Friends share holiday photos and hilarious stories of their escapades, catch up on each other’s news, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries and plot their next adventures.
This is not just any Wednesday. It is the first Wednesday of the month, when retirement club, Beaudesert Probus, meets at 10am at The Club (formerly known as Beaudesert RSL).
Story continues after photos, below
Probus is not a fundraising club – members already contribute their fair share to society – but a club that gets together purely for fellowship, friendship and fun with like-minded people.
Probus was once men’s only, but now there are just as many women, a mix of singles and couples, those who’ve lost their spouses and some who’ve been married as long as 64 years.
When the Bulletin visited Probus, it was like stepping into a mid-week daytime party.
The room buzzed with the familiar chatter of more than 50 mates catching up, punctuated with a few speeches. They heard about yarnbombing from Vicki McAteer from Beaudesert’s Christmas Spirit and about upcoming outings from Tours Officer Sandy Barnett.
The chatter continued as they lined up for scones laden with jam and cream and sat to wash them down with a cuppa and the monthly Probus newsletter.
When President Judy Day encouraged members to tell the Bulletin why they love Probus, they queued up to share earnest testimonials.
“On these trips everything is catered for – if you don’t drink, you don’t even have to take your wallet,” said Vice President David Botfield.
“I joined and thought it was something my husband would be interested in, and he has come out of himself so much, he’s quite shy because he’s a truck driver, but now he goes everywhere and it’s done him the world of good,” said Membership Officer Robyn Berg.
“The friendship is great, and the tours are just amazing – all we do is get on the coach and everything is organised for us,” said Secretary Lyn Dickman.
“It’s the humanity, the togetherness – we look out for one another, and it makes life interesting, because we’ve still got a bit of life in us,” said Marian Schwarz.
Judy said Probus welcomed new members and particularly encouraged younger retirees and semi-retired people to come check it out. Transport is available.
For more information, phone Judy on 5541 4484.
