News – January 2026

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Thursday 29th January 2026 – Walk – Kelsall Area

Today the Knutsford Rex Probus Walking Group did a 4.6 mile walk around the Kelsall Area taking in ‘Little Switzerland’ as it’s known local. This was an undulating walk that included a short detour to Urchin’s Kitchen (a meltwater channel from the Ice Age).  The weather was better than forecast, and a very enjoyable lunch was had at The Morris Dancer pub.

Thursday 22nd January 2026 – Club Meeting – Speaker, John Mumford with a presentation about ‘Financial Planning’.

John began by clarifying his title which belied the real subject of planning what happens to the wealth we leave behind when we pass on.  So he suggested a better title might be ’Estate Planning’. John asked members to hold their hands up if they’d made a Will and it seemed rather unanimous that members had.

He stressed how important that was and, just as importantly, it needed to be up-to-date and include any name changes occurring upon a marriage. 

Holding up a copy, He recommended a booklet which can be found via Google called ‘End of Life Planner. This could act as a great prompt for getting all your information in order.  As well as a Will, it is important to set out a separate document to accompany one’s Will setting out details of your wishes along with any necessary explanations to avoid any arguments over interpretation of the clauses of the Will.  John seemed to suggest, without directly saying so, that naming a solicitor as an Executor could add several percentage points to the cost of attaining Probate!

John highlighted several instances where various Trusts can help manage situations where a beneficiary on Benefits could lose entitlement if their assets suddenly breached certain thresholds. In another scenario, there could be enormous claims on an estate by local authority Social Service departments where elderly people move into social care placements and particularly if this care lasts for several years.   It was worth noting that Wills can be changed within the first 2 years following a death by a Deed of Variation however this doesn’t apply to Trusts which can’t be varied and nowadays also have to be registered with HMRC.

John mentioned a public service Freephone number titled “Tell us Once” which could be used to simplify the process of informing all interested parties about a death. In the Q&A session following there was mention of a negative effect where joint accounts were frozen prematurely and adversely affected the surviving account holder.  John recommended holding joint property, ie. Buildings and land with title as ‘tenants in common’. It was also important to make sure old Title Deeds were present and easily available wherever they are held.  It was no use thinking a solicitor holds them because solicitors close down or merge with other practices just like any other business. It is worth checking with the Land Registry whether Titles are registered with them and acting accordingly if they’re not!

Several ways were discussed to mitigate the effect of Inheritance tax by distributing wealth before death using the 7 year rule whereby, after 7 years following a distribution, the funds avoided the tax altogether and prior to that, up to 7 years, there was a tapering formula for reducing tax liability.  There also existed tax free Gifting allowances per annum of  £3000 and, in addition, distributions were allowed from ‘Excess Income’ but in all these situations it important to write all of it down in an explanation document showing costs and relevant dates.

On the matter of ‘Lasting Powers of Attorney’ documents, it was also necessary to make sure these are registered with the Public Guardian’s office.  Older versions under the regime of ‘Enduring Power of Attorney’ really need starting again under the new system, particularly as they only deal with financial matters and don’t cover Health and Welfare issues in the way that ‘Lasting Power of Attorney’ options do.

Thursday 15th January 2026 – Walk – Lymm

The Walking Group started at Lymm Dam and, after encircling the lake, they descended along the river to the lower dam in Lymm village. Taking in a pleasant stretch of the Bridgewater Canal they proceeded along the towpath to Spud Wood.  On the return leg to the village walkers found the footpath closed and had to climb over the Outrington Church fence to cross a stubble field before joining the intended route back to Lymm Dam. 

Thursday 8th January 2026 – Club Meeting – Speaker, Paul Thomson with a presentation about ‘Air Accident Investigations’.

Paul started his talk with a brief résumé of his life so far having been born in Scotland and then brought up in New Zealand following his parents’ emigration from the UK. He had learnt to fly planes and helicopters from a very early age in the Air Cadets and after school joined the New Zealand Air Force where initially he became a Flight Electronics Officer.  Whilst in the Air Force he qualified to fly bigger planes as a side interest and after demob moved abroad to get a job as a bush pilot in Kenya.  Eventually he ended up back in the UK where he studied to upgrade his flying qualifications to cover larger commercial aircraft and became a pilot with Britannia Airlines which later became Thomson and nowadays flies under the TUI brand.

Later on in his career, as a seasoned member of the British Airline Pilots Association(BALPA), he applied to join the Association’s Accident Investigations Branch.

The regimen for investigating air accidents follows a ‘Due Process’ set out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a United Nations specialised agency that develops standards and policies for safe, orderly, and sustainable international air travel. This UN organisation sets out standard terms and definitions for reporting Aviation matters and particularly the reporting of Air Accident Investigations.  They also set out which parties have the prime and secondary rights to the investigation of air accidents.  Prime rights usually belong to the country where the accident happened followed by teams from the aircraft and engine manufacturers with a vested interest.  Sometimes the investigation conclusions aren’t agreed between the parties.  The major objective of the investigation is to learn and correct any failures for the benefit of all concerned but there sometimes is dissent from those having the finger pointed at them.   All evidence is helpful. This includes all the parts of the aircraft, the Flight and Voice recorders also the effect on the environment of the accident’s surroundings including videos and photographs from witnesses. The analysis of the recovered Flight and Voice recorder are paramount and this is a job for specialist data engineers.

Paul went on to give some examples of recent Air Accident Investigations and detailed the investigation conclusions. As well as information for manufacturers, some of these conclusions become a useful basis in developing better standards in Pilot training. Reports are distributed to all interested parties and are included in a monthly bulletin available online.

Over the years, the scope of the accident investigation has greatly increased to cover spacecraft, rockets, drones and even model aircraft.  Some investigations are shared between the Civil and Military authorities where competence and access are deemed critical.