Monthly meetings are held in the Romiley methodist Church on the fourth Thursday of the month between 2.00 and 4.00 pm. After the guest speaker has made their presentation, information relevant to the members is discussed and where feasible, the recent and future activities of one or other group described. The afternoon ends with refreshments of tea/coffee and biscuits being served.
Potential new members are welcome by prior arrangement with the Social Secretary or Membership Secretary. They can be contacted via the "Contacts" page.
On Thursday 26th March David Poppitt (Retired Oncologist) gave about the 'History of the Christie Hospital' He first went to the Christie as a medical student in 1966 and worked there for many years specialising in experimental chemotherapy initially and then developing an interest in cancer education which led to the establishment of the Christie Charity,
The Christie is the biggest single site in Europe for the study and treatment of all types of cancer and clinical oncology. The disease is very ancient as discovered from archeology but it was during the industrial revolution that large numbers of testicular cancer were recorded in chimney sweeps and mill workers, who were exposed to toxic substances in their daily work. This started off research in the 1880 ’s and 1890’s and in Manchester four prominent local businessmen and philanthropists and their wives set up a unit near to where the M.R.I. is situated now. They were Joseph Whitworth, Edward Holt, John Ryland and his wife Anne and Richard Christie and his wife. The unit was called “Institute for Incurables”. In those days it was considered a place where you would go to die, whereas now it is a place for hope and the best possible treatment. Edward Holt became interested in the work of Marie Curie about radiation and this led to the hospital changing it’s name to the Holt Radium Institute and finally “The Christie”, it has grown from 300 staff in 1966 to 5000 now with treatment hubs throughout the country so that patients can be treated nearer to their home.
David explained about the work that is carried out today clinical trials and research which surprisingly is not funded by the NHS. He became Appeals Director, responsible for raising awareness and charitable donations to fund this work. He has been involved in many schemes, most notably a tapathons with the support of Roy Castle, Norma Wilson and Les Dawson.
It was a most enjoyable and informative talk aand £97 was donated by the members after the talk.
At the monthly meeting 26/2/26 we were entertained by Joy and Kevin Sidall with their hand picked selection of songs with stories entitled ‘Lyrical Allsorts’. Their act featured songs from over a 100 years of great music and genres including pop, jazz and musical theatre. The songs were accompanied by high quality backing tracks, acoustic guitar and even a ukelele and included the theme song from “Geogie Girl” , “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan’s “to Make You Feel My Love” and many others. Each song was accompanied by a story either about the origin of the song , or the singer or songwriter. “Mack the Knife” was sung in German and “La Vie En Rose” by Edith Piaff was sung in French. Many of the songs were old favourites which had the audience clapping or foot tapping , a very enjoyable performance.
IN THE FORBIDDEN LAND
On Thursday 22nd January Fran Sandham told us about the strange Tibetan adventure of Henry Savage Landor, the real-life 'Baron Munchausen' of Victorian explorers.
In 1897, eccentric traveller Henry Savage Landor vowed to cross 'The Roof of the World', the forbidden Himalayan kingdom of Tibet, and reach its fabled capital Lhasa. Immaculately dressed, equipped with all the latest equipment, and well-supplied with delicacies from Fortnum & Mason, Landor entered Tibet illegally and very definitely uninvited.
Several months later, a very different Landor was unceremoniously bundled out of Tibet. Emaciated, clad in filthy rags, he was clutching his sole remaining possession, a map he'd drawn in his own blood. Back in Europe, Landor became an instant celebrity, thrilling the public with his extraordinary (and often scarcely believable) tales of high adventure in Tibet. Yet despite his embellishments and huge propensity for outrageous lies, the basic facts Landor told of his Tibetan adventure were actually true...
On 27th November we held our AGM. After the AGM we heard more stories from Simon Michael about "My Life in Crime"---about being 40 years at the Bar. Relating some well known cases with which he was involved. He is also an international published author and crime writer,playwright, romantic novelist and short story writer.
On October 23rd David Lee talked to us about his sixty years of messing about with paper, pencil & paint. David lives and works in Romiley. He originally studied furniture design at Hornsey College of Art & Design in London, a leading design college in the 1960’s. He gained an Upper 2nd BA, followed by one year postgraduate. Awarded 1st and 2nd prizes by the Royal Society of Arts Design Bursaries competition 1967, Furniture section. For eleven years he taught Art and Design at Longdendale High School. In 1981 he left full time teaching, returning to fine art work on a freelance basis, with occasional part time teaching and running adult art classes in Marple for 26 years until 2006. For eleven he taught Art and Design at Longdendale High School. In 1981 he left full time teaching, returning to fine art work on a freelance basis, with occasional part time teaching and running adult art classes in Marple for 26 years until 2006.He is mostly known for for his local drawings of Marple Locks, though this is only a small part of his work. Most of his work these days is acrylic with occasional oils and watercolours. He would like to do more oils but he does not have the patience for drying times. An often used technique these days is to do the underpainting in acrylic and finish it in oils. There was a lively discussion on his work and he answered many questions about his work.
On Thursday 25th September Sue Holden talked about 'Hetty’s Ology’ - She talked about those words and phrases we hear everyday but don’t necessarily know their origins.
On Thursday 28th August we held our summer social. This was held in the Romiley Methodist Church Hall from 2.00 to 4.00pm. There were light refreshments and a general knowledge quiz and much chat. We managed to raise about £90 for our charity.
On Thursday 26th June Roger Browne talked to us about The Golden Age of Radio – During the early post war years, most of us relied on the radio to inform, educate and entertain us with programmes such as “Take it From Here” to “Round the Horne” “Letter From America” “Journey into Space”, “Family Favourites”, “In Town Tonight”, “Down Your Way”, “Music While You Work” “Dick Barton – Special Agent” many, many others.
Roger Browne examined, with hilarious anecdotes, how Radio enriched our post war lives and launched the careers of so many icons of music, comedy, special interest, current affairs and sport. For some this was a trip down Memory Lane. For those too young to remember these programmes, the talk gave an amusing insight into the roots of modern broadcasting.
On Thursday 22nd May Frank Rothwell talked to us about how he single handed rowed across the Atlantic and now holds 4 Guinness World record for the feat.
On 25th April a speaker from the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society gave a talk on "the Restoration of Danny". Danny is a 120 year old Alt Deco designed steam Tug (No 15 on the national Historic Ships list).