Through its elected
Committee, the Club organises meetings for lunch on the 3rd Wednesday of
each month (those held in May and December are Ladies Lunches where we
entertain our partners as well as other guests)
These lunch meetings are
held at the
Glenmore House conveniently situated at No 6 The Crescent, Surbiton,
Surrey, KT6 4BN
at 12 noon
for 1.00pm. and are followed by an after lunch speaker.
In addition, the
Committee organise about six visits/outings a year to places of interest
including informal gatherings of members and their partners for pub lunches
at local inns and hostelries. In both Spring and Autumn, short Club holidays
are organised in a wide variety of locations, both in the UK and Europe, at
a reasonable and competitive cost for dinner, bed and breakfast.
Monthly Lunches
--- Ladies Lunch -We hold two every year
The
Glenmore House
serve an excellent 3 course lunch; alternatives are available to suit any
dietary requirements. Members may invite guests.
Glenmore
House
map
Glenmore House ..................website
Programme 2012
Notes on the Lunch Meeting at
Glenmore House
On Wednesday 18th
January2012
Alan Nichols on his experiences as
a Train Driver
The Chairman then welcomed our
Speaker Alan Nichols who was to address us on his experiences as a train
driver after retiring from his career as a bank manager. Alan Nichols
started to unfold the outlines of his unusual dual career. His addiction to
trains started as a small boy when his family lived at Petts Wood and he was
taken to Folkestone in 1949 at the age of 21/2. But driving trains was not
to be his first career. He joined Westminster Bank in 1965 and was to remain
with them, having attained managerial status dealing with top clients for 33
years. He was able to take early retirement at 55 and joined South West
Trains training School in 2002.
There followed two intensive
years of training as with the whole of Alan’s talk this was packed with
detail, starting with Basic Railway he went through signal recognition,
warning signs and the use of different types of telephones. The there was
the principles of Route Learning, the understanding of rules and the
significance of publications and notices. After this came the way in which a
train behaves: the principles of traction. Then was the practical handling
of a train: demonstrations by an instructor. In all, the minimum number of
hours with a driving instructor was 225 covering both teaching and learner
practice.
This culminated in three days
of assessment of the pupil covering driving, rules and traction. From then
on it was route learning over 600 track miles, yards, sidings, 500 signals
and 180 platforms. Each year there are 16,000 station stops and 48,000
signals to be obeyed. On each route the pupil undergoes a written and driven
assessment on each route tackled. All this amounted to an extremely
impressive and reassuring account in detail of what goes into the training
of a person who every day is responsible for the lives of hundreds of his
fellow human beings.
This may sound solemn but
Alan’s talks was enlivened by numerous anecdotes. These ranged from the
humorous (e.g. Cheeky girls and Fake Policemen) to the grim (Clapham
suicide). Your scribe liked Maggie Thatcher’s insistence on having Boeuf
Wellington served to French VIPS on trains travelling to political meetings
in London via Waterloo.
Alan is still a full time train
driver and enjoys every working day. But he is also an engaged member of the
railway staff, known at H Q, who does not refrain from expressing his views
on controversial issues which he expresses to management when appropriate.
After his talk Alan answered
numerous questions from our railway buffs, even including one on driverless
trains. After this the Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to and the formal
session ended at 3.10 with the Probus Toast.
Brian Jackson
Notes on the Lunch Meeting
at Glenmore
on Wednesday February 15th
2012
John
Edney on the Cinque Ports
To come awaiting text
promised by the speaker
The Chairman welcomed our
Luncheon Speaker, John Edney who was to address us on the subject of the
Cinque Ports, and the Loyal Toast the Chairman asked John Edney who
spoke on his subject of the Cinque Ports [summary to follow.]
This was followed by questions. The Chairman then thanked John
for his excellent talk and the meeting closed at 3.10 p.m. with the
Probus Toast.
The Cinque Ports - a brief
History attached whilst awaiting the promised text
Originally, the Cinque
Ports (pronounced 'Sink' Ports) were a confederation of five harbours,
Sandwich, Romney, Dover, Hythe, and Hastings plus the two Ancient Towns
of Rye & Winchelsea. These were grouped together, for defence purposes,
by Edward the Confessor. They supplied the Crown with ships and men.
In
early times, the fishing fleets, maintained by the South Eastern coastal
towns were frequently pressed into service to convey people, and armies,
to and from the Continent, as well as to fight battles at sea. They
formed the first Navy, and, in return for the use of their vessels, the
ports received many privileges from the Crown.
Gradually the ports grouped
together for mutual support and a confederation of the five main ones,
Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, Romney, and Hastings, was formed and became
known as the Cinque Ports. This grouping probably began before the
Norman conquest, the Domesday Book records the obligation of the ports
to supply ships and men to the King once a year. This ship service
continued for over three hundred years until larger ships were needed by
the Navy
The privileges obtained by
the Cinque Ports were set down in a series of Royal Charters—the last
one granted by Charles II in 1668, can be seen in the Guildhall,
Sandwich. These privileges included freedom from tolls and customs
duties, freedom to trade and to hold their own judicial courts. The
Cinque Ports were also entitled to send Barons, to carry the Canopy over
the Sovereign at his or her coronation. A section of the canopy, in
cloth of gold, used at the coronation of George 3rd may be seen in
Guildhall.
Between the eleventh and
thirteenth centuries, Sandwich reached the top of its importance as the
main port in England.
But,
the Great Storm of 1287 was the beginning of the end for many of the
ports, it silted up harbours, blocked rivers, and submerged towns.
Despite this, the Cinque Ports still retained their status and
privileges, these towns are still known as the Cinque Ports, but the
coastline has changed considerably over the centuries - Sandwich is now
2 miles inland and only Dover retains its major port status
The
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is today an honorary but still
prestigious position, formerly held by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
- the present Lord Warden is Admiral Lord Boyce. The Official Residence
of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is based at Walmer Castle (left).
Former recent Lord Wardens
include Sir Winston Churchill 1941-1965 and Sir Robert Menzies, former
Prime Minister of Australia 1966-1978.
Notes on the Lunch Meeting
at Glenmore House On Wednesday March 21st 2012
The
Chairman welcomed our Luncheon Speaker, Chief Superintendant Martin
Greenslade (left). Martin addressed the Club on the state of policing in
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames both now and in the immediate
future. He was basically very reassuring about the present situation.
The challenge for the future lies in the basic task: overall crime
reduction, set against a reduction in the police budget by amounting to
some 16% to 20% in the 2013-2014 period. The present areas of emphasis
include the 2012 Olympics, public order concerns and the overall issue
of public confidence and satisfaction. Opportunities include
centralisation of shared services - Response Teams, custody provision
and the CID and in Safer Neighbourhood Teams.
Property theft is the
second lowest in London although a particular recent anxiety has been a
team of South Americans –two men and a woman – who operate down the A3,
breaking in at the rear of property and then driving off.
But there has been a
gratifying decrease in theft from motor vehicles and shops. Violence
where it happens is very much in Kingston town centre. Nightclubs are a
particular worry – the Oceana in particular has been in danger of
closure. An interesting piece of lateral thinking has been the
encouragement of the sale of refreshments – such as hot dogs – close to
the exits of clubs to provide a distraction. And young people need
reassurance: Street Pastors (see Footnote) and constables who can be
talked to are positive and desirable factors.
The
Olympics will need careful planning, particularly since prediction is
difficult. Exhibitionists coupled with presence of the media will be a
factor, as will be the men’s and women’s road races running through the
Borough. However, on the positive side there will be very substantial
reinforcement from police elsewhere in the country. Also, the experience
of last year’s riots in London has led to improved sources of
communication and intelligence.
A closing reflection: peace
is what it means to you. Foul neighbours and difficult children cause
more general discomfort than aggressive gangsters.
There followed a vigorous
question and answer session.
Laurie Chandler wished to
know what has been the effect of the closure of Kingston Magistrates’
Court.
The brief (and to some of
the audience, maybe surprising) answer to this was “very little”. A
major anxiety had been transport for the various categories of people
involved but this has been less of a problem than had been feared.
Another question related to
Police Community Support Officers. Laurie Bower was curious to know what
progress has been made with reducing paperwork. The answer to this was
“some, but not enough”.
There were several more
questions after which the Chairman thanked Martin Greenslade most warmly
and the meeting closed with the Probus Toast at 3.10 p.m.
Brian Jackson
Footnote More about Street Pastors here at
http://www.streetpastors.co.uk/
and for Kingston
Street Pastors
go to
http://kingston.streetpastors.org.uk/
