Society BBQ – 28th June 2025

With the support of the committee and permission of the Parish Council, a team was set up consisting of members Jo Southgate, Steve Floodgate, John Archer, Mike Rushton, James Savage and Keith Rickard to plan and arrange the Society BBQ for 2025.

On the 28th June 2025 CMHASD held it's annual BBQ and what a superb BBQ it was too - glorious weather, expertly cooked food, games galore and fantastic company all made for a great event.

The team set up from 11:45, with assembly of two gazebos (one for food/drink and the other for games), and outdoor games. Steve, Jo and John set up their respective barbecues and very soon all was ready!

 

After a fantastic lunch… it was time for games! Kicking off with a round of croquet, then an old school party game ‘Pass the parcel’, but with forfeits as well as prizes. It was a ‘mashup’ of charades, pass-the-parcel, film/tv/book quiz and (reverse) tag! and was enjoyed by all who played.

After tea and cakes… It was time for, pin the tail on the dinosaur! Contestants had to be blindfolded and spun around and disoriented!  It was great fun and a lot of laughs were had watching members try and pin the tail on the dinosaur.

[ngg src="galleries" ids="91" display="basic_slideshow"]THANK YOU! To all the wonderful members who worked so hard to give us an amazingly enjoyable day!!! A HUGE round of applause and slaps on backs all-round! AND, thank you to all those who attended and made the BBQ so much fun… Let’s all hope there is another BBQ in 2026?

BAA Winchester Weekend – 11th to 13th April 2025

                        The CMHASD crew 2025

Member Diane Clarke wrote ''Over the weekend of 11 – 13 April 2025 several members of the CMHASD attended the BAA Winchester weekend at Sparsholt College. The event was well attended with approximately 120 members of the BAA.  The weekend started with a talk about the BepiColumbo mission from Professor David Rothery and ended with a presentation of “The Winchester Report” by Crayford’s very own 'Men in Brown Coats'.

The Alfred Curtis memorial lecture “We are made of star stuff” was given by Professor Dame Joycelyn Bell Burnell. The Professor’s presentation included same exam answers from American students such as – “H20 is hot water” & “CO2 is cold water” as well as – “Water is composed of two gins Oxygin & Hydrogin” Oxygin is pure gin, “Hydrogin is water & gin”

After the lecture She took some questions, and is seen here answering a two-part question from member John Archer, the first part of John’s question - “How does one address Dame Jocelyn” to which the reply was “Jocelyn”.

Before Joycelin gave the lecture the BAA president Ms Janice McClean read from the late Storm Dunlop’s appreciation of the life of Alfred Curtis 1901 -1976 to give the attendees an illustration of who he was.

Alfred “Alf” Curtis lived in Winchester, he was a fellow of the RAS and started the BAA “Winchester Weekend” which was originally held at King Alfreds College now known as The University of Winchester.  The first weekend taking place in 1967 with 56 attendees.  The weekends proved so popular that by 1976 the number had risen to 242, so the BAA relocated from King Alfreds to Sparsholt Collage in 2007.

There were also presentations from:

Professor Tony Freeth talking about the Antikythera Device.

Prof Mike Edwards delivered a lecture on the chemical makeup of other worlds.

Prof Boris Gänicke spoke about how Worlds will end including the end of the Earth when the Sun swells to become a red giant.

There was also a talk about the current range of “Smart Telescopes” given by Mr Steve Knight.

Professor Lucie Green gave a presentation about observing solar eclipses from space with the ESA PROBA 3 pair of satellite’s that were launched on the 05.12.24 and is currently going through various test phases before first light is received.

 

During the members session on Sunday afternoon, there were several contributions including:

Mark Radice’s presentation about stargazing in Namibia.

Nicky Fleet asking when is a Shower “not a Shower” related as to how the popular press promote meteor events such as the Perseid’s

“The Winchester Report” given by CMHASD members David Grist, Steve Floodgate & Gary Hunt.

All in all, a very varied and packed Winchester weekend.''

 

Below is a slideshow of photos and images members took of the weekend.

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CMHASD Society Meal – 15th Feb 2025

On Saturday 15th Feb 2025 CMHASD held their annual Society Meal.  A large contingent of members ventured to the Chequers in the drizzle, to be met with a warm welcome and a splendid evening of food, drink and merriment. Credit to the Chequers team front of house and in the kitchen for their efforts as everything went off very well indeed :-) and a big Thank you to Malcolm Gough and John Archer for organising the event.

Below are a few photos taken of the super evening.

 

CMHASD Christmas Quiz – 2024

CMHASD members David Grist and Steve Floodgate pulled out all the stops to provide a night of head scratching, puzzlement and fun.  Thank you Dave & Steve for all your hard work & effort creating the quiz.  It was a great night and we are all looking forward to the next one!

Chairman John Archer wrote ''The Christmas Quiz was a great success – the men in brown coats did a splendid job and there was a very wide range of astronomy-related questions to contend with. Thank you Steve and Dave for the time you put into it, and to those who recorded the questions for those who couldn’t join us on the night.''

Congratulations to Neil Webster for winning the best Christmas jumper :-)

Congratulations to the winning team 'Positive Thinking' :-)

CMHASD BBQ – 31st August 2024

On Saturday 31st August 2024 CMHASD held a BBQ for its members.  Below are a selection of photos & videos of the BBQ shared by members and an account of the event written by member Gary Hunt.  

''In the closing days of the summer of 2024, and after a three-year interregnum, CMHASD were determined to reinstate the annual summer BBQ. After judicious planning and a little dash of hope, it was decided to hold the event in the afternoon/evening of Saturday 31st August.

The suggestion was well received by the membership and with the support of the committee and permission of the Parish Council, a small planning group was set up of Sonia Rubie, Steve Floodgate, John Archer, Mike Rushton, Diane Clarke, and Jo Southgate. Preparation was in good hands, and I can confirm that joyous industry was carried-out by our hardworking heroes!

Sadly the weather forecast from earlier in the week was less than accurate, and we had our BBQ under cloud and just the odd spot of rain. However, CMHASD members are a hardy lot, and this wasn’t going to spoil our fun… no siree!

The team set up from 11:30, after accessing the Pavilion, with assembly of two gazebos (one for food/drink and the other for games), and outdoor games. Steve (F), Jo and John (A) set up their respective barbecues and very soon all was ready!

Most people arrived after 14:00, and the feast was easily a repast for the whole BAA, not just CMHASD, indeed, there was so much food left, it was saved and used on the following Thursday for another successful astronomical quiz created by the redoubtable MC…Sonia!

It is worth noting that several members of the public approached and engaged members, to see why we were having so much fun… I would suggest that at least a few visitors went away with some thought of checking us out?

After a fantastic lunch… it was time for games! Kicking off with several rounds of croquet, there was savage competition amongst members, whatever you think of how members played, it wasn’t cricket😆!

There was also a target sheet put up and compressed air rockets were aimed at the targets… to be honest, most members preferred to play, how high can I stamp the rocket, resulting in some near misses with other members!

One of the more popular games was introduced by Steve Goldson, a Finnish skittle game called ‘Mölkky’ and is pronounced “milkay”… The competition amongst members was fierce, with many finding unique and ‘mystery ball’ ways of tossing the baton and getting the points!

Sonia, then started some old school party games, including ‘Pass the parcel’, but with forfeits as well as prizes. It was a ‘mashup’ (I am known for being hip… man!), of charades, pass-the-parcel, music quiz and (reverse) tag! Sonia had created a monster of a game that had two sessions, and was loved by all!

 

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After ice cream donated by an anonymous, but rather charming and good-looking member, and some lovely fruit-salad and cakes… It was time for, pin the alien on the spaceship! This was real fun, with, I would add some jeopardy, as contestants had to be blindfolded and spun around (to music!) and disoriented… Again this was real kid style fun, that appealed to the most ‘senior’ (think OLD!), of members…

Sadly, the weather was being uncooperative, and members feeling distinctly ‘chilled’ (in both senses!), cleared up and made our way to our respective homes (…maybe?🤣) just as it was dusk…

I think I am safe to say, the day was enjoyed by ALL! I believe I am speaking on behalf of all those present, THANK YOU! To all the wonderful members who worked so hard and creatively to give us an amazingly enjoyable day!!! A HUGE round of applause and slaps on backs all-round! AND, thank you to all those who attended and made the BBQ so much fun… Let’s all hope there is another BBQ in 2025?''

The Society would like to thank those members who shared their photos & videos and to Gary for his written account.  Thank you.

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