A Christmas 2008 Message from
the
Presidents - John Mills
 I
must say the time has flown by since April when I became President and I
have enjoyed it immensely.
We have had a good variety of outings including several theatre trips a pub
lunch and a very wet but excellent visit to Waddesdon Manor and recently a
backstage tour of the Royal Opera House.
Our speakers have all been very good and both Lee Ault and Alan & Vera Baker
at our May and Christmas Ladies lunches were particularly entertaining. It
was very encouraging to see such a good number at the Christmas lunch.
Our average attendance at our monthly meetings has fallen to around 45 and
with our funds falling the committee have decided it would be sensible to
reduce the area in which we hold our regular monthly meetings to reduce our
hire costs. We have arranged with the staff of Bourne Hall that as from
January 09 we will use only the Begonia room which will reduce our hire
costs by half. This of course will not apply to the Ladies lunches.
As a thought, bearing in mind our falling numbers perhaps we could all try
inviting a friend along to one of our meetings with a view to increasing our
membership.
The social committee are now organising visits for the New Year which will
include:
January: Tour of BBC studios at White City
February 19th: Pub Lunch – Rubbing House
March 17th: Polesden Lacey – Private tour of
house
May: Thames River trip from Walton
June: Proposed trip to Bruges
More information to follow at our January meeting and on this website.
Finally may I wish all our members and families a very
HAPPY
CHRISTMAS
and
A PEACEFUL
NEW YEAR.
John Mills President
Incoming Presidents for 2008 -2009 John Mills
Gentlemen – it is a great privilege to be elected as your new president
and I hope I can continue to meet the high standards set by the past
presidents that I have known since joining probus which seems only a
short time ago. Particularly I would like to thank Cliff Douthwaite for
the time and effort he has put in, not only as President but as our
webmaster, we must be the envy of many other probus clubs. Also we have
a fine committee who put in a great deal of time discussing not only the
administrative running of our club but also searching for new ideas to
further our very high standards of fellowship within our club. Ken
Amess as Secretary is brilliant at organising our meetings and providing
our minutes and agendas, which is a very time consuming job. As is the
Treasurer's task carried out with great precision by Malcolm Davis.
As you have heard we have an Events sub- committee of Ken Robinson, Pat Hunt
and myself and our intention is to provide a continual programme of outings
to theatres, places of interest and also various pub visits.
Which I hope will receive your continued support.
We are always looking for fresh ideas and your suggestions will be welcome
I finish by reminding us the entire probus ethos:
To the fostering of fellowship, goodwill and the common interest of all
Probus club members
Outgoing Presidents Report AGM March 2008
 First of all may I say it has
been a privilege and indeed an honour to serve you the Probus Club of Ewell
for my year in office, the time seems to have flashed by and this is my
opportunity to thank you all for your kindness and support in spite of my
odd sense of humour!
I am appreciative of the
committee who make arrangements of the Club work like clockwork and ensure I
was in the correct place at the right time. The lunch meetings have been a
pleasure to preside over and thanks to all who make the luncheons a delight,
the range of speakers is impressive, thanks to Ken Robinson, and it was a
delight when over 80 members and friend supported the special RAF
presentation team, thank you Ken Robinson as you are aware he will be
passing the baton over to Frank Rae, so a great big thank you to Ken for the
hundred odd speakers you have arranged for us all.
We have invited and entertained
three other Clubs Presidents that is of Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton and
Ascot Probus Clubs. I have on your behalf attended luncheons at the first
two. It is interesting that we all follow a similar pattern with slight
variations, at the Kingston Club all member join in the Grace which is the
same for all meetings, whilst Surbiton do not have the Loyal Toast or absent
Friends but use the Probus toast.
It was a sad occasion on the
death of Brian Cousins CBE and the Club was well represented at the funeral
service to see our old friend pass onwards, Margaret Cousins and family were
very appreciative of the condolence card sent on behalf of the Club and
wished all to be thanked for our one minutes silence in memory of Brian at
our September meeting.
The change from using tables in
E formation to round tables each holding ten members has been helpful but
has not resulted in a break up of “friendship groups” and perhaps this is an
ongoing process we need to solve?.
It has been a good step to see
the Activities starting to function again, so thanks to Ken Robinson, John
Mills and Pat Hunt. Whilst the Royal Observatory and Nautical Museum at
Greenwich was great occasion, we only had a total of 25 members and friends,
this means only about a dozen or so members, a bit disappointing when our
membership is around seventy. Needless our thanks are due to Ken for all the
background work which we take for granted and indeed sheparding us around a
very large complex. So please support the activities in the future as you
know Pat Hunt has a trip planned to Portsmouth and our theatre guru John
Mills has a tickets and a coach lined up for The Rat Pack at the New
Victoria Theatre Woking, more about these later.
Since my inauguration at the AGM
in March I have received much help especially from Eric Hussey who have
guided me through two Ladies lunches and ensured that most things were said
at the appropriate moments, if not all then that has been my fault! I was
not aware, but now know the work that Eric puts in behind the scenes for the
Ladies lunch and I am sure you will join me in thanking Eric for his
organisational skills, thanks a lot Eric.
My President’s charity for the Zimbabwe Victim Support Fund set up to
provide some relief for those who were falling victims to the systematic
programme of destruction of the agricultural industry. The collection for
this amounted in total to £375 which Malcolm has forwarded to the UK
secretary and received thanks, a letter to this effect is on the notice
board (below). Whilst not an official Club event thanks to the Club members who
supported my garden party in aid of the 2007 World's Greatest Coffee
Morning, when the sum of £757 was raised for the Macmillan Cancer Relief
Project.
It was good to be invited with our Secretary Ken Amess to represent the Club
at the recent Mayors Civic Celebration, even more impressive when I noted at
least five other Probus members who had been also invited for their work in
other community services, so thanks to all you folk who volunteer and work
behind the scenes in other organisations.
On a sadder note Richard Whittington and myself attended the funeral service
for Betty, Harry Smith‘s wife, Harry who has moved home since his
bereavement was the Club’s President many years ago. I also with Bob
Sullivan, John Garlick and Jonathan Reed attended St Martins Church for the
thanksgiving service for Harry Podd, this was a well attended occasion with
perhaps a 100 folk, and Harry was given a full guard of honour by his
comrades from the Burma Star Association. Harry served as a leading air
mechanic in the Colossus light fleet aircraft carrier during the Burma
Campaign.
I then finish my report in the same vein as the start and say thank you all
for my year in your service.
Cliff Douthwaite President 2007 -2008
ZIMBABWE VICTIMS SUPPORT
FUND
(In association with Haywards Heath Methodist
Church)
Secretary/Treasurer
-
John Lark
48 Ellerton Road,
Surbiton, Surrey,
KT67TX
11 February 2008
Dear Mr. Davis
Thank you so much for the donation of £375 recently received
on behalf of the Zimbabwe Victims' Support Fund. Every penny of this money
will go to Zimbabwe. Your Club's support of this work is greatly appreciated
and the donation will make a real difference. In fact, in some cases, the
difference between life and death.
I expect you know Zimbabwe is in deep crisis with
malnutrition and AIDS claiming 3,500 lives each week. Life expectancy is now
in the mid thirties and an estimated 3,000,000 have fled the country and 80%
of those remaining are unemployed.
This Fund, working with Trustees at Hillside Methodist
Church, Bulawayo, seek to feed some of the most vulnerable and,
unbelievably, what they are doing is considered a crime. This is because the
ruling party seeks to ensure that food only goes to its supporters.
We have some anxious moments when we wonder if the Zimbabwe
Trustees are going to be able to obtain food for distribution, but just this
weekend several tons of maize meal have been received.
Despite the fact that inflation is astronomical, the highest
in the world, the value of the British pounds maintains it's buying power.
The people who suffer are the locals who are paid in Zimbabwe dollars. A
recent email tells of a person earning $15,000,000 per month and a loaf of
bread costs $1,500,000.
I am enclosing a copy of our Report for the year ending
December 2007 for your interest.
Yours sincerely, John Larkin
Trustees: David Winwood, Graham Shaw, John Lark
(Secretary/Treasurer)
President Message for Christmas 2007 by Cliff
Douthwaite
This is a message by Rev. David
Winwood, the Epsom Methodist Minister who when stationed in Zimbabwe
instigated the
Zimbabwe Victim Support Fund
which is my Presidential Charity
for this year. (more below...here)
At the near conclusion of 2007 ,
he continues.............. It was a wonderful Christmas present. It rained
on Christmas day! We had not had any rain for over 2 years. Severe drought
and famine had spread throughout southern Zimbabwe and people were at the
end of their tether. It was only a little rain, but it was the beginning. We
greeted it as a wonderful gift!
That was in 1992, but last week
(November 2007) we received an email from a couple in our past church in
Bulawayo, in which they mention that there is no water in any tap in their
house. They live in a town and are usually served by a pretty reliable water
system, but now there is only one tap in the garden from which they can
sometimes draw water, which comes from a borehole. They collect it and save
it in a tank. They boil it for drinking and store it in bottles. They keep
their used water to flush the toilet, to prevent cholera and other diseases
spreading if the sewers should become blocked. In the poorer, crowded
African suburbs around Bulawayo, they have had no water for two months.
Imagine the disease …. and there’s no medicine available when people get
sick.
You may think that I’m always
going on about Zimbabwe because we lived there for a while, but I am shocked
when I hear that around 3,500 people are dying each week. That is more that
those who are dying in Darfur, Afghanistan and Iraq added together! People
are struggling to survive in the face of poverty and brutality. A 26 year
old student, now expelled from the University, wrote to say –
“In Zimbabwe a person cannot stand up for anything that he thinks or
believes. I can’t remember how many times I’ve been arrested simply for
speaking the truth, but I will always remember the gruesome experiences of
physical and mental torture that I have been subjected to. I have been
punched, kicked, shackled, blindfolded, hit by baton sticks and placed in
solitary confinement. At the Police Station I was thrown against an iron
door and my head banged against it several times. I have been handcuffed so
tightly that I could not bear the pain and my private parts have been kicked
several times. As a result of repeated beatings I have incurred permanent
injuries, and Mugabe’s regime has left me for dead, as my medical documents
and the scars on my body show.”
The young man finishes by saying
how he has grown strong through this experience. That’s the amazing thing.
Moral and spiritual strength and resilience is being sustained. Christian’s
are still strong and they persist in hoping and praying.
Since 2000 life in Zimbabwe has
deteriorated beyond belief. White farmers were driven from their farms,
thousands of African workers had their homes burned, and between two and
three thousand commercial farms have been utterly destroyed. There is
therefore no food for the people and the economy has collapsed. Inflation is
running at six and a half thousand percent. Many have left the country if
they have the means of doing so, many thousands have crossed the borders as
refugees, and many are now are in severe poverty and sickness. Zimbabwe has
the lowest life expectancy in the world – 34 years for women and 37 years
for men.
The fund to which I started is
supporting a nursing home for 75 elderly people who have been made stateless
and destitute by the government. Matron Jane Mgani says, “If it were not for
you these people would starve.” It is supporting the Bulawayo Shelter for
the destitute, and Island Hospice, which cares for people who are dying and
their family’s at home. A number of projects for orphans are receiving some
regular help from the fund. The United Nations says that Zimbabwe now has
the highest ratio of orphans to population in the world.
Empty shelves, unaffordable
prices, queues, power cuts, water cuts, my friends are thinner and more
gaunt, and there is growing despair on the faces of people in the street.
The food distribution at Hillside Church purchased from your gifts where
they had to close the list after 400 people had received some help, but
still there were queues of desperate people
In 2005 the government
instituted “Clear out the trash”. The authorities bulldozed the houses in
the poor communities and, at gunpoint, drove the families into the rural
areas. More than 800,000 people were left homeless and jobless. Killarney
was one of the places where the homes were destroyed. It’s now barren
scrubland, but the people have come back to live there, because they have
nowhere to go, those who distribute the food purchased by this appeal take
quite a risk. The government insists that it is responsible for food
distribution, although frequently food is not available and is distributed
only to government supporters! Sometimes the volunteers are stopped by the
police and some have been imprisoned. They say, however, “What can we do? We
are Christians and God’s children are in need?”
We trust that our Probus Club
will be generous and support this charity as we enjoy this time of
Christmas, God Bless you all.
Cliff Douthwaite -President the
Probus Club of Ewell
Incoming President Message for 2007 -2008 by Cliff Douthwaite.
It is an honour to be
elected as the President of the Probus Club of Ewell, I follow in a long
line of excellent past presidents and have a standard already set that I
trust I will uphold. But of course it is not just the President that
sets the standards for friendship and comradeship in the club, but you
the members and the committee you have elected to keep me on the
straight and narrow!
You will have noted the
committee have decided to opt for round tables; this is to ensure that
with the previous arrangements there were always members at the ends of
the straight tables who were restricted to only conversation with one
other member. Whilst round tables eliminate this it then raises the
problem of conversation across the wider table, afraid we cannot win,
but need your help to generate the best compromise.
Tracking back thorough past president’s messages,
another value of the website, I came across this from Derek Youell in
2002 he said “When I was elected as President in April of this year, my
mind went back to when I joined Probus some 10 years ago. At that time I
was lucky to join a number of friends who were already members and we
tended to talk amongst our selves and had little contact with others.
In recent years, I have realised that this is
wrong; it makes it difficult for new members without the benefit of
knowing existing members to integrate.
I am hoping that during my year, members will
have more contact with each other and I suggest that all members try to
speak to at least one member to whom they have not spoken previously.”
I regret to say that Derek’s
wish has not made much difference to how we arrange our seating, since
his year in office from time to time the committee have discussed
eliminating members selecting seats for groups of friends, but without a
consensus of committee agreement, whilst this present format has value
and makes us all feel comfortable it as Derek said 5 years ago restricts
our getting to know others, and remains a barrier for new members who
come without a friend, such as via the Internet, so can I ask you to
bear with any future changes that may offer a better arrangement, of
course we your committee are open to your views, so please take the
opportunity of expressing your opinions, but please look at the wider
issue of the Probus ethos.
To
the fostering of fellowship, goodwill and the common interest of all
Probus Club Members
From my part I intend to
invite as my guest month by month the Presidents/Chairman from the many
local Probus Clubs in the area, thus hopefully extending the fellowship
ethos, please feel free to converse with these or any other visitors who
may join us.
For the upcoming President’s charity I would like to propose the
Zimbabwe Victim Support Fund this has been set up to provide some relief
for those who were falling victims to the systematic programme of
destruction of the agricultural industry resulting that many of the poor
are foodless unless they support the regime. This Fund is administered
via the UK Churches sending monies direct to the Zimbabwe churches for
food distribution. I trust the membership will support this charity.
I look forward to serving
you in the coming year.
Cliff Douthwaite
President's
Message December 2006
By Richard Whittington
The Probus Club of Ewell had the
privilege of a presentation by Virginia McKenna OBE of her
acting career and later her work for the “Born Free Trust” at
their recent Probus Ladies Christmas lunch at Bourne Hall in
Ewell. This event on December 6 th 2006 was also attended in his
official capacity as the Mayor of Epsom and Ewell Councillor
David Wood and his Consort sister Barbara, David is of course a
long time member of the Probus Club of Ewell.
David Wood our Mayor took the opportunity to say a few words, he
said that although as Mayor he represented Epsom and Ewell, in
his heart he was a Ewell man born and bred in Ewell and proud of
this, he also stated as a long time member of the Club he
savoured the strong fellowship and in his time has served the
Club in many capacities including the Presidency for which he
had been most grateful. His present post the highest in the
Borough of Epsom and Ewell as Mayor is indeed an honour.
David the Club are honoured to have you as a fellow member and
more so as our Mayor, this after serving our community for many
years as a Councillor.
I wish to thanked those who had help organise the Christmas
Lunch, especially Eric Hussey who in his quiet efficient way had
masterminded the occasion resulting in an excellent and
enjoyable function.
Jill Whittington on behalf of all the ladies present thanked the
membership for their kind invitation to the Christmas Lunch;
they had all enjoyed another festive day with a perfect
presentation from Virginia.
Jill and myself extend a
Happy Christmas and a
Prosperous New Year
to all
of YOU.
Presidential
Address 2006
By Richard Whittington
Richard Whittington commenced by informing the Members
they would be relieved he did not have a great to say BUT! He said David
Smart would be a hard act to follow and complimented him on the quiet
skill and humour and diplomacy when conducting the
Lunches and Committee Meetings.
Richard
considered the Members to be a jolly good lot and looked
forward to getting to know many of the new members and those he did know
well enough.
Richard Whittington sought the Members' approval to his
nominated Charity, The Royal Marsden, Sutton.
He concluded by saying it was a genuine Honour to be
President
and would do his best not to let Members down.
OUTGOING PRESIDENT'S 2005/06 REPORT
 David
Smart considered that it had been a very successful year which he had
certainly enjoyed.
There
had been 2 very good Ladies Lunches at the Cuddington Golf Club clearly due
to the work of our Ladies
Lunch Organiser, Eric Hussey.
He thanked Ken Robinson for the excellent list of
interesting speakers
he had produced during the year and understood Ken had
already arranged Speakers for 2006/07.
Social Secretary, Doug Clarke had organised several events
not least of which was the visit to the Bisley Ranges which were enjoyed by
all attending.
Some Members had moved away during the year and we had
unfortunately lost others.
However, we had gained new Members who were very welcome.
David felt that if the Club was to progress we would need to
increase the Membership base.
He urged all Members to do their best in this respect.
David thanked Richard Whittington for his assistance and
indeed all Members of the Committee for their support during the year.
David closed by thanking the Members for allowing him to be
their President for 2005.
Presidential
Address 2005
By David
Smart
The
Ladies Lunch at Cuddington Golf Club was clearly a success with an
attendence of 88. Members and Guests appreciated the interesting talk by Mr
Ken Wharfe MVO who had been the Police Protection Offifer for the late
Princess Diana.
The Charity collection for the RAF Association raised £230.20, a very good
result which I feel reflected Members support for the Charity.
I look forward to the coming year, hopefully with an increased Membership.
I would like to thanks Eric Hussey for the arrangements at Cuddington and
the Committee for their support
Presidential
Address 2004
By David
Wood
Probus
is about
friendship
and
fellowship
and it so
pleasing to
see so many
friends each
Month
although it
is sad to
reflect that
as we come to
another
Annual
General
Meeting we
are all
another year
older and
some, deeper
in debt.
Sadly as
always we
have had a
number of
Members who
have resigned
during the
year as they
have moved on
to a better
place. The
Members of
The Committee
try to attend
the funeral
services of
these
departing
Members and
we hope that
it brings
some comfort
to those
family and
friends who
are left. On
a happier
note we are
pleased to
greet a
number of
Widows of
Members who
come along to
our Ladies
lunches.
Although we
are roughly
maintaining
our
Membership we
always
welcome new
Members and I
would ask all
Members to
encourage
friends to
join us
As usual the
forthcoming
year will be
doted with
excursions
and other
activities.
We will be
holding two
ladies
lunches - In
May at
Cuddington
Golf Club and
this year the
Christmas
Lunch will be
held in The
Queens Stand
at Epsom Race
Course. This
latter event
has been
specially
arranged at
normal
Members rates
so I hope all
will take up
this special
opportunity
to visit an
unique
Borough site.
In June we
are going up
river for our
now Annual
Thames river
trip and we
will also be
organising
our popular
Reigate
luncheons.
For those who
like France
there is the
opportunity
to go on a
day trip to
Bolougne by
coach and a
week long
trip to
Chantilly. Do
avail
yourselves of
these unique
opportunities.
Our speakers
this year are
varied and as
always
interesting
so do make
sure you
please do not
miss them.
My nominated
Charity for
this year is
the RNLI. I
am always
aware that we
all live on
an island and
as one who
suffers from
mal de mere I
have the
highest
regard for
the men and
women who
give of their
time and
efforts to
keep those
who go to sea
safe. Please
dig deep and
often to
support their
work.
I look
forward with
a happy heart
to my
Presidential
year and
thank you
most
sincerely for
having
elected me to
this post. In
my modest
efforts I am
supported by
a marvellous
Committee and
I thank each
and every one
of them for
their
continuing
unsung
dedication.
David.
PRESIDENT’S
REPORT
October
2003
 My
year seems to
be passing
very quickly
and I must
say I am
thoroughly
enjoying it.
The
fellowship
that I
experience
from the
Probus Club
of Ewell is
wonderful.
We have
now enjoyed
four
outings for
the Club.
The
Thames
River
Boat
Trip
Parliament,
House of
Lords the
Cabinet
War
Rooms.
Two
Bridge
House
luncheons.
All were
well
supported
and
enjoyed,
our thanks
to Derek
Youell for
organising
these
excellent
activities.
Our
thanks to
Richard
Whittington
for the
arrangements
for the
Ladies
Christmas
luncheon.
The
standard of
luncheons
and service
from Crown
Catering
has
improved at
Bourne Hall
and those
present
seemed to
have
enjoyed
them.
It was a
pity that
at one of
our monthly
lunch
meeting’s
only 42
members
were
present,
which
seemed to
me to be
the lowest
I can
recall.
This may
have been
due to the
start of
the holiday
season, as
the numbers
have
increased
in the last
few months.
On
several
occasions I
have
requested
members
present to
occupy the
vacant
seats on
the top
table
without
little
success, it
seems we
are
creatures
of habit!
In due
course the
membership
will be
asked again
if we need
to organise
our lunch
time
seating
arrangements
in a
different
format,
thus
perhaps
ensuring we
get a
better mix
and
understanding
of our
fellow
members.
I need
to remind
all members
that they
should
continue
the custom
of wearing
an
identification
badge and
this should
be in
sufficiently
large font
so those
who may
have poor
eyesight
can read
them!
This
brings me
to the
question of
the
membership
– perhaps
we should
be starting
a
recruiting
drive, as
we do not
appear to
be
attracting
new
members.
How do
we approach
this
question?
Whilst
we have
details on
this site
and many of
the local
sites and
publication,
the best
way I am
sure is by
personal
invitation,
so members
over to
YOU.
My
thanks to
all the
Committee
for their
continued
support.
Ken
Robinson,
President 2003
Probus Club
of Ewell
Presidential
Address 2003
By Ken
Robinson
 At
the 2003
AGM the
Retiring
President
Derek
Youell
giving the
charge with
the
appropriate
words
invested
Ken
Robinson
with the
President's
Collarette
and Collar
Badge. The
Retiring
President
then
exchanged
seats with
the New
President.
The New
President
presented
the Retired
President
with his
Past
President's
Tie and
Lapel
Badge.
Ken
Robinson
thanked
Members for
electing
him
President,
which he
regarded as
a great
privilege,
and hoped
that with
the strong
Committee,
development
of Club
would
continue.
Ken
thanked
Derek
Youell for
all his
work as
President
and Social
Secretary
and
reported
with a
touch of
sadness
that whilst
unlike his
predecessors
Derek had
only served
for eleven
months due
to the
change of
date of the
AGM to help
the
financial
arrangements,
he had
succeeded
in packing
in as much
as other
Presidents
have done
in a full
year.
Ken
Robinson,
President
Probus Club
of Ewell
Presidential
message 2003
 The
quality of the
food at Bourne
Hall has
improved and we
have had a
number of very
good and
interesting
speakers,
thanks to the
hard work of
Ken Robinson
our speaker
secretary.
Unfortunately
the Ladies
Lunch in the
summer suffered
from an
unsuitable
sweet course
and the
Committee were
forced to
consider
alternative
venues.
The
venue selected
for the
Christmas
Lunch,
Cuddington Golf
Club proved a
great success
and the
speaker,
Margaret
Hunter, gave an
interesting and
amusing talk on
life as a BBC
World service
Announcer. That
event has set a
standard that
the club must
try and repeat.
We had a
successful
River Thames
trip from
Runnymede up
stream to
Windsor and
again we were
lucky with the
weather. The
Club provided
the coach and
some 60 members
attended.
The
visit to the
Woking Theatre
to see Chicago
was not so well
supported but
enjoyed by the
32 members who
did make the
journey.
During this
year our web
site has been
developed and
contact made
with a number
of Probus Clubs
across the
world.
Finally
I would like to
thank all
members of the
Club who have
helped my year
to be so
enjoyable with
particular
thanks to the
Committee
especially Bob
Sullivan, Ken
Robinson,
Richard
Whittington,
David Wood and
Cliff
Douthwaite.
Derek
Youell, President 2002
Probus Club
of Ewell
Presidential
Address 2002
by Derek Youell
First,
I must
congratulate
Brian Cousins,
the retiring
President on a
successful
year. He
started each
meeting with a
little joke and
that set the
tone of each
meeting. We had
a good year and
thanks are due
to him for his
guidance and a
very energetic
and
enthusiastic
committee.
When
I was elected
as President in
April of this
year, my mind
went back to
when I joined
Probus some 10
years ago. At
that time I was
lucky to join a
number of
friends who
were already
members and we
tended to talk
amongst our
selves and had
little contact
with others.
In
recent years, I
have realised
that this is
wrong, it makes
it difficult
for new members
without the
benefit of
knowing
existing
members to
integrate.
I
am hoping that
during my year,
members will
have more
contact with
each other and
I suggest that
all members try
to speak to at
least one
member to whom
they have not
spoken
previously.
The
success of
Probus depends
on friendship
and comradeship
and we must all
do our best to
promote these
ideals.
This
year the club
has decided to
support the Boy
Scouts of Epsom
and Ewell and
we hope to
provide some
climbing
equipment,
which will be
used by all the
Groups.
I
consider it a
great honour to
have been
elected to
serve as
President for
the coming year
and trust I
will justify
the confidence
that members
have shown in
me.
Derek
Youell, President 2002
Probus Club
of Ewell
|
ProBus
Club of Ewell 
