precisely the right day for soaring the South Downs. Everyone at Lasham gliding club had the same idea, but we made an early bid and were number twelve on the take-off grid with many others behind us.

As soon as the air temperature reached the trigger value for thermals, the tugs fired up their engines and began to tow us into the air. There is a delicious moment when I have my parachute on, I’m strapped in the cockpit, and all the pre-flight checks are done. Then, I can sit quietly, watching the others take off.

Ready to depart

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Hand Gestures

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Of the many hand gestures, from the encouraging thumbs-up to the vulgar V sign, there is one that drew me to the history of the Popes; the sign of benediction. With the hand held aloft, palm forward and the thumb, index and middle fingers extended, and the little and ring fingers curled into the palm, the priest intones the benediction and blessing. See the diagram below.

Jean-Marc Rosier from http://www.rosier.pro, CC BY-SA 3.0
Jean-Marc Rosier from http://www.rosier.pro, CC BY-SA 3.0

The three-fingered sign of benediction and of damage to the ulnar nerve.

 

Strangely the same hand posture is also a sign of damage to the ulnar nerve. The ulnar is one of two main nerves supplying the skin and muscles of the hand. It is usually damaged the elbow. Most of us have banged our ‘funny bones’ and experienced unpleasant tinglings in the ring and little fingers. That is a temporary bruising of the ulnar nerve. [Read more…] about Hand Gestures

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Brickmaking in Chandler’s Ford

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It won’t come as a surprise to any local gardener that brickmaking was a big industry round here 100-150 years ago. Our heavy clay soil, as well as the local chalk downland, made this area an obvious site for several brickfields over the centuries. In fact, in the late nineteenth century in Hampshire there were 100-150 works producing clay products such as bricks, tiles and pipes.

Chandler's Ford Community Halls, Hursley Road.
Chandler’s Ford Community Halls, Hursley Road.

It was in around 1870 that it was discovered that our clay soil was particularly suitable for brickmaking. There were three brickfields in Chandler’s Ford. The biggest, which was also one of the largest in the country, was Bell’s, which occupied the land now taken by Chandler’s Ford industrial estate. The position of the railway no doubt helped its success as this was the main means of transporting the finished bricks. A short single-track branch line ran through the brickfield, joining the Eastleigh-Romsey line at the station near the signal box. The whole process of clay extraction, moulding to shape and firing was done on site. This last was not always popular with local residents due to the fumes emanating from the kilns. This brickfield had the honour of providing 35,000 bricks for the construction of the Royal Courts of Justice in the 1870s.

Brickmaking in Chandler's Ford
Brickmaking in Chandler’s Ford

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The Animals’ Christmas

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Imagine you’re a bystander, just happening to be there, watching the nativity story unfold. Not a convenient passer-by but … an animal. The Christmas story is full of animals, from donkeys and oxen to sheep and camels, so – why not?

Sarah the spider, resident of Mary’s home in Nazareth (note: Mary doesn’t sweep away Sarah’s web because it catches the flies) observes Gabriel and the Annunciation. Daniel the donkey carries Mary and Joseph to the stable in Bethlehem where he also finds rest. Obadiah the ox, who lives in this stable, grudgingly makes room for the interloper and then is present at Jesus’ birth. Lilah the lamb comes with the shepherds, having seen the angel with the amazing news, and Khalid the camel, along with his mates Kanika and Keb, are the transport for the wise men as they follow the star.

The Animals' Christmas - by Aileen Urquhart (Author), Emma Repetti (Illustrator)
The Animals’ Christmas – by Aileen Urquhart (Author), Emma Repetti (Illustrator)
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The Reunion

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We gathered once again for the 65th anniversary of our first meeting in the university’s Anatomy Department. Eight of us are left, but another eight are still living in the far corners of the world. We were like a copse of trees, saplings, whips and small shoots to begin with. We needed to be nurtured and trained in our respective careers.

Reunion

Now, in the late Autumn, we are a dying wood. Our abilities fall away like autumn leaves; our branches crack and tumble. What remains creaks with decay and degeneration within. The killing winter frosts will soon finish us all. [Read more…] about The Reunion

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