3rd December 2024

With the treatment of diseases and other medical conditions becoming ever more advanced and complex, there has arisen a corresponding increased demand for medical practitioners with the specialist skills to address these challenges. This has resulted in the tendency for many health professionals to concentrate on pursuing a career as consultants, expert in their own particular field of knowledge and experience. However, in support of these specialists, are our general practitioners (GPs) who are called upon to recognise and to treat a multitude of different ailments and conditions. As a retired GP himself, today’s speaker, club member Peter Stevens, gave an insight into the life of a GP and he discussed the changes to the profession that had occurred over the course of his own long career.

In common with so many school-leavers in the 1960s, Peter was offered very little careers advice, and so it was almost by accident that he decided that he wanted to become a doctor. Hence it was that he enrolled at Edinburgh University on a six-year course, with each year of study covering a different aspect of his training. Significantly, as a medical student it was not until the fourth year that he started to have hands-on experience with actual patients. On graduation he worked in a number of hospitals and GPs’ practices until gaining his registration with the General Medical Council, thus being granted a full licence to practice medicine. At this point, he applied for an overseas posting to the Caribbean island of St Kitts which, at that time was very underdeveloped. After two years, he returned to Britain and eventually became a partner in the Newbold surgery in Chesterfield.

Outlining some of the changes that he had witnessed during his career, Peter thought that one of the most significant came when the links between a patient and his/her designated GP were broken. Up until that time, the patient would normally see the same doctor at every visit. This engendered trust by the patient and, most importantly, allowed the doctor to gain an understanding of the patient’s medical and personal history. The speaker regretted that this mutually beneficial relationship has been largely lost.

Chris Jewitt and Peter Stevens

19th November 2024

In the context of manufacturing, the method of designing a product has evolved over the centuries through different processes, each requiring different skills. In the late 19^th century, this led to a need for increasing levels of analytical competence on the part of the designer, and progressively to an expectation that design engineers would require degree-level education. This in turn encouraged a “two cultures” approach to secondary education in British schools with ‘Arts’ and ‘Science’ disciplines treated in isolation from each other. It can be argued that for aspiring engineers this has encouraged a logical deductive approach to problem solving to the detriment of creativity. So, what can be done to enhance the creative ability of engineering students?

This was the question posed by the speaker, club member Richard Chaplin, at today’s meeting. Richard is Emeritus Professor of Engineering Sciences (University of Reading) and therefore has had first-hand experience of the problems created by the existing system. He started his talk by outlining the evolution of the design process from the simplest, in which a craftsman would create an artifact himself, testing small changes with each item made. This arrangement worked well enough but, if the manufacturing process was going to require the involvement of others, it became necessary for a designer to illustrate his intentions by means of drawings. With the development during the industrial revolution of ever more complicated artifacts, the designer had to use mathematical analysis to predict behaviour. This was the point at which the shift of emphasis was to ‘design by analysis’ with engineering science becoming the underlying skill of the designer.

As the speaker explained, all this has had a major impact on the educational requirements for a competent engineer, with an emphasis on maths and physics at university entrance level. In turn, this has demanded the same emphasis at post-GCSE level and, hence, segregation into ‘Arts’ and ‘Science’ at A-level. The overall effect has been to produce designers who are skilled at analysing problems and making informed decisions, employing “convergent” analytical thinking, but who lack the ability to think creatively, using “divergent” open-minded thinking, especially in the earlier stages of concept-development where alternative solutions need to be considered. To overcome this drawback of the present system, Richard proposed a number of ways in which engineering students could be educated in creative thinking, many involving group activities where the participants are encouraged to think collaboratively and uncritically.

Chris Jewitt and Richard Chaplin

5th November 2024

In 1896, a brilliant and enterprising young Italian engineer, Guglielmo Marconi, came to live in Britain where he believed that he would be able to secure funding to develop his work on ‘wireless telegraphy’. This was the transmission of telegraph messages without connecting wires or, as we now know it, radio. His pioneering work led directly to the creation of the British Broadcasting Company in 1922 which, on receiving its Royal Charter in 1927, became the British Broadcasting Corporation. This, the BBC, was the subject of today’s talk given by our club member, Ainslie Kelly.

As the speaker explained, the BBC’s Charter, which is still valid, defines the BBC’s objectives, powers and obligations, and it complements the work of Ofcom (the government-approved regulatory body for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries). The main tenet of the BBC is that the organisation will act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial output which, in line with its founding principles, “Informs, Educates and Entertains”. Its independence is paramount – free of government or commercial interference.

Established in 1932 in line with these criteria, came the BBC’s Empire Service (now known as the World Service). From small beginnings, the World Service now reaches a weekly audience of 450 million people in 59 countries and in more than 40 languages. It is acknowledged to be the most trusted source of information in the world.

Throughout its history, the BBC has kept pace with new technology. A television service which began in 1936 became viable and more widely adopted in the 1940s and 1950s. Colour TV started in the 1960s, followed by cable in the 1970s and high definition a couple of decades later with, most recently, digital output. There are now dozens of TV and radio channels available to the public.

Acknowledging that the organisation has had troubles in the past and continues to face challenges, the speaker reminded his audience of some of the high-profile cases where the BBC’s presenters, and others, have exceeded their authority or acted in a criminal manner. He also pointed to the competition coming from other broadcasters and from social media posing a threat but, in spite of all, he remains an admirer of this most British institution.

Paul Davies and Ainslie Kelly

15th October 2024

What is money for? We all think we know the answer to this question but it’s probably not as simple as we would like to believe. In fact, the purpose of wealth and the uses to which it should be put are matters that have been considered by philosophers such as Cicero and Aristotle since ancient times. Even religious teaching refers to money in the oft-incompletely quoted warning from Saint Paul in his epistle to Timothy, “The love of money is the root of all evil”. In the footsteps of such illustrious thinkers, at this meeting our own club member, John Hayes, addressed this particular question himself.

In his talk, John examined the disparities in the distribution of wealth, and the ways in which such wealth can be used either by philanthropic donation or, more directly, by providing inheritance to family members or other legatees. He also considered the effects of financial crime. Firstly, he gave examples of the ways in which wealth has become ever more concentrated into the hands of fewer, but vastly richer individuals. For instance, sixty years ago, the salary of the top executive of a business would be ten times that of someone working at the shop floor, whereas nowadays, the difference would be one hundred times. This type of development has resulted in the creation of many billionaires with vast accumulations of wealth. It is estimated that the fifty richest families in the UK are worth a combined total of £500 billion, a sum dwarfing the current deficit in the nation’s finances.

Of course, as the speaker pointed out, there can be many effects of possessing great wealth. Some will spend their money in displays of extravagant spending for selfish pleasure, but far greater good comes from giving it away, with the resulting joy and satisfaction felt by the donor himself or herself.

Alas, never far away from the subject of money is the prevalence of financial crime. It has now reached epidemic levels, not only carried out by criminal gangs but also by individuals such as benefit cheats. The sums of money involved, if recovered by the State, could go a long way towards improving the lives of the overwhelmingly law-abiding majority of citizens.

As usually occurs at these meetings, the speaker’s subject matter generated much comment and discussion amongst his audience at the conclusion of his talk.

John Hayes and Christopher Jewitt

1st October 2024

At this meeting we welcomed a celebrity from the world of model makers as a guest speaker. Introduced by club member Peter Donaldson, Peter Kazer had brought a selection of the many items of model railway rolling stock (e.g. locomotives) which he has made over the course of many years, and he discussed the processes involved in creating these masterpieces of miniature engineering.

Although the speaker has built models based on several narrow gauge railways in England and Wales, for this talk he concentrated on those of North and Mid-Wales – the Ffestiniog, Corris, Talyllyn, and North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways. He described how, before starting any work on the actual construction of a model, he had needed to spend much time in carrying out the research necessary to ensure the accuracy of what he intended to create. In that many of his models are based on railways that are either greatly changed or even no longer in operation, this involved measuring and photographing any buildings and other features still in existence on site, and delving into such records and drawings as may still exist. In fact, in some instances, the time to research a project has taken longer than building the model itself.

As far as creating his models is concerned, Peter has made everything from scratch (i.e. starting from the basic raw materials) – the baseboard, scenery, buildings, railway infrastructure, locos, carriages and wagons. Very little use has been made of products not actually made by himself. Naturally, such attention to accuracy and detail has required a great amount of time. For instance, possibly his most spectacular model, that of the Corris Railway in Mid-Wales, took ten years to build, and involved an estimated 20,000 hours of work over that period.

The display of locomotives and rolling stock which Peter had brought with him illustrated the extent of his model making abilities. Some members of his audience, being modellers themselves, had seen his layouts at model railway exhibitions and read about them in railway journals. Hence, they were already acquainted with the quality of his work, However, irrespective of the level of their personal interest and experience in the subject, all members of the audience were full of admiration for the models on show, expressing amazement at the patience and skill involved in their creation.

Peter Kazer and Ron Enock

17th September 2024

Of all the lifeforms on this planet, humanity is the one having as its most distinctive characteristic its ability to communicate using the spoken word. It was this remarkable skill of human beings to convey information to each other by the means of language that was the topic of today’s talk given by Club member, John Robinson.

John opened his talk by outlining the history of the development of our own, English, language from around 3000 BC, when the native language was Brittonic (Celtic). Following the period of Roman occupation (up to c.500 AD) with its Latin influence, successive invasions from Northern Europe introduced Germanic words leading to Old English. The Norman conquest (1066 AD) in turn, brought French into the mix, to create Middle English which, from around 1500 AD, evolved into the Modern English that we now speak. Words from all of these periods still survive, from the earliest, such as the Celtic names of many of our rivers (Derwent, Avon, Thames), through the Latin with place names based on ‘castrum’ (Chester, Leicester), and later contributions from the Germanic and French languages.

The speaker then described, and gave examples of how language had influenced him throughout his life, from his earliest years, reciting nursery rhymes, through his time at school where he had to record and memorise Virgil’s Latin quotations, as well as substantial tracts from the Bible and English literature. To the admiration of his audience, he was able to recite, from memory, some of the poems that he had learned at that time. This was clearly an indication of how much he has loved the English language.

John Robinson and Ron Enock

3rd September 2024

There can be few people who have not tackled a jigsaw puzzle at some point in their lives, but how many of us have given much thought to their history? In this most informative and interesting talk, Club member Chris Shepley described how the idea of creating a complete picture by assembling a collection of interlocking pieces developed over several centuries.

As Chris explained, in 1766 a cartographer, John Spilsbury, created the first jigsaw puzzles by gluing his maps on to mahogany boards and cutting round the borders of the countries. This was intended as an educational tool for the purpose of teaching geography. From this pioneering work, jigsaws evolved into the now-familiar form and became hugely popular as a means of stress-reduction, although some can be fiendishly difficult to assemble, especially without the aid of a picture on the box or with disguised ‘edge’ pieces!

Having discussed, in detail, the materials and techniques involved in making these puzzles, the speaker continued by describing some of the pictures and patterns that he, himself, has created. To judge by the photos that he showed of his own puzzles, it was clear that he possesses an extremely inventive mind, matched by great skill and patience in the task of cutting out the irregularly shaped pieces.

Chris acknowledged that, on this occasion, he had chosen a light-hearted subject for his talk, but this did not detract from his audience’s enjoyment of it. He also acknowledged his debt to Rosemary Beney formerly of Ashford-in-the-Water whose presentation to other societies and clubs he had adapted for this talk.

Ron Enock and Chris Shepley

20th August 2024

A person who was alive at the beginning of the twentieth century could well have witnessed both the first flight of a ‘heavier-than-air’ flying machine (in the first decade of that century) and could also have witnessed, on their television screen, the first moon landing (in 1969). Such have been the amazing technological advances over the course of a single human lifetime. Examples of this sort of development in a particular field, in this case the printing industry, were given in this talk by club member, Tony Fry who described the changes that had taken place during his own working career.

The speaker demonstrated how some advances in technology often enhanced and improved upon processes that had preceded them, but others had the effect of rendering even the latest technologies obsolete. His career started in 1974 when he joined the research division of Crosfield Electronics Ltd., a market leader of products for the printing industry. He described the development of scanning and laser-gravure engraving systems using increasingly sophisticated technologies but, by the time he left Crosfield in 1983, advances in the printing and graphic arts industry had largely superseded the processes that were reliant on technologies Crosfield had developed.

Therefore, in 1983, Tony moved to Xerox Research (UK) Ltd. Over the next four years, the rapid changes in data communications eclipsed the requirement for newly developed technology. In 1997 he transferred from engineering to the Rank Xerox international marketing team, where he managed development and delivery of technologies to integrate IBM compatible, Xerox laser printing systems, to enable connection to mainframe computers from other computer manufacturers. This led, in 1994 to management of Alliances between Rank Xerox and several computer manufacturers requiring high volume laser printers. It was during the period from 1984 to 2002 that mainframe computing was supplanted by smaller and more flexible computer technologies. Internet and on-line services grew and demand for high volume laser printers declined.

Between 2003 and 2010, Tony managed business development for a Finnish manufacturer and distributor of camera inspection equipment for laser printing systems and devices to process printed documents for postal delivery. For the latter part of his career, he was able to make use of his experience with an employer, based in the UK. Here he managed products to handle and process banknotes within bank branches in World markets. This company had, in the 1960s, developed the once-ubiquitous ATM cashpoint machine.

Tony Fry and Ron Enock

6th August 2024

With memories of the former British Empire now fading into history, it was fascinating for our club members at this meeting to hear a first-hand account of life in pre-independence Nigeria from our most senior member, Robert Graham.

Robert described how, as a young man in 1954, he arrived in Lagos on board the Elder Dempster Mail Boat ‘Accra’, then spent two days travelling by train to Enugu, the capital of the Eastern Region of Nigeria. On his arrival there, his first thoughts were, “What have I done?”, but he soon settled down and, in the event, spent eleven years in the country between 1954 and 1965. For the first three, and the last three of these years, he was a District Officer in H.M. Overseas Civil Service. For most of the period between 1957 and 1962, during which time Nigeria gained its independence in 1960, he was Secretary to the Governor of Eastern Nigeria, based in Enugu. It was in describing this period of his life that he related several amusing – and, at times, alarming – anecdotes, one of which involved a visit in 1957 by the Princess Royal (Princess Mary, aunt to Queen Elizabeth II).

Picture the scene. The Princess, with her lady-in-waiting, Miss Gwyneth Lloyd had been attending a number of formal engagements at Onitsha on the banks of the Niger River. For this particular event it had been suggested that, to mark the official opening of a new market, the Princess Royal and the Premier of Eastern Nigeria, Nnamdi Azikiwe, should jointly carry out the task by switching on the flood lighting for the market. So it was that, in the company of dozens of notable people including the Executive Council of Eastern Nigeria, an archbishop, four bishops, and many other luminaries, at the appointed time as dusk fell, the switch was thrown and the whole area was flooded with light. Immediately, attracted by the illuminations, there came thousands of very large flying beetles from the swampy land on the opposite bank of the Niger. They landed everywhere, but notably on the persons of the Princess and Miss Lloyd, including in their clothing and hair. Understandably, the whole evening broke up in total confusion, with the ladies swiftly retreating to their private accommodation to undertake the delicate job of de-beetling themselves.

This was only one of the tales told by the speaker who clearly retains a lasting affection for Nigeria which he described as his ‘second country’. But he expressed a sense of sadness over the ways that it has developed since independence, not least its notorious levels of corruption and periods of inter-tribal violence.

Robert Graham and Ron Enock

16th July 2024

Rheumatism and arthritis are terms that cover more than a hundred medical conditions affecting bone, cartilage, muscle, skin, and the immune, heart and respiratory systems of the body. At today’s meeting, club member Kim Rainsford outlined some of the features of these diseases and described the history of their treatment.

As he explained, one of the major diseases, rheumatoid arthritis was first identified on paleontological records of ancient Egypt and in writings from the early Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Indian periods of history. Deformities of the hand shown in paintings by fifteenth century (and later) Flemish and French artists provide evidence of this disease at that time. Multiple treatments have evolved over the decades, focussing on physical therapies as well as a range of medications. Since the introduction in 1994 of highly specific biologic agents that regulate the workings of immune-regulatory proteins, the cytokines, there has been a dramatic reduction in rheumatoid arthritis.

Kim continued his talk by discussing the joint degenerative condition of osteoarthritis. This is a widespread disease which has been identified in human skeletons from far back in history, as well as in Egyptian mummies. It is not restricted to humans however, being observed in the skeletons of apes and other animals.

Another member of this group of diseases is gout. This is the only rheumatic condition that has a defined biochemical origin – the over-production and accumulation in joints of the chemical, urate. It is associated with the excessive intake of alcoholic drinks and rich protein foods, and has been described as the “King of Disease” or the “Disease of Kings”. Many luminaries have suffered from gout over the centuries including Alexander the Great, Kublai Khan, The Medici, Prime Minister William Cecil, James VI of Scotland (James I of England), Benjamin Franklin, Cardinal Wolsey and John Wesley, to name a few. It has to be wondered if the pain from this affliction influenced the actions and responses by these famous individuals.

In conclusion, the speaker described the many treatments for these diseases over the centuries. Spa therapy was popular from Roman times (in locations such as Bath and Buxton) through to the Victorian period. Ancient remedies include the herbal – colchicine from the Autumn Crocus and salicylates from Willow bark. In more recent years research has led to the development of new anti-gout drugs. Even so, the incidence of this particular condition has recently shown an upward trend, indicating that further work needs to be done in this respect.

There are many rheumatic conditions that have been discovered over the centuries. In this talk by club member Kim Rainsford, he discussed the ways in which recent research into the origins and development of these diseases has enabled treatments to evolve.

Kim Rainsford

2nd July 2024

What options are available for solving the housing crisis other than building new? This was the question addressed by today’s speaker, club member Tony Crook who, as Emeritus Professor of Town & Regional Planning at Sheffield University, is a recognized expert on the subject of housing policy.

Tony started his talk by outlining the factors that have led to the current situation. For decades, under successive governments of both major parties, the numbers of new homes being built have been consistently below target. Incomes have failed to keep up with the rates of increase in house prices and rentals, with the effect that these have become unaffordable for a significant number of people and, as a consequence, an increasing number of younger people are having to resort to living in the parental home or even forced into homelessness.

He continued by describing the ways in which he, in association with experts in other related disciplines, has identified some options for helping to solve the housing crisis. Firstly, we should make better use of the existing housing stock. A third of all heads of households are over the age of 65 and 80% own their homes. Many live alone and/or are disabled and would like to downsize but are discouraged from doing so by the lack of suitable accommodation and the imposition of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when moving house. To exempt people over 65 from SDLT would tackle one of these restraints. There is then the question of holiday homes and short-term lettings which remove the stock of housing in mainly rural areas. These could be discouraged if planning consent were required for such conversions and if the taxation system which currently benefits the owners were modified.

Turning to taxation in relation to housing in general, the speaker proposed that Council Tax should relate more closely to current housing values and that the exemption from Capital Gains Tax on primary residences should be removed. These and other changes would result in a fall in house prices and hence improved affordability. They would also generate additional tax income to support the building of new affordable homes. And mandatory house building targets should continue to be set but administered locally with developers required to build new affordable as well as market homes.

At the end of a very detailed presentation, Tony identified the actions that the forthcoming new government should take. He suggested that the existing policy must be modified and then the taxation regime changed to create more funding for affordable homes.

Ron Enock and Tony Crook

18th June 2024

At a time, such as now, when the performing arts in this country are under so much pressure from cuts in funding and declining participation by the public, it was encouraging to learn at this meeting that a new cultural centre for the arts is being created in Chesterfield. Club member John Robinson introduced a guest speaker, Jonathan Francis to talk about the Rose Hill Arts Centre where he holds the position of Artistic Director.

Jonathan described his own experiences of music education when he was growing up and the excellent tuition he received in the 1990s at Highfields School in Matlock which, at the time, included a large school choir that provided an outlet for his musical talents. Much later, in London he worked as a theatre director but once again was drawn back to music. This brought him back to Chesterfield where the Rose Hill United Reform Church had accommodation – the Eastwood Hall – available for lease. In 2009 Jonathan founded a performing arts school in this hall, and it made good progress until, in common with all other such activities, the Covid pandemic created difficulties that have only recently been overcome.

As the speaker continued, the next significant development occurred in 2023 when the United Reform Church authorities decided to close Rose Hill and put the building up for sale. However, its future use could be neither commercial nor residential; it had to be retained as a community asset. This stipulation meant that the way was open for Jonathan and his team to make a bid to secure the entire building and convert it into a centre where young people with an interest in the arts could be given the training and encouragement that is so underfunded in the state education system.

Now looking to obtain charitable status the Rose Hill Arts Centre is due to open later this year. No doubt, it will be of huge benefit to the people of Chesterfield and its surrounding area.

Jonathan Francis and John Robinson