Ashton-under-Lyne and District Probus Club's golden anniversary

Friday, 22 October 2021 13:12

Ashton-under-Lyne and District Probus Club commemorated its 50th birthday recently with an event at Oaklands Hall in Hyde.

The club, which was founded on May 13, 1971, aims to promote the spirit of association, friendliness and mutual support, a well as good fellowship and stimulating discussion.

The club meets twice monthly to enjoy a meal and talk from an expert in a variety of fields.

More than 50 members now visit St Mark’s Church Hall in Dukinfield where the club usually meets.

Recent talks have had intriguing titles such as ‘Beyond the Curtain’, ‘One Thing Leads to Another’ and ‘Not Through the Front Door’.

Membership of the club is open to retired and semi-retired people and is non political.

In addition to the talks by speakers, which the club estimates now number more than 1,000, the members meet monthly for lunch, as well as three seasonal lunches.

There are also structured walks, day trips and competitions.

The first members of the club paid a membership fee of thirty five shillings, or 25 pence in modern money.

The club steadily grew and grew over the years, celebrating their 25th anniversary in 1996. To honour the occasion they held a celebratory members’ lunch at the ‘Reflections’ restaurant at Tameside College, a tradition which continued for many years.

Like many other groups, they’ve moved with the times, communicating via email and maintaining an online presence, which has allowed them to secure guests from further afield than ever before.

The first Probus club, which stands for PROfessional and BUSiness, was founded in the United Kingdom in 1965 and currently has more than 400,000 members worldwide.

Happy birthday to Ashton-under-Lyne and District Probus Club!