Lentune Probus Club
At our first regular monthly meeting of the New Year on 9th January, we welcomed one potential new Member who enjoyed his 'taster session' as a guest of the Club.
Making a debut visit to the Club, speaker Andy Skinner gave us a talk on "Titanic Conspiracy " . Andy is the Learning & Engagement Officer of Southampton City Council Museums Education.
To make sense of this tragic and seemingly random disaster, people over the past century have told stories of ominous signs of bad luck that were supposedly ignored beforehand, or spun elaborate conspiracy theories to explain the “real” reasonthe ship sank.
To set the scene and give context, Andy's talk looked at conspiracy theories and endeavoured to make sense of the sinking. Possible conspiracies considered included the killing of JFK, a 'faked' Moon landing, and circumstances surrounding the death of Princess Diana.
The RMS Titanic sank in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg. But what was the true cause of the sinking?
Was the ship cursed? Was the Titanic targetted by German U-boats roaming pre-war in the Atlantic? Was it all an elaborate Insurance scam? Did the Titanic not sink at all, but was she swapped with her sister ship in the White Star Line Olympic. Were the ship's rivets of sub standard quality and metal, resulting in substantial damage leading to the need to 'swap' ships and their identity during construction? To what extent did the fires in the Titanic's coal bunkers contribute to the tragedy?
Inevitably, Andy's talk came to no firm conclusions. But it was all fun and an enjoyable talk !
The talk was followed as usual with Lunch.
Lentune Probus Ladies' Club
Lentune Probus Ladies met on January 4 when they had an interesting talk by Patrick Kemp entitled 'New Year’s Day Parade - London'.
Patrick gave the meeting a thrilling view of the New Year’s Day Parade in London, where for several years he has taken his horse Tetua and a troop of other riders and horses to perform for huge crowds. He described the early start from the New Forest, parking in Mayfair where they prepare the horses and riders and then the joy and excitement of the Parade itself. They make their way along Piccadilly, Regents Street and Whitehall, passing in front of Buckingham Palace and along Constitution Hill. There are huge floats, marching bands, acrobats and jugglers and all the horses are calm and friendly despite all the noise and activity!
A fascinating and lively talk, which was followed as usual with Lunch.
Lunch and talk on HM Coastguard Service
On 12 January , some 20 Club members and guests met for a Fish n' Chip lunch at the Lymington Town Yacht Club and enjoyed a post-lunch talk by James Hoare on the HM Coastguard service in Lymington. The talk covered the service, which last year enjoyed its 200th Anniversary.