August 2026 For our August meeting, we had presentations about historic bridges. These were located around the world and ranged from ancient to modern. We started in Derbyshire with the ancient stone bridge at Swarkestone. This bridge over the Trent is very long. We then moved to Scotland to hear about the Tay and Forth rail bridges. Originally the building of both was in the hands of Thomas Bouch, however after the Tay Bridge blew down, responsibility for building the Forth Bridge was placed in different hands. Our next bridge was in Japan. The Aqua-Line is a modern construction including… Read More

July 2026 Our members introduced us to a range of extracts from historic books. We started with the Domesday Book, learning of its origins and an extract regarding Gedling and Stoke Bardolph. We then moved to Egypt where a 1600 year old mummy has been discovered buried with pages from the Iliad to guide them through the afterlife. Returning to East Anglia we heard extracts from letters written in medieval times by the Paston family. Wealthy land owners, they were also prolific letter writers and there is an anthology of them. Samuel Pepys was a well-known 17th century diarist as… Read More

June 2026 We learned about historic hobbies followed by our members. Jigsaws were invented several centuries ago as a tool for teaching geography. Modern jigsaws can vary from the simple few pieces for young children to large complex puzzles with hundreds of thousands of pieces. Cigarette card collecting used to be a popular hobby. Cigarette manufacturers put stiffener cards in packets then saw an opportunity to create collectable cards covering every topic imaginable. The Second World War put a stop to production of cards but there are still collectors looking to fill gaps in their collections. Trainspotting was a popular… Read More

May 2026 We met for the first time in the Loco Centre which we felt was more suitable for a group like ours. This month we learned about various English Heritage sites. We started with an explanation of the origins of English Heritage starting from the “King’s Works” in Norman times. English Heritage was set up by the Government as a charity to administer a large range of buildings open to the public. We started at Lilleshall Abbey in Shropshire. This was an Augustinian house that voluntarily dissolved in the 16th Century. Following the Reformation, it became a private house… Read More

April 2026 The April meeting was our last at the Richard Herrod Centre. The subject for discussion was “underground structures”. In Europe we heard about the underground city of Derinkuyu, built thousands of years ago as a refuge for up to 20,000 people in times of war. We then moved to Poland were we learned of the history and uses of salt leading to the importance of the salt mine at Weiliczka in Poland. We moved to Britain for a further three talks. In Scotland the East Weymss Caves were created by the sea but had been inhabited by the… Read More