Service Above Self!!

Incredibly proud of the members of the Rotary clubs in our "zone" - truly living up to the Service Above Self motto of our great organisation. These last couple of weeks our intrepid colleagues have been braving the weather to stand outside supermarkets and trail round the streets with a Santa float.

To me, doing this turns out to be a Win, Win Win. Seeing the wonder and joy on the faces of little kids brought out to see Santa (and bigger ones too) would be worth it on its own, but we collect hundreds, nay, thousands of £s for good causes (Post Xmas Update - Pinner & Elthorne-Hillingdon collected £7,500 between them for their charitable causes!!) . Oh, and just to cap it all, it's tremendous fun and excellent exercise!!

Well done all and a Merry Xmas & Happy New Year to all.

Believe in good service - it still exists!

No idea whether Ackerman are Rotarians, but they certainly follow the 4way Test! Edward (my grandson, 6) was given a Colour by Numbers set which transpired to have a wrong coloured pencil in it, clearly a QA fault, but sadly not to his liking! I followed up by letting Ackerman know of the deficiency and they're a) sending him somthing by way of apology and b) taking it up with their suppliers. Kind of restores your faith in human nature really. Well done!!

Hats Off to Young Public Speakers!

Last night (Thursday 2 December) the Combined Rotary clubs of Hillingdon (Elthorne-Hillingdon, Pinner, Ruislip-Northwood & Uxbridge) hosted the local rounds of the Intermediate and Senior Sections of Rotary's Youth Speaks at Swakeleys School, competing for a place in a further round in the New Year. Teams from Douay Martyrs, St Helens, & Vyners schools contested the Intermediate section and from Douay Martyrs, Swakeleys and Uxbridge College the Seniors.

Presenting the prizes, Deputy Mayor Cllr Mary O'Connor (MBE), warmly congratulated all the students participating and stressed the importance of confidence in public speaking for their futures. Both sections were tightly contested, with the winners emerging as St. Helens "A" in the Intermediate section for their views on "Happiness" and Uxbridge College again triumphed in the Senior section with their provoking "Guns don't kill people, Rappers Do". We wish them well as they move on to wider opposition.

In the UK, "Youth Speaks" is Rotary's jewel in the crown for young people to gain confidence & progress in their abilities to deliver arguments persuasively and with assurance. For information go to www.hillingdonrotary.org.uk.