Club Visits since July 1 20
Rotary Engagements since July 1 52
Official Club Visits with Chicken since July 1 1 !!
Been a whirlwind week this week. With Joan off with our younger daughter Emma
and our grandson Edward to the Isle of Wight Monday – Friday I took the
opportunity to limit the number of times I had to cook for myself to zero for
the week by cramming in club visits on every day.
Started my whirlwind tour with lunch At RC Loddon
Vale. Much talk at lunchtime (and quite
rightly!) of their 40th Charter celebration at the end of September,
shared with the visit of their twin club from Hamburg. President Norman Moulsley is proud to be one
of the founder members of the club.
After lunch the plan was that Past RIBI President &
I, accompanied by fellow Loddon Vale club member Martin Boyles, would take in a
few holes of Sonning Golf Club. All of
which started brilliantly for about 2 holes before the rain started and a
further 3 before the torrential downpour left standing water across the course
and us as three drowned rats! Good
company & to be continued in less inclement weather sometime.
Dinner followed at RC Newbury, featuring, for the first
time, CHICKEN on the menu. So that broke
the chicken duck! We like the club’s
Donnington Valley venue a lot – I held our District team event there a couple
of weeks ago and we’re back there in October for a District Executive meeting. President Will will be leading the club on a
Pounds for Polio collection at Newbury races ion Friday 16th (I
know, any excuse to be off at the races….).
No pictures – left the camera in the car – bad DG!
Tuesday with RC Banbury Cherwell. A joyous evening celebrating the club’s
Broughton Castle cycle event (see Week 2 for the event itself). Exceeding the expectations of the club’s
fundraising target, it pulled together so many community groups
just brilliantly. A fabulous start to
President Jennette’s year. And a
well-earned Paul Harris Fellowship for Tony Carney who masterminded the event.
Wednesday and a good long hike out to RC Wantage –
actually I thought on the way there that it’s good to get some of the further
destinations done while the weather’s
good – it’s about a 120 mile round trip – longish way for lunch, but worth
it. Hosted for the meeting by
President-Elect Bill in the absence on holiday of President Keith. Great club who hide their light too well –
their sponsored young people from Sweatbox Union won a RIBI Young Citiznes
award in Harrogate this year.
Thursday lunch out at RC Didcot – actually most of the
same journey as the previous day to Wantage.
President Keith in charge this year – a club that has made great strides
in regenerating itself with 8 new members in the previous two years. Good fun club with a solid base for their
fundarising and community service.
And then to Reading Abbey for dinner, with President
Steve presiding (well of course he would be!) over a suitably unruly mob (just
a group of regular Rotarians then. Thriving
membership, great community spirit (and of course two of my indispensable
conference committee!).
Sadly, interspersed in the general merriment and great
Rotary fellowship I had to attend two services for Rotarians who have
died. Brian Webb from High Wycombe and
Bob Kevan from Bourne End & Cookham will be remembered by all of us as great
examples of our Association.
Saturday morning saw me off to 6 York Gate, VERY
prestigious address by Regent’s Park and HQ of the London District 1130, for a
workshop on social media and branding (I skipped the bit in the afternoon to go
and see Watford FC beat Bournemouth 6-1).
Great discussion and good to see advance copy of the new Rotary logo and
website – due out this week. Thanks to
Mike Thorn and Stewart Gilbert for giving their time to lead the workshop.
And now it’s Sunday and I’m off to Rotary International in
Britain & Ireland at Alcester for my first meeting of the 2013-2014 General
Council (leadership team). More on that
next week – the meeting runs into Monday as well.
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