Ashtead and Leatherhead Probus

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Ashtead and Leatherhead Probus

The Club for anyone with a professional or business background. Meeting monthly at Tyrrells Wood GC

17/06/2026

Our special Summer Lunch was once again held at Tyrrells Wood on 15 June when a lovely buffet lunch was served to nearly 70 members and partners and friends.

08/06/2026

On Saturday 30 May a visit,organised by Keith Allardyce , was arranged to the London Museum of Water and Steam at the old Kew Bridge Pumping Station.
Several steam engines from the 19th Century were in operation, including one of the largest which was really impressive. 40 feet high, weighing 250 tonnes, with a 25 tonne counterweight.
The visit ended with a lunch at the Bell and Crown Pub.
This was a fascinating experience of Victorian engineering at its best and an enjoyable day for everyone who attended.

19/05/2026

Lucy Quinnell from the Rowhurst Forge in Leatherhead spoke to our Probus Club on 18 May. She covered many aspects of the blacksmith's trade from earliest times to the doldrums of the nineties through to the transformation of the industry today. Her family have been 94 years in Leatherhead so we had a real expert who outlined the basic process and the challenges of the profession.
She also modestly touched on some amazing commissions that she had earned, including the Globe Theatre, the Stonehenge Archer, and the Dorking Roundabout Chicken.
Her forge also reaches out to children who find education challenging and she is now partnering with Surrey University on a project to help those children who are classed as NEETS. She spoke with passion about the individual successes her approach had achieved with these pupils.
Our members listened attentively and, after an interesting Q&A session, gave Lucy an enthusiastic round of applause.

27/04/2026

Daniel Sykes is the Cyber Protection Officer for the Surrey Police and he talked to the Club on 20 April. He spoke on how to keep safe on line and he pointed out that cyber criminals were very effective and it is estimated that North Korea gets 15% of its GDP from online fraud.

He gave us many helpful tips one of which was to notice on websites the difference between HTTP (not trustworthy) and HTTPS (trustworthy).

The main message was when online always be aware and suspicious, never put personal information online, and the best password is three random words and two factor authentication.

Members asked numerous questions and the talk was extremely helpful and was well received.

18/03/2026

Our March 16 talk was on a most unusual subject, namely on a unique 3000 mile walk across Africa.

Fran Sandman explained that he suddenly wanted to do something unusual and this idea popped into his head and in 1997 he st off from the Skeleton Coast of Namibia.

He travelled through deserts, forests, plains and mountains, safely through lion country and met numerous very welcoming villagers.

Fran was a fascinating character and he gave an inspiring talk with huge enthusiasm that was much appreciated by our members.

08/03/2026

Our 16 February speaker, after an excellent lunch at Tyrrells Wood, was Steve Bird who had visited the Club before, and this time the title of his talk was "The Wars of the Roses".
These wars lasted from 1455 to 1487 and are an incredibly important yet complicated dynastic fight for the English throne between the houses of Lancaster and York. They ended at the Battle of Bosworth which was won by Henry Tudor who defeated King Richard the third.
Steve Bird is to be congratulated for explaining such a convoluted story in a manner that everyone understood and he was rewarded with an enthusiastic round of applause.

23/01/2026

Our Probus Club welcomed Rupert Allison, better known as the author Nigel West, to our January 19 Lunch meeting where he spoke on the Chinese Security Services.

He has written extensively on the Security Services so we were given a fascinating expert overview of how the Chinese operate. Unlike all other such services, in China they report to the Communist Party, not purely the state.

Each province has its own security service and they are not well coordinated. They are also directed to deal with internal security issues.

Nigel West did not consider the new Chinese embassy a threat. Indeed having one Chinese location rather than 17 was viewed as a preferred option for M15.

The talk led to a number of questions from members, and this was one of the most highly attended of our recent meetings.

27/12/2025

Our 2025 Christmas lunch was held as usual at Tyrrells Wood on 15 December with about 100 members, partners and guests. The meal was served buffet style with numerous starter choices, followed by a selection of Christmas roasts, and later desserts.

The Club also welcomed for the first time Miles Eagling, who performs magic under the name of the Bowler-hatted Magician. He circled the tables, enthralling and amazing those present with a stunning array of mind-blowing tricks. No one understood how he did them
This was a marvellous event which many thought was one of the best Christmas lunches ever. Certainly there was lively, animated conversation throughout the afternoon, and everyone gave the chef and staff a generous round of applause at the end of the meal.

07/11/2025

Our 4 November visit was to Covent Garden and a Behind the Scenes visit to the Royal Opera House.
Before this we had coffee in the Crypt of St Martin in the Fields Church where our party of 20+ met up.
We had a fascinating tour of the Opera House, and our guide was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and entertaining. We learned that two earlier wooden versions of the opera house had burned down and the rebuild after that fire in 1856 really delighted Queen Victoria. It became the Royal Opera House in 1892.
But we saw the building as it was altered in the 1990s. Built on seven floors the organisation is massive employing around 1000 people from crafts experts to singers , musicians and of course administrators.
Afterwards we went for lunch to Cote Brasserie which did us proud.
Our thanks to Ian Nayler who organised this amazing trip. @@

24/09/2025

Our September Informal Lunch was attended by members and partners and was held at the newly refurbished Tottenham Corner pub, now owned by Youngs. An enjoyable occasion but it was noted that the dishes were not quite as described on the menu. Regardless the conversation and humour of those attending flowed seamlessly.

Address

Tyrrells Wood Golf Club
Leatherhead
KT228QP

Website

http://AshteadLeatherheadProbus.org/

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