Page 30 - BR July 2024

July 2024 July 2024

FIRST THURSDAY CLUB

(AUTUMN LEAVES)

In early June we were being treated to wall to
wall coverage regarding the 80 anniversary of D
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Day and rightly so as so few people are left who
can remember the event. As we were meeting
on the anniversary itself it was decided to mark the occasion with a D Day tea.
We decorated the Scout hut with allied invasion flags. And engaged a band
from Wareham called ‘Musiccraft’ to play for us. We were treated to a medley of
old war time favourites as well as regular numbers from their repertoire.

Tea was bread pudding a popular ware time favourite. Sausage rolls and loads
of cake plus sandwiches. We did discuss beef and dripping bully beef and spam
but we managed to smuggle in eggs cheese ham and other goodies for the tea.
In addition Gloria Curtis bought her mother’s archive of her memories of being
evacuated to Bere Regis during the war. There were memories, memorabilia
and a D Day quiz.

The 1970s were really the beginning of the Computer Age which is another way of
saying that, with the exception of a very small number of customers and fellow
IBMers, no one had any idea what I did! Designing, installing, operating and
maintaining computer programmes (as we spelled it then!) was an obscure art
understood by only a small number of insiders. This meant, for example, that when I
tried to explain to some stranger at a party that I designed and wrote systems for
IBM’s customers, they were more likely to say “excuse me, I’m just going to get
another drink.” than to ask for any details!
At IBM I graduated to sales and then product marketing roles which set me up for a
move to Wang Laboratories, another American company which was the leader in
the exciting new market of word processing (‘WP’). It’s hard to believe that in the
1980s, businesses were prepared to throw away their £500 typewriters and to Next month we meet on 4 July. It is Election Day. We will not be too busy voting
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replace them with £30,000 word processing machines. But thankfully, they were, to get down to the Scout hut for our meeting. We may need to escape from
and an entire new industry was born. Obviously, it wouldn’t have been of any use election coverage. As it is American Independence day we thought we would
to the hapless stone mason and his mis-chiseled ‘GOAL’ but WP delivered a step- get out more flags and have an American Style Tea. Pip Evans and the Bere
change in office productivity as well as opening up the realms of professional Essentials will give us a presentation of the development of American Music in the
document production to the masses.
southern States of America and play some of their version of Blue Grass Music
I mentioned that I can attribute much of my successes to luck, and joining the IT It will be at the Scout hut 2.30 p.m cost £3.00 to include the American tea. I am
industry in its infancy and then picking two winning horses formed the foundation of
sure it will be a welcome break from the political event going on here

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