President’s letter August 2022
Some of you reading this may be unaware of the activities of the Kelvin Probus Club, in which case here is a brief outline of what we are about.
If you live West of the River Kelvin and North of the Clyde and are a retired professional, business or academic person, male or female, there is a warm welcome waiting for you at the Club. This may be particularly appealing after the long months of pandemic and lockdown which have undoubtedly impacted us all in so many ways, not many of which were positive.
The Club provides a locus for those of us who have led busy and fulfilling lives and perhaps now find that occasionally time hangs heavy, that we miss the social interactions of our workplace or that family support is no longer what it once was. The Club affords an opportunity for good conversation, intellectual stimulus and the chance to widen our circle of friends. It does this through regular meetings when we can listen to and contribute to fascinating discussions led by experts and enjoy companionable walks and outings to places of interest and other events.
Tuesday mornings are regular Probus time, twice a month indoors at the Hillhead Sports Club at 32 Hughenden Road, Glasgow G12 9XP, close to the ‘centre of gravity’ of the membership, and twice a month outdoors with colleagues on guided walks round Glasgow and its surrounding areas.
On the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from September through to May we meet at 11 a.m. for tea and coffee before a talk or presentation from a recognised expert in a wide and stimulating range of subjects followed by a Q & A session. Members may then stay on for a sociable lunch of soup and sandwiches at a cost of £5.50 provided by Café Source Too with access to the bar, should anyone wish to have a drink. The meetings include a Christmas lunch with partners which is the highlight of our season for many.
On the intervening Tuesdays of each month we have a group walk of 4 to 5 miles or a guided visit normally accessed by public transport which usually visits a local hostelry at some stage along the route.
Last year’s talks included such diverse subjects as an exploration of the significance of James Watt, the story of the reduction in heart attacks and strokes in the West of Scotland, the relevance of the extraordinary John Buchan, an interview with Sir Ken Calman, Chief Medical Officer for both Scotland and England, on his absorbing and charming autobiography and the historical development of Hyndland from 1840 onwards not to mention space research and tick diseases. Our programme of talks for 2022/23 is very interesting and similarly wide-ranging covering the Antarctic wastes to the Silk Road, the history of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to the potential future of Glasgow, climate change and a vision of Scotland in 2070 with health, education and baroque music thrown in for good measure.
The annual subscription is a modest £40 per head which covers all Tuesday meetings, inside and outside. If you are interested and do not know any Probus members, we would be delighted to hear from you via our Secretary Robin Hutchison (robin.hutchison1@gmail.com and telephone 0141 339 8038) who will be pleased to invite you to a taster event. Indeed members are encouraged to invite friends and acquaintances, whether as potential members or because they are attracted by the topic of the day. This will allow you to savour the atmosphere and ethos of the Club before deciding whether or not you wish to apply for membership formally.
You should note that we have an active web page – access www.kelvinprobus.org – which has details of the venue, programme, constitution, application form, meetings, walks and other social events, news, office bearers and summaries of our talks, all of which will give you a better understanding of what Probus offers.
We hope that you are sufficiently intrigued to read further and perhaps to contact our Secretary; you will be most welcome.
Yours sincerely,
Nick Kuenssberg
President 2022/23