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You are here: Events - Past |
Past Events |
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| May 10th 2008 - Family Enviroment Day |
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| May 14th 2008 - Working Party |
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| June 1st 2008 - Festival Walk of the Meadows |
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| June 4th 2008 - AGM |
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| June 11th 2008 - Working Party |
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| Dec 12th 2007 - Working Party |
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| Nov 16th 2007 - Talk on ‘Childhood in Holland during World War II’ |
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| Oct 17th 2007 - Syria and Jordan Talk |
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| Sept 11th 2007 - Garden Party at Newcourt |
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| Sept 8th 2007 - Rose Cottage Open Day |
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| June 4th 2007 - 16th AGM |
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Dec 12th 2007 - Working Party |
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Twenty-one staff from Friends Provident, Salisbury’s largest private sector employer, provided a working party on Wednesday 12 December 2007, repairing a bedwork located on Martin’s Mead, opposite Rose Cottage and near to the Town Path. |
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The original damage was caused by heavy vehicles (before the days of the Harnham Water Meadows Trust!) being driven inappropriately across the meadow, flattening the ridge and partially filling the drainage ditches on either |
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side. Proper irrigation on this part of the meadow has not been possible because water would spill out to the drains, once water levels were high enough to reach the top of the ridge. |
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The Friends Provident team people did a fantastic job, restoring a part of the meadows that is visible from the Town Path, and across which we should now be able to irrigate in the traditional fashion. The Trust and its Friends are pleased to see this major repair at this important location achieved in one day, and we are delighted to work with a major local employer. |
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November 16th 2007- Childhood in Holland in World War II |
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This talk, on November 16th, was given by a friend of mine - Liesbeth Langford - who is Dutch born, and was a very small child when war broke out and Holland was occupied by Nazi Germany. Her family lived in the north of the country - she had a sister who was 8 years older than her, and a brother 5 years older. Her mother was English and her father Dutch. Very early on in the war the Germans were told her father had a very tiny portrait of his Queen (Whilhelmenia) on his office desk and, as a punishment he was sent to a concentration camp for a |
| number of weeks. When he emerged he immediately joined the Dutch Resistance. So you can imagine the dangers the family faced - English mother, Resistance father. |
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Liesbeth told us some of the dreadful things that happened to neighbours and friends, of being reduced to eating tulip bulbs by 1944, and of living with constant fear. She also told us stories of some of her mother’s exploits, which included readily harbouring a young Jewish girl in spite of the danger, particularly as her mother was English. Liesbeth also read moving extracts from her mother’s diary. |
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It is obviously impossible for us to realise what their life was like, and the true horrors of what they went through. Liesbeth is a lovely person and a deeply committed Christian, and the gentle, almost forgiving, way in which she told of those horrors made them somehow worse. Certainly you could have heard a pin drop as we hung on her words in deep silence. |
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This was a very special - and very moving - afternoon, and though we emerged emotionally gutted we also emerged humbled and very, very grateful. Liesbeth’s upbeat ending to her talk, and her gratitude to England and Canada (it was the Canadians who freed their area) touched us all deeply. For those of you who weren’t there you missed a wonderful afternoon. And the Friends benefited financially to the tune of some £325. - J. Bowen |
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October 17th 2007- Pilgrimage to Jordan and Syria, March 2007 |
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On the 17th October Jennifer Bowen treated us to a lively and informative account of her travels organised by Richard & Margaret Askew with Barney & Esme Hopkinson. They set out on the Kings Highway which snakes all the way North and South following the ancient track across arid limestone plains and craggy hills and valleys where nothing much thrives. Sometimes clad in a cover up burkah, sometimes on horseback and once on a camel, with slides to prove it, she visited sites of Christian and Old Testament association, mosques and antique archeological remains. Canons Richard and Barney led daily services usually in the open air, but occasionally in ancient buildings including a Temple of Baal. These were the backbone of the adventure, giving depth and integration to the varied visits. It was a moving experience to stand by the Jordan where Christ was baptised and to pause on the same road outside Damascus where St. Paul was converted, to look across the Dead Sea to the distant hills of Israel and to gaze on the Promised Land as Moses did, and later at another site, to speculate on Jacob wrestling with the Angel.
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The Petra slides were stunning, with the royal Nabatean carved facades of the fourth century BC still sharply defined, and remote, despite the enormous growth of Petra in the last twenty years. The amazingly well preserved castles of the Crusaders (Kerak and Krac des Chevaliers) gave new insight into Saladin. The great Mosque at Damascus contained superb mosaics, and another had a huge mosaic map of the world featuring Jerusalem in its centre. There were less ancient delights - a very beautiful modern mosque, and a building used as his Headquarters by T.E. Lawrence. The piece de resistance archaeologically was the ancient city of Palmyra reached by a long journey across the desert. The splendid Roman buildings including colonnaded temples still stand largely as they were built – 200-300 AD. |
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Genuine whirling Dervishes were not left out. The most remarkable visit of a different kind was to the School for Deaf Children at Salt near Amman. The innovative work to teach children including those also with visual disability and deafness was impressive and thought provoking. In the context of the Pilgrimage this experience was especially significant. The Group had been asked to bring writing and art materials as these are expensive, and subsequently managed to gather over 200 discarded hearing aids to send out to the school, as they have a workshop where aids can be refurbished. |
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Unfortunately in an hour we could not hear everything but were left full of admiration for Jennifer and her companions in having the stamina to take it all in. Many thanks! - Anne Tanner |
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September 11th 2007- Garden Party at Newcourt |
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Miraculously it was a perfect late summer’s evening, with sun and warmth. Moreover, somewhat to our host’s surprise, there was lots of colour in the garden, with roses still blooming in profusion. |
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And so a selected number of us had a very happy party in the garden of the High Sheriff of Wiltshire - Peter Pleyell-Bouverie - who also happens to be one of our Trustees. |
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Sadly his wife could not be with us, but we are extremely grateful to them both for having us - and for donating the wine we so happily drank. |
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It was, in fact, very generous of the Pleydell- Bouveries to have us, as Peter had an extremely busy year, but it was very much appreciated. Their lovely garden, with the |
| beautiful old house behind, made a perfect setting, where we were able to relax and enjoy wine, nibbles and good conversation. We even had a balloon flying over us to add to the specialness of the evening. And our funds benefited by over £200! - J. Bowen |
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July 14th 2007 - Harnham Summer Garden Show and Fête |
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How lucky we were with the weather for the Harnham Fete this year. Whilst every day leading up to the Fete, and certainly the day after, were wet and mostly miserable, the day of the Fete itself was warm with sunny intervals and NO RAIN!! A perfect English Summer's afternoon, in fact!
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The Harnham Fete, or to give it its full title – the Harnham Scout Fete and Garden Society Summer Show – has been in existence for at least 30 years, and possibly as many as 50 years or more. This year the Scouts were, of course, celebrating their 100th Anniversary although the Harnham Scout troop was only established in 1932 and so was celebrating its 75th Anniversary. If you have not attended previously, a treat awaits you. It is held on St George's Field in Lower Street around the Scout Hut and St George's Church Hall which provides an ideal site for a small village fete. Inside a very large marquee the numerous Garden Society exhibits are displayed – the categories including garden produce, floral displays, cookery, handicrafts and photography. To encourage younger participation there are childrens categories too. A small central arena hosts sporting competitions for children, although some adults were spotted helping out! |
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Around the central arena, numerous stalls and sideshows are located and it was amongst these that John Beckett and Mike Gallagher erected the gazebo. Our Chairman and Hadrian Cook then set up the display boards and tables ready for the greetings cards, pamphlets and leaflets. During the afternoon a steady stream of visitors purchased items and asked questions about the Water Meadows. Some small visitors remembered their recent school visit to the Meadows, and recognised Hadrian even though he wasn't wearing his top hat. The mothers explained how they too had learnt an awful lot about the Water Meadows whilst helping their children with their homework following the school visit!! Hadrian learnt one or two things even he didn’t know from locals, and he is going to follow up one or two interesting stories. |
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Some light relief arrived when Hadrian's visit to the Bottle Stall resulted in him winning a bottle of shandy, whilst Jenny returned with a decent bottle of wine! Jenny kept her staff supplied throughout the afternoon with tea and cakes from the Church Hall, and Hadrian kept his strength up by visiting the barbecue as soon as they announced, late in the afternoon, that burgers and hot-dogs were half price! |
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The turnout was excellent and, at one point in the afternoon, it would have been possible to hold a Committee Meeting as so many members were present! A total of £64 was raised, but more importantly our profile with Harnham residents was raised significantly. It is intended that we will now have a permanent presence at the Harnham Fete - do come along and visit our stall next year (probably Saturday 19th July 2008). |
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July 6th 2007 - Garden of ‘Hemynsby’ open (plus tours of the house) |
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On the afternoon of Friday July 6th we were privileged to have the garden of ‘Hemynsby’ in The Close open for us, by very kind permission of Admiral & Mrs Gueritz.
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The garden runs right down to the river Avon, and from it you can look across to our Meadows - a beautiful view. The garden looked lovely, in spite of all the recent rain - and indeed we were very fortunate to have a fine, though cloudy, afternoon. |
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In addition to the garden being open, Mrs Gueritz allowed people to see the main rooms of the house - she herself taking two of the three tours. |
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The house was one of the original Prebendal houses of The Close, but has had a succession of alterations over the centuries - as well as a succession of interesting (and sometimes eccentric) occupants. |
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However the main part of the Great Hall remains, with beautiful timber and linenfold panelling. As a complete contrast we also saw the 18thC drawing room. |
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It was a very happy afternoon thanks to the welcome we were given by the Gueritzs - and we made some £200 from entry fees and publication sales. |
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June 4th 2007 - 16th AGM |
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The meeting began at 2.30pm and 44 Friends were present. |
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Our Honorary Bailiff, John Beckett was gave an award by Peter Pleydell-Bouverie for people who have given outstanding community service which has not been otherwise publicly recognised as an appreciation of all he has done for the Water Meadows and the Trust. |
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The Dean spoke of how the water meadows, as part of the greater landscape, |
had featured in the recently launched Cathedral Strategic Plan and explained theywould also be included should World Heritage Status ever be achieved. |
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Together with the membership and income from the various events it enabled £2,500 to be handed to the Trust this year. |
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Jennifer Bowen, the Friends’ Chairman, outlined the activities of the past year much of which had centered on Rose Cottage and thanked various people for their continuing support and hard work. In conclusion the Friends had had a very good year and plenty of positive publicity. Rosemary Allen and Anne Sanford were re-elected and Ian Ingrey-Counter was elected to the committee. The meeting ended at 3.30pm and tea was then served. |
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June 3rd 2007 - Festival Walk |
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We were blessed with a warm, fine day on June 3rd for the Festival Walk. 42 people turned up to do the walk, only 4 of whom were our Friends - so it was great to be introducing a lot more people to the Meadows and all we have done. |
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We had a very good walk round, in spite of massive nettle beds and rather long grass - and I found our recently purchased megaphone absolutely indispensable. |
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During the walk we saw a number of ‘beautiful demoiselle’ (fairly rare) and also a little egret, amongst other things. |
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After the walk the majority took tea at the Old Mill - donated to us by Steve and Simon (proprietors of the Old Mill) - we are immensely grateful to them for their generosity. |
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Not only did everyone seem to enjoy themselves, we also made £181 for the funds. |
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June 2nd 2007 - Odstock Manor Open Garden |
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The highlight of our summer activities this year was an Open Day in the garden of Odstock Manor, the home of Lord Marland our Chairman of Trustees. We were truly blessed as Saturday 2nd June dawned warm and sunny, and turned out to be just a perfect English summer’s day. Consequently, our Open Day attracted a good number of visitors throughout the day thus ensuring a most successful event, both socially and financially. |
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The early morning saw the Committee arriving with cars bursting with chairs, tables, signs, food and drink and, in the case of John Beckett, the Friends’ gazebo! A bustle of activity ensued and by 10.45 all was ready for the 11am start. Coffee and delicious cakes were on sale, and the various stalls were ready to sell their wares. These included one manned by the two young Marland daughters who sold unwanted personal items and donated all their takings to the Water Meadows! A very special “thank you” goes to them both. |
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Hats became de rigueur as the sun reached its height, but this did not detract from the enjoyment of the wonderful garden with its varied areas and many unusual sculptures - some half-hidden and a delight to discover. The garden has numerous seats, many in secluded areas, and these proved very popular throughout the day. |
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Cold lunches were provided by our usual team, who delighted in having use of the large kitchen for the preparatory work (where it was also cool!). The lunches were extremely popular, as were tea, cakes and cool drinks throughout the afternoon. The plant stall proved popular as did the gazebo with its display of cards and publications - or was it the shade? |
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The day was brought to a fitting end by a few words from our Chairman, before she drew the winning raffle tickets. The magnificent sum of £873 was raised, surely a record for us in one day? |
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As ever your Committee members “worked their socks off” to ensure another successful event. However, there were a great many other “helpers” who ensured that everything went so smoothly, and special thanks go to: |
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David Allen, Ken Allen, Rosemary Barber, Enid Cassin, Jennifer Cowan, Mary Dickson, Pam Ford-Young, Sue Gallagher, Tina Jefferis, Ursula Parker, Felicity Rickard and Sylvia Roseaman. |
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Odstock House is just perfect for a day such as this, with ample parking, the most wonderful garden, and a perfect small “green” immediately outside the house for |
| stalls and seating. Our most grateful thanks go to Lord and Lady Marland for allowing us the use of their home and garden this year. Thanks also go to their marvellous Housekeeper, who was a tower of strength to the Committee, and to their two daughters - all entered into the spirit of the day wholeheartedly and made us all so welcome. We do hope we will be invited back again before too long. |
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