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From the start the first `autumn` meeting, at Didcot, in the Autumn, and having followed the excellent AGM at Repton, it wasn`t sure how a `second` meeting` would turn out. Initially the number of presenters and members due to attend looked very favourable, but within a week of the meeting a considerable number had written or phoned to say they couldn`t attend and on the day (Sunday 13th of October) things looked very thin indeed and with the three main presentations no longer available, it was left to those turning up as to what slide programmes would be available.

As it turned out there were a dozen people including two children. Along with myself were:- Henry Jenner (Area 14), Eric Dugdale (Area 15), Sue Floyd (Area 20), Frank White (Area 20), Sandra & Kevin Craske (Area 9), Nick Williams (Area 20), Bill Crumplin (Area 20) and Pete Guy (Area 20).

With no AGM to cover members were able to spend some time chatting together over refreshments before the programme began. The first set of slides was from Frank White of Konicachrome. There was an interesting mixture of slides of Fungi growing on trees, a look around Greenwich, Musium, Observatory and the Cutty Sark.Nick Williams presented a further selection of Konicachrome, processed in his own `hybrid` formula. Nick still uses a full set of processing baths, including Stop Baths. There were tranquil country scenes around Gloucestershire, to the Sharpness Docks and across to Wivenhoe, in Hertfordshire with interesting railway and canal scenes.

This was followed by Sue Floyd, who is a new member who`s first contact with the Club was at our Repton Meeting. Sue began by explaining her rather `novice` photographic experience, but she really didn`t need to, what followed was some of the best set of slides of a winter visit in the Trossachs and Loch Lomond area of Scotland.

Obviously, luck had a great deal to do with it, as the weather was excellent, Crystal clear skies, heavy snow, and sparkling frost. However, Sue listened to the tips she had already picked up at her local Camera Club and managed to catch many fine shots. She made the best of the difficult exposures and caught the `sparkle` of the frost laden trees and lochs. One rustic scene included the proverbial `gate` which she photographed then remembered the judge`s comments that `gates` should always be` open`, so went back and re-exposed the scene with an open gate. This should add a few marks to her judged slide, though possible they judge may comment "Ah but you left the gate at the wrong angle, it should have been just a little bit more to the -----".

It was a nice gesture too, that Sue included a few slides which had a processing fault. Over-all blue slides were produced by accidentally pouring in the colour developer in place of the first developer ... haven`t we ALL been there before!! However, as is the way of things, these slides actually gave very attractive `abstract` results which many professionals would have paid hundreds of pounds to get, so all was not lost. One slide of a beautiful sunset seen through a frosty line of trees would have been a `cracker` if the fault hadn`t ocurred.

Just when you thought it couldn`t get better, Sue managed to catch two really fine shots of a power station. On a completely still day, the numerous Cooling Towers filled the sky with dense steam with hugh flares lighting up the bleakness with yellow flames. She managed to top this with the final slide of the same power station taken in the dark, which, as a hand-held shot deserves congratulations. Sue is obviously a `novice` well on the way to producing some fine work.

Another break followed with some interesting chit-chat. We discussed numerous subjects and learned something new from each other. Surely this is what the Club is all about. It would be nice if more of you could manage to attend.

The final two programmes were of cine film. WE don`t see much of this these days, though we have had a few new members over the last year who have taken up processing 16mm cine films. Perhaps we may see some of their work before long.

The first film "The Isle of Skye" was by your`s truly. This was a CR50 Standard 8mm film home processed with the 3M kit, in a Russian Processing Tank. That dates it a bit! Indeed, the film was made up of scenes taken on a number of visits between 1973-5. The film was double-run 16mm which, after processing, had to be split into two x 25ft lengths, then joined for a continuous run and edited. Light Reversal was used throughout as chemical reversal was virtually unknown at this time, or extremely suspect.

The OMO tank could hold two films at a time, and converted for Single 8mm (Which allowed it to process Super 8mm when that came along), 9.5mm and 35mm films. It`s only draw-back was in the large amount of chemicals required to cover the two spirals, which made short runs uneconomic and I waited until I had a full quota of films exposed. Fine during the summer months but off season could prove difficult.

The film covered virtually all areas of Skye and along with the magnificent scenery took in a, Boat trip to the Seal Islands at Dunvegan, Dunvegan Castle, Sheep gathering and Sheering, Flora MacDonald`s Monument and Farm Musium, Lealt Falls and the island`s capitol town, Portree, in it` s tranquil harbour setting.

This was an fine example of the quality that CR50 cine film managed to process to with quite constant results, compared to the 35mm versions, which appeared to change from batch to batch.

The final trio of films was from Bill Crumplin, of 16mm sound films, which made a fine display on the 8ft. screen.

(a) "Home Cinema" by Brian Pearce of the Group 9.5 Society and which won at Cannes. A very sharp and colourful presentation demonstrating the cinema, built into his home. This is a fine set-up with the window converting into the two screens (Normal & Cinemascope), which `lowered` over the window pane, with two depths of curtains as a cinema would have, with dim-able front lighting.

Sound came from a speaker built into a cabinet below the screen with two well spaced speakers for stereo back-ground music. The mechanisms for the curtains and lighting were built into a side cabinet.

For projection the room immediately behind the sitting room was converted to set up projectors of all gauges. Transformers and connection cables were stored to fit all machines and voltages. The wall had been cut-out and a moveable `oblong` picture frame was mechanically moved out of sight to allow the gap for projection to the screen. Under normal conditions you would not guess so much projection equipment was immediately available in the otherwise normal looking living room. This was the ultimate home cinema dream which we would all be proud of, but which sadly, for most of us will remain just a dream.

(B) "War Games", This was a commercial film explaining the making of the feature film "The Bridge At Remagen", starring George Segal, who made the commentary. This was an interesting insight to film making, with the director and camera crew setting up and making this true war time event.

Along with the expert scenic and explosion experts, there were numerous new innovations of setting the camera up to capture the fast moving scenes. As the actual bridge was destroyed they had to rebuild the bridge and surrounding gun towers and a tunnel going into the mountains on the opposite side, in Prague, Czechoslovakia. All went well until the film team was caught up in the Russian innovation in 196! and we witnessed scenes of both the film making action with Russian tanks rolling in the background.

With the Czechoslovakian people under seige and the loss of their film extras the production was halted and had to move to Italy and re-build the whole scene again, though a few scenes couldn`t be made there and permission was given to return to Czechoslovakia to complete the scenes.

This was history as it folded and when we see the mindless pre-film mini advertisement on TV, where all the chat is about "Themselves" and how good they are, this was a situation that forced itself on the otherwise arragant film crew who thought it was just another run of the mill production.

(C) "Snow", Bill deliberately chose this film knowing that I was a train driver, and I was quite intrigued to see what he was on about. It turned out to be a BTF (British Transport Film) made in the earlier days of British Rail. I`m sure you have seen many of these type of film and know the sound and commentary style that was developed over these productions, remember "Night Mail" with its excellent commentary done in rhyming style. "Snow" was in a similar vein but without commentary, instead it was set to a piece of `pop` music that slowly got faster and faster and the film maker did a fine job of cutting the pieces to fit the increasing speed. Shots of trains speeding past fences, bridges station layouts,with close ups of track and coaches which became quite hypnotizing.

Most were photographed in heavy snow with steam loco`s, in the west highlands and Western Region diesel hydraulic locomotives tackling heavy snowdrifts with large snow ploughs. The pace was quite fast. I also appreciated it for the Scottish and Western Region scenes & locomotives, many which I worked on and which no longer exist.

And so concluded another very enjoyable meeting. While a small attendance all agreed that this sort of meeting is well worthwhile and asked that another meeting be booked for next year. Our thanks to all who came along and we hope more of you will try to come along next time.