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Jan 23, 2012 6:30 PM
I just managed to get across to Leamington Spa from Nottingham in time for the start of the meeting. This club always has a nice relaxed atmosphere. James Lovatt, Rotaract District Representative, drove up from London to be the speaker. It was good to see John Hughes there as well. The club has a lot going on and show a real interest in their activities and those of other clubs. James shared details of his own life and work which are of interest in themselves as well as information...
Jan 14, 2012 5:30 PM
Paul collected me from my football match to take us over to Sutton Coldfield to Carolyn and Gerry McLoughlin's for a GSE team reunion. This was the team we sent to New Zealand in my year as District Governor. 3 of the team members managed to come across. We spent the evening over a lovely dinner catching up on each others' news and listening to their memories of New Zealand. It is great to see a group that still keeps in contact, meets up and supports each other even after 2...
Dec 17, 2011 7:30 PM
After a morning spent in Nottingham working Paul and I went to collect Donnelle from Aston University to head down to Swindon. The reason for going was the Christmas dinner of the club Paul attends whilst working in Swindon. A kind Rotarian came and collected us from our hotel and took us to the Masonic Hall for the event. The club has made Paul very welcome and they did the same this night for me and Donnelle. A brilliant saxophonist entertained us during the meal and then provided...
Dec 13, 2011 5:45 PM
A slightly cold night (but at least not as cold or icy as this time last year) which saw several Rotarians from the five Coventry Clubs assembled together to work their way around the streets of Radford with the Santa Sleigh. Several children (and adults) were pleased to see Santa (which Terry carried off so well) which made up for the houses where you knew people were in but were ignoring you. We wandered around the streets for just over two hours. It was good to work as a group...
Dec 11, 2011 1:30 PM
Nearly 60 of us met together for Sunday lunch at the Hearsall Golf Club. We had families with us as well as previous members of the club. It was great to sit with Mike and Judy Taylor and catch up with their news as well as see other previous members there. The highlight of the lunch was to see George Willan presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship - so well deserved. There was a carvery provided and the ambience of the event was great. A great number of prizes in the raffle meant we...
Dec 1, 2011 7:15 AM
A very early morning meant I got to Kings Coughton well in advance of the meeting. It was great to be with a really friendly group of people. Part of the meeting was spent discussing the Christmas event coming up that they were supporting. It was good to hear all the details of the preparations and to know that Rotary Clubs around the District are making a difference whilst having a lot of fun along the way.
I then shared information on the history of Rotaract, its aims and how it influenced...
Nov 29, 2011 7:00 PM
I managed to get to the Arden School in time for a cup of tea before the District Council meeting. There was a lot of business this time - accounts to approve, a vote for DGN, plans for the future of RIBI alongside information from District Officers. John Crawford was elected as DGN for 2012-13. It looks like clubs will have materials sent out to them to consider re the future of RIBI.
It was good to have James with us again and to have the chance to share with people what is happening...
Nov 27, 2011 10:30 AM
This is an annual event we try to get to. There is always a relaxed family atmosphere at the charter brunch and we filled Hall 9 at the Symphony Hall. Each table was given several quizzes to attempt some of which were easier than others. We were then given general knowledge and music quizzes about 1990 (the year the club was formed) which were very hard.
Entertainment was provided in the form of jazz from 2 club members which kept the atmosphere bouyant. the morning gave us the...
Nov 26, 2011 3:56 PM
Paul and I drove across to a school just outside of Stratford (admittedly we were late as it took a while for us to find it) to attend a concert put on by Stratford Rotary Club. It was in memory of Past President Nick who had been President in my year as District Governor and had died from Motor Neurone Disease. As a consequence the concert takings were in aid of MNDS. The concert was given by a group called Tarantara. It was a beautiful concert. The harmonies of the singers were...
Nov 26, 2011 10:30 AM
I took James Lovatt with me to Crewe for the half year review meeting organised by RIBI. This year districts were split into regions and so rather than all the districts getting together ours was a maximum of eight represented. The half year review meeting was for Rotaract District Chairmen, New Generations Chairmen and Comvoc Chairmen. Alan and Ian from our District also came so we were well represented. The three groups in our region met at Crewe for 5-6 hours to compare issues and...
Nov 22, 2011 8:00 PM
Traffic meant that it took quite a while to get to Aston University to collect Donnelle to take her to her speaking engagement at Shipston on Stour Rotary Club. As always a very warm welcome was awaiting us and Paul had driven up from Swindon to support as well.
The President did a welcome to us in verse which he said was in honour of my poetic nature which I found very touching. Donelle gave a great talk about herself and Jamaica. It was well presented and kept everyone's attention. We all...
Nov 20, 2011 11:00 AM
RGBI,Rotaract's equivalent of RIBI, met in Oxford this Sunday morning. Whilst it is for District Rotaract Representatives (Rotaractors), the District Rotaract Chairmen (Rotarians) are expected to attend as well so off I went to the Oxford Holiday Inn. A few districts were represented but as James was at Interota I represented our District.
It is a meeting that needs development but by the end of the session a way forward had been identified to tighten up practice and effectiveness....
Nov 18, 2011 7:30 PM
Paul and I really look forward to this event every year. Yardley and Sheldon have for about 30 years held an annual event where they invite students from Aston University out for an evening to one of their homes. 16 students accompanied by a couple of university staff came by minibus to meet the Rotarians and their partners. Great food and company was in evidence and a great evening was had by all. We were able to tell them about Rotaract and get a few signatures for the guild of...
Nov 12, 2011 11:30 AM
Nine teams from across England descended on the Xcel sports centre for the National Disabled Sports Championship. The Mayor welcomed everyone to the centre and then all set off to their various activities whether swimming, boccia, weightlifting, table tennis etc. One and a half days followed with individual and team sports and events all to earn points towards the final totals.
My own club ran the Pitstop event on the Sunday especially interesting as Lewis Hamilton was winning his formula 1...
Nov 8, 2011 8:00 PM
I managed to get to the Forest Hotel despite an accident on the motorway. It was great to meet members again and to also meet a few Rotarians and partners from Solihull St Alphege. We had a lovely meal and then had a really interesting talk on engineering geology. This included examples of restoration of some parts of the UK's coastline and work in other countries such as Yemen and Korea. The presentation included some good photos of damage caused by landslides and diagrams of the work...
