The Probus Club of Farnham is approaching the end of the year with two more excellent presentations on the horizon.

The luncheon on November 25 will include a presentation from David Bickerton on The Sinking of the Bismarck and the luncheon on December 18 will include a presentation on The RNLI - 200 years and counting.

So far during 2025 the club has had presentations on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the 1977-78 Whitbread Round the World Race, The World of Opera, Prisons and More, A Jerseyman’s story - from our past up to the present, and My Neighbour Roald Dahl. The club also organised a very enjoyable holiday in north Wales.

In 2026 a holiday to Kent is planned together with the regular luncheons. The presentation in January will be on The Ordnance Survey.

The Probus Club of Farnham is a luncheon club for men who have retired from professional or business backgrounds. The club normally meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Hogs Back Hotel, and also arranges events to which wives and partners are invited. New members are welcome to join. Email [email protected] or visit www.probusfarnham.co.uk

More than 200 boxes of Christmas gifts for children are on their way to war-torn districts of Ukraine from the Alton area.

The collection of the gifts was organised by Alton Rotary Club. They were then packed into shoeboxes. The boxes - one per child - include toys, dolls, books, games, jigsaw puzzles, drawing materials, hats and gloves. The boxes have been sorted to be appropriate for children of different ages.

Many of the boxes were donated by the Ukrainian community in the Alton area, as well as by their hosts and friends.

There have also been substantial group donations from pupils at Oakmoor School in Bordon and staff at Asmodee, a games company based in Bordon.

The number of boxes - 223 in all - is more than double the number sent to Ukraine last Christmas by Alton Rotary Club.

Lisa Hillan, one of the organisers of the collection, said the community response to the Christmas appeal had been excellent and thanked all who had donated boxes of gifts.

She added: “Local people have really wanted to support our appeal this year - there’s a strong sense of sympathy for the dreadful plight of families in Ukraine this Christmas.”

Other Rotary clubs across central southern England organised similar collections. The 223 boxes from Alton were part of a total of 19,000 boxes shipped to Ukraine from the region.

For more information about Alton Rotary Club visit www.altonrotaryclub.uk

Over the last few weeks Alton Camera Club members have been treated to inspiring speakers who have shared their passion for photography along with their advice and tips.

Jon Hawkins, a skilled freelance photographer, offered a captivating and entertaining presentation showcasing his stunning images of British wildlife, many of which were taken in the Surrey and Hampshire countryside.

With years of experience capturing the beauty of nature across the UK, Jon shared expert insights, amusing behind the scenes stories and practical photography tips.

The second talk was by Richard Brayshaw, a Surrey photographer who concentrates on photography as a visual art. Through his photography, Richard encourages new ways of looking and seeing, searching for hidden narratives and interpretations, encouraging the viewer to ask "How does it make me feel?".

Members also had a visit from sports photographer Michael Berkeley, who provided an insight into his life as a freelance sport photographer. Michael shared his 'before, during and after' process for an assignment, from preparation and the shoot through to post production editing.

The mobile phone image competition was judged by Joe Bird. He awarded first place to Renee Smith's image Twisted Staircase, second place to Dolomiti by Jason Bunce and third place to Barry Clark for Kimmeridge Ledge. Steve Smith's image Embers of the Sea and Andrew Sorrell's By the Right - Dressing! were highly commended.

Joe also judged the first round of the projected digital image competition. He awarded maximum marks of ten to Buzzard vs Rat by Jo Hawkes, Contemplating My Next Move by Paul Booker, Whisper of the Wings by Steve Smith and Three Lilies and a Bud by Andrew Sorrell.

One of the most popular activities in the club is the bi-monthly field trip. At the start of October members returned to the New Forest to attend a fungi explorer walk with Wild New Forest Guided Tours.

The guides spotted and identified a wide variety of fungi without picking or disturbing them and members learned about their fascinating ecology before going on to photograph them.

Later in the month they headed to London for a field trip. It was a beautifully sunny autumn day as they photographed visitors to Comic Con at Excel and then took a boat trip along the Thames to Battersea Power Station.

After lunch and a brief photography session, they got back on the boat and headed back downstream to Tower Bridge, where they were lucky enough to see the bridge raised to let a cruise ship through.

Alton Camera Club meets every Wednesday at 7.30pm in Holybourne Village Hall and welcomes new members of all photographic levels. For more details visit www.altoncameraclub.org.uk

Petersfield South Downs Probus Club is hosting a talk - Animals in the Lives of Their Famous Owners, by Susan Howe - followed by lunch at The Half Moon in Sheet on November 25 at 11am for 11.30am.

Susan is an entertaining speaker who is in demand all over the UK. Her phenomenal memory serves her well, whether working as a Blue Badge Guide at major London sites and throughout the UK, as a tour manager in areas of Africa and Asia, and when giving one of her inimitable talks.

She will include stories about Florence Nightingale and her pocket owl, the Duke of Wellington and his beloved horse, and Oscar Wilde and the walks he took with his pet lobster around Oxford.

Susan presents her talks without the need for visual aids and tells of her exceptional experiences and her love of history as a living and vibrant subject. She has had a very varied career, as a cook on a yacht in the Mediterranean and as a PA for Sir John Betjeman.

Non-members are very welcome to attend the talk and lunch (£22) or the talk only (£5). To book call the secretary on 07967 015596. For more details of the club visit www.psdpc.wordpress.com

Alton Concert Band were on top form once again as they entertained an appreciative audience with a Musical Voyage of Discovery.

The audience were immediately off to Mexico with The Magnificent Seven, up to New York with Guys and Dolls and then whisked back to Norfolk and Somerset for Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Folk Song Suite.

After the romantic and emotionally resonant Out of Africa they were transported to Hungary for a Brahms Hungarian Dance, reaching the interval by travelling northwards to St Petersburg for a Shostakovich waltz.

Having travelled to a galaxy far, far away with highlights from Rogue One and been taught How To Train Your Dragon, they were back home for Percy Grainger’s capricious interpretation of An English Country Garden.

The concert was then rounded off with a short visit to Vietnam with Miss Saigon before a final destination of the barricades of 1830s Paris with a selection from Les Misérables.

Compère Nick Wright was the expert tour guide, while musical director Jeremy Morrish said he was “delighted by the standard reached by our local musicians”.

Alton Concert Band will perform The Wonder of Christmas at the Alton Maltings Centre on December 6. For more information visit www.altonconcertband.co.uk

The Surrey Border Movie Makers’ Inter-Club Competition 2025 saw seven clubs invited to submit a film into the competition.

They were the Bristol Film and Video Society, Bournemouth, Sutton Coldfield, Edinburgh Cine and Video Society, Teign Film Makers Club, Virtual Video Group and South Downs Film Makers.

All seven films were watched and judged prior to the evening by three members of Surrey Border Movie Makers - competition officer John Hawthorne, Cameron Gilroy and Andrew Hillary.

The winning film, made by the Edinburgh Cine and Video Society, was called Hard Travelling (Blue 2CV).

This gentle comedy saw an old Citroën 2CV van on a road trip from rural France to Scotland, carrying her dream of a new owner to look after and restore her to her past glory. But at the border, man and machine are pulled over by two bored police officers with their own agenda.

In second place was Goody Two Shoes - about how parents typecasting their teenage children can go badly wrong - from the South Downs Movie Makers. Awarded third place was First World War film The Secrets Of Bishops Knoll , by the Bristol Film and Video Society.