ABOUT US - what we are, who we are + what we do

The Club's formal name is 'The Golden Valley Probus Club, Herefordshire'. We are a Club for retired & semi-retired professional and business-men (broadly defined) who live in or near the beautiful Golden Valley in South-West Herefordshire. If you do not know the area well then you may find some of the sites linked to on the Links page to be useful and some of the photos linked to from the Gallery page to be interesting (perhaps starting with Where are we?).

We are a small but active group of men and have a wide range of Activities. Whilst our Monthly Meetings are all-male, we invite partners & friends to all other events. ** We even invite members of those local women's groups who never (or only very rarely) invite men to their events! Our participation rate is high such that we sometimes have to restrict the number of people who can attend certain events. We see that as evidence of the genial atmosphere that prevails and of the friendly welcome that is offered to all guests. We are very pleased that the Club makes such a positive contribution to the social life of many of its Members and their Friends/Guests.
** Exception: Our Members' Christmas Lunch replaces the Monthly Meeting for December and is for Members Only.

Activities

Through our Monthly Meetings and other activities, we try to have at least 2 events going on every month.

Monthly Meetings: We meet every month except December, normally on the 4th Tuesday of the month (which is not always the last Tuesday of the month!) although that is subject to adjustment when there are Bank Holidays around that time or there is a clash with another activity. [For location, see Location.] These meetings are normally well attended, with 60-80% of the Members being present. The meetings start at 10.30am but most people arrive earlier for a chat and some tea or coffee plus a biscuit or two. The meetings start with a short 'Business of the Day'. Then comes the main part of the meeting: a talk/presentation which normally lasts 40-60 minutes, leaving time at the end for questions, aiming to have the meeting closed shortly before 12 noon. [For more on the talks, see the Speakers page.] After the meeting, several of the Members go for lunch together at a local inn.

Outings: There are normally 4-8 Outings each year and we try to ensure that there is an Outing in months when there is no meeting of the Lunch Club or an Annual or Special Event. Some Outings involve Members (and their Guests) travelling independently to the venue, others involve people sharing a coach, and others combine both.

Lunch Club: We have a Lunch together at a nearby hostelry every 3 months or so. Guests are very welcome.

Details of future activities are given on the Notices page whilst details of past outings are given on our Archives page.

Our Members

Our Members come from a wide range of backgrounds and between them have had a wide range of experiences. This helps ensure that the talks/presentations at our Monthly Meetings generate real interest & entertainment - though, in common with other Probus Clubs, we like to avoid discussions on potentially-divisive subjects such as Politics and Religion! We numbered in the early/mid-40s for several years but that has slipped to the early 30s so we are looking for new Members!

We ask little of our Members other than to:
- pay an annual subscription (currently £30 a year: this may be reduced for people who join the Club part-way through the year);
- make an effort to attend at least some of our Monthly Meetings and other activities;
- respect the privacy of any personal information they obtain on other members; and
- take their turn to be responsible for arranging a Speaker at a Monthly Meeting (normally once every 3 years or so). Don't let this put you off! As reported here, assistance with this can be provided if needed. Subjects covered in recent years are shown here.

Joining the Club

The name of our club suggests that it is for 'Professional and Business' men only but that it interpreted very loosely. However, membership is normally limited to people who are no longer committed to work full-time, who are interested in participating in at least some of our meetings & events, and who live in or close enough to the Golden Valley in Herefordshire to enable them to attend at least some of our meetings & events. Applicants are normally aged at least 65 but being (a bit) younger than that is not a problem.

Anyone who is interested in joining the Club would be welcome to attend a Meeting or Event to see for himself what we are made of. The only proviso to this is that he must first obtain an invitation from an existing Member to do so. If you are new to the area, you are welcome to contact any Committee Member and invite him to a local hostelry (or other place of mutual convenience) where you may talk with him about the Club.

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