33 members of the Discovering Wessex J1 Group went to Portsmouth on Friday 15th November,  to visit Fort Nelson which is now the home of the ROYAL ARTILLERY Museum. We were shown around the whole installation by 2 very knowledgeable official guides looking at the museum galleries, the displays of historic guns from ancient cannons to modern artillery pieces. One of which was 200 tons in weight and ran on railway tracks and used to fire huge shells 7 miles. We also saw the ramparts with their original cannons etc. The visit ended with a walk down the underground tunnels into the magazines, stores and barracks areas. Many enjoyed a tasty lunch before returning to Ferndown by the coach. A very enjoyable trip.

Following a talk on Durlston Castle and Swanage, the “Discovering Wessex” Group went on 18^th October to visit the area. The visit started at Durlston Castle where, after refreshments in the tearoom, we toured the castle and visited the exhibition area which included a “Rock” exhibition explaining the Jurassic Coast and highlighting actual fossils within the rock. Despite rather windy and showery weather, a hardy group then descended to examine the Great Globe before continuing along the coastal path to the Tilly Whim Caves, taking shelter in the Poet’s Hut to avoid a shower.

The afternoon was spent touring Swanage town supported by a guide, David Haysom, who is the curator of the local Heritage Museum. David described and illustrated the historical development of Swanage from fishing village to a major stone export centre and eventually to the current seaside tourist attraction. David also identified many of the recycled London monuments provided to Swanage by John Mowlem and George Burt which included a trip round the gardens of Purbeck House Hotel.

Despite the inclement weather, the group had an enjoyable and informative day and were only slightly damp by the end!

The visit was completed by an afternoon tea in the “Scented Botanist Bistro -Café” where a fascinating range of cakes flavoured and decorated by edible flowers were enjoyed by all.

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Over 70 members came to the Main Hall at the Barrington Centre on Friday 1st November to hear Douglas Lock’s second talk on Global Warming “Is it too late?”
His definite answer was “no it’s not too late if we all help to save energy and natural resources in our own small way – it will all help”. Douglas is a very experienced lecturer and gave an extremely thought provoking, illustrated and animated talk. He had also invited to the hall representatives of Dorset Council, Plastic Free Ferndown and other recycling organisations who displayed their leaflets and ideas on energy conservation and recycling etc which aroused a lot of interest with the members who were there.