As the proposal began to take shape, we were asked if we would participate in what seemed to be, let’s face it, a hare-brained scheme! But youth will out and soon the group took shape; four pupils from the school, nine students from Bulmershe and three young nurses from the school staff. So far so good. Hmmm – how are we going to get there?

The school owned a former London Transport Leyland Tiger half-cab, a more or less universal style of buses and coaches where the driver had his own cabin to one side to allow access to the engine the other side. An already fitted electric wheelchair hoist replaced the passenger steps thus enabling wheelchair access.

Various contacts known to the school proprietors worked absolute wonders to prepare the 1949-built bus for the mammoth excursion; BOAC donated 7 banks of 3 airline seats; the local garage overhauled the engine and provided replacement tyres. Many, many others provided practical and financial assistance.

One of the pupils required a portable iron lung to assist with overnight breathing. Electronics wizards found the solution by linking together a series of commercial vehicle batteries behind the rearmost row of seats. If our overnight stops had no mains electricity, we could run the iron lung from the on-board battery bank.

To minimise the costs of the adventure, we decided to camp our way across Europe. The local army garrison loaned enough tents in the form of two-man bivvies. Not exactly the height of luxury but we were young! The local garage mounted a huge roofrack on top with a canvas tarpaulin cover filled to overflowing with a month’s worth of provisions and the tents.

We quickly named the bus Jessica in honour of her vehicle registration plate. I’ve written up the story of the adventure and called it By Wheelchair to Greece. The story itself is too long to set out here. Suffice to say we achieved our aim and the bus never once let us down!

November 2022

About four years ago, seated at my computer, I idly typed in the bus registration. To my total amazement Google found several hits! I couldn’t believe it. Not only had the bus survived but Timebus, the current owners, had undertaken the restoration of the bus to her former LT glory. I wrote to the company, explained my connection with the bus and asked to visit the works. This I did along with my wife and daughter.

Time had been unkind to the old lady. Her bodywork comprised inner and outer aluminium skins fixed to a wooden frame. The wood had rotted. After carefully removing the skins and windows, the restorers hand-built a whole new wooden frame, then reinstalled the windows and skins. After respraying the outside in LT livery, the inside in LT cream, ordering and installing all new LT style seating she took her place amongst Timebus’s fleet for special occasions hire.

Earlier this month I received an email from Timebus to say that Jessica would participate in the Hendon Vintage Bus Running Day. Would I like to be a VIP passenger? You bet! She would retrace her former route on Sunday 21 November linking two termini of the Northern Line, Edgware and Mill Hill East. I couldn’t believe how many turned up to try and get a ride. Those who couldn’t chased the bus to photograph it en route.

Deb, my wife, and my daughter Lisa shared the day with me.

Malcolm Gill 22/11/22

 COMMUNITY POPPY CASCADE

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported our Community Poppy Cascade. We have had wonderful help, contributing around 1500 items!! These have included knitting, crocheting, painting, felting and stone painting. It has been inspiring to see what we can achieve when we come together.

There are so many people to thank, too many to mention individually, but a special thanks must go to those who helped sew poppies and create the final display.

The exhibits are now on display in the Beacon Centre at St Mary’s church and will remain there until Wednesday 16th November.  There will be a second change to see the items as they will be on display at the 25th Anniversary Afternoon Tea on the 26th November.

This month the Tea at the Museum group visited Wimborne to tour the refurbished Museum of East Dorset and the Chained Library in the Minster.

The Museum of East Dorset

This historic building dates back to the 1500s. For more than 400 years, many different families owned and occupied the building. They added, demolished, altered and extended it as fashions changed and to meet their needs.

Hilda Coles inherited the ironmonger’s business from her father, Tom Frank Coles, following his death in 1953. Seven years later, she took the decision to close the shop and fulfil his long-held wish to turn the building, known as the Priest’s House, into a museum. Hilda opened the museum in July 1962 and ran it until her death in 1987.

During the 1990’s The Priest’s House Museum Trust restored the building and extended the display area to ten rooms.

Thanks to a fundraising campaign in 2012 – 2014, and a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the museum expanded its facilities to include the Hilda Coles Open Learning Centre as well as storage facilities for the collections and a Tea-room.

Most recently, in 2020 following a major fundraising campaign and a further grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the building was restored and refurbished as the Museum of East Dorset.

Over the afternoon we were shown round by excellent volunteer guides. We enjoyed reminiscing of days gone by in the kitchen and at the collection of unique Victorian Valentine cards which were an interesting read!! Roman artifacts, the collection of toys and interactive displays also were our interest.

At the end of our tour, we were able to access the walled garden with its heritage fruit trees and enjoy tea and cake in the Tearoom

The Chained Library Wimborne Minster

The Chained Library, founded in 1686. It was one of the first public libraries in the country and is the second largest chained library.

The first donation of books came from Revd William Stone, who had seen many religious books like his being burnt by the authorities and wanted to ensure that part of his collection would be kept safe in Wimborne. These theological books were in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and so must have been used mainly by the clergy. They were not chained.

When another local donor, Roger Gillingham, gave another 90 books in 1695, he insisted that the books be chained up, but also that the library should be opened and free for the people of the town, providing they were ‘shopkeepers or the better class of person’.

The library’s collection includes early books on gardening, medicine, law, etiquette, and building, as well as Walton’s great Polyglott Bible of 1657 (in nine languages). The display case in the library shows some of the most interesting and entertaining works.

A big thanks to Pam Small and Kay Weeks for arranging a lovely afternoon.

The Watercress Line is a heritage railway in Hampshire, running 10 miles (16 km) from New Alresford to Alton where it connects to the National Rail network. The line gained its popular name in the days when it was used to transport locally grown watercress to markets in London.  There are still four companies operating in the area today.  The railway currently operates regular scheduled services, along with dining trains, real ale trains and numerous special events throughout the year.

On arriving in New Alresford, the entire group boarded the train and enjoyed a wonderfully scenic ride to Alton.  After a short stop to look around this station, we boarded for the return journey.

The Heritage Railway Group alighted at “Medstead and Four Marks” – the highest station in Hampshire – fully restored in the style of a quiet 1940s Southern Railway station. The line’s Signal and Telegraph department, and Building department are all located here, in and around the station yard. There are several sidings. This is where the greatest number of trains pass each other on standard running days. After this it was on to “Ropley,” the engineering centre of the line and the location of the locomotive maintenance and running sheds. The station has flower beds and topiary, and the largest of the line’s four signal boxes, controlling movements through the station, as well as much shunting to and from the locomotive yard. Finally, they arrived back in Alresford and enjoyed looking around the museum. Most of the carriage stock is stored at this station, with Alresford Train Care performing day-to-day maintenance and cleaning of the carriages.

Whilst the Heritage Group were engaged in all things train related, the rest of us returned to New Alresford and enjoyed a walking tour led by Clare, learning more about this beautiful Georgian Town which for many centuries was a prosperous wool town.

Old Alresford is mentioned in the Domesday Book, but the present town of New Alresford did not come into existence much before 1200 at the time when the Great Weir was being built to create Old Alresford Pond as a fishpond for the Bishop’s Palace at Bishop’s Sutton and a reservoir for the mills along the Itchen. However, the Georgian houses you see today rose from the ashes of great fires in the 17th Century, but many retain their original 13th century cellars. The Fulling Mill and Eel House along the riverside walk were just some to the lovely sites we took in on our stroll.

Thanks to Bob Reeve and Clare Clayton for organising this extremely interesting and enjoyable trip.

“Our Golf group met yesterday at Parley Golf Centre with the words of ‘you might need a brolly’ ringing in our ears.   In fact, the afternoon was a very pleasant affair with the weather the least of our problems!   A good(ish) time was had by (nearly) all and we look forward to meeting again sometime after the half-term, weather, of course, permitting.”

Tim Sutton, Pat McCarthy, Ken Hutton, Bryan Metcalfe and Glyn Bosanko.   Pete Gilham had already left the scene of the crime!