March 2010
Mar 31, 2010 8:45 AM
I managed to find my way to the Friary School for the Interact Club Meeting without my satnav (which seems to be somewhere but unfortunately not somewhere I can remember at the moment). I arrived in plenty of time and waited in the reception area with 2 poor souls who were there for an interview and obviously trying to pass friendly conversation between themselves (always interesting when you know there are only 2 of you for 1 job!). I was joined by 2 Rotarians and the Assistant...
Mar 30, 2010 7:30 PM
A nice restaurant (La Brasserie) in Kidderminster seated 82 of us for the Rotary Club of Kidderminster's President's Night. It was good to see other clubs represented including Stourport, Solihull St. Alphege, Bewdley, Birmingham Breakfast and Paul's and my clubs. A lovely meal was provided and good friendship was obvious around the room. While we had our meal 2 magicians came around the tables to entertain us - none of us know where the one managed to hide 2 onions!
The club ...
Mar 29, 2010 6:00 PM
A nice short journey to Tamworth from work meant I was able to get there on time for the meeting. A couple of prospective members were there to hear me give a brief talk on Rotary followed by club members talking about the projects the club is involved with itself. They probably wished the Indian Consul had managed to come rather than listening to me but it was a relaxed evening.
I am learning how to write speeches at very short notice. I had remembered that I was going to say a...
Mar 28, 2010 11:00 AM
A lovely day meant a pretty and lovely drive to Chipping Campden for the Regional Youth Speaks Final in which our District had a team in both the intermediate and senior competitions. Admittedly, it took a little time to find the Baptist Church (we ended up cutting through the Manse garden to get to it) but it was certainly worth getting there.
The intermediate competition was held first and I have to say the standard was superb. All 4 teams did a brilliant job (glad I wasn't the...
Mar 27, 2010 10:45 AM
Incoming Club Presidents and others came to the Metropole Hotel to hear the incoming RI President Ray Klinginsmith. He had a relaxed approach and shared his vision for next year in a way that was easy to follow. There was a good number of incoming Presidents there to hear him as well as all those District Officers who were attending the RIBI Assembly.
The District Officers then went off for their training sessions and incoming Presidents stayed together to hear input from all of the resource...
Mar 25, 2010 7:00 PM
Dreadful rain meant many of us were a little damp as we entered the West Midlands Golf Club for the meeting. It was good to see so many people there. Having just had our Rotary Council Meeting the night before it was interesting to see the differences.
I thought having a meal at the meeting gave it a nice relaxed atmosphere and allowed people to catch up with the members of their club (remember Inner Wheel clubs only have monthly meetings) and to get to know a few more Inner Wheelers...
Mar 24, 2010 7:00 PM
Several District Officers helped to prepare the Arden School for the Council Meeting by helping set up the room, serving refreshments and doing the car parking - I am really grateful to them all for their help.
Whilst business was carried out it was also encouragng to see how many projects we are presently undertaking for children. The meeting also gave me a chance to learn how much our clubs raised during the Thanks for Life week - from a total of 42 clubs with details...
Mar 23, 2010 7:45 PM
I managed to get through the traffic to get to St. Andrew's House on time for the North Worcestershire Rotary Club Meeting. It was nice to see partners there and to catch up with some members who I have not seen for a while.
As usual the food was good and the company was lovely. I was very well looked after. The speaker for the evening was the recently chosen Conservative candidate for Bromsgrove. It proved an interesting evening with an introduction to him and his views. He was asked...
Mar 22, 2010 7:30 PM
A lovely evening was spent with the members of Solihull St. Alphege, their wives and guests at their President's Night. I sat with a visiting Rotarian and his wife from Rochester who are hoping to move up here.
It was a lovely evening with good food and good company. Each lady had a great gift and a lot of good humour was evident around the tables. Our entertainment for the evening was Lizzie Wiggins, the Duchess of Dudley. She kept everybody laughing for the whole hour and a quarter that...
Mar 21, 2010 5:30 PM
Yet again we had a fantastic evening with Chrissy and Eric Dance. It was a real treat to go and have dinner at their house with them. We had such a relaxed evening even when there was Rotary and Inner Wheel business to discuss.
We managed to keep the business to a minimum and just enjoy our shared experiences over a lovely meal. There was a great deal of laughter over the evening and before we knew it it was time to head off home. It is always a sign of a good evening to me if the hours...
Mar 20, 2010 8:00 PM
This was a chance to dress up in a ballgown but not be on duty at any point in the evening, There was no need to wear the District Governor's chain - it would never have competed with the large number of mayorial chains on display!
The event was held at the National Motorcycle Museum and as usual their catering was great. The food was lovely and the atmosphere good. The event had a large emphasis on raising money for Macmillan Nurses which it certainly did. There were several...
Mar 20, 2010 1:30 PM
It was good to get to West Bromwich Albion's football ground early to help West Bromwich Rotary Club with its bucket collection. The rain got worse when we were inside the ground which meant we were dry but the same can't be said for those coming through the turnstiles later.
Fifteen of us were spread around the entrances with our tabards on and armed with buckets to take any spare change off of the fans as they came through the turnstiles. Bill and I took part of the East Stand and...
Mar 19, 2010 7:45 PM
Although it was a dreadful night weatherwise as we drove over to Rugby it was certainly sunny and warm inside the Benn Hall. The decorations looked great - both the tables with their beautiful flower displays and the Hall itself with hands displayed around it to fit in with the Rotary theme and there were reminders of the three clubs chosen charities and our polio campaign.
Paul and I were hosted for the evening by the members of Rugby Saturday Breakfast Rotary Club. We certainly...
Mar 18, 2010 8:00 PM
This meeting certainly brought back memories of many years ago when I was in Rotaract. It was great to see a couple of new people there who had found the club on the internet and decided to come and see what it was like. The group were very welcoming and certainly were working hard after the main part of the meeting to draw the prospective members into the club's activities.
The club has a full social diary as well as several regular commitments to community groups which would put some...
Mar 15, 2010 8:00 PM
As I had been unable to attend John Fraser's funeral I had wanted to go and visit his club and tonight was my chance. A nice drive over to the Fox Inn near Kinver was followed by a great meeting. Ryoko Abe, one of our Japanese Scholars, spoke and we were joined by another 7 or 8 from Pershore Club. A prospective member came as well.
A really nice atmosphere filled the room all night as the banter spread across the tables. A fair amount of fining took place but all was good...
Mar 13, 2010 7:30 PM
This was an evening that was unforgettable and exceedingly entertaining. It was great to see 4 other club Presidents there and another couple of clubs represented as well as the Mayor. The venue was great, the food good and we were well looked after.
It is always difficult to know how to make your speeches different for such occasions so this time I used the titles of songs from the year of the club's formation (1978). At least it kept people listening as they tried to see how many...
Mar 13, 2010 11:00 AM
I drove across to University College Birmingham for the Young Chef regional final (hosted by District 1210) having left PEPs early. We had 2 competitors who were up against 6 other youngsters from 3 other Districts.
We saw them taken away to the kitchens for 2 hours and settled down to wait for their return. Rotarians from the 4 regions (including representatives from Rugby Saturday Breakfast and Bromsgrove) and 3 of the District Governors were there. IPDG Peter Smith joined...
Mar 13, 2010 9:00 AM
The Arden Hotel was the venue for the PEPs meeting for incoming Presidents. I was not able to stay long as I had another event to go to but I was able to mingle with people beforehand which is always enjoyable and stay for the opening plenary session where David Butler shared his foci and the RI theme and message.
A good number of incoming Presidents attended as well as District Officers. The theme for next year is Building Communities, Bridging Continents. David shared his chosen...
Mar 12, 2010 6:00 PM
Some events give you great enjoyment and hope and the Youth Speaks event tonight is one of those. It was great to see so many teams participating in the competition (a reflection of the hard work of clubs around District to get schools involved) and many Rotarians alongside teachers and parents there to encourage the teams.
A wide range of topics were delivered. Many were thought provoking and it was great to hear our youth having such informed opinions. They made us laugh and think and...
Mar 11, 2010 5:30 PM
An accident on the motorway did not make the journey to Kings Coughton easy but I met with a few District Governors and a few DGEs (including our own David Butler) to reflect on the Thanks for Life week.
We reviewed the types of events, the materials, the National Immunisation Days, the impact on membership, the windows of opportunities, school participation etc. We were looking for both positive achievements and lessons to be learned so that as the project continues clubs and...
Mar 8, 2010 6:00 PM
A few new and younger Rotarians met together to discuss what made them join Rotary and how we might make it attractive to younger people (without losing our appeal to other age groups). We had a Rotaractor there as well to give us a perspective of someone who knows Rotary but may not join. No magic solutions were created but we are going to ask a group of ex Rotaractors who are still around what would encourage them to join Rotary and see what can be done to make it appealing to them to do...
Mar 7, 2010 3:00 PM
A pleasant drive to Fentham Hall resulted in a lovely organ concert. I have only ever been in the small room before so was pleasantly surprised to see a large hall with a stage and the place already full when I got there. Friends from Halesowen and Rowley Regis and Yardley and Sheldon Rotary Clubs also came as well as Chrissy (Inner Wheel Chairman)and Eric Dance. We made a group of almost 30.
The organ came up from under the floor of the stage and we were entertained for...
Mar 6, 2010 7:30 PM
Paul and I had a lovely relaxing evening at Hagley Community Centre with the Stourbridge Rotary Club. Approximately 100 people came to listen to a superb trio of musicians and singer. All of them were great musicians independently and as a group were superb.
The songs got your feet tapping most of the night and people were singing along as well. A fish and chip supper was much appreciated. We were well hosted by the Rotarians on our table and had a great evening. We look forward to attending...
Mar 5, 2010 7:30 PM
Henley in Arden Golf Club was the venue for the Race Night. The room was full and people were certainly there to enjoy themselves. The organiser of the races was a great guy who entertained all evening and certainly had us all laughing and smiling most of the evening.
I am not sure if I can say that I had a successful evening as I lost money on races and whenever I owned a horse it seemed to fall or come in last. Mind you Paul seemed to choose the horse that led the race until the last few...
Mar 4, 2010 7:15 PM
I managed to not get lost tonight and found the venue easily for a change. Both of our Ambassadorial Scholars gave a talk to the club members and their guests giving insight into Japan and what they have learnt about our culture and country. They also told us about their studies and future intentions.
The club had several guests and partners come for the evening which was great as it gave the students a good sized audience to speak to and gave a great feeling of fellowship in the venue.
The...
Mar 2, 2010 5:15 PM
As RYLA approaches it was useful to have a meeting to talk through where we are regarding funding, numbers participating and the organisation of the events. It was great to hear that we have more volunteer helmsmen which takes the pressure off those who have previously had to cover many weeks.
The UK RYLA is planned to include a Young Carer (who has become a Carer because they have turned 18) on each trip and with the great support of clubs what looked like being one week of the UK...
Mar 2, 2010 2:45 PM
It was good to support the Henley in Arden Rotarians as they attended the funeral of their member Denis Cox. As he had a small family it was especially good that his Rotary friends were there. It was great to hear a minister speak about someone he knew with such warmth as did one of Denis' friends.
The family were grateful for the attendance of his Rotary friends and conversation continued at Wootton Hall where friends, family and fellow Rotarians mixed and shared their memories of Denis....
Mar 1, 2010 7:30 PM
Although only a couple of days since I last saw the Solihull St. Alphege Rotary Club members at their Boxing Evening I took the opportunity (with Paul) to go and hear a group of them talk about their trip to South Africa. You always get a great welcome at the club and tonight was no different. 6 members from Solihull Club also came along for the evening.
The party of 6 who went on the trip shared the history of the Wheelchair Foundation, details of the wheelchair donations...
