Driffield Probus Club

Event Reports

26th November 2025

Chairman’s welcome: David Woolley welcomed 39 Members and 2 Speakers (Julie & Yvonne of the Tickton Tarts) to the meeting; He asked for a minute’s silence in remembrance of Denise Massey; Gerald thanked everyone for their support and kind words, also praising Saint Catherine’s Hospice for the care given to Denise. Sue Hyde also said a few words in memory of Denise having known her for over 40 years.

Sick Members: Ron Thompson.

Correspondence:
GM gave an update of the Café Leon evening which included the presentation of a cheque to Saint Catherine’s Hospice Driffield Support Group. The fund-raising efforts over the year had raised a total of £3183, which put the total raised by the Support Group just £217 short of the £15,000 needed for a Cuddle Bed (this sum was donated by Member Stuart Nelson). GM also mentioned that he had received a message from the Support Group stating how surprised and so very grateful they were to receive this donation. DW thanked all Members for their support of these fund-raising efforts, and GM gave a special ‘Thank You’ to Marjorie Battams, Sue Hudson and Stuart Nelson for the extra work they had given.
At their last meeting, Committee Members had discussed offering Honorary Life Membership to three long-standing Probus Members: John Sharman, Malcolm Winn and Peter Grant. [GM said how grateful Members had been to John Sharman for keeping the Club going through Zoom meetings during the Covid pandemic]. GM announced that he had received a letter from each nominee, thanking the Club and accepting the honour.

Minutes of the last meeting – 12th November: these were accepted as a true account of the meeting, with no matters arising.

Any other business: There was mention of the Christmas Concert to be given by the Driffield Silver Band in the run up to Christmas, and taking place at the Driffield Methodist Church. There was also information given out about a Christmas Wreath-making class taking place in December. GM also told Members of a Memorial Concert for Denise, and involving the Driffield Silver Band, which would take place in the New Year at the Rix Pavilion – details will follow in due course.

With the business meeting completed, David Woolley handed over to
The Tickton Tarts (Julie & Yvonne) to give their presentation entitled
‘School Dinners’, during the 60s and 70s.

They said that much of the information had come from a book called ‘School Dinners’ by Sally Berry.
They then began with a quiz, asking Members to decide upon the ‘most popular answer from a selection of choices, given by a sample of 100 people’ to the questions asked.
They gave a brief history of school meals, starting in 1907 with the ‘Bradford Experiment’.
By 1944 school meals were available for every child. In the 1980s, the provision of school meals was taken away from LEA control in favour of private contractors – this was the downfall of ‘nutritious school meal’ provision for children.

DW thanked the ladies, saying how enlightening and engaging the talk had been, and “it makes us all think back to our own experiences!”

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12th November 2025

Chairman’s Welcome: David Woolley welcomed 38 Members to the meeting.

Sick Members: Ron Thompson, Denise Massey (Gerald gave an update on Denise’s condition.)

Correspondence: GM had received a note about a concert by Middle 8 Singers – ‘Christmas Carols & Songs’, on Friday 19th December at 7.00pm, in Driffield Methodist Church; £6.00 payable on the door or contact Peter Grant.

Minutes of the last meeting, 22nd October: agreed accurate with no matters arising.

New Members: Kathryn Hearfield was accepted as a New Member.

Any Other Business:
Gareth Shelton mentioned that in visiting Denise recently, he was reminded how pleasant an environment there was at Saint Catherine’s Hospice; it was also well worth visiting their on-site Bistro, where the food was ‘really very good’.

Gill Helliwell informed Members that Driffield Silver Band would be performing their annual Christmas Concert at Driffield Methodist Church on Saturday 6th December, from 2.00pm; Free Entry with refreshments included.

Annual Dinner – Tina Shelton thanked all those who attended, and although disappointed with service and food at Hotel 41, was hoping to organise another Annual Dinner for 2026, but at a different venue. She asked for feed-back from Members. Gerald Massey added that there was a really nice article in the Driffield local newspaper, with photographs of those on each table.

Barbara Hall had recently been presented with the Driffield Armorial Shield for her voluntary work in the local community.

Mike Battams had mentioned the article in the local newspaper, "a really nice piece about Malcolm Craggs"

David Woolley then handed over the meeting to
Digby Sewell for his talk about ‘Victorian Letters’.

He told us that letter writing for the Victorians was as prolific an activity as sending emails today.
All the examples that were used in his presentation were taken from ‘Correct Guide to Letter Writing’ by A Member of the Aristocracy, from around the end of the 19th century.
For each letter, Digby handed the book to different Members who were present, for them to read aloud .
There were various different scenarios, e.g.

A letter from a Father to a company requesting a job for his son;
A letter from ‘a Gentleman’ declaring his love, with an offer of marriage to ‘a Young Lady’;
A reply from ‘a Young Lady’ rejecting the aforementioned offer;
A different letter with a declaration of love;
A reply repudiating this declaration from ‘the Father of a Young Lady’;
Various other letters describing different situations or scenarios.

David Woolley thanked Digby for his presentation saying how very amusing and enlightening it had been. He thought that nowadays there seemed to be less respect in the tone of letter-writing. Mike Roberts thought it interesting that people wrote, expecting a reply the same day! Gareth Shelton said that there were 5 deliveries a day at some point, with Digby adding that in London there had been 8 deliveries per day! Everyone agreed that it had been an interesting talk, and gave a round of applause to show their appreciation.

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22nd October 2025

Chairman’s Welcome: David Woolley welcomed 32 Members to the meeting, thanking them for electing him as Chairman, and saying it was his first meeting in this role; he also apologised for his absence. He also welcomed one guest, Kathryn Hearfield, and our Speaker, Angela Beaumont.

Sick Members: John Bate – had been in Hospital but now back home and being monitored; Denise Massey was comfortable, and MacMillan Nurses were on hand.

Correspondence: a message from Susan Marshall about the troubles in Nepal (where Rainsu, Probus’ sponsored child lives) – these had now quietened down however, more were anticipated with elections due next year (SM will keep the Club updated).

Minutes from last meeting, 8th October: these were agreed as accurate by Members, with no matters arising.

New Members: Etta Page, Alison Grinter and Susan Worrell have all attended previous meetings and now applied to join the Club they were proposed and seconded, with a unanimous show of hands from Members accepting their applications, they were all welcomed as New Members.

Any Other Business:
Gerald Massey mentioned that he had received quite a few responses for the Café Leon Social Evening, at which the cheque for monies raised for The Cuddle Bed, will be presented to the Saint Catherine’s Hospice Driffield Support Group.
Gerald also informed Members that at the next meeting (12th November), the ladies from the Driffield Support Group will be selling Christmas cards, etc. before the 10.30 start.

With the business meeting completed, David Woolley handed over to Angela Beaumont, for her to recount to Members her journey from Kathmandu, Nepal to Bali, Indonesia (the second of a number of talks describing her trips to various regions around the World.

It was an interesting talk, with many amusing tales of her travel experiences, the venues which were visited and some of the entertainment provided by these establishments. She experienced encounters with leeches and many other creatures; visited many different villages where the locals were very welcoming, but all the facilities were quite basic, even, in certain places ‘primitive’.

David Woolley thanked Angela for recounting her ‘very interesting adventure’, and Members gave a round of applause in appreciation.

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24th September 2025

Chairman’s Welcome: Gareth welcomed everyone to the meeting, stating it would be ‘his last full meeting as Chairman’. He introduced the speaker, Richard Hampshire, and guests Richard Myerscough, Alison and Sue.

Sick Members: Ron Thompson, Denise Massey (Gerald gave an update as to Denise’s condition).

Correspondence:
Susan Marshall had sent an update on Rainsu (the Probus Club’s sponsored Nepalese child), stating that there had been ‘troubles’ in Nepal which had been concerning, but these had now calmed down; Rainsu and her family were doing OK.

There were 2 tickets for a performance of ‘Downton Abbey – the Finale’ at Pocklington available FOC (from Gareth & Tina, who were unable to attend due to another commitment).

From Sarah Ryalls – there would be a performance of 2 ‘silent films’ with an accompaniment on the organ at Bridlington Priory.

Denise Dunnington would be reading excerpts from her book ‘Carry Your Case, Sir?’; there would be free tea & coffee available.

Minutes from last meeting, 10th September: Accepted as correct, with no matters arising.

Any Other Business:
From Marjorie Battams – there will be a ‘Grand Raffle’ at the forthcoming Annual Dinner, so “please bring plenty of money!”

Gareth mentioned that the next meeting would the Annual General Meeting, and asked Members to ‘please try to attend’ as there would be some important matters to vote on!

With the Business Meeting completed, Gareth handed the rest of the meeting over to
Richard Hampshire from Yorkshire Water and the Reserve Warden
at Tophill Low Nature Reserve, near Cranswick.

He said Tophill Low covered 180 hectares (approx. 300 acres), with lots of wildlife on site.
He mentioned a study that was currently ongoing by a group called TOAST – Tophill Low Archaeological Survey Team, who are researching the history of the site. His talk focussed on the History of the Water Treatment Site of the 1950s.
Prior to this date, the area was a farm – Tophill Low Farm, but this was compulsorily purchased to make way for the subsequent water treatment site.
Records showed that in the 1920s, the land and farm was bought by the ‘Ness’ family. At this time, the area was called ‘Topilow’.
Richard recounted much more history of the Site and surrounding area, going back much further in time.

Gareth gave the Vote of Thanks, saying that “there was just so much history in the story of the site”, and asked for a round of applause as a show of appreciation.

Richard Myerscough, who had come along as a guest to hear the talk mentioned that if anyone would be interested in joining TOAST, please send him an email address, adding that ‘researchers would be particularly welcome!'

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10th September 2025

Chairman’s Welcome: David Woolley welcomed 26 members to the meeting. He observed that there did not seem to be so many present today but that was probably due to holiday commitments.

Sick Members: Ron Thompson - (Mike Battams said he had spoken to Ron’s wife earlier in the week and she said Ron was not doing very well. Sadly, he is not recovering as well as expected). Denise Massey - (Gerald said Denise was returning home that afternoon after spending a fortnight in a local Care Home and he could not fault the excellent treatment she had received during her stay. Denise saw the surgeon last week and there is no sign of cancer but she is to receive a ‘belt and braces’ course of radio therapy as a precaution. She is doing very well and sends her best wishes to everyone).

Correspondence: Gerald read out the following correspondence:
A note from Margaret Parkin, the speaker at the last meeting, thanking us for our kindness and hospitality and asking that her thanks be passed on to everyone.
An email from Liz Smith thanking him for arranging a thoroughly enjoyable evening at Café Leon and saying that the meal, the service and the company had been faultless.

Minutes from last meeting (27th August): accepted as an accurate record with no matters arising.

New Members: Anne Downes had attended the last meeting as a guest. The Chairman said she had been so impressed that she had applied to join the Club. After a show of hands, the Chairman welcomed Anne into Probus as a new member.

Any Other Business:
Gerald had received a lot of feedback from the members who attended the social evening at Café Leon. Everyone said it had been a really nice evening.
Marjorie Battams informed the members that she had taken a total of £157 in raffle money at the Café Leon social evening.

With Club business completed, the Chairman handed over to David Holman.

David said his illustrated talk would be about gemstones but he would begin by explaining his background in the retail jewellery trade.

His introduction to the jewellery business was as a Sales Assistant in a shop in Colchester owned by Ratners. This is where he learned about all aspects of the trade and decided his particular interest lay in gemstones. He spent 10 years with Ratners, working in their flagship shop in Oxford Street and one of their branches in Ipswich.

David left Ratners after being headhunted by the prestigious jewellery chain of Mappin & Webb. He gained promotion to Area Manager but, because the job covered such a large area and involved a lot of travelling, he found he was never at home.

He then had a complete change of career, spending 10 years working for Oxfam, before returning to the jewellery trade and going to work for a pawnbroker in Derby where he estimated the value on items of jewellery or gemstones that were brought into the shop. He recounted numerous stories of the customers he met and the extreme violence associated with the pawnbroker trade. Shopkeepers have been attacked and threatened with a variety of weapons including real guns, artificial guns, knives and hypodermic needles.

David eventually decided that this was not the life for him so he retired early and spent a few years working at antiques fairs.

After telling us the background of how he got into the jewellery trade, David gave a very informative and illustrated talk about gemstones. He described where they are found, their structure, rarity, how they are cleaned, cut (including the names and shapes of the various cuts) and polished.

Diamonds: Diamonds are the hardest gemstone – ranking ‘10’ on the Moh’s scale of mineral hardness. They are now the most commonly found gemstone but were once perceived as rare as the diamond market was controlled by a South African company called De Beers, who only released a limited number of carats each year. Imperfections, called inclusions, are present in almost every stone and there is no such thing as a flawless diamond. Due to their hardness they are brittle and difficult to cut.
Emeralds: Emeralds are rare and expensive and a flawless emerald is one of the most prized gemstones. In all his years in the jewellery trade David never saw a clear emerald.
Sapphires: Although blue is the most well-known, sapphires can be found in many different colours including yellow and green.
Opals: Opals are called ‘the queen of gems’, black opals being the most prized. They contain a lot of water and lose their colour and ‘life’ if they dry out. Most of the world’s opals come from Australia.
Cameos: There are 2 kinds of cameo - shell and stone – and they too will lose their colour if they dry out.
Pearls: There are 3 types of pearl - natural, cultured and simulated. Natural pearls are formed when an irritant, like a grain of sand, gets inside the shell of the oyster and it covers it with a liquid called nacre to protect itself. It adds more and more layers, like an onion, until it forms a pearl. Perfume is the biggest enemy of a pearl as it kills the lustre. When on a necklace they should be individually knotted so they don’t rub against each other.
Amber, Jet and Coral: All 3 are organic gemstones Amber is fossilised tree resin. Jet is mainly found on the east coast, particularly the town of Whitby, and comes from wood which has been decomposing underground for millions of years. Coral is formed in the ocean from the skeletons of miniscule marine creatures.

The Chairman thanked David for such an interesting talk. He said it was sad to think about all the violence that is involved when so much time and effort is put in to produce a piece of jewellery. The members showed their appreciation with a round of applause.
The Chairman reminded everyone that today was the closing date for the return of forms to attend the meal at Hotel 41 on 16th October. If anyone hadn’t handed them in yet would they please drop them round to Tina or David Holman as Hotel 41 need to know what menus had been chosen.

At our next meeting on 24th September Richard Hampshire will give a talk on ‘Tophill Low’.

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27th August 2025

Chairman’s Welcome: Gareth Shelton welcomed 37 Members and three Guests (Etta Page, Gwen Middleton and Anne Downes) to the meeting. He then spoke to Members about Tony Harris who had sadly died earlier in the week, saying TH was very knowledgeable on Club Constitution matters, but had had a long battle with cancer. He asked everyone to join him in a minute’s silence in remembrance of Tony. Gerald Massey then asked for a “Point of Order, Chairman” saying that Tony had been a Member for over 20 years, and would always ‘pick people up’ if they went ‘off course’ during a meeting by saying “Point of Order, Chairman!” GM had spoken to Tony’s widow, who wondered if older Members may like to get together for a drink or lunch to remember him, on the day of his funeral; GM will arrange.

Sick Members: Ron Thompson, Denise Massey (GM gave a brief update on Denise’s condition, saying that they are seeing improvements every day. She in temporarily in a Care Home whilst major alterations take place to the bathroom; she is happy to have visitors in an afternoon – Room 1.

Correspondence: GM mentioned an email sent by Stuart Nelson saying how much he liked Driffield Probus Club and its Members, and to add his name to any list of condolences sent to Tony Harris’ widow.

Minutes from the last meeting, 13th August were received as an accurate record of the meeting.

Matters arising: Tina Shelton mentioned that the deadline for booking onto the Annual Dinner would be next meeting on 10th September, and forms should be handed to David Holman, as she (TS) will be on holiday.

Any other business:
GM will be booking for the Café Leon evening on Thursday 28 August. He will also be booking for three shows at Hull New Theatre – Cirque Eloize, Madame Butterfly, Mamma Mia!, on Thursday 28th August, as tickets are selling fast.
GM also mentioned that he will be sending out details very shortly, for ‘Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ which will be at Hull New Theatre on 10th March 2026.

As the Business Meeting had come to an end, GS handed over to
Margaret Parkin to give her illustrated talk about ‘Travel can be Tedious!’

She started by saying that the focus of her talk was on aspects of her travel experiences, which hadn’t always gone as planned.
She said you can find all sorts of useful books advising on culture, language, food, etc for different places, but she found the three most important aspects of travel were:
1) Getting There – however you travel;
2) There – your destination;
3) Coming back – how and when.
When driving, she finds that if using a Sat Nav, “you can lose all sense of common sense, if following one blindly!” She now uses one on her mobile phone (called Doris, and who is rather assertive and snappy, at times!), but they can be wonderful at times.
Trains can be safer, but can also come with their own set of problems. It is often difficult to get a seat, and then your fellow travellers can be ‘strange’, ‘smelly’, ‘loud’, etc, etc.
Air travel and planes also come with their own set of problems, and it can be ‘a real faff’ to get through the various procedures before even boarding.
She related many other stories and anecdotes about the many destinations she had visited, many of which were work related.
Her observations on ‘Coming Back’ were fairly similar to those of ‘Getting There’, but in reverse!

At the end of Margaret’s talk, GS said how very entertaining it had been, and asked Mike Roberts to give the vote of thanks. MR said how all the talk of travel brought to mind that a Travel Agent in Driffield had very recently closed; he also stated how the talk had brought back lots of memories of his travels both abroad and in this country, saying “holidays can often be complicated and never seem to turn out how you expect them to!” He asked everyone to show their appreciation with a round of applause for a very entertaining talk.

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13th August 2025

Chairman’s Welcome: Gareth Shelton welcomed 35 Members plus 1 guest (Etta Page) to the meeting and introduced the Speaker, Graham Thurlow.

Sick Members: Denise Massey - Gerald gave an update saying that she was now home, taking things slowly and making steady progress, Ron Thompson – Mike Battams told Members that RT had been taken into hospital after suffering a small heart attach, and was having ongoing tests.

Correspondence: GM had an email from Sarah Ryalls informing of an event celebrating the Yorkshire Wolds (from Driffield Morning WI group)

Minutes from last meeting, 23rd July: accepted as a true record of the meeting with no matters arising.

Any other business:

Mike Thornton had lots of cooking apples to anyone interested.
Annual Dinner: TS said that information and booking forms would be sent out very soon. The price would be the same as last year, £20.00 pp for a 3-course meal, with a final date for booking of Weds 17th September. (As Tina & Gareth will be away for this meeting, David Holman will be collecting any booking forms + payment on their behalf.)
Stuart Nelson’s charity walk covered 993km. Sponsor sheets would be collected shortly; last minutes payments should be made soonest.
Theatre trips: GM has sent out details of further performances coming to Hull theatres; if interested, please contact him ASAP (especially for ‘Mamma Mia’ as this is quickly filling up).
Café Leon Social evening: this is now being opened to others outside of Probus. Please send your booking slips in ASAP to avoid disappointment.

With Club business completed, the meeting was handed over to Graham Thurlow,
for his presentation about his travels to Japan and the Pantanal in Brazil.

He was part of a small group of photographers (just 12) who visited the Pantanal (a large area in the west of Brazil) in 2023 primarily to photograph Jaguars.
There were frequent boat trips to get around the area, and the group were lucky to come across a female Jaguar very early on in the trip.
Jaguars prey on cayman (a type of crocodile), and although a much smaller animal, jaguars are strong enough to haul a cayman out of the water. There was a photograph of a jaguar in the river with just its head showing, stalking a cayman.
Male Jaguars harry & pester females frequently, so females tend to loiter around tourist areas, as males are more wary here.
There were many other photos of various birds and different animals native to this area.
Graham then showed photos of a trip to Japan with this same group last January.
There were ‘Snow Monkeys’ or Japanese Macaques, some in a hot pool. Graham told us that the pools were actually man-made, and they were also fed, so ‘not quite as wild’ as he had thought.
We saw many other photos of Sara (a type of wild goat), dancing Red-crowned Cranes, Hooper Swans, Sika Deer, Red Fox.
In Hokkaido, he saw Steller’s Sea Eagles (much larger than our Golden Eagles) and showed a photo of 2 fighting over a fish; he won Photograph of the Year from the Yorkshire Photographer’s Union last year.

Gerald gave the vote of thanks, saying that “it was a pleasure to see this award-winning photographer”, and that it had been a wonderful presentation. He also mentioned that Graham would like to make a donation to Stuart’s charity walk fund. There was a round of applause from all present.
Gareth reminded Members that they were very welcome to invite friends and family to the Café Leon meal. He also mentioned that the support for Marjorie’s raffle – through prizes donated and tickets bought – had been amazing – “Thank you!”
Marjorie Battams also said that she had received some amazing prize donations from local businesses.

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23rd July 2025

Chairman’s welcome: Gareth Shelton welcomed 37 Members to the meeting, and explained that “this meeting will be a bit different as we will be splitting you up into teams of 4 for Gerald’s Quiz!”

Sick Members: Tony Harris, Ron Thompson, Denise Massey (Gerald updated Members as to Denise’s condition; both wanted to thank everyone for their support).

Minutes from last meeting (9th July): agreed as being an accurate record with no matters arising.

Any Other Business:

Trip to Laurel Vines on 6th August – the deadline was this meeting.
Café Leon Social Evening on 4th September – GM had started accepting bookings.
GM had been collating items for next year’s programme; there are 2 spare Members Meeting dates plus 2 empty Speaker Meeting dates – if anyone has an idea for filling these, please contact GM.
Mike Battams spoke about the Cuddle Bed Raffle, saying it had been ‘well supported’. Next month, August, would be the last ‘Meeting Raffle’, however, there will be a ‘bigger’ raffle at the Café Leon evening with more prizes to win. The final Cuddle Bed Raffle will take place at the October Annual Dinner, which will also have more prizes and (possibly) a large hamper.

With the conclusion of the Business meeting, GS handed over to GM for the Masseys’ famous
‘True or False’ Quiz.

Members were handed a numbered card and asked to go the a table of the same number, so giving teams of 4. Question sheets were handed out to each table, all having 50 questions with an answer of True or False. After an appropriate time to answer the questions, GM gave out the answers (some of which were queried, but over-ruled by the Question Master). The winning team of Denise Dunnington, Liz Wiles, Stuart Nelson and Malcolm Winn had 42 correct answers; second were Mike Battams, Mike Roberts, John Witty and Tina Shelton with a score of 40. The quiz caused a lot of laughs, a little controversy, but was greatly enjoyed by all.

The next meeting, on 13th August, will see Graham Thurlow return to present an illustrated talk on his worldwide travels, specifically Japan and the Pantanal in Brazil.

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9th July 2025

The Monthly Raffle to raise funds for the Driffield Support Group/Saint Catherine’s Hospice ‘Cuddle Bed Appeal’ took place this morning and raised £43.00.

Chairman’s Welcome: Gareth Shelton welcomed 30 Members to the meeting, saying “it should be a nice, interesting talk today from Harry Holdsworth”.

Sick Members: Tony Harris, Ron Thompson, Denise Massey. [Gerald Massey gave an update on Denise’s condition, after her operation, saying she was being well looked after at Castle Hill. He also mentioned how overwhelmed they both were by the support and well-wishes from Probus Members. He gave a special mention to Mike & Marjorie for extra help they had given immediately before Denise had gone into hospital.]

Minutes from last meeting of 25th June: accepted as an accurate record with no matters arising.

Any other business: The information for Laurel Vines visit had been sent out; please observe the cut-off date for booking.
Voting for next year’s trips had been collated; those following were most popular and will be booked for next year’s trips:-
i) Canonhall Farm [as this is in Barnsley, GM will investigate hiring a coach for the group going, rather than travel individually]
ii) Yorkshire Belle [GM has contacted the skipper, who is unable to give any specific details until February; however, the trip will take place in June to coincide with birds at Bempton.]
iii) Bird of Prey Centre, Helmsley
iv) Gliding, at Pocklington [GM has contacted the Gliding Club and ok to arrange for August next year.]
v) Stamford Bridge tapestry

Details for the Probus Social Evening at Café will be sent out to Members very shortly. The Independent Birding Group, which GM runs, have a morning visit to an organic farm, followed by Afternoon Tea (at Carol Skelton’s) arranged for Monday 21st July, which Probus Members are welcome to attend (contact Gerald for more information).

Stuart Nelson has now completed his Camino walk and is back home; he completed 999.3km (625 miles) in 47 days. GM had received a daily update, and has asked Stuart if he would do a presentation for the Club next year. [These pilgrimage walks have taken place for over 1,000 years, and Stuart has done these to raise money, previously for the NSPCC. However, this year he has decided to raise money for Saint Catherine’s Hospice.]

With the business meeting completed, GS handed over to Harry Holdsworth
for his illustrated talk about ‘An Indian Wedding’.

The Wedding Couple were Rebecca (Beki) Hogg and Rahul Odedra, and had already been officially married in Dubai. This was, therefore, a ‘blessing ceremony’ but followed the format of a usual Hindu wedding, taking place on Saturday 22nd August 2023 at the de Vere Wokefield Estate, near Reading, Berkshire.
The bride was decorated with henna the evening before the ceremony, at a ‘Henna Party’.
There were various rituals for the Bridegroom’s family, which took place on Thursday and Friday at their home.
The Bride’s preparations for her wedding started Saturday morning, and took about 5 hours.
The ‘Big Event’ (which would normally take place in the Bride’s family home) started on Saturday afternoon and took about 2 hours, flowing from one stage to the next, throughout 19 stages.
Many of the Bridal Party, plus other family members wore traditional Hindu dress, and Brenda Holdsworth had brought a couple along to show – a bridesmaid dress and the Bride’s mother’s dress.

It was a very interesting talk, showing how different this was from a British wedding! There were questions for Harry and Brenda to answer, and the Club Members showed their appreciation with a round of applause.

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