November 2009
Nov 30, 2009 7:30 PM
It was lovely to be invited to attend the club meeting where 2 ladies were inducted - the first at this club. We were also joined by David Fowler, RIBI President. Both new work for RIBI so it was especially nice to welcome them into the Rotary family over the past few years. It was great to see 100% attendance from the club for this occasion.
The club was also visited by Droitwich Spa Saltway which was there for the District quiz round. This was run by Nick Thurston from Wylde...
Nov 29, 2009 1:30 PM
An event run in collaboration between Edgbaston Convention and the Botanical Gardens. A few schools took it in turns to sing carols for audiences within the Gardens. A few organisations came to run stalls outside the Carol Service room including Smethwick Rotary Club. It was nice to have the chance to relax and talk to several Rotarians and to support both clubs by buying goods from their stalls. I now have more colour in my kitchen from the plants I bought and I can wrap the presents I...
Nov 26, 2009 6:00 PM
It was nice after a long day at General Council it was good to stop off on the way home and go to the Warwick Victorian Fayre with Paul. Our own Warwick and Leamington Spa Regency clubs both had stalls there. There was a really nice atmosphere and it was great to see people dressed in Victorian costume and enjoying themselves on the fairground rides, looking at all the musical organs, meeting the birds of prey and spending their money at the charity stalls.
The weather was not too...
Nov 26, 2009 9:00 AM
It is good to meet with other District Governors to see how things are going in their District and what they are getting up to. The General Council Meeting is long and covers a lot of ground. It can be hard going at times - well 29 governors are not going to agree about everything. You have to be gracious if a vote goes the other way to how you have voted and then own the decision as it is like being in the cabinet. There was a little time available for lunch but the...
Nov 22, 2009 10:30 PM
It was nice to see so many people gather at the ICC for Birmingham Breakfast's brunch. The room was full of people who were there to have a great time. It was especially lovely to see Wendy Moore and Brian's son William and his wife there as well. There were many clubs represented and several members brought their families as well - there was a real family feel to the event.
A great breakfast was available for us all and a 80s TV programme quiz kept us all challenged...
Nov 21, 2009 7:30 PM
This annual event has been taking place for 18 years. The Coventry Rotary Clubs have a skittles evening in which they are in teams and do their best to score as highly as they can for a silver cup to the winning team and a prize for the highest scoring male and female.
As well as the skittles we have a fish and chip supper and a great time mixng with each other. This year Bedworth joined us and did incredibly well as they won all 3 prizes.
It is a great event which is very relaxing and it...
Nov 20, 2009 7:30 PM
Had a fantastic evening at Lichfield Club's Review Evening. Around 120 people came together to be entertained by Just Us - a group that perform sketches and songs for free for charities. They kept us amused and entertained for a couple of hours with entertainment that just made us all laugh again and again.
A lovely supper was provided which was a great start to the evening - well done to those who helped prepare it. I must admit after a difficult week at work this was a great way to start...
Nov 19, 2009 8:00 PM
A really lovely evening. Nearly 100 people came to the Manor Hotel for the evening. A lovely meal and company made it a very relaxed event. John Hockin gave an amusing talk which gave a nice feel to the evening and David Fowler gave a historical speech about Leverton (as Yardley & Sheldon is a Leverton Club). Well done to Liz Moran who managed to make an amusing talk when those who had spoken before her had used the content of her speech - she did really well.
It was a great evening made...
Nov 18, 2009 6:30 PM
As much as I am not a person for shopping it is nice to be in a shop after normal hours and be able to relax whilst walking around. I've never been to an event with so many chains of office - at least 4 Mayors and Mayoresses. It was great to meet the Mayoress from Hereford as she is a rotarian in Ross on Wye where Brian Coles from Coventry has moved to (President of Coventry Rotary at same time Paul and I were Presidents of Coventry Breakfast and Phoenix).
The event was opened by Phil...
Nov 17, 2009 7:15 PM
A change of venue for the evening but the welcome was great. David Littleford drove me on my last official club visit (visit No.67). We were well looked after and enjoyed our evening with the club.
It was great to be able to talk in a very relaxed way after the speech about several areas of Rotary. The meeting had a nice relaxed atmosphere and the toast to an international club was a new one on me and the sending of a card to the club toasted seemed a nice gesture.
There was good...
Nov 17, 2009 1:00 PM
A lovely meeting was held at the Tally Ho Club in Birmingham. The Lord Mayor of Birmingham and the Lady Mayoress were present and the Lord Mayor spoke to the assembled Rotarians and guests. A large number was present and the venue and good meal added to the good ambience of the meeting. It was great to sit and chat to the Lady Mayoress who is really friendly. she and the Lord Mayor have certainly been supporting Rotary events over the past few weeks.
It was a really relaxed and very...
Nov 16, 2009 6:40 PM
Having been held up in traffic in Nottingham I managed to get there just ten minutes late. Was nice to be welcomed so warmly by everyone. A nice simple meal was great after a day of running between meetings with no time to stop.
The speech seemed to go down well and we had a great discussion about Foundation and the marketing campaign. It was good to be back amongst friends who have been part of my and Paul's Rotary life for several years. A nice relaxed meeting for me.
Nov 14, 2009 7:30 PM
After a busy day at the Institute it was nice to go out for the evening to a great event. President Roger made us very welcome and introduced us to members and guests as they arrived.
The whole evening was very relaxed and the food was really nice. It was great to have a toast included to the Armed Forces as this event is so near to Remembrance Day.
The evening's entertainment was a talk given by a retired store detective - it was very informative and had us all laughing. The lengths...
Nov 14, 2009 9:00 AM
This event was held at Chesford Grange on the 14th and 15th November for Zones 17 and 18a (RIBI). It covers many areas of Rotary's work with this year's focus being literacy, water and health. We heard good news about polio and the great steps taken in India and Nigeria that means they are now over the critical point and polio can be eradicated there.
The 2 days included a lot of discussion groups which worked very well and gave the chance to look at RI's strategic plans and the...
Nov 13, 2009 10:00 AM
Chesford Grange Hotel hosted the RIBI Foundation Seminar. It was good to meet up with several of my fellow DGs at the event and several members of our own District. We heard from 2 great Peace Scholars, Bob Scott who shared with us the positives that have arisen from the polio campaign, Ron Burton about the Future Vision Plan as well as the amazing life story of a man who contracted polio at 6 months old and is now 60. As he so ably reminded us we will still have polio to deal with after we...
Nov 12, 2009 7:30 PM
A fantastic evening! Traffic had meant I only got to Kidderminster Town Hall at the start of the concert but I would not have missed it for the world. The band was fantastic. The tone of the playing was beautiful and the choice of music great. The band leader was a good MC and gave the history to the music pieces played and the soloists played exceedingly well.
The music played included my favourites - a Rodriguez' guitar concerto (my favourite all time piece of music), a...
Nov 11, 2009 7:00 PM
Some club members had invited friends and contacts to the Village Hotel for an information evening. There were many members there to welcome them and have conversations with them. We had a buffet and then short information inputs on the history and internationality of Rotary and the social and community aspects of our own club.
The good news is people stayed on talking after the inputs. The test will be if any come to our future meeting but even if they don't they might just support our...
Nov 10, 2009 6:10 PM
Arrived a few minutes late as a work meeting delayed me. However, so good to be back with my old club. I and Paul were made very welcome and enjoyed our evening.
The highlight for me was presenting President John with his individually designed certificate and pink tutu after his experience with cases and ladies pink clothing at conference (if you want the details you will have to ask him). He took it all in good fun and had us all laughing.
I am grateful to the club members of...
Nov 9, 2009 6:30 PM
Although a small group it was a meeting where there was a lot of conversation around the table. It was great to be back with a club that I visited many times in the past. I was grateful that people were attentive to my talk and shared similar thoughts to mine about polio and the work of Rotary. Also good was to hear about the club's fundraising activities and commitment to local causes.
It was so good to hear that the club is working with Oldbury Club to undertake projects such as the Santa...
Nov 9, 2009 12:30 PM
The annual Leverton Lunch was held at the Copthorne Hotel with guests of honour being the Lord Mayor and Mayoress and RIBI President David Fowler and his wife Daphne. Many clubs were represented at the lunch and all bar one of the Leverton Clubs. David Fowler gave a good history of Leverton and the Lord Mayor made a good link between Rotary and the City of Birmingham.
It was good to see so many people there to enjoy a lunch together. It was especially nice to see Past RIBI President Neill...
Nov 8, 2009 11:30 AM
I had visited the Disabled Sports on Saturday 7th November and enjoyed watching the swimming, darts, kurling and boccha to name a few. Sunday was the chance to spend the whole day there. My own club runs the Pitstop event so I joined in and helped with that event. It was great to see one of my fellow DGs taking part helping one of the teams taking part.
This is one of my favourite events of the year when you realise how fortunate you are and learn how those who face many more challenges than...
Nov 6, 2009 7:30 PM
The Tower Suite was the venue for a great Presidents' Night. It was lovely to see the Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs sharing the evening. Approximately 100 people were there which was a great number and there was a lot of good conversations around the tables. A very relaxed evening with entertainment provided by a local singer and a comedian. The event was also supported by people from other clubs which was great to see and Chrissy Dance, Inner Wheel District 6...
Nov 4, 2009 6:45 PM
The Trustees meeting took place first where the accounts were looked at and approved. Executive then followed. A long meeting but one which involved a lot of discussion around procedures and future policy.
The Executive is made up of a good team who are keen to serve and do what is right and who are always looking for improvements that need to be made. Meetings such as Executive might not be the most relaxing parts of Rotary but they are important to ensure such things as legal...
Nov 4, 2009 11:15 AM
Peter Ramage, Carolyn McLaughlin and I met with the GSE Team to find out what had gone well for them and what improvements we could make to our programme for future teams. The team were very grateful for the hospitality shown to them by Rotarians in our District and the places they have seen. They enjoyed themselves at conference and really appreciated the weekend away in Edinburgh.
There were some minor recommendations for improvements which we will take on board - it was very useful to...
Nov 3, 2009 7:30 PM
I was grateful to Warwick Avon Rotary Club for their kindness in allowing us to use their meeting as the Farewell Dinner for the GSE Team. A great crowd turned out to hear and see them and to wish them well on their return to New Zealand. They shared with us their final thoughts of their memories and a large number of photos of their visit.
We presented them with a small gift to take back with them and people took the opportunity to say their goodbyes individually with team members. Hosts...
Nov 2, 2009 7:30 PM
It was lovely to go with Paul to visit Solihull St. Alphege to attend their meeting where Miles Hilton-Barber was to be the speaker. I have heard him before and found him to be an inspirational speaker.
It was great to meet people again after conference and to see so many from Henley-in-Arden there on a scatter night as well as Peter Mayer, the area Assistant Governor. It is nice to walk into a room where you feel to be made so welcome by all in the club.
Miles did not disappoint. He is one...
