LAST Wednesday one of our own colleagues, Jack Heathcote, presented our members with a truly first class slide show. Jack, a member of the local camera club, proved that his knowledge of photography was something very special.

Jack's first batch of slides took us to Scotland. We saw some of the beautiful castles and their well kept gardens, the lochs and the mountains. At Spean Bridge we saw the impressive war memorial to all the commandos who lost their lives in the Second World War. The surrounding ragged terrain was their training ground. Member Len Mears said that during the war, serving on a motor gunboat with coastal forces, he had attended the commando unit as part of his training, and on one occasion, with full equipment, had climbed the 4,400 feet Ben Nevis. Mist on the summit denied him the magnificent view.

From Scotland, Jack took us to Portmeirion in Wales, where we saw gardens designed by William Ellis, who was given a knighthood for his outstanding contribution to the beauty of the area and his architecture covering 70 acres of lakes and woodland. Jack had spent some time walking in the area, and we saw him with a group of climbers in Cader Idais and Snowdonia National Park.

Jack's final batch of slides was set to music by Richard Strouse, and we travelled by locomotive from Lake Como in Italy, across to Switzerland, looking out early in the morning onto the Dolomite mountains, the snow-capped peak of St Moritz, and the beauty of the waterfalls cascading down the mountainside.

Our president thanked Jack, and hoped he would return soon with more of his slides.

Our next meeting will be next Wednesday, March 16, at 2pm, when our guest speaker will be Frederic Hodson. His subject, Leather'.

T.N.