Induction Day

Today we were inducted into (guess)  a: Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame,  b: The Military, or c: Probus?

According to Mr Google, “inducted” means, introduced as a member.

That’s right, today we were formally inducted (introduced) as new members of the Levin Combined Probus Club, and given certificates to prove it.  We had wanted to join a local Probus Club for some time, but never quite got around to it before we moved north to Levin.  The members seem very friendly and welcoming, and we are sure that we will enjoy being part of this organisation.  Probus groups are non-political and non-sectarian and their aim is to “advance intellectual and cultural interests and promote social contact and fellowship to retired people”.

The first speaker is always a club member and Pat talked about his early years growing up in Plimmerton.  Pat’s parents immigrated from Sweden to run the SKF ball bearing agency in Wellington.

Our second speaker was Peter who talked about his time as Leader of Vanda Station which was one hour’s helicopter flying time from Scott Base in Antarctica.  Prior to taking up this position, the whole team had extensive fire training, as fire was a real threat with only limited fresh water being available.  Peter was the staff member nominated to become the Medical Officer and spent some time at Timaru Hospital being coached by one of the resident doctors.  Luckily during his one year term on the ice, there were only two medical emergencies, with one of them relating to himself!  He related how he fixed his own broken tooth at Vanda Station with an application of amalgam and a small copper tube to hold his tooth together.  His dentist’s reaction to this repair when he returned home was one of amazement!

As always, going along to the Probus meeting makes for a very interesting morning, made even more special with our induction into the group.