CORITANI CONTINUITY
I last reported on Leicester area meetings in Omnibus no.142, so here is an update of meetings since then.
So, in September 2001 I myself did a slide show entitled "Buses and Bikes". Over the years, bus slides that have included a pushbike, erroneously or not, in the background have always been 'point scorers' so to try and put this to one side once and for all, the show was just that. Having said that, my slides of a recent holiday to Denmark and Sweden seemed impossible to take without bikes (whether of buses or not!). Digressing, another recent 'point scorer', certainly for slides from the UK, are 'buses on the wrong side of the road'. Would some one like to give us such a show in the future?
October and Mike Greenwood gave us a double bill, Leicester City Transport ‘Explorer’ tickets in July 1967 (together with full commentary from the respective day’s Leicester Mercury) and after the break 1974 recollections of Midland Red ‘Day Anywhere’ tickets, including some evocative shots of withdrawn vehicles at the Worcester 'dumping ground'.
Peter Cordwell re-visited us in November and showed some of his early 1970s slides of Midlands buses. This was quite a varied selection, in particular some excellent Midland Red shots. But then I am biased.
Another guest speaker, Barry Ridge, visited us in December and gave us slides of Leicester in the 1970s and 1980s.
So to the January "new year" meeting. Well, what a fiasco! We all turn up at the appointed hour to find the Community Centre totally shut for the Christmas Holidays! So, the City Council close all community centres at one of the most social times of the year but forget tell people. Great! Mike Greenwood then desperately starts to ring for alternative venues, but fortunately Denis Hemsley saves the day by suggesting we use the Lady Chapel at his local church, St Augustine's on Fosse Road. A big thank you to Dennis! The new year meeting then proceeded with the Mastermind Quiz, although this year questions were on multiple choice answers, à la Chris Tarrant’s "Who wants to be a millionaire?" Simon Gill was conclusively the winner with 36 out of 50 points. In the slide competition, where the entries really do seem to be of the highest quality, the winner was Phil Hayman with his shot of an East Notts Bristol LH, while Dennis Hemsley’s view of an Isle of Man Tours Bedford OB won the print competition.
In February, Trevor Follows gave us his round up of Leicester events of 2001, but preceded with a first half show of current operations in Manchester. Certainly a city where there is diversity of operators and colour schemes.
In March, Paul Beardsley was due to re-visit us from Sheffield, but was unable to make it at the last minute. However, he kindly provided us with some interesting boxes of slides which Mike Greenwood showed 'by proxy', very much like a lucky dip show, of slides taken in the 1970s and 1980s.
April, and Simon Gill provided us with a show "20 years ago"- bus slides from 1982. It is interesting that, having provided a similar show last year, we all sit and contemplate - is it really 20 years ago that slide was taken etc.?
That brings me up to the present. Future meetings continue on the first Saturday in the month at the community centre on Andrewes Close (with back up from St Augustine’s, Dennis?). In May I am due to get my ciné projector out and trawl through 1970s films. June will be our Study Tour, to the British Museum Of Road Transport, Coventry, and I understand that Malcolm Keeley is due to see us in August.
A new idea will be tried in July. It is to be a 'BRING AN ARTEFACT' meeting. Members are invited to bring one or more local transport related artefacts to describe and share for the morning. These could be photos, press cuttings, timetables, tickets, bits of a bus, etc. Ken Williams might even bring a 1:1 scale item! The Sheffield Transport Study Group tried this at one of their meetings recently with great success.
All members are cordially welcome. Apart from the film shows there is always time for chat, looking at memorabilia that is brought in, Peter Newland normally brings in a print selection, and there are some comfy seats if you fancy a nap!
Brian Dicks
Chapel Lane, Wythall, Worcs B47 6JX
Tel : 01564 826471 e-mail us
A registered educational charity no 507191
