This is our traditional evening to come and talk about any gadgets you have which includes anything from software, devices, toys, tools, cameras and even culinary items have been demonstrated sometimes. It is also our Party evening so we usually have something interesting to eat by way of Christmas Fare. I think Gareth has already bagged the Mince Pie slot!
This is also now become a firm favourite evening when we find out where everyone has been on holiday or what their other interests are. It can also include using a new editor for stills or video.
Michael began by showing us shots of his trip to China which was extremely interesting. He had visited the Great Wall of China and the Summer Palace the and the Dragon Wall. Moving on to Beijing he had been to Tiananmen Square, the Emperor's Palace and Forbidden City. It is a very different world to the West. He also went on a fast train (300km/hr) across country to see the Terracotta Army which is quite amazing in its detail and size it dates form the the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang 210 BC . They finished with a visit to a wild life park and saw white tiger. meerkats, elephants and giraffe.
Gareth had been to the Royal Mail museum and had a ride on the post office railway - now used only as a tourist attraction. He had also done a trip to a rally in his demountable camper van and been up the east coast to Whitby and Robin Hood Bay. Eventually visiting Scotland again to Loch Lomond and Loch Ness and through a series of locks including the Falkirk wheel which lifts one boat up in a sealed section of canal as another is descending.
Also we learnt of Gareth's cake making prowess cooking on his camping stove.
We welcomed Clive on his first visit to us who showed pictures of his Fiat Ducatoo camper van complete with satellite dish 2.8 metre high so it will still go under bridges without a problem. He also showed pictures of his local church installing new overhead projectors with very short throw and cabling. He said he was an organist at his church in Colchester and needed to upgrade it and install new wiring. He has visited the Isle of Lewis and had pictures of the ancient carved Lewis Chessmen (Uig) which were discovered in 12th Century made from Walrus ivory. He also visited Harris and was interested in the Jacquard looms for weaving which had been in some measure the precursors of modern computers.
He had also visited Eriskay and the granite war memorials.
We could not project Duncan's shots due to some memory fault so Peter went next. He showed pictures mainly from his visit to Barcelona with shots of the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Basilica built to Antoni Gaudi's design in 1882 but still being completed. An incredible design, different on each side. He had not been able to visit inside because it was necessary to get online tickets and he was with a group with limited time. He had also been to the Gaudi Park, which is also quite extraordinary and also still being embellished. Gaudi wanted to cover the walls , ceiling and seats with colourful mosaic designs, but as cheaply as possible, so he approach tile manufacturers for all their damaged tiles and used those. He had also visited the Freixenet Cava factory and cellars which go a hundred feet underground, with a little train to bring you back up. He showed a short video of this. They store millions of bottles of Cava of all different sizes there. They also vested Montserrat and lots of the Cathedrals and Basilicas in Catalonia, despite some rain even in Girona where they had to purchase ponchos. I mean who takes a raincoat to Spain?
He showed some of the street life in Barcelona and he famous La Rambla shopping street.
Quite a varied evening and interesting to see where people go on holiday.
We have now had a Committee meeting and the following programme has been generated, but as usual, if anyone would like to introduce a new topic instead we would be delighted to accommodate them.
| ICENI Future programme 2019/2020 | ||
| 2019 | ||
| December 18th | Gadgets and Party Evening | All |
| 2020 | ||
| January 15th | Winter Social Evening: Suggestions welcome. | All |
| February 19th | Chrome OS and Linux Apps. | All |
| March 18th | AI - Pattern recognition etc. | All |
| April 15th | Accounting Software | All |
| May 20th | AGM - Cloud Computing | All |
The Social evenings dates and venues are just suggestions at this stage.
Our meetings are held at the Bourne Vale Social Club, Halifax Road,
Ipswich IP2 8RE ,
for a map and other details please see the website. http://icenicomputerclub.org.uk
Membership fee currently £15, visitors free.
"ICENI does not have any Insurance cover for computers or other equipment so please be advised that you bring machines to the club at your own risk."
However many household insurance policies will include cover away from home often with no increase in premium. (Ed.)
Our website URL is
http://icenicomputerclub.org.uk
Email to: iceni@woolridge.org.uk
I am open to suggestions on what people would like to have included in the website. If anyone would like a copy of the CD of our old newsletters this could be arranged.