CAM, & DISTRICT

Bulletin October 2020

Bulletins are published a few days after each General Meeting- these are normally held at 10.30am on the third Thursday of each month at Dursley Methodist Church. Please try to ensure that anyone not on e-mail is made aware of the contents of this bulletin.

Your Committee: Alan Keith Chair Richard Barlow Treasurer Sue Gibson Secretary Linda Bettridge Groups Co-ordinator John Hobson Assistant Treasurer Myrtle Moreton-Cox Welfare & Bulletin Vacancy Speaker Secretary Luke Wilson Membership Secretary

Membership: [email protected] - Chair: [email protected] Website: https://u3asites.org.uk/cam-dursley - Beacon: [email protected] Bulletin: [email protected]

Your Committee As you will see from the above list there are a couple of changes to your Committee – John Hobson has joined as Assistant Treasurer – see profile later in Bulletin - much to the relief of Richard Barlow our hardworking Treasurer, and Linda Bettridge has moved to Groups Co-ordinator but there is still a vacancy for Speaker Secretary. Much of the work for current year has already been completed by Carol Green for this role so it would be a reasonably easy introduction to the role. Carol also has information on other Speakers who could be used – with this knowledge it is hoped that someone will come forward to take on the role. I am sure we are all very grateful to all the retiring Committee Members for their hard work.

We are also very grateful to the retiring Group Leaders – Maggie and Sue from the Garden Group and Greta from the Walking Group for their excellent leadership. Fortunately, volunteers have come forward to take over these roles so well done to Danielle who will be leading the Garden Group - but is hoping someone will come forward to assist her with this - and to Alan and Fiona Keith who will lead the Walking Group. They have already organised walks to take place in the coming months. Anyone wishing to join the walks will need to book due to the restriction on numbers.

Please use Ariel font 12 for headings and 11 for the body of all Bulletin submissions. Many thanks Myrtle

The Gag Trade – Speaker Bob Sinfield For the U3A’s first experience of a virtual AGM meeting, Bob Sinfield, a broadcaster, comedy writer and actor, entertained the members online about his years as a ‘jobbing jokesmith’. Bob has spent many years scripting celebrities of both stage and television. He maintains that success at becoming a writer demands two important things, a pencil and a resilience to criticism. Critics can be both acerbic and vitriolic and can crush confidence in aspiring writers and actors. A brief history of Bob’s early life living in Cornwall recounted his enjoyment of the radio series, Round the Horn, plus the television sit coms, Steptoe and Son and The Likely Lads. It was these shows that inspired him, primarily, to become an actor so he decided to embark on stint in Drama school. This was followed by auditions for London plays, adverts and voice-overs for inflight airline commercials. He soon realized that a disadvantage from appearing in adverts could be that one became identified with a product or role that could detract from landing a job in a major show. At the young age of 22, Bob decided to change course and approached the BBC light entertainment department and was fortunate to be hired to develop his skills in script writing for stand up comedians and comedy sketches. Bob’s talk was peppered with anecdotes and impersonations of famous radio and television personalities he had worked with - many of whom are no longer with us. He told us how writers are always searching for that ‘comedy gold’ expression that they have written into a script, and that audiences begin to use themselves. I’m sure that you can think of one that you may have heard or used yourself? He stressed the importance of creating a ‘hook’ title for a show that will attract the interest of the viewer or listener. To end his presentation and to answer a question, Bob confirmed that all those witty repartees that are delivered on some television panel games are scripted to a certain extent. If in the credits to the show, one sees in the listings ‘programme associates’ this refers to the scriptwriters who have supplied the panel with amusing lines that they may use to entertain their audience. He was keen to stress that this was not to underestimate the brilliance of some quick-witted panel members who have no need for the autocue. For those of you who might be interested in purchasing one of Bob’s books, in particular, The Gag Trade. Information can be found on the following website: www.bobsinfield.co.uk Carol Green DURSLEY Dursley is a market town and civil parish in , situated almost equidistantly between the cities 3 of and . It is under the northeast flank of Stinchcombe Hill and about 3 ⁄4 miles (6.0km) southeast of the . The town is adjacent to Cam which, though a village, is a slightly larger community in its own right.

History Dursley once had a castle, built by Roger de Berkeley in 1153. The Town gained borough status in 1471 and lost it in 1886. From 1837 to 1851 it was the administrative centre of Dursley Registration District which recorded vital records of people living in the parishes of Stinchcombe, , Dursley, Cam, Nympsfield, Kingswood, Wotton-under-Edge and Owlpen. From1886 until 1974 it was the administrative centre of Dursley Rural District (RDC). In 1974 the RDC became part of District. The Grade I listed parish church of St. James the Great dates from the 13th century. The modern building is largely of 14th and 15th century construction and carries the Tudor coat of arms on the outside below the guttering, indicating that some of its construction was funded by the Tudor royals. The original church spire collapsed in January 1699 during a bell-ringing session, causing casualties. The current bell tower, in an imposing Gothic survival style, was built by Thomas Sumsion of Colerne in 1708–09.

Dursley Market House - The pillared market house - complete with statue of Queen Anne and bell turret - dates from 1738 when the town's markets attracted farmers and traders from miles around. It is now maintained by the Dursley Town Trust which is also responsible for Jacob's House and the Heritage Centre. In 1856 a short branch line railway opened, called the "Dursley Donkey" by locals, linking Dursley and Cam to the Bristol– Gloucester main line at Coaley Junction. The branch line was closed in 1968 and Coaley Junction station was also closed at about this time. However, in 1994 a new station called Cam and Dursley was opened on the main line, 330 yards north of the site of Coaley Junction. Church of St James the Great In the 19th and 20th centuries, Dursley was a large-scale manufacturing town, and engines built here by the Lister engine company were used around the world. That company's successor, Lister Petter, was based in the town until 2014, though much of the original 92-acre (37 ha) factory site was acquired in 2000 by the South West Regional Development Agency and then in 2011 by Council. It is now being developed as a large housing development with some industrial units. The Towers, a large gothic-style house, formerly part of the Lister Petter estate, still overlooks the town and has been converted into flats and a residential care home. The Lister Hall theatre is named after the company. Other large factories based in the town included Mawdsley's, an electrical equipment manufacturer; Bymack's, furniture manufacturer, and the Bailey Newspaper Group, a newspaper printer, all of which have reduced or closed operations in recent years. Ancient historical sites in the vicinity give evidence of earlier occupation. Uley Bury is an Iron Age hill fort dating from around 300BC. The area also has neolithic long barrows; one called "Hetty Pegler's Tump" can be entered. Notable Roman remains exist at Frocester, West Hill near Uley, Woodchester and Calcot Manor. Character and amenities The town sits on the edge of the escarpment where it drops off towards the Severn Vale and the River Severn. It is adjacent with Cam which, though a village, is a community of double the size. The two communities (combined population about 12,000) share many facilities. Dursley's main watercourse is the River Ewelme which becomes the River Cam when it enters Cam. The town is surrounded by woodland and countryside, and the long distance trail passes through Dursley town centre. In March 2010 Sainsbury's opened a newly built 20,000 sq ft supermarket within walking distance of the town centre. Other recent arrivals include Lidl (November 2009 in premises on Kingshill Road previously occupied by the Regal Cinema and then Kwik Save) and Iceland (July 2010, replacing Somerfield in the town centre). The Co- op has operated a smaller store in Roseberry Road since 2002. The town centre also has a number of independent shops and cafes. A range of markets are held at the Market Place in the centre of the town; a farmers' market is held there on the second Saturday of some months and a craft market on the fourth Saturday. There is an active Transition group in Cam and Dursley (part of the global Transition town network) which looks after Dursley's Secret Garden, among other projects. Dursley has a number of licensed premises including the Old Spot pub which is regularly voted Gloucestershire 'Pub of the Year' and was named as 2007 CAMRA National Pub of the year.Railways - The nearest railway station is at Cam and Dursley on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, with trains operated by . Notable Residents Around 1496, the Christian writer and martyr William Tyndale was born near here, probably at Slimbridge. It is claimed that William Shakespeare may have spent part or all of the eight years between 1582 and 1590, a period of his life of which little is known, in Dursley, possibly working as a school teacher. Mikael Pedersen invented the Pedersen bicycle in Dursley in the 19th century. The writer Peter Currell Brown wrote the cult classic 1965 surrealist novel 1965 surrealist novel Smallcreep's Day while working in Dursley. Popular culture Author JK Rowling, born in nearby Yate, named the Dursley family in the Harry Potter books after the town. In Richard II there is reference to "the wolds of Gloucestershire", and when Bolingbrook asks how far it is to Berkeley as "these wild hills and rough uneven ways draw out for miles", the reply given is "there stands the castle beyond that tuft of trees". Many people understand this as a conversation taking place on Stinchcombe Hill overlooking the Vale of Berkeley and its castle. Submitted by John Morton Wotton-under-Edge – See Next Month’s Bulletin

Editor’s Note – the Tyndale Monument is situated at North Nibley and documents have been viewed which show members of the Tyndale family living at Forthay, North Nibley.

The Most Serious Rail Crash at Charfield

Three trains were involved in an accident in the early hours of the 13th October 1928. A goods train travelling from Wolverhampton to Bristol was approaching Charfield. The signal man was aware the Leeds to Bristol mail train was due shortly and would be coming through Charfield on the same track as this goods train. After contacting his control office in Fishponds he decided to shunt the goods train off the main line so that it did not to delay the mail train. He then set it in motion. From his signal box he watched the goods train reversing its 49 loaded trucks and guards van into a storage siding.

Whilst this manoeuvre was taking place another train was approaching Charfield, as well as the passenger train already mentioned, a goods train travelling from Westerleigh to Wolverhampton in the other direction. This goods train at this time was also very near to Charfield.

The signal man put the three signals on the approach to Charfield to danger to stop the express and enable the reversing goods train to get clear of the main line and let the express through. The mail train did not stop as required but continued at 60 miles an hour towards Charfield. The signal man realised to his horror that the mail train had not stopped and was going to collide with the last few trucks and locomotive of the reversing goods train. He watched the mail train crash into the last three trucks then glance off the back of the engine and smash into the Westerleigh to Wolverhampton freight train which had come up on the other track.

A huge pile up ensued and the momentum pushed the wreckage under the road bridge. Some of the express carriages were lit by gas cylinders and pipes fractured, quickly setting fire to the wreckage. Very quickly an inferno developed making it impossible to rescue trapped passengers. The fire raged for twelve hours despite the efforts of the fire brigades attending - 16 people died and 41 were injured in the crash.

Controversy remains about the signals, the driver of the passenger train and the fireman were adamant that the signals were not red. The signal man was prosecuted but the jury at Gloucester Assizes found him not guilty of manslaughter and he was discharged. The inspector for the Ministry of Transport said that the responsibility for the accident rests with the driver and fireman of the passenger train passing three signals set at danger.

A memorial to the 16 dead was erected in the churchyard of the old church of St. James in Charfield at the far end of Church Lane. Two of the bodies were never identified and were thought to be children. Bob Hill

John Hobson - Assistant Treasurer I am a 71 year old retired widower, sadly I lost my wife in February 2017. I have three children, two boys and a girl, and four grandchildren. I started my working life with Rolls-Royce plc (Bristol) in 1968 as an undergraduate apprentice. After a year between Rolls-Royce technical college and shop floor workplace experience I moved to Manchester to study for my first degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering - coming back to Bristol in the summer recess for which I was paid! Following graduation, I moved within Rolls-Royce before becoming Data Control Manager for an engine programme. This involved regular meetings in Munich for two years before I took voluntary redundancy. During my time at Rolls-Royce, I was offered the opportunity to study for a Masters degree in Manufacturing Systems Engineering, on a part-time basis at Warwick University – which involved periods at Warwick from 3 to 5 days, depending on the subject, over 2 and a half years. This at a period when I had young children so needed the support of my late wife. After a period looking for work opportunities, I secured a position with Ian Williams Ltd (a building and painting company in Chipping Sodbury. This initially involved supporting satellite offices, of which there were seven at the time, with their computing issues. At that time each office had one PC which was used to transmit payroll data to head office weekly using a flaky package whose name I can’t remember. At the same time they had contracted to buy a payroll and accounting package which the supplier couldn’t fulfil so Ian Williams acquired the source code in a deal. I thus became a Programmer in Progress which at the time involved incorporating all the changes the then chancellor revealed in his budget. This was in 1992 and I worked for them until my retirement in 2012. For my last 3 years with Ian Williams I worked with other personnel on migrating the data from their legacy system to COINS which is the latest incarnation of the software I was working with. We achieved a level of data migration which COINS said wasn’t possible! A joint effort between me and the finance gurus I worked with. I live in Coaley and am a Parish Councillor and a member of Coaley Village Hall Committee. John Hobson B.Sc M.Sc MIET

I recently decided to sell my vacuum cleaner — all it was doing was gathering dust.

And finally, did you know……..

Every year ABC cuts down A Charlie Brown Christmas—a movie about the over- commercialization of the holidays—to make room for more commercials.

So much was trimmed from the show, in fact, that miffed fans were comparing notes and commiserating over what classic moments had gone AWOL. Viewers said that cherished scenes involving Sally, Shermie, Lucy and Shroeder (among other footage) were cut — suddenly and eerily missing like a phantom tree-limb

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