Magazine for the Kelsall & District Rural Amenities SocietyMagazine for the Kelsall & District Rural...

Magazine for the Kelsall & District Rural Amenities Society

April - May 2020 Issue No. 271

The subject of our February talk by Sue Taylor was "Browns of Chester", often referred to as the "Harrods of the North". The business was founded in 1780 by Susannah Towsey as a drapery shop on the corner of Chester Cross which she ran with her sister Elizabeth. Nearby was John Brown's druggist shop and after John and Susannah married in l788, they moved their business into its current location in 1791. They had two sons, William and Henry, who both became Mayor of Chester, and two daughters, Sarah and Eliza. Browns was acquired in 1976 by Debenhams and is the only Debenham's store trading under its own name: initially as BROWNS OF CHESTER with Debenhams in small type, but now DEBENHAMS with Browns of Chester in small type underneath.

The University of Chester listed Susannah Brown as one of the three most influential women of Chester, along with Aethelflaed and St. Werburgh - truly an Inspiring Woman!

Unfortunately our March speaker had to cancel at short notice and Liz Weston stepped into the breach with a talk entitled "The Life of a Common Woman", and her autobiographical talk was in the form of prose and poetry. Although born in Bowdon near Altrincham, that was the end of Liz's travels and she has lived the rest of her life since early childhood in Ashton and nearby villages, surrounded by her grandparents and extended family. Her childhood was essentially a country one, her

family having a market stall selling garden produce; as there were no other children nearby she had little contact with them until she started school - there were no nursery schools in the 1950's! She regaled us with descriptions of her annual jaunts to Boundry Mill Stores with her daughter, which were invariably blighted by fire alarms going off at inconvenient times, and her flirting with unusual hair colours in shades of blue and lilac to coincide with the Chester Folk Festival. In 2010 she was interviewed for Northwest Tonight on the subject of her favourite flower - aquilegia. Liz's talk ended with a rather sad poem about a polar bear, trying to find his family.

In 2020 The Cheshire Federation of WIs celebrate 100 years of bringing together women from all walks of life, facilitating the making of friendships and the learning of new skills. The Kelsall WI is an active group of women who enjoy regular informative visits and also trips of a purely pleasurable nature from theatre to gardens. In addition to our varied monthly talks, we have two walking groups: our main group walk each week exploring locally and further afield on walks of around 5 miles or more, and the photo shows us at Raw Head recently. Our Amblers group meet twice a month for something a little easier, often taking in coffee and cake! Kelsall WI is keen to expand its membership so please visit our website www.kelsallwi.org.uk or come along to our meetings on the first Wednesday of the month at the Kelsall Methodist Church hall at 7.30pm. You would be very welcome.

http://www.kelsallwi.org.uk

Magazine for the Kelsall and District Rural Amenities Society Issue No. 271

2 www.kelsall.org.uk

In normal circumstances the Annual Subscriptions (£4.00pa) would be due and would be collected by your distributor.

However we are living through a very difficult time and for that reason the KADRAS Committee have decided that the collection of subs will be delayed until a more auspicious time.

If you know of any friends or neighbours who would like to subscribe, please contact Anne or Ray or any member of the committee.

Many activities which take place in our community have been disrupted or postponed as a result of the Covid-19 emergency. Unfortunately, that may apply to some events advertised in this edition. Readers may wish to check with organisers about the viability of planned events.

For Bridge enthusiasts denied their regular ‘fix’ Nick Mayfield has another challenge to keep brains active!

Dot Berry has been a regular and valued contributor our magazine for many years and we welcome her excellent article on the great civil engineers Marc and Isambard Brunel

Welcome also first time contributor Derek Petrauskas with his very thought provoking article on recycling.

On the subject of waste, KADRAS had planned a Litter Picking event but it has been cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 emergency. Nevertheless, we hope everyone will continue to look after their own area.

DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT MAGAZINE IS MAY 12TH

Please mark contributions ‘KADRAS News’.

Items to KADRAS Chairman Ray Evans, Ingleside, Chester Rd, Kelsall. tel: 752494 or

email: [email protected]. Magazine Editor: Anne O’Donnell, tel: 751836,

email: [email protected].

KELSALL YOUNG PERSONS BURSARIES

The KADRAS Committee would again like to encourage applications from individuals aged 11-21 years, and from groups in the Kelsall community for bursaries (maximum amount £100 for individuals and £200 for groups) Bursaries awarded at the committee’s discretion. The aim is to encourage the widening of the horizons of individuals or groups e.g. community involvement, gap year activities, pursuing excellence, learning significant extra curricular skills or developing an interest. If anyone wishes to speak or write on this matter please contact Terry Rea 01829 751618.

MATCH PUZZLE

Ten matches were used to make the equation in “Roman numerals” shown below, which incidentally is wrong!

What is the simplest and easiest way, without removing any matches, for you to correct the equation?

The solution is in this issue.

The Royal British Legion KELSALL AND DISTRICT BRANCH

The Poppy Day Appeal held on the 10th November last year raised the sum of £4,348 49.

The Branch thanks everyone who contributed to the Appeal and all the door to door collectors for their hard work. Thank you also to the businesses who supported us by having a Collecting box on their premises.

The money will go towards the grand total for the whole country and will be used to support ex-service personnel and their families.

Thank you.

Don Barden



Message from Margaret Corlett

Sadly we will not be holding any more Flicks screenings until September, which will be the first for next season. I hope to show ‘Knives Out’ at some point, and possibly start in September with the David Copperfield film

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Dear Flicks Promoter,

The Trustees of Arts Alive have been monitoring the developing situation with the Coronavirus, and listening to Government advice. We are very aware that we work with many promoters and attract audience members that could be seen as being more vulnerable to the virus than much of the population.

We feel that we have a responsibility as an organisation to do everything we can to keep staff, promoters and audiences as safe as possible at this difficult time. As a result, it is with great reluctance that we are, with immediate effect, cancelling all Flicks screenings up to the end of August.

If there have been online ticket purchases for any screenings, we will get in touch with them to explain.

Please accept our apologies, but we feel this is the best option in the circumstances and we thank you for your understanding. If you have any queries please let me know.

Hopefully things will be returning to normal by the end of August, and we will be able to go ahead with an autumn season. We’ll be in touch before then, but meanwhile, stay safe out there!

Regards,

Terri Jones, Flicks Events Officer

Bridge Notes 7 Well done to those that spotted the error in January’s Bridge Notes 6. The inevitable lead was a heart and not a diamond. All bridge players make errors from time to time and none more so than the famous Scot, Albert Benjamin. Although born in Scotland, Albert had a Swedish father and Serbian mother and was destined to study medicine at Glasgow University where, instead of medicine, he learnt Bridge and Poker and decided to earn his living as a card player. In 1964, Benjamin was in the Scottish team in the Camrose trophy against the old enemy, England. During a slow and tedious hand, Benjamin fell asleep, only to be awoken at his turn to call. Having lost the plot, he passed in error. Sometimes an error can act in your favour though and this time his error gained Scotland a top board, ensuring a first ever win for the Scottish team.

‘Benjaminised’ Acol was a system developed to counter the growing use in the USA of ‘weak two’ openings. An

opening bid of 2 diamonds announces a strong balanced hand with 19/20 high card points, or alternatively a strong Acol two in a suit to be defined later. Opening two’s in the majors are then weak. In the following hand with 19 high card points, opener bids two diamonds. Partner keeps the bidding open with two hearts, and opener replies with two no trumps. Partner can now bid to game with as few as 6 high card points.

♠ A;K,7,5 ♥ K;Q;4

♦ A;J ♣ Q;9;6;3

Nick Mayfield

Antique Treat?

It was a great September day the sun shone out that hazy way

the air was still and yet quite fresh and warm upon my exposed flesh we'd travelled in the car to meet my sister for an antiques treat

at Tatton Park they were displayed to tempt the public on parade for us to marvel or pour scorn as we saw fit upon that morn

from paintings water through to oil from polished desks to rugs so royal

clocks galore and jewellery glassware placed so carefully

items silver items bronze table lights and small icons

We slowly wandered past each stand then pondered on this object grand

calculating cost and size and would it maybe jeopardise

the holiday that we had planned if cash were transferred into hand

maybe, it's better that we wait the lounge we need to decorate

well that seems sensible to me it's what we really want you see

but we could pay the price and take though wait an offer we should make

oh! now I'm not sure what to do we'll leave it now and contact you

continuing upon our way we finally call it a day

and then reflect as homeward bound should we have bought what we had found

it was a torment I'll agree until I realised suddenly

thank god the money stayed in hand that object dear was second-hand.



Members warmly welcomed our guest singers, Martin Jones and Sally Whelan, to our February meeting. Martin, who is choir master of Ashton Sings Community Choir and Sally who is one of the choir members had kindly agreed to entertain us with a Musical Evening. We had given Martin a free hand to choose a selection of songs he thought we would like, and he didn’t disappoint us. Starting in the 1950s with “Bye, Bye, Love” Martin and Sally dipped in and out of the decades, singing beautiful harmonies with an accompanying acoustic

guitar. Most of the songs were very well-known and members were soon comfortably singing along. Martin and Sally’s laid-back, relaxed approach made for a very enjoyable evening.

Unfortunately, our March meeting which should have taken place on 12th March, was cancelled just the day before. Members were sending in their apologies and it became unrealistic to continue with our plans of a Bring & Buy Sale which was meant to raise money for our Speaker’s Charity “Self Help Africa”. Neither did it seem fair to let our Speaker, Cliff Hannah, travel from Shrewsbury, to give his talk to a very small number. He will come and join us however at a future time.

Best wishes to everyone.

Jen Bottomley & Andrea Edwards

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The garden club continues to have a healthy membership of over 70 people from Kelsall and surrounding villages but anyone is welcome to come to any of the meetings, you don't have to be a member just come along.

We have “Woken up the garden” in February with Richard Lewis and Jane Allison has given her suggestions of favourite and not so well liked “Shrubs for all Seasons”. April sees us looking at “Propagation” which should be a revelation to someone like me who is a dig up and split sort of gardener… nothing subtle. Just in time for summer planting we will have Anthony Norman making up “Summer Hanging Baskets”.......Kelsall in bloom?

Don’t forget that our annual Plant Sale will take place on the Village Green on Saturday, the 16th of May, plants will be available to purchase from 9.30 until 11.30 or until we have sold out!! All plants for sale or grown by members so if they have grown in our gardens… you know they will grow in yours.

Lesley Rimington

KELSALL & DISTRICT

GARDENING CLUB



I often think back to 2000, when I first visited the Gowy landfill site at Wimbolds Trafford. It was a hot summer’s day and I remember seeing refuse truck after refuse truck emptying smelly black bin bags into a big hole in the ground. I was told by the site team that when the tip was full it was capped with soil like pastry on a pie and covered with grass; they did recover the waste gas generated from the rotting compost present which I guess was a good point I took away.

How nice I thought, but it is still covering up a big mess! Looks pretty, but just storing a problem for future generations to sort out. I went home feeling awful about what we were doing to our lovely countryside; filling it with waste pies!

At this time nearly 100% of household waste went direct to landfill.

If I am honest, although always conscious about the need to reduce waste, I have not done anything proactive to improve things until this year, when I was looking for volunteering roles I could take up and joined as a Waste Reduction Volunteer for East Cheshire. (I know Kelsall is West, but they stopped theirs!). Volunteers go out into the community and schools to help residents understand the importance of recycling effectively, reducing food waste and also encouraging more composting. Since joining, I have already been involved in a range of activities. These include assisting composting classes in schools, assisting on a stand at the supermarket to encouraging use of the food recycling bins and presenting details of the new combined garden and kitchen waste processing plant recently commissioned in Crewe at a Rotary club lunch in Sandbach. I am really enjoying this range of activities I am getting involved in and feeling I am now contributing in a small way to increasing recycling. But just as rewarding, is meeting so many people who are so interested in our message and want to help us recycle more. I am very impressed how enthusiastic people are.

Back in 2000, nearly 100% of household waste went direct to landfill; by 2018 East Cheshire sent less than 5% of household waste to landfill and this figure is set to reduce further due to recent improvements; which hopefully I am contributing to.

We should all have the different types of recycle bin at home and I would encourage everyone to try as hard as possible to put the correct items into the correct bin. Just a few items in a wrong bin can cause a lot of problems. I recently watched a video of a fire that happened at a recycling plant, because batteries had been placed in a paper recycle box. This caused considerable damage, disruption to the process and hence incurred costs.

Of course, the first rule of recycling is to reduce waste in the first place, rather than recycle. Here are some frightening figures for the wasted food thrown away in the

UK each year, due to overfilling our shopping baskets at the supermarket with food we do not eat: -

24 million slices of bread.

15.8 million Potatoes.

1.4 million Bananas.

To help reduce the waste, always try not to buy too much in the first place. But if you do happen to, there are still things you can do you to reduce what goes to tip: -

Try to preserve food for using later by freezing or by employing better storage methods. There are some excellent tips on the web for preserving the life of fruit! Do you know that keeping bananas in the fruit bowl with other fruit will ripen this fruit quicker?

Always consider giving any unwanted food away; remember there are many hungry mouths in Chester!

As a last resort, compost at home and let the garden benefit.

I could not end this article without asking everyone to do all they can to keep Kelsall roads as litter free as possible. Whenever I walk my dog (Whiskey) along our lovely lanes and am not stopping him from barking at other dogs (sorry if one is yours), I always try to pick up an item of rubbish someone has thrown in the hedge, thinking someone else will collect it for them. Many hands make light work, so please help by picking up something and never dropping.

Oh, before you ask, I never ever bag his droppings in a black non-recyclable bag and tie it to a tree in the Delamere forest, or dump it in a pile by the carpark. I always try to bury it, so it returns to Mother Nature without causing a nuisance, or if not possible, placing into a recyclable bag and placing in the correct bin.

I love Kelsall, I hate waste and would encourage everyone in the village to do the same!

Derek Petrauskas



Two of the Best

It seemed inevitable that Isambard Kingdom Brunel would be a civil engineer like his father, Marc (left), who had been born in France but emigrated to America to escape the Revolution and eventually settled in England after achieving many engineering successes in Canada. He taught his son geometry and arithmetic at an early age then made arrangements to

widen his education at schools in Chelsea, Hove and in France. On returning to England he worked in his father’s office and became involved in a wide variety of engineering projects. He was now prepared to take on any challenge which came his way.

The biggest challenge so far was the Thames Tunnel. There had long been a need for a crossing of the Thames to replace the ferries which transported nearly 4000 passengers every day. In 1824 The Thames Tunnel Company was formed, using Marc’s invention – a Tunnelling shield. Funding was available to pay Marc £1000 as the engineer in charge. Construction began in 1825 with Marc laying the first brick and Isambard the second.

Aged only 20 Isambard proved his reliability, working long hours in very hazardous conditions. However, by October 1825, he had obviously overworked and was forced to take a three-week break. His father was worried, with some justification, that his son was endangering his health, writing that he was a most efficient inspector and constantly at work. The miners and bricklayers employed in the tunnel worked in terrible conditions. The Thames was filthy, causing sickness and blindness, the ventilation poor and lighting inadequate. Marc himself succumbed to pleurisy.

In April 1826 the young Brunel took over the day-to-day running of the job – what a job it was! He meticulously checked everything, spending days and nights there. Worse was to follow. By 1827 the directors proposed allowing the public in to view progress so far, charging one shilling per person. Marc was unhappy about this, knowing that at any time the Thames could flood.

In 1827 Isambard was appointed resident engineer. In1828 he was injured and almost drowned when the tunnel flooded. Not surprisingly he took a long time to recover but remained optimistic and above all, ambitious. The work on the tunnel was put on hold for seven years before it was opened for pedestrians in

Clifton Suspension Bridge



1843. Marc received a knighthood from Queen Victoria for his work.

After the closure of the tunnel Isambard, turned his attention to other projects which interested him. In particular, the possible building of a suspension bridge at Clifton, Bristol. At this time not enough capital was available so the building of the bridge was put on hold. In 1836 the foundation stone was laid but the bridge was not opened until after Isambard’s death.

Lesser men may have been discouraged by the travails and setbacks of civil engineering – not so the Brunels. Both father and son did much travelling, either on horseback or by coach, looking for engineering opportunities. Isambard, in particular covered much of the country by coach. One example was a dock scheme on the Wear Estuary which he visited by coach (costing £7 9s 6d) He arrived at 2.30am in Newcastle, where he snatched a few hours’ sleep before an 8am meeting with the surveyor. Whilst in the north-east he visited Durham Cathedral, inspected Stockton and Darlington Bridge over the Tees, called in at Beverley Minster then visited the docks at Hull. Not a man to miss an opportunity or waste time.

To mitigate the expense, inconvenience and discomfort of travel by public coach Isambard decided to design his own. Bearing in mind he often had to sleep, work and eat whilst travelling, his coach, drawn by four horses, contained a drawing board, cupboards, food and drink and a seat which could extend to make a bed. Nicknamed ‘The Flying Hearse’ by staff and contractors, he spent much time in it. His workload was punishing – often up to twenty hours a day. The coach could be loaded onto a flat bed and transported by train to where he was working.

About this time, he had his first journey by rail but was not impressed by the shaking of the train and vowed to make improvements. He went to Chester, visiting the Grosvenor Bridge, on which his father had given advice. His verdict: “A most beautiful and grand work”. Next time you cross the Grosvenor Bridge think: Marc and Isambard Brunel were here.

Isambard had been invited by the Bristol Docks Company to improve the harbour as larger ships were choosing Liverpool instead of Bristol because of docking problems. He proposed a complex plan to keep the dock clear, designing a dredger which operated successfully until 1968.

The connection with Bristol continued when Isambard was asked to plan a railway from Bristol to London and was appointed to make a preliminary survey for £500. Before surveying could proceed, landowner’s permission had to be sought. Despite his rather impulsive and impatient character he managed to charm them with patience and tact, to give their permission and take up shares in the project. As a matter of principle, he always invested in his own projects, sharing the financial risk with his sponsors.

In August 1833, the title Great Western Railway was given to the venture. The Bill authorising its construction was eventually passed. George Stephenson spoke in its favour and Isambard, George Stephenson and his son Robert became close friends.

This was a time of frenetic activity, with Isambard working long hours during the day then spending the nights drawing plans and making calculations with very little sleep. He became Chief Engineer to many branch

lines, was involved in designing new ships, and improving safety and signalling on the railways so no wonder he regarded this as the most eventful time of his life. There were many difficulties ahead, a crucial one being the gauge of the track which Isambard specified as seven feet wide rather than four feet.

Notwithstanding all the problems, the Great Western Railway opened from Paddington to Bristol in 1838 and in 1842 Queen Victoria took her first trip from Slough to Paddington.

With his new status it was now time to move on from Marc’s office to a house and office purchased near the Houses of Parliament.

It might be thought that all the travelling, preparing of plans, and working in dangerous environments would leave little time or energy for romance but Isambard is recorded as being friendly with several ladies. He knew he was likely to be away from home a great deal and his income uncertain, so he did not get closely involved in any relationships.

Later, when his finances were more stable, he met Mary Horsley, fell in love, and they were married on the fifth of July 1836 at Kensington Church, London. She was 22 and he 30. They had a travelling honeymoon, touring North Wales from Capel Curig, then on to the West Country – with Isambard no doubt on the lookout for likely engineering projects.

They had three children and lived a comfortable life with many live-in servants.

Unfortunately, not all their ventures were immediately successful. Although both men were inventive, building ships did not appear to be their strong point, despite Marc’s early interest in their design. 1837 saw the launch of the Great Western despite much opposition during its construction, and, in 1838 Isambard was on board for the maiden voyage which proved very eventful. They had not sailed out of the Thames before a fire broke out in the engine room which spread to the deck and the funnel. Isambard came up to help, fell from a damaged ladder rung, was knocked unconscious then hauled to the deck by rope. He had dislocated his shoulder and broken a leg so was bundled into a sail and taken by ship’s boat to Canvey Island where he was marooned for several weeks. This left him in low spirits, with a sore back and a limp. The ship proceeded to Bristol whence it departed for New York, arriving on St. George’s Day after fifteen and a half days (the fastest crossing so far) to great acclaim. Over the next eight



years the Great Western made sixty seven Atlantic crossings, the first ship to win the Blue Riband.

In 1855 during the Crimean War, the Great Western was requisitioned as a troopship, Isambard became involved in a very different venture - a prefabricated hospital to be shipped out to the Crimea. He saw this as an opportunity to do a good turn and accepted the challenge with alacrity. He planned two units, each with twenty four beds, nurses’ rooms, water closets and outbuildings. He thought of every detail, providing toilet paper and printed instructions on the use of the water closets as he realised most of the troops would not have seen one before. Packed in two identical consignments and shipped separately in case one ship did not make it. During its short life the hospital cared for over 1300 men with a fatality rate of only four per cent. Isambard deserves praise for the attention to detail and speed with which he dealt with this assignment.

Another ship with a chequered development history was the SS Great Britain. It sailed for New York in 1845 with

45 passengers instead of the 360 which it was capable of carrying.

It proved to be uncomfortable, causing much sea-sickness, and during a storm several propeller arms were snapped off and with the propeller disintegrating, the ship returned to Liverpool under sail. Sadly at this stage it was a technical and financial disaster but having already spent such large amounts it was decided to spend even more to put things right which may remind you of the HS2 dilemma today.

Despite his previous unfortunate experiences with SS Great Western and SS Great Britain Isambard could not resist the challenge of building an even larger vessel destined for travel to the East and named SS Great Eastern. Unfortunately his partnership with John Scott Russell, a naval architect, did not run smoothly. Both men were opinionated with different approaches to the job. Russell delegated work whereas Isambard was a perfectionist who checked everything himself down to the last detail. These differences led to much acrimonious correspondence. Eventually the Great Eastern was launched in January 1858 and on 5th January 1859, the day before it was due to leave the Thames for Weymouth, Isambard was on board doing last minute checks when he suffered a stroke and sadly died 10 days later. His relatively early death at 53 could be explained in part by his lifestyle of long working hours, his injuries sustained in the Thames Tunnel and then on board the SS Great Western. He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery alongside his parents.

There have been many pioneering civil engineering developments since the heyday of Marc and Isambard Brunel. Motorways, airports, state of the art cruise ships, and the Channel Tunnel. All built, as in Victoria’s reign, to fulfil the needs of the time. So what has changed? Certainly working conditions are much better, the advent of computers and improvements in communications have developed beyond anything the Brunels could have envisaged. However some things are still the same. The vagaries of the weather, problems obtaining adequate funding, flooding, and difficulty finding suitable labour.

Marc and Isambard Brunel left a great civil engineering legacy. Yes, they were both worthy of being labelled “genius” for their innovative ideas but their capacity for hard work, dogged determination and courage also played a part. Their ambition was not for personal wealth but for recognition that they had made a contribution to progress and improving people’s lives. I think they succeeded. Dorothy Berry

MERLIN’S PUZZLE CORNER SOLUTION: “Turn the page round”

Great Western

SS Great Britain

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