Report 16th April 2025 - The Technical side of Fire and Rescue

Gareth Lloyd outlined his progression from a Gordano schoolboy to being in charge of the Technical Rescue section of the Fire and Rescue service for Avon based in Avonmouth. Since he retired from the Service he has set up his own training company for other Emergency Services and First Responders - Gareth Lloyd Technical Rescue Ltd. He explained how the role of the service had changed from being principally a National Fire service (NFS) in WW2 to its widened role of Rescue today. In the last 50 yrs or so the world has introduced many changes from which we have benefited but with that has come new dangers for all of us. Take transport as an example - speeds, weights, traffic density, vehicle complexity, goods carried, etc have all increased dramatically in that time leading to more complex problems to solve. Similarly electrical devices, chemicals, gases, liquids and hazardous material all add new dangers, especially when in combination.

New rescue tools have to be created and funded together with protective clothing and procedures for the personnel involved. Every rescue incident, whether for saving lives, property or animals needs rapid assessment, up-to-date information but no textbook solution exists for every event to be faced. Instead we are reliant upon the knowledge, experience, creativity and judgement of those saving us and at some risk to themselves.

Probus members were offered a choice of actual rescues to learn about and one was chosen. Actual photos were shown illustrating a fire in an unmarked building in an industrial estate on a bank holiday. There was no obvious entry or information about the users. Nothing for it but to cut through the shutter door. Shock! full of electric scooters, literally hundreds, burning and hundreds of more batteries on lashed up cabling under charge. How do we make them safe and save the building?  They have to be removed but the only way to control the burning is to get them under water quickly. (the risk of fire flare ups and toxic fumes is high). So steel waste bins were emptied and commandeered to serve as water containers but they will be needed for two weeks before they can be regarded as safe enough to remove, which is another problem. They never know what problems the next incident will demand of them. This talk captivated the attention of all those present, who were willing it to go on longer. A vote of thanks was given by Bryan Stokes and members responded enthusiastically.

When we dial 999 we assume that when we are in need, trouble or danger that one, or all, of the emergency services will be speeding their way to us to solve our problem, within a few minutes. We make the assumption that whatever the problem is, the emergency services will resolve it for us irrespective of the cost or danger to those rescuing us.

Some words of wisdom from the expert - Some Lithium Ion battery safety considerations.   Only use/ purchased manufacturers recommended chargers (lots of cheap imports on amazon/ ebay etc)    Only charge LI/ Lithium equipment in daylight hours and within reasonable distance to hand/view.    If dropped, dented or impacted, be cautious especially when charging again (maybe charge externally for a few times)   Don’t charge/ store electric bikes, scooters, wheel chairs indoors/ home. Garage or outhouse preferable (charging daylight hours only)   Keep exits and hallways clear of EV/ Electrical equipment.

Just consider, if a small fire were to start in my equipment, where is it best placed?    This advice is not to scare people and these incidents are still fairly rare, but cheap equipment (inc chargers), Impact damage (possibly unseen) and overheating may well lead to the battery pack/cell ignition and subsequent deflagration.

You can discover more about Technical Rescue here - https://gltechrescue.co.uk/                      JBS

Report 19th March 2025  - Tales from the Rostrum

We were enlightened, informed and entertained by Andy Stowe who gave us an interesting insight to an auctioneer’s life at Auctioneum. This auction house has 2 auction rooms, one in Bristol and one in Bath, between them running some 22 sales per month and around 5-8 house clearances per day. Today much use is made of on-line bidding which was necessitated by Covid, but has now become normalised.  It has the advantage of having world-wide bidders and many persons are now put off bidding if they have to be physically present. There is a small premium for an on-line bid on top of the 19% commission +VAT but the auction houses knowledge of the items and access to markets will often more than compensate for their charges.

Andy gave many examples of what can happen eg Ronnie Barker’s handwritten draft of the script of the  ‘4-candles’ sketch was originally veiled at £5-8000 by another auction house; it received no bids. It was taken in, research was done and auctioned again, this time raising £28,000. Understanding the market and getting good provenance are essential for the best price. Do you remember the ‘Fallen Madonna? the one with the big boobies? Well that was valued at £3-5K but raised £15k because of the research done around the known examples and their provenance. Similarly Del Boys 3-wheeler Reliant raised £24k (there was more than one) and has subsequently been restored to running condition and now tours the area raising money for charity. Who would have thought that Compo’s attire (if one can call it that) would go for £6k? Or two sisters each with autographed Beatles pictures to sell would raise such a difference in value ? the first making £500 but the second £13,000 all because of timing and publicity surrounding a release of lately discovered recordings.

Perhaps their biggest sale was for Dave Prowse’s collection of StarWars memorabilia  - some 1500 items. What was Dave's most treasured? His Green Cross Code outfit. And what was raised from the sale? Over £1,000,000 the proceeds going to Alziemers. The highest selling item to date has been Ghandi’s glasses - you know the ones like 1940s NHS style. Arrived through the letterbox - lacked provenance - much research done - sold for £260,000 yes over £1/4 million - a record. Many more examples were given. So we have all got things forgotten, not needed, kids not interested in our junk, harbouring in drawers, cupboards or attics or garages. Have a good look, get the provenance written down and seek advice from the auctioneers. Many questions were asked and answered, Rodney Gunner gave a vote of thanks and members responded with applause.  JBS

Report 19th February 2025 -  Portishead Porters 

Sue Ferguson, Chair of Portishead Porters, ably assisted by Vera Sanders, explained the functioning, needs and history of her organisation. The Portishead Porters are a volunteer-run service that provides transportation to and from local hospitals and medical centers, some 35 places, for people who are unable to drive themselves. They organise a network of voluntary but insured and suitably qualified drivers who are prepared to use their own cars. 

If you require this service, initial inquiries need to be made through your medical centre.  

Patients who need help to enter or exit a vehicle, or be guided to the appropriate location in the medical facility, will need to be accompanied by their own carer,  The driver will wait for your return for a reasonable period, say up to 2 hours, but if your treatment is longer than that, a second transport may have to be arranged.   There is a charge for the service based on 45p per mile, a figure unchanged for 10 years and is currently capped by Government Tax limits. As an example a trip to Southmead and back could be in the order of £15.   Currently there are about 45 volunteer drivers. The drivers could be either a lady or a gentleman. Not all are available at any particular time for a variety of reasons.

Once your application for help has been received by Portishead Porters they will require your details and try to match those with an available driver and give each of you the necessary contact information and logistics. If you have a Blue Badge this will make the operation run more smoothly. If you don’t yet have one, but could qualify then please get one.

Portishead Porters started in 1993 and has been running, except for Covid, for over 30 years. Some 2000 journeys are made each year.  Portishead Porters always needs to keep its numbers of driver volunteers sufficient to match the demand for its services. As a driver you will be fulfilling a community need and meeting a variety of interesting passengers. If you think this could be for you then contact - Vera Sanders on 01274 814002 for answers to any questions you may have with regards to being a volunteer. They also require donations, which with the shortage of Local Government funds, is now more urgent than ever.  Questions were asked and answered and a vote of thanks was given by David Bowring to applause by members,         JBS

Report 15th January 2024 - Slavery and Bristol; a balanced view.  

Mike Rowland, our local retired Police Inspector, gave us an illustrated talk on Slavery and Bristol. He tabled a close definition of what slavery is.  Historic slavery is a very contentious topic to many but Mike showed us that balance was needed to fully understand the historical context of the Atlantic Triangle Trade of the 16th-19th century. Slavery had been practiced beyond Bristol for 1000s of years. Even English people were enslaved by Barbary pirates who raided on land as well as at sea. In August 1625 corsairs raided Mount’s Bay, Cornwall, capturing 60 men, women and children and taking them into slavery. In 1626 St Keverne was repeatedly attacked, and boats out of Looe, Penzance, Mousehole and other Cornish ports were boarded, their crews taken captive. Those kidnapped would be sent to the slave markets of the Ottoman Empire.

The UK was not the only country prolifically involved in the Atlantic Triangle Trade. Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal in particular took part in it. In the UK slaving voyages also took place from Glasgow and London, and eventually Bristol was far surpassed by Liverpool for trade associated with slavery.  It may be said the practice continues today, even within the UK. Surely that is where our primary attention should be given now?    Man's inhumanity to Man !!

The Triangle Trade; for each captive slave that the African rulers provided they would receive a variety of goods from Europe as payment. These included guns, ammunition, alcohol, textiles, and other manufactured goods. The second leg of the triangle exported enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean in dreadful conditions to the Americas and the Caribbean Islands. The third and final part of the triangle was the return of goods to Europe from the Americas. These goods were the products of slave plantations and included cotton, sugar, tobacco, molasses and rum. A profit was made on each leg.

Bristol's population grew quickly during the period with the production of goods to be processed, sold and exported. Evidence of the wealth it generated is in buildings and benefits to Bristolians which can still be seen. Mike illustrated many of these such as Bristol Cathedral, Hotel du Vin, Theatre Royal, Queens Square, Colston Hall, Georgian House, etc. all of which benefited from the ‘slave economy’.

Eminent persons of the day called out for slavery to cease. The Bristol Anti-Slavery Society was formed in 1788 and campaigned to end the transatlantic slave trade and emancipate enslaved Africans.  Prominent in the movement were the Quakers, Thom. Clarkson, the Penns (Pennsylvania), John Wesley (Methodists), Southey, Hannah More, and others. It took until 1833 for the Abolition Act to pass at the end of which the slave owners were ‘compensated’ £20m (£2Bn today) of which Bristol owners received £500k (£50m today). Freed slaves received no monetary compensation.   Man's inhumanity to Man !!

Recent events have seen the toppling of Colston’s statue - an act for which those charged were contentiously found not guilty. The M shed museum now houses that statue along with other slavery artifacts.

Mike delivered his presentation with sharp humour and received warm appreciation from the members. Stuart Roberts gave the vote of thanks.  JBS

If you are interested in Mike Rowland’s Tours and Talks contact him on 07974 757642 or email mcr306@yahoo.co.uk. 

Report 20th November 2024 - Great Western Air Ambulance

Philip Cox enlightened us on the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity. He explained that anyone who needed an ambulance for a life-threatening condition should call 999 immediately giving clear details of the patient's condition and their precise location. If classified as CAT 1 the call will be accessed for the most appropriate help to be dispatched. All life threatening cases are also monitored by the Air Ambulance service. It is not generally appreciated that they are a charity and are not funded by the NHS, but operate in unison with them. Their role is not primarily to fly patients directly to hospital but to take the ‘hospital services’ to the patient in serious need. The objective is to rapidly make the patient stable enough for transport by the most appropriate means. They carry equipment and personnel that is not available on the normal road ambulances and can provide operations, including open heart, to get the patient stable enough to be transported to the most appropriate hospital for further treatment and recovery. Some 99% of their patients are conveyed to hospital by road ambulance. The helicopter is supported by special Critical Care emergency vehicles driven by highly qualified paramedics and carrying similar highly technical medical equipment to enable Automated CPR, Ventilator, Laparoscopy, Blood warming, Neonatal, and advanced drugs to be administered. 

The helicopter service operates throughout Gloucestershire, Bristol, North Somerset and Wiltshire and on occasion into S.Wales. They have some 2000 calls per year and often 10 or more calls per daytime operating. Typical calls include cardiac arrests, neuro, collapses, RTAs, falls, stabbings (on the increase), Burns and Drownings. It costs an average of £2300 for every flight and some £5 million is required annually to maintain the level of service. Staffing with highly trained personnel for all shifts is also needed. Many operating statistics were provided by his presentation.  A collection was taken and Brian Jones gave a vote of thanks that was followed by applause from members.   JBS       For more details and for how you can help - https://greatwesternairambulance.com/

Report 18th September 2024 AGM - 50 years a Structural Engineer By Lawrence Smith, member.

Lawrence was born in 1953, six-weeks early, weighing less than 2kg and subsequently hospitalised with rheumatic fever aged six, Lawrence went on to achieve top the rank in wolf cubs, scouts and then Flight Sergeant in the Air Training Corps. One of the few from his junior school passing the 11-plus, he thrived at the local grammar-technical school, representing them at rugby until the fifth form. In childhood he learned vehicle maintenance, plumbing, electrics and building from his dad, and then at school, tool-making, brazing, sand-casting and blacksmithing from an elderly teacher. Inspired by physics master Ezra Somekh - Marie Curie’s nephew, he achieved good grades in A-level Maths, physics, and chemistry. Civil Engineering was therefore a good fit, and after three years at Loughborough University he gained upper second-class honours. Only one course-member achieved first class.
Aware that competence comprises both education and training, he joined consultant Harris & Sutherland, becoming a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers at age 27. Passing their gruelling seven-hour design  exam is still considered as the gold standard, with the pass with the pass rate today at only 30%.
Chartered, and now with two years site experience, he was transferred to H&S (Far East) working in Hong Kong on a wide variety of projects, training/checking Chinese Engineers, and editing their correspondence.
After 30 months in the colony and now aged thirty, he returned to Britain to run the Bristol office for Alan Baxter & Associates.
This included refurbishment of historic buildings in London, e.g. Cliveden (Profumo/Christine Keeler), Brooke Street (Handel’sHouse) and Bath (Royal Crescent & Hot spas). ABA’s offices in Islington were a focus for exciting Architects, and several engineers left to set up their own successful practices. Ready for a change and better prospects, then followed three years at SGB, designing temporary propping schemes to laterally restrain building facades and vertically prop structures during major alterations. Whilst working for SGB, Mabey saw him regularly winning temporary works contracts, so he was head hunted to develop them a brand-new propping system especially for building refurbishment. This would complement their existing “Bailey type” modular, temporary bridging and jacking activities. After two years of development and testing 50 tonne capacity props/bracing, they had the Mass-50 system. Their hire fleet now includes about 2,000 tonnes of Mass-50, which has now been used for building renovation for over 30 years. In 2003, the Construction Industry Research and Information Authority published CIRIA C579, “Retention of masonry facades – best practice guide”. Lawrence was a leading contributor to this document, which features photos of his projects and an appendix of his calculations. Compliance with this technical guide is nowadays specified when inviting tenders for such temporary works.
After twenty-seven years with Mabey, he joined local consultant Craddys for two more years, until retiring at sixty-four with mobility issues from MS.
Now practising from home, Lawrence still consults for trusted clients, and as a working Fellow of IStructE, maintains his CPD record, and is able to interview candidates for Membership or Fellowship of the Institution.  Lawrence is willing to advise a member, or even give career advice to a prospective young structural engineer.  He can be contacted on email   lsmith705@myyahoo.com    A vote of thanks was given by Brian Jones with applause from members.

Report 16th May 2024 meeting

Baz Hamblin  -  After 25 years flying in the RAF as a navigator, Baz found himself running a training company for airline pilots for 25 years after doing a favour for a friend. Supporting his wife's lavender business by becoming the tractor driver, Baz also sells antiques and is trustee of the local museum. A lover of antiques and history and with his RAF training in instruction, Baz loves presenting talks on a variety of history topics.

“There is a great deal more to climate change than carbon dioxide and there is a great deal of confusion between ‘climate change’ and ‘pollution’. The major cause of climate change I believe is  the Milankovitch oscillations and not many people know about them!   For many years I taught meteorology and climatology to the highest level required by the Civil Aviation Authority and I am appalled by some of the things said about ‘climate change’.”

Baz gave us a good insight into some of the complexities as to how our Earth functions and provoked thoughts on “What they don’t tell you about Climate Change”.  He explained the Milankovitch oscillations, how the sun's energy reaches us, the effect of gases in the atmosphere acting as a thermal blanket, how CO2 levels had risen and fallen over the millions of years (before Man existed) and other events over which Man had no influence or control, like volcanic eruptions.  He was of the opinion that the current CO2 and other particle levels in the atmosphere were not the primary cause of our current global warming.  He quoted many past projections by eminent persons, of their time, that had not come true - so don’t believe everything/anything that you read, particularly the assumptions that are drawn from any given sets of data. Past cycles are not an automatic indication of the future.

He did not give us his opinions on other things that many persons worry about like -     Species extinction,   Weather records (drought, fire, flood, ice reduction etc.) continually being broken, the increase in heat stored in the oceans (which are 70% of the Earth's surface), Species migration, Ocean acidification, Deforestation, Permafrost thaw and methane into the atmosphere (natural feedbacks that make the situation worse) or Human migration.

Many Questions were provoked but not raised, as we overran our time allowance- 

Q. Does Mankind need to take any action now to safeguard the future of our species?    If not, what can we expect in the foreseeable future?    If yes, then what needs to be done? Will every nation agree, cooperate and take action to do it?

Q. Is Man capable of making changes?   Surely we must be. We put Men on the Moon (and back) over 60 years ago and many advances have been made since then in our understanding and technological capabilities.  We have the intelligence, knowledge, skills, tools, machines, communications etc, etc. Those we may need could be solved with more research and  AI.

Mankind treats the Natural World as though it was a “free sweet shop” - we pick things we want and discard those not wanted expecting someone/something to clear up after us. (gases, liquids and solids). We are a throwaway wasteful species.

Mankind makes the assumption that nature will always provide all of us with clean water, nutritious food, shelter/safety, ignoring the fact that the human world population has grown by a factor of 4x in the last 85 years and is still rising exponentially.

The world will always go on turning (for the imaginable future) irrespective of what Mankind does to it BUT it may not remain as an environment in which we can all live in and thrive. The natural world does not have a duty to provide for us. It is our duty to protect our environment..

We are the first generation that has a good understanding as to how our environment functions and the first generation that has the ability to make changes to the way we live to safeguard our own future environment

Baz was warmly thanked by chairman, Matt Westley, to applause from the members.    JBS

Report - April 18th 2024 meeting

Geoff Vian gave us a detailed and interesting account of his memoirs as a TV cameraman interspersed with humorous anecdotes involving many famous names. His career started as an 18 year old General Assistant under training with the BBC leading to being in a camera crew at Shepherds Bush filming Panorama which was where he met Gordon Brown. Filming Z Cars., Black and White Minstrels,  Grandstand with David Colman and Frank Bough and the Goodlife followed, meeting many of the then current stars. Next Blue Peter and the famous elephant incident and Princess Anne’s Sports Personality in ‘71. An opportunity to have a short term transfer to Bristol arose, which he decided to take if it was not permanent, but as it turned out he found himself as a big cog in a smaller wheel rather than vice-versa. Outside filming followed with World Snooker at Sheffield where he met Terry Griffiths in ‘79 who became champion. The game was long, the pace was slow. Geoff was bursting for a pee but had to wait until there was a break. In the toilets he met Terry who volunteered “if you need another toilet break then just give me the wink and I will make a break for you”. More programmes followed with Tony Hart, the BAFTAs, Antique Roadshow, Songs of Praise, Wildlife, and his lifelong passion Cricket. Service abroad with the Troops in Bahrain pre the Gulf War and Jamaica added excitement. Then BANG - in ‘92 the BBC announced redundancy cutbacks. He was just 42. After a difficult period he was offered freelance work with cricket in South Africa, the Winter Olympics in Japan on Bobsleigh, then the Sydney Olympics. Sky used him as freelance on Cricket, Rugby, the Ashes, Tennis, Rio Olympics Triathlon and the Brownlee bros. and even parts of Diana’s funeral. Perhaps one of his proudest times was helping the cricket referees to refine the way that camera shots were used to be the Third Umpire. Many questions were asked before Brian Jones gave the vote of thanks followed by enthusiastic applause.    JBS

Report - March 20th 2024 meeting - "Eswatini"

Jenny Bowen, of Clevedon based Sense Earth Ltd, gave us an interesting and informative talk about a subject that none of us had any previous knowledge of, namely Eswatini.  Eswatini is the former Swaziland, which changed its name when King Mswati 111 (he of the 15 wifes and 45 children) who in 2018 wanted to mark the 50th anniversary of independence. 

A country surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique and about the size of Wales, but with a density of population about half that of Wales’ 3.2 million, has Africa's last absolute monarch and is a member of the Commonwealth.

Jenny illustrated her talk on the culture, customs, lifestyle, national parks, and her lifelong study of the fauna of the wild landscape with her own pictures. An interesting addition was to hear her mouth mimicking sounds of various creatures of the Eswatini country which is rich in African fauna, some of which was re-introduced from other parts of Africa. She finished with a short quiz on the collective names of animals like standing giraffes being a ‘tower’ or when running a ‘journey’. After questions Brian Jones gave a vote of thanks and members responded enthusiastically.

More information on Jenny’s activities can be found on - https://senseearth.co.uk/africa/eswatini/                JBS

Report  Feb 2024   “All that glitters…”

Rodney Gunner, one of our members, gave us an interesting and amusing account of his life when he found that his main occupation needed additional income to support the payments on his mortgage, providing for his six children and his large Volvo motorcar. He found an old carpenter's chest in a skip, took it home and restored it making over £75 in profit. This led to a new business, the restoration of old pine furniture, however the economic crash and changes to people's tastes in furniture resulted in a change of direction. Many big businesses have surplus products at the end of the day and sell them off, in bulk, at low individual unit cost, which provides an opportunity to wholesale these to local small shops if you had the contacts, transport and time to make it happen. Soon the opportunities expanded into minor damaged confectionery that were packed up and sold at street markets. That led to cheap jewellery and watches that were more lucrative and enabled this to become his main source of income. He explained some of the techniques, the tricks, the cons, the ‘plants’, the scams, the ‘giveaways’ and the events that happen in the market that gave rise to the title of his talk. He asked the audience, where did they think that all the surplus product goes from bankrupt.businesses?    He knows, and he outlined some of them.  He finished by throwing a load of giveaways onto our tables and answering questions from members. Members warmly thanked his talk.    JBS

Report Jan 2024 Ham Wall Nature Reserve

Bob Buck gave us an interesting, informative, illustrated and humorous talk on the Ham Wall Nature Reserve and his involvement with it. The reserve was a peat extraction site which partially destroyed its attraction to its former natural species.  Located near Ashcott it is within sight of Glastonbury Tor. The RSPB has mechanically reworked the site in an attempt to attract its former species back to the site with large areas of open water lined with manually planted reed beds. The hard work and effort is now paying off with the return of breeding Bitterns and Marsh Harriers. Many other species are arriving, possibly as a consequence of global warming, like Little, Cattle and Great Egrets and many rarities are now occurring. The whole ecosystem of the marshes has been dramatically improved with Otters and Water Vowles finding it to their liking. The list of species is too numerous to mention here, so check with RSPB and Wikipedia websites. Much work has been carried out to improve access for the public with walkways, trackways, bridges, viewing platforms, hides and even boating.

The main management of the reserve involves cutting the reeds in rotation to rejuvenate the reed beds and prevent their drying out. Two machines are used, an amphibious Truxor tracked reed cutter to harvest wetter areas, and a faster Softrak for islands and where water levels have been lowered. Native breeds of cattle are also used to graze the reed bed margins. The cut reeds are turned into a peat-free compost and sold for domestic use.

Perhaps one of the most dramatic spectacles to see is the Murmuration of Starlings in the winter months but you have to be in the latest right place in the early morning or late evening. The numbers arriving from the surrounding areas are in the 100’s of thousands and at times over a million. Apart from the visual spectacle the sound of their collective wings sounds like gentle waves on the shore as they twist and turn. 

At the end of his presentation and question session he was given a warm vote of thanks and a surprise presentation for his other major activity of running the St George's Flower Bank LNR. This is located on either side of the A359 from Gordano services towards Bristol. Bob started this over 30 years ago and has built a large organisation of volunteers to maintain it. He was presented with an ‘Outstanding’ certificate from the RHS. More information on this nature reserve can be found on their website.

If Probus interests you then go to our website - https://www.hugofox.com/community/portishead-probus-club-20523/home          JBS