Page 7 - January February 2014

Division Diary
continued
SOUTHERN (D&H – DORSET/
HANTS)
HO Bearwood Group
Bearwood Community Centre, King John Avenue, Bournemouth BH11 9TF. Contact John Curtis for further details, 01202 579997.
Gosport Group (Solent Sub-Division)
The Group meets on the second Friday of each month at 7.30 pm. In addition there are Running Meets eight times a year at St Mary’s Parish Centre, Green Road, Alverstoke, Hants PO12 2ET with N Scale modular, HO and On30 layouts. Further details at www.freewebs.com/ gosportrailroadgroup or call Allan Dobson on 02392 428564 or Steve Randell on
01489 583753 or 07776 421636. Alternatively e-mail on gosportrailroadgroup@gmail.com
THAMES VALLEY
American Section meetings are every Monday at 7.30 pm. Further details from: Dave Fryer 01494 439755 or Peter Smith petersmith1942@hotmail.com
Tel. 01494 864833
Reading Group
Contacts: Mike Ingham, Telephone 0118 987 2707 email michael@theinghams.com Robin Swan Telephone 0118 979 2448 email robin.swan@btinternet.com
Other Groups with NMRA Members
The WUT Group (part of North London SME), Legion Way, off Summers Lane, North Finchley, London N12 0QQ.
Meets every Wednesday evening. Contact Rai Fenton (020 8529 7307) rjfen@raisig. demon.co.uk.
Derek Frow meets: first Wednesday of the month evening gatherings 7.30 pm at Derek’s home: 1 Tyning Place, Combe Down, Bath, BA2 5HA.
Please phone David McLaughlin, on 07712 266918 or email david@mclross. co.uk so that numbers attending can be estimated.
On30 Fremo modular group Kathy Millatt 07891 187232 Kathymillatt@yahoo.co.uk Irregular get-togethers wherever convenient.
Served a purpose now it’s surplus:
a brief history of the D&H meets
The D&H Division was conceived in 1993 when the BOD decided to make the Region more local and to help keep the membership up and recruit new members.
At first Dorset was put with Devon, which would have left Cornwall on its own, so it was suggested we go with Hampshire and the IoW and so the division was formed.
I became the Rep and the first meet was at the Beacon Centre up the road from Limelights behind the Pilot pub on 5 Feb 1994. In October 95 we put on a side show of local layouts for the members attending the 50th year Convention at Sandbanks, who were ferried up and down by coach all day. We were competing with the local dance group for the hall so in ’97 we had to move to the Red Cross Hall in Corfe Mullen for a couple of years. After a while it was suggested we try Limelights as the Red Cross hall was not the best and they were putting up the rent, so our first meet was on 2 Oct 1999 and we have been there ever since, but still competing with a dance group. We have always had a strong local N­Trak group so an N­Trak layout was never a problem, but it took a long time to get an HO layout going. At first we had one called Cork Screw Canyon which needed a small lorry to move it as it was so heavy, but they got there in the end, and Bearwood is the outcome of all their hard work over the years and, like the Gosport group, now a Sub­Division and a great success. Local members have put on Conventions in 1993 and 1998, helped at the one in 1995, plus put on Winter and Summer meets and have given me great support over the last 20 years.
A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL RUSS
february 2014 7
Keith Webb photos of the last D&H meet, November 30 2013. Top: Russ Cook, and Sue, presented with awards to recognise their efforts in running the group