Portland Probus Club

The muster was at 10.15 and there we all were ready, if not for battle, then for coffee and a guided tour .

The first, first, (gosh I have not seen that in writing before), was caused by President Rob.  Why? Well Rob was wearing a suit – yes he was. I have been at many meetings with Rob for well over 20 years and although he is always smartly turned out I cannot remember the last time I saw Rob in a suit. Luckily Rob did not put out a decree that from now on male members must wear suits at meetings.

Rob timed to the second the announcements made by club members on various issues. This came to 6 minutes 29 seconds and as it happened ultimately resulted in us being able to go to lunch earlier!

The second first was Ralph our speaker. Ralph is a member of Gillingham Probus Club and whilst our own members address the club from time to time, I do not recall a member from another Probus club speaking to us.

Ralph now retired, who has had a triple heart by pass worked in Human Resources in the Oil and Gas industry and also London Transport Police.  Ralph had a fantastic collection of puns on a wide variety of subjects which came to us non-stop. At various points in his presentation he actually burst into song (does this constitute a third first?).

I suppose that many of us had heard the puns Ralph told us but nevertheless, the way he told them kept a lot of us laughing no-stop throughout the presentation. Ralph made several references to puns used by the likes of Shakespeare, Shelley, Oscar Wilde and Thomas Hardy.

As Ian Thom said in his vote of thanks to Ralph he cannot remember hearing a stand up comedian before mid-day. We certainly went into lunch in a happy frame of mind.

Thank you Ralph for the amusing presentation this morning and Rob S for making the arrangements.  

Can I thank in advance Alan N for covering the reporting of the Nothe Fort visit in my absence and similarly Ann A for doing the honours at our next meeting on June 6.

The second group duly mustered in a room designated in 1956 as the Dorset County Council chamber for tea and coffee. Our volunteer museum guide this morning was none other than our own Ken who, I have to say bubbled over in his desire to give us as much information as possible during our visit.

Ken started off by telling us of the history of the buildings, one Georgian, built between 1795/7 for Assizes and Quarter Sessions. He also issued us with multimedia machines on which we would be able to follow one of four cases – Tolpuddle Martyrs, Elizah Upjohn, Daniel Upjohn or Martha Brown as we walked around.

Since my last visit some 10 years plus ago I was amazed at the transformation of this important historic attraction but, the £3m plus to convert it to its present condition has been well carried out and the blend of the use of modern technology with the reality of seeing rooms and cells as they were has been very tastefully done.

When we went in the small individual holding cells built in 1880 to replace communal cells, they were clean and hygienic but, back in the day they undoubtedly would have been cold, dark and smelly. We visited the cell where the Tolpuddle Martyrs were held, the Grand Jury room and the Court. Interestingly secondary glazing was fitted to the large windows in the Court room in 1880, no not to keep warmth in but, to keep noise out. Our secretary David donned Judges Raiment together with wig and dispensed a few words of wisdom.

The conclusion of the visit was to see the work of Jason Wilsher-Mills on the Tolpuddle Martyrs using IPADS – quite unusual but fascinating.

Ken comprehensively covered the social history of our country from King George 111 through to Queen Victoria in great detail and certainly made the whole visit interesting and informative. I just hope that the first group had a similar experience with their guide.

As you know on such visits I like to report quirky things. Today I was intrigued to learn that when Queen Victoria visited Dorset if her itinerary involved going through a village or river with Piddle in the name it was changed to Puddle! The Shire Hall had a nuclear bunker facility which Ken said would not have worked. ‘Pigtails’ were the chains used to open cells doors, just like those now used on our doors to see to see who is outside. Finally do you know what a Phrenologist studies? I do.

Ken said there is another tour ‘Behind the scenes’ which explores the history of the building. Thank you Ken, for organising this event and for carrying out guide duties. Super job.

The curator of the HF, Kate, gave a comprehensive and very enthusiastic talk on the Swordfish, Sea Fury, Wasp and Sea Vixen. She explained in great detail the roll these aircraft played, their construction and the ongoing work to keep these aircraft flying in the memory of those who did fly and maintain these aircraft in conflicts and in the protection of our Country. Kate explained that it will cost £2M to rebuild the only flyable Sea Vixen which unfortunately crash landed at Yeovilton on the 17th May 2017. Work cannot start in earnest until the funds have been raised through charitable donation. Our Club was able to go someway towards this by donating £105 plus a further £85 as those attending did not think that I charged enough for this event. Therefore, in total we were able to gift £190 which was well received by Kate.

After a short break and coffee, it was back onto the MT which took us to 845 Merlin Mk4 Squadron hanger where Duncan gave a talk on the roll of the Merlin MK4 and his experiences of flying this aircraft in conflict zones and in training. We were able to board the aircraft in small groups and see the flight deck and state of the art flight touch screen displays which Duncan was able to light up and talk us through their functions. One of our group noted the sheep skin seat covers for the pilot, Duncan explained you can be sat down for a very long time!

At mid-day we left the base on our MT and arrived back at the Fleet Air Arm Museum café for lunch and the normal catch up chat. A great day enjoyed by all.

Ken, our President, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone, especially new members.

Each committee member gave their annual report which helped members to reflect on the work done by the committee. This reminded us of all the excellent talks and interim events we have enjoyed during the year.

Ken then spoke about his year as President which he said he had found satisfying and very enjoyable. He then presented “The Egg” to Joyce Scott who had organised the very popular “Truth and Lies” event.

The new committee were duly elected and Rob, our new President presented Ken with his past Presidents pin and in return Ken presented Rob with his new elf outfit!

Rob then spoke of his hopes for the coming year and reiterated his encouragement to all members to consider how they might contribute to the activities of the club.

The old committee were thanked and now we all look forward to another enjoyable year as members of Portland Probus Club.