Thursday 23rd July 2026 – Club Meeting – Speaker Gary Conley who gave a talk ‘My Life at the Manor’
This was Gary’s second visit to Knutsford Rex Probus and he expressed his delight in attending once again. Minutes can never replicate Gary’s special type of comedy and characterisation, so following is a summary which is factual rather than seeking to recreate Gary’s unique delivery style.
Gary is from St. Helens and invited members to call out their allegiances to whatever Rugby Club they supported even if it was a club for Rugby Union softies! However he did acknowledge the great track record of the local Rugby League Club in Warrington.
Gary continued to list some of the great names who were born in St. Helens by mentioning Sir Thomas Beecham, David Gamble and, of course, Johnny Vegas. He asked members to name an industry for which St. Helens was best known? Pilkingtons came to the fore for most members but this was Gary’s way of introducing the Coal Mining Industry’s history which dwarfed the size of the Glass industry for over 200 years. This was surely Gary’s way to begin the real subject of his talk, ‘My Life at the Manor’, which was his daytime career working at the Sutton Manor coal mine in St. Helens.
At that special moment of leaving school, aged 16, Gary was advised by his elders “Get an Apprenticeship”! St. Helens council at that time ran a 1 year course where newcomers could be given an overview of the many career pathways available in the mining industry. He did a wonderful rant about tall men becoming mine electricians, all of whom seemed to hold a special and powerful place within the mining hierarchy.
Gary gave an impression of work in the mines, something which became sophisticated in the 1980s compared with the hard experience of his maternal grandfather. Firstly comparing the below ground depth to the iconic Blackpool Tower at a height of 500ft. The coal faces at the Sutton Manor Mine were 2400ft below the surface, nearly 5 times greater than Blackpool Tower’s height. He painted a lovely picture of the villages and community life that grew up around the mine but underground facilities weren’t that good. Especially of note was the total absence of toilets and he described a ‘modus operandi’, a record of which probably wouldn’t add any benefit to this narrative!
Each new miner was given a reference number on 2 tags, one made of brass which he carried down the mine and one made of aluminium which he gave to a ‘Tally Man’ on entering the cage lift before its descent to the coal faces. These tags had 2 functions, the Aluminium one was used to inform the time duration of the miner’s shift and the brass tag was a sure way of identifying one’s remains should a disaster occur.
In Gary’s summary he briefly spoke about the demise of the British Mining Industry and its sudden decline under the regime of Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Scargill, both of whom he felt were culpable in different ways, noting that the latter now continues to live a luxury lifestyle. It’s 41 years since the Miners Strike and there are no collieries left in the UK. What does remain are the many get-togethers, re-unions and marvellous camaraderie, but especially great memories!
Thursday 16th July 2026 – Walk – Llangollen Area
Going further afield the Walking Group ventured to the Llangollen area for an excellent walk led by Richard Cussons from Froncysyltte and across Thomas Telford’s Pontcysyllte Aqueduct to the towpath of the Llangollen Canal. After a couple of miles, the group crossed over the canal to find a disused railway line for a return stroll back to Froncysyllte where the group were joined by other members for a nice lunch at the Aqueduct Inn.
Thursday 9th July 2026 – Club Meeting – Speaker, Graham Weatherhead with a presentation entitled ‘Blood Bikers’.
Graham began his presentation by showing a short film about ‘Blood Bikers’ which explained the operation wasn’t confined to transporting urgent Blood supplies but included Human Breast Milk(Premature babies can’t be fed formula milk substitutes), Faecal samples, Bone Marrow and even special medical equipment. Graham himself then expanded on the explanations given in the film. He told us they weren’t an Emergency Service but a Charity providing an Urgency Service.
Similar services were first started back in 1962 but the Service Graham represented started back in 2014 and is now known as ‘The Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire Blood Bikes’. The group has some impressive equipment and vehicles. Some of the vehicles, including many motorcycles, are registered for zero Road Tax if they are showing emergency service livery. The Charity works 24/7/365 with at least 6 motorcycles on duty at all times and all riders and controllers undergo extensive training. Vehicles aren’t allowed to exceed the speed limits or pass red lights but motorcycles are allowed to filter through congested traffic streams. In adverse weather, services have to be suspended when temperatures drop below 3 degrees C for the protection of their volunteer riders.
Graham’s presentation concluded with a further film fter which Graham repeated to the meeting that his organisation is a Charity and provides all its services free of charge. He asked members to consider a donation to the Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire Blood Bikes.
Donations can be made online via Barclays Bank, Account Name: SSCBB Community,
Sort Code: 20-85-46 and Account Number: 63671887
Thursday 2nd July 2026 – Walk – High Lane and Middlewood.
Starting at the Red Lion Pub on High Lane this was a circular route with an initial stroll along the Macclesfield canal towards Poynton and peeling off at Lord Vernon’s Wharf towards The Middlewood Way. After a short stretch along Middlewood Way there was a branch of the former railway which took the group to a nature reserve called The Jacksons Brickworks. A former quarry and brick factory which is now a wonderful area of ponds and woods being a home to birds, flowers and other wildlife. On return via the Nature Reserve all adjourned to the Red Lion for a perfect lunch.
Wednesday 1st July 2026 – Bowls – Macclesfield 2 Probus v Knutsford Probus
On a beautiful day the Knutsford Probus Bowling team visited the very picturesque green at Siddington Village Hall to play a combined team from the Probus Clubs of Macclesfield 2 and Alderley Edge. The first visit earlier in the season was a victory for Knutsford by 74 points to 55. So, revenge was no doubt in the minds of the home squad.
In both halves there were some very tight matches with good play and sportsmanship to the fore, and during the halftime break, the match could have gone either way. As the total points were added at the end of the afternoon Knutsford came out on top yet again by 92 points to 80. Knutsford entertain Macc2/Alderley Edge on the 12th August at their Knutsford Bowling Club green.