RHINEFIELD PROBUS CLUB Meeting Report – July 2016
What is it that the French lost to the English and as a result the rules of the game were changed??
The July talk at Rhinefield Probus was given by vine grower John Youles the owner of Bishops Waltham Vineyard on the subject of English Wines and this and other fascinating snippets came out.
Historically there were many vineyards in the UK attached to the monasteries which were tended by the monks. These however disappeared with the dissolution of the monasteries together with the expertise as the monks were dispersed.
Wine growing has however expanded in the UK over recent decades and there are now some 500 vineyards covering 3,000 acres. Conditions are not perfect however and late frost has been a problem in some years. Most vineyards are therefore in the more southern regions although vines have been discovered growing in Siberia but there is no evidence of any serious wine industry there!
The soil in Sussex is almost identical to that in the Champagne region and, with global warming, the grape varieties used in champagne, (pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meuniere) grow very well in that part of Southern England.
Using New World wine chemistry in the production process has resulted in excellent English sparkling wines. These have become world famous and in serious tastings have totally eclipsed French champagne.
So the answer to the earlier question is “sparkling wine”.
In International wine competitions the French always won the Sparkling Wine category with champagne. Then, as English growers became more experienced and their sparkling wines were more professionally produced, English sparkling wines began to take the top awards instead of French champagne. Quelle horreur!!
So a new category was inserted into the competitions called “Champagne”.
As no sparkling wine outside the Champagne area of France is allowed to call itself champagne as a result a French champagne won that category every time! A fairly hollow victory for the French over “les rosbifs”.
English wines continue to do well in the Sparkling Wines section of competitions and recently took the top award in an Italian competition with a sparkling rose wine.
Following the talk John offered a tasting of an English white wine grown in Beaulieu which was very well received.
Peter Parrott gave the vote of thanks.
Rhinefield Probus Meeting Report May 2016
In the north of Hampshire sitting in the beautiful Test Valley and with the crystal clear River Test running through the property is Laverstoke Mill home of the Bombay Sapphire Distillery where the world famous Bombay Sapphire Gin is distilled. This was the venue for a day visit of Rhinefield Probus Club in mid May.
A water powered mill has stood on this site for 1,000 years and the present mill was originally used to produce high quality paper and was built in the 1700’s with additions and modifications in subsequent centuries before being acquired by the owners of Bombay Sapphire Distillery. The latest and most dramatic addition is the Botanical Glasshouses designed by Thomas Heatherwick who was involved in design at the London Olympics and in the creation of The Rolling Bridge over The Grand Union Canal at Paddington.
A tour of the production facilities including the giant stills had been arranged and was led by a most experienced guide and, later, an interactive exercise enabled club members to individually blend the gin botanicals to their own specification in effect creating a personalised designer made gin ! This was followed by members selecting complimentary gin based cocktails that were enjoyed in the bright sunshine on the banks of the River Test.
Life does not get much better that that !
At the May meeting of members, Alan Jones a hypnotherapist gave a history and background to hypnotism in a talk entitled “Look into my eyes”.
It seems that everyone has experienced some form of hypnotism since being aged three but was unaware of it happening. Daydreams are a form of self hypnosis as is losing awareness of ones surroundings that often occurs when driving. So it is not an uncommon situation but most people have a fear of hypnosis – perhaps the thought of losing control of their actions.
Children are the easiest to hypnotise as they are more imaginative and willing to co-operate but whatever age the participant, the trance does not have to be induced by swinging keys or waving fingers. One of the most common ways used by hypnotherapists is conversational hypnosis where the cadences in the voice lull the client into a sleep like condition.
The real breakthrough in the understanding of the mind came when an Austrian called Sigmund Freud divided the mind into conscious and subconscious states. Conscious being the normal state of thinking and reacting when awake but the subconscious being the driver of the mind which can be worked upon by hypnotherapists to cure people of phobias, bad habits or remove unpleasant past memories.
John Forster gave the vote of thanks for a most stimulating and thought provoking talk.
Rhinefield Probus Meeting Report March 2016
March Meeting
English history is a fascinating subject which is taught and studied throughout the world and tales of kings and queens, crusades, wars and explorers were part of our schooldays.
We remember the larger than life figures of the past Henry VIIIth, Raleigh, Cromwell and so on, but do we ever hear about less flamboyant individuals who in their own dedicated way helped form the society we enjoy today yet remain virtually unknown even in the local area they represented.
One such figure was the subject of a most intriguing talk given to Rhinefield Probus in March by Shirley Critchley.
It covered the story of a local titled landowner who, in his life was deeply involved in the then new world of motoring and, amongst other things by becoming a member of Parliament, organised the registration system for that new invention, the motor car, doubled the speed limit for the drivers of cars (from five to ten miles per hour would you believe), created the first national motoring organisation and gave rise to an image defining quality which survives to this day.
His name was John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu.
Like many of his contemporaries of the time he was educated at Eton and then went to New College, Oxford where he continued the rowing he had begun at Eton and helped his college to win the Head of the River.
After Oxford he spent a year working in the sheds of The London and South Western Railway where he became a practical engineer and a qualified steam train driver but it was the motor car to which became his true passion – apart that is, from The Spirit of Ecstasy – more of which later!
John Douglas-Scott-Montagu entered politics by becoming an MP for The New Forest constituency in 1895 and held the seat for the next ten years when, after the death of his father in 1905 he succeeded him in the barony and entered the House of Lords.
John, Lord Montagu, married Lady Cecil Kerr in 1889 with whom he had children but he became involved with Eleanor Velasco Thornton an actress and model.
She became his mistress and bore him a daughter. He persuaded the sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes to create a mascot for his Rolls Royce using Eleanor as the model. This was originally called The Whisper and was precursor to The Spirit of Ecstasy that was adopted by Rolls Royce and has adorned almost every Rolls Royce car since 1911.
On December 30th 1915 Lord Montagu was travelling on SS Persia through the Mediterranean with Eleanor Thornton when the ship was torpedoed and sank.
He survived but Eleanor was drowned along with hundreds of others.
John, 2nd Baron Montagu died in March 1929.
Skittles
On the social side many members and their wives enjoyed an evening of skittles at Hoburne Park near Christchurch on 8th of March