16th September Speaker Night - David Millar - Fracking
Are ye for or against? David gave a concise insight to the world of fracking, both the pros and cons, from the perspective of a supplier of valves. Yes I know it sounds contrived, but thats wahthe does, sells valves to industry, not the small ballcok type ones, but ones the size of bathrooms!
David has been involved in the fracking debate for many years and brough his knowledge with him to show an audience of suspicious old men what it was all about. The rumours of water ignition, what fracking actually was - and what it wasn't!
A thoroughly entertianing talk, as was shown by the number of questions asked at the end, during the talk and well on into the night! Many thanks to David for enlightening us.

22nd July Battle For The Atlantic
The lights are going out across Europe and our only hope is.... Tom Cunningham.
He came along to give a very entertaining talk on the Battle Of The Atlantic. The unenviable mission to keep us Brits in bread milk and munitions was one of the almost forgotten parts of the Second World War.
The story of the brave merchant mariners and the escorts from a rag tag navy, interspersed with tales of the German Submarine Commander Karl Donitz and his supreme effort to disrupt the flow of goods and arms across the hostile waters of the North Atlantic.
Research and enthusiasm for the subject meant a very good night, topped off by Leading Hand (!) Robert Withington giving a very emotive vote of thanks.

16th July: Chairmans day out.
The annual care in the community day took place with the Chairman's Mystery tour leaving the sunny platforms of Runcorn to head for destinations unknown.
The usual carer rate of one Robert to 4 was exceeded, so we were OK to go! There was a difficult moment when we lost Roy in his "only you can see me Jeff" jacket, but we soon bumped into him again. It would have been a sorry tale if whilst on his first real outing with the carers, we could not have seen the "Blond" (his words) recent retiree enjoy the day.


"Only you can see me..."                      Duncan taking his "medicine"

A train, a tram and a steam train saw the crew end up in Ramsbottom, where Robert endured a tricky uphill jaunt, nifty fifties style, to the top of Peel Road (I think), where the Chair had selected the Eagle and Child as the venue for dinner (or lunch, depending upon education and where you were brought up) The food was very good, with a fine selection of beverages and of course, Robert had the pudding he had dreamed of at the bottom of the hill. Many thanks to Greg, Rosie and the staff for putting up with a group of seniors with trouble on their mind!

The Eagle and Child

"Pudding"- make your own jokes..

An obvious discussion on....

Enjoying the country air

The return journey proved as beneficial to assuring good hydration as the leaving. Robert seemed to have misplaced a bottle of Red in the prior hours only for it to arrive mysteriously in the luggage rack of our return steam train on the East Lancs Railway. It had travelled well and ensured that no-one became dehydrated on the short journey back to Bury.
Once ensconced in the Trackside bar of the East Lancs Railway, the party sampled the copious number of craft beers and various snacks and pies that were on sale.

East Lancs Railway Trackside Bar

With control of the group now gone, The Chair told them the tram was every 12 minutes back to the urban reality of Manchester and beyond. The group decided that they were not going to endure the rush hour and "it's better to stay here and enjoy the beer."
Thoroughly rehydrated, the care team led the way with a dishevelled Robert leading the peloton back to Bury tram interchange.
A very enjoyable day, missed most of the rain (by staying in the pub!) and all returned safely. The current Chair, being in his final year hands on the baton to whoever else want s to pick it up and lead the care in community trip next year and beyond...

24th June - How Tickled We Were
A night of scriptwriting for comedy legends. We were lucky enough to have amongst us some comedy gold. A rich vein of talent, seen by so few,  Roy Dixon; a friend of one of the meetings stalwarts, Keith, came along to give us a talk on his life as a scriptwriter for comedic legends such as Ken Dodd.
Roy's early years working in local newspapers and then the move into commercial script writing gave us an insight into the life of both comedian and their back room boys, grafting away at the typewriter or scribbling on fag packets to get a laugh for the guy out front.
Working at short notice, sometimes minutes from deadline, a very entertaining evening with many questions asked by the floor. Thanks Roy

27th May Aztecs and Mayans
Our esteemed speaker for the evening was globetrotting John Beacham, one of our own!
During a trip to Mexico he stumbled across things which he then researched in his own inimitable style to produce an engaging talk for the evening, complimented by the usual holiday snaps.
Gone were the ones from the topless beaches, to be replaced by many of the ruins to be found in the equatorial forests and beyond.
Discussion and questions later followed, especially of the merits of winning "The Ball Game" which we think meant certain death to the team who won. The writer wonders of the same rules applied to the World Cup, would the teams and supporters be so eager?!

22nd April AGM
After a year of cobbling it together, the meeting got under way and as if by magic... Tom appeared. Dressed as a house chairman!
The meeting went swimmingly and Iain was told by the group that they agreed to endure his leadership for another year!
Some changes to lower members of the cabinet have been noted in the minutes ably taken by Roy due to Duncan's enforced absence.

25th March
Runcorn, what is it good for?
A scintillating light hearted quiz by the Chairman on little known things about our "home" town. How high is the water tower? Who is the prolific author who lived in Heath Road? Why is the signal box at Runcorn station a listed building? And much more!!
A night of talk and casual banter ensued, but enjoyed by all.

25th February
There's been a murder!
A talk by Alan Hayhurst, ex bank manager now author of all things criminal.
We learnt about some crimes of the heart, with murder in mind. Alan has many murders in his books and gave us a sample of some Cheshire murders , some of the mysterious ones from centuries past.

Robert Fitzroy, Storm Glasses, Savages and Christian missions; just like a normal night in Runcorn!
At the November meeting our very own speaker Simon LaFrenais gave us an insight into Robert Fitzroy (What a man he became, and Robert Fitzroy wasn't bad either!) 
Simon gave one of his usual well researched and enjoyable talks on this mostly forgotten figure from history. Seafarer, navigator, politician, social reformer, tamer of savages(!), weather forecaster and reporter, Vice Admiral , general good egg and Uncle Tom cobbly and all.

We were able to hear about his storm glass and saving ships via pubished weather reports, his voyages aboard The Beagle, his dismay with Darwin and his studying under Francis Beaufort at what was to become the Met Office. Also of his aim to create Christian missionaries and how sadly his mission failed.

Very enjoyable evening indeed! Many Thanks to Simon for his research and providing us with a reminder of heroes past.