WSWT Newsletter, February 2010

Meeting Report Sunday February 7th.

The meeting was once again very well attended, despite a pretty chilly hall. The Chairman, Jim Young, opened the meeting by welcoming new members, mentioning that 16 new members had recently joined. He recommended the wearing of name badges or official polo/sweat shirts showing each members name.

The meeting was asked if anyone objected to being included on the Members List (see December 2009 Newsletter) which some had asked to be made available to all members of the club. There were no objections from those present.

Don Pollard informed the meeting that projectionist Bill Whittaker was expecting to be re-fitted – (re-plastered!) – on 4th March. The plaster should then remain in place for another 8 weeks! Because Bill will be out of action for quite a while, it would be very helpful to have someone else trained up. Colin Willetts can cover the demos this year, but having a deputy would be great. Contact Don Pollard or Jim Young if you can help.

A letter of thanks from Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice, and a thank you card from St Richards & Graylingwell Hospitals have been received following the presentations made to them by Ron Inglis, who Don congratulated for his efforts.

Don also reminded the members that those using the hall crockery for coffee, should ensure that it is washed up and put it away afterwards.

Ron Wicks reported the recent death in Somerset of a very old member of the club who was much involved at Amberley a number of years ago, (Maj.Gen.) John Willis.

Charlie Martyn demonstrated the use of colouring turned items and had an impressive array of bowls, vases and other objects on display. He called upon Ron Wicks and Chris Doyle to assist with sealing, drying and sanding and gradually his team of assistants seemed to include most of the front row members! He used acrylic and spirit based systems, showed the use of a mixture of vinegar and iron filings to blacken wood and the results of exposing new wood to ammonia fumes. Very good effect on the wood, but painful on the nose!

Charlie stated that the wood used in his demo was provided by Ron Inglis and Chris Doyle and thanked them accordingly. He invited members to take away the unfinished turned items and colour them as demonstrated. He said they could be retained for a small donation, or returned to Ron for the hospice charity. Throughout the demo, Colin Willetts provided an excellent service as cameraman, but Charlie never really did get the hang of the sound system!

Miscellaneous

Gaby Hornsby of the BBC is making a TV series about the early days of our national electricity grid and wants to contact any of us old men who were involved in any way in the grid as it developed. Any old sparks contact Gaby by email and have your 15 minutes of fame.

The Bentley Wood Fair will be held on 31/7/10 – 1/8/10, but the club will not have a stand, it being considered far too expensive. There is no reason however, why individual members cannot set up a stall should they so wish, £264 per marquee or £60 per 6ft table. Jim Young has full details.

Next Meeting (Sunday 7th March)

This will be the natural edge competition – so get turning, but carefully… Sympathy, but no extra marks will be given for unnaturally modified digits!

Many thanks to John Byford for very promptly producing approximately 96.66% of this newsletter