At the recent AGM it was suggested and agreed that this year's reunion would take place over the weekend of 13th/14th September 2008 and be centred around Stratford upon Avon - birthplace of William Shakespeare.
John Bliss will be visiting the town next week to finalise the arrangements but one thing has become immediately apparent - the Society has to move quickly to finalise the programme and those hoping to attend will also have to book their accommodation as soon as possible. Full details will appear, as usual, in the July Bliss FHS Newsletter. However we have decided to put the preliminary arrangements on the website.
On Saturday the 13th we will meet up and take a city tour bus - hopefully open air - to all five Shakespeare houses - Shakespeare's Birthplace, Ann Hathaway's Cottage, Mary Arden's, Hall's Croft, and Nash's House and New Place. In the evening we hope to arrange a dinner for those staying over but, for those who do not wish to attend, they may prefer to further explore the town - perhaps discovering why Stratford is said to be one of the most haunted towns in England with a guided tour 'Take a walk on the dark side'. On Sunday our suggestion is a cruise on the idyllic River Avon in a (covered) vintage steamer followed by a theatre tour and talk at The Courtyard - one of the Royal Shakespeare's Company four theatres in the town. We did in fact try to secure tickets for a Saturday matinee performance at The Courtyard but this was already fully booked although a handful of our members did manage to secure some of the few remaining seats for the Friday evening. We therefore hope the tour and talk will give members a taste of what attracts visitors from all over the world to this historic town. Full details of hotels and all the many attractions in the town and the surrounding area can be obtained by ordering a copy of the green brochure - Shakespeare's Country Explore England's England from www.shakespeare-country.co.uk tel. 0870 160 7930.
The exact costings for the weekend have still to be finalised and will be published in the magazine. However, as a guide - excluding the Saturday night dinner - we believe the price will come in between £30/£32 for an adult attending both days, children around half price, and concessions £25/£27.
I would appreciate early indications of those hoping to attend - no money required at this stage - to johnbliss47@googlemail.com
It was a fine sunny day, calm and with clear visibility for our annual reunion in the Portsmouth Dockyard. We arrived at the entrance to the historical, yet working naval base from all directions converging at just before 10.00 am.
John Bliss, our worthy re-union organiser and his able assistant, Sue, soon arranged our entry to Boathouse no. 7, where we had been allocated a slightly raised seating area to take our refreshments and greet old (not aged) friends. Coffee or Tea was soon served, though the promised biscuits did not materialise. John also learned that as special events had been organised to celebrate 800 years of history on the site over our weekend, the promised sandwiches at tea time would not be provided. A suitable refund would be forthcoming. After Coffee, as we proceeded through the dockyard, we realised that we had picked the right weekend for our visit. All around were people dressed in costumes of various periods from medieval times unto 1980s. We saw men ready to walk across the Falkland Islands; drunken seaman, telling tales of blood-thirsty battles with cutlasses and canons; American GIs ready to cross the Channel to the Normandy Beaches; girls in Land Army Uniforms, ready to dig for victory and, as we approached the remains of the Mary Rose, we had to stand aside for His Majesty, Henry VIII, accompanied by his Queen, Katherine Howard, escorted by courtiers and bodyguards. We were, of course, honoured by a suitable greeting from the King, which we acknowledged and were graciously thanked by His Majesty.
His flagship, the Mary Rose, which was in service for 34 year before being sunk, in an accident in 1545, in his presence, was visited by most of our 17 members who attended our annual re-union. Only one side of the vessel has survived its 400 years at the bottom of the Solent just off Southsea and the continuous spraying with a wax solution to preserve it began in the 1980s and will continue into 2010s. However, it is possible to see much of the lay-out of the ship and appreciate the size, strength, complexity and magnificence of this noble warship.
Close by was another masterpiece of craftsmanship, the flagship of Lord Nelson, the Victory. This is still the Flagship of the present day Royal Navy. However, there was no roomy platform with glass screen to protect us from the reality of the conditions of being aboard the Victory, as we enjoyed at the Mary Rose. From the moment we entered the Victory, we were in danger of hitting our heads, tripping over the hooks on the floor, loosing our balance on the steep wooded steps of the ladders between desk and loosing grip on the many ropes to assist our passage along the narrow route through the vessel. Many of us were present when a sailor, on duty at one of the guns on the day of the Battle of Trafalgar, gave a vivid account of his experiences and what he learned later about the happenings elsewhere aboard that day. There was much death and injury around him and later great sadness at the death of the Rear Admiral, still regarded as the greatest hero of the Royal Navy. Some of us later enjoyed the audio/visual presentation on the entire battle involving about 60 British, French and Spanish fighting ships.
By this time, food was being served at various indoor and outdoor venues. Most of us chose a Cornish pasty and soft drink from a mobile kitchen and enjoyed sitting and chatting around two tables we put together. After lunch, some visited the Royal Naval Museum, others took the harbour boat trip and were able to see no less than three of today’s aircraft carriers, a very large naval supply ship, a hospital and several small warships. It was a perfect day for sailing and in the Harbour were many private yachts of various sizes, cross Channel, Isle of Wight and Gosport ferries. It was a very colourful sight. After a visit to the Mary Rose Museum, which contains the items recovered from the sunken ship which do not need the special preservation treatment and also reconstructed parts of the interior of the ship, we made our way out of the dockyard, through the vast Gunwharf shopping centre to the Spinnaker Tower.
A brave dozen of us made it to the top via an excellent lift, which travelled so quickly to the first landing, that we hardly felt any movement. The views were spectacular, in every direction. Michael Bliss, our Chairman, could seen well beyond the village where he lives, although it is 17 miles away. In the opposite direction, the full length of the east side of the Isle of Wight, to the other sides, the South Downs, stretching towards Chicester and beyond and opposite, Portsmouth Harbour entrance, Gosport, the Fawley Power Station and Oil Refinery and the New Forest in the far distance. The cameras were clicking all around us. After a brief visit to the second and third landings, we descended to the floor level and walked back Boathouse 7 at the dockyard for a cup of tea, those biscuits we expected on our arrival, our farewells and some delicious ice creams, John Bliss purchased for us.
This was in all a very Blissful day for the 17 members who attended our 2007 Reunion at Portsmouth and once again, we owe John Bliss our grateful thanks for organising yet another highly enjoyable re-union.