Tuesday 13 March 2018

2018 Possible outings

OutingsAll dates provisional and dependent upon numbers

Thursday 24th May - Milestones Museum, Basingstoke
Wednesday 20th June - The American Museum in Britain, Bath
Date to be confirmed - Longleat
Wednesday 19th September - Great Western Railway Museum, Swindon
December - Dates awaited - John Rutter Christmas Concert - London


Further information available from Ian Milsom at Monthly meetings, or by telephoning 02380 813886, or by Email milsomian@gmail.com

Saturday 26 September 2015

New Forest Fruit Co. Ltd. on the 23rd September 2015,

‘Twelve members attended our visit to the New Forest Fruit Co. Ltd. on the 23rd September 2015, who are specialist fruit growers situated at Newhouse Farm, East Boldre.
Sandy Booth, the Managing Director, gave us a detailed account of his business, specialising in strawberries and blueberries.
The Company on site, grow, pack and distribute 2,100 tonnes of fruit per annum, to UK supermarkets over an 8th month period of the year. We had a conducted tour of the glasshouses and polytunnels where the strawberries are grown over the seasons. We were also shown other fruits the Company produces.
Employing over 300 workers plus supervising staff, of varying nationalities, the Company trains its staff in their native tongue and provides full accommodation and are paid good money and bonuses.
We all tasted ten varieties of strawberry, produced on the farm and were all treated to a sample punnet to take home.
All in all, a very educational and interesting afternoon.’
Diane & Frank
Visit arranged by Ann


Wednesday 17 June 2015

June visit to Bombay Sapphire Distillery

19 Questers made a short trip up the A34 to the Bombay Sapphire Distillery
Sited at Laverstoke , a water powered mill,which has stood on this River Test for more than
One thousand years.A most exceptional Glass House designed by,Thomas Heatherwick,
Is the home to the tropical plants that make the flavours possible for gins individuality of the Cocktails,the spirit is from the grain s of finest wheat.
We had a tour by an experienced Guide who gave lots of History of Gin and the buildings
We selected ,by means of punching our marked programs ,the flavours ,by smell,which was
handed to the waitress at the Bar,she then served the combinations to us in the form of Cocktails at the end of the tour,a very satisfying finish. 

Jack. 

Pictures by Dave Watt


Thursday 16 October 2014

Verderers Court



 Questers visit to the Verderers Court. We were met by a young Ranger who's name I have forgotton and shown into the court where I watched the proceedings with interest.
 Dave

Thursday 24 July 2014

Thursday 8 May 2014

With Dave Dibden

TOTTON U3A
QUESTERS WALK IN THE FOREST WITH DAVE DIBDEN
THURSDAY, 8th MAY 2014

Thursday morning saw the most persistent rain we had had for a long time and three groups of Questers were booked to walk in the New Forest with Dave Dibden, the coppicer who had given us such an interesting talk last month. The first group suffered the most, with persistent rain, but they still thoroughly enjoyed the visit. The second group had rain to start with but dried out by the end. We were the third group and enjoyed a dry walk, except for a few spots of rain about half way round.

Dave is such an enthusiastic and knowledgeable person and kept us enthralled the whole time we wandered around his domain, which it is hoped will become a trust managed by him in the near future. He explained why coppicing is so important to the wildlife of the Forest, letting the light in and promoting new growth under the trees. The rotation ensures succeeding areas are at a different stage of growth and the hazel can sustain this type of management for many years. Wood harvested from these trees is not wasted and is used for pea and bean sticks, as well as giving Dave ample material for his fertile mind to turn into saleable items, such as delightful pigs and bug boxes.

Charcoal burning is one of the projects Dave is promoting to ensure an income for the trust from the larger wood he harvests. My imagination conjured up the charcoal burners I had seen in my youth, but the new burner will come into the wood on a lorry and is the updated method of producing this valuable material. Apparently many chefs in hotels throughout the Forest use charcoal grills and will appreciate such a local source.

Dave led us through the bluebell woods which now bloom under his care. These were intermingled with white stitchwort and produced a beautiful carpet among the trees. The vegetation along the verges has also been cut back and native flowers now flourish here to encourage the return of many species of butterfly. These were sadly lacking after the rain, but the violets, bugle, bluebells, stitchwort and many other plants were a beautiful sight.

Dave led us on to his latest clearance project. He undertakes this during the winter months of November to February and he stacks the brushwood around the perimeter to deter deer which always manage to get in somehow, especially the Muntjac, which are small and difficult to spot. He then harvests the timber, stacking it and leaving the tree stumps to generate new growth, which we could already see.


Our walk lasted about 1½ hours and we learned so much on our ramble - how to identify some of the trees and flowers, why conservation is so important for our wildlife and how satisfying it is for someone to be doing what he loves best, working in the Forest.  

Sue


Wednesday 23 April 2014

Library Tour

Today 8 members saw the inner most workings of Southampton's library,a huge labyrinth  of rooms with many interesting people doing a varied list of jobs,importing and exporting books, translating data from titanic archives, selling redundant books on Amazon ,to name just a few,a most interesting Tour thoroughly enjoyed by us all .Thank you Ann for organising it. Jack