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Wangaratta Central Combined Probus
PRESIDENT Gerry Knobben welcomed 58 members and guest Ron Summers at the February meeting.
Inductions to the club were celebrated with Fay and Raymond Steadman, Pat and Roger Henderson, and Rosemary and Des Steele.
A very warm welcome is extended to you all.
Today’s “Who am I” was of Annie Buckingham based in Thornbury.
She did her Midwifery Course at Footscray and delivered well over 100 babies before moving to Wangaratta Base Hospital.
Ms Buckingham lived in Moyhu for 24 years, before moving to Wangaratta in 2014.
She enjoys older styles of music and cake decorating, and plays the Bongo Drums and Canasta.
Apologies were accepted by the 13 members absent on the day.
Upcoming events for the year:
Thursday, 13 March: Breakfast Club at 8.30am, at the Gateway.
Sunday, 27 April – Tuesday, 6 May: Caravan Club with 2 nights at Big 4 in Swan Hill.
Tuesday, 2 September: 10-day Norfolk Island tour.
Costs $5645pp.
Monday, 20 October: 6-nights on the Princess Cruise (inside cabin), taking in Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, Melbourne.
Costs $1,629pp.
Guest speaker Tracy Peters at the Adult Programs and Services Librarian at the High-Country Library in Wangaratta.
The library is a safe space for all, and inclusiveness is strongly promoted.
Tracy told us all the different aspects of the library services.
The next general meeting and AGM will be held at the Wangaratta Bowls and Sports Club at Park Lane, at 10.00am on Friday, 21 March.
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Wangaratta Men’s Probus Club
By BRIAN FOX
FIRSTLY, some good news; one of our long-time members who has held every position of responsibility in our club, including multiple times as president, secretary and treasurer, Ken Clarke is now up and about albeit slowly.
Ken had a fall some months ago, followed by a stint in hospital.
He is not driving, so the probus members volunteer taxi service is working well.
Last meeting, Bill Harvey was deputed.
He gave us the benefits of his long-term career as a senior ambulance officer.
Bill has been doing this for some time and is aware that, as we all get older, there is a need to be more flexible in mind and body when driving or walking.
In January, we had neck exercises, followed by - would you believe it - toe exercises in February.
According to Bill, wriggling your toes stimulates the many muscles in your feet, giving you better balance and quicker responses when moving about.
Then, two of our long-standing members took the floor in succession to talk about railway trains.
Warren Garrett led the charge, describing to us a trip that is available on slow rail, towed by a Vic rail with a rather ancient diesel engine.
Trip cost is around $1000, but from Warren’s description, it will be a holiday to be remembered as it tours around country Victoria.
Reginald Dobson enlightened us that during his lifetime he has been a railway buff.
For a recent birthday, his children bought him an excursion that only a railway buff would be brave enough to participate in.
Reginald drove a small steam engine along the Puffing rail track towing a single carriage with about 15 friends and relatives.
He had to be there early in the morning to be given instructions by a licensed train driver.
From his animated regale of the event, a great time was had by all including the amateur train driver.
And yes, they did supply a stoker, so Reginald did not have to shovel coal.
Our club resident, Wangaratta historian, George Lee, filled us in with a bit more history about our wonderful town and its environment.
In closing, it should be noted that, while we are an exclusive men’s club even in these days of inclusion, the club has benefited by being excluded from the requirement for all clubs to be mixed-sex.
We have a ladies club, men’s club, and mixed-sex club options within Wangaratta, catering for everybody.
Following our February meeting, 10 of us took the opportunity of enjoying a delicious lunch provided by the Wangaratta Club chef.
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Wangaratta West Combined Probus Club
PRESIDENT Pauline opened the meeting, welcoming all members and guest Mary Alesani.
There were several apologies from absent members, and we hope they are well enough to attend our March meeting.
Eight members celebrated February birthdays, with Betty Greenwood celebrating a very special one.
Congratulations Betty.
The garden club is active again, after the hot weather, and arrangements have been made to visit Beechworth and Albury gardens, the flower show, Stanley and Bright.
Contact Shirley 0405 020 617 for further details.
Ten pin bowling has been arranged for Friday, 14 March, with lunch at the Lunchbox in Murphy Street afterwards.
The trip to Alice Springs and Uluru is the big upcoming holiday, taking place from 12-18 July.
If you would like to go, contact Helen 0448 388 474.
President Pauline again asked members to seriously consider taking on a committee role next month to keep the club running successfully.
After morning tea, we listened to our guest speaker, Belinda Harrison, who spoke about two nurses from Cheshunt who served in WW2 and lost their lives.
Dorothy “Bud” Elmes and Caroline Ennis “Carrie” are their names.
Belinda is on the committee raising funds to have a memorial erected at the Oxley War Memorial.
Anyone wishing to donate to this worthy cause can do so at Edgars Books and News or Bendigo Bank.
The president thanked Belinda and presented her with a small gift.
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Wangaratta Ladies Probus Club
PRESIDENT Christine welcomed members to the February meeting including our two visitors – Merrilyn Stevens and Elaine Beal.
Judy Seymour and Colleen McMillan were presented with their 20 years badges at the meeting, well done ladies.
Our Fun and Fitness Group will be celebrating 30 years of exercising later this month.
Doreen Holmes and Janet Clarke were presented with certificates of achievement as they have been involved in fun and fitness for the entire 30 years.
The group has 12-15 people consistently attend each week and is always looking for new members.
Our breakfast at the Gateway kicked off again for the year, with 15 ladies enjoying another great meal, lots of talking and laughter, getting the day started on a high.
Our book swap at each meeting is going strong and it’s good to be able to swap books instead of having to pay for them.
A great incentive to keep your mind active.
Ten pin bowling started back for the year on Valentine’s Day, with seven ladies having a fun-filled afternoon that concluded with coffee and chocolates at Muddy Waters.
Our virtual tour of Tasmania continues in Launceston and will visit Grindelwald Swiss Village.
We are nearing the end of our tour of Tasmania.
Our guest speaker for the month was John Perri from The Occasion Studios who spoke about how photography was in the past, the present and where it may be headed in the future.
John brought some restoration photos he had done and spoke about transferring tapes, slides and negatives to USB or hard drive.
John also has negatives from 1988, so if you have had photos taken by John you can still get prints done off them.
John is happy to give people a tour of the studio to have a look at some of the different equipment he uses.
It was a very interesting talk on how photography is going at the moment with so much digital technology.
Several of the members were seen in discussion with John at the end of his talk.
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Wangaratta Appin Park Combined Probus
PRESIDENT Lyn Evans called the 11 February meeting to order and welcomed members present and two visitors.
Apologies were accepted for those unable to attend today, hoping any “sickies” are on the mend and can be at our next meeting on 11 March, which also happens to be our AGM.
The correspondence and financial report were dealt with and general business attended to, with mention of PSPL joining fee rates and membership costs for the coming probus year.
A proposal was to cap membership at 85 members, as we will have 77 members in March.
If you are interested in joining our fun and friendly club, please contact a member or email probusappinpark@gmail.com.
Special interests groups remain very active and popular, with the gentleman’s breakfast at the Gateway last month.
The evening and afternoon card groups on Tuesdays are always going well.
Craft group attendees kept fingers busy with a special project or two last month
Friday pub lunch on the third Friday of each month is enjoyed by members at different venues around town.
February's lunch was at the RSL and March's lunch will be at King River Café (14 March).
Sunday movie group members and friends recently enjoyed lunch at Aroma Deli before heading to the cinema to see the Bridget Jones movie, followed by the movie “Widow Cliquot" on Sunday, 2 March.
A planned Lake Mulwala cruise was postponed due to weather conditions and will take place later alongside a pokies trip planned for Thursday, 13 March.
Costs are $15 pp, and the bus departs Wareena Park at 9.15am.
In September, a two-night trip to Melbourne is planned.
Contact Amelia or Marianne for details.
The Caravan and Cabin group trip to Castlemaine in October is being organised by Jan Kellet and Terry Brew, and by all accounts, has proven popular as most cabins are booked out.