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Thursday 29th May 2025 – Walk – Sutton Lane Ends
Members of the Knutsford Rex Probus Walking Group tackled a walk setting out from the Church House Inn at Sutton Lane Ends near Macclesfield. The walk took the party past the Sutton Reservoir, built to feed the Macclesfield Canal, and seen here in the photograph it being rather depleted due to the recent dry spell. Arriving back at the Church Inn the group enjoyed one of their fantastic lunches.
Wednesday 28th May 2025 – Bowls – Knutsford v Fulshaw Wilmslow
The weather was very kind for this annual fixture against our friends from Fulshaw Wilmslow Probus. After several days rain the green was playing a lot more slower than in previous matches so there was a need for some adaptation to the conditions.
The first half concluded with only a few points between the teams so after tea and biscuits its was all to play for in the second half. Amazingly all second half matches concluded at the very same time so the result could quickly be calculated in the presence of all competitors. As the Knutsford captain announced the scores it was the Knutsford bowlers who came out on top by 85 points to 74. Probably a wider margin than possibly expected. No doubt Fulshaw will be well prepared for revenge later in the season.
Thursday 22nd May 2025 – Club Meeting – Speaker, Mr Neil Sheldon who gave a presentation entitled ‘English, a Curious Language!’.
Neil began his presentation by explaining his association with the Linguistics Olympiad and his love of English carried from his days teaching in schools.
He showed a list of the top ten natively spoken World languages in which English appeared in position 3 with 370 million people using English as their first language. However when it came to the list of most widely spoken languages, English was first with a speaker count of over 1.1 Billion!
English is indeed the ‘International’ language and is used by organisation members all over the World. Neil explained that as well as the main languages, there were also many dialect variations but in total there are currently 7100 languages in the world that could be classed as uniquely spoken. The British Isles has 14 languages in use including sign languages used by the deaf and hard of hearing. Some versions of English are gradually being blended with local variations to create a type of ‘Creole’ language or Pidgin English as these are often referred.
Returning to the title of his talk, Neil referred to his phrase ‘A Curious Language’ citing various examples of quirky pronunciations of the same letters when used in various word spellings. Of particular note are the letters ‘ough’ which can be pronounced as so many differing sounds and this is the most common area where students of English get them mixed up. Double and Single letters suffer the same ambiguities; the ‘o’ in woman sounding quite different to the ‘i’ sound of the ‘o’ used in the plural ‘women’. In our modern times we are now being bombarded with new and complex versions of ‘pronouns’ promoted by the LGBT community which have complicated matters particularly for teachers of our language.
It’s a minefield but it’s how languages evolve over time and it’s this evolution that linguists are now more ready to accept compared to bygone times.
Neil played us some interesting ‘pop’ song lyrics where he showed graphics of how the lyrics were probably written but highlighting how they could actually be interpreted in various amusing ways. This is of course the basis of what we know as ‘Chinese Whispers’ but Neil hinted about some lyrics carrying ‘substance abuse’ overtones. This lead on to a review of Cockney rhyming slang where a short phrase left out the rhyming element and was often used by the preliterate to confuse those in authority.
Wednesday 21st May 2025 – Bowls – Knutsford Rex/Tatton Probus v Sandbach Probus
For the Season 2025 Knutsford Rex and Tatton Probus bowlers have combined to play against fellow Probus Clubs within Cheshire. On this glorious sunny afternoon it was the members of Sandbach Probus that visited the superb looking Knutsford Bowling Club green for the very first time.
It was obvious from the beginning that the visitors from South Cheshire included some players who could play a decent game so the challenge was serious but not at the cost of excellent sportsmanship. With nothing to choose at the halfway mark, the players regrouped after some light refreshment to continue with the enjoyable competition.
As the second half matches concluded it looked to be a close run thing for whoever was to take home the spoils of victory. As the result was eagerly anticipated the result was announced showing a win for the bowlers from Knutsford by 95 points to 87. Sandbach were generous in defeat thanking their hosts but will no doubt be looking for revenge in the return match later in the season.
Thursday 15th May 2025 – Walk – Peckforton Hills
Today the Walking Group tackled a pleasant walk in the area of the Peckforton Hills and particularly around Bulkeley Hill and the Sandstone Trail. It was a marvellous morning walk of about 5 miles with some amazing views and ending with an excellent lunch at the Pheasant Inn at Burwardsley.
Wednesday 14th May 2025 – Bowls – Lymm Probus v Rex Tatton Probus
It has been many years since Rex bowlers have enjoyed such brilliant weather for their start to a season. It is also may years since Rex visited the Oughtrington Bowling Club green to play the Lymm Probus and not coming home with their tail between their legs after a comprehensive defeat. However, today was the day when the proverbial worm turned as the Knutsford bowlers showed their form by bringing home a comprehensive 114 – 91 victory. The win was sweet but as any sportsman will say in victory, “Be humble.”
Thursday 8th May 2025 – Club Meeting – Speaker, Peter Cotton, with a talk entitled ‘Everest’.
Peter Cotton started by explaining this was a historical look at the circumstances of the British Everest Expedition of 1924.
The main story here was about the two main characters George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. Mallory was from Mobberley and Irvine originated from Birkenhead, both in Cheshire at that time although Mallory was, by the time they met, an accomplished mountaineer whereas Irvine was fairly new to the pastime and there was an age difference of 15 years. In many ways they were unlikely climbing partners. Mallory studied History at Magdalene College Cambridge and Irvine was an Engineering graduate of Merton College Oxford. Their main common interest being Rowing rather than climbing although Irvine had excelled during a climbing trip to Spitzbergen in the Arctic Circle with experienced expedition climber Noel Odell.
After a sea voyage which set off from Liverpool on February 29th 1924, the main expedition members arrived at Everest at the beginning of June enabling Mallory and Irvine to depart on their summit attempt on June 6th. The pair were last seen above the second step of the North East Ridge at 12.50pm on June 7th and it’s since been conclude the pair met their eventual demise on either June 8th or 9th.
Little is known about what actually happened to Mallory and Irvine. Various items of their kit have been found including oxygen tanks, a camera, a watch, goggles, Irvine’s boot and subsequently Mallory’s body in 1999 after which his remains were interred on the mountain. Strangely they have since mysteriously disappeared. Irvine’s body still remains undiscovered. Various theories have been expounded about their circumstances but conjecture still remains and the truth of their demise may never be properly understood.
1st May 2025 – Walk – Highlees/Over Alderley
The Walking Group set off from the Blacksmiths Arms on a beautiful May Day morning heading north across the Chelford Road into Pepper Lane and on towards Whirley Hall on a little known route to Highlees and Over Alderley. The countryside was looking at its best, a mix of woods with early foliage with many colours and well kept meadows, and fences ,a few styles in good condition. The topography drawing the group into the part-shaded trees where vast areas of blue bells were in full bloom. Up and down small hills to show the lovely countryside, evidence of a well managed estate and cared-for dwellings. Returning via Wrigley Lane and Birchtree Farm to the Blacksmith Arms to enjoy a good meal and welcome drinks which was appreciated after such a hot day!