FIRST move of the week? Easy, it’s Monday morning so, unless it’s a Bank Holiday, off we go to the Railway Inn at Defford for a cup of coffee and a chat about anything that occurs to us. It is an occasion that reminds those members old enough to recall an automotive product called ‘Redex’ (a miracle automotive liquid in a can, just one squirt of which into the tank was alleged to rejuvenate engine parts one could not see); for us, the Probus Club of Pershore, our host Guido Amadio’s Italian coffee has similar effect upon us too – a fine start to the week.

But where shall we be taken to this morning we wonder – a little time back we had a fascinating tour of rare flora in China by our very own international botanist; who has his life regularly disturbed by members who want to know just what sort of compost they ought to put on their cabbages this year. And we’ve been all over the Lake District arm in arm with William Wordsworth; on a splendid variety of holidays with other members and their wives and cameras – including our resident geographer who instead of taking us on another tour of the Galapagos Islands took us on a walking tour of the Cotswold Way instead, especially the bits of it that lie close to Pershore, just to encourage us – it’s always good fun to find out what other people get up to isn’t it?

Recently our Club Secretary gave us the whole picture and background with several learned (Googled) geological asides of the Cotswold Water Park and its historical development – all derived from the need to resurface his drive! Fascinating stuff all round – we s hall all become expert geothingummyists soon.

And recently too the automotive thread in our lives was brought back to life by the annual Chairman’s Outing which this year took us by coach to the British Motor Museum at Gaydon and all its hundreds of splendidly preserved ancient vehicles – a huge number of examples of which had at some earlier time been the proudly polished property of one or other of our members! Many a dusty road was retravelled in memory of that day?

Our latest speaker gave us one of the most romantic presentations ever – an entymologist who has lived on Bredon Hill for some thirty years and knows every inch of it and its invertebrates. Away from the noisy walkers who scare the tiny locals with their hefty boots and general chatter, our chap walks alone – that way he says he disturbs fewer and therefore sees more. To prove his case he presented a mass of superbly detailed photos of the rare, uncommon and sometimes downright invisible population of the hill. He snapped these little creatures going about their normal business of growing living, surviving and procreating, and looking very beautiful in almost every case. All in all it was fascinating and there is a general agreement that very soon, we must all find an opportunity to wander very quietly, around Bredon Hill.

Our hill walking legs must be kept in fine fettle and a crucial part of our training on the third Monday of the month – a four course luncheon with our ladies in attendance.

ADAM KNOWLES