On Wednesday 11th April, president Carol Portas welcomed members to the April meeting of Retford Ladies Probus, followed by the introduction of the speaker Douglas Bradbury. On learning he had spent his working life as a farrier I wondered if this would be a topic which would interest me personally. Boy was I wrong! He kept us thoroughly entertained from beginning to end with his amusing (and sometimes hairy anecdotes). There was the one about the horse which fell through a covered inspection pit, managed to pull itself out and ran off dragging a whole lot of paraphernalia behind it including a staircase! Then there was the one who fell through a glass conservatory and was bleeding badly. On phoning the vet she told him to go and buy a bag of flour and throw it on the wounds to coagulate them. I suspect that these stories have lost nothing in the telling.
I had no idea how many different horseshoes there could be. Emperor Nero was known to put metal on his horses’ feet, although they were usually leather. An interesting one was a coachman’s shoe from the 1700s which was hinged and designed to fit any horse as a temporary measure to get him to the next stop. All farriers need a Diploma from The Worshipful Company of Farriers and can then travel the world shoeing horses. In fact, it is illegal not to have one. There are other exams too and Doug was awarded the Fellowship of the Company in 1986 giving him the freedom of the City of London. His work has taken him to Instanbul six times and he has recently been awarded an MBE for his services. Now retired, Doug seems to be gaining a reputation as a raconteur and any money he receives goes to his favourite charities. Long may it continue.
The club’s next meeting will be on Wednesday 9th May at Westfield Community Centre, Ordsall at 10.00am for a 10.30am start, when the speaker’s topic will be silk. All are welcome.