News and Views

On this page you can view photographs and read accounts of some of our events and thoughts.

Reports on Presentations given to the Club

To Have and to Hold

Wednesday 18th January 2012

Mellisa Barnett, the recently appointed curator of the Chippenham Museum and Heritage Centre, gave a very entertaining talk to the club about the habit of collecting. She spoke of the human urge to collect which had been apparent since the earliest of times. Usually items were collected to remind the collector of past events or experiences and to pass on old memories.

Of course the common topics for collecting were mentioned such as stamps and railway ephemera, but there were others which were a bit more obscure, such as navel fluff and medical equipment. Mellisa amused her audience by recounting just how far some people would go with their particular interest. Take model railways for example. Many a loft is full of scale model railways showing hours of skilful labour and enjoyment, but some train sets can be taken to extreme. One enthusiast, for whom money was no object, had a full scale track laid around his property with a rebuilt steam train, the Flying Scot, hauling several passenger coaches around his gardens.

For serious collectors, who were interested in preserving something of their local heritage, objects that they came across would be incorporated in their own collection or offered to the local museum. In the case of Chippenham, the Museum and Heritage Centre welcomed items of interest that related to the ‘Chippenham Within’ or ‘Chippenham Without’ areas of the town.

Mellisa’s talk sparked many questions and conversations, not only with herself but also between members. Not surprising as many members were of an age where their memories of their early life were valuable and worth collating.

White Horses and other Hill Figures

Wednesday 4th January 2012

In an interesting and diverting talk Mike Powell spoke, initially, about the white horse carvings into the hillsides of Wiltshire. He listed eight in total that were still visible and kept in reasonable repair for locals and visitors alike to enjoy.

Contrary to popular belief, most white horses are not of great antiquity. Most of them date from the last three hundred years or so, and, being made of chalk, are subject to the rigours of the weather. A further five are known to exist but are hidden by weeds and foliage. The origins of many are impossible to establish with any certainty.

The Westbury White Horse is the oldest of the county’s horses. It is also one of the best situated, being high on a very steep slope and overlooking a panoramic view on Westbury Hill. The Cherhill White Horse is the second oldest. Pewsey has had a new white horse since 1937, but it once had a much older one. The new Devizes White Horse was designed by Peter Greed, and it was cut by around two hundred local people in 1999 to mark the millennium.

Mike also mentioned other hill figures including a series of carvings of regimental badges from the First World War. And one unusual carving, that of a kiwi bird, which was cut by New Zealand soldiers, as a punishment for creating a small riot when their departure for home, after the First World War, was delayed.

John Else proposed the vote of thanks after a very informative and entertaining session which was much appreciated by the members.

Christmas Miscellany

Wednesday 7th December 2011

The Annual Christmas Miscellany followed the successful format of previous years. It was an opportunity for members to bring along their wives and partners for some sociable chat.

An entertaining Table Quiz had been dreamt up by Phil and Vivian Redeoff which preceded the appetising light tea served by the ladies of Kington St Michael’s church. Later, more entertainment was provided by member Brian Wicks who demonstrated his capacity to select appropriate and seasonal verse, some of which was taken from his own compositions.

Our President Bryan Pettifer closed the afternoon with some of his trade mark stories which sent us home each with a smile and the memory of a very happy afternoon with our fellow Probus members and their ladies.

The Annual Christmas Miscellany

A visit to the Rolls Royce Hertiage Centre Bristol

Thursday 10th November 2011

As part of the summer programme The Rolls Royce Heritage Centre in Bristol was the destination for a group of the members. They were given an absorbing visit to the facilities there by professional guides who offered detailed information in response to the many questions posed by the members. On view were many engines which had been restored by members of the Heritage Trust.

The Heritage Trust, although not part of the Rolls Royce business, is a separate limited company and makes a profit, in its own right, largely through the sale of books and articles produced by members. The Trust is very well and generously encouraged by the company who wish to preserve the heritage of the work of Rolls Royce employees over more than 100 years.

After an excellent lunch, the tour continued with a visit to the engine production build area.

This modern and light air-conditioned manufacturing area was opened by the Princess Royal in 2008. Our party was given a detailed explanation of how the work is completed to meet the commitments to customers who include the Royal Air Force currently engaged in Afghanistan and, until recently, Libya.

All of the visiting members agreed that the outing had been a great success and expressed their thanks to the organisers both in the club and at the Rolls Royce Heritage Centre.

Rolls Royce Hertiage Centre Bristol

World Heritage City of Bath

Wednesday 19th October 2011

President Bryan Pettifer officially welcomed new member Michael Smith to the club. Michael comes from Corsham and has enjoyed a variety of types of work before retirement. Bryan then welcomed the speaker for the afternoon, Malcolm Jago, who spoke about the City of Bath and some significant men who had a hand in its development.

John Wood and his son, and Ralph Allen brought architectural styles to the city, many examples of which are still on view today. Striking examples include the Circus and the Royal Crescent. Malcolm illustrated his talk with numerous slides which showed views of the city and some of the more unusual embellishments in the architectural stonework.

Better known are the tales of the gambling and society gatherings associated with Richard 'Beau' Nash who brought style and elegance. The sad part of his story is that he died in poverty despite being instrumental in making the city a fashionable spa and becoming Master of Ceremonies.

Malcolm also took a moment to talk briefly about Jane Austen and her rather unhappy stay in the city. Although the authoress wrote some of her best work in Bath she experienced a decline in fortunes and finally had to leave.

Club members found the talk both informative and entertaining and Malcolm was sincerely thanked for his well researched delivery.

Pompeii - Warts and All

Wednesday 21st September 2011

Club member Mike Stone talked about Pompeii following the eruption of Vesuvius. With the use of illustrated slides, he was described the conditions at the time of the tragedy, and the detail of the daily life before the eruption. He also showed some of the architecture and art work that had been uncovered over the years of excavation of the site.

Some gruesome images told of the tragedy which struck so swiftly. There were pictures of people and pets in their shape at the time of their death. There were also pictures of artwork on the walls of many houses along with graphic pictures of the products on offer in shops and business.

Mike was thanked for his well researched and interesting talk.

Royal Air Force Police Dogs

Wednesday 7th September 2011

Two dog handlers from Royal Air Force Police Dogs, Corporals Butler and Ingersol, visited the club to give an interesting talk about the development of the dog handling service. They also brought their dogs.

In an interesting talk, the Corporals explained the development of the dog handling service from the early part of World War Two, and how methods had changed over that time to suit the developing needs of the fighting forces. These days dogs are trained for a variety of different purposes from patrol work to detecting humans in a collapsed building and sniffing out explosives. More recently they are used to detect drugs.

Both corporals had served overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan and Corporal Ingersol, a dog handler trainer, had been to the USA to instruct there.

The talk was concluded with a demonstration of the dogs and their handler's skills followed by a short period where club members were able to stroke and pet the dogs who obviously had great affection for their handlers.

Corporal Ingersol with club members

Corporal Butler and Corporal Ingersol preparing for the Dog Handling demonstration

A trip to Windsor

Thursday 11th August 2011

Despite indifferent weather, the planned visit to Windsor took place. Organised by Gerry Elms, the coach party of club members, their partners and guests were transported to the riverside coach park in Windsor; and from here made their separate ways. Some paused for lunch, others looked around the town, but everyone at some point, visited Windsor Castle using the prepaid ticket thoughtfully provided.

Fortunately most of the party avoided the frequent, and quite often, heavy showers as they were touring, inside, the various parts of the Castle. The State Apartments were an obvious choice where the impressive furnishings and paintings could be seen and appreciated. Many stopped for some time to admire the weaponry and armour on display. St George's Chapel was high on the list of things to see but very few had the time to queue to see the famous Doll's House and it's miniature furnishings.

Because of the weather there seemed to be very few soldiers dressed up in their red tunics and bearskin headdresses. Just a couple put in an appearance. But when the sun did come out many admired the moat garden and its floral layout.

Towards the end of the visit the sun broke through the clouds to allow a walk around the town and a trip down to the River Thames. Not very busy today but one optimist was seen peeling back the canvas cover for the cockpit of his motor cruiser.

The journey back to Chippenham had the coach buzzing with conversation. Exchanges of experiences of the day and frequent laughter confirmed that this had been yet another successful outing. All credit to Gerry.

Windsor Castle

St George's Chapel

Garden Party

Wednesday 20th July 2011

This year the club's garden party moved indoors to Kington Langley Village Hall; the day was rather chilly and with the threat of rain sitting outside was not recommended. This was to the understandable disappointment of Rod and Mavis who had, as usual, worked very hard to make their lovely garden look at its best and ready for us all to enjoy.

However the opportunity to socialise together and to enjoy a splendid tea thanks to the considerable efforts of the ladies of Kington St Michael Church gave us and our partners an afternoon to enjoy. A special feature of the day was to celebrate the 90th Birthday of Cliff Jones who can be seen here cutting his cake with his wife Janet.

Cliff and Janet Jones

Murder on my Mind

Wednesday 6th July 2011

Crime fiction novelist Judith Cranswick visited the club recently to talk about her work. She brought with her several of her novels and, on occasion, read extracts from them to demonstrate a point which she was making. She spoke of the need to place the action in authentic settings and read an extract from one of her novels which was set in recognisable Swindon. This led to elements including character establishment, plot development and the need to maintain pace and believability.

Following the break Judith was subjected to many comments and requests for more information. These included questions about creating a scenario which would allow the characters to change and develop in relation to each other as the story unfolded. She mentioned how the personalities of the characters had to change to keep the plot moving. She declined to respond to the question ‘Where did she get her inspiration?’ But that answer would probably reveal the secrets of her success.

One of Rob’s Hobbies

Wednesday 1st June 2011

With the assistance and equipment of Gerry Elms, club member Rob Catt entertained the club meeting with a selection of short videos that he had made over the past two years.

He provided a mixture of subjects: a saunter along Poole Quay, a record of one of the past trips arranged by the club to the Ironbridge area, an amusing piece about a visit to a Garden Centre and a trip to the Gwili Preserved Railway in South West Wales. He also found time to show a visit the Chippenham Auction Rooms - to get a flavour of the atmosphere – and completed the programme with a promotional film featuring the Singing For The Brain Club in Corsham, a club for those with dementia and their carers.

Gwili Preserved Railway in South West Wales

Chippenham Auction Rooms

Rob's presentation was part of the club's policy to encourage members to talk about their hobbies and interests to the rest of the members. This successful event should encourage other members to do likewise.

A Year in the Life of a Beehive

Wednesday 18th May 2011

Fred Swift came to the club to talk about bees. There has been a lot of publicity about the importance of bees to our survival. It has been said, that if bees were to become extinct, then humankind would be at risk. Expert Fred Swift, described a year in the life of a bee in a colourful and interesting manner, illustrated by photographs, and then indicated some of the products that could be obtained by these industrious creatures.

Fred has hives right across the country and visits them as appropriate. Unlike many other bee keepers, Fred wears very little in the way of protection - perhaps a veil on the odd occasion - but usually he relied upon the good nature and friendliness of his swarms.

The products which bees can produce go considerably futher than just the production of honey. There is, of course, a ready market for bees wax. But he felt that the healing properties of some of his products were not fully appreciated.

A very interesting and informative session enjoyed by all the members.

A Happy Birthday to John Fenner

Wednesday 18th May 2011

Probus member John Fenner celebrated his ninetieth birthday at a recent club meeting. He did so by extinguishing two candles, one on each of two cakes. Two cakes were needed so that every member of the club could have a taste! Of course he was serenaded with a chorus of 'Happy Birthday'. Still spry at ninety - well done.

John Fenner

The Eden Project - Part 2

Wednesday 4th May 2011

The Eden Project, an artificially created environment for a variety of flora and fauna, has attracted many visitors since it was first opened. Bjorn Watson, retired director of the project, returned to tell the club of the developments over the past six years. The project was originally funded to cater for 0.5 million visitors annually. However, the Eden Centre proved so popular that 1.8 million visitors arrived in the first year and numbers have been topping 2 million each year since.

The project has attracted world wide interest. The huge unsupported space available attracted enquiries from Scotland. And the possibility of a similar Eden Centre in Dubai, somewhere in the desert, was being considered at one time.

The Eden Centre, near St Austell, is not quite complete. Plans have been drawn up to create another covered area to develop the project further. This time the covered area will have a roof shaped rather like a giant Pringle and will be set into the side of the quarry. However, funds must be found before building can start.

Waste Minimisation

Wednesday 20th April 2011

Sarah Cundy, of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, spoke of the benefits, not only to wildlife, but also to the rest of society, of recycling wherever possible. The problems of recycling waste cardboard, plastic and batteries were just a few of the topics addressed and plans for disposal were discussed and potential problems were addressed.

Sarah had news of new methods of door-to-door waste collection that would be phased in later in the year. She also offered leaflets giving details of equipment which would allow the householder to dispose of food waste – whether cooked or uncooked – and turn it into usable compost for the garden.

Full details of the new house-to-house collection plans are available from Wiltshire Council and leaflets describing the new food waste containers from Recycle For Wiltshire or Great Green Systems.

Annual Dinner at Chippenham Golf Club

Wednesday 13th April 2011

The Annual Dinner took place, once again, at Chippenham Golf Club. This popular event attracted approximately eighty members with their partners.

Following an excellent meal, President Bryan Pettifer welcomed everyone and gave a humorous resume of the Club's activities since the last Dinner, along with some whimsical comments about one or two of the members.

Humour was the order of the evening. After the meal, several members in turn gave voice to tales and anecdotes which drew a great deal of laughter. A very pleasant and light hearted evening included toasts both to the ladies and to Her Majesty the Queen. An evening to remember.

Pictures from the Annual Dinner 2011

John Aubrey, The First Biographer

Wednesday 6th April 2011

Dennis Cartwright visited recently to share his interest in John Aubrey.

Aubrey was an antiquary and writer in the mid to late 1600s. Perhaps best known for the discovery of the Aubrey holes at Stonehenge and the significance of the stones at Avebury, he was also known as something of a gossip recording snippets of information about contemporary people. These snippets were sometimes scurrilous and may or may not have been accurate. Many of these tales are recounted in the book 'Brief Lives', the source material for which, Aubrey's manuscripts, are held in the Bodleian Library.

Dennis's audience frequently laughed outright at some of the more outrageous items of gossip, but they could not detract from the fact that Aubrey was also a gifted scientist and a man about town communicating with contemporaries such as Isaac Newton and Charles II. He was also one of this county's first researchers.

The First Forty Years of the Olympic Games

Wednesday 2nd March 2011

Ned Barnham spoke about the first forty years of the revived Olympic Games. His illustrated talk clearly showed that the re-start was very much a hit and miss affair and aimed largely at the upper crust of the society of the day. Descriptions of some of the early events were amusing often quite surprising.

One gymnast George Eyser won a medal despite the fact that he was competing with a wooden leg. An early photograph supported this claim. And a competitor in the Marathon, the favourite to win, paused en route to visit a tavern – with the obvious results, but then he was French.

In the years between the two world wars some countries did not understand the honour involved in hosting the Olympics and treated them as a kind of side show. But, despite the setbacks and problems, since the end of WW2, the Olympic Games have developed into the world respected sporting event that it is today.

Ned is an engaging speaker and his contribution was very much appreciated.

A Further Look Back at My Career

Wednesday 16th February 2011

John Russen entertained the members with a reminder of his career in the world of the architect. John is a long time member of the club and he spoke about some of the building projects with which he had been involved over the years. In the early days his plans, naturally, were quite modest but, as his expertise increased, the projects became more and more ambitious. Ultimately he progressed to the degree that he masterminded some spectacular and imaginative – not to say expensive - structures. His talk was illustrated by pictures of his work. John is now retired.

John's talk is part of an initiative to encourage members to speak more about themselves in the speaker slot at club meetings. Not just about their professional careers, but also about their hobbies and pastimes as appropriate. Many of the members are retired and now fill their time with potentially interesting activities. They are being encouraged to share their enjoyments and interests with their fellow members.

Annual General Meeting

Wednesday 2nd February 2011

The Probus Club of Chippenham celebrated its thirtieth year of existence at the recent Annual General Meeting. The occasion was marked by the sharing of a celebratory cake and a toast proposed by the Rev. Derek Copeland, a founder member, who was instrumental in the club's formation. Derek reminded the gathering of the early days of the club and commented on the positive way in which it had developed over the years to become the active club that it is today.

During the Annual General Meeting reports were given on the club's activities over the past year and the survey which had been undertaken to check that the club's programme policy was still relevant. An imaginative list of events had been prepared for the first part of the coming year and the members could look forward to an interesting time.

The Rev. Bryan Pettifer was re-elected President for the coming year and the incoming Secretary is Rod Allam. The President expressed his thanks to everyone who had supported him and the club through his year of Presidency and particularly thanks to mentioned the ladies who had provided the refreshments at each meeting. He looked forward to the coming year.

Our life (and also Founder) Member, Derek Copeland cutting a cake to celebrate 30 years of Chippenham Probus Club, seen here with our President, The Rev. Bryan Pettifer.

The History of Battle Tanks

Wednesday 19th January 2011

John Clark took us back to the origin of the main battle tank in 1917 explaining how the name “tank” was chosen and then told us in some detail of the development of Russian, German and British tanks including their armaments over the years.

The talk was illustrated with the relevant photos, many taken at The Tank Museum at Bovington. This helped to bring out the facts in respect of their fire power, protection, power units and tactical use in various theatres of conflict. John brought us right up to the present with a fascinating illustration of where the military technology is leading in the years ahead.

His career background was in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers followed by some years with the Ministry of Defence working on battle tank development. This was concluded with him running his own consultancy in this field all of which gave the presentation a high level of informed insight into this complex subject which was a pleasure to witness and much appreciated by a high turnout of members.

Past Reports on Presentations given to the Club

Visit to Ironbridge on 20th June 2009

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