February 2024 News letter Part Two

6. A visit I highly recommend is the Portsmouth Historical Dockyard. Jennie and I used our Ultimate Explorer tickets (valid for unlimited visits for a year) to visit the Mary Rose exhibition. We weren’t disappointed and spent nearly two hours walking through the vast array of artefacts and interactive displays. It brought sharply in to focus the skills of the ship builders of the time using hand tools to craft these fine ships from the wood available. It took about 600 oaks and elms to build the Mary Rose in 1510. The builders had to measure many trees to find those just the right size. As large trees were rare in 16th Century England so this wood had to be sourced from many different places in southern England. As most things on-board were, either wood, pewter or lead many of the crews personal belongings and tools were preserved in the silt of the Solent before being recovered. If you look at the carpenter’s tools of the day, the box plane hasn’t really changed in design in 500 years. Visit highly recommended and a good cup of coffee available too!

7. We have received a generous donation from L8832 Drayton Lodge Freemasons of £100 for a project WMS took on recently. A thank you letter has been sent thanking them and explaining how these donations help us to continue to provide a continued and popular facility in the Waterlooville and Cowplain area.

February diary of events dates:-

WMS Committee Meeting 1030 Friday 2nd Feb 2024

WMS Monthly BBQ 1200 Friday 2nd Feb 2024

Looking further ahead into 2024 the Committee have agreed the following events and dates. There will be more details nearer the time.

Fish & Chip supper with talk 1830 Friday 22nd March 2024

by Dave Allport (Battle of Trafalgar)

WMS 2024 AGM 0930 Tuesday 3rd September 2024

Annual summer family BBQ 1200 Sunday 8th September 2024

Back up date if weather inclement 1200 Sunday 15th September 2024

Fish & Chip supper with talk by Richard Veitch in the Autumn (title and date tbc)

February Newsletter Quiz (Thought I’d see how much we remember of 2023!)

1. Name the Anglo – French actress and singer who died at the age of 76 in July 2023

2. In which country was the 2023 Rugby World Cup final held?

3. By what stage names was comedian and actor Barry Humphries, who died in April 2023 better known?

4. Mathew Perry who died in 2023 starred in which popular US sitcom: Pals, Friends or Chums

5. Which actor, who starred in The Man from UNCLE, died in September 2023?

6. Which Queen of Rock’n’ Roll died in May 2023 aged 83?

7. How old is Mick Jagger?

8. Which long running BBC motoring show ended in 2023 after one of its stars suffered a devastating accident?

9. Which English bowler finished his career at The Oval this year?

10. What did America track over its airspace in February 2023?

And finally:- A positive thought “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.”

Take care folks!

Dave (Sec WMS)