Driffield Probus Club

Event Reports


13th March 2024

This meeting started with a presentation from Dominic Platt of Techy Tea CIC. He had always been enthusiastic about, and interested in anything related to IT. He had worked in professional IT services at Nat West, helping to set up online banking for people. He has frequently helped family members with IT issues. Over time this morphed into Techy Tea, and they now operate free drop-in sessions in Nafferton Village Hall on Tuesday mornings. It is a private company, with a community-focussed interest, and can help with any number of technology-related problems, whether on phones, tablets, PC, sending emails, WhatsApp, storing digital photos, and so on. (You can even book home visits if you cannot get out.) Its particular focus is on helping older people get to grips with IT.
Dominic is at Nafferton Village Hall every Tuesday from 10.30am–12.30pm. Just drop in, or visit their website for more information:- www.techytea.co.uk; they also have a Facebook page. If you need to contact Dominic for any IT help, mention that you are a Probus Club member.

Chairman’s welcome
There were 35 members at the meeting (including Digby Lovel), with 2 guests – Dominic Platt & a colleague from Techy Tea.

Sick members
Ron Thompson, Tony Harris, Malcolm Winn. Gerald Massey welcomed Peter Hyde back today.

Matters arising from minutes of last meeting
GM mentioned that he thought Gina Wright had given a nice talk and was well-received by the Club.

New members
Digby Lovel had previously given a talk to the Club about ‘Men in Sheds’, and was now applying to join the Club. Accepted with a large majority show of hands.

AOB:
GS gave out information about a memorial service for late member, Jan Holman, being arranged by husband, David; this would take place on Friday 22nd March, in Nafferton Methodist Chapel at 2.00pm; it would be a celebration of her life, and it was asked that no black be worn. DH thanked GS & TS for the help and support they had given to him.>/p>

The Chairman asked that members should wear their name badges at meetings, please.

Member John Cook has resigned from Driffield Probus Club, stating that there is now more interest in Beverley about Probus, and he wants to concentrate on promoting the organisation there (where he lives).

GS gave an update on the Wellbeing Policy to members, and read out Janet Thornton’s (Co-ordinator) revised information sheet; she will be sending out an email about the policy shortly. Another volunteer is needed to work with Janet, and be her understudy when she is away. If you think you would like to help, please contact Janet. Peter Hyde said he thought this was “a jolly good idea”; David Holman said he “would be lost without Probus”. GM gave an outline as to the idea for forming a ‘wellbeing’ policy, due to the deaths in the last couple of years of two former members, both living alone and being lonely; it has taken about a year to put together and get to this point. He also emphasised that (at least) one other person is needed to assist Janet at certain times.

Members details list
A copy of this was made available to members at the meeting. TS expressed that the information is ONLY TO BE USED WITHIN THE CLUB, and should not, under any circumstances, be given out to anyone not a member of the Club. This is an exercise that has been done, periodically, since the formation of the Club, to allow members to contact any other member, should they have the need It is in accordance with the Club’s Data Protection Policy, and separate DP Procedure document, and members are given the opportunity to sign an exemption clause, when the documents are updated, and redistributed. (Any new members who have not had a copy of both the DP Policy and separate, Procedure document, please contact Tina Shelton at the next meeting, or by email. Also, should you not want your details made available to other members, please also let TS know.)

GM informed the members of a charity fund-raising event that he and Denise are involved with, and that she is having her long hair cut short for charity!. Denise explained her own personal reason for this, having been diagnosed with cancer 25 years ago. The event consists of a charity quiz evening, and a sponsored hair cutting session (whereby Denise hopes to raise £1,000), with all funds raised going to Saint Catherine’s Hospice, whilst Denise’s hair will be donated to make a wig for a cancer sufferer. It takes place at Driffield Recreation & Cricket Club, on Thursday 18th April from 7.00pm; it is open to the general public, but IS NOT a Probus event.

‘Meet the Members’
John Eldridge gave a short talk about himself: he had always lived in the locality, after being born in a railway carriage, called ‘The Bungalow’ which was his family home, in Aldborough. At 16 years old he became an apprentice engineer, ending up in the design office of a company called Priestmans, as a design draughtsman. He went to work at Sellafield, in the UK Atomic Energy Industry, living there with Elaine, his wife. (Unfortunately the meeting had to be brought to a close, as time was running out – no doubt, John will be able to finish his story at a future meeting!)

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 27th March, when we will have an illustrated talk by Richard Mole on ‘Demolition to re-build’ which tells the story of the development and funding for the Driffield Methodist Church.

Please note that this will be the last date for booking on to the visit to East Kirkby Airfield and the Aviation Heritage Museum, in Lincolnshire.

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28th February 2024

Chairman’s welcome: there were 33 members attending the meeting, with 1 guest (speaker Gina Wright) and 3 prospective new members.
GS spoke of the sad news about member Jan Holman. She had been one of the first ladies to join once the Club changed its Constitution; her death was sudden and unexpected, but David, Jan’s husband, was coping well at the moment. Whilst Jan did not want a funeral, David intended to organise a memorial service for her, and details will be sent out in due course.

Sick members: Tony Harris hopes to be able to join us again, soon. (Gerald Massey welcomed back Malcolm Winn, after his recent illness.)

Correspondence:
GM had received a letter from St. Catherine’s Hospice, on behalf of the Driffield Support Group, thanking the Club for the donation of £420; they stated that all money raised/donated goes towards patient care.
On April 18, Driffield Support Group will hold a fund-raising Quiz Night at the Cricket Club. At the same time, there will be a ‘Sponsored Hair Cut’, when Denise Massey will be donating her hair to charity. Details for this will sent out shortly.
St. Catherine’s Hospice will be contacting GM shortly to arrange a visit for members - details will be available soon.

Matters arising from minutes from last meeting (14th February):
Matters relating to St. Catherine’s Hospice, as above.

New members: there were 3 applications to join the Club, received from Deirdre Crane, Sue Dixon and Digby Lovell; all present in favour of accepting DC and SD as new members. Digby Lovell will be considered when he is able to attend.

AOB: the draw took place for the 2 extra tickets to the ‘Mayor’s Afternoon Tea’ taking place on Saturday 16th March at the Bell Hotel; the lucky winners picked to accompany Chairman Gareth Shelton, and wife (& member) Tina, were Anne Firth and Ray Jones.

The meeting was then handed over to the speaker, Gina Wright for her presentation on being ‘The Coastal Celebrant’

She stated that she worked mainly along the coast of the East Riding, from Bridlington up to Scarborough. As an Independent Celebrant, she was not related to any religion, nor was she a ‘humanist’.She was able to conduct & celebrate various types of ceremonies and celebrations.

She gave some background to the ‘celebrant’ movement, stating that it began in 1977 in Australia, by a man named Lionel Murphy. It was a very diverse population there, with 60% having no one or no organisation to represent them. In 1990, Lisa D’Arcy formed the first group of celebrants in Britain, where 37% of the population, at the time, had no religious affiliation.

The most common ceremonies are ‘Celebration of Life’ and Weddings (she stated that in 2022 the ‘wedding industry’ was worth £14.7 billion in the UK!), with others being: Baby/Child Naming; Vow Renewal; Civil Partnerships; Commitment; Hand Fasting; Family Unity; Divorce; ‘Flies the Nest’; Burials; Funerals; Memorials; Scattering of Ashes; Remembrance; Dedications; Pet Funerals.

It was an interesting talk, and quite enlightening at times, particularly the average cost of wedding today, and how ‘themed weddings’ are very popular; also how ‘themed’ funerals/celebration of life ceremonies are gaining in popularity! Chairman, GS thanked Gina for her presentation and asked members to show their appreciation with a round of applause.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 13th March. There will be a short presentation by Dom of Techy Tea (based in Nafferton), Concerning ‘all things Technical & IT related’ and specifically aimed at older people. Also included will be a short talk from selected members, introducing themselves to the Club.

On Wednesday 3rd April, the Probus Club will visit East Kirkby Airfield, and will include a guided tour around the Aviation Heritage Centre, and lunch in the NAAFI. Details are now available, and booking is required by 27th March.

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14th February, 2024

This meeting was different to our usual format, as we had the Special ‘Mishka’ Presentations. Chairman Gareth Shelton welcomed the presentation guests, after which Gerald Massey gave a brief explanation of how the draw came about - £372 was raised through the draw to find Mishka’s birthday, which was won by Sylvia Tearle, who had picked 12th December (her daughter’s birthday) and was presented with Mishka by Driffield Mayor, Cllr. Gill Helliwell. The grand total was increased with a few further donations, and a cheque for £419 was presented to Gill Ullyot and Lynn Morris from St. Catherine’s Hospice – Driffield Support Group, by past Chairman John Sharman (who thought there was a ‘bit of a Russian theme’ with Mishka and his talk about Living  in Space & Helen Sharman). After the presentation, the Mayor and the two representatives of the St. Catherine’s Support Group had to leave due to other commitments, and the Probus Club meeting commenced.

The Chairman welcomed three remaining guests (Sylvia and John Tearle, and Deirdre Crane).

Matters arising from the Minutes of the last meeting (24th January):
A mention that the talk from our previous speaker – Chris Cade- had been very good and was well received. Gerald Massey stated that he had already booked Chris for another of his talks in which he portrays a ‘Wolds Wagoner’ – a (local) soldier from World War 1.

AOB: GS told members that he had finally been able to make a booking for the Probus Club Formal Anniversary Dinner; this will talk place in the evening of Thursday 17th October at Hotel 41 Middle Street North, Driffield. The cost of the meal is £25.00 pp for a 3-course meal, including tea/coffee afterwards, and also the hire of the room. (Further details will follow, in due course.)

The meeting was then handed over to John Sharman, who was to present his (much anticipated) talk on
‘Living in Space’.

He started by informing us that his talk was not just going to be about his daughter, Helen, although she had been the first Briton to go into space, albeit as a cosmonaut in the Russian Space programme. He continued by telling us how Helen became involved with the Russian Space Programme, and also that he had visited Russia on two occasions: once to ‘Star City’, a massive launch site, which the Russians hired from Kazakhstan; the second site was one which John had never been able to find on a map!

John told us about the many problems of living in space:- the dangers of space junk; living with weightlessness and the vigorous training the cosmonauts had to go through; all fluids have to be contained; that air has to be artificially circulated ; the very low temperatures; how the limited amount of water has to be continually recycled; the radiation from the Sun (10x that experienced on Earth). He explained some of the differences between NASA space flights and those of Russia. Helen was launched aboard Soyuz TM 12 on 18th May 1991, returning on 26th May 1991. John said that after landing and recovery of the space craft, the first Russian lady in space, Valentina Tesreshkova, had been there to present Helen with a bouquet of flowers. He also mentioned that following their selection to train in Russia, Helen and Major Tim Mace (the other Briton selected) had been presented to Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister at that time.

This was a very interesting and informative talk which John gave, and made that bit more personal as Helen Sharman is his daughter. After some questions for John, Chairman Gareth, thanked him for his talk, and asked all present to show their appreciation with a round of applause.

Our next meeting will take place on Weds. 28 February, with a talk from Gina Wright, on her varied work as
‘The Coastal Celebrant’.

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24th January 2024

Chairman, Gareth Shelton welcomed 31 members plus 2 guests – Shirley Jones and speaker Chris Cade, to the meeting. He asked for phones to be muted, and volunteers for washing up (Liz Smith & Denise Dunnington). There were birthday cards for: Pat Midgley, Janet Thornton, John Ford, Elaine Eldret, Charles Stephenson and Jan Holman. GS thanked all those who stood in for Committee members absent from the last meeting.

Correspondence
None had been received.

Minutes of previous meeting (10th Jan.)
GM gave an update on the draw for Mishka’s birthday – 12th December chosen by Sylvia Tearle, who has been invited to the presentation at the next meeting. GM had also had two other donated items – a George Kettle and a Falcon de Luxe jigsaw puzzle – and after advertising these to members, had received offers of £20 and £10 respectively. Therefore, the total raised for St. Catherine’s Hospice stands at £402.00.

Other matters arising
GM mentioned that Archery forms had been sent out.

New members
There were two new members today – David & June Dunk, plus Richard Hornsey (from the previous meeting) received an official welcome from all members. The proposer was Ray Jones, with David Woolley and Denise Massey being seconders; there was a good show of hands from all present accepting the applications, and so David & June Dunk were welcomed, also, as new members. GM noted that two years previously there had been only 10 male members in the Driffield Probus Club. However, since the decision was made to open up membership to all, the numbers had grown substantially, and today the Club had reached 51 members!

AOB: nothing except an amendment to the winners of Malcolm Craggs’ quiz last meeting – they were Hazel Grant, John Ford & Richard Hornsey.

The Chairman then handed over the meeting to speaker, Chris Cade to present his talk about
‘George Hudson: Railway King’, which was given in character.

It was a very interesting and informative talk, made even more so as it was ‘George Hudson’ himself telling us about his life:-

He was born in East Yorkshire in 1800, and came from very humble beginnings; made his way to York after scandal found him disowned by his family, where he found employment in a draper’s shop; he married the boss’s daughter, became a partner in the business and gradually made his way ‘up the ladder’ moving in increasing higher circles; he was introduced to George Stephenson, with whom he had a long-standing business relationship, and was influential in bringing very many train routes into York; he became a Member of Parliament, and his increasing wealth meant he was able to buy many substantial properties including the Londesborough Estate, as well as property in London; unfortunately, he over-stretched his finances, and fled to France upon bankruptcy; he returned some years later, although he was then arrested and jailed, but was eventually released through unknown contacts and lived the rest of his life in London until his death in 1871.

Chris received a well-deserved round of applause at the end, with a vote of thanks given by Gareth Shelton, Chairman, who said that he had heard of George Hudson through his work in engineering, and found this talk to be really interesting, giving form to the character he had often heard about!

The next meeting of the Probus Club will take place on Wednesday 14th February when the Mayor, Cllr. Gill Helliwell, will present Mishka the Bear to the winner of the ‘Guess Mishka’s Birthday’ draw, as well as the presentation of the cheque for money raised to  St. Catherine’s Hospice.

At the same meeting, Past Chairman John Sharmen will present his talk on the exploits of his daughter, Helen Sharman, who was the first British astronaut.

On Wednesday 7th February Probus members will meet at 5pm for a fish and chip supper at Stuart’s in Driffield, followed by a second visit to The Black Ridge Archery Range in Skerne Road, Driffield.

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10th January 2024

Chairman’s welcome: David Woolley, standing in for Gareth Shelton, welcomed 23 members.

Correspondence:
Barbara Hall thanked Gerald for the trip to Hull City Hall and for the Christmas party;
Liz Smith had sent a letter thanking all members for the kind messages of condolence, and for attending the service at the Crematorium.

Minutes of the last meeting (November 22nd): these were taken as being OK, with no matters arising.

New members: Richard Hornsey was welcomed by those present as a new member.

Mishka Draw: this fund-raising event by the Club has raised £372.00 for St. Catherine’s Hospice. The winning date drawn for Mishka’s birthday was 12th December.
(It is proposed that the cheque will be handed to a member of the St. Catherine’s Driffield Support Group at the meeting on Wednesday 14th February, when it is also hoped that the Mayor, Gill Helliwell will present Mishka to the winner of the date drawn; the photographer from the Wolds Weekly will also be booked to take a photo.)

The meeting was then handed over to Malcolm Craggs for him to present his Annual World-famous Quiz
This was won by Hazel, John (?) and Richard Hornsey.

After the quiz, there was time for a number of short discussions on the following  topics:
The Post Office; the Covid Inquiry; Curry’s Warranty deal; The Junior Doctors’ strike; Absent School days.

At the next Probus meeting on Wednesday 24th January, Chris Cade will give his presentation on ‘George Hudson, the Railway King’.

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22nd November 2023

The Chairman welcomed 36 members plus 3 guests – Shirley Jones (guest of Ray Jones) and speaker Andrew Elliker-Reeve with his wife (& carer) Rebecca. Liz Smith & Charles Stephenson volunteered for the washing-up duty. Birthday cards were handed out to Harry Houldsworth, Pete Robb & Christine Bristow.
Gerald Massey welcomed back John & Ann Castleton, who had had some health issues in recent weeks; James Anderson is still not too well; Tony Harris continues with his recovery.

Correspondence
An official letter was received form the Yorkshire Air Ambulance thanking the Club for the cheque for £245.00; they gave some instances of rescues made, also stating that they now had finances to buy a third helicopter (which is to be used as a reserve).

Minutes from the previous meeting were taken as being an accurate record, except that the cheque presented to Digby Lovell for ‘Men in Sheds’ was for £50.00, and NOT £30.00.

AOB: With reference to the proposed Wellbeing Policy, there had recently been a couple of instances which had been very appropriate to the ethos of the said policy. GM mentioned that official notice will be issued in the New Year regarding the commencement of the Wellbeing Support Group, along with the names of the ladies who have volunteered to co-ordinate it.

The Chairman then handed the meeting over to Andrew Elliker-Reeve to give his talk on ‘Travelling Blind’

Andrew told us that almost 4 years previously he started having circulation problems for which, initially an operation for stents was arranged, but this was cancelled, and he had to have a triple by-pass. This seemed to have gone well, but there were complications, he went into a coma, and when he eventually awoke, found he no longer had his sight. There were a number of complications which occurred, and whilst he can generally cope with most of them, there are occasions when they prove problematic.

This happened during Covid, so on being released to go home, the care needed was especially awkward to provide, and he became depressed and lost his dignity. It took at least 3 months for him & his wife, Rebecca (who had to become his carer) to come to terms with their situation, and finally came to the conclusion that they should make the most of their lives together. He started a blog (‘Travelling Blind’ on YouTube) which helped many people, as well as himself; he has raised money for charity by completing a number of different challenges; he became the first blind man to walk the Wolds Way, raising £5.5k for Guide Dogs for the Blind; earlier in the year he became the first blind man to walk the Cleveland Way – in 12 days instead of the usual 9 after being seriously ill earlier in the year!

Malcolm Craggs thanked Andrew for his talk, stating that it was very interesting and inspirational; he presented a cheque for £100 to Andrew.

As there was still some time before the end of the meeting, GS asked David Holman if he would give a short talk about his life.

GM mentioned that he still had had a very good response for the trip to Hull City Hall and the meal at Papa’s restaurant.

Our next meeting will be the Probus Christmas Party, details of which have now been sent out.

The first Probus Club General Meeting for 2024 will be on Wednesday 10 January and will feature Malcolm’s Craggs’ famous quiz.

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8th November 2023

The Chairman welcomed32 members and 1 guest (Shirley Jones) and the speaker, Digby Lovell.

Sick members:Tony Harris, James Anderson (continuing to recover from his fall & spell in hospital).

Correspondence:The Secretary had received a ‘Thank You Card’ from Yorkshire Air Ambulance. (This resulted from the talk given by Marion Gamble and the donation given by the Club, as well as the generous value of purchases made by members.)

Minutes from the last meeting (October 25):These were accepted with no matters arising.

AOB
Should there be any queries about the Christmas Spectacular in Hull, or if anyone still wished to buy tickets, they should contact Gerald as soon as he returns from his holiday. (He still has 10 tickets remaining.)

The Driffield Christmas Tree Festival would take place again this year, and Barbara Hall had booked a space for a Probus Club tree. Ray Jones offered the use of his tree again, with the decorating to be done by Marjorie Battams, Jan Holman & Tina Shelton (should anyone else wish to help, please contact one of the ladies). Tree decoration is scheduled for 30 November, between 2–6pm; public viewing starts on Friday 1st December (notices advertising the Probus Club are acceptable).

Gareth Shelton stated that he has started work on the Facebook page again, which should be updated regularly with Club news (he had been waiting for the members to give the permission for personal details to be used). If you are on Facebook, here is a link to the Club’s Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=driffield%20probus%20club
If you are interested, just click on the ‘FOLLOW’ button and you should get an update when GS posts anything new. If this does not work, just do a Facebook search for ‘Driffield Probus Club’ and you should find it.

The meeting was then handed over to Digby Lovell to give his talk about ‘Men in Sheds’

Digby is the current Chairman, “as no-one else wanted to do it!” ‘Men in Sheds’ is an Australian term, but in the UK, it refers to ladies, as well. It started in 2013, and is a registered charity. There 850 groups nationally, with about 150 in development.

Locally, the Hornsea group has a large number of ladies known as ‘Crafty Shedders’ who are involved in textile crafts. The Driffield group covers art, crafts, gardening, metalwork, pyrography, to name but a few.

Why is it needed? Loneliness and social isolation are known to increase the risk of death by 26%, and are also associated with the risk of developing dementia.

Men in Sheds (Driffield) exhibit their work at the Driffield Show; they have made signposts for The Yorkshire Wolds Way; the planter in North End Park was one of their first projects, along with a fence made from recycled plastics. The Open Day in September was very successful.

The ‘Men in Sheds’ group starting in Driffield was largely due to Barbara Hall, assisted by Mark Blakeston. Covid was a problem and afterwards there was not a lot of interest. However, things gradually improved, and with local funding and publicity, membership has increased, especially for this year. They work with other local groups, e.g. Driffield in Bloom (Barbara Hall said ‘they have done a lot of invaluable work’).

Digby had brought along a number of items that his members had made. He  also presented to the Club, a gavel (made by one of the group) along with a hammer, for the Chairman to use at meetings - GS thanked him for this.

Ray Jones thanked Digby for an interesting talk, and asked members to show their appreciation with a round of applause. Mike Battams presented a cheque for £30.00 as a donation from the Probus Club.

The Chairman then initiated a series of random 10 minutes talks from members, called ‘About Me’’ the first couple given were ‘I am Marjorie Battams’ and ‘I am Janet Thornton’

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday 22 November, and Andrew Elliker-Reeve will give his talk on ‘Travelling Blind’

The final date for booking tickets for the Christmas Extravaganza, with fish & chips at Papa’s beforehand, is Wednesday 22 November.

Information and booking form for the Probus Club Christmas Party on Wednesday 13 December has now been sent out to members. (Gerald will have extra copies at Wednesday’s meeting). All bookings and money MUST be received by Wednesday December 6, at the latest (to allow for Pam Woodcock, at the Cricket Club, to make the necessary catering arrangements)

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25th October 2023

Chairman’s welcome: Gareth Shelton welcomed 32 members, 1 guest (Shirley Jones), and speaker Philip Robson today, saying it was nice to see so many for his first official meeting. He gave out birthday cards to Christine Wilson and Mike Thornton. [Ray Jones & Liz Smith offered to wash up afterwards.]

Sick members: Tony Harris is still doing well; Pat Midgley gave an update on James’ condition; GM asked for the best wishes to be passed on to James from the members.

Correspondence: GM had received confirmation from the Mayor of Driffield, accepting the invitation to the Probus Christmas Party.

Minutes of last meeting: Accepted with no matters arising.

AOB: Mike Battams thanked Janet Thornton and Hazel Grant for standing in for him at the AGM and collecting the members’ payments.

The meeting was then handed over to Philip Robson for his talk on ‘The Yorkshire Wolds Railway’.

The Yorkshire Wolds Railway was started in October 2008 and took 4 years to get all paperwork sorted out before people could be allowed in. It cost £16,000 and an 83-page feasibility study to the local council before permission was granted to allow work to be carried out. It is a registered charity with its own website and members forum; there is also a membership scheme. (It is governed by the Heritage Railway Association.)

Tasks include restoration, painting, track laying, gardening (around the whole site), etc. The track has been extended since the railway first opened. To raise awareness of their work they take part in shows, e.g. Driffield Show, and also give public and local presentations (as for Driffield Probus Club).

On site there is a visitor centre, located in a railway carriage, a shop with a small café, track, a platform and a signal box.

Various rides and experiences are available. The venue is open on Sundays and Bank Holidays for different events (including open evenings for private events and group visits).

The railway is funded through grants, membership fees and donations – not just money, but ‘in kind’ e.g. track given by Drax and the time given by volunteers. Events, like the annual Model Railway Exhibition held at the Rix Pavilion in Driffield, also bring in much needed money. The Sledmere Estate were very much in favour of the restoration of the line and the Yorkshire Wolds Railway, and have been proactive with their help.

It proved to be a really quite interesting talk, enjoyed by the majority of members. The Chairman gave a vote of thanks to Philip Robson, and asked for members to show their appreciation in the usual manner. GM asked whether members would be interested in attending a private open evening at the Railway site in Fimber next year and there was a big show of hands from members in favour. As such, GM will make the necessary arrangements.

(Photo by Ian3055 of Yorkshire Wolds Railway, used underCreative Commons Licence).

The next meeting for Driffield Probus Club will be on Wednesday 8 November, when Digby Lovell will give a talk on ‘Men in Sheds’

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27th September 2023

The Chairman welcomed 38 members plus one guest (Barbara Bonner, formerly from Driffield, but now living in Washington DC); PG commented “this may be the most we have ever had at a meeting!”

Sick members: James Anderson is still recovering, and Pat Midgley gave members an update on his present condition.

Matters arising from the last meeting:
Gerald Massey had been in contact with St. Catherine’s Hospice re. group visits, and had been asked for no more than 6 guests at a time, and mid-week visits only, please. GM will contact them again to arrange a couple of dates.

David Woolley’s talk at the previous meeting seemed to go down very well; he also confirmed that he is willing to stand for Vice-Chairman at the forthcoming AGM.

The Bridlington Lifeboat visit has had a very good response.

New members: applications had been received from three prospective members:- Denise Dunnington, Sheila Robb and Sam Walton; all were accepted.

The meeting was then handed over to Bertie Bingham and his wife Claire, from Butterflies Chocolates of Pocklington.

They met at university where they were both working on a cancer research project. When this finished, they both decided on a career change, and having made chocolates for fun, thought this might provide a joint career for them. They have a purpose-built chocolate kitchen at their home in Pocklington, and now sell their chocolates at local farmers’ markets, Christmas markets, etc., and since the Covid lockdown have expanded their online sales, as well. They also give talks to local groups and clubs, as well as offering the occasional chocolate workshop.

They get the Belgian chocolate from a producer (Calibo) who use Fair Trade cocoa from Cocoa Horizons (an organisation who support cocoa farmers to farm sustainably).

They do not use artificial flavours or preservatives, although this means their chocolates have a shorter shelf life. They also use organic products wherever possible, so again there are no preservatives, but this does give a higher quality product. They also like to support local suppliers, as well.

The talk was very well received, with the tasting experience and the ‘tasting notes’ proving most interesting and giving an insight into the complexity of chocolate. Members showed their appreciation by buying a good quantity of the chocolates products on display.

The Probus Club visit to Bridlington Lifeboat Station will take place on Wednesday 4 October at 10.30am, followed by lunch at The North Star in Flamborough, at 12.30pm

The Annual General Meeting takes place on Wednesday 11 October at 10.00 for 10.30am followed by a talk given by Pat Midgley entitled ‘My Life Behind Bars!’

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13th September 2023

Peter Grant welcomed33 members plus 1 guest – Sam Walton (from Beverley Probus Club). He commented that it was nice to see so many at the meeting, and was possibly the most we have had in recent years.

Sick members
James Anderson: He had had a fall at home, and after much trouble trying to get an ambulance, was finally taken to Scarborough Hospital. An x-ray didn’t show any specific reason for the pain he was in, so a CT scan was taken, and they were currently awaiting the result.

David Holman had recently contacted GM and wanted to acknowledge the help that Gareth & Tina Shelton had recently given to him and Jan. Jan had suffered some sort of episode and was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, with David accompanying the ambulance, and G & T taking the dog, Gracie to look after her. Jan had a blood clot removed from her brain. She is now very much better, and David wanted to thank G & T, saying that “their assistance was an indication of the help and fellowship that Probus was all about”.

Correspondence:
GM spoke about the talk that Marion Gamble had given on the Yorkshire Air Ambulance; he thought she was a good speaker, and gave an inspirational talk. She had emailed GM afterwards thanking Probus members for their generosity in raising £145, which was in addition to the £100 donation given by the Club. She also asked for a copy of the photo of the cheque presentation so that it could be included in the next edition of the YAA magazine.

GM had recently received a phone call from St. Catherine’s Hospice (Scarborough) saying they were trying to raise the profile of the hospice locally, by offering talks to clubs & groups, and would also arrange visits to the hospice, if one was wanted. GM asked members if anyone would be interested in a visit to the hospice, and as a number raised their hands, said he would arrange this. [Denise Massey added that she had previously visited the hospice and found it to be very much a place where life was celebrated, rather than a sad and morbid place – well worth visiting.]

Several birthday cards had gone out. One had gone to John Witty, whose birthday it was on the very day, so all the members sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for him!

Matters arising from minutes of last meeting:GM mentioned that the forthcoming visit to the Lifeboat Station had been booked for 4th October, as well as a table at The North Star in Flamborough, for lunch afterwards. Bookings for these must be returned by Wednesday 27 September, at the latest, as forms needed to be returned to the organisations for them to be actioned. [NOTE: the cost of £12pp for the meal is payable to Probus, as the Treasurer will write one cheque for all the meals.] GM also reminded the members on the visit that the Lifeboat Station was ‘a working environment’ and everyone should take great care whilst on the premises.

Vice-Chairman:GM mentioned that at the forthcoming AGM, the position of Vice-chairman will become vacant if members vote for Gareth Shelton to take over the role of Chairman. He added that the position of Vice-chairman is for 2 years tenure with the holder being required to stand in at meetings when the Chairman is absent and to attend Committee meetings every two months; also, there is not an automatic expectation that the holder of this position will take over as Chairman, as all positions have to be voted on by members at an AGM. GM asked all members to give this careful consideration before the AGM, and if interested, contact him as soon as possible.

AOB:GM commented on the recent Gliding evening at Pocklington Airfield, saying that as a ‘thank you’ to all the crew who helped & looked after Probus members on the evening, the Club bought them a round of drinks, and invited them to have some of the food available. As a consequence of this, when he came to pay the final bill for the evening, it turned out to be less than previously arranged!

 

The meeting was then handed over to David Woolley for his talk about his time ‘In the Fraud Squad’. (However, he started by saying that he would be putting his name forward for consideration for the position of Vice-chairman at the AGM!)

David is from Trowbridge in Wiltshire, and at 19 years of age thought about joining the Police Force, but coming from a small county town decided upon Leeds City Police, thinking it would be ‘a more lively environment’ – and because he had always been a supporter of Leeds Utd FC!

After his training and probationary period, he was posted to Dewsbury Road Police Station - conveniently in the Elland Road area – and was often on duty inside of the stadium on match days.He had wanted to go into Traffic, at some point, but this proved unsuccessful. He was approached about working in CID, and later, in the 70’s found himself with the West Yorkshire Fraud Squad – the 3rd or 4th largest in the country! David related some interesting stories, which included a particular con-man, whom he encountered on a number of occasions, and who defrauded many people out of tens of thousands, probably even millions of pounds. One case required David and his DC to travel to Malawi, Washington DC and New York to interview people connected to these cases.

David had to finish quite promptly, as the end of the meeting had arrived, but he did say that he had more tales to tell should we wish to hear them at another meeting.

On Wednesday 27 September a member of Butterflies Chocolates (in Pocklington) will be telling us about ‘The History of Chocolate’and will bring samples for Probus members to try, and chocolates to buy.

The Bridlington Lifeboat Station visit will take place on Wednesday 4 October at 10.30am (meet at 9.30am at Driffield Cricket Club to arrange car-sharing).
This will be followed by lunch at The North Star in Flamborough, at 12.30pm.

Bookings for the visit, plus menu choices for the meal  MUST BE MADE by Wednesday 27 September, AT THE LASTEST! (Payment for the meal - £12 Each – to Probus, please, when booking.)

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August 23rd 2023

The Chairman welcomed 30 members and Sheila Robb, our guest.

Correspondence
One from David Bannister thanking for the gliding evening. Secondly from Liz Smith nicely explaining her apologies.

Matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting
Firstly, the gliding and picnic had been a great success. The Secretary had requests from several members to repeat it next year. On a show of hands firmly in favour of this, he said it would be included in next years programme.
Secondly, the welfare policy which was discussed at last months meeting had been delayed but would be out soon.

AOB
Ron and Sandra Stark agreed to be washing up monitors.
It was Gareth and Tina’s wedding anniversary today which they were celebrating.
Following the death of her father recently Tina had been under pressure. Marjorie Battams proposed that the Club send her some flowers in appreciation of the work she does for the Club - agreed by all.

Following this Marion Gamble gave an excellent talk on the work of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

She started by saying that the service started in 2000 with a second-hand helicopter and a portacabin. Everything bought was by borrowing or public donations. A big boost came when Richard Hammond of Top Gear fame had his high speed crash at Elvington in 2006. This brought much publicity and a campaign led to donations totalling £265,000 being raised in two weeks.

There are nineteen such air ambulance services covering England and Wales. In 2008 four million pounds was borrowed to buy another second-hand helicopter. At that time it was felt they needed their own base as there were restrictions on their activities flying from Leeds/Bradford Airport. They then moved to Nostell Priory to have their own airbase with all the facilities to house the staff.

Through fundraising they were then able to purchase two new helicopters for six million pounds with no borrowing. Through their Patron, Geoff Boycott, who contacted George Osborne, they received £1 million pounds from the Government. By 2017 they had more advanced medical technology on board, such as blood and doctors who could do difficult roadside procedures. With the advance of simulators and night vision they were able to expand from daylight hours to operating from six in the morning to midnight. Cover was still available in the early hours for real emergencies.

During Covid the fundraising suffered a real setback with the cancellation of over six hundred fundraising events. In spite of this in 2023 two new helicopters were purchased at a cost of £15 million. These could fly at 160 miles per hour at a height of 1,000 feet. The five million population of Yorkshire are covered by four major trauma hospitals. These can be reached from between six and twenty minutes from any emergency scene. It costs £19,000 per day to keep this service running. Eighty per cent of this comes from donations with the rest coming from sponsorships and bursaries.

On the recommendation of the treasurer, the committee unanimously agreed to donate £100 to the Y.A.A. and John Sharman, on thanking Marion, presented her with this cheque The members then showed their appreciation for the inspiring talk.

Later that day an email from Marion said that a further £145.45 had been raised from members donations and purchases from her stall. A wonderful effort from our members for which we can all be proud. Marion also said ‘Thank everyone for their generosity and their help in assisting me, I don’t think I have ever been so well looked after’
(Photo by YAA, used underCreative Commons Licence)

The next meeting will be on Wednesday 13th September when David Woolley will give talk on his time in the ‘Fraud Squad’.

On September 27th Butterflies Chocolates will present the ‘History of Chocolate’. This will include samples and there will be items for sale.

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9th August 2023

Chairman Peter Grant welcomed 29 members to the meeting, saying “another nice day for our Probus meeting!”

Correspondence:
Secretary Gerald Massey had received just one item. Making arrangements for the 2023/24 itinerary, GM had been in contact with RAF Fylingdales (who were top of the list with most votes), but had received a reply stating that they were unable to make any arrangements for visits until next year.

Matters arising from minutes of last meeting:
‘Trusted Traders’ and ‘Welfare Policy’ – lists for these two items would be sent out in due course
Probus Formal Dinner – Gareth Shelton said that preparation was now ongoing, and that John Ford and David Holman had offered to assist with arrangements.

New members: All three guests from our last meeting – Li Smith, Ron and Sandra Stark, have submitted applications to join Driffield Probus Club, which were accepted by all those present in a full show of hands.

Gliding: Whilst the actual gliding had to be postponed due to the weather, the ‘picnic’ arranged for afterwards still took place in the clubhouse, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Five alternative dates were offered, with Weds 16th August being the most popular amongst participants. So far 18 places have been booked, with 2 still available. It has been decided by all taking part, that another picnic for after the gliding will take place – food offers will be arranged at the end of this meeting.

AOB: PG mentioned that nominations for a new Vice-chairman will be needed for the AGM due to take place during the first meeting in October. It is a 2-year position, and PG asked everyone to consider whether this would be for them. If you may be interested and would like further information, please contact Peter Grant (Chairman), Gareth Shelton (Vice-chairman) or Gerald Massey (Secretary).

The meeting was then handed over to Gerald and Denise Massey for theirVisual Fun Quiz:
This turned out to be a very entertaining quiz, with some ‘challenging’ questions, some trick questions, and a few ‘questionable’ questions!
Members were split into teams of four, randomly, with everyone having been given one of a number of differently coloured discs, with instructions to sit at the table appropriate for the colour of disc.
After 40 questions, the winners were Malcolm Craggs and his team-mates, who were each presented with the much-coveted ‘Tin of Tuna Trophy’  to the applause and amusement of all!

The next meeting will be on Wednesday 23rd August, when Marion Gamble will give a talk on ‘The Yorkshire Air Ambulance’.

On Wednesday 13th September, David Woolley will give a talk on his time in ‘The Fraud Squad’

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26th July 2023

The Chairman welcomed 31 members and 3 guests to the meeting. He then noted that “it was a nice to see the sun shining!” Secretary Gerald Massey mentioned that he had 2 messages from today’s guests:-
Ron and Sandra Stark had seen Driffield Probus Club mentioned locally and were coming along to see what it had to offer; they were from Aberdeen, and Ron had been a member of two Probus Clubs previously.
Liz Smith had first contacted GM some time ago. Her circumstances now meant that she was able to come along.
GM also welcomed back the Treasurer and his wife.

GM stated that “it was a real pleasure to welcome Tony Harris back to join us after so long!”, and that after hearing about him for so long, everyone would now know who he was. There was a round of applause from all present.

Correspondence: The forthcoming trip in October to The Beverley Treasure House had been cancelled due to a planned refurbishment. However, GM had managed to arrange a replacement trip to the Bridlington Lifeboats station, having contacted David Holker, who had given us a talk previously. Details will be sent out in due course for the trip on October 4th, with a meal in Bridlington to be arranged. [David Holman: “The Club made a donation on its last visit there.”]

Matters arising from minutes of the last meeting
Peter Hyde’s talk had been very well received; Richard Mole, who should have been giving a talk at this meeting, will be rebooked.

AOB: there were quite a few topics to be covered, with an accompanying slide show:-
The funeral of Dr. Ann Pilcher had been attended by 4 members – Gerald & Denise Massey, Gareth & Tina Shelton. GM had recently received a copy of the eulogy read at the funeral, prepared by AP herself; she had been preparing a talk about herself for Probus, before she died, therefore GM read this out. The photo shown in the slide showed AP before her illness took more of a hold.

The funeral of Maureen Winn (wife of Malcolm): this was attended by 4 members – Gerald & Denise Massey, David & Jan Holman. It was put forward that, in future, a representative of the Probus Committee should attend, with individual members making their own decision as to their attendance.

Ryedale Folk Museum trip: a lunch at The Crown Inn, was enjoyed by the group prior to the visit. We then had plenty of time to explore the Museum’s many exhibits, in the lovely afternoon sunshine!

‘Trusted Traders’ list: GS stated that a discussion at the last Committee meeting had proposed consulting members about compiling a list of local tradesmen who could be recommended to others (or who to avoid). Please contact GS with any information you have for good tradesmen. John Sharmen mentioned that a similar exercise had been started a few years ago, with relevant information being among old Club documents - possibly with the Chairman!

Afternoon Tea at Clickham Grange: a number of members gathered to enjoy a very pleasant Afternoon Tea, on the farm at Clickham Grange. However, unlike last year, this time we sat indoors, due to a ‘plague of flies’, but it didn’t spoil a lovely afternoon, with extremely good food. GM put a box of food together to take to Malcolm Winn (whose idea a repeat visit had been), who was, unfortunately, unable to attend that afternoon.

Wellbeing Policy: GM explained that the idea for this came after the death of former Treasurer, Ian Fairweather. A sub-committee was formed who decided on the ‘policy’ which was put to the members. There was a lot of discussion, with varying views. GM will send out a questionnaire for members to answer, and hopefully, get a better idea of everyone’s response.

Gliding evening: this meeting represented the final date for booking a place. Arrangements will be made regarding what food participants will bring along for the picnic buffet.

Formal Dinner: GS spoke about the questionnaire he had emailed to members to ascertain their views, give suggestions as to possible venues, etc. He asked for two volunteers to assist him in the organisation.

Prospective Vice-chairman: as GS will be taken over the position of Chairman at the Club AGM in October, he will be needing a Vice-chairman. GM asked everyone to consider whether they would like to volunteer for this position and ask for any information as to what would be expected of them.

Washing up after meetings: Sue Hyde explained the situation regarding clearing/washing up at the end of meetings. It was decided to ask for a couple of volunteers at the beginning of each meeting.

Suggestions: GM stated that it would be useful to know whether members were happy with how meetings run, the type of speakers booked, were member-speakers a good idea, what can we do better? He asked for members to respond with anything they considered relevant to how the Club runs – please feel free to contact GM with your thoughts.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday 10 August, when Gerald & Denise will be doing a fun Visual Quiz.

On Wednesday 23 August, Marion Gamble will give a talk on ‘Yorkshire Air Ambulance’

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12th July 2023

Chairman’s welcome:Vice-chairman Gareth Shelton welcomed 20 members. He asked for mobile phones to be put on silent.

Sick members:Tony Harris – GM was able to speak to Tony recently, who said he was feeling “very much better” and that his oncologist was very pleased with his progress. Tony also hopes to be able to attend the first meeting in August.

Minutes of the last meeting:accepted.

Matters arising:
GM mentioned that he had spoken to Liz Hallet, BEM (last month’s speaker) since the meeting, and had asked how she had been awarded a British Empire Medal, and she told him it was for her involvement with community work, and that she had raised over £40,000 for charity. She had been unable to receive her award at Buckingham Palace, as she had lost first her father-in-law, closely followed by her husband, and could not decide upon anyone to accompany her. In the end, she was awarded her BEM at Hull Guild Hall.

AOB:
GS presented Mike Roberts with his birthday card for later in the month.
GS mentioned the formal Anniversary Dinner he was hoping to organise for next year, and said that he will be sending out an email with a questionnaire to find out if there is interest amongst members for this (paper copies will be available at the next meeting for those who are not able to receive emails) - this will also be on the agenda for discussion at the next meeting.
Parking Restrictions for Tesco’s car park had changed. Whilst the time allowance was still the same during store opening times, once the store was closed, the time was restricted to15 min utes Only.

The meeting was then handed over to Probus member Peter Hyde, for his talk ‘On the Beat’

Peter joined the Police Force after leaving the Airforce, and whilst he tried to join at Hutton Cranswick, was informed by the local bobby there was an 18 month waiting list, but that he could get in straightaway down in Hull – which is where he went. He was sent to the Training Centre in Durham, and said that it was very different from what it is today, and one very important task was ‘observation skills’, which stayed with him for all his life.

Back in Hull, early duties involved night shifts, where he had to check that all businesses were locked at night – by trying all the door handles!

After a while he transferred to the East Riding Constabulary before marrying his wife, Margaret.
He had work in in Bridlington for a number of years and told us quite a few interesting tales of this time. He used to like to volunteer to look after certain dogs from the RSPCA, and this led to him applying for the post of a dog handler within the Police Dog section. At some point he had been nicknamed ‘Crasher’ because of his reputation of being ‘dodgy’ with police cars, having gone through 3 different cars in one day!

He worked in Beverley for a time and whilst there applied for a police motorcycle position, was successful, and his first bike was a 250cc BSA, upgrading to a 500cc bike later on. He spent 3 years as a ‘country bobby’, and during this time, received an award for gallantry for rescuing a disabled man from a burning building (unfortunately the man was already dead!)

He had to attend a course to update his knowledge of the law, and was asked if he had thought of becoming an instructor, which he did soon afterwards, at the Police Training School, being transferred to Dishford for a 2 year secondment. After this he transferred to York, as a sergeant. In all, Peter was a policeman for 31 years, ending up as an inspector. He then became a solicitor’s clerk, where instead of ‘locking up villains’ he was then ‘trying to get them out!’

Gareth Shelton gave the vote of thanks, stating how interesting a talk it had been about such a full and varied career.

It was noted that the funeral for Margaret Winn, wife of Malcolm Winn, would take place on 21 July at 3.30pm at Octon (information supplied by Jan Holman).

At the next meeting on Wednesday 26 July, there will now be no talk, as Richard Mole (who had been due to speak) had to cancel. There will, instead, be a General Meeting to discuss a number of topics with the members.

 

Probus Gliding Evening on 3 August
Information has been sent out, with a number of forms already returned; there is a limit of 20 fliers on the evening, so it will be a case of ‘first come, first on the list’
Please remember that the final date for booking is
Wednesday 26 July
All applications to Gerald, please.

Previous reports from 2020-2023 are archived and available on request.