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SPEAKERS (PREVIOUS)

Tuesday 16th August

Mischa Lindan - Violin Recital

He had travelled to Warrington from Belarus at the age of 11, as part of the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. He won a scholarship to Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester where he became a boarder. He was helped by a generous gift from Sir Paul McCartney as part of a bursary programme. He moved on to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester for two years before moving to San Sebastian University School of Music in Spain in 2006. He is a virtuoso violin performer, and we were privileged to have him with us
Mischa Lindan began his recital with some 19th century composers, starting with the Adagio from Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto, followed by Massenet’s Meditation, from “Thais”. Paganini wrote music for violin and guitar, inspired by Italian opera. Mischa played his Cantabile. Next came the lively dance “Czardas” by Monti. Moving to the 20th Century we heard Elgar’s “Salut d’amour”, followed by violinist Kreisler’s “Viennese Miniature March”. Then in lively, ragtime style Mischa played his arrangement of Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer”. He concluded his programme with the second movement from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major (Air on the G string) by Bach, one of his favourite composers. As an encore he played a virtuoso piece, Paganini’s Caprice No. 13. Because of the way he played the violin, it was rumoured that Paganini had sold his soul to the devil, causing doubt as to whether he could be buried in consecrated ground. At the end of the 19th century musicians were playing higher and lower notes on the violin than previously thought possible.
In response to questions Mischa explained the left-hand vibrato used by string players to add colouration. His own violin is a 2016 copy of a Guarneri. He played in the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra at the age of 19. As the world moves on it is difficult to make a living in the classical music profession. He has recorded a CD of his work. At present he has students and plays solos and is also taking a master’s degree in Management. During the pandemic he did IT work. Ken Hunt said he remembered first hearing Massenet’s Meditation and it was fascinating to see it played in close up.

TUESDAY 2ND AUGUST 

 Susan Ord “The Secrets of Handwriting”.

Susan said she took three years to obtain a Diploma in Graphology at the British Institute of
Graphologists and has found it addictive. Graphology is the analysis of handwriting. In the 1950s we
were taught to write with loops. In the 1980s schools taught writing without loops, so you need to know a
writer’s background before you can analyse their writing. The writing tool and hold affect writing. A
person’s writing changes with time. What type of thing can writing tell us? For example, if a person’s
lines of writing descend to the right this could indicate that they are tired or getting over an illness. Lines
rising to the right indicate cheerful, rising spirits and a positive outlook. It can also tell us:
1. How a person reacts socially - whether they like to be with others or enjoy their own company. Do
they always have the radio on for company? How do they cope with interruption? Do they work better in
an open-plan office or in one on their own?
2. How you might react to something new or unexpected. e.g. with IKEA furniture do you read the
instructions fully first - the cautious type, or get straight into building it - the keen and enthusiastic
person? Would you set out all the parts neatly and in order before starting to build? You cannot tell
whether the writer is right or left-handed from their writing. Left slant suggests caution, think before you
speak, not to be made a fool of. Right slant indicates gushing with ideas, don't mind if it's wrong.
Forward slant is favoured in teaching. Sometimes people try to excuse their writing: "I hope you don't
look at my writing" or "I don't write much nowadays; I use the phone, send texts or emails." Maybe, at
school, they were told their writing was too messy to achieve anything. But, if your writing has not
changed since school days, have you matured?
The Forensic Side. What does a signature tell us? Can you identify the writer of a poison pen letter?
You must compare with their everyday writing. The speaker asked us all to write "the quick brown fox
jumped" on a piece of A4 paper. She asked us to repeat it in larger writing and then in smaller writing.
A person who writes complete words without gaps before dotting “i”s and crossing “t”s does not like
being interrupted in doing a job. He/she likes to do one job to the end rather than have several on the go
at once. Gaps in words can also show lack of concentration. In our exercise most used portrait
orientation but some landscape, suggesting that they like space around them like being outdoors,
gardening, walking. Writing which is simplified, minimalistic and small suggests someone who is well
organised. Also even spacing between lines. Small writing suggests someone shyer or reserved. When
they stopped teaching cursive writing in schools, people later on were unable to read it and "Campaign
for Cursive" was started. Handwritten lecture notes are better remembered than typewritten ones.
Respect and Sensitivity. The speaker showed us a greetings card signed by all the members of a group
and asked us which signatures stood out. Many picked out one by "Roy" which was flamboyant. This
indicates that he doesn't mind being noticed, but is that typical of all his writing? In typing, the font you
choose reflects your personality, with additions like serifs in Times New Roman or plain and
straightforward like Arial. Legible signatures indicate good communicators. "Pauline’s” very small
signature is self-effacing. "Roy" doesn't tell a lot about himself, just image and show. At school neatness
was praised, so if lacking fine motor control to dot “i”s and cross “t”s, people were treated as failures.
Left-handed people were often forced to write with the right hand as this was thought to be for the best.
The speaker showed us examples of several peoples’ writing with pictures of their workshops. A small,
illegible writing, with “o”s and “a"s indistinguishable, indicated someone under emotional stress, too
many things to do, unable to complete one before starting another. Their workshop was very
disorganised. A page of busy, crowded writing, quite big, with variable line spacing, some too close,
indicated someone with a lot to say and desire to be noticed. He had a busy crowded desk and was, in
fact, a minister of religion. Doctors are traditionally reckoned to have illegible writing. In fact, a study
showed that on the whole they are legible because of the need to communicate information precisely.

Hilary Clinton’s writing is perfectly legible, even the signature. It says “What you see is what you get.”
Her words taper to the right indicating adaptability. Donald Trump's signature is aggressive and illegible
in the form of a series of jagged peaks. His handwriting is generally huge and in capitals, except for the
“i”s and “e”s, showing he wants to be noticed. However, the personal “I” is capital, indicating a need for
protection from above and from below. The signatures of Mussolini and Himmler both show the 
both show the same aggressive, jagged peaks. Mandela’s M" is sharply peaked but the rest of his signature is rounded.

summary by Rodney Bessent

 

 

21 June 2022 Nigel Linge " From Man on The Moon to Cyberspace."

Nigel Linge is Professor of Telecommunications at Sakford University.

Today, in one minute on the Internet worldwide, people upload 500 hours of content and 200 million emails. In 1969, a computer filled a room and used magnetic tape storage. Major innovations were the 747 Jumbo Jet, Concorde, the QE2 and on 20th July Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. The mission guidance computer weighed 32 kg. By comparison, an Apple iPhone 6S weighs 143g, runs over 900 times faster and has more than 1.5 million times as much storage.

In the early 1960s Bob Taylor of the ARPA wanted to connect the few, very large, very expensive computers available in the USA to share resources. Donald Davies at National Physical Laboratory in England and Paul Baran at the RAND Corporation in USA independently conceived the idea of packet switching. Digital data is broken down into small sections and each is put into an electronic envelope with its address and is sent to the destination computer, where the enclosed data are reassembled into an identical copy of the original file.

By December 1969 the ARPANET linked five computer centres in the west coast USA. It soon spread across to the east and in 1973 a transatlantic link via satellite to Goonhilly in Cornwall connected the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire. In 1972 Ray Tomlinson wrote the software for email and, by 1973, 75% of Internet traffic was email. In 2020 people were sending 3.5 billion emails a day.

Theodor Nelson invented “hypertext”, to link many different documents via keywords in each, making information much more accessible. In March 1989 Tim Berners-Lee extended the idea to linking documents on different computers, and this became the Worldwide Web (WWW). The first webpage was created at CERN in December 1990. All the software for the World Wide Web was given away free and led to an exponential rise in use of the Internet.

In 2021 there were about 1.8 billion websites. Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing continually search the Web for new webpages and add them to an index. When you ask a question, the index is searched, not the Web itself, hence the speed. The Surface Web (public) is only 4% of the data. Below this is the Deep Web with legitimate data such as medical histories, behind passwords. Below that is the Dark Web of illegal information. Average daily Internet time per person in the UK is 3h 59 mins. 15 to 24-year-olds spend the most time online.

The biggest users of Facebook are 55+, also YouTube. Snapchat is for younger age, along with TikTok and Reddit. Internet devices are 88% smartphone, 65% desktop, laptop or netbook. Online shopping was £119.64 billion in 2021. In video calling, zoom had a few hundred thousand users in early 2020, but 13 million in April - May, due to Covid. The Covid experience would have been a lot worse if we had not got broadband in homes and offices.

A lot of university education worked better online. "The Cloud" is not something "up there" but represents the whole Internet. Your data is stored on a physical computer system somewhere on Earth. The “Internet of Things” comprises everyday devices connected to the Internet, such as TV sets, home heating controls, doorbells and security cameras. More devices than people are now connected. The factory has gone far with computerised automation and logistics. “Digital twins” are computer models of a real device or system to solve problems. This enables virtual changes to be made to see the effect, without the expense of making a new real object.

The “metaverse” is the Internet in 3-D. Using a headset gives a virtual experience of the real world or imaginary world beyond it. Challenges on the Internet include quantity versus quality, planned obsolescence and how to search non-text data, e.g. images. The fundamental nature of the Internet is to be free and open to anyone, including criminals. To foil “cyber-attacks” use good passwords and be alert to Internet scams. Cyber-security to protect states and businesses is a growth industry. Most Internet income is from some sort of advertising, but 37% of the world’s population is not connected. In Africa only 28.6% is connected. The next billion Internet users will come from Africa and Asia. In the UK 25% of over 60s are not connected, yet there is a culture swing PTO towards putting everything online, including interacting with government agencies, utilities etc. Natural language access to the Internet is common, via smart speakers such as Alexa and Siri. As for the “wonders” of 1969, Concorde is now a museum piece, the QE2 a floating hotel, and human space travel is limited to Earth orbit. In 1984 in his novel “Neuromancer”, William Gibson invented the term "cyberspace" for a network of computers. The Internet has now brought us all life in cyberspace. 

Summary by Rod Bessent

 

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Norman Nuttall on “Lancashire Humour” 12th April 2022

 

 

3rd August 2021   Andrew Rowe    "Don’t Tell Him Pike!"

Andrew Rowe described in detail the backgrounds of David Croft and Jimmy Perry, the writers of “Dads Army”, which grew from a script called “The Fighting Tigers”, written by Perry. He explained how the actor for each part was chosen and why each was so appropriate. The casting was the key to the success of the show which ran from July 1968 to November 1977, with seventy-seven episodes and three Christmas specials. Viewers increased from 8 million in 1968 to 16 million in 1972. The presentation was lavishly illustrated with clips of many hilarious high points from the episodes which the audience greatly enjoyed.

23rd November 2021   Tony Bostock    "The Dogs of War"

Tony Bostock  gave a detailed account of the military exploits of Sir Hugh Calveley and Sir Robert Knolles during the Hundred Years War (1337 – 1453). Hugh Calveley was born in Lea Newbold in about 1327. He learned his skills fighting the Welsh and in the Breton war of succession (1341 - 64). He fought in several campaigns in Brittany and Spain, including the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.

In time Calveley became beyond control of the English king, fighting where he wanted and ignoring various peace treaties with France. In 1363 a royal order was issued for his arrest, and he was recalled by King Edward to fight for him against Henry.

Between 1370 and 1380 he held a string of governorships and military positions. Robert Knolles, probably a relative of Calveley was born in about 1325. He also fought in the Breton war of succession and held Paris against the Dauphin in 1358, then led 2000 men down the Loire Valley, where he extorted a huge ransom from the city of Auxerre. He joined with Calveley in fighting along the Rhône Valley almost to Avignon, the seat of the Pope. Knolles went rampant throughout France and a reward of 100,000 moutons was offered for his capture. He ended up owning sixty castles in France and with 3000 men in his pay. In 1370 Knolles was given funds to raise an army of 6000 men to invade France, but they mutinied against him and the whole army was lost to the French. Knolles was fined 10,000 marks by the King's Council for this disaster. He died in 1407 and his only memorial is on a roof boss in Norwich Cathedral. Calveley died in 1394 and is commemorated by an elaborate monument with a finely carved effigy in Bunbury Church. The substantial cost was born by Knolles. He was described as “a man of teeth and hands – a giant of a man”.

Robert Knolles was small in stature but hardy. He knew when to attack and went to retreat – a true demon of war. Both Calveley and Knolles, from humble origins, obtained great wealth and power. They were the terrorists of the time. Vote of Thanks. After a time of interested discussion the President thanked Tony Bostock for a very informative talk

17th August 2021    David Simmons      "Howard Hughes."

He was born in 1905 and was seriously injured in 1946 in the crash of an XF11 aircraft he was piloting. As a result of his hospital experience, he designed the modern hospital bed. He converted a bakery in Los Angeles into his headquarters and kept a massive archive. He had his own secret service to check on his managers and rivals. He set up the Hughes Aircraft Company which employed 20,000 people by the end of WW1. His success came from his innovative engineering ability but also from cultivating influential people in government and industry. The speaker described Hughes’ many exploits and the innovative aircraft he created. He later invested in the hotel business and transformed Las Vegas into a family friendly city. Hughes had four Hollywood actress girlfriends but didn’t marry until Jean Peters finally agreed. They divorced in 1970. Hughes became a drug addict and died, probably of an overdose, on 5th April 1976 weighing only 73 pounds.

 

9th November 2021  Hazel Griffiths  Fridtjot Nansen

Nansen was born in 1861 in Oslo and started to ski at the age of two. In 1888 with five others, he walked across the Greenland ice cap from east to west in 49 days. He married Eva Sars in 1889 and they had five children.

Nansen’s major exploit was the attempt to reach the North Pole by sailing a boat into one side of the Arctic ice cap and letting the drift of the ice field carry it over the North Pole, taking about five years. He had a boat built (called Fram) which was strong enough to resist crushing by the ice and set off with a team of twelve on 24 June 1893. By February 1895 they had reached only 84° N so decided to walk, with dogs and sledges, the remaining 400 miles. After a good start progress slowed to 1 mile per day and they turned back at 86°13’6” N, the furthest north anyone had reached. After a long, arduous

journey across ice and sea to Franz Joseph Land they fortuitously met up with British explorer Frederick Jackson and returned home on his ship. Nansen’s two-volume account of his expedition was a great success. He also wrote a six-volume scientific report.

After the overwhelming vote in 1905 for Norwegian independence from Sweden, Nansen, a strong separatist, was made Norwegian ambassador in London from 1906 to 1907 Before he could return home his wife Eva died of pneumonia leaving him to look after the five children.

After WWI, in which Norway was neutral, Nansen became the League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and was credited with saving between 7 - 22 million displaced victims of WWI and related conflicts. In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for this work. In 1926 he was elected Rector of St Andrews University in Scotland.

He died in May 1930 and was given a state funeral in Norway.

 

 

12th October 2021     Simon O'Rourke   "The Art of Woodcarving"

12th October 2021     Simon O'Rourke   "The Art of Woodcarving"Simon O’Rourke gave an absorbing talk about woodcarving, illustrated by slides and videos. After a degree in Illustration and research into anatomy, a time in tree surgery led in 2001 to discovering the art of wood carving with a chainsaw. In his first competition at Sandringham, he came third out of 50. He became self-employed in 2005 and in 2008 set up a limited company with one employee for three days a week He is now booked up with work until mid-February 2022. He uses 17 chainsaws ranging from large petrol driven down to an 8-inch battery powered model and also grinders, sanders and finishing tools to get a smooth surface. He is sponsored by Stihl. 

He carved the 5m tall “Marbury Lady” from an oak tree damaged by salt, which took 8 days. One side of the Marbury Lady shows her in life, the other in death. He also carved the figure of a World War II airman for Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey). Smaller works are 3D pet portraits. As well as carving wood in situ, he also buys in timber for carving in his large workshop. Outdoor carvings are preserved with an oil finish, not varnish which cracks. It cuts down the effect of ultraviolet light. Oak is not finished but allowed to weather to a silky grey colour which looks rather like stone. Contouring the surface of e.g. a leopard can cause the sun to cast shadows simulating the markings. He sometimes uses a blow torch to burn the wood to add depth to small detail. 

4th January 2022:  Clive Brookes "The American Forces in Mid-Cheshire."

 

Clive Brookes on a return visit, gave a well-illustrated talk on “The Americans in Mid-Cheshire”. US forces were stationed in Britain as a staging point for invasion into Europe during WW2. They were brought in via Atlantic ports such as Glasgow or Liverpool, because of the threat from U-boats around the Channel ports. The threat from bombing in Liverpool meant that troops were quickly dispersed by train into the Cheshire countryside. Farmland could not be used for camps or hutted accommodation because of the vital need for food production. Private properties with large areas of land not under cultivation were ideal and many large houses in mid Cheshire were requisitioned. Very few evictions of owners occurred, and compensation could be claimed. At maximum, 30,000 US troops were accommodated in the area, which was more than the local population. Tented camps were built by black US engineers, against whom there was considerable prejudice by white US troops. Because of fights between the two groups, black troops were accommodated around Northwich and white near Chester. Invasion of Normandy under US General Patton was planned. However, convincing false information was fed to the Nazis about a fictitious army (FUSAG) preparing to invade France via Calais, so the Normandy Invasion was very successful. Eighty “eavesdroppers” were stationed at Marbury to intercept and decode German radio traffic, which helped significantly.

 

18th January 2022 Chris Penter, "Crowd control in Education"

Stan Hancock introduced the speaker, Chris Penter from Winsford Probus, who gave an entertaining talk entitled “Crowd Control in Education”, enlivened by examples of exam howlers from children and letters from parents. Schools reflect what society wants children to learn. Two important lessons from education are learning how to learn and knowing that learning never stops. Chris started as an actor at Nottingham Playhouse then took a course in Education at Nottingham University. For a bet he applied for a post at Loughborough Grammar School, a public boarding school, and got the job, largely through being able to coach in rowing. In one memorable chemistry class he filled the school with hydrogen sulphide. He also put on the first amateur production in the world of “Joseph and His Technicolour Dreamcoat”, raising £5000 for charity. Looking for a better life-work balance, he took a post as Head of Biology in Dortmund, Germany at a forces school. Because of the Northern Ireland troubles, they were under threat from the IRA. His closest call was when a bomb went off outside the sergeants’ mess when he was inside at a party night. Fortunately, the bomb was placed against a cellar wall so no one on the ground floor was severely injured, but he was deafened in one ear. On one field trip a child dug up a human skull. The police later found remains of fifteen bodies there, probably victims of the Bader-Meinhof gang. After two more schools he became the first male head of Fairfield High School for Girls, Droylsdon. The buildings were in a bad state of repair, and he was quietly asked to engineer the closure of the school. Instead, he applied for grant-maintained status with the backing of the PTA. Despite serious opposition, including death threats, he held the required meeting of parents who voted in favour. The consequential inspection of the accounts of the local authority revealed many irregularities and several councillors and employees were jailed. The school received £10 million in capital investment for new buildings including a theatre, the number of pupils rose to 900, and the school had three “Outstanding” OFSTED inspections. After retirement from teaching aged 54, he joined OFSTED as Director for all the schools in the Northeast and all the FE colleges in England, preferring the inspections to desk work. Finally, he became Director of Education for Nord Anglia, an organisation running international schools throughout the world, which he did for six years before retiring. Vote of Thanks. The President remarked that Chris Penter’s talk showed that, for him, all the world’s a stage.

A Crewe Factory Girl  The life of Ada Chew

Graham Dodd

Wildlife photographer Peter Durnall