Our newly-elected president and long-term member Peter Penney was the speaker on 5th March, attracting a record attendance. His subject was his life. His family were Protestants from Co. Cork although he was born in Limerick. He showed us some delightful pictures of his early life. When his father was moved to Belfast for training to be a chaplain to Missions to Seaman he stayed with his grandparents. In June 1945 the family moved to Bristol where Peter attended the Cathedral School. The family then moved to London and Tunbridge Wells and he recalls hearing Billy Graham speak at Harringay Arena in 1954, which had a powerful effect on his understanding of what Christianity meant. By 1955 the family was living in Manchester, where he started work with an estate agent. His National Service was deferred until he had finished his studies for RICS and, by that time, National Service had been abolished, so he had a lucky escape. His keenness for photography was apparent from the photos of the motor cycles and cars he owned. Having interviewed and appointed a secretary for the office, he got engaged to her in 1963. His next job was as a surveyor with the YHA which came with a company car (Morris Minor van) and a top-floor flat at the charity’s HQ at St. Albans. The job entailed conversion of properties, principally in Cornwall, for use as youth hostels and when on site he had to stay at youth hostels. Peter married Sheila in 1964 and their first home was in Luton. The job was not well-paid which led to trouble with the bank and he sought a better paid job which he found with Tesco’s at Winsford in Cheshire, a 50% rise and a company car. Peter stayed with Tesco’s for nearly 30 years, responsible for project managing new stores and filling stations (total 130), the last being Stow on the Wold in 1997. Outside work he was a keen caravanner, both here and across Europe. He retired to Evesham 22 years ago and joined Probus. He is a churchwarden at Salford Priors and put his experience to use in supervising the scaffolding when the tower needed attention. He also mentioned in passing that he had been a prison visitor at Long Lartin for 13 years. As has been stated many times before, our members have had incredibly varied experiences and we are privileged that they are willing to share them. We meet at 10:00 every Thursday at The Boathouse, Evesham Rowing Club. Our speaker on 12th March will be Roy Murphy whose talk will be about James Brindley – First Canal Engineer. On 19th March, Roy Pacock will be telling us about the pioneers of the iron industry. Full details can be found on our website www.EveshamProbus.co.uk Alan Smith Photo Caption: Billy Graham 1966 Photo Attribution: Warren K. Leffler / Public domain