Month: March 2025

Wednesday 26th March: Speaker, Mr Kenneth Allen

The guest speaker on Wednesday 26th March was Mr Kenneth Allen an enthusiastic amateur photographer. To appreciate the full range and variety of his work members were invited to visit his website https://www.geograph.co.uk  Kenneth is a “weather watcher” whose work features regularly on TV.  His photograph of a heron with a trout in its beak, taken at Lovers’ Retreat, was so remarkable that it that it was given half a page in a local newspaper.

For his presentation to Probus Kenneth chose photographs which were all beautifully composed, with contrasting patterns of light and shade setting off perfectly focused subjects. Most were taken locally and readily recognisable – street scenes in Omagh, shops with hand painted signs, details on gateposts and locally forged manhole covers were among things that caught his eye.

Outside the town Kenneth was rarely without his camera and an eye for the eye-catching.  The changing seasons were among his favourite subjects with frosty mornings providing perfect conditions for landscapes and close-ups. Photos from further afield included familiar places in county Donegal and a rare visit to Tory Island. It was evident after an hour that Kenneth had only scratched the surface of his extensive collection. He was warmly thanked by club member Jim McBain.

Also on Wednesday, 26th March two Probians were awarded Honorary Membership Certificates, in recognition of long service, namely Mr Jim Alderdice and Mr Pat McParland.

Ms Karen Gillis, Occupational Therapist. Falls prevention

Using a power point presentation Ms Gillis began by putting up some facts. Falls and fractures in people aged 65 and over account for over 4 million hospital day beds each year in England alone. The healthcare cost associated with fragility fractures is estimated at £2 billion a year. The consequences of falls are not just physical but carry with them emotional trauma, psychological problems and social consequences.

Karen then identified the numerous hazards which exist in all homes and provided general advice to avoid falling in the first place. Her next slides dealt with hazards lurking around the house – in the living room, kitchen, in the hallway and on the stairs, in bedrooms and in bathrooms. The risk of falling can be mitigated by the use of small aids which reduce the need to bend down, stoop or overreach.  Karen demonstrated safe procedures for sitting down and standing up and lay on the floor to show what to do when and if one has a fall. In the event that one is alone at home and cannot get up, pendant alarms can be lifesaving.

Fall prevention by carers means being alert for factors which can make falling more likely. Apart from age these include reduced mobility from lack of exercise, poor vision and impaired hearing, mental health issues, medication such as sleeping pills and health conditions such as Parkinsons. Frequent falling is often a symptom of underlying problems that need to be investigated by a GP. As part of her role as an Occupational Therapist, Ms Gillis does home visits to assess risks and put in place strategies that reduce the risk of falling. She emphasised to those present the importance of regular exercise and a diet rich in calcium such as milk and cheese to maintain strong bones.

After a lively question and answer session Ms Gillis distributed booklets published by the Western Health and Social Care trust in association with the Public Health Agency showing that falling is not an inevitable part of getting older.
She was warmly thanked for her talk by the President.

Wednesday 12th March 2025.  Speaker, Mr Felim O’Neill. Topic, St Patrick

The speaker on Wednesday 12th March was club president Mr Felim O’Neill with a talk on Saint Patrick – the facts, myths, legends and legacy. Our President is a historian with a gift for research and the ability to uncover gems of knowledge with which to surprise his audience. And so it was with his talk as Felim forensically examined such facts as are available about the Saint – where and when he was born; who were his parents; what sort of upbringing he might have had and his life as teenager before being kidnapped. Felim did a good job of separating fact from fiction about Patrick’s time in Ireland, his escape from slavery, his slow journey home, subsequent conversion and return to Ireland. From what can be gleaned from his confession and scant correspondence with Corotidus, Patrick’s life as a missionary was not easy.

Felim dealt dismissively with popular legends such as the banishing of snakes from Ireland and Patrick’s supposed ability to turn himself into a deer. None of this however diminishes the saint’s legacy.  Patrick is celebrated around the world and Patrick is globally a very common name for boys.

Probus Wed 5th March 2025 Speaker: Dr Johnny Hamill

The guest speaker on Wednesday 5th of March was Dr. Johnny Hamill, well-known local historian with an insightful talk on “Desmonds”, for many years sole supplier of garments to Marks and Spencer. At its height Desmond’s operated eight factories in West Ulster. At its peak the company employed several thousand workers and had an annual turnover of £100 million. Faced with rising competition from Asian garment manufacturers, it went into voluntary liquidation in 2004 by which time it was only a shadow of its former self. The company’s strength in its heyday is reflected by the fact that it’s Omagh factory once had 350 employees who produced 5 million pairs of chinos for per annum for Marks and Spencer’s.

Dr. Hamill’s talk focused on the origins of the company, started in 1885 by Bridget Desmond. This remarkable lady employed local women to piece together shirts in their own time in their own homes. With no direct control over quality and supply lines Bridget opened her first factory in her husband’s workshop in 1907. Its success in the years which followed owed much to the way Bridget cared for and looked after her employees. She set both the style and standard, creating a culture and ethos in the workplace that secured the loyalty and commitment of the workforce long after her death in 1911 age 48. It was a legacy kept alive by her grandson, Sir Denis Desmond, right to the end.

Wednesday 26th February 2025: Mr Boyd George, Moypark

The speaker on Wednesday 28th February was Mr Boyd George from “Moypark” with a very interesting talk about the poultry industry.  Mr George began by reminding his audience of the place of poultry in our culture and history by quoting passages of scripture in which God’s care for his children is likened to a hen “gathering her chicks under her wings”.  Today the industry exists on a vast scale across several countries and continents and globally generates millions of tonnes of meat and eggs per year. Statistics abounded in his presentation:
• The United Kingdom is largely self-sufficient in broiler meat producing 2.4 million tonnes per annum.
• The industry is truly intensive: broilers take only seven weeks from hatching to table
• Moypark [Europe] processes 6 million broilers per week, most going to supermarkets and fast-food outlets such as KFC and McDonald’s
• the UK industry is worth £4.2 billion per annum
• Northern Ireland with a population of 2 million people annually produces enough meat and eggs for 10 million people
Mr Boyd’s talk emphasised the biosecurity measures taken to ensure that what the customer buys is safe to eat. He went on to explain how breeding programmes are aimed at meeting customer preferences. This prompted one member to liken Moypark to the old Sun Newspaper, being all about birds with big breasts and shapely legs. This brought to a good-natured conclusion a fascinating talk about an industry of which many had only passing knowledge.