A very popular evening of friendly chat, a pub quiz, live entertainment and sharing music videos.

A great way to start the weekend. We get together online every Friday for a virtual pub evening ...
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Llangollen Canal - Saturday, 31st July 2021 for Seven Nights

Join MIVC members for a week’s canal cruise starting and ending in Middlewich, Cheshire. On Saturday, 31st July 2021, the Fjord Viscount and Stavanger Fjord will depart and head towards Llangollen. They will travel out then return by the same route. In all, there will be seven nights afloat.

The cost is £550 (including a £100 deposit). The price is overstated, so that the trip is viable with less than full occupation. Merseyside IVC will take no profit. To book, first contact the organiser, Nick Wilkinson, and he will provide the club’s bank details. The last time that Merseyside rented a canal boat, the crew all received a cash refund on the first day.

(Note 06OCT20 - Nick’s email is locked until 06NOV20, so please contact him via Facebook or telephone.)

In the wake of 2020’s cancelled cruise, a virtual cruise was made on the Intervarsity Club Outdoors page on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/177780525916602
Don’t forget to read from the bottom going up. It is the template for 2021.

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Corona Virus

The holiday market continues to change. In earlier years the MIVC was able to book late in the year before and secure boats for May. It was intended to book for May 2021, but in August 2020 the first availability was for the end of July 2021, almost 12 months in the future. It appears that many other people have decided on canal holidays.

The price has increased considerably compared with previous years. The main reason is that we now renting in peak season.

It is impossible to know what the corona virus regulations will be in August 2021. Each crewmember will be prioritised based on the date of his or her deposit. Thus, if groups are limited in number, those who booked first will travel.

The future is uncertain and all that we are able to say is that Merseyside IVC will not profiteer. If Merseyside IVC says that you may not travel, you will receive a full refund. If required, crewmembers are to arrange their own cancellation insurance.

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http://www.canaljunction.com/canal/llangollen.htm

https://www.canalguide.co.uk/canals/llangollencanal.html

https://llangollen.org.uk/

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Copied from http://www.andersenboats.com

The Llangollen Canal is justifiably one of the more popular boating holiday canals in Britain. Most of its route is through unspoilt agricultural countryside, but with just enough locks and waterside villages to add interest. As the canal winds its way into Wales, it also features outstanding scenery and some world famous aqueducts. There are also has several short tunnels on this canal, to add to the excitement.

Through rural Cheshire towards Wales

Leaving Middlewich by way of an arm of the Shropshire Union Canal, the route has fine views over the valley of the River Weaver before making its way directly through an area full of Shropshire's 'black and white cows' to the main line of the canal. Here a short deviation would take you to the 'black and white buildings' of Nantwich.

Turning off at Hurleston Junction, the Llangollen Canal itself then ascends a short flight of locks and sets off across open country, winding its way through Wrenbury under quaint old wooden lift bridges. It is worth pausing at Marbury for a short walk up to its remarkable church. As a bonus, several of the locks on this section have good pubs adjacent. At Willeymoor you don't have to walk at all, because there's a delightful pub slap bang alongside the lock.

Gradually you have become used to locks, but at Grindley Brook half a dozen come all at once, the top three being telescoped together as a 'staircase' which can be something of a bottleneck in the summer season, especially on Thursdays when all the boats that have travelled towards Llangollen from the English end of the canal are busily heading back to base. Boaters have been in the habit of taking a taxi or catching the bus from Grindley Brook into nearby Whitchurch, but part of the old arm which once led right into the town has been restored to provide visitor moorings, and it is difficult to resist mooring up here and walking into this interesting old country town, famous as a centre of cheese-making. In the heyday of the canal a special cheese boat left here daily for Manchester, its hold covered with white canvas to keep the cheese as cool as possible. Beyond Whitchurch there are no more locks for many miles, though there are a number of lift bridges to be raised and lowered with the same windlass you use for operating locks. 

Ellesmere on the Llangollen Canal

Passing briefly in and out of Wales, and crossing the mysteriously remote 'mosses' the canal reaches Shropshire's 'Lake District', skirting several of the charming meres which were formed hereabouts the end of the Ice Age.

One of them, Blake Mere, is separated from the canal by the slenderest of margins, and makes a beautiful spot for a picnic.

A short tunnel preceeds Ellesmere, a timeless old town with some particularly good shops specialising in local produce.

The town arm provides pleasant moorings near to the canal company's original workshops, still used by British Waterways as a maintenance base, and the staff here welcome enquiries from passing boaters.

Amazing Sights

At New Marton you pass through the last pair of locks on your way to Wales. Soon the canal is running parallel to the London-Holyhead road. Then it turns a wooded corner and you are confronted with two huge stone bridges, an aqueduct and a viaduct, carrying the canal and a railway respectively, across the valley of the River Ceiriog, from UK into Wales.

Border crossings don't come much more dramatic than this, especially as, on reaching the far side of the aqueduct, the canal plunges almost immediately into a long tunnel. From moorings at either end of this tunnel it's a short walk into the little town of Chirk, useful for shopping and with a 14th century castle to visit as well. The mountains, which have been simply pale outlines on the horizon, become more tangible as the canal slips into Offa's Dyke country.

World Heritage Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Winding through woodlands you come to the River Dee and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the most astonishing feat of waterway engineering anywhere in the world. The 18 kilometres of canal from Chirk to Llangollen was awarded World Heritage site status by Unesco in 2009. A hundred and twenty feet above the river, in an iron trough no wider than the width of you boat, crossing the aqueduct is tantamount to flying through mid air!

You could be forgiven for thinking that the last lap into Llangollen would be an anti-climax. It is nothing of the sort, as on a high shelf above the Vale of Llangollen and surrounded by high limestone ridges, the canal makes for its terminal wharf.

Exploring Llangollen

Twenty six hours cruising away from Middlewich, should leave you with plenty of time to explore some of Llangollen's well known attractions. Take a ride further on along the Dee Valley by steam train; visit Plas Newydd, where the Ladies of Llangollen were the centre of gossip in the 18th century; climb up to the ruins of Castell Dinas Bran, over a thousand feet above sea level; visit the Canal Exhibition Centre; stroll along the last two unnavigable miles of the canal to the famous Horseshoe Falls; or just wander about the charming streets of the town, grateful that you haven't got to find a parking space!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llangollen_Canal

We enjoy online socialising by getting together for a coffee evening using Zoom. IA nice way to wind down the weekend. We are regularly joined by folks from other IVC clubs and sometimes Meetups ...
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This event is hosted and arranged by William Vine, the Group Organiser for Winchester Cafe Scientifique.

Basingstoke IVC science enthusiasts invite you to this talk on a very interesting subject. The subject of this evenings talk is “Ten Days in Physics That Shook the World”.

WinCafeSci is Online, so if you missed a talk or would like to go over some of it again you can watch here on our YouTube channel.

If you would like to support, you can find the virtual PayPal sweetie jar (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/WinCafeSci)

Your participation provides the motivation to continue. Suggestions for future speakers are welcome.

Join the Zoom meeting here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84146541580?pwd=NjVxNTBUNFA0RDZncUtDSDhaTk9ZUT09#success

We have recently renewed our Zoom subscription for another 12 months. If you would like to contribute, you can find the link to our virtual sweetie jar below. Thanks.

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/wincafesci

A free Zoom account is great if you want to participate. If that is not for you, you can watch on YouTube Live from your normal browser.

SUMMARY
Physics informs our understanding of how the world works – but more than that, key breakthroughs in physics have transformed everyday life. We journey back to ten separate days in history to understand how particular breakthroughs were achieved, meet the individuals responsible and see how each breakthrough has influenced our lives. Each date and breakthrough focuses on discoveries that have had a practical impact on our day-to-day life.

Without Rudolph Clausius’ research in thermodynamics, we wouldn’t have fridges or air con and without Marie Curie’s discovery of polonium, we wouldn’t have life-saving radiotherapy treatments. We shouldn’t forget how Newton’s research into gravity has allowed us to use satellites for our Satnavs and put astronauts into space!

SPEAKER
Brian Clegg is a popular science writer whose Dice World and A Brief History of Infinity were both longlisted for the Royal Society Prize for Science Books. He has written for publications including Nature, The Times and BBC Focus.

You will need the Zoom client installed on your computer, tablet or phone.

Short video on using Zoom here:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hIkCmbvAHQQ?rel=0&autoplay=1&cc_load_policy=1

Only one ticket needed per screen. If you are sharing with someone, they don’t need a separate ticket.

We will open the meeting from 7pm so people can settle in, chat etc. There will be a break between talk and Q&A when people can chat etc. It's not the same as live but closer than I thought

A recording will be available after the event on YouTube.

Our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/wincafesci/?source_id=1457090591178602 provides an opportunity to share ideas and keep in touch. You are encouraged to post interesting science links and to comment or discuss.

Basingstoke IVC Science Cafe invite you to this free Royal Institution talk titled "This is your mind on plants"

ADVANCE BOOKING IS REQUIRED FOR THIS TALK.

Please register for the event via this link: 

https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2021/august/public-this-is-your-mind-on-plants

We will have the replay of the video available for 72 hours after the event for those of you that can’t make the date. It will also be uploaded to YouTube in the future.

SUMMARY

Humans have changed their consciousness with plants for millennia; from the legally and socially acceptable consumption of coffee and tea to plants that are criminalised, such as the opium poppy. In Michael Pollan's new book, 'This is your mind on plants' the renowned science writer asks: Why do we go to such great lengths to seek these shifts in consciousness, and then why do we fence that universal desire with laws and customs and fraught feelings?

Join Michael in conversation with writer and philosopher Jules Evans as they discuss these plants from several angles and contexts, and shine a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively—as a drug, whether licit or illicit. Michael will argue that by putting these plants into our bodies and letting them change our minds, we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can.

SPEAKER:

For more than thirty years, Michael Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in our minds. Pollan is the author of eight books, six of which have been New York Times bestsellers; three of them (including his latest, How to Change Your Mind) were immediate #1 New York Times bestsellers. 

Jules Evans is a practical philosopher. He researches ideas from different eras and cultures, then tries them out in life, and interviews others to see how ideas have helped or harmed them.

From Stoicism to CBT, from Aristotle to ayahuasca, Jules searches for the best wisdom to help people suffer less and flourish more.

A very popular evening of friendly chat, a pub quiz, live entertainment and sharing music videos.

A great way to start the weekend. We get together online every Friday for a virtual pub evening ...
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All the rooms we booked for the Edinburgh Festival Sat Aug 7th to Aug 14th 2021 are now taken - ...
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We enjoy online socialising by getting together for a coffee evening using Zoom. IA nice way to wind down the weekend. We are regularly joined by folks from other IVC clubs and sometimes Meetups ...
Click title for more details  

Basingstoke IVC Science Cafe invite you to this free Royal Institution talk titled "The recipe for our Universe"

ADVANCE BOOKING IS REQUIRED FOR THIS TALK.

Please register for the event via this link: 

https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/events-2021/august/public-the-recipe-for-our-universe

We will have the replay of the video available for 72 hours after the event for those of you that can’t make the date. It will also be uploaded to YouTube in the future.

SUMMARY:

What is matter really made of? How does the stuff around us escape annihilation in the fearsome heat of the Big Bang? And will we ever be able to understand the very first moments of our universe?

Using the latest experimental data from the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva and labs and observatories around the world, including a neutrino detector buried a kilometre under an Italian mountain to a gravitational wave detector nestled in the humid pine forest of Louisiana, particle physicist Harry Cliff will reveal what the newest findings tell us about the the fundamental ingredients of matter and their origins.

Harry's latest book, How to make an apple pie from scratch, is available from Pan Macmillan (UK), Amazon (international) and all good bookshops.

SPEAKER:

Harry Cliff is a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge working on the LHCb experiment, a huge particle detector buried 100 metres underground at CERN near Geneva. He is a member of an international team of around 1400 physicists, engineers and computer scientists who are using LHCb to study the basic building blocks of our universe, in search of answers to some of the biggest questions in modern physics.

The London IVC Linguists Group is meeting online for now and these meetings are proving very popular. Tonight will be for German speakers of all levels.

We will use Zoom. This is a friendly video conferencing package which is easy to use and lets you share video and chat with your friends and colleagues. John will be hosting this event and you should contact him by 9 August if you intend participating and you will be given the link.

Bis dann.

A very popular evening of friendly chat, a pub quiz, live entertainment and sharing music videos.

A great way to start the weekend. We get together online every Friday for a virtual pub evening ...
Click title for more details  

We enjoy online socialising by getting together for a coffee evening using Zoom. IA nice way to wind down the weekend. We are regularly joined by folks from other IVC clubs and sometimes Meetups ...
Click title for more details  

A very popular evening of friendly chat, a pub quiz, live entertainment and sharing music videos.

A great way to start the weekend. We get together online every Friday for a virtual pub evening ...
Click title for more details  

We enjoy online socialising by getting together for a coffee evening using Zoom. IA nice way to wind down the weekend. We are regularly joined by folks from other IVC clubs and sometimes Meetups ...
Click title for more details  

The London IVC Linguists Group is meeting online for now and these meetings are proving very popular. Tonight will be for French speakers of all levels.

We will use Zoom. This is a friendly video conferencing package which is easy to use and lets you share video and chat with your friends and colleagues. John will be hosting this event and you should contact him by 23 August if you intend participating and you will be given the link.

Basingstoke IVC Science Cafe invite you to this free Royal Society talk titled "London: Science City 2021"

https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2021/08/london-science-city-2021/

ADVANCE BOOKING IS  REQUIRED FOR THIS TALK.

Once you have booked your ticket, you will be sent a link by email that will allow you to join the event on one device along with other members of your household

The talk is being live streamed on the Royal Society YouTube Channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/c/royalsociety

SUMMARY

Science City 1550 - 1800: The Linbury Gallery tells the story of how London grew to become a global hub for scientific and technological innovation, but where does it stand in 2021?

In collaboration with the Science Museum, the Royal Society has assembled a panel of experts to examine that question in this free virtual event. Together they will explore how London’s role as a “Science City” has evolved to adapt to a world in which global collaboration is so much more prevalent than in the days of the likes of Newton, Hooke and Wren. 

The panel will also look to identify some of the challenges and opportunities presented by such seismic issues as Brexit, a green recovery from the pandemic and advances in Artificial Intelligence and engineering.  

SPEAKERS

• Alexandra Rose — Curator of Earth Sciences and Curator of Science City 1550 – 1800: The Linbury Gallery, Science Museum  
• Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE— CEO, Royal Academy of Engineering, CEO, Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation  
• Professor Sir Mark Walport FRS — Chair, Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre Strategic Partnership Board, Government Chief Scientific Advisor 2013 – 2017, Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) 2017 – 2020  
• Dr Roger Highfield — Science Director, Science Museum Group

A very popular evening of friendly chat, a pub quiz, live entertainment and sharing music videos.

A great way to start the weekend. We get together online every Friday for a virtual pub evening ...
Click title for more details  

We enjoy online socialising by getting together for a coffee evening using Zoom. IA nice way to wind down the weekend. We are regularly joined by folks from other IVC clubs and sometimes Meetups ...
Click title for more details  

Cromer Midweek Break

Join Merseyside IVC in Cromer on the Norfolk coast for a classic midweek break. Book four night’s accommodation and have three whole days on the ground. The children are ...
Click title for more details   MEETING:     We meet in the town centre at 1800h with a view to eating.

Zoom wine tastings have proved popular - we normally attract around 20 people so we will continue to host them from time to time. They are informal but we hope you will learn something from them as ...
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This event is now fully booked at 20 people - but there is a waiting list.

We will enjoy a ...
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I will be leading a return bird watching weekend on the Norfolk coast for a North London nature ...
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