In his talk Richard will take us through the history of dam building from the splendid beginning in antiquity around five thousand years ago, some twenty miles south of Cairo, through to modern designs. He will describe the various dam structures that have been designed and constructed through history, from earth embankments, masonry dams, and concrete, arch, gravity, and buttress dams and explain in layman’s terms the background of their successful engineering. He will provide illustrations from around the world of these various dam types and how the engineer controls the flow of water for irrigation, hydropower, navigation, and public water supply, touching on their environmental and societal implications. Richard will include a background of various major incidents with dams around the world and, on the other hand, their importance and how much society relies for their wellbeing on these major structures. He will also describe how the UK ensures the safety of its dams.

The ‘Daniel Adamson’ is the North West’s Art Deco steamship, rescued by the passion and skill of a volunteer force who run the project and operate the vessel today. Volunteers with a huge range of skills helped restore and now run the ship, and members support it. The resultant community supports wellbeing, operates as a bulwark against isolation, and remains open to all. The Danny is a living and working museum piece maintained to the highest standards with public access wherever and whenever possible.

The Life and Loves of an Elizabethan Maid of Honour. Mary was the daughter of Edward Fitton of Gawsworth who became one of Queen Elizabeth I's favourites but went on to cause outrage at the court of Queen Elizabeth. Some say she is Shakespeare's 'Dark Lady of the Sonnets. Tony Bostock has a large repertoire of presentations, and is probably the best known and most prolific reseacher of stories about historic Cheshire, and Family Histories. We welcome him back for the third time in recent years.

Alan is one of our regular and most popular speakers. He lives locally and has the most incredible library of memories/stories of Battlefield and Wars. He regularly leads tours to battlefields and is involved at National Level with Commemorations/Celebrations. He is going to talk about the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This national organisation has many facets. It cares for 23,000 locations in 150 countries looking after sites, memorials, cemeteries and headstones. It is probably one of the largest horticultural operations worldwide, encompassing all the World’s ecosystems and climates, each with their unique challenges. I’ve seen at first hand the work they do. I think our most memorable site is the cemetery at El Alamein, where local people tend the graves and memorials in the most beautiful way, with lines of roses and trimmed bushes of red bougainvillea. The CWGC are currently renovating the Menin Gate at Ypres, and the British Cemetery at Loos, both with connections to the men from our village who died in Belgium & France in WWI. We have eight Commonwealth Graves in the churchyard at St James’. Six of the traditional CWGC pattern, but two very unusual ones.

Park in the Past is an exciting and innovative heritage and conservation project that aims to create a totally unique heritage attraction and vital community resource. Set in an ancient Welsh landscape, the park comprises 120 acres of outstanding natural beauty offering woodlands and wetlands, a magnificent 35-acre lake and the gorgeous River Alyn, as well as wonderful walks and spacious fields. We need your help to build an amazing prehistoric realm and a full-scale Roman fort and Celtic village. Explore and experience your heritage – the landscape of your ancestors.

I plan to have a visit to the Park in the Past site, either on Wednesday evening April 30th or on another day, possibly a Saturday to be agreed by the membership. This is an exciting new development as described above.