PAST EVENTS

August b2024 Thames boat trip

The recent boat trip began with the group gathering at Kingston, with a pickup at Hampton. The boat was stocked with an abundance of supplies, including sandwiches, sausages, quiche, pork pies, crisps, and cured meats. The group enjoyed delightful scenery as they passed historic landmarks and grand waterside properties, navigating through locks and alongside weirs. Despite the weather threatening rain, spirits remained high, and everyone enjoyed good food and drink. Roger and Chris, along with their wives Barbara and Lizzie, prepared a feast that was thoroughly enjoyed by all, with the Vinyard happily taking the leftovers.

Members checked out 100 + years of building cars in Oxford.

Six of our members and two guests enjoyed an extensive tour of the Mini factory at Cowley on 22nd May 2024.

First we toured the exhibition of cars from the Bull Nose Morris through the Minor (1948) and Mini (1959) before the latest range of Minis introduced by BMW in 2001.

On commencement, our factory tour leader Donna, ensured we got great access to all the important technology areas. Everyone was highly impressed with the use of 2,000 computer driven robots to create the car bodies.

The amazement was heightened when we saw the hundreds of options chosen by customers

that all had to be selected and fitted, timed to the second for each car to be completed. So every car on the production line was colourfully different, one rolling off the line every 67 seconds.

Many thanks to Chris Webborn for arranging an excellent tour.

Pictures in the Gallery

Visit to Marble Hill House

On Friday 17th March 24 Probus members and their partners and guests braved the weather for the tour of Marble Hill House and Gardens.

The House was built by Henrieta Howard, a woman of huge resourcefulness and courage, in 1720’s, and, despite living and working in London at the Royal Court, managed to entertain her friends who included Horace Walpole, Alexander Pope, Johnathan Swift and John Gay, the playwright.

The villa is an important and relatively rare example of a house built for and by a woman in Georgian England.
It’s a textbook example of Palladian architecture, the fashionable style based on classical principles and inspired by the 16th-century Italian architect Palladio.
The gardens were designed with advice from Alexander Pope and Charles Bridgeman, later royal gardener to George II.
The house and estate were saved from development by an Act of Parliament in 1902 because they lay at the heart of the famous view from Richmond Hill. Marble Hill has been a public park ever since.
The house now has a fine collection of early Georgian paintings, including portraits of members of Henrietta Howard’s circle.
The gardens have now been restored and the Ice House, The Grotto and 9 Pin Bowling area are features that existed in the 18th Century garden.
Many thanks to the team at English Heritage for looking after us all so well

Lunch was later taken in The Crown, St Margarets, which was excellent.

THE POPPY FACTORY

On the 13th December, 31 members of Probus and their partners and friends visited The Poppy Factory in Richmond and enjoyed a festive lunch at The Rose of York pub on the Richmond Road.

The Poppy Factory visit start with a very informative and moving history of the Poppy and the Factory in Richmond. Members were then invited to build their own Poppy wreath as well as their individual Poppy. The history of the factory and the support they provide to ex-service men and women was detailed in a number of cabinet displays and iPads.

We met some wonderful people dedicated to the fundraising activities of the Poppy Factory and a number of the people who build poppies and wreaths as part of their daily lives and were impressed by their skills and friendly helpfulness.

After the visit we retired to The Rose of York where a pre booked lunch was provided. The tables were very festive and the staff attentive.

Everyone enjoyed their meal , the popular choices being the Prawns followed by Turkey but the e Salmon parcels were also popular and tasty.

EEL PIE ISLAND MUSEUM

On Thursday 9th June, 13 members/guests paid a visit to the Eel Pie Island Museum in Twickenham and had a guided tour of the area across from the Island. The island was the site of the Eel Pie Island Hotel, originally a genteel 19th-century three-storey building that later hosted ballroom dancing during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1956, trumpeter Brian Rutland, who ran a local band called The Grove Jazz Band, started jazz sessions at the newly reopened hotel. Famous jazz performers came to the Island, Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Diz Disley, Cyril Davies, Ken Colyer, George Melly. In the early sixties there was a move towards blues music, Long John Baldry, John Mayall, The Yardbirds and The Rolling Stones. The music graduated in the late sixties towards Heavy Rock, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind. This inevitably led, together with a lack of fire safety regulations, to the closure of the music venue as local residents disliked the new music fans with their loud music, booze and drugs.

We were taken through the museum, which was opened in 2018 and is run by volunteers. It is small but well worth a visit for those who wish to look back nostalgically at music in their youth. We were given tea, coffee and biscuits (no drugs). We were then taken down to the river, opposite the island, which is now solely residential apart from rowing clubs and boat houses. Our guide, Caroline, told us all about the history of the island. It is a hidden gem.

Finally we visited The Eel Pie Pub for a delicious lunch and a pint of Fursty Ferret or Badgers Ale. A fine way to finish a very enjoyable morning outing.”

LUCY SIEGLE
16 NOVEMBER 2021

“ Lucy Siegle gave a fascinating talk on many aspects of both her time as a young environmentalist, and latterly working for the BBC as a journalist, particularly for “The One Show”, reporting from the recent COP26 event, which she described as her own “Olympics” in the world that she inhabits. A fervent promoter of all things ecological,and determined to raise awareness whenever given the chance.....her more recent talks being at schools, and even Pentonville prison.

Edmund did extremely well to have acquired her services ,being so close to the COP26 event in Glasgow.

She talked most eloquently for practically an hour , including a variety of questions from the audience.

She was careful not to promote either any specific political views or her personal take on the COP26 attendees, although many of the audience were of the opinion that all countries would need eventually to mandate rules for reducing wastage and gases.

Lucy did however promote the idea of how each of us, in our own small ways, could assist with reducing waste.......from plastics to clothing and accumulated “stuff”!!

She has a number of books published, mostly on her ecological trips and research matters, but did not make a sales pitch, but just used them to quote from where relevant.

She was given an excellent appreciative round of applause after the hour, and everybody thought she had shone a bright light on her subject, and voted the talk a hit. Lucy thanked us for our genuine interest, and even suggested she could return next year, when more developments may give rise to a different talk.........so we will keep in touch.”

Visit by Foreign Secretary 25th June

Great conversation with Hinchley Wood and The Dittons Probus club” Dominic Raab

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab recently gave a talk with an extended question and answer session to Probus Club members and guests at a recent meeting of the Hinchley Wood and The Dittons Club at their Imber Court venue. Mr Raab provided a comprehensive overview of current foreign policy as well as covering important local issues.

Probus Club chairman Edmund Woolley in his thank you to Mr Raab said “We were very pleased that you could join us and give such candid answers to our questions. Every month we have an interesting guest speaker and your talk and response to our questions was excellent.”

Hover .over picture, click Loudspeaker to listen

Probus Global Zoom meeting 28th January 2021

Probus Global was set up in Canada just over a year ago, by a few guys wanting to build a global Probus community. They now have 389 members from 12 countries; you can find their web site on our links page. With innovative use of Zoom, they have organised several meetings for international involvement and collaboration. Some of our members participated in this meeting about Probus in Australia and the South Pacific.

Richard Furlong, President of Probus, Newmarket, Ontario, started the meeting reporting on information collected about Probus groups around the world. There are now (known) 255,000 members in over 4,500 Probus Clubs in 16 countries.

Then Silvana Martignago, Chief Exec of Probus South Pacific Ltd, gave a talk about her organisation, which was set up to help Probus clubs and members with communications and information facilities, supporting new clubs and providing 24/7 services. Rob Neary, President of Probus, Queensland, then added some good ideas about Probus activities in his state in Australia.

The whole meeting can be seen on YouTube at :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtmp1D_URDs&t=318s

Visit to RAF Hendon museum - February 2020

Eight of us drove to the RAF Hendon museum in less than an hour for an outstanding visit. We met our guide, volunteer Michael Meech, who took us straight to the Huge Hangar 5. We were immediately confronted by a menacingly black Mach2 EE Lightning with its fearsome missiles laid out in front. This was the one that protected us from the Russian nuclear bombers during the cold war. Then a range of Spitfires from the Mk1 (1938) to the post war Mk 24, amongst a huge range of pristine aircraft in what must be one of the most important collections of military aircraft anywhere in the world. Not only were there RAF planes, but the Nazi Heinkel bomber, Stuka dive bomber and Messerschmitt 109 fighters were on show, as well as US fighters and bombers. We walked under the huge canopy of the Vulcan nuclear bomber’s delta wings, and looked up in to its cavernous bomb bay, wondering... Our thoroughly knowledgeable guide had several intriguing stories to tell about almost every aircraft.

The highlight of the day was a VR simulation of the Dam Busters raid on the Möhne dam. We braved the flack, watched the light beams converging on the water to set our altitude, awaited Captain’s orders, bomb away, the dam rushing towards us, then circling to watch the second and third attack and the dam finally burst with an enormous explosion, and the lake cascaded down the valley. Awesome!

Grateful thanks to David, Simon and Roger for driving, and particularly to Roger for arranging the unforgettable trip.

PROBUS FESTIVE JANUARY LUNCH

After missing out on such an event in 2019, some may have wondered if it had gone for good but, no, our post Christmas festive yet very informal lunch took place again on 21 January 2020, and a very nice get-together it was too. The event attracted a goodly crowd of 35 + members and their partners and guests, including, as very much appreciated, the wife of our founding member who sadly is no longer with us. Imbercourt provided us with a very nice upstairs room overlooking the greens and flooded with sunshine on this occasion. After a welcome glass of wine, all tucked in to a slap up three course meal and coffee, including an excellent carvery. What better way than to begin the new year and celebrate the end-days of the year of the pig (and Brexit too if you are so inclined) - but, worry not, we move onto the year of the rat which every Chinese follower will tell you is one of providence. The excellent lunch was interrupted only by a befuddling quizz, masterfully compered by our speaker secretary Simon, with some interesting joke telling too by our chair Edmund, Roger, and also Simon ( though not sure that the Comedy Club is quite ready for any of them yet). A very happy and jovial occasion was enjoyed by all - we will certainly repeat next year so do come along, there is room for lots more to attend.

December 2019

Our Probus was given a pitch at the Thames Ditton Christmas Fair, where the High Street is sealed-off and we join many stall holders: we were next to Thames Ditton Gin who gave out free samples!!; Radio Jackie, providing Christmas music; various food stalls; other village shops and Father Christmas in a vintage Rolls Royce.

We provided the high-vis vests, bearing our Probus logo, for our members, and the eight ‘marshals’ who controlled the sealed-off sections of the High Street. Our stall drew the crowds by offering a free tombola for the youngsters. A raffle ticket with an ‘0’ won a chocolate Santa but all ‘losers’ won a sweet. It drew the children with their parents who were then given information about Probus.

It was a fun occasion and there was a lot of interest shown.

November 2017: Visit to British Library
Early in November 2017, a group of 15 members and wives spent a morning in the British Library, the national library of the UK, in Euston Road. The Library is one of the largest public buildings constructed in the 20th Century. It was started in 1982 and formally opened in 1998. Total floor area is 1.2 million square feet on 9 floors above ground and 5 below. The building houses over 14 million books and a wide range of other documents, many fragile, old and unique, in state of the art conditions for preservation. The library is designed to cope with an additional 3 million accessions a year.
Our guide first showed us the many activities in the building, including the Kings Library which houses the collection given by George III in the 18th Century as the basis of the national collection previously in the British Museum, a fascinating philatelic collection, and the advanced system for finding and delivering books to the reading rooms. He then spoke about selected items of historical importance including the Gutenburg Bible, Leonardo's notebook, Shakespeare's First Folio and the Magna Carta.

The Library is less than 5 minutes from Kings Cross tube. There are good eating places on site and entrance is free. The visit gave us all the grounding and incentive to come again to see more of this unique collection.