Newsletter No. 103 - Dec 2025 & Jan 2026

THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE CHERRYBROOK COMMUNITY CENTRE AT 10.30AM ON WEDNESDAY 28th JANUARY 2026

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President's Report

President’s Report - January 2026

Happy New Year to you all. Now that the Christmas/New Year period is over, we can now concentrate on 2026. Grandparent duties are nearly over now that the children are about to return to school so it’s time to live a little!

How many of us will do something new? Different? Exciting? Challenging? The same? I hope you are all well or recovering from any illnesses. Please remember we are only a phone call away.

Many of our activities will be starting again after the holiday break. It will be good to reconnect and to get active again in mind and body. Maybe it’s time to try a new activity!!

It is not long until our AGM in March, so please consider getting involved with the management of the club maybe as a committee member, activity leader or a seconder to those positions. Our club thrives on member involvement, and it is a wonderful opportunity to get to know a few more members.

Our new constitution has been accepted by Fair Trading which is fantastic. PSPL wanted the 2 changes we made pointed out to them. That has now been done.

So, all is looking good.

Let’s have fun, friendship and fellowship in 2026!

Rosemary Clarke President

Secretarial

Correspondence In

None

Correspondence Out

None

Bev Watson

Details of the Probus Member Benefit Scheme are at:
www.probussouthpacific.org/pages/members_offers_member_benefits_scheme (Cntl click on link)

Treasurer's Report - January 2026

Michael Stinson
Treasurer

Membership

The current membership stands at 110 active members and 3 inactive, with a female to male ratio of 60:40
We have recently ordered two replacement badges.

Note that we are only ordering these on a six monthly basis so please let me know if you require replacement Membership Badges, and I will start an order list.

Please remember to wear your name badges to the monthly meetings.

A reminder of our Club policies for attendance at meetings and activities.

Members are expected to attend a minimum of 10 functions (meetings and/or activities) per Probus year (April to March).
Visitors may only attend a maximum of 3 functions (meetings and/or activities) per Probus year.

Paul Day – Membership Officer

Welfare

WELFARE REPORT JAN 2025

Happy New Year to all we are back refreshed and looking forward to good health, happiness and a prosperous 2026.
During December and January, a number of members have undergone short stays, day stays, overnight stays and longer stays as guests of the NSW health system. All have recovered or are continuing to make good progress to recovery.

With the intense bouts of heatwaves we need to look out for one another to ensure we are keeping cool and drinking plenty of water.

If anyone hears of a member who’s not well, or is struggling with family illness or other issues please let me know and I will follow up, also anyone just wanting a good old fashioned chat please don’t hesitate to call me or email directly

Jan Hookkee – Welfare Officer

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January Speaker - Paul Kearney - History Of Rock N Roll

Paul will present the history and a selection of great old Rock & Roll songs and Video clips from the 1950’s.

See the poster below for more detail.

In case you missed this in the November newsletter.......

Free Home Fire Safety Visit Program

Fire and Rescue NSW offers a free Home Fire Safety Visit program, designed to provide expert advice and practical tips to help prevent home fires. These visits include fire safety education and the installation/ servicing of smoke alarms, where needed. We would appreciate it if you could inform your members about this important service via your newsletter. [we have attached a bulletin which could be used within your newsletter]

To opt-in for a free Home Fire Safety Visit, your members can simply visit the link below:

Fire Safety Visit

Additionally, Fire and Rescue NSW offers fire safety talks, which can be a great addition to any community meeting. If your organization would like to arrange a fire safety presentation for your members, I encourage you to reach out to your local fire station. You can easily find the contact details of your nearest fire station using the following link:
Find a Fire Station

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need further information. We look forward to working with you to help promote fire safety in your community.

Earnie Garland
Beecroft Fire Station
109 Beecroft Road,
Beecroft NSW 2119
02 94931058

Photos From October November Meeting

2026 Morning Tea Roster

To download a pdf copy of the morning tea roster, please click HERE.

Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday
To all our members
Celebrating a birthday in December

Helen Beutler
Ross Butler
Susan Calabrese
Joan Cram
Robert Davison
Christin eHeaton
Lynne Henderson
Kaija Lam
Robin Palmer
Barbara Tyas
Alan Ward

& January

Helen Baptiste
Janice Byrne
Wendy Carritt
Rosemary Clarke
Helen Clothier
Tony Coote
Sue Cordukes
Helen Donnelly
Kathy Lewis
Margaret McGowan
Cawas Sahukar
John Sanders
Peter Stanton
Lorraine Sutton
Barry Wailes

Newsletter Copy Deadline

Please provide your contributions for the February 2026 Newsletter by Friday 20 February 2026.

Please copy directly into Dropbox under :-

WPHD Probus Activities / Activity Newsletter Contributions / Contributions – 2026_02

Activities List

To go to the Activities Calendar - click HERE!

Click on activity to go straight there!

Event Calendar
Note: This is snapshot of the calendar as at 25th January 2026.
The live updated calendar is available in the Harmony app or on the website.

Book Challenge

‘Books: Uniquely Portable Magic’ - UPM! Challenge

UPM! A new challenge begins, running from March ‘25 to mid March ‘26.
Join at any time – set your own challenge for UPM. Calculate the average number of books you would read in a month, multiply it by the number of months up to the end of February ‘26 … +ONE more. And you are in the Challenge! Choose your own books, post about it, and enjoy the rundowns of the other readers’ books. Search WPH&D PROBUS BOOK CHALLENGE on Facebook. If you wish to join but don’t do Facebook, send me an email and I’ll put it into the page on your behalf.

Nov - Jan reads: 28; total: A whopping total of 138!!!! over the holiday period from November. Some good reads too. We still have February and part of March to go as well. This has to be our best-ever challenge.

The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty: Ellen is a hypnotherapist, helping her clients deal with their problems whether that be addictions or dealing with problems from long ago. A dating app leads her to Patrick, a widower with a son. Unfortunately, his baggage is his stalking ex-girlfriend, Saskia. She even becomes one of Ellen’s clients under an assumed identity. Saskia is wherever they go. It’s not actually creepy though. You feel so much sympathy for all the main characters as you find out their story. Really enjoyable and a very satisfying ending.

Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes: This was a ripper although you find yourself having very unkind thoughts about a couple of the characters. Nisha has married globe-trotting wealth. She was at a gym – being a very loudmouthed entitled American, when she discovers her gym bag has gone, with all her clothes. Her husband announces a divorce when they are in England, immediately cutting her from everything. She has no money, nowhere to stay, and only the very dowdy clothes and black flats that were in the gym bag that must have been left behind by the ‘thief’. Her life crumbles around her. Sam was the culprit. Things are bleak for her as she is struggling with a depressed husband, self-important teenage daughter, and a total pig of a boss. She mistook the bag and only discovers it when she is on an important work excursion and must get her shoes out of the bag, finding an incredible pair of 6” high red crocodile Christian Louboutin shoes. Somehow her confidence is jolted and she realises she must change her outlook to life. Typical Moyes and great fun.

Mother Tongue by Naima Brown: Family life is turbulent for Brynn. Her husband Eric is moving into conspiracy theorist territory, and their daughter Jenny, can’t work out what is happening. Brynn has a bad slip on the steps, goes into a coma, coming out of it speaking fluent French. She makes a huge change to her life by suddenly going to live in Paris and setting up a new life for herself. Jenny feels abandoned. Eric moves more deeply into the dark side. Many years later, at the end of her schooling, Jenny steps outside of the constrictions in her life and heads into dangerous ground herself.

The Bad Bridesmaid by Rachael Johns: should have been called the spoilt brat self-centred bridesmaid. Winifred is a serial dater, focussed only on casual relationships with a set of rules that means no commitment – she is even writing a book about it (Slap territory here). Her mother asks her to be the matron of honour at her 6th wedding, but Fred is determined to stop it and avoid all the angst that the end of the other marriages brought with it. The groom’s son is also against it – his mother had only died just over 6 months previously. They set out together to stop their parents in their tracks. Of course – you know the ending! Right?

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler: This is a very short read in the style of many American writers who’s characters seem to exist beside people rather than with people. Still very intriguing. The day before her daughter’s wedding, Gail loses her job or quits depending on who you ask. Max, the ex-husband turns up to stay, along with a rescue cat he is convinced Gail will love. Then their daughter, Debbie, discovers her groom has been keeping a secret. Gail and Max decide to do their best to go with Debbie’s decision to go ahead with the wedding. They all are floating in their own little worlds, bumping into each other as they do so. Gail worries about her daughter, Max worries about what he will eat at the reception. The day after the wedding sees Gail and Max accepting rather than dwelling on the reasons that caused their own break up.

The Deadly Dispute by Amanda Hampson: third book in the Tea Ladies Mystery series and it doesn't fail to entertain again. Out of work for more than a year Hazel lands the position of Tea Lady for the Dock's Union. The criminal underworld is rife here is rife. A million gold coins vanish; a dead body is washed up. Hazel's life is threatened as she begins to investigate matters in this shady world. Irene provides the usual side kick antics as she skirts around the 'fencing' business she loves to dabble in. Betty finds herself mixed up with a young bohemian crowd of artists and gets herself into a very embarrassing position.

The Ledge by Christian White: about a teenage boy who is abused by his father. He murders him, then must murder his best friend to cover up his father’s murder. A very good read from an author who has written a few books now full of twists on the way to the end. The Nowhere Child and the Wife and the Widow are 2 that spring to mind. A true cliff-hanger author.

Broke Road by Matthew Spencer: When a young woman is strangled in her home in the Hunter Valley, detectives from Sydney are sent to investigate. It turns out the case is identical to two other murders. The local motel owner is the chief suspect, but the detectives have to gather enough evidence against him to bring a conviction.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston: an 82 year old man is about to become homeless. He comes across another man in a wheelchair who has had a heart attack. He accidently tips the body into the river. Because no one in the nursing home will believe him he takes on the other man’s identity. A very light and immensely enjoyable read.

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty: Cora is orphaned at six months old. At the age of 5, she is put on a train from NYC heading to Wichita Kansas, where she is to be adopted by a childless couple. She grows up there, marries and has twin boys. An opportunity arises for her to chaperone a 15 year old girl to NYC for a month. The experience helps her to find out her past and reshapes her future life.

The Last Love Song by Lucinda Riley: Tully and Rachel are murderous when they discover their father has a new girlfriend half his age. Problem: he is still married to his wife who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer’s disease. They all have dark secrets that threaten to implode the whole family. Old wounds and dark secrets are finally being forced to the surface.

The Bullet that Missed by Richard Osman: 3rd in the Thursday Murder Club series. The gang set out to solve a cold case involving a journalist who vanished a decade ago while investigating a financial fraud scheme. Deception, danger and intrigue.

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman: 4th in the Thursday Murder Club series. The gang encounter art forgers, online fraudsters and drug dealers to solve the murder of an old friend in the antiques business. A dangerous package has gone missing. The usual multi-murder mayhem from this author.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman: The start of a new series by this popular writer. A bit of a mix of droll humour, fantastical situations and understatement. Book Club read. We all enjoyed it.

The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth: Always a worry for the adult children when they discover their father has a new girlfriend – a much younger one. However, he is still married to their mother, who is in a care facility with end-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Girlfriend needs to get on side, children need to deal with the impending implosion of relationships.

The Whole Truth by Jackie O: She talks candidly about her life: marriages, career, addiction, rehab and relationships. An interesting read.

Heartburn by Nora Ephron: Semi-autobiographical. While pregnant, Rachel discovers that her husband Mark is in love with another woman. The other woman is gorgeous. Rachel tries to win him back, while at the same time wishes him dead. She’s a cookbook writer so some of her favourite recipes are included.

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts: a young police woman gets shot and dies on the operating table. The doctors revive her, and she has a second chance at life. Following a long, painful recovery, she becomes involved in the investigation of a woman who mysteriously vanishes without trace from a supermarket carpark. The final chapters have a good twist.

Confessions of the Dead by James Patterson and J.D. Barker: The plot was at times a bit hard to follow with a bit of the supernatural and some twisted plots. A small New England town frequented by weekend tourists is visited by a stranger, and even weirder things start to happen. Not the usual James Patterson, but when he collaborates with others it can be hit and miss at times.

The Fallen Woman by Fiona McIntosh: a beautiful read, set around the time of the coronation of George V. A young woman, bullied by her mother and sister into pretending to be the mother of her sister’s illegitimate child. Her story of how she conquers the stigma, and her harrowing journey towards finding eventual happiness.
The Creeper by Margaret Hickey: Set in the small Australian town of Edenville, the novel follows a gripping mystery centred around a series of unsettling events, including the horrific murders of five hikers, and the presence of a sinister figure, Bill ‘The Creeper’ Durant.

The Peak by Sam Guthrie: A political mystery from China to Hong Kong. Not the readers favourite book, but it did have a shocking ending.

Heart of the Dreaming by Di Morrissey: A great read about one woman’s determination to overcome adversity in the dry outback cattle station. It gives a great representation of thardships of living in outback Australia.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult: very thought provoking, and a great insight into the world of bullying, exploring why some are more susceptible than others and how the correct, timely support can be so important. Highly recommended.

Jessica by Bryce Courtney: Courtney is a wonderful story teller and this book doesn’t fail. The reader couldn’t put it down. Very enjoyable.

The Rainmaker by John Grisham: Ruby is a newly qualified lawyer who takes on a pro bono case fighting an insurance company for justice. His client needs a bone marrow transplant from his twin brother. The insurance company refuses to pay for it. A good read.

Last One Out by Jane Harper: This is the classic story of the big boys trying to buy out the little guys – in this case the residents of a small town. The big boy – a mining company. It is turning neighbour against neighbour. There is a suicide that later turns out to be murder. A young man doing a thesis on how the buyout is affecting the town is also found murdered. A good read.

Vianne by Joanne Harris: A girl, adopted out at birth, is then kidnapped by her biological mother. She spends her childhood on the run with her mother and as an adult, is reluctant to put down roots because of this, even after her mother has passed away when she finally learns the truth. A bit of a complicated read.
Hope to see more of you join.

Sue Calabrese

Leader: Sue Calabrese

Activity Group	Leaders
Book Challenge	Sue Calabrese
Book Club	Bev Davison
Cards	David Turner, Ray Heaton
Cycling	Gerard Siddle, David Antonjuk
Day Trips (Bus/Train/Ferry)	Helen Games
Dining Out	Looking For Monthly Leaders
Domestic Travel	Max Henderson
Gardening	Julie Stinson, Sue Small, Lorenza Powyer
Golf	Terry Ridge, Jeff Swan
Mens Club	Rene Beutler
Mixed Social Group	Helen Beulter, Hilda Somerfield
Movies	Donna Fraser
Overseas Travel	Looking For Leader
Photography	Rob Clarke, Bain Shenstone
Table Tennis	Enio Dona
Tai Chi	Helen Games
Ten Pin Bowling	Douglas Matthews, Paul Day
Tennis	Bob Davison
Theatre and Musicals	Bruce Bartle, Robyn Bartle
Trivia Group	Kim Nicholls, Hilda Somerfield
Walking Group	Enio Dona, Lynne Henderson
Wine & Cheese	Julie Shenstone, Susan Antonjuk

For an activity group to start, a member needs to step forward to lead the group

2026	January
MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
29	30	31	01	02	03	04


05	06	07	08	09	10	11


12	13	14	15	16	17	18

			Trivia Group Dural Club Contact Kim Nicholls	Cards 500 Dural Country Club 7pm Contact David Turner
19	20	21	22	23	24	25


26	27	28	29	30	31	01
	Coffee Morning Catch Up Castle Hill RSL Bistro Area 10:30am	General Meeting Cherrybrook Community Hall @ 10.30AM

2026	February
MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
26	27	28	29	30	31	01


02	03	04	05	06	07	08
Tennis Group Contact B Davidson Mon & Wed 8.30AM	Movies Group Castle Hill 9.30AM Contact Donna Fraser			Golf Group Gordon Golf Club Contact : Terry Ridge
	Tai Chi - 12.30pm Blue Gum Centre, Glenhaven Contact : Helen Games	Photography Group 7.30PM
09	10	11	12	13	14	15
Tennis Group Contact B Davidson Mon & Wed 8.30AM	Walking Group TBA Contact Enio Dona	Men's Club Contact Rene Beutler
	Tai Chi - 12.30pm Blue Gum Centre, Glenhaven Contact : Helen Games	Theatre & Musicals 9 to 5 - The Musical		Wine and Cheese Contact : Susan Antonjuk
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Tennis Group Contact B Davidson Mon & Wed 8.30AM		Cycling Group TBA Contact Gerard Siddle	Management Com'te Meeting @ 7:30pm	Ten Pin Bowling 10am AMF Castle Hill Contact Doug Matthews
	Tai Chi - 12.30pm Blue Gum Centre, Glenhaven Contact : Helen Games		Trivia Group Dural Club Contact Kim Nicholls
23	24	25	26	27	28	01
Tennis Group Contact B Davidson Mon & Wed 8.30AM	Tai Chi - 12.30pm Blue Gum Centre, Glenhaven Contact : Helen Games	General Meeting Cherrybrook Community Hall @ 10.30AM	Table Tennis Dural Squash Courts. Contact : Enio
Coffee Morning Catch Up Castle Hill RSL Bistro Area 10:30am				Cards 500 Dural Country Club 7pm Contact David Turner
02

Newsletter

Newsletter No. 103 - Dec 2025 & Jan 2026THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE CHERRYBROOK COMMUNITY CENTRE AT 10.30AM ON WEDNESDAY 28th JANUARY 2026

President's Report

Secretarial

Treasurer's Report - January 2026

Membership

Welfare

January Speaker - Paul Kearney - History Of Rock N Roll

In case you missed this in the November newsletter.......

Photos From October November Meeting

2026 Morning Tea Roster

Birthday Celebrations

To go to the Activities Calendar - click HERE!

Event CalendarNote: This is snapshot of the calendar as at 25th January 2026.​The live updated calendar is available in the Harmony app or on the website.

Day Trips

Morning Tea With John Singleton

​How does an Amazon Warehouse really work?​

Nelson BayMonday 3rd to Thurs 6th Aug 2026

Queensland Great Central Outback TrailSun 1st to Wed 11th Aug 2027

Photos From Last Walk (none available)

Newsletter No. 103 - Dec 2025 & Jan 2026

THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE CHERRYBROOK COMMUNITY CENTRE AT 10.30AM ON WEDNESDAY 28th JANUARY 2026

Event Calendar
Note: This is snapshot of the calendar as at 25th January 2026.
The live updated calendar is available in the Harmony app or on the website.

How does an Amazon Warehouse really work?

Nelson Bay
Monday 3rd to Thurs 6th Aug 2026

Queensland Great Central Outback Trail
Sun 1st to Wed 11th Aug 2027