October
11th – AGM
This was a Business meeting and AGM held at the Fleur. After the usual AGM business we discussed Rotary Youth Speaks which will be held on January 27th. The local schools are very interested and supportive and plan to enter a number of teams between them.
We also discussed our social programme which is shaping up well with a Pizza meal in a local restaurant in October, and hopefully skittles in November. Plans are also in hand for our Christmas festivities.
25th – Meeting
We met in the Fleur restaurant and had the particular satisfaction of inducting Stephen Uden as a member. We will have to take care not to confuse him with Steve Uden who is also a member.
We had some items of urgent business to transact including donations to a local school and to our local Women’s Refuge.
We than had a speaker, namely Paul Slimm one of our own members. Paul was interviewed by Martin Sayers – another member – about his nautical adventure with two friends in which he sailed east from Chichester to pass anticlockwise around Britain. Well not quite all of it because he passed through the Caledonian canal and down to the east of Ireland. He and his sailing companions covered more than 2000 miles over three months and have currently raised some £2.5K for prostate cancer. The figure is still rising and further donations may be made through www.bluemoonsailingaround.uk/ then follow link to donations. We heard about comical puffins, heavy seas and engine failures as well as the hazards and hardships of life in a small boat – oh and the pleasures too.
Pizza Night
Is life getting back to normal? It certainly felt like it when 18 Rotary members and partners – three sociable tables of six, went to the Ristorante Da Massimo (the Buffalo Inn, Gillingham ) for Pizza and Pasta. For 2 hours the past 18/19 months were all but forgotten as the 20inch Pizza and large bowls of Pasta kept on coming. I did see a number of doggy bags at the end of the evening, a great time had by all, one to be repeated.
Reminiscing
October 6th, 2019 – Twinning Meal
Since 2001 the Rotary Clubs of Shaftesbury and Heerlen of The Netherlands have met alternatively, hosting fellow Rotarians in their homes. This year was the turn of Shaftesbury to host their Dutch Guests.
After a night’s rest, the weekend ‘kicked off’ with a trip to The Somerset Cider Brandy Company, where our host Julian Temperley gave us an interesting insight into the history of cider brandy, together with tasting his cider wines, aperitifs and cider brandy.
After generous measures and a very entertaining morning, we then headed up to the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton to complete the first day.
Sunday was a more relaxing day heading up to Hauser and Wirth in Bruton followed by a trip to Godminster Cheese Shop. The guests and hosts were able to enjoy Sunday afternoon at their leisure.
It was another successful weekend with our Dutch partners, where the bond between Clubs has grown stronger, year by year. This was accentuated by Lucienne Speth, Heerlen’s President when she made a very poignant speech to both clubs at their Dinner on the Sunday Evening. In her speech she highlighted:
“Being the president of our Rotary club Heerlen Land van Rode this year I had 3 C’s as my theme:
1. to Continue the refreshing course our former president John Scheeren had started. He let his sun made the design of our new vane, little flag, which I am going to hand to Winny, your President, and treasurer, who very kindly drove us to the cider brandy company and the Royal National Airforce museum and who, as we discovered worked at the RNAS.
2. to Connect, the theme of our international president Mallony, which we are actually doing at this time, performing the international avenue, one of our 5 Rotary avenues, and building better friendship, the third question of the four-way test.
3. to Care for each other is my third C, being a paediatric rehabilitation physician, it’s my everyday work. But I am worrying about a possible Brexit and its consequences. We heard yesterday form the cider farmer about his export problems and the regulation problems, which would lead to more dependency of the USA.
Let us treasure our Europe with its different countries, cultures, norms and values! Whether Brexit will proceed or not, let us Care for each other and stay Connected and Continue in being partner clubs! Answering the question of Bharti Kher: these things do really matter to my opinion!”
Guests and hosts parted company on the Monday morning as they caught the train and headed to London to catch the Eurostar. We now look forward to next year’s trip to Heerlen.
If you would like to know more about Rotary, or interested in joining then please look at our website www.shafteburyrotaryclub.org and get in contact.
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