Camberley Royal British Legion Poppy Day Launch – Saturday 27 October 2018

Surrey Heath Borough Council announce the arrangement for The Poppy Day Launch in Camberley,

On Saturday 27 October, Camberley’s Park Street will play host to the fifth Poppy Day Launch in aid of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

Starting at 10.0 am on Park Street, the event will feature entertainment and displays from the local Stagecoach Theatre Group, and Liberty
Gymnastics clubs, plus other attractions. There will also be a static display of vintage military vehicles, classic cars and motorbikes from the Riders Branch of the Royal British Legion [RBL].

At 10.50 am a parade of the Royal British Legion Standard Bearers, Sea Cadets, Army Cadets and ATC and representatives from the scouting organisations, will march the length of Park Street accompanied by the Frimley and Camberley Cadet Corps of Drums.

At 11.0 am the RBL exhortation will be given by the Mayor of Surrey Heath, Cllr Dan Adams, followed by a 30-second silence. The Mayor will then officially open the Poppy Launch of 2018.

The fun will then continue for the rest of the day featuring a performance in The Atrium at 3.0 pm by ‘The Bombshells’ plus other dancers and performers, all giving up their time to give you a good time – and hopefully encourage you to give generously to this great cause. Radio Frimley Park Hospital will also be there.

In addition to this entertainment there will also be a Poppy Concert at Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green on Saturday 2 November at 7.30 pm.  This will include performances by the Surrey Police band, a drumming group and a choir. Tickets are £8, and can be booked at www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/EMGIKE or 07876 688977.

Camberley Royal British Legion Chairman, David Kemp said: “The Camberley Royal British Legion has been really successful in raising money for the Poppy Appeal over the years. Last year the event was well supported again by the people of Camberley and Surrey Heath, with more than £48k raised – a brilliant effort by all involved.

“We try to provide something for everyone at the Poppy Day Launch. This year there’s an added significance, marking the centenary of the end of World War One. I’d like to thank all of the individuals and organisations that are giving up their time to make this fantastic day possible.”

A day of photos: More about that lovely fireplace

Earlier in the week I said I would be in London, at the London Marriott Hotel County Hall, for a formal lunch.

I used a photo of the elegant fireplace in the hotel’s reception in my blog post. The fireplace deserves to have more about it described here. There is a splendid carving in the centre with words above describing the scene. So here are photos of the carving and words. [Click on images to expand].

 

A day of photos: Camberley Library smothered in knitting

It was National Libraries Week last week. I didn’t visit during the week, though did on Monday this week. Camberley Women’s Institute had, impressively, decorated Camberley Library in knitted objects of all sorts.

Uncomfortable reading novels containing non-PC language

I’ve recently completed Marazan, a thriller a novel by Nevil Shute. I am now reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

Both novels used very non politically correct language in describing different nationalities and races. While the descriptions and words jar, leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling, it does’t stop me continuing to read well-written and engaging stories. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an avowedly anti-slavery and anti-racist novel. I suppose I must see the frequent use of the ‘N’ word as of its time.

I wouldn’t want either book to be banned for its non-PC language, or even rewritten to remove the offending words.

Are you interested in history?

If you are, you might consider the 2018/19 lecture programme of the West Surrey Branch of The Historical Association. Click on the image to link to the lecture programme.

Demonstrating home cider making

At Camberley and District Probus Club, of which I’m a member, meets monthly for lunch, after which we are regaled with a post lunch talk.

At our post October lunch  it was not a talk, but a complete demonstration of cider making. To add to the entertainment Dr Nevin J Stewart, founder of Juice and Strain, competed with a colleague to see who could juice 10 kilos of apples in the fastest time.

Speed wasn’t the point of the demonstration, it was ease of use, and using the effective and cheap equipment. Members were given a glass of the apples juiced and a glass of cider. Both excellent. A feature of the Juice and Strain method is the clarity of the cider produced. Dr Stewart puts this down to the separation of the apple juice from the crushed apple remnants, which in doing so removes the enzyme that tends to make cider cloudy.

Here’s Dr Stewart on the left in a photo juicing apples. and a copy of the front page of his flyer. There’s a YouTube video of the process HERE.

The book covers of the ten books I’ve enjoyed

In the past couple of weeks I have posted just the cover of each of the 10 books I’ve enjoyed. The idea came from Iain Dale.

I said that when I had completed posting all ten book covers I would put all the book covers into one article. Here are my ten book covers.

Looking at my choices they are all novels. There are no biographies, the only one coming close is All Quiet on the Western Front. It seems to me, now that I have chosen my ten books the defining characteristics are that I like a good story, preferably an adventure story. Just two books are by female authors and both having a strong feminine theme.

It got progressively more difficult as I got nearer to ten. It was a struggle to exclude the works of E.M. Forster, John Masters, Muriel Spark, Rudyard Kipling, Anthony Trollope, and maybe just one of the superb crime novels by Ruth Rendell, Donna Leon or H R F Keating, and what about a witty book by Michael Sadler or Tony Hawks. Ah well. I made my choices, and am happy with them.