Today’s meeting was attended by 21 members with 4 apologies.
Our speaker today was John Risdon who is well known to the club and to the community for his talks on local history and geography. His talk today was called “Scilly – The Beguiling Isles”.
Photo above by our photographer/reporter Tony Taft who writes:-
The subject of todays talk was the Isles of Scilly a place dear to John’s heart, he has spent many holidays there.
John took us on a virtual tour of all the populated islands with the aid of beautiful photographs and excellent commentary.
We were shown ancient burial mounds dotted around the islands also gun battery’s
The Isles of Scilly were once one island until the sea rose and separated the island into what we see today.
John commented on how quiet the islands are even at the height of the tourist season, he said you travel there in a boat full of people and when they leave the boat they all disappear and you can wander around without seeing them again, he also commented on the fact that he once bought a pasty there and it was the most expensive pasty he has ever bought.
There are very few cars on the island people prefer to cycle around, on your travels you notice how small the fields are he described them as postage stamps, he said the hedges protect the crops from the high winds they sometimes get there.
We all enjoyed John’s presentation and we look forward to next year when John will be giving us talks on two occasions
Paul Young, our Speaker Finder continues:-
John has presented to our club on a number of occasions. He has a great speaking voice and always presents using his detailed research and visual aids to make a fascinating and interesting talk.
In this case John explained that he has been visiting Scilly every summer for the past 40 years and has walked across and around all of the main islands.
Excellent photography and John’s obvious enthusiasm for the subject made this both an enjoyable and interesting session
Paignton Probus Club 