Extras that did not make it into the printed magazine for Feb 2019.
- Make A Wish UK
- Anvil Arts
- Basingstoke Discovery Centre
- Basingstoke Civil Service Retirement Fellowship
- Linguatastic
- Basingstoke Lions Club Post Christmas Monthly Report
- Probus Notes About Nato
Make-A-Wish grants life-changing wishes to children with critical illnesses. Whether it’s starring in their own films, walking with dinosaurs, going on an amazing holiday, meeting a celebrity hero, or having a bedroom makeover; our wishes are varied, personal and life-changing. We go above and beyond to grant amazing wishes to very amazing children; their One True Wish made a reality at a time when they need it most. Because a child’s life shouldn’t be about illness, hospitals and diagnosis – it should be about wonder, joy and hope.
We’ve seen the effects a wish can have on a seriously ill child: from creating incredible memories, building confidence and bringing happiness, to providing respite from the daily struggles that come with a critical illness. We know what wishes can give, and this is the driving force behind why we continue to do what we do.
Last year, we granted life-changing wishes to more than 900 children and young people here in the UK. Every month, hundreds more children turn to us.
In 2017 Make-A-Wish granted 102 wishes in the Hampshire region and I would like the opportunity to come and talk about the work we are doing in the local community.
To arrange a talk please contact me – Ryland Lee on 01256 467315
Sat 2 Feb, 7.30pm
The Anvil
Nish Kumar
It’s in Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves
There will be jokes about politics, mankind’s capacity for self-destruction, and if this will lead to the end of days; good fun stuff!.
TICKETS: £25.50
TICKET PRICES INCLUDE £3 BOOKING FEE
Suitable ages 16 and over
Sun 3 Feb, 7.45pm
The Anvil
St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Violinist Sergei Dogadin joins the orchestra for a programme that includes Mussorgsky’s Dawn on the Moscow River, Shostakovich’s Violin Concert no 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no 5. Conducted by Yuri Temirkanov.
TICKETS: £41, £37, £30, £23, £15; Under 25s and f/t students £11
TICKET PRICES INCLUDE £3 BOOKING FEE
Fri 7-Sun 10 Feb, 10.30am & 1.30pm
The Haymarket
Room on the Broom
Live on Stage
Songs, laughs and spooky fun in this fantastic treat as the witch and her cat fly off on an adventure on their broomstick.
TICKETS: £14.50
TICKET PRICES INCLUDES £2 BOOKING FEE
Suitable for ages 3 and over
Sat 9 Feb, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
The Anvil
Sing-a-Long-a The Greatest Showman
Cheer on Hugh Jackman and hiss Rebecca Ferguson as you experience The Greatest Showman in the best possible way – with lyrics on the screen so you can join in and sing along as loud as you like.
TICKETS: £18; under 16s £14.50
TICKET PRICE INCLUDES £3 BOOKING FEE
Tue 12-Thu 14 Feb, 7.30pm
Thu 2pm
The Haymarket
The Nightmare Room
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, adapted by John Goodrum
A deliciously dark thriller from a tale by the master of terror and mystery, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. When Helen regains consciousness, she finds herself bound and blindfolded in a locked room. Her captor, best friend Catherine, challenges her to a deadly game of Russian roulette to decide which of them will win the handsome film star they both desire.
TICKETS: Tue-Thu £23, 2pm £20; over 65s £2 off, under 16s and f/t students £14
TICKET PRICE INCLUDES £3 BOOKING FEE
Tue 19-Wed 20 Feb, 4pm
Wed, 10am & 1pm
The Anvil
Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom
Live on Stage
Join Ben and Holly, and their friends on this exciting, enchanting and magical musical adventure packed full of games, songs and laughter. This beautiful story of elves, princesses and childhood innocence will delight all the family.
TICKETS: £18; under 16s £16
TICKET PRICES INCLUDES £2 BOOKING FEE
Suitable for ages 3 and over
The Russian State Ballet of Siberia, accompanied by The Russian State Ballet Orchestra
The Anvil
Mon 25 Feb, 7.30pm
Swan Lake
Tue 26 Feb, 7.30pm
La Fille mal gardée
Wed 27 Feb, 7.30pm
The Nutcracker
The Russian State Ballet of Siberia has established itself as one of Russia’s leading ballet companies and has built an international reputation for delivering performances of outstanding quality and unusual depth. The soloists and corps de ballet are superb, and never fail to delight audiences with their breathtakingly physical ability and dazzling costumes.
TICKETS: £42.50, £37.50, £35; Under 16s £20, Over 65s and f/t students £3 off (excluding top ticket price)
TICKET PRICE INCLUDES £3 BOOKING FEE
Wed 27 Feb, 7.30pm
The Haymarket
LipService present
Strangers on a Train Set
Challenging a youth to turn down his music, Irene Sparrow finds herself under suspicion of murder after the train emerges from a tunnel with the young man dead. But this is no ordinary train, with each passenger reading a book and each book a portal into a parallel universe of train-related crime fiction. With clever use of projection and multiple train sets, LipService give you a whistle-stop tour that will leave you breathless and racing for the refreshment coach..
TICKETS: £17.50
TICKET PRICES INCLUDE £3 BOOKING FEE
Suitable for ages 8 and over
Thu 28 Feb, 7.30pm
The Anvil
Dr Michael Mosley
In this informative evening, Dr Michael Mosley, the man behind the 5:2 Diet, will explore common health myths and offer fascinating insights into the workings of the human body.
TICKETS: £26.50
TICKET PRICE INCLUDES £3 BOOKING FEE
Basingstoke Discovery Centre
Main Events
Flying the Vulcan – a personal perspective
Tuesday 5 February, 2pm / £4
Another opportunity to hear Joe Marsden’s sell out talk from last year. Flying higher than airliners at nearly the speed of sound, manoeuvring at five times the force of gravity and under radar at heights lower than a church tower, Squadron Leader Joe Marsden burned 1000 gallons of fuel per hour in iconic Vulcan bombers and flew through nuclear fallout. He has a wealth of facts and anecdotes of his 29 years in the RAF during the Cold War period.
Alfred the Great: his life through archaeology, artefacts and places
Tuesday 26 February, 2pm / £4
Find out about the life of King Alfred the Great (probably born around 849AD, died 899AD), thought the places, people and key artefacts associated with him throughout his life.
Adoption and Fostering Drop-in Evening
Thursday 21 February, 5pm – 8pm / FREE
The Finding Homes for Hampshire Children’s Team are hosting a free adoption and fostering information event. Drop in for an informal chat and they will be on hand to answer any questions and help you take the next step along your journey.
Children’s Events
We love Happy Potter!
Saturday 16 February, Starts 10am /3+/ FREE
Calling all Muggles, Witches and Wizards. Grab your broomstick, dragon* or portkey and come on in for a magical morning of spell-tastic activities. We will be celebrating the one-and-only Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with a craft activity, Dobby’s missing sock trail and much more.
* Dragons must be left outside of the library for the duration of the event.
The Rubbish Monster Thing
Tuesday 19 February: 1pm / FREE
Join Simon Chadwick as he reads his new children’s book, The Rubbish Monster Thing, and other stories he’s written or illustrated. This bright and colourful book packed with rhyme is an exciting book to snuggle up and share. Discovery a story of friendship and waste prevention in this children’s tale. Then take part in some interactive drawing at Simon creates Rubbish Monsters and Litterbugs with the children’s help, and there is also a chance for the children to draw their own. A fun and friendly event for pre-school children and primary-aged children.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
21 February: 1.30pm and 3pm/ ages 2 – 6 / £3.75
The little caterpillar has had a busy week eating all the food in the garden. When it builds a small house and falls asleep something very magical happens… Come and join in with the magic as Amanda from Merry-go-Round Storytelling brings this classic to life with songs and storytelling and lots of imaginative fun! A 45-minute interactive storytelling workshop. Parents/carers must remain with their children during this session.
Family Chess Coaching
Saturday 23 February, 10am – 1pm / FREE
David Graham and members of the Basingstoke Junior Chess Club will be visiting to offer hints, tips and guidance for complete beginners as well as players with some knowledge and experience.
Learning in Libraries at Basingstoke Discovery Centre
Create Paint
29th January – 12 March, Tuesdays, 4pm – 6pm /£60
A six week course including two weeks of watercolour painting, 2 weeks of acrylic painting and 2 weeks of mixed media.
Sewing for All
30 January – 13 February, Wednesdays, 9.30am – 1.30pm / £60
A 3 week course.
Get more from your iPad
Tuesday 12 February, 10am – 4pm /£30
A one-day course.
Hampshire County Council
Basingstoke Discovery Centre
Festival Place Shopping Centre
Basingstoke
RG21 7LS
01256 478670
Basingstoke Civil Service Retirement Fellowship
There were 49 members and 3 visitors at the first meeting of the year on 9th January who were welcomed by David Cowling, the Chairman, who then went on to give apologies and welcome back those who had not been able to come for a while. Christine Broadbent, the Welfare Officer, gave her report after which Tony Brazier, the Secretary, reminded everyone who were Social Members that subscriptions for the coming year were now due. He also said that the planned trip to the Postal Museum would not go ahead due to lack of numbers, but the trip to the Theatre Royal at Winchester on Wednesday 20th March to see “The Verdict” was already fully booked.
The speaker this month was Dan Allen from the Victorian Military Society who gave a talk titled “What did you do in the war Granny?” He gave a history of women serving in the armed forces which started in 1881 when the Women’s Army Nursing Service was formed and sent 80 women, who had to be over 25 and single or widowed, to serve in the Boer War. When Queen Victoria died in 1901 the name was changed to the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (now the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps). There were a number of unofficial groups that sprang up including the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (the FANY’s), a volunteer group of women who rode on horseback to tend to soldiers injured in the front line before they were taken to hospital. The Women’s Legion, the Women’s Land Army, the Women’s Forage Corps and the Women’s Forestry Corps all served by doing jobs that would otherwise have had to be done by men. In 1917 the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (later named the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps) was founded to amalgamate all the women’s groups and under Dr Mona Chalmers Watson, the first Chief Controller and senior officer, over 57,000 women served between January 1917 and November 1918 before it was disbanded in 1921. Dan illustrated his talk with many photographs and quotes from members of the Corps which gave an insight into the varied types of work they carried out.
The next meeting is on 6th February when Brian Graham is coming to give a demonstration of candle making. The group meets on the first Wednesday of each month at Brookvale Village Hall from 10 am to 12 noon and all retired Civil Servants and their partners are welcome. Details can be obtained from the Secretary Tony Brazier on 07715 640171 and for information about our trips please contact Kate Lambeth on 01256 328791.
So, we are now well and truly into the new term and the children (and adults) are, as ever, not only learning the languages of other countries, but also about different cultures and traditions.
This month, some of our groups will be learning about Candlemas. It is a Christian festival celebrated in a number of countries, including Spain. There, it is celebrated with amongst other things, parades and feasts to honour the day that Mary and Joseph are said to have taken Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after his birth. The “Feast of Candles” is also a reminder of the light of baby Jesus and represents a time of purification. The date is also symbolic, marking the dead of winter with a promise of the soon to arrive spring.
In the towns and villages of Madrid, one can see clowns dressed as farmers push around fake young bulls made of wood with two horns while the “bullfighters” dressed in bright silk trousers with lassos and paper flowers perform mock bullfights. In the evening, in the town centre, the makeshift bull is “killed” and the town celebrates by drinking sangria, symbolising the blood of the bull.
In a town called Pobra de Trives, Ourense, people celebrate the Festa dos Chourizos (Sausage Festival) in honour of the Candlemas. It is said that the bonfires on which they cook the homemade sausages symbolise huge candles.
In Almonacid del Marquesado (Cuenca), the Candlemas is celebrated with a parade of hundreds of participants dressed in colourful devil outfits.
In Menasalbas (Toledo), one can find riders on horseback and 22 others carrying torches through town (again, fitting in with the theme of light).
I wonder how many readers might be up to something as exciting on 2nd February??!!
Basingstoke Lions Club Post Christmas Monthly Report
I was boring the pants off my Peruvian/ Scottish/ New Zealander eldest son by moaning about my total lack of success when trying to recruit you, dear reader, to our Club. His advice (always sound) was to take a leaf out of the standard Sales and Marketing Techniques manual viz. “Sell them a lie to get them to buy!”
So, as being boringly truthful hasn’t worked, let’s see how you respond to something a little more imaginative.
Of course, the real reason we have such a high attendance rate at our business meetings isn’t at all to do with enjoying each other’s company. It’s to do with alternating performances by Eastern Nautch Dancers and Australian Male Strippers. This combination seems to find favour with all persuasions.
And, of course, the monthly dinner meetings are just another excuse for drunken debauchery. Roman bacchanalia is child’s play compared with what our Dinner Secretary manages to dream up – larks’ tongues and badgers ear lobes served in a garlic and aspidistra sauce is a firm favourite with real spotted dick to follow and all washed down with a mead-e-ochre ale.
And then, of course, we have our fundraising ventures. Alas, the use of public stocks to punish backsliders is no longer allowed. Our version of it, the Lions’ Den, while seemingly innocuous, has on occasion proved fatal when a golf ball hit with excessive force has lodged in the gullet of the miscreant pinned down behind the Lion’s mouth. And our musical entertainments are often quite reminiscent of Robert Burns famous “Tam o Shanter”. You know, the bit where Tam is overcome by lust at the sight of the semi–naked cavortings of the witches coven and calls out “Weel done, Cutty-sark!” and is then pursued by the coven for his pains.
Yes, it’s a great life in the Lions. But you must demonstrate a real talent for mischief to be accepted!
Of course, by the time you read this, the season of goodwill to multinational shareholders will be well and truly over and you will have sunk into the prolonged hangover engendered by your Christmas credit card bill. Serves you right! Intelligent people do not continually repeat their mistakes. But, I ask you, what will you be doing in eleven months’ time?
Instead, join us and we’ll make sure you don’t have the time to engage in this “shopping” nonsense, and your credit card balance will be the best present you’ve ever had!
The foregoing has been written with absolutely no regard whatsoever for the high ethical and moral standards espoused by the Advertising Standards Authority.
For further details please click here