Group News Archive
Group News Archive
The following reports relate to activites undertaken in 2019 before the pandemic as examples of some of our groups visits and other undertakings:
Strictly Costumes: The Outings Group visited the BBC TV Studios at Birmingham at the end of February, and thankfully we didn’t have to cope with blizzards or gales on the day, other than a very heavy hailstorm as we were coming out of Birmingham!
I think I can say that we all enjoyed our tour of the BBC. We certainly learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in both radio and television. It was interesting to see the familiar red settee where the local news presenters sit to read the local news every day, but what we were surprised about were the long hours that they work to get the news to us.
Bar at the Bull: Even more fascinating was hearing all about production of the Archers, which is recorded at BBC Birmingham. If you’ve ever wondered how a recording studio can be transformed into a working farm, or the bar at the Bull, all is revealed. I’ll let you into a little secret, the bar at the Bull is a wooden box that they’ve used for years, and is now held together with tape to stop it falling apart, and the farmyard gate is really an ironing board! But enough of that, I don’t want to let out too many secrets.
The tour was rounded off with a quick trip down memory lane in the form of the Tardis and one of those Daleks that we all used to be scared of in Dr Who. A very enjoyable way to spend a day!
Kingston Bagpuize: On Tuesday 18th February, 24 members of the Gardening Group and the Local History Group had a joint visit Kingston Bagpuize House. We had a very interesting guided tour of the house given by the owner Virginia Grant, who lives there with her family. The grounds have a lovely display of snowdrops at this time of year and we were able to Kingston Bagpuize Snowropsexplore without getting wet or muddy. Spring is definitely on the way. We saw various species of daffodils hellebores and spring flowering shrubs. Afterwards we had tea and delicious home made cakes. This is the first of a number of visits to local gardens we will have this year. For more information contact %Jane Clarke%
The Local History Group had a talk on Town Planning in Witney in Novemeber including the develment of the Woolgate Centre and surrounding area. Please see the Local History Group page for a full report.
Bothy Vineyard: With the grapes ripening on the vine it was a good time for the Wine Group to visit the Bothy Vineyard near Abingdon. English wine is undergoing a renaissance with some wines challenging, and beating, many of the established wines from Europe. The Bothy Vineyard is an award winning vineyard and the Wine Group had a fascinating afternoon tour learning about the many aspects of planting, growing and harvesting grapes (viticulture) as well as actually making the wine (vinification). There followed some wine tasting in the group’s quest for a fuller knowledge of oenology (wine making)!
The Stately Homes visit to Lacock Abbey, Fox Talbot Museum and Village on 25th September was the last of our our outings for this year. Thank you for supporting us. The weather was exceptionally kind. Although some parts of the Abbey were closed due to filming, the Medieval Cloisters and the gardens were open. Many of the buildings in the village have been used as backdrops in various films – Pride & Prejudice, Cranford and some of the Harry Potter films. In August 1835 William Henry Fox Talbot captured the world’s first photographic negative at his home, Lacock Abbey. The Fox Talbot Museum tells the story of Fox Talbot’s invention and how it fits with the history of photography
Bluebell Line: On 29th July The Railway Group had a very enjoyable visit to the Bluebell Line in East Sussex, one of the oldest Heritage Railways in the UK. See the Railways Group Page for further details.
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The meeting of the Science and Technology Group on 27th July had have three short talks:
"Where are we in computer assisted medical diagnosis - will the computer see you now?" by Andrew Brunskill
“Noise, but not as you know it” by Keith Blois
“What is really happening in your gut?” by Peter Clift
If you are interested in joining the Group please contact the S&T Group Leader
The Railways group is now meeting again in person. Meetings are held held at the Methodist church, Jacobs room, at 10.00 on the first Wednesday of the month. We have now held our planning for 2022 and a number of varied railway visits have been identified. Please see the Railways Group page for more details.
Outings by Coach These will be announced on our Outings page when details are available.
Theatre Trips: We plan to restart our visits in the coming Winter