TURNING JAPANESE - 29 March 2017

Extra chairs needed to be put out on Wednesday 29th March at Rushden Village Hall when Caron Lawton, curator of The Japanese Gardens at Cottered, talked about the garden from its inception in 1923 and compared pictures of then and now. Herbert Goode bought the garden in 1903 with no intention of changing it but after visits to Japan he brought over a Mr Kitsumoto to be in charge of design with the stunning results one can see today.

 The next meeting will be on Thursday 29th June when Mike Thomas will be taking us On Safari!

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN AIRLINE PILOT - 6 October 2016

At October's Village Link meeting we went behind the scenes of our holiday flight's with a talk by Captain Martin Clutterbuck entitled A Day in the Life of an Airline Pilot. We learned about the problems with French air traffic controllers and how their strikes affect flights across Europe not just to France;  the cost of a flight simulator- the same as an aeroplane; that the slot refers to the landing availability at arrival not departure airports and that 1 in 4 staff's luggage is checked as opposed to 1 in 20 passenger's.

We are pleased to welcome Dave Handley as a new member of our committee. 

Our next meeting will not be until next year, probably about the end of March when we may be changing to a Wednesday.

TRINITY HOUSE - 7 July 2016

Village Link welcomed a speaker from Trinity House to talk about their work
on 7 July 2016. When Trinity House is mentioned, most of us think of
lighthouses but their work is so much more than that. Started originally in
1215 with the Guild for the Trinity , they received a Royal Charter from
Henry V111 in 1514. Guilds were established in UK ports and they were given the right to control pilotage on the River Thames and look after "decayed" seamen. They were instrumental in setting up the Royal Navy, provided ships for The Armada and raised money by charging for ballastage.  The first offshore lighthouse ( Eddystone) was candle powered but this changed to wood or coal and then oil before electricity took over. Light vessels were introduced in 1732. They remained neutral and unarmed during WW1 but nevertheless lost 81 people to enemy action. 50 vessels were sunk by U boats in WW2.

By 1998, all lighthouses were fully automated and run by solar power centres are now left at Harwich, London, St Just and Swansea. Scotland and Ireland are separate. It is the largest endowed maritime charity.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday 6th October 2016 at 8pm at Rushden
Village Hall when the talk will be on A Day in the Life of an Airline Pilot.

THE TRINITY LIGHTHOUSE - 7 July 2016

After April's fascinating talk on the life of a spitfire pilot we are looking forward to our next talk on Thursday July 7th when Carl Lumbers will be talking about the work of The Trinity Lighthouse. The meeting begins at 8pm and we ask everyone to bring along village concerns and details of village events. Afterwards there will be time for soft drinks and homemade nibbles and a chance to chat to friends. Cost is £4 a session or £10 for a year's membership.

THE LIFE OF A SPITFIRE PILOT - 7 April 2016

Village Link on Thursday 7th April There was a chance to learn about the life of a Spitfire pilot.

John Dingeman's took some photos, click here.

The Royal Household - 1 October 2015

A packed hall greeted Mr Graham Craker, popularly known as Crackers at the latest Village Link meeting. He was Princes William and Harry's personal security officer and had some very amusing tales to tell about his time with the family and the characters that made up the Royal Household, whilst never letting us forget the serious nature of his work.

There will now not be a meeting until next year when the first meeting will be in March. The speaker and date are still to be confirmed.

Medical Detection Dogs - 2 July 2015

Village Link's talk on Medical Detection Dogs required extra chairs for the people who had come to find out more about this fascinating medical advance. Geoff Lambert, the speaker introduced us to Buddy, a retired medical dog and warned us that he would probably be checking our breath afterwards for sugar overload from the biscuits, that was if he didn't eat them first. We were amazed at how these dogs can be used. At present they are a major support for children with type 1 diabetes and also for people with narcolepsy. Mongrels are used and it costs £11,000 to train a dog. They are dedicated to the detection of human disease through canine olfaction. A dog's sense of smell is estimated to be 100,00 times more sensitive than a human's. They are trained by learning to recognise glasses of water and their contents but owners have also said that dogs are aware when they have illnesses such as cancer and work is continuing along these lines including bladder, bowel, prostate and breast. They are now legally allowed in schools and in Holland stand at hospital entrances to sniff out C Difficil. If the dog sits down you are a carrier! Other diseases recognised are Addison's and TB. If you would like to learn more visit their website or write to geofflambert2@ntlworld.com 


Our next meeting will probably be in October and the speaker will be Princes William and Harry's former Protection Officer.