Newent and District Probus Club recently marked it 40th anniversary.

And to celebrate the occasion, the club held a special “Meet and Greet” event in Newent’s Memorial Hall.

A spokesman said: "The meeting was very well attended and included tea and coffee, a light buffet lunch and a highly entertaining, informative and instructive talk from a guest speaker, David Williams, from The Institute of Advanced Motoring.

"This particular meeting was an open meeting. This was in order to give non-members the opportunity to meet club members and for them to see the nature and function of the club."

Probus is a members only, non-religious, non-political club for retired and semi-retired professional and businessmen who wish to meet together in fellowship.

The Newent branch meets every second and fourth Tuesday of each month at the Memorial Hall in Newent from 10am to 12pm.

The spokesman added "It has a very diverse range of interests with a regular variety of speakers who talk on subjects such as ‘Life in a Bomb Disposal Unit’ and ‘Backpacking in China’ as examples.

"Alongside this there are regular pub lunches and skittles evenings together with regular visits to places of interest such as Coventry Motor Museum and Renishaws in Wootton under Edge; and of course there are also the regular theatre visits to Malvern Theatre and the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham and even the RSC in Stratford as well."

Further details on, 01531 890248, or mobile 07960 463462 , or email : fraser.gunn@live.com