The group was formed after a discussion at a picnic after church in the Masters garden in Autumn 2006.

It is an informal group which meets on the third Monday of each month at 8.00pm in the Brothers library and is open to all men of the parish and their friends.  We normally do not have meetings at Easter or during the summer holidays, in June there is a barbeque and December a Christmas meal.

So far most of our speakers have come from the parish and have spoken on a wide range of interesting topics including - is the church fulfilling its role; Japanese prisoner of war camps; life in a theological college; action in Afghanistan; the Navy and the future; church music; Chinese writing; exploring the Old Testament; inside the EU and so on.

St Cross Men’s Group

All the seats were occupied when we met on 18 January to listen to Bishop John Baker recounting his memories of Westminster. He had been a lecturer at Oxford when he received a letter from the Prime Minister offering a canonship at Westminster Abbey. Not a man to waste time, within a year of taking up the post he had met and married Jill. He reminisced about the Abbey services and the people he had met. When George Thomas, a Welsh Methodist lay preacher, was elected as Speaker of the House of Commons there was much speculation as to whom he would appoint as his chaplain –he chose Bishop John. There followed a very interesting time of close association with George Thomas and many Members of Parliament. His appointment as Bishop of Salisbury followed and he returned to sit in the House of Lords.

We all look forward to a future meeting with Bishop John when he will give us an insight into his involvement in the negotiations in Northern Ireland.

John Casson

We welcomed one of our members, John Pringle, to our February meeting when he spoke about his connection with and the activities of the Jerusalem and Middle East Churches Association. The Association was formed 120 years ago with the aim of giving financial support to Christian clergy, hospitals and clinics in the Province of Jerusalem, which consists of the Diocese of Iran, Cyprus and the Gulf, Jerusalem, Egypt and North Africa, Ethiopia and Somalia. The majority of worshippers are the indigenous people with a few United Kingdom expatriates, although the latter dominate in Cyprus. In Saudi Arabia Christian worship is only allowed in enclosed Embassy compounds and there must be no publicity.

Our next meeting will be in the Brothers' Library at 8.00pm on Monday 15 March when Peter Dean will speak about the Spikes of Hampshire; an interesting account of the lives of some people in former days in rural Hampshire. All men of the parish and their friends are invited to come along and share in this mystery.

John Casson

At last the mystery of the Spikes of Hampshire was solved at our March meeting. Peter Dean explained that when a very poor man was admitted to a workhouse he had to work and was given a metal spike in order to pick oakum. The name seemed to be found mainly in Hampshire, but one local workhouse for some unknown reason was called The Scrubber. He began by discussing the plight of the very poor from the passing of the Poor Law — which basically meant that every parish had to support its own poor, usually with cash handouts — to Victorian times when the Law was abandoned and replaced by workhouses which were found in most large villages and towns. He described the awful conditions in which, in most cases, the inmates lived — families were separated, everyone had to work at often meaningless tasks, the food, clothing and bedding was inferior. The Master of the workhouse and his wife could be very unpleasant characters so it was understandable that people dreaded having to apply to go into such an institution, yet if you and your family were destitute there was very little choice. We were surprised to learn that this state of affairs continued in some places until 1950.

What a truly interesting and informative meeting we all enjoyed.

As is our custom we do not meet in April, so our next meeting will be in the Brothers' Library at 8.00pm on 17 May when John Hill will endeavour to teach us to speak Chinese! There should be some interesting sounds emanating from the Library if you happen to be passing.

As always, all men of the parish are most welcome to join us.

John Casson

For more information please contact John Casson

or Cath Secker on 01962 851375 or at The Porters Lodge

St Cross Hospital stcross1132@btinternet.com

As always all men of the parish are welcome

The Men's Group met on 17 May to learn to speak Chinese, under the tutelage of John Hill. Previously John had introduced the group to the fundamentals of Chinese script, this time he led us through an A to Z of Chinese alliterations. Though we remain far from fluent (some of us can say B&Q in Chinese which is roughly translated as 100 heavenly homes), it was a most enjoyable and entertaining evening.

The next event is the annual Men's Group Barbecue on 21 June. £4 a head. Please let Murray Dixon (865869) or John Casson (862542) know if you would like to come.