Author: Paul Flint

Friday 24 April was the funeral of one of our longest members, Eric Marks, at St Mary’s Parish church in Old Basing.

A crowded church saw Eric’s son Richard give the eulogy that was a history of his life and times at Blacklands farm where in later years Eric, who by now was not permitted to drive on the roads, used an old Land Rover Discovery around the farm and occasionally had to be rescued having got the vehicle into difficulties. Eric’s other son, Stephen, gave the Bible reading from the 1st book of Corinthians that included the lines

“Death has been swallowed up in victory”
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sons, together with their families, lit candles in memory of Eric.

The Probus Club was represented by President David Tivey and past presidents Paul Flint and Tony Atchison with his wife Lesley.

Ron was born and lived in Wiltshire until he was six years old when the family moved to Farleigh Wallop, Basingstoke where his father took up employment on the Portsmouth Estate.

After attending school in Cliddesden until he was 14, he took employment with J.T. Thorneycroft prior to beginning an apprenticeship in engineering and studying at Basingstoke Technical College for the National Certificate of Mechanical Engineering. This was interrupted by two years in the Royal Corps of Signals as a radio and telecommunications technician serving in the Middle East, Egypt and Palestine. After demobilisation he returned to Thorneycroft and completed his apprenticeship.

In 1952 he moved on to work for A.W.R.E., Aldermaston as a Technical Officer and retired from that establishment in 1991 as Senior Professional and Technical Officer. His work there included planning and attending atomic weapons tests on Christmas Island.

Ron was a devoted family man who married twice and had his six children with his first wife, subsequently marrying Doreen. He was a keen Freemason holding several high offices. He tried his hand at golf and lawn bowls and took pleasure in driving particularly to Scotland where he and Doreen enjoyed hill walking. Both were also keen gardeners and he was also involved with the local squadron of the Air Training Corps and the Conservative Club – demonstrating his energy, drive, initiative and determination to make a contribution to the community .

Ron joined Probus in 2001 and found several friends he had known for many years. He was a popular and active member of the club and both he and Doreen regularly enjoyed the outings organised by the club. Unfortunately the illness from which he suffered meant that for many months recently he had been unable to take part in any of the club’s lunches, meetings or activities.

A gentleman whose company one could not help but enjoy, Ron will be greatly missed by those fortunate to have known him.

Twenty-nine members and guests enjoyed a fascinating afternoon at the Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke Mill on 19th March. We were conducted round by Maurice who seemed to know everything that there is to know about the site and distilling gin. The site had a long history of papermaking for bank note production, having been owned for many years by the Portal family. Following acquisition by Bombay Sapphire, many of the old buildings have been restored sympathetically, and the company has added the splendid new Botanical Glasshouses designed by the Heatherwick Studios, which stand on the river bank, to show the plants from which the botanical additives for the Bombay Sapphire gin are obtained.

We were shown the stills used to make the gin, and the manufacturing process of vapour infusion was explained to us. We were also given the chance to see and sniff the various botanical additives, which include liquorice, lemon, and various herbs and spices, and to indicate our favourites. On the basis of these choices, we were each given a complimentary cocktail at the end of the tour. Those drivers who opted for a non-alcoholic cocktail were provided with a goody-bag with a miniature bottle of the gin and some tonic water to enjoy at their leisure.

Even for members for whom gin may not be a favourite tipple, it was an enjoyable and informative afternoon!

Roy Wood, who from humble beginnings in the East End of London, started his working life with Barclays Bank rising to be a business manager. He was invited to join Jacob Rothschild to form a financial advice partnership. This became known as St James’s Place and in the last twenty five years has seen this partnership rise to be one of the leading wealth management companies in the world. In addition Roy spends five days a month in Dubai advising British ex-pats.

Roy highlighted the benefit of compound interest on any savings plan. As an example he started a pension plan for his two daughters investing the family allowance from their birth and reinvesting all the proceeds. He has calculated that provided the monthly investment keeps up with inflation then by the time they each are 55 they will both have a pot of over £500,000. The average UK retiree has a savings pot of only £30,000. Members of the police service, compulsorily save 14% of their salary, retire after thirty years with a pension of 2/3 salary which is index linked.

He went on to explain the basic rules of money advocated by business magnates Warren Buffet and Jacob Rothschild. Keep money in a bank sufficient for 6 to 9 months of expenditure. Any remaining funds should be invested, with the fear of loss managed by following two rules. Firstly, the investment pot should have 20% in each of Equities, Property, Precious Metals and Commodities, Government Gilts & Corporate Bonds and cash in Building Societies and banks. Secondly, it should be invested for a minimum of 6 years as all groups relate to each other. As one rises another reduces.

Roy outlined four big challenges in life that impact directly on finances. They are divorce, inflation, longer life but poor health and inheritance tax.

Wills should be updated and Powers of Attorney (health and wealth) drawn up. Assets should be in joint names, allowing instant access to the surviving spouse. Assets within an Investment Bond are protected both from Inheritance tax and care home costs if you survive for seven years.

Tuesday 3rd March 2015 saw a packed Basingstoke Crematorium say farewell to Chris Barton, the oldest member of the Probus Club of Basingstoke. Joining his widow Jenny and their extended families amongst the mourners were nine members of the Probus Club of Basingstoke with the President, Vice President and other committee members including several past presidents.

Chris had died in his sleep in the early morning following his 92nd birthday where he had been in good form recovering, albeit slowly, from a chest problem that had hospitalised him in December.

We learned of Chris’s birth in South Kensington, the son of a prep school headmaster, and his education at Dauntsey’s school in Wiltshire where he continued to attend their Old Boys’ reunions until recent years. A minor heart murmur that kept him out of physical activities for some school years failed to stop him playing various sports later in life. Sailing and boating became a great interest and was the reason that the RNLI was the chosen charity for any donations.

Forever a practical man, Chris had a variety of jobs. Being an aircraft fitter, working amongst others on Sunderland Flying Boats, eventually brought him to Hampshire. Moving into an engineering specialist firm in Basingstoke he then transferred within the company becoming a diamond polisher on which subject Chris and Jenny gave a presentation to one of our Speaker evenings. After several years he created a car hire business and during the quieter months he became a driving instructor. Having helped several students source a suitable car he established Five Ways Car Sales. When he sold up he became a wood turner that became a busy hobby in his retirement. (the subject of our Members’ Hobbies section of our web site)

Probably because he joined the Probus Club well into his retirement Chris did not aspire to become a committee member but immersed himself thoroughly in our activities and was a regular attendee at lunches, Speaker meetings and on social outings. He really enjoyed our last trip to the RAF Museum where he was seen keenly viewing a Sunderland Flying Boat, perhaps wondering if it had been one that he had worked on.

Kim Taylor, a Landing Site Officer with The Queen’s Helicopter Flight, gave an illustrated presentation to the Probus Club of Basingstoke about microlight flying. Kim has experienced a varied aviation career. He is a retired Police Air Observer, microlight constructor, pilot and former Flight Safety Officer for the British Microlight Aircraft Association.

He described what legally constitutes a microlight aircraft in its various shapes and forms, going on to illustrate the different characteristics of this type of aviation and why it appeals as “flying for ordinary folk”.

Statutory individual medical and licensing requirements were covered as was flying training, excellently demonstrated by way of video clips made by a helmet camera in the cockpit.

The pros and cons of factory versus home built aircraft were examined and an in-depth account given of Kim’s own experiences in constructing three very different flying machines. He also touched on how the airworthiness aspects were addressed.

Kim reminisced how microlight flying had led him on adventures over the past few years. Besides the simple fun of flying from airstrips and airfields he has toured extensively and been involved with rallies all over the UK.

This included, what he was told at the time, was the first return flight to the Scilly Isles in a ‘weight shift’ microlight. On the centenary of Louis Bleriot’s first crossing of the English Channel, Kim was amongst over a hundred British and French aircraft to make the crossing in 2009. He has partaken in a mass microlight landing on the sands of Morecambe Bay, commemorating the gallant action of the Lancashire Fusiliers in Gallipoli. Kim’s finest event was organising the ‘Help for Heroes’ flypast over Wootton Bassett in 2010. This was a tribute to the armed services and to the people of the town itself. It involved one hundred and forty aircraft and raised over £3000.

On 16 December, some twenty two members of Basingstoke Probus Club, including the current President and Vice President and wives joined Mike Jarvis’s wife, Jo, members of their family and friends and neighbours for a humanist service to celebrate his life. The Crematorium was packed, and several people had to stand to hear tributes from Jo, their children and grandchildren and reading of some of his favourite poems. Quiet music was played to provide an opportunity for reflection on all that Mike had achieved.

Mike had started his working life as a Rolls Royce apprentice, graduating to be an electronic engineer. We discovered that he had been engaged, among other projects, on the design of the “Black Box” which most aircraft now carry, and progressed to Project Management with Shell UK Exploration and had worked on their North Sea rigs. He became a trustee director of the Shell Pensions Trust and during the latter years was involved in pensioner activity. Some of these pensioners were present at the service.

Mike was revealed to us as a devoted family man, a versatile and multi skilled ‘do it yourself ‘practitioner and a prankster with a great sense of humour.

He was President in 2003/04 and had served as Secretary, Treasurer, Programme Secretary and Outings Organiser and when called on, helped the Lunch Steward in taking the money at Sandford Springs. Mike had been one of the members of the investment club that we had heard of from other Probus members and had always been a stalwart supporter of the monthly lunches and evening meetings of the Club.

Thursday 11 December was the Christmas Dinner held for the first time at our new lunch venue, the Test Valley Golf Club. Over forty people, members, wives and friends attended, slightly down on last year due to the illness of some regulars. President David Tivey requested a minute’s silence in respect of the recent passing of long time member, Mike Jarvis, before Grace was said by Geoff Twine. The room setting and food was excellent and the entertainment this year was provided by Quintessential, a wind quintet from the Basingstoke Symphony Orchestra.

Thanks are due, once again, to Alan and Liliane May for their splendid organisation of all the arrangements which meant that everyone received their correct menu selection. A raffle raised almost £100 for the club’s funds.

Apologies are offered for the varying condition of some photographs as some had to be taken with a phone camera. All the photographs can be seen in the MORE section in the drop down menu Photo Gallery.

Judith Charmer, the Fund Manager for The North Hampshire Medical Fund gave a presentation to the Probus Club of Basingstoke about the activities of this charity founded by the Earl of Carnarvon some 35 years ago which is probably unknown to most local people. Its purpose is to raise money to buy specialist equipment for Basingstoke hospital that the Health Service budget is unable to provide.

The equipment procured for Basingstoke has aided the improvements in on-site diagnostics, pain reduction and obviates the need for lengthy journeys to other centres for treatment. In many instances, equipment purchased by The Fund has been used for training medical staff in the most up to date procedures. Access to updated technology has also enabled the hospital to attract the best consultants. Their skill and expertise has helped to spread the hospital’s reputation as a centre of excellence and ensured a better quality of care for the thousands of people who use its services..

In the past two years 21 pieces of equipment have been funded and supplied to the North Hampshire Hospital. They include £450.000 for a new unit housing a Radiotherapy Planning CT scanner for targeting cancer with advanced technology and £10,500 for a Cardiotacograph machine for the hospital’s antenatal unit. This will save lives and reduce the incidence of complications, stress or harm to mother and baby. They have a current target of £130,000 for an Endobronchial Ultrasound which looks inside airways and allows samples to be taken from a lymph gland or tumour around the chest. Patients presently have to travel to Southampton or Oxford for these procedures with a waiting time of 4/5 weeks, and a tumour can double in size in that time.

The Fund is the only charity in the county dedicated to raising funds for equipment to help the hospital keep pace with advances in technology. However, technology is expensive, and NHS budgets cannot always stretch to pay for all the equipment that can help save lives, improve diagnosis and treatment or reduce pain. By continued support, The Medical Fund will keep the North Hampshire Hospital at the forefront of patient care.

The Probus Club of Basingstoke has also been in existence for as many years as The North Hampshire Medical Fund. A social club for retired professional and business managers it meets twice most months and more information can be seen on their web site http://www.probusbasingstoke.wordpress.com or call their secretary Paul Flint on 07770 886521 for an informal chat.

The Probus Club of Basingstoke, the social club for retired professional and business managers, heard Ann Orr update the legal situation about some matters that had changed in the six years since her last visit. Working for Collective Legal Solutions, the largest independent legal service providers in the UK meant that she was an expert about problems that can sometimes surround the matter of inheritance.

There is a danger that having made a Will, it is safely put away until the time it is required, but her recommendation is that a Will is reviewed at least every five years to check that it is up to date and fit for purpose. One specific benefit of such reviews was that it is a simple check that the solicitor was still conducting business and had not moved location. And seeing the original Will is important as a copy is not considered a legal document. Any appearance of grandchildren should give good cause to revisit the Will to properly target any inheritance. She also said that if anyone remarried then their Will prior to that event would be null and void and a new document would be needed.

A surprise to most of the audience was that any property owned abroad cannot be included in an English Will as a separate Will is required to be written in the country where the property is situated.

Consideration should also be given to incorporating medical decisions in a Lasting Power of Attorney. The rights involving dispensing of medication were explained and any individual wishes will need to be included within the LPA. Monetary considerations if a partner enters a care home were highlighted together with possible funding implications and to what extent assets will be taken into account.

The rules surrounding Probate were outlined and there are considerable pricing differences for executive services provided by banks compared to solicitors or specialist company executors.