Club News
March Luncheon and AGM: Chairman, Tony Farrell, welcomed 24 members and our guest speaker Caterine Evans from South East Cancer Help Centre, the Chairman’s Charity for 2023/4. After lunch, following her talk on SECHC, Tony presented a cheque from Coulsdon and Purley Probus for £1000.
Lucy, our catering manager, was back from maternity leave. Her son is called ‘Tate’.
Annual General Meeting
Committee Reports and Accounts had been circulated to Members. These were agreed nem. con. The Committee for 2024/5 is:
Chairman: Tony Farrell (elected AGM 2023 for two-year term)
Vice Chaiman: Andrew Carver
Secretary: Ian Payne
Treasurer: Michael Southwell
Luncheon Secretary: Chris Moniz
Outings Sec: Terry Ribbens
Speakers Sec: Bob Witham
Welfare Sec: Bill Ainsworth
Without Portfolio: Bill Baldock
Examiner: Brian Morris was re-appointed.
Vincent Fosdike (Newsletter Editor) and Jim Mulvey (Webmaster) (both non-committee) were thanked for their continuing service.
Chairman Tony Farrell announced his charity for 2024/5 as:
The Ryan Neuro Therapy Centre, Coulsdon. Chairman’s Charity collection today, £48. Raffle collection today £27.
Outings/Events: Terry Ribbons announced outings to Bletchley Park (14th March), Tangmere Aviation Museum (11th April) and Royal Albert Hall (28th May).
Lunch changes by 10.30am the prior Tuesday to chris@moniz.co.uk T: 020 8660 6063.
May luncheon will be our Ladies Lunch at Coulsdon Manor Hotel.
Member News to Welfare Sec., Bill Ainsworth T: 020 8660 0399.
Please email vincent@fosdike.com with articles/news for the Newsletter.
Speaker today: from Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance
2nd May: Gordan Gillett: ‘Tollsworth Manor’
March Speaker to support the Chairman’s Charity
Catherine Evans of the South East Cancer Help Centre
Our guest speaker today was sadly at a disadvantage due to the all too familiar problem with the speed of lunch service which combined with the AGM business shortened the time available. It only proved possible to fit in the briefest introduction to her charity which could do with much greater exposure.
Catherine described it as one of the best kept secrets in the charity world despite it having been in existence for 40 years. She was only able to give the barest minimum of its activities.
It provides support for new and long term sufferers of cancer from the age of 12 years onwards. She outlined activities which included, counselling, yoga and tai chi with a background of humour to lighten the load.
The Help centre has always been self-supporting which no doubt means it will value every penny that it can raise.
It would have been very useful to learn the full story of its activities and the membership both as those attending to improve their wellbeing and those who organise the charity. Of course, it may well be that there is a considerable overlap in this area as many such groups are in the truest sense of the term self-supporting.
It is to be hoped that Catherine may be able to return to develop her theme properly as no doubt she had spent some time preparing it.
Thank you Catherine
‘A tourists guide to Surrealist Parking’
by Norman Williams
It was mid-August very hot and full of holidaymakers at the town in Spain where we were on holiday. We were fortunate in finding a small bar run by a very nice Irish couple where we could sit outside away from the busy centre of town but with plenty to interest us.
One evening we had just settled down when I noticed a man trying to cross the road in moving traffic – he was doing well weaving in and out until he was hit by a car and went down with some boxes he had been carrying. Jumping up, I shouted to my wife that a man had been knocked down with the result that traffic on both sides had stopped and people rushed to help. Our view was limited but we saw the man getting up looking as if he was covered in blood. Fearing the worst, we expected police and ambulances to arrive which with the amount of traffic and impatient drivers would have caused chaos. However, within a few minutes the crowd dispersed and the traffic on our side of the road began to move. The man who had been knocked down was seen to walk away and the traffic on his side also began to move. Amazed we asked our host (who had rushed over to the accident) to explain what was going on. Apparently, it was not blood but Pizza sauce and the man was not hurt. Money had obviously changed hands. Very soon everything was back to normal, no police no ambulance, and thus no chaos, just holidaymakers enjoying themselves as if nothing had happened.
We had noticed that the local drivers had a novel way of parking irrespective of whether there was sufficient space they would bump the car behind, move forward and then if necessary bump the car in front, then shuttling back and forth until they deemed that they had enough space to park. If there was not enough space to park bumper to bumper but enough to drive in they would still do so parking half on the pavement and half in the road which no one seemed to mind even though you had to be careful when walking past.
Towards the end of our stay we were sitting in our usual place outside the bar, the only other person being a local workman who every evening would arrive on his bike park it neatly in the road and enjoy two drinks before presumably going home.
Suddenly a car began to do the usual reverse routine bumping the car behind before driving forward and knocking the workman’s bike over whilst attempting to use the parking space that the bike took up. Whether the driver did not see the bike or just did not care he must have soon realised his error because the workman shot out of his chair rushed over to where the driver was getting out of his car and began to shout and push him. The peaceful evening was gone with both men pushing and shouting and it seemed as if a full fight would soon start but no one attempted to interfere until the workman broke away, picked up his bike and slammed it on the bonnet of the car. The driver must have jumped three foot in the air literally screaming and a further bout of pushing and shoving started until as soon as it had started it stopped. The driver returned to his car, the workman retrieved his bike and the car drove off whereupon the workman calmly parked his bike in the same place as before returned to his seat and carried on drinking. We sat watching the whole affair first fearing that someone would get seriously hurt and then gradually with increasing amusement.
I really cannot envisage anywhere in the UK where each of these incidents would have the same outcome but full marks to all those involved not only for their unique approach but also for keeping us entertained (albeit unintentionally) during our stay.