Probus members were entertained to another excellent talk after lunch on 11 August.  Paul
Whittle’s talk was on the subject of ‘Rock Steady, Gibraltar Story’. Paul is a very
professional speaker, his illustrations were clear and relevant and his talk was full of
historical facts and descriptions of the enclave of ‘The Rock’. His anecdotes about the
attempts of Spain to regain sovereignty over the centuries were particularly amusing,
especially that when the question of Spain’s enclave of Ceuta on the African side of the strait
is raised, the Spanish reaction is ‘ah, that’s different’!
Thanks need to be expressed to Tim Eames, our speaker finder, who is on an excellent run of
entertaining talks this summer.
‘Scrivener’

After our lunch on 2 June, we were entertained with an excellent talk by Chris Levett, a
farmer from near Cranbrook, on ‘What happened to the English Hop Industry?’
Professionally delivered with excellent visuals and some humour, Chris told us of the origins
and history of hops, and the tales and unique traditions of the industry, now sadly in decline
in England. He brought along samples of hops and some of the specialised tools used. For
Peter Thompson, who chaired the lunch, and your scribe it brought back memories from the
1960s of working when students in what was then a flourishing industry.
‘Scrivener’

The brass plaque is in memory of hop pickers whomlostbtheir lies in a tragic accident

Our talk after the lunch on 3 June was by Andy Richardson on V bombers, the strategic
nuclear strike force bombers developed for the RAF in the 1950s and 60s. It was an
excellently presented talk which concentrated on the Avro Vulcan, one of three types of V
bombers the RAF had. There were clear visuals and some videos while Andy spoke clearly.
He had served in the RAF and then worked for British Aerospace, McDonnel Douglas and
Boeing so had and displayed a wealth of knowledge. Although not an aircraft spotter, your
reviewer thoroughly enjoyed the talk and learned a lot!
‘Scrivener’

Some photos from the Probus walk on the 25^th April, with lunch at the Chaser Inn in Shipbourne.  The walk leader was Terry Synnott.  As you can see it was perfect weather and most enjoyable withplenty of bluebells on view.