Faringdon Rotarian April 2017

April 2017

Faringdon Rotarian The newsletter of Faringdon & District Rotary Club

www.faringdonrotaryclub.co.uk @RotaryFaringdon

faringdon.rotary

‘The Rotary Club of Faringdon & District Trust Fund’ is a registered charity No: 1023771

Editor: Michael Bell

President’s Message Spring has sprung and I find myself planning for the last few months of this Rotary year. Where has the time gone? We have just enjoyed a wonderful weekend of fellowship at our District Conference in Bournemouth and could not fail to be inspired by some superb speakers and some thought provoking topics. But a highlight for me was the privilege of accepting an award for the Best Club Newsletter! Hearty and sincere thanks must go to Mike Bell who has put so much time and effort into producing such professional newsletters throughout the year. Well done and thank you Mike. Thank you to everyone who attended the Gangsters and Molls Ball on the Saturday night too - a tremendous effort was made to dress up and Faringdon Rotary certainly stood out!

Our Purple for Polio Crocuses have bloomed successfully in Clanfield, Shrivenham, Uffington, Fernham, Stanford in the Vale, Southmoor and Faringdon. They made a spectacular show and have been admired by many. I do hope you caught sight of them too.

Our first Dragon’s Den has received a dozen applications which have been whittled down and finishing touches are being put to an evening where successful applicants and club members can meet together over a drink and refreshments to get to know and understand more about each other. Each applicant will be asked to make a two minute pitch and all will go away with a cheque for their cause. This is a great opportunity to make Rotary more visible, to network and to help each other. I hope many of you will be able to attend the evening.

On the agenda now is our famous Duck Race at Millets Farm, and the Senior Citizen’s Tea Party which will have taken place by the time of publication. We have had a successful weekend selling ducks at the new Waitrose store in Faringdon and resume sales at Millets during April. A huge thank you is due to Sharon Gerry who has skilfully created a new Duck costume to replace the original one which has gone missing.

All these events give us an opportunity to spread the word and to explain what Rotary does, and to recruit new members. This has never been more important. Please encourage and engage new interest where you can.

Finally we have a new date for President’s Night - Friday 2nd June. Please put this date in your diary and I look forward to seeing many of you there. I am delighted that Paralympian Naomi Riches has agreed to be our guest for the evening. You may remember that Naomi successfully rowed the length of the Thames in September despite being partially sighted. She was a worthy recipient of a Paul Harris Fellowship at conference and a member of Henley Rotary Club.

Sarah

RotaKids Four New Members One of my tasks as Rotary President which gives me the most pleasure is inducting new RotaKids and watching them develop as such caring individuals.

On 3rd February I was delighted to induct four new members; Mia, Rafe, Xander and Tyler, to present them with their uniforms and certificates and to hear them take the RotaKids pledge. “As a RotaKid I promise to be fair to all, to serve my community and to show respect for others.”

Much needed books & stationery supplies for Grenada infants’ school RotaKids came up trumps again with all these supplies for Shaena and John to take to Paraclete Government School in Grenada. The school is for primary children and most of their books and other items were destroyed this summer by termites.

They didn't have a lot before but have even less now, so these items will be most welcome. The children were overwhelmed with the generous gifts and are keen to keep in touch.

Shaena & John

A New Leader Great news - we have a new leader! As you know we have been without a dedicated leader since Kealy moved away and I have done my best to take on that role. However I am delighted to announce that Linda Jones has now agreed to become our RotaKids leader.

Linda comes with bags of experience in teaching and community projects and is very enthusiastic about RotaKids and has many new ideas of how to take it forward.

I know you will give her the support that you have all given me, for which I would like to thank you. I will still be assisting each week when I can but I am happy that we have found someone to take the lead.

Bath Salts for Mum and some to sell On Friday 17th March RotaKids enjoyed having their new leader Linda showing them how to make bath salts. They made two jars each: one for their Mums with love on Mothers’ Day and the other for sale which raised over £30 for Comic Relief on Red Nose Day – 24th March.

Trailblazers Interact Our Trailblazers Interact Club members have been raising money to support the Dogs for Good charity and were very pleased to have a visit on Monday 27 February from two trainee dogs, Demi and Vernon. Demi and Vernon were accompanied by their trainers, Jenny and Sandra who explained how the dogs are trained. They are volunteers who take puppies and house-train them before further specific training is given.

Dogs for Good provide three services – Assistance Dog: training assistance dogs to support adults and children with physical disabilities and children with autism; Family Dog: providing advice and support to people on how their pet dog can benefit their whole family; Community Dog: training activity and therapy dogs and their specialist handlers to work in communities and schools.

Trailblazers have raised £150 so far and are planning a sponsored walk to increase their donations to this wonderful charity. www.dogsforgood.org

Nepal Curry Evening Janakalyan Primary School was destroyed in the Nepal earthquakes of April 2015. Since then the 97 students have been studying outside.

On Monday 30th January evening Faringdon Rotary held a Nepal Appeal evening at the Gulshan Brasserie in Shrivenham to raise funds to help rebuild the school. The result was over ÂŁ2,000 thanks to the generosity of all those who attended and of those who couldn't attend generously offering their donations.

The Gulshan Brasserie was full to capacity. A fantastic meal was cooked by the Gulshan team, who were joined for the evening by Man Rana, an ex Gurkha chef, who cooked a Nepalese Spicy Gurkha Chicken Curry. We also enjoyed the more usual Gulshan fare including Lamb Japur, Shabzi Sonali Patha etc.

After the meal Brigadier Ian Rigden of the Royal Gurkha Rifles gave us his personal experiences of the Barpak, Gorkha region of Nepal which was at the epicentre of the 2015 earthquakes which were amongst the most severe ever recorded. He was able to tell us what the funding from Rotary meant to the villagers of Koje which was totally destroyed and is being relocated some 5 miles away.

Our sincere thanks go to the hundred people who attended the evening as well as to many others who gave donations. Working with our partners, the Rotary Club of Kopundal in Kathmandu, Faringdon Rotary will ensure that the rebuilding of the school is completed as soon as possible.

Community Litter Pick Sunday A fun if slightly wet afternoon on Sunday 5th March was spent helping to make Faringdon look even more attractive! A great turnout from our satellite club the White Horse Rotary Group and some very small helpers who proved to be expert litter spotters!

PURPLE FOR POLIO In October last, Faringdon Rotary were busy planting crocus bulbs which bloomed in March in Faringdon, Clanfield, Fernham, Shrivenham and Uffington to raise awareness of the work Rotary is doing to eradicate polio.

With eradication now closer than ever, Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland’s latest campaign, Purple4Polio, is designed to unite communities to engage in activities as part of the final push to eradicate polio for good.

The purple crocus is a symbol of Rotary’s worldwide polio eradication campaign with its colour representing the purple dye used to mark the finger of a child who has been immunised.

Support for the Children On 23rd February David, accompanied by Mike Bell presented cheques to the Baby and Toddler Group and the Faringdon Pre-School. Both organisations were delighted with the support Rotary had provided and sent thanks to the club.

We’re locked in!

Locked in

It seemed a good idea to leave our cars parked at Faringdon United Church while we walked down to Faringdon Pre-School.

However: upon returning!

Do you know of a young adult aged between 18 and 25 who might be interested in taking part in our Rotary Youth Leadership Award? Faringdon Rotary have sponsored one or two participants for the past few years who have returned full of confidence having had an amazing and fun experience. If you know of someone who would like to benefit, please contact Tim Cowling now.

District Conference – a Rotary Scholar’s Perspective Possibly the largest event on the calendar for the Rotary Scholars of District 1090 this year, was the annual conference in Bournemouth from the 24th to the 26th of March. Since our last gathering at Henley, this was the first time many of the Scholars had seen each other again, and we were all looking forward to the weekend’s events.

After checking in, my excellent host councillor, Douglas, and I headed out for the first session of the weekend. We were all warmly welcomed by the District Governor, and following the introductory talks we were dismissed for the evening and left to our own devices.

My personal highlight of the weekend came that evening as Douglas and I met up with the rest of the Faringdon club delegates for dinner.

The food and drinks were exceptional, but the company and conversation even better. I have it on very good authority that I lucked out in having Faringdon as my host club, and Friday evening proved that to be true!

The following morning it was show time for the scholars. Bright and early, at 9am sharp, we took to the stage to let the district know a bit more about who we are, and the type of work they are supporting through us. Despite having spent time with several scholars over the last few months, I always enjoy hearing some more about their diverse backgrounds and study interests. I believe the presentation was well received, and know for a fact that the scholars enjoyed the opportunity to engage with the district in this way.

During the remainder of the day we heard more about the good work that Rotary is doing in the world, which included my favourite presentation of the conference. During the second Rotary Foundation timeslot, Rotary Peace Fellow, Will McInerney, both entertained and educated the delegates with his thought provoking spoken-word poetry.

Saturday night was the “Gangsters and Molls” themed dinner-dance. The scholars were all thoroughly wined and dined by wonderful Rotarians, and then the live band got into full swing! Within seconds of the first note played, the dance floor was teeming with dancing delegates! I think the scholars learnt a thing or two that evening about how a party really should be enjoyed.

As the conference wound down on Sunday, there was one more pleasant surprise on the way, as Faringdon’s newsletter was recognised as the best in the district.

Overall, I am deeply thankful to have been given the opportunity to attend Rotary District 1090’s annual conference, and look forward to what the rest of the year holds for me as part of Rotary as a whole, and Faringdon in particular.

... and finally: some professional pictures showing President Sarah at Conference – not half!

Congratulations to the Winners The winners of the 2017 competitions have been announced, the judges commenting that the standard of entries was very high showing great creativity. The quality of the entries gave the judges a difficult time in coming to decisions: but finally, decisions were made.

Young Photographer Winners: The result of all three age groups was a clean sweep for the Sharp family: Marshall (Senior), Temperence (Intermediate) and Phoenyx (Junior).

Young Writer Winners: Maddie Fletcher and Elodie Galliford (Intermediate) and Mabry Williams (Junior). There was no entry for the senior category. The joint winners for the Intermediate category were unusual, since their story, based on the theme “Reflections�, was written in two parts, each writing a part. All three authors are RotaKids members and resulted from Club sessions on photography and writing: another success for Rotakids.

The whole competition included free workshops for each age group in both competitions, a period of preparation and submission of entries. Now, the winners’ entries will go forward to the D1090 heat and hopefully on to the Rotary National Final.

A prize-giving ceremony is planned for early May. It is the intention of the Rotary Club to develop the competitions in 2018 with the target of getting more entries. The workshops were very well attended with over two dozen children, but the proportion submitting entries was much less. The entrants and their parents all supported the essence of the competition but more encouragement is needed in the future.

The Youth Services Committee expresses its thanks to all Rotarians and friends of Rotary who contributed time and support for the Competitions. Without those essential manhours there would be no competition or enthusiastic young citizens.

Paul Rogers

Senior Citizens’ Party Faringdon Community College; normally a place for the under 20s, became the place to be on Saturday afternoon if you were over 65.

Over one hundred gathered for the annual Rotary Senior Citizens Tea Party. This annual event is something we have been hosting for many years and many agreed that this year was one of the very best. The guests enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea and were entertained by Peter and Fiona, a very versatile duo who hit the right notes with songs from the 60s: hit numbers everyone could sing and dance to. We had rock ‘n’ roll, country & western, slow waltzes and some brave souls were Line Dancing to a great Country number.

This was an afternoon enjoyed by everyone. In conclusion was the traditional raffle and some 50 folk went home with an Easter egg, a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine. As the guests made their way to the transports taking them home there were smiles and happy chatter all round.

Shaena

Many thanks to all who contributed to this edition. Ed.

Publication

The Faringdon Rotarian February 2017 The Faringdon Rotarian November 2016 The Faringdon Rotarian August 2016 The Faringdon Rotarian June 2016 The Faringdon Rotarian April 2016 The Faringdon Rotarian February 2016 The Faringdon Rotarian December 2015 The Faringdon Rotarian September 2015 The Faringdon Rotarian July 2015 The Rotarian Newsletter – Conference Special March 3rd – 6th 2015 The Rotarian Newsletter December 2014 – January 2015 The Rotarian Newsletter September - November 2014 The Rotarian Newsletter July – August 201 The Rotarian Newsletter May – June 2014 The Rotarian Newsletter Feb – Mar - April 2014 The Rotarian Newsletter December – January 2014 The Rotarian Newsletter September – November 2013

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