December 2014: At this month's meeting a good turn-out of members attended our AGM which was followed by David Walker presenting us with a "Full English" in a show featuring his recent trip to Vancouver and the English Bay Anchorage where many bulk carriers and container ships were at anchor. The presentation was accompanied by our festive buffet supplied by members. The evening went well and was greatly enjoyed by all. Many thank to David for an informative and well researched presentation.
November 2014: As usual, our November meeting featured a recap of the year's shipping as photographed through the lens of Roger Musselwhite. The quality of photographs was up to his usual high standard, as was the level of research. We saw views of ships between Plymouth and Southampton, with a range of photos taken from the Brixham pilot boat which offered a unique perspective on vessels passing Berry Head. Many thanks to Roger for his hard work for, as ever, an evening that was enjoyed by the assembled audience.
October 2014: In October Ken Cload returned with a selection of photos from a holiday at the Hoek earlier this year. We saw a good range of shipping on the New Waterway, all captured with Ken's usual high standard of photography. He also showed photos from day trips to Antwerp, Ghent and Amsterdam, all of which was accompanied by a well researched talk. Many thanks to Ken for an enjoyable evening, which was much appreciated by the audience.
September 2014: Unfortunately our speaker for September was unable to attend due to ill health, but luckily three of our members were able to supply shows. David Worth began the evening with a selection of his new historic postcards. This was followed by a selection of photographs taken by David Hawkins in the 1960s and 1970s while at sea. The final section of the evening was filled by David Walker who showed an assortment of photos from his earlier days of ship spotting. A very enjoyable evening, many thanks to our members for providing such an interesting range of images at such short notice.
August 2014: For our August meeting David Eeles returned with a selection of photographs and videos taken on recent continental trips. We began in Hamburg and saw vessels taken on a harbour cruise before relocating to the Kiel Canal. The next part of the evening was at Rotterdam, where we saw an excellent selection of vessels. We finished with a selection of historic and preserved vessels that attended a festival in Maassluis earlier in the year. We had to finish before we had seen all of David's material, so we look forward to continuing the evening on his next appearance. Many thanks for an excellent evening.
July 2014: July saw our regular "Baywatch" evening, presented as usual by John Eaton. We saw a selection of the ships that have called in Tor Bay to land deep sea pilots over the last 12 months. John followed this with a series of photographs of inland waterways barges; John's knowledge on this subject is encyclopedic, and he provided an extremely informative and detailed commentary to the photographs. We finished with some videos of ships on the continent, which ended the evening on a high. As always, John provided an excellent evening's entertainment, and we hope he will do the same next year.
June 2014: In June we held a members evening, with members invited to bring along short talks. This usually provides us with a wide range of subjects, and this year did not disappoint. The first talk was by Tom Walker, who showed photographs from recent visits to Southampton. This was followed by a presentation of local postcards from the late 1800s and early 1900s which was accompanied by an interesting and informative talk. Finally, David Walker presented two short talks: the first featured some of his early photographs from the 1990s, and the second showed ships seen on recent trips to the Thames. Throughout the evening we saw photographs of almost every conceivable type of ship, and images covering three centuries. An excellent evening all round, many thanks to all who contributed.
May 2014: For our May meeting, David Walker presented an illustrated show on a weekend spent at Terneuzen last year. With visits to Antwerp and Rotterdam, members were particularly interested in views from the Pride of Hull, visiting the centre of Rotterdam as part of the annual World Port weekend. The meeting was accompanied by a commentary describing the ships and locations visited, and was complimented with audience participation from other members on the trip. We look forward to seeing the results this year's trip.
April 2014: In April Tom Walker presented a show on a trip to the Netherlands last summer. Following stops on the Ghent Canal and at Vlissingen, we saw photographs from an all-day harbour cruise which took in the port of Rotterdam in its entirety before moving on to North Holland. This part of the show, highlighting various areas of shipbuilding activity in the country, was particularly interesting being an area that we have seen little of as a branch in the past. The talk concluded with photographs of a stop in Antwerp and photographs from his return journey across the channel. Thanks to Tom for an excellent show, and to David Hornsby for his patience, and for unwittingly providing an excellent title.
March 2014: In March, David Eeles stepped down as branch treasurer after ten years in the role; he is succeeded by David Hawkins. For our March meeting, Bernard McCall returned with an updated version of his "Passing the Point" show. He began with a thorough look at the types of ships calling, from vehicle carriers to fruit juice tankers to the ever changing array of tugs assigned to the Severn ports. The second half of the show was a resume of shipping passing Battery Point in 2013. The talk was extremely well illustrated and researched, down to the number type of car being imported, and delivered in Bernard's usual entertaining style. Many thanks Bernard, we look forward to seeing what passes the point next!
February 2014: Adverse weather conditions prevented some members from attending our February meeting, so it was a small group that attended the first WSS "tape slide" show held at the branch for many years. David Walker read the well-researched script provided by the Vancouver branch, describing photographs of ships calling at Vancouver in the 1990s. We saw an interesting range of vessels, some of which no longer exist or belong to companies that have also disappeared. The excellent show gave members a good idea of the types of vessels to have used the port, and the local knowledge of some members of the audience who have visited the city added to the evening. The meeting was greatly enjoyed, and we will be making more use of this excellent WSS facility in the future.
January 2014: During our first 2014 meeting a short AGM was held; David Walker was elected branch secretary in place of Bob Collins. David Eeles is stepping down as treasurer after many years in the role. The incoming committee would like to place on record their thanks for the distinguished efforts of the outgoing committee. For our first show of the year, David Eeles presented a series of videos taken on recent trips. We visited a variety of locations, watching ships arriving at Teignmouth, vessel movements at Southampton and Terneuzen, and a becalmed Thames barge race. David also showed footage of steam locomotives in the UK and Switzerland, his other passion. The videos were accompanied by an entertaining commentary. Many thanks for an enjoyable evening.