Illustrated Talks in Chobham


IMPORTANT NOTICE

Our venue is the Pavilion in the Recreation Ground in Station Road, Chobham, on the THIRD Wednesday in the month.

 
 

The new talks season will restart in October and will continue as usual until Spring 2013. The venue will be as usual at Chobham Parish Pavilion, Recreation Ground, Station Road, Chobham, near Woking.

Meetings start at 8pm on the third Wednesday of the month, except January and February 2013 that will be in the forth week due to a venue conflict (see link above for exact location). Coffee/tea and biscuits will be available during the interval. Non members and friends are very welcome to come along. There is sufficient, and safe, parking alongside the hall.

 

Winter Season 2012/2013

 


 

 

All meetings are FREE.

Please come along and support these social evenings where we like to see new faces. Everyone is welcome so bring along your friends as well.

Here are the dates and details of the current season -

audience inside the hall (3K) 

A short history of the talks, compiled by Peter Coxhead ----

The Group was formed in the mid-1970s in those enterprising early muddy days of restoration. A small band of enthusiastic characters used to sit on the floor of members' houses planning programmes that would keep the momentum going.

The first actual public meetings when interesting speakers whetted our appetites for what we should aim for, took place in the long-since-demolished Centre Halls in Woking. Our compere was Mike Grist. We then moved to the old Christ Church Hall (now Barclays Bank) and for a time Peter Coxhead presented the evenings.

Then followed a period at the Methodist Church Hall and surely all who came there will remember the 'ex-sergeant-major' caretaker! Our next venue was St Johns Memorial Hall. Ginny Millard took over from Peter during this period.

For the last few years, our meeting place has been at the Westgate Centre again in the heart of Woking. Arthur Dungate was now our 'master of ceremonies' and all who came will remember the wonderful variety of interesting speakers.

Now, subject to receiving approval of a lottery bid, Woking Galleries will almost certainly be building a state-of-the-art 21st century Museum and Art Centre on the site of the old Westgate building.

Finding a hall suitable for both availability and price is not easy. However Peter Coxhead has come to an arrangement with Chobham Parish Council to rent its Pavilion in the Recreation Ground in Station Road, Chobham. The hall is large enough for our meetings, there is sufficient car parking space and a kitchen is available for those very important 'half time' breaks.

      ---- 2012 ----

    • OCTOBER - Wednesday 17th October, 2012 - 8pm

       
      Robin Higgs - 'Canals and Rivers of Eastern France'
       
      Our former Chairman and current Vice President Robin Higgs will be showing a selection of slides from his boating holidays in Eastern France in 2010 and 2011. Waterways to be featured include the Canal L'Est and the River Saone.

       

    • NOVEMBER - Wednesday  21st November, 2012 - 8pm

       
      Murray Jones - 'History of Dragon Boat Racing' (First Half)
      Kathryn Dodington - 'The Jubilee Thames River Pagent 2012' (Second Half)
       
      Murray Jones is an international official of the Dragon Boat Racing Association and will decribe the facinating history of this unique sport and it's competitions. Kathryn Dodington (a committe member) will talk about her participation in her narrow boat 'Leo No.2' in the Jubilee Thames River Pageant this year.

    • DECEMBER - Wednesday 19st December, 2012 - 8pm

       
      Roger Squires BEM - 'Passage to Astrakhan'
       
      One of our popular speakers Roger will be returning to describe the 4702 km cruise he made alomg the waterways from the Baltic to the Caspian Sea and then on to the Black Sea. This epic 3 week voyage on the Baltic Volga Canal,the River Volga and the Volga Black Sea Canal took him through the heart of Russia,stopping at some of the formerly 'closed' towns en route.
       

                    ---- 2013 ----

    • JANUARY - Wednesday 23rd January, 2013 - 8pm (a week later than usual due to a venue conflict)

       
      Peter Halman - 'Thames from Oxford to Windsor'
       
      The River Thames has many stories from the past to the present to be told and Peter will be visiting us to share his knowledge of the history of this beautiful waterway through the centuries.

       

    • FEBRUARY - Wednesday 27th February, 2013 - 8pm (a week later than usual due to a venue conflict)

       
      Ron and Myra Glover - 'Down the Rhine and Up the Neckar'
       
      Having explored the waterways of western Europe,Ron and Myra decided to venture further east. One barrier they had to cross was the mighty River Rhine and for their boat 'Elsa' this meant "going with the flow". For this reason they joined the Rhine near the top in France and travelled downstream venturing into the rivers joining on the German side. The first is the Neckar.

       

    • MARCH - Wednesday 20th March, 2013 - 8pm

       
      David Saady - 'The Ribble Link and the Lancaster Canal'
       
      David will be visiting us to describe the history of the Ribble Link and the Lancaster Canal and recount his cruise along the waterways, including the seven mile crossing between the two,one of the riskiest water crossings for narrow boats in the country.

       

    • APRIL - Wednesday 17th April, 2013 - 8pm

       
      Ray Orth - ' The Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal'
       
      Ray is the Assistant Restoration Director of the Wendover Arm Trust and will present an illustrated talk on the history of the Trust and the Wendover Arm,why the Arm was built and the story of the restoration to date and the Trust's longer term aims.

       

 

 

 

 

    Note:

  • If you have any ideas for interesting future talks, the Talks Organiser will be pleased to hear from you!
    Please contact: David Millett (01252 617364) or Peter Coxhead (01932 344564). -

 

            
 

Last updated: May 2013