PW_2_2019

IPA News

Retiring in the sun Fred Wharton , Chairman of ARPO (Association of Retired Police Officers), Costa Blanca South. Our Association is basically a social club for retired and near-retired police officers, visiting officers on holiday, their wives and partners. We welcome officers of any nationality. We have a fairly informal monthly meeting, regular lunches, away days, coach trips and each year we hold a Summer Ball and a Christmas Dinner dance. We have been exhibiting at the Expo Auditorium in Torrevieja twice a year. Entry is free and we would be pleased to welcome any guests. They would also have the opportunity to meet our friend Francisco Morales, who is a serving Guardia Police traffic officer. Francisco has set up a website for English speaking expats to assist them with driving in Spain. Contact details for our group are: Website www.arpo.org.uk Email arpocostablancasouth@gmail.com

An International TV Dinner Pauline Osborne , Social Secretary, Thames Valley Branch Following on from our previous international venues, Mexican and Norwegian amongst others, members of Thames Valley Branch ventured to Tiffins, a renowned Bangladeshi restaurant in Abingdon on Thames. Fortunately it was banquet night, which was handy, given our appetites. We were treated to regional and national dishes in portions guaranteed to satisfy everyone and even some to take home. But the most important element was friendship, coming together to enjoy each other’s company, swap stories and bemoan that, “it wasn’t like that in our day”. Indeed it wasn’t, but I do recall the mortgage rate was something like 15% in our day. It was an opportunity to meet up with old friends and welcome new ones, not finishing too late … after all it was a school night!

Fred wearing the Guardia hat, Francisco with a UK helmet and Secretary, Mike Peters, wearing a RMP cap.

Toll house

In Neolithic Footsteps Pauline and John Osborne - IPA Thames Valley Branch Social Secretaries Dorchester on Thames was the venue for Thames Valley’s first winter walk of the year. It was a leisurely two hour stroll around the historic village which was settled as early as Neolithic times. Beginning with a compulsory hot drink to fortify us, we set off for the Abbey. Founded in 1140, the Augustinian monastery was built on the previous Saxon foundations. The Abbey is in perfect condition and still hosts many religious and cultural events. Falling in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, the monastery was fortunately rescued by a local wealthy man who paid the princely sum of £140 and then bequeathed it to the village. (A few years later Queen Elizabeth was named the wealthiest woman in England with an annual income of £10,000.) The walk continued, taking in the site of the Roman ford crossing. In this area there is still evidence of the old Romano-British walled town, over which Dorchester now stands. We then crossed the Victorian bridge with its toll house, which became one of the earliest roads to introduce a toll. Walking through the village, we took in the many medieval thatched cottages, old maltings, forges and the war memorial. We managed plenty of catching up before emerging at one of the coaching inns. Dorchester is on the main road between Gloucester and Oxford and originally possessed several taverns and two stagecoach inns, one of which we retired to for a well-deserved lunch.

Group on bench next to Roman ford crossing site

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POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No.2, 2019