HAYES MEN’S FELLOWSHIP Newsletter June 2020, edited by Allan Evison, HMF Honorary Secretary (Membership Enquiries: For more information on joining the Fellowship retired and semi-retired men can ring me for a friendly chat on 020 8402 7416, or please drop me an e-mail to [email protected]) CORONAVIRUS EXTRA 3 KEEPING IN TOUCH: The purpose of this mid-month Newsletter is to keep in touch with members of the Fellowship at a time when we are all social distancing and many may be self isolating. The Committee want to assure members that although there is little opportunity for face to face meetings at the moment, they have not been forgotten. Your Committee are happy to chat over the phone with any of you who may be feeling isolated at this difficult time. Their numbers are on your current Membership Card. Things to do: As the remainder of the Programme for Fellowship year has now been cancelled we have missed another planned Outing and another Talk. The plan is to reschedule them but here we want to give members a taste of what has been missed/what is to come and also some things you might want to do in the meantime. So this Newsletter has:- • Things to occupy us! – If you like gardens or wildlife we have some suggestions for you this month. We have the usual quizzes and puzzles as well as the result of our Lockdown poem competition. (Page 3) • Outing – Deal and Walmer – some background on these historic coastal towns we were scheduled to visit. (Page 10) • Talk – Wembley Stadium – some of the history of this famous footballing venue. (Page 13) If you have a contribution for the Things to occupy us section, let us know. Contributions will be gratefully received! LATEST NEWS Outings Update: As Colin Vivian explained in a recent email forwarded by Allan, there will be a meeting in a couple of weeks of the Outings Committee to put together a programme for our next session. The email includes a number of destinations being considered and you are encouraged to give your views on these and make other suggestions. It is a programme for you, so please let us know your preferences. And of course, under present circumstances, any suggested programme could be subject to change or cancellation. Funerals Update: Since our last Annual Service in October 2019 seven members have passed on. We are still planning to remember them, and any further names, in October 2020 providing the increasing likelihood that we can resume meetings by then. What concerns us at this time is that a substantial number of the seven have been laid to rest in the presence only of immediate relatives in a restricted total attendance of ten and 1 so without our customary HMF representation. This is the current list with asterisks against those names we were unable to witness to in person: James McGarey, Bill Morris, *Ian Pryer, Ken Truss, Clive King, *Len Hicks, *Tony Kite. Not all these deaths were shown to be connected with Covid-19 and we can be a little encouraged that the frequency of our losses has lessened. Nevertheless, each is more than a mere statistic. We wish to assure members that plans are in hand to ensure full remembrance in the usual way when circumstances permit and to say that our thoughts remain with the surviving relatives and friends. Daily Hope telephone line - 0800 804 8044: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has launched a free national phone line as a simple new way to bring worship and prayer into people’s homes while church buildings are closed because of the coronavirus. Daily Hope offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of a telephone line 24 hours a day. It has been set up particularly with those unable to join online church services during the period of restrictions in mind. We leave you with the Government’s advice to stay alert. For most people of our age this entails staying at home as much as possible (sounds familiar!), keeping your distance, limiting contact with other people and washing your hands regularly. But don’t just stay alert - stay healthy in body, mind and spirit. We hope this Extra Newsletter helps with some of that! Remember when we could do this??? Walk - May 2019, Crockenhill area 2 Things to occupy us! Remember - contributions for this Section will be gratefully received! Lockdown Poem Challenge Last month we left members with the difficult challenge of writing a poem related to the coronavirus and lockdown from a man’s perspective to rival the one by Pam Ayres entitled “Let’s all drink to lockdown”. We have had the entries assessed by an independent judge to come up with the best poem submitted - and here is the worthy winner My Lockdown by Ken Colpus I’ve been in lockdown now for so long, Now Tolstoy may have written Anna – when did his writing I can’t recall what’s right or wrong. cease, I know it’s right to say “thank you”, My taste in books is more refined than lengthy War and Peace. To good old Allan and Graham too. I know a Lleyn must be in Wales – where else would own They’ve really though of us so much, that name? The extra “Newsie” is proof of such. And Maria Sharapova is terrific at her game. Of course I know the Tempest is about Duke Prospero, I was so excited to get the billy-do, And that choux pastry is used to make a profitero. To make me happy with lots of things to do. I started on visits to Museums near and far, I’ve toiled by day and slaved by night, The Opera House, the National Trust – but no one To get the blooming answers right. had a bar. My brain is slow – I’m nearing ninety-one, I know the answer to the Teaser as I sent the question in, But then I’m told “It’s really just for fun”. We’ve so much rice now, we’ve overflowed the tin. Here’s hoping the lockdown endeth soon, But don’t bet your fiver that it must be in June. Why am I expected to know answers to the Quiz? When more and more questions just get me in a tizz. I could go on but know I would bore you stiff, I never knew Victoria and I sure did not know which Don’t worry friends – I’m ending in a jiff, House. I find it hard to run this jolly rhyme, And snooker’s not my forte – I’d rather watch a Which surely means I will finish just in time, mouse. God bless and hold on to this greeting, Why should Caster and Pollux get my eyes aloft, I hope to see you all at the next meeting. While Lowry and his matchmen – they’re really rather soft. Well done to all the entrants! But Ken wins the prize!!! Things to entertain and enthuse you We have already suggested a number of cultural activities that are available on the internet to occupy you during the lockdown – albeit one that is becoming slightly less strict. This month we feature gardens and wildlife. We recognise that some gardens and zoos are now reopening, but numbers of visitors allowed at venues are still strictly limited and require pre-booking, so some of our members may be happier viewing them from the comfort of their own homes for a bit longer yet! • Chelsea Flower Show – the Chelsea Flower Show this year had to be cancelled but if you missed seeing it you can revisit the BBC’s coverage with highlights from previous years and 3 various interviews. You may need a BBC account to access this site. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007lyhs • Keukenhof Gardens – These beautiful Gardens in the Netherlands are offering a 360o tour as the gardens are currently closed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUeI2iINhpY • Château de Villandry – amongst the most beautiful gardens in the world, Château de Villandry in the Loire region of France now offers a virtual tour. https://www.chateauvillandry.fr/en/explore/an-overview-of-villandry/virtual-tour/ • ZSL London Zoo – Bringing the Zoo to us during lockdown, this offers webcams, animal antics and zookeeper interviews. https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/virtual-london-zoo • Chester Zoo – The most visited zoo in the country and featured regularly on TV. On their home page look at “Things to Zoo at home” and click on “Watch our virtual zoo”. https://www.chesterzoo.org/ • Taronga Zoo – Australia’s premier Zoo offering views over Sydney’s amazing harbour has set up Taronga TV to keep wildlife fans happy during lockdown with a similar range of facilities to ZSL. But with the time difference, their webcams offer the novelty of live coverage of nocturnal creatures during our day time! https://taronga.org.au/taronga-tv Quizzes and Puzzles Lots more quizzes and puzzles for you this month Brain Teaser Amanda lives with her teenage son, Matt, in the countryside—a car ride away from Matt’s school. Every afternoon, Amanda leaves the house at the same time, drives to the school at a constant speed, picks Matt up exactly when his chess club ends at 5 p.m., and then they immediately return home together at the same constant speed. But one day, Matt isn’t feeling well, so he leaves chess practice early and starts to head home on his portable scooter.