Our speaker on June 14 was Brian Partridge, the title of whose talk "You Cannot be Serious!", was correctly predicted by some to be related to tennis. Brian was a line judge at Wimbledon for ten years and brought several souvenirs of that time, including his uniform and accessories. He told us about the rigid protocol in place for officials such as the ban on speaking to spectators, let alone the players, which therefore precluded obtaining autographs. It takes 330 officials to enable the matches to function and 52,000 balls. There were many anecdotes of the famous players in action during his time at Wimbledon.

In addition to his time at the top, he officiated as umpire at many other tournaments for which the fees and expenses were minimal - a labour of love. This was a fascinating insight into the world of tennis where the stars are naturally the centre of attention and the supporting staff which make it all happen are forgotten - unless they make a controversial decision!

We meet every Thursday at The Boathouse, Evesham Rowing Club. Next week we will be holding our Annual Summer Lunch. Our meetings resume on 28th June when Sandra Grayson will reveal The Hidden Meaning of Handwriting. Full details can be found on our website www.eveshamprobus.co.uk.

ALAN SMITH