FAQs

A fellowship for all of its members and, on occasions, their families and the widows of past members. Our regular luncheons and less formal coffee mornings are ideal for meeting with existing and new friends.  At our lunches we also have informative and/or entertaining presentations on a variety of subjects usually delivered by invited speakers.

All retired, or nearly-retired people from a wide range of recognised careers, including banking and finance, construction, engineering, sales, civil service, the armed services, medicine, law, the church, education, telecommunications etc.

There is NO requirement to have belonged to any other organisation to qualify for membership of PROBUS e.g. Rotary, Masons etc

1. Lunches, on the last Tuesday of each month, at Oundle Golf Club. Exceptions are July, August and December, when we invite our wives/partners and friends to join us for barbeques and Christmas Luncheons.

2. Coffee mornings, on the second Tuesday of each month at OGC.

At our lunches, we start with a chat in the bar usually followed by a presentation and lunch. After lunch we deal with any club business, including notices of events, reports from the officers of the committee, information about members who are unwell and any other matters that may need to be conveyed to or discussed with the members.

Coffee mornings are informal gatherings over coffee/tea and biscuits/cake for an hour or so. Each month one of the coffee mornings is replaced with a brunch meeting where a full breakfast or snack may be ordered in addition to coffee/tea.

The dress code for lunches is smart casual; most members wear a jacket and tie. You choose your seat; there are no restrictions on who you sit with. We collectively observe Grace before our meal (this could be a secular text or a traditional Christian Grace) and we raise a glass to our Monarch after lunch for those who wish to do so.

The coffee mornings are less formal and numbers are usually fewer than at the lunches.

Yes. If a friend who is already a member does not introduce you, you would be allocated a named member who will meet you when you arrive for the first time. This member would introduce you to others and be seated with you for lunch. A New Member Mentor would be allocated to be of assistance at any time should you require it.

It can be a little daunting first time for new members, however everyone has a name badge and are issued with a directory of current members.

No, but are asked to inform us each time you can/cannot make a lunch. The coffee mornings need no notice of attendance (brunch meetings do).

Not to the lunches/brunches as we have to notify the caterers of numbers in advance. The Meals Secretary emails each member a week before both to ascertain choices and numbers.

£25 per year for membership and currently £20 for each lunch you attend to include the cost of the presentations and a 2-course meal and coffee.

Coffee mornings are currently £2 per head.

Membership in recent years has varied between 30 and 40

Members’ ages range from about 60 to 80+.

An elected committee.

There are many PROBUS clubs all over the UK and abroad. There is a website  www.probusonline.org but every PROBUS club is entirely independent and runs itself.

Many are very similar, but each club draws up its own constitution, meeting dates and membership fees. There is a separate Ladies Probus of Oundle Club. Both clubs join together for certain activities e.g. outings, barbecues and Christmas Luncheons.

No. Although some of our presenters/ speakers ask us to make a donation to their named charity

No. Sometimes, new members take a while to find their feet. You are welcome to come along to our lunches as a guest until you make your decision. The club rules do limit the number of times a guest or visitor may attend.

Please do. This is the best form of introduction for new members.