|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
SPG Tuesday 2 Dec 2014 Gosforth Hotel, 8 pm.
Present: Brian, Chris, David A, David R, Tom.
Apologies: Adrian, James, Mary.
Members were sorry to hear that the reason for Adrian’s absence was that Jean is unwell.
Brian asked members to fill in contact details (mainly mobile phone numbers) where they were missing on a form he intends to circulate to them to aid organisation of our dinners.
Beer and crisps having been obtained, the conversation turned to teeth and gums, and moved seamlessly to churches in Ponteland and Zambia, this last because David A is reading a recent book by Mick Bond, erstwhile Deputy Registrar at Newcastle but once a Colonial Administrator in Northern Rhodesia, in which he describes a major incident involving a strange Christian sect called the Lumpa. Malawi and Mark Egan’s attempt to supply their pathologists with equipment was a natural follow-up. Some members remembered very unappealing though educational pathology arriving from foreign parts
Chris’s son is teaching in Ecuador; he has more children in his class whose first language is English than he had in Benwell! Chinese plans to build a canal to rival the Panama Canal were discussed and it was natural to move on to the prospect announced earlier in the day of the A1 north of Morpeth acquiring more dual carriageway (but not all the way to Berwick), to road works in Newcastle, and to politicians (particularly the inadvisabilty, if you are Ed Miliband, of eating a ham sandwich in public – which Brian and Tom nevertheless proceeded to do).
Food therefore became the topic: wild boar, oysters, laver bread and puffins. Brian informed us that Lundy means Puffin Island (in Old Norse).
Chris described a television programme he had been watching in which people were building a mediaeval castle and weapons including bows and arrows. The relative merits of crossbows and longbows were discussed. The crossbow of course, with its much higher tension, takes longer to reload. Brian said he could see how that would be a drawback.
Talk turned to films and cinemas then David R spoke about some impressive glass-blowing he had seen demonstrated in Sunderland, and also an entertaining auction he had been to.
Chris was congratulated on his birthday the next day; he admits to 37 (hexadecimal).
The latest dinner in A Taste of Persia was agreed to have been enjoyable and Brian was reminded that he is holding some cash to be used towards the next one. Dates were fixed for the next four meetings: Wed 14 Jan, Thurs 12 Feb, Mon 16 Mar, Tues 14 April. Our next dinner will be in the middle of May.
The meeting finished shortly after 10 pm.
|
|
|
|
Dinner held at the “Taste of Persia “ Restaurant on Friday 17th October 7.30-10.00
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
The food and service were excellent. The photographer managed to include himself in the mirror. I had thought to list you all but decided against since we are hardly concerned with anyone who fails to recognize us instantly! So much good cheer after Alec’s funeral may not be PC but I suspect Alec would have approved.
|
|
|
|
Present at the Gosforth Hotel on Wednesday 3rd September 2014 were Drs Angus, Appleton, Ashcroft, Henry, Morley and Wright.
The conversation got off to an ornithological start, Chris having been on Holy Island counting and ringing birds. Brian asked for help in identifying a bird which had devoured much of a woodpigeon which had stunned itself by flying into one of his windows; it was likely to have been a sparrowhawk.
Thoughts turned to early mountain climbers; Ecuador; the life of a present-day pathologist; hospital laundries, Unilever, Port Sunlight and Imperial Leather soap. The limitation of the wattage of vacuum cleaners imposed by Brussels was agreed to be a nonsense.
There was then a Scottish interlude begun by David being enthusiastic about the Kelpies, two new thirty-metre-high stainless-steel sculptures, based on Clydesdale horses, erected near the equally impressive Falkirk Wheel. He had also been to the Scottish Parliament building to see the Great Tapestry of Scotland (the culmination of an idea by author Alexander McCall Smith).Some members had watched Andrew Marr’s programmes on famous Scots, and all expressed continuing interest in the referendum, now only two weeks away.
www.scottish.parliament.uk/visitandlearn/74240.aspx
The dangers of Scandinavian home-brew were considered and Adrian introduced the Congreve rocket and the Congreve clock, inventions of Sir William Congreve (1772 – 1828). Like his father and namesake, Congreve became comptroller of the Royal Laboratory at Woolwich, which prompted David to ask if any other father and son had been Arsenal managers.
The tendency to try to invent perpetual motion machines was discussed, the possibility of vertigo developing with age, and the rapid advance in phone technology. Music from CPE Bach to Schoenberg was covered, in particular the harpsichord music of Bach, Handel and Scarlatti. A notable topic was how to make a clarinet from a carrot.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BISrGwN-yH4
Newcastle-based subjects included the Victoria tunnel, the Lit & Phil, and the fact that the head of Grey’s monument had been struck by lightning in 1941 and not replaced until 1947.
Brian agreed to contact members about the next dinner, likely to be held in mid October at A Taste of Persia, and the meeting was adjourned shortly after 10 pm.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
A group of four met at 8.oopm onTuesday 5th August 2014 at the Gosfoth Hotel . Apologies recieved from David Appleton and Brian Angus. Present were Tom Ashcroft, James Henry, Adrian Morley, and Chris Wright.
The beer of the evening was Workie Ticket followed by Beck’s Blue, Crisps and Pork scratchings filled the few gaps in conversation. The sad news of the death of Alistair Brewis prompted recall of his career. There was to be a memorial service in Newcastle, date unknown. Alistair,s father, George Brewis had been the Paediatrician in charge of the infective diseases unit at Walkergate Hospital. Alistair had proceeded Adrian as houseman on ward 16. The clinical notes which he inherited were full of Alistair’s drawings. His MD thesis on Chorioncarcinoma was awarded the same year as Adrian’s on Prostatic cell proliferation. Alistair got the prize for the Best MD that year. Chris Wright recalled his beautifully illustrated text book of respiratory Medicine. Alistair’s paintings were greatly admired and senior staff on retirement were lucky if given one. Alistair moved to Bassenthwaite and become a leading figure in the community.
James Henry had been involved in staff appraisal, and commented on the amount of time spent on this ; both he and Chris Wright agreed that it could give insight into the needs and hopes of an individual, and an often surprising insight into varying views about how a department should run, and the rivalries between teams in a large diagnostic department. Adrian and Tom,s memories of monocular microscopes led to discussion about automation , pattern recognition programs and the general conclusion that a good HE could still solve a lot of problems. A recent program on radio 4 had been on cilia and showed that that the single cilia found on many cells had functions in orietating the cell in relation to neighbours. A general discussion of cilia revealed what a wide range of disorders were involved with ciliary malfunction. For a brief moment one regretted no longer being involved in research but after a short period this passed.
There was discussion of the pension changes which had occurred and the possible need to work longer. It was clear that Pathologists in mid career were not going to do as well from NHS pensions as previously.
Adrian had attended the Buxton Festival and Opera House , Leslie Garrett, and Emma Johnson (voice, clarinet). The applause in the middle on an item was deplored, but a case was made that the current silence between movements of a symphony or sonata, appears artificial, and many 18th-19th century pieces invite applause at the end of each movement. the Gould Trio festival in Corbridge had just finished with a wide range of guests and music. (Highly recommended in the last week of July)
The meeting ended at 10.00pm
|
|
|
|
A select gang of four met in a quite busy Gosforth Hotel on 2nd July 1984: Drs Angus, Appleton, Ashcroft & Morley.
This was a small group for Adrian who had just returned from a holiday with 18 other family members. The first topic discussed was Sir Nick’s unjustified complaint to the webmaster about the lack of minutes for the May meeting and his justified complaint abut the lack of minutes for the June meeting. Had anyone known who held the post of minutes secretary, he or she would have been censured.
Further topics included the Scottish independence vote, dieting and BMIs (brought on by David having an all-day breakfast), tattoo pigment lymphadenopathy, concerts, the sale of Adrian’s violin, the label on Beck’s Blue which asks that it be drunk responsibly (it would take about 60 bottles to provide one unit of alcohol), past social events at Freeman Hospital and the effort to finance the building of a squash court, Bletchley Park, Alan Turing and the Apple trade mark, Baroness Trumpington (who once showed Adrian round the Lords smoking a cigarette thoughout, the Baroness, not Adrian), HP and Epson printers and the consequences of head cleaning (eventually they refuse to print any more), the first thing to do when trying to remedy faults on any electrical or electronic device (switch off and switch on again), the demise of Bonsers and Jessops, painting, the pitman painters, visits to mines, puffins (and how they use the presence of boats to get from the sea to their nests without being harassed by other birds wishing to steal their food), making clavichords, wood turning and bird scarers. Tom (who was accosted by members of his photographic club at one point) reported on Alec’s continuing enjoyment of his retirement home. Just the normal, not-always-proceeding-logically conversation typical of the SPG. As well as the all-day breakfast there were bacon rolls, chips and Mordue’s Workie Ticket – a workie ticket seems to be someone who pushes his luck, is a nuisance or troublemaker.
( see first paragraph)
David offered a recent poem
POSTCARD 4 MAY 2014
SUMBURGH HEAD STANDS
HIDDEN FROM US. THOUGH,
E R R A T I C L Y, T H E
TURBID, GOOSE-GREY MIST
LOOKED TO LIFT, IT FELL
A G A I N. THE SLATE SEA
(NOISELESS AT TIDE-TURN)
DRAPED ITSELF IN CLOUD.
Apart from the idyllic imagery observe the double acrostic. Also note that this Minute departs from the oft repeated wish of Alec, David and all good grammarians to use fewer commas
|
|
|
|
Six members attended the SPG meeting at the Gosforth Hotel on April 3rd 2014: Brian Angus, David Appleton, James Henry, Adrian Morley, and David & Mary Robinson. As usual topics for conversation were varied. James described a cross-country-skiing trip to Lapland, the home of the Sami people, educating the non-skiing members in the technique of waxing skis to enable inclines to be ascended. James had sampled interesting culinary dishes including reindeer black pudding. He was asked whether he and Yvonne had seen the Northern Lights and replied there had been a display which they missed due to hunger. There followed discussion of recent appearances of the Lights in Britain, and Brian recalled the traditional (and rather imperfectly rhyming) Scottish song “The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen”, enquiring whether this was about illuminations of the street lighting or celestial type. This prompted David A to give a splendid (Brian’s word) though restrained (David’s word) rendition of the chorus of the song (reproduced below), and he recalled the reference to “heavenly dancers” in the first verse, leading him to conclude that the song did indeed refer to the Aurora Borealis.
The webmaster noted that David A had sent him a copy of a crossword compiled to mark, albeit belatedly, Alec Watson’s 90th birthday. A fair amount of the Sahara desert having landed on England in the past few days, talk turned to pollution, moved seamlessly into theatre, dining (which topic was illustrated by David A and the Robinsons consuming bacon rolls and chips, Brian atypically declining same). The recent finding of a Victorian altar during the demolition of La Sagesse in Jesmond was mentioned, as were painting, classic cars, Formula 1, horse racing, stunt flying and April Fool jokes, including the following from the Telegraph.
The Scottish independence debate has been taken to a new level after plans were unveiled for Alex Salmond’s head to feature on Scottish pound coins.
The plan, which would be introduced on April 1, 2015, would see the head of Scotland’s First Minister replace that of the Queen if the country votes for independence. Within months of a “yes” vote, all Scottish coins in circulation would be replaced with “Salmond Sterling”. The designs were being honed at a facility funded by Sir Sean Connery.
At about this time the general conversation fragmented into three: the two Davids, Mary and Adrian, and Brian and James. The secretary failed miserably to minute all the material in these simultaneous dialogues. The meeting closed at 10 pm, but not before David A had promised to circulate members regarding their availability for the spring dinner.
The northern lights of old Aberdeen
When I was a lad, a tiny wee lad,
My mother said to me
“Come see the northern lights, my boy,
They're bright as they can be.”
She called them the heavenly dancers,
Merry dancers in the sky.
I'll never forget that wonderful sight –
They made the heavens bright.
The northern lights of old Aberdeen
Mean home sweet home to me.
The northern lights of Aberdeen
Are what I long to see.
I've been a wanderer all of my life
And many a sight I've seen;
God speed the day, when I'm on my way
To my home in Aberdeen.
I've wandered in many far-off lands
And traveled many a mile.
I've missed the folk I've cherished the most,
The joy of a friendly smile.
It warms up the heart of the wanderer;
The clasp of a welcoming hand
To greet me when I return
Home to my native land.
Chorus
|
|
|
|
The long table prevented large scale conversations , but as these photos show conviviality reigned supreme. Apologies to those not shown.
|
|
|
|
A meeting of the SPG was held on the 5th of March 2014 in the Gosforth Hotel at 8pm. Those present were Brian Angus, David Appleton, Tom Ashcroft, Adrian Morley, Mary-Clare and David Robinson, and Chris Wright. Drinks were Rivet Catcher and Workie Ticket, and an unmentionable low alcohol lager. Apologies were received from James Henry who was in Lapland. Members noted it was Ash Wednesday the first day of Lent. Three members were nevertheless happy to consume bacon rolls, and one a plate of chips.
Brian and Chris arrived first, and after acquiring their speciality ales, Brian related how his father, now age 93, had written his War Memoirs before memory loss overtook him some years ago, and that he was compiling the document into a book with the help of the University bindery. The title was “5 Years in the Royal Marines, by Jack Angus”. Later in the evening members discussed the impact of the World War II on many peoples’ lives. Mary-Clare recalled that her father would listen to nothing good said about the Japanese with whom he had been in conflict; a principal reason was that they had taken his golf clubs! Adrian recalled his father-in-laws experiences in the WW1 including catching Spanish Flu.
Adrian complained that no-one other than Brian had bothered to reply to his “gentle reminder” about the meeting, and perhaps rudely remarked on the dishevelled appearance of David Robinson who was sporting a nascent beard.
Mary and David proudly announced the birth two weeks previously of their second grandchild, Elliot Jay Gabriel, joining his sister Robyn, now two and a half years old. Apparently Elliot, who sleeps a lot, is a good natured baby who can already laugh! Members congratulated the two grandparents.
Mary-Clare said she had retired for the third time, now working one day a week, but working full time for some weeks in the summer.
David and David discussed a recent University “Insight” lecture concerning cholesterol, in which the visiting professor expounded on the benefits of the universal administration of statins to the general population. Some members were not convinced, to say the least.
The Robinsons and David A had all attended a touring version of the radio programme “I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue”. One item was a game of charades. One clue was: film, one word. A man walking up a Scottish hill behind a friend is suddenly overcome by a powerful odour and insists on walking ahead of his pal for fear of a repeat episode. Answer: see next minutes.
David A related a coincidence. Last summer he had stayed for a couple of days with a friend in Worthing. They had driven to Fleet in Hampshire one day in search of a member of the family of one James Clark Forrest who might possibly have the very first Scottish croquet championship medal, and the following day (as related in the September 2013 minutes) gone to see the Mary Rose. A couple of weeks ago David received an email from another member of the family who had seen the Scottish Croquet Association website on which the search for the medal is described. He provided some historical family details of which David was unaware and also said that his father, Alexander McKie, was the man mainly responsible for locating and identifying the Mary Rose. A further coincidence was that an old school friend of David’s was involved in his correspondent’s appointment to his present job.
The spring dinner in May was discussed. The Ottoman was suggested as a possible venue. This is a small Turkish restaurant in Newcastle near the Catholic Cathedral, specialising in lamb dishes and tapas-style selections served hot or cold. No decision was taken and David A agreed to circulate details. See http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186394-d3935317-Reviews-Ottoman_Turkish_Newcastle-Newcastle_upon_Tyne_Tyne_and_Wear_England.html
Wildlife topics ranged widely. Adrian described how he recently saw a bird of prey capture a crow and proceed to defeather it before consuming the poor creature. He tentatively identified the attacker as a sparrowhawk, and our group ornithologist, Chris Wright, confirmed that it was very likely to be the female of the species. Mary-Clare responded with a description of the dreadful racket made by amorous frogs in her garden.
Other topics engaging members were the Scottish Independence Referendum (Members were generally in the “We’re Better Together” camp), and after discussions about rugby union and league), football, cricket, snooker, darts and F1, and the TV channels showing sports, David concluded by lamenting the absence of croquet on Sky Sports.
The meeting closed just after 10pm
|
|
