December 2009
Dec 28, 2009 7:00 PM
Paul and I took Asca (Ambassadorial Scholar) to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry to see its production of the Beauty and the Beast Pantomime. As usual it was a great production with great costumes and all the features you would expect to see in a pantomime. Asca took to it easily and seemed to enjoy the evening. At least she did not demand much explanation of the structures of pantomime (explaining women dressed as men and vice versa gets so complicated sometimes!).
We all joined in...
Dec 27, 2009 12:15 PM
A nice sunny day welcomed me as I joined the Edgbaston Rotarians at the toll bridge over the River Thames near Eynsham. The club has 2 days of collecting the toll and charitable donations from those crossing the bridge at Christmas. I had enjoyed helping out when Assistant Governor for the club and so was delighted to come back and help this year. It is usual to do half hour stints of standing in the toll booth holding out buckets for the toll (5p) or more generous donations to be...
Dec 21, 2009 11:00 AM
We took Hana and Niki (from the Czech Republic) and Asca and Maiko (2 Ambassadorial Scholars) to St. David's on the Pembrokeshire Coast for a couple of days. A lovely Landmark Trust property became our home for our time there with the most fantastic view over St. David's Cathedral. It was incredibly icy which made the walk down to the Cathedral lethal and quite amusing to watch us sliding down and trying to find sloping grass verges to walk on to keep upright for a short period. We went to...
Dec 19, 2009 9:00 AM
A lovely annual event which is always relaxed and a lot of fun even if it means another Saturday without a lie in. We took Asca, an ambassadorial scholar, and our two girls from the Czech Republic along with us which they enjoyed as they could have the type of breakfast I hardly ever provide!
Around 80 people were there which gave it a great feel and the university put on a great spread for breakfast as usual. We were also visited by Elvis (aka Terry Lewins) who did...
Dec 18, 2009 6:00 PM
A much colder night this time never getting above freezing. We seemed to hit the same problem of Round Table hitting some of the streets a few days before us but we still did well and children were still keen to see Santa.
It is great when members of the different clubs in Coventry come together and work on a project that sees them having fun together whilst raising money for 2 of our favourite causes - Air Ambulance and Myton Hospice. All 5 Rotary Clubs were represented tonight and we...
Dec 17, 2009 7:30 PM
A lovely venue was the place of Lichfield Rotary Club's Christmas Dinner. The Oak Barn was very pleasant and the food was lovely. Although it was cold outside and some came through snow on the way a warm welcome from President Peter was there to great us. It was good to see Rotarians and their partners and friends with them all relaxing and enjoying a great evening together.
A couple of humourous readings were a great start to the entertainment and then we were sung to by a...
Dec 15, 2009 6:00 PM
It was lovely to help my own club and the others of Coventry with the Santa Sleigh around some of the streets in Coventry. At least it was not raining and it wasn't too cold. I looked daft in the Santa hat with pig tails but one has to join in with the spirit of the thing. It didn't help that Round Table had been around a few of the streets the night before but, fortunately, most were ok.
At least it helps keep the weight off as you wander around the streets for 2 hours knocking on...
Dec 14, 2009 7:20 PM
We have been made so welcome by the members of Arbury Rotary Club and tonight was no exception. Over 80 people attended their Christmas meal at the Weston Hall Hotel. It was nice to see David and Bernice Robinson there as well.
The food was lovely and was served up very hot which meant it was still hot by the time everyone got their vegetables. The hotel served us well and the meal was got through pretty quickly.
After the interval we were entertained by the Fillongley Hand Bell Ringers not...
Dec 13, 2009 7:30 PM
It was lovely to relax with my own Inner Wheel and Rotary Clubs for a Christmas meal after the carol service. We took one of our Ambassadorial Scholars with us. The meal was lovely and it was just great to relax amongst friends. I was surprised when my club presented me with a lovely plate (from Rugby Club's collection) commemorating this year as District Governor - I am very grateful and will find somewhere to hang it up in the house.
All in all a great day as a preparation for...
Dec 13, 2009 4:00 PM
Although a wet and cold afternoon many people turned out for the Carol Service at Holy Trinity Church, Coventry. My thanks go to Peter Isherwood for organising the event on our behalf. We had carols sang by the choir and others by the congregation. The choir certainly produced a lovely sound. The readings were designed to tell the nativity story from different characters perspective.
A few Inner Wheel members of my own club helped to prepare the room for refreshments as well as serve...
Dec 12, 2009 9:30 AM
A Saturday morning when people might have been thinking of completing their Christmas shopping a group of 22 people came to the Arden Hotel for the Health & Safety and Protection Seminar. An important area for clubs and one with serious consequences if not done correctly.There were plenty of questions and I certainly have things to take back to my own club as a result which I always think is the purpose of seminars.
Accident books, risk assessments, the different types of abuse, how...
Dec 10, 2009 5:30 PM
A sleigh on a co-op van was ready with Santa in place - all we needed was the school's students to arrive to help with the collection. They were a group who are going to climb Kilimanjaro in July so this was part of their training. We set off in what was actually quite mild weather and spent 3 hours knocking on doors trying to get money out of people. Some people had obviously been saving up for it and came out with lots of change. I had one person come with her pockets full of...
Dec 8, 2009 7:30 PM
A lovely evening awaited those who came to the Rugby Methodist Centre for the carol service. The three Rugby Rotary Clubs and 2 Inner Wheel clubs had their annual carol service. They also bought some people from the blind club as well.
The service was a traditional service of carols and readings. It was great to have the carols up on the screen so we could all sing enthusiastically. It was a lovely service and gave us all the time to enjoy our preparation for Christmas.
It ws lovely...
Dec 7, 2009 1:00 PM
A lovely lunch was served up at Drayton Manor Park for the Tamworth Club Christmas lunch. Good company and food made it a great time. The event was made even better by the choir from a local Primary School that came to sing for us. They sang beautifully and were so enthusiastic. All of them looked like they were really enjoying themselves and they certainy made all of us smile and we all really enjoyed their contribution. It might have been wet and damp outside but there was a warm glow and...
Dec 5, 2009 7:30 PM
A glass of mulled wine and a mince pie was available for those who arrived at St. Thomas' Church before the concert began - a nice start. The concert was well attended and was a beautiful occasion. There was a real mixture of choirs, soloists, handbells, a pianist and a youth choir. The variety kept your interest and by the end you were certainly feeling 'Christmassy' if you weren't before you came.
The high spot for me was to listen to the youth choir called Stream of Sound who...
Dec 4, 2009 7:30 PM
After a very busy day it was lovely to drive over with Paul to Shipston to visit their Christmas Fayre in the town centre. The first thing that struck me (apart from when could we move here?) was the prominence of Rotary. Well done to the Rotary Club that had placed big banners and displays on the stage that could not be missed by anyone and also had several stalls themselves. You could not fail to notice what a difference Rotary is making to this community.
It was great to...
Dec 3, 2009 7:00 PM
The journey from work to the Council Meeting was rather stressful as the traffic was awful. I was very grateful to Solihull St. Alphege for getting the room set up and ensuring we had drinks on arrival.
We did manage to get through the business quite quickly - covering elections, budget and Thanks for Life. It was good to have Chrissy Dance, Inner Wheel Chairman with us, our outgoing GSE Team and our Ambassadorial Scholar for 2010/11.
We followed the meeting with a brief discussion around...
