Author: Paul Flint

It’s a good job the coronavirus did not occur twenty or even ten years ago. Just image the difficulty of keeping in touch with each other. Yes, we had a telephone; most homes had a landline and many people had mobiles but not like the number today. And of course the Royal Mail had a reliable postal service. I don’t know if the telegram service still operated had it been necessary to contact someone in an emergency.

Today it’s different. How times have changed. Technology has come to our rescue. Virtually everyone has a mobile phone and a large majority a home computer with an internet connection. This latter aspect is the main reason that today, although being physically isolated, we can keep in contact, verbally with a phone, in written form with the immediacy of emails and visually with the latest wiz bang thing the use of WhatsApp on our mobile phone or Zoom or Microsoft’s Meet type of technology. As the BBC often says when a brand name is mentioned that other products are also available.

It’s a sign of embracing today’s times but the use of technology is how the members of the Probus Club of Basingstoke keep in touch both individually and in groups. Today every member has some sort of computer type device that has an internet connection so the use of sending out group emails is common practice. But Probus is a social organisation and the usual business style meetings, the many social gatherings and trips are missed during this lockdown period of our lives. It was considered that it was essential that some form of regular contact was necessary.

A clever design of a phone contact system was devised which meant that each member of the committee had a rotating nominated list of members to call each week.  The plan is working excellently so far and it is hoped that by the early part of July each committee member would have spoken to every member.

On a communal basis the use of Zoom has been so successful that rather than the freely available forty minutes transmission time it was soon decided to buy a year’s subscription which means the system is available for any amount of time over the next 12 months. What made this an easy decision was the ability to conduct the formal committee meetings following the agenda just as though the meeting took place around a table. The members have been involved with general meetings via Zoom and also with a quiz afternoon with several spouses helping the men in their lives achieve enhanced results. More such quizzes are planned. Investigations are being followed of using this technology to provide a speaker to replace the ones that are booked at our monthly lunch meetings.

Probus Club members may be retired and perhaps some have the occasional physical problem but to a man they are bright eyed and bushy tailed. They have all risen magnificently during these unprecedented times to prove they can assimilate new things. They are certainly not technophobes.

Here are the results of our publicity activity that appeared in June. All publications used Jeff Grover’s report about his first meeting at the Probus Club.
The Rabbiter, Kempshott Kourier and the Bramley magazines continued with their conventionally printed editions although still in their shortened form.
Again we failed to appear in the Loddon Valley Link but we did get published in the digital productions of the Basinga and Popley Matters magazines.
The Chineham web site also featured our report as a blog style report.
There are glimmers of hope that things may start to revert to old times as I was contacted this week by the Link magazine (Oakley and surrounds) who are thinking about coming back to life with an August edition. This comes on top of the news that the Villager (Sherborne St John and surrounds) are publishing a July edition, this is definitely a positive sign

Here are the results of our publicity activity that appeared in the rump of the local magazines published in May.

The Rabbiter, Kempshott Kourier and the Bramley magazines were the only ones producing a conventionally printed edition but with the reduced number of pages as their advertisers pulled from their obligations. And the quantities were reduced as they could not deliver to individual houses relying on various retailers to have a stock that shoppers could help themselves to.

We did not feature in the Loddon Valley Link nor in the Basinga but we did appear in the Basinga web site Extra portion. The Chineham Chat did not produce a magazine but included us in their blog.

 

The Covid-19 lockdown not only put paid to our main, monthly lunch meetings, but also to the local magazines on which we rely on for the majority of our publicity activity. Bearing in mind that the copy closing date for most of these publications is around the 15^th of the previous month is the reason that most of them actually appeared with their April editions. However the Link (Oakley and surrounding villages) made an early decision to stop all activity which meant that they were the only one not to publish for April.
Below can be seen our successes in these April magazines. Those of you with a keen eye will see that the Basinga (Old Basing and Lychpit) gave us two hits – one in the printed magazine and the other within their Extra, the name for their web section containing all the reports they could not find space for in their printed version. The reason being was that their editor failed to include one of our reports in their February publication.
Our last meeting was in March, well before the lockdown was announced, which meant that the main subject matter for our reports was about the talk we had from Mel Rees which was most entertaining.

I arrived at the meeting venue in good time so as not to make a poor impression had I been late. Fortunately, my host was waiting for me in the bar (where else?) and introduced me to a number of members standing close by.

I was a little nervous at first not really knowing what to expect but everyone was very friendly and welcoming. All were wearing a club tie and lapel pin in their jackets. Oh yes, dress code. As it was mid-morning and not the evening I did not have to wonder if it was a black-tie occasion (because I was unsure if my dinner suit would still fit me since my retirement) or, would a lounge suit or jacket and tie be sufficient? I was reassured that my smart jacket and tie seemed to suit the occasion admirably.

After a while, we were called into the dining room which had several large tables. Oh, where do I sit? Anywhere and everywhere was the answer. Wherever there’s a spare seat; after all, Probus does not encourage cliques but wants a clear mix of members from one month to another to allow everyone to know each other better.

After a short introduction there followed a talk by an outside speaker. On the first occasion, the topic was about the Oregon Trail in the USA. Subsequent talks have been about cycling the length of the USA, life observations by someone who naturally enough always saw the funny side of life (and was indeed very funny) and the life and times of a BBC radio reporter. The talks are varied, informative, humorous and always well received.

Lunch followed. A traditional English meal was served followed by a dessert. I had chosen the biscuits and cheese as an alternative to the dessert. Conversation flowed and the noise increased with laughter and chatter all around me. I discovered that members were retired having followed a wide variety of careers including bomb disposal, banknote forgery, nuclear science, paper manufacture, motorheads and many other occupations. In turn upon retirement members had devoted their spare time to cruising, holidays, bird watching, playing golf, politics and so on. What an eclectic bunch.

After lunch, the President, resplendent in his chain of office, made various announcements of interest to the assembled members including what many considered the most important decision of the meeting – what to eat at the next lunch meeting!!

Other announcements followed including details of various trips being organised that would be of interest to members and their partners as well as less formal meetings at various pubs and restaurants being held throughout the year.

I made my way home in the early afternoon thinking what great value for money I had enjoyed. For a modest outlay of £25 annual subscription plus £13 a month for the cost of the meal, I wondered about the people I had met, the conversations that followed and the interesting and fascinating lives of those around me.

Here is further evidence of the interest by member Stephen Thair in anything from the natural world and his photographic expertise.

The first two are from a local walk in the bluebell woods around Hodds Farm in Old Basing although the third is of Stitchworts in the same wood.

The next three photographs are from the holiday Stephen and Margaret took at the beginning of the year to Costa Rica

 

 

 

It’s surprising what we learn about people during this period of self-isolation, none more so than the fact that Jonathan Ratcliff is not only a keen photographer but also has an interest in ornithology.
Here are three examples of starlings taken from his window using the camera on his Apple Iphone. Very impressive.

Just so that you know, I tried to upload a video that Jonathan had made of these Starlings and after spending two hours with my son (over Zoom) it appears that to have videos on our web site means having to pay for an upgrade. So regrettably we shall have to live without them.

“I missed not seeing you during the Coronavirus lockdown Granddad/Grandpa/Pa. After you had finished all those jobs that Grandma had been waiting for you to do, what did you do then?”

Please select your normal style of address used by your grandchildren.

“I made one of the best decisions in my life” you replied.

“What was that Granddad/Grandpa/Pa?”

“ I’d been thinking about it for a while but with all the time in the world to consider what to do with my life, when this lockdown eventually ends, I decided to join the Probus Club of Basingstoke.”

“What do they get up to, Granddad/Grandpa/Pa?”

“Well, I had read in the Rabbiter magazine about this group of like-minded retired men who get together regularly for social interchange and meetings where they have interesting speakers and good lunches.”

“Won’t Grandma mind you going out all the time without her?”

“They also have social occasions most months that I can take your Grandma to and have trips to interesting places that she and I can attend.”

“Was it difficult to apply, Granddad/Grandpa/Pa?

“As those meerkats on the TV advertisements say, Simples. I phoned their Secretary and had an exploratory chat about what their plans are when these social distancing regulations are lifted and it all sounded like something that suited my style and life’s experiences. It was really easy and I felt that I would be made most welcome. I can’t wait to go to their meetings when they start again.”

If this sounds like you, then phone Jonathan Ratcliff on 07501 271547, for an informal chat. It really is that simple.

See http://www.probusbasingstoke.club

 

 

 

 

The ability to engulf an audience in laughter is a real skill which Mel Rees easily displays. He was the guest speaker at the latest Probus Club meeting and yet just spoke off the cuff. He had nothing but his memory to rely on as he thoroughly entertained everyone. There was no specific topic despite his talk having the title “My Family and Other Setbacks” as he gave anecdote after anecdote about his observations of life.

It is not surprising he has been passed on from one club to another so these days he gives over 200 talks each year across the south-east of England, sometimes two a day, driving over 30,000 miles in the process. And what good value he gives as he passes from one topic to another with always the amusing aspects of life’s experiences coming to the fore.

Living in Ash Vale, or, as he describes it, Upper Ash Vale in Surrey, with a posh GU postcode, he, therefore, asserts he cannot catch the Coronavirus and is most disparaging about the neighbouring conurbation of Aldershot. When he had to use a mobile medical unit he asked the nurses if next time instead of using the Tesco car park that they use the one at Waitrose as they would get better quality patients.

A multi-faceted individual he acts as a tour guide at the Hoggs Back Brewery and finds it amusing when talking to the visitors, if they hesitate before answering, he knows they lie about where they live. Reigate instead of Redhill, near Horsham instead of Crawley, Hove instead of Brighton – it becomes a double-barrelled name of Hove Actually, West Camberley instead of Blackwater.

He has written several books which mirror his view on life and its vagaries especially about politics and his view of Guardianesta readers and PC attitudes. His nomme de plume is Anthony Mann and despite having one book as the Daily Express book of the month he could not get any literary agent or publisher interested in his outpourings. He had no option but to self publish and set up The Trouser Press. Today several of his books are on their third printing. Naturally, all editions were on sale so a steady trade was carried out. But they can also be purchased on Amazon or downloaded as an E-book.

 

The president of the Basingstoke Ladies’ Probus Club, Mrs Val Hayter was the guest of honour at the meeting on Tuesday 11 February.

The speaker was member Stephen Thair and his subject was “Birds and Planes”

What’s the connection between birds and planes? Quite a lot actually as retired solicitor Stephen Thair, a resident of Old Basing, and a member of the Probus Club of Basingstoke, outlined to Probus Club members how he has made a study of this over many years. He combined his dual interests of bird watching and aviation and easily makes the connection between these two flying objects – one ornithological and the other aeronautical.

Align these with extensive travel for holidays in exotic climes and working for some years in Papua New Guinea with a trusty camera readily to hand means he has a plethora of both bird and plane photographs.

Many types of sea birds have an aircraft named after them. Gannets, for instance, some with 6-foot wingspans, are famed for diving into the sea at great speed. In the 1950s the Fairey Aviation Company built an anti-submarine plane with contra-rotating twin propellers which gave it both high power and economy of use if one engine was switched off. They later built an airborne early warning version. The name of this plane was, of course, the Gannet. Fairey also built a naval fighter with a crew of two fitted with a Rolls Royce Merlin engine that was called the Fulmar.

Gulls abound throughout the world and in recognition of their flight capabilities, the Percival Aircraft Company constructed their Gull series of high-performance light aircraft in the 1930s, including the Vega Gull aircraft. The Mew Gull was a racing aircraft which flew from the UK to South Africa and back in 4 1/2 days, a record that stood for seventy years.

Some gliders can be seen at Lasham airfield that have gull shaped wings but probably the most famous plane that had this design, although with an inverted gull wing, was the WW2 German Stuka Dive Bomber. There was also a US Navy fighter called the Corsair that had the same wing configuration.

The male Blackbird with its yellow beak is part of the Thrush family and its aeronautical namesake is the American Lockheed Company’s Blackbird SR 71A spy plane which could fly at Mach 3+ and attain an altitude of 85,000 feet. This was necessary for its reconnaissance role before the advent of satellites. This plane was so successful that it is rumoured that it was targeted by 1,000 missiles without being hit. Those readers of a certain age will remember that that was not the case when Francis Gary Powers, in 1960, was shot down in his U2 spy plane over Russia. The name U2 being chosen to create an impression of a utility aircraft rather than the high altitude spy plane it actually was.

Britain only has one type of Kingfisher with striking blue and green plumage although throughout the world there are 86 species. The Museum of the Revolution in Havana Cuba houses a Vought Kingfisher aircraft which made a forced landing on a beach in 1958 while being used against Fidel Castro’s revolutionaries. They captured the aircraft and used it against the government forces that had previously operated it.

Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, has 39 varieties of Birds of Paradise, the males of which have distinctive coloured plumage. Papua New Guineans traditionally use the Bird of paradise feathers in their headdress, partly as a demonstration of their prowess with a bow and arrow.

The world-famous RAF Red Arrows display team use a training aircraft, the BAE Hawk, to great effect. Stephen commented, “Their previous mount, the Folland Gnat was named after an insect, as were many other planes, but that could be the subject for another talk on another occasion”.