- See Previous
Meetings (back to 1998) and to
view our successful All Day Summer
Meetings 2023 &
2019 and
Anglesey Exhibition and Zoom meetings.
- 146th Season 2025-2026
(draft programme)
(PDF
printable MMS Flyer & Programme)
- October
25th 2025 (Saturday
10.30-3.00)
Manchester University Med
Sch Oxford Rd
- Exhibits & Demos, Slide
& Book Library, Bring & Buy
- Perusal of the
Research Slides (Lectin Cytochemistry)
of the Late Dr Bob Stoddart
(Pathology)
-
- Demo of MMS latest
acquisition - Microscope for
Outreach
- Microscope Sales
from the Fern Collection
A
dozen microscopes including Stereo,
Inverted, Compound, Goniometer,
Polarising, .... Plus
accessories .. objectives, eyepieces
etc
- Meeting Report
- An unexpected very poor turnout but
we did manage to view the donated
Lectin Cytochemistry slides of the
Late Dr Bob Stoddart and reminisce
over his contributions.
 MMoverviewLectins
- Our new acquisition of a £37 all in
one microscope and screen / storage
was demonstrated by Phil and will be
put into use next week for a school
Holiday Club at Etherow Park.
 
However, John brought an even cheaper
Chinese hand held magnifier that you
could even save the pictures to a
memory card - costing only £17! Where
is microscopy heading ??
- After a lot of lugging about and
setting up a dozen or more 'proper'
heavy metal and glass microscopes from
the Phil Fern collection we had our
first sale. The beautiful Wild
Inverted and Wild phase contrast were
snapped up as were some of the Olympus
and Bausch & Lomb
stereomicrocopes, NBS slides, filar
micrometers, objectives and eyepieces
and a microtome.
  
However, don't worry - we still have
the magnificent Baker (phase,
interference), Carl Zeiss Jena
(antique), Olympus (two
metallurgicals, several Stereos),
Bausch & Lomb (stereo), and the
tantalising Toolmakers Unitron TMS
goniometer stage microscope plus
numerous eyepieces, objectives etc for
sale.
     Watch this
space!
- October
29th 2025 (Wednesday 1-2pm)
- OUTREACH
EVENT (Wild Wood Explorers Holiday Club
- Etherow)
- Over a dozen youngsters enjoyed
collecting bugs and viewing our displays
at Etherow. Mike & Phil were ably
assisted by our young recruit Harrison
(aged 9).
 
- November
22nd 2025 (Saturday 10.30-3.00)
Manchester
University Med Sch Oxford Rd
- Exhibits & Demos, Slide
& Book Library, Bring & Buy -
including microscopes &
accessories for sale (see previous
meeting).
- Polarising
Microscopy (Mike Mahon)
- The World of the
Small: from Rocks to Fungi (Dr
Peter del Strother, Geologist)
- Meeting Report:
- Excellent very well attended
meeting by members, guests and Oldham
Micro.
- Mike's talk on Polarising
Microscopy for producing pretty
colours and for analytical microscopy
covered some of the history and theory
and modern modifications.
Members also paid tribute to recently
deceased microscopists in this field -
Richard L Howey (2023), Gustav Delly
(2024) and Spike Walker (2025).
- Graham, Ron, Steve and
others also brought many prepared slides
for demonstrating polarisation.
- Following a busy period
perusing and selling microscopes and
accessories (Baker interference and
Toolmakers microscopes now sold) from
the Fern collection we had a lunch
break.
- In the afternoon we were
treated to an outstanding well
illustrated talk from Dr Peter del
Strother ranging through many
areas of Geology including
granite, quartz, mica and much material
which included fossilised living
creatures such as foraminifera,
bryozoans and pollen.
  
ooids ppl hfov
3.5mm
Carboniferous
bryozoan
Muscovite Mica Bhutan ppl
Muscovite Mica xpl
Great Salt
Lake
& foraminifera hfov 2mm ppl
+ quartz hvof 3.5mm
ppl + quartz
A demonstration of some rock slices and
discussion followed which included the
many ways and processes by which life as
we know it may end on this planet!
Want to know more ... see Manchester
Geological Association !
- November
24th 2025 (Monday 6-7pm)
- OUTREACH
EVENT (Poynton Beavers)
- Report: A very
successful evening with around 16
seven year olds viewing the displays
and bringing their own specimens -
rocks, bugs, fish pond water, crystals
etc. Also earning their Science Badges
making labelled drawings of what they
saw. Phil brought along the Inspection
and LED screen microscopes and some
living material, Mike brought a couple
of stereozooms and two compounds.
The Beavers were also very good at
answering lots of questions thrown at
them during the short introductory
talk!
- February 21st
2026 (Saturday 10.30-3.00)
Manchester University Med
Sch Oxford Rd
- Exhibits & Demos, Slide
& Book Library, Bring & Buy
This morning is set aside for members
& guests to bring and show material
and also to peruse the remaining items
for sale.
- Electron Microscopy
of Protozoa (Prof Dave Furness)
- Scanning &
Transmission EM
- Meeting Report:
- Another very well
attended (11+) and active meeting by
members, guests and Oldham Micro
members.
- Graham Marsh began
with a demo slide of microwriting as
used in the Siege of Paris.
- Ron Powell showed
us a microscope lens cellphone adapter
(Banapoy) and provided most of the
pictures shown here. He also
demonstrated a variable intensity and
colour LED illuminator from Bambu Lab.
- Steve Dawson
brought along some excellent self made
slides of tiny rocks and foraminifera
- Chris Power showed
a slide of Diatoms.
- Philip Whiteman
brought a giant (1 foot tall !!)
projector lens magnifying glass.
- Mike Mahon demoed
his new mini digital magnifier.
- Dave Furness showed
us embedded blocks of ciliates prior
to microtomy.
- At lunchtime
Jasmine Jackson discussed the
Bryophyte chromosome slide collection
of the late Martha
Elizabeth Newton.
  
 .jpg) 
   
- In the afternoon Dave
Furness gave an excellent
well illustrated talk on the scanning
and transmission electron microscopy
of ciliates (protozoans).
Magnifications on the giant 120"
monitor reached up to 600,000 times!!
The wide ranging discussion afterwards
varied from Victorian illustrations of
Infusoria to hair cells within the
ear.
  
  
- March 14th 2026
(Saturday 10.30-3.30pm)
Manchester University
Med Sch Oxford
Rd
- AGM 146 -
Reports, Plan events, Election of
Officers, ...
- Agenda AGM 146
(2026)
- Approved Minutes of AGM
145 (2025)
- Unapproved Minutes of AGM
146 (2026)
- Exhibits & Demos, Slide
& Book Library, Bring & Buy -
only one microscope for sale remaining -
Olympus Metallurgical
- Lichens Magnified (Mark
Stephens & Co)
- Talks & Demonstrations
& hands on practicals on microscopy
and preparation of lichens, spores etc
... by members of the British
Lichen Society (Staffordshire/
Shropshire Area)
- Meeting Report:
- The AGM was held briefly at
lunchtime. As well as approving last
year's minutes, overviewing the current
season, and receiving the Treasurer's
report, suggestions for next season's
meetings included, Macro, Photography,
Focus stacking, Audit of
equipment/specimens/books, Minibeasts,
Food adultery, Darkfield microscopy and
pondlife.
- Lichens: An outstanding meeting
with members of the British Lichen Society
(BLS)
presenting an excellent introduction to
Lichens plus a detailed quality practical
class where our members and the Oldham
Micro Group thought they were back at
school! Turnout = 11 + 4 BLS members.
We viewed lichens under the
stereo-microscope, cut sections, squashed
them, stained them and examined spores
under the compound microscope.
- MM - I will never be able to walk in a
wood or churchyard again without seeing
Lichens everywhere!
- Thanks to Mark Stephens, Emyr Benbow,
Susan Benbow, Simon King for all their
input. We were provided with a detailed
equipment list, practical
outline, key diagrams and a Youtube
Video, plus 7 pdf files of
instructions.
 
- In addition to microscopes, digital
magnifiers were on show from several
members. Ron Powell provided lichen images
on his mobile phone with attachments.
 
  
 - Thanks also to Chris, John and Phil for
bringing along extra microscopes and slide
heaters.
- MM: I have added here a diagram (from
Hill 1994) annotated with the objective
lenses required to visualise certain
Lichen structures - the final image would
of course be magnified by (say) a x10
eyepiece to x10, x20, x400, x1000.
- May
9th 2026 (Saturday 10am
- 4pm)
- All-Day
Outreach Event - Etherow Country
Park Sailing Club
- Collect
& Display
- Members
Guests, Visitors are welcome to
bring along microscopes or samples
or go collecting around the country
park, nature reserve & lake -
viewing at the Club House,
refreshments available.
- Location SK6
5HN (Between Marple Bridge
& Romiley)
- Organiser
Phil Slatter
- Other
Meetings run by MMS Members in 2025-2026
- Beekeeping Microdays at Manchester
Grammar School (John Charlton)
- November 8, 29; December 13; January 10,
24; February 7.
See attached
details
- See also World Microscope Day April
13th - 401 years since the
term 'Microscope' was first
used ! (1625)
- 147th
Season 2026-2027 (Provisional
Programme)
- October .. 2026,
Saturday
- November .. 2026,
Saturday
- February .. 2027,
Saturday
- March/April ..
2027, Saturday
- May .. 2027,
Saturday
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