Here is the latest picture of our best "Volunteer" - Ron Knight

This time for the popular local charity My Wish.

Well done Ron

The funeral service for our late and respected member Donald Taylor will be held at St Peters Church, Hospital Road, Bury St Edmunds on 16 November at 1-15pm, followed by burial at the nearby cemetery at 2-00pm.  As yet unconfirmed, the venue afterwards is likely to be the Risbygate Sports Club.

Donald was aged 92, only recently having been admitted to a care home in Thetford.  Monica his partner is coping well and in relatively good spirits, despite her sad loss.  The day of the funeral is a normal Probus day - the Quiz.  Hopefully we will be represented at the funeral by some of our members.

Tuesday Probus – Death of Geoffrey Winder

It is with regret that I have to record the death of our good member Geoffrey Winder. His daughters, Rebecca and Dawn informed me by email that he had passed away on the Friday evening of 16 July 2021.

His funeral took place at the Crematorium on Tuesday 17 August and our Tuesday Probus Club was represented by John Selley and Mike Shergold.

A donation will be made in his memory to the local My Wish charity to aid the West Suffolk Hospital in creating a Butterfly garden for end of life patients and their families. We are all sorry to learn of his passing and his presence will be missed.

Brian Wilson

Chairman

A Tractor for Tanzania. John Selley

This part of the story starts with a ‘completely out of the blue’ phone call, on the 1st June 2020, by Ian Stoakes. He had got my name from the Ferguson Club website and he addressed me as The Director of Publicity. It certainly got my attention! Anyway he was phoning on behalf of a friend who wanted a tractor for a charity in Tanzania and could I help. Being a bit of a soft touch I said I had a tractor which would fit their requirement sitting at the back of my shed and I would be prepared to donate it to the cause.

The next call was from Rob Barbour who outlined his life story and the work and aims of the charity and this was confirmed in an E Mail. The main part of this is to tell what the charity does.

‘Our application for a tractor will be as a community resource for the Kisampa Conservancy and our local village of Matipwili. You can read more about what we do at www.kisampa.com and our local charity Tuende Pamoja, in Kiswahili this means - ‘Let’s move forward together’, www.tuendepamoja.org. This charity has no overhead as we wrote into the constitution that every dollar goes to the community.

Right now we do everything by hand at the conservancy. We built the roads, anti poaching paths and airstrip, paying the people from the village and for their picks and shovels.  This raining season has destroyed much of this as we have had the heaviest rain in 30 years. We feel it is time to try and move the technology up a notch.

Our plan once we acquire the tractor is to have it maintained by our local mechanic who is from the local community. His name is Shabani Melela and he was taught to maintain our vehicles and generator by my Dad. Shabani never finished primary school but he is as solid as a rock. Once he is familiar with the machine and after we have developed a system for it’s maintenance and use for two years  -  we will gift him the tractor as a business and then other villagers can lease it by the hour and we at the conservancy will do the same. That way we will know he will maintain it well.

The types of tasks the tractor will be used for:  Pulling trailers (and broken or stuck vehicles), ploughing, making roads and helping in building tasks including carting water, sand and gravel.  To that end we will probably need to acquire some auxiliary equipment to include: a bullet proof trailer, a three blade plough. a scarifier, a simple blade and a mower of sorts’.

        So what is the tractor, Daisy, I have donated. It is a 1954 Ferguson TEF20. It was advertised in the May 2003 edition of Tractor & Machinery as ‘complete but accident damaged’. As I am a nosey person I was curious as to what the description meant. Well it appeared that this tractor was used at a small equestrian establishment and the environment had seen off the battery tray so there was no battery, hence it needed a tow start. On this occasion the tow rope had been tied to the seat spring and as a result had turned over killing the driver. Needless to say I purchased it as it was only £200 plus £50 for diesel as they would deliver it, so on 24th June 2003 I was the proud owner. When we got it into the yard we cleaned up the battery earth, attached a battery on the ground and she fired up and ran like a sewing machine. How sad a life was lost for the price of a battery tray!

The damage sustained was the bonnet was flattened, as was the radiator but amazingly it didn’t leak, two wings, the steering wheel and column. I immediately got stuck in and repaired the steering column, stripped all other parts off the tractor and pushed it to the back of the shed where it has sat until Monday 8th June 2020, 17 years! The first thing was to get the engine running, so a lawnmower fuel tank was rigged up to supply the fuel, a fresh battery connected, oil checked and give it a try. It rotated and a good oil pressure was shown but no evidence of any other life. OK so it has to be fuel injection pump, and cutting a long story short, that was the case, the pump was stuck, so that was rectified and with a whiff it fired up and ran, eventually, like a sewing machine. What a success!  

We worked hard on Daisy and got to the day when we would fill the transmission with oil, sadly as fast as Jim poured oil in I collected it from under the bell housing. At this point I just hadn’t the spirit to continue with her so she was abandoned and a M-F 35 3 cylinder tractor selected. This tractor had a Q plate as it had a different 3cyl engine to standard and was a tad scruffy but I felt it to be a very much better for their needs. New front tyres were fitted as the originals were perished around the tread.

So on Monday 25th Jan 2021 at 9 am a large lorry and trailer appeared at Tractor Heaven and we brought out all the other stuff that was also going. This was a skeleton 3 ton trailer, a grader blade, a finger mower, a spring tine cultivator, a 2 furrow plough and a rear mounted crane, not Ferguson, I hasten to add. Also, with the generosity of Witham Oils, Sealey Tools, Vapormatic, Agriline and Claydon Tyres we had 3 x 1 tonne bags of paints, oils and greases, garage equipment and parts together with many hand tools.

    The picture above shows us strictly observing social distancing and the rig which came to fetch all the equipment. It shows, from left to right, Jamie the driver and Hiab ‘man’, Fred, nephew of Rob Barbour CEO of the Charity, Jim, the ‘mechanical skills’ and myself.

The photo was taken by David Williams.

Two more pictures may be seen in the Gallery section.

I really look forward to seeing how the recipients greet their 40’ container and its contents. I have been promised updates so more anon.

In view of the ever escalating nature of the Corona Virus Pandemic a decision was taken by the Chairman , Vice Chairman and Secretary to postponed all future meetings and activities until further notice.  This included the AGM orginally scheduled for 14 April and now provisionally booked for 26 May.  However, at the time of preparing these notes it is looking increasingly likely that we may not be able to resume our activities until the  autumn term in September.  Meanwhile the 2019/2020 Committee remains in place until such time as we can hold an AGM.

The regular monthly Newsletter will still be produced by the Chairman and sent out by email.  Those members not having this facility will have a copy sent through the post.

This Website will also be a means of updating our members and provide a source of information to any prospective new members.

I wish everyone one well during these unprecedented times.  The picture shows that I have sufficient fruit and vegetables for all!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brian Wilson

Chairman

A Tractor for Tanzania.
This part of the story starts with a ‘completely out of the blue’
phone call, on the 1st June 2020, by Ian Stokes. He had got my
name from the Ferguson Club website and he addressed me as
The Director of Publicity. It certainly got my attention! Anyway
he was phoning on behalf of a friend who wanted a tractor for a
charity in Tanzania and could I help. Being a bit of a soft touch
I said I had a tractor which would fit their requirement sitting
at the back of my shed and I would be prepared to donate it to
the cause.
The next call was from Rob Barbour who outlined his life story
and the work and aims of the charity and this was confirmed in
an E Mail. The main part of this is to tell what the charity does.
‘Our application for a tractor will be as a community resource
for the Kisampa Conservancy and our local village of Matipwili.
You can read more about what we do at www.kisampa.com and
our local charity Tuende Pamoja, in Kiswahili this means - ‘Let’s
move forward together’, www.tuendepamoja.org. This charity
has no overhead as we wrote into the constitution that every
dollar goes to the community.
Right now we do everything by hand at the conservancy. We
built the roads, anti poaching paths and airstrip, paying the
people from the village and for their picks and shovels. This
raining season has destroyed much of this as we have had the
heaviest rain in 30 years. We feel it is time to try and move the
technology up a notch.
Our plan once we acquire the tractor is to have it maintained by
our local mechanic who is from the local community. His name is
Shabani Melela and he was taught to maintain our vehicles and
generator by my Dad. Shabani never finished primary school but
he is as solid as a rock. Once he is familiar with the machine and
after we have developed a system for it’s maintenance and use
for two years - we will gift him the tractor as a business and
then other villagers can lease it by the hour and we at the
conservancy will do the same. That way we will know he will
maintain it well.
The types of tasks the tractor will be used for: Pulling trailers
(and broken or stuck vehicles), ploughing, making roads and
helping in building tasks including carting water, sand and gravel.
To that end we will probably need to acquire some auxiliary
equipment to include: a bullet proof trailer, a three blade
plough. a scarifier, a simple blade and a mower of sorts’.
So what is the tractor, Daisy, I have donated. It is a 1954
Ferguson TEF20. It was advertised in the May 2003 edition of
Tractor & Machinery as ‘complete but accident damaged’. As I
am a nosey person I was curious as to what the description
meant. Well it appeared that this tractor was used at a small
equestrian establishment and the environment had seen off the
battery tray so there was no battery, hence it needed a tow
start. On this occasion the tow rope had been tied to the seat
spring and as a result had turned over killing the driver.
Needless to say I purchased it as it was only £200 plus £50 for
diesel as they would deliver it, so on 24th June I was the proud
owner. When we got it into the yard we cleaned up the battery
earth, attached a battery on the ground and she fired up and
ran like a sewing machine. How sad a life was lost for the price
of a battery tray! ( Pictures also attached)
The damage sustained was the bonnet was flattened, as was the
radiator but amazingly it didn’t leak, two wings, the steering
wheel and column. I immediately got stuck in and repaired the
steering column, stripped all other parts off the tractor and
pushed it to the back of the shed where it has sat until Monday
8th June 2020, 17 years! The first thing was to get the engine
running, so a lawnmower fuel tank was rigged up to supply the
fuel, a fresh battery connected, oil checked and give it a try. It
rotated and a good oil pressure was shown but no evidence of
any other life. OK so it has to be fuel injection pump, and
cutting a long story short, that was the case, the pump was
stuck, so that was rectified and with a whiff it fired up and ran.
I have to say that I did have considerable difficulty finding the
exit for the amount of smoke around! It was stopped and a
tweak made here and there and another successful run was
made with a lot less smoke and on the third run she was as clear
as a bell and running like a sewing machine. What a success!
Today I have turned my attention to the front axle only to find
that there are some bolts through the axle beam and ends and
through the radius rods but no nuts! Sadly nothing really wants
to come out so I think I am in for a lot of work. And so it turned
out, it took all morning to get just 3 bolts out using a lot of heat
a lot of hammering and a lot of sweat. The axle was
reconstructed using the correct bolts, the radius arms
reconnected under the foot rests and the steering links
reconnected so now the front axle is as it should be. I had a
pair of new 600 x 16” front tyres and rims so the tyres have
been fitted and the wheels fitted to the front axle. I just hope
my tyre supplier will be kind to me when I ask for 2 rear tyres
and tubes!
I don’t know why, but way back I had removed the top
cover and hydraulic pump so that was next. The arms were not
stuck but the spring assembly for the top link was solid.
Amazingly, after a bit of heat and some attention from a large
bar the threaded rod gave up the fight and all was made to work
as intended.
I now have to pay some attention to overhauling the
hydraulic pump. Sadly, on dismantling I find a bush has split so I
will have to get one made.
I am very grateful to Agriline who have helped considerably
with the wings, bonnet kit, diesel tank, radiator, battery tray
and water pump. Also I have all the bits to fit the lift arms
when the top cover is refitted and the dynamo and control box.
So I have plenty to be going on with. More anon.

The time has come when we have to say thank you to Alistair for steering the ship throughout the past year.  In some ways it has been a difficult year but we have always had the overall comradery of our membership and some high quality speakers. 

Above all though we have to admire Alistairs absolute stoism and devotion to duty.  Not everyone knows that despite having had a stent fitted a few days earlier, he still arrived as usual to wield the “Gavel” at the very next meeting, completely and seemingly without any fuss or care.

We have to thank Alistair's wife Wendy too for supporting him throughout the year working on our behalf.

So from the membership Alistair - a huge thank you for taking us forward and I would like to present you with your Past Chairman tie and Lapel Badge, both of which you can wear with pride. 

Thank you.

New Chairman Report

Thank you for electing me as your Chairman for the forthcoming year. 

We have heard earlier in the meeting about the difficulties that are facing us.  This despite us being a most agreeable and amiable bunch of gentlemen.

As your retiring Treasurer I have had plenty of time to witness the financial restraints forced upon us by our falling Membership.  I believe it was David Maurice Jones who was the first to forsee this problem several years ago.  To date we have managed  to continue as far as possible doing the things that we like to do.  Notwithstanding this, I believe that now is the time to seriously consider our position.

In the time that I have had before taking up this new role I have decided that my priority must be that of overseeing the recruitment of new members.  I have read documents describing how we were first formed.  I have spoken to Past Chairmen about what we used to do and how we did it.  I have also been presented with a document detailing the Chairman's role.  I have tried to analyse the reasons behind former member's resignations or just not coming anymore.  We had 70 members 40 years ago with a waiting list and a register:  I believe it was three consequetive non appearances and there would be trouble!  Now we have only 31!  Our activities and the way we operate just has to be more appealing.

So this is my Plan:

• We have not had an Outings or Events Secretary for some years so I have already arranged a programme of extra curricular activities that I hope will be of interest to everyone - but not necessarily all at the same time.  There will be opportunities for members to invite Guests to these events and our ladies are included too.  Above all, we shall need numbers to be able to fund some of the events adequately so I hope everyone will pitch in if they can.
•  I hope to be able to cultivate some rapport with the Bury Free Press to include news about us as it happens and include future items too.  I will also provide contact details.  I know we have done this before but let us give it another shot.  Already this year we have featured David's police car and we have to congrat ulate Ron Knight for his charity work and meeting the Queen.
•  It would be nice if we could all look out for each other.  If someone is in difficulty with health or transport problems I would like to know about it.
•  I think it is important that we get our morning coffee rota, first proposed by Brian Thaxter fully operational so that we can all share this duty and which again will help everyone to circulate more.  This is particularly important when we have guests and newcomers
•  I intend to make use of email to circulate news up front and to remind everyone of what is happening.  Please let me have your email address if you agree to this.  Those without email when necessary I will contact by phone.  I intend also to try to keep in touch with former members when this is appropriate and maybe they will reconsider their position.
• I think it is important that we have a Web Site.  Unfortunately, to have one set up professionally and then maintained, costs money.  I am hopeful that the committee will be able to find someone from within our ranks to have a look at this.  I have already had a look but you have to dig very deep and it is like a black art!  Alistair has looked into this and has some information on the matter.

With these objectives in mind, I have a programme detailing the events I mentioned through to an outing in October.  Please take one as you leave.

Included is a Bowls morning at the Risbygate Club, our Summer lunch at the Cricket Club, Summer Solstice All day Bring your own Barbeque at the Chairman's home,  A Day at the Cricket - match v Mildenhall with lunch and tea and an outing to Waldringfield with lunch and a boat trip on the River Deben in October.  Seals and wild life in plenty.

For the Summer break we could have a look at a tasting event at the Casa Tapas Restaurant in Risbygate Street and maybe a golf day at The Suffolk in Fornham.

As I said earlier, Ladies, Guests, neighbours and past members welcome.

Finally I would like to request that the Committee will hold a short meeting after this AGM.  This to decide upon the format and frequency that we think we shall need in accordance with past practice.

I am looking forward to my year in office so thank you all once again.

There being no items for Any Other Business the meeting closed.

Member Ron Knight being honoured by meeting the Queen at Windsor Castle on 2 April 2019. His nomination came as a result of his volunteer work three or four times a week at the West Suffolk Hospital's eye treatment centre.

Ron's work was featured in an article in the Bury Free Press on 5 April 2019 with a full description of why he does it and of his early career in the Royal Marines.

David Green brought his Classic Car along to our Probus meeting when Tim Passmore addressed us about his role as Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk. The car is a veteran of film, television and music videos. It was converted to black from its' original grey for its role as a police car in the TV Series Heartbeet.

On screen it has been seen in The Krays, The Avengers, The Bank Job, Life and Death of Peter Sellers and many more. Probably one of its highest profile roles was in Amy Winehouse's video for her 2006 video for her single Back to Black.