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.

Rotaract Coming to Hillingdon?

Really pleased last night with the positive response by the clubs in our "Zone" (aka London Borough of Hillingdon) to setting up a joint Rotaract club. Bigger turnout than expected and really positive attitude towards getting it done. Lots of good ideas and enthusiasm and a big thank you also to District Rotaract Chair Eleanor Cracknell and Rotaract Liaison Officer Mike Ware.

Pnner Panto Evening Tonight - Brrrrrr

Well, the weather's turned festive - hope all the good people of Pinner turn out tonight for the Pinner Panto Evening. I'll be there with Rotary colleagues from Pinner, thanks to the good offices of Baker Pearce we may even be able to keep warm as we seek to widen the knowledge of Rotary locally.

"A Rotary club gives us an opportunity that no social, political, or specialized business club can do. It is strong on the human side; it stands for the individual, unfetters them, appeals to their originality, brings out their latent powers, and puts them at their best by extending them the full measure of his confidence and appealing to the best that is in them — 'service not self.' ”
(From Glenn Mead - Rotary International President - January 1912 - and the message is just as strong almost 100 years later)

Moving Things Along

Very pleased with the way our local Rotary clubs are working together. We've supported each other on a number of occasions this year already - at Uxbridge's AutoShow, at Pinner'a Village Fair, at our combined Information Meeting in Eastcote in October and this month we'll be working together spreading the word at the Pinner Panto Evening and also meeting to discuss widening our Rotary family to younger people.

Great spirit of co-operation - we may be way out to the East of our District, but we're putting oursleves in the heart of our communities!

The Paperwork has Started!

Ah, it's started - the deluge of paperwork that will no doubt accompany my year as District Governor. The anonymously entitled Form H has arrived for my completion. Thoroughly intimidated by the boxes to be filled in - especially the ones asking for details of offices held in "Social & Civic Organisations" & "Business/Professional Organisations" - mmm - have they got the wrong person here?

On the plus side, I'm enormously grateful to all those nice people who've said they're pleased for me - thank you all for your kindness.