Extraordinary Times

Probus 25yr History Sheet V2

EXTRAORDINARY TIMES

We are living through a most unusual set of circumstances which are constantly changing and evolving to the extent that decisions and pronouncements made a few days ago rapidly become out of date. Nonetheless, we at our Probus Club must do all we can to keep ourselves safe and healthy and it is the first priority of your Committee to protect the interests of our members.

Recently, David Hughes, the retiring President, set out a statement that summarised the position as the Probus Committee then saw it and this has been sent to all of our members. The purpose of this statement is to reiterate and support David's message and to add a little more detail where it is known.

Basically, all Probus activities have been put on hold until further notice. In particular :
Probus fortnightly meetings are cancelled, starting with the AGM which was scheduled to take place on Thursday 26th March. Our Speaker Secretary, Mike Smith, is cancelling speakers on a rolling month ahead.
Jerry Sullivan, our Social Secretary, will cancel any Probus outings in the pipeline and not arrange any more until we see a change in the outlook for visits and events.

The 25th Anniversary Dinner due to take place on 27th April has been cancelled or, we hope, postponed. This is particularly disappointing. This year is a very important one in our club's history and the response to the invitations for the dinner was very enthusiastic. We would have had close on 120 members and guests attending the dinner but we hope that we may be able to reschedule the event later in the year.

The Probus holiday that Roland Hall has put so much work into organising is most unlikely to go ahead in June as planned. Discussions with the hotel are ongoing to identify options and alternatives and it may be possible to shift the holiday to a different date. The situation should be resolved early in April but until it is please assume that the holiday will not proceed as planned.

It has been suggested that, as part of our Silver Anniversary celebrations, we should resurrect an afternoon tea social event as was the practice some years ago in the club. Planning for this is at a very early stage with a suggested date in August but this too will be put on hold until the situation becomes clearer.

Finally, members who attended the 20th anniversary lunch 5 years ago will remember that Derek Rooke and a small team of helpers produced an excellent history of the club's first 20 years. This document has been updated to include the 5 years since then and is available to view on our website.

Please continue to visit the website for any further developments on our programme and bring this notice to the attention of any members who may not see the website. If you wish to discuss any of the above then please contact me at jhevans@totalise.co.uk or telephone 01270 812765.

My best wishes go to you all and your families.
John Evans
President Elect

Please click on the pdf file under the photo to see the anniversary