Rochester Rotary Club News Letter 09
President Felicity Osborne
IPP Ted Baker inducted Felicity Osborne as President of Rochester Rotary Club in June 2009.
Following on from that Felicity inducted David Howells as 1st Vice President and John Hutcheon as 2nd Vice President.
Felicity Osborne then presented Ted with the Past Presidents Insignia.
GETTING TO KNOW FELICITY OSBORNE
What books are you currently reading? The White Tiger. By Aravind Adiga
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What is your favourite board game? Monopoly
What is the worst feeling in the world? Loneliness
What is the first thing you do in the morning? A. Let the Dog out. B. Have a Coffee and start Times “2” Crossword.
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What are the two most important things in your life? My Family and living life to the full
Is there a stuffed animal in your bedroom? No. Sometimes I think there is!!
What are your favourite foods? Prawns in anything
What was your first car? Mini
What is your favourite alcoholic drink? A. Pinot Grigio B. Snowball
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be? The one I have
Is the glass half empty or half full? Full
What is your favourite TV programme? A. Nature B. Geography C News D. Biography
What are your favourite films? A. Titanic B Duchess
What are your favourite songs? A. Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh. B. Zadoc the Priest. Choral
What’s in your garage? My two elder Sons Belongings
What is your favourite sport to watch or play? Tennis
What do you most enjoy doing? Playing Bridge, Painting, Gardening and Socialising in no particular order.
On Tuesday 17th March Rochester Inner Wheel celebrated their 75th Anniversary.
President Felicity cut the cake with District Chairman Sheila Cragg “above” who presented Felicity with a certificate from Myrtle Buchanan on behalf of the Governing Body.
David Brake acting on behalf of President Ted Baker of Rochester Rotary also presented Felicity with a certificate from the Rotarians. A Red Rose was also presented
to each member of the Inner Wheel from the members of Rochester Rotary.
As part of the celebrations an Antiques Road Show and Tea Party was organised and was attended by over 140 persons. David Sandon gave a talk about Antiques and his onnection with the BBC programme “Antiques Road Show.” During and after the tea both he and Jason Hunt were available to give valuations on articles brought in by the guests.
In January of this year a certificate was presented to PP Grace Smith at the International meeting commemorating her service to Inner Wheel and during the celebrations
PP Betty Selfe was presented with a certificate for service to the Inner Wheel since 1953.
Confucius
Sunday lunchtime on April 6th saw Rotarians and guests at Ming’s restaurant “Confucius” for a lunch organised by Ashley Davis to raise money for “Shelter Box.”
What a feast was set before us. 5 different starters. A special Entrée of either Crispy Duck or Mongolian Lamb with pancakes. 8 or 9 main courses followed with
everybody now slowing down a varied choice of sweets. Lots of Raffle prizes were won and as special treat one of the prizes was presented to Ming’s granddaughter.
Soonyun Yau pictured over on the next page.
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St Georges Day Lunch
Pictured above are most of the team that made it all possible. Once again the The Sir Joseph Williamsons Mathematical School saw nearly 50 guests and members gather for one
of the lunches laid on by Foundation. As it was only a couple of days after St Georges Day it was themed for English food as much as possible. The memorial hall was decked out
with bunting and flags, the good old Red Cross on a white background. Three courses were laid out and as the piece de resistance, “that’s French isn’t it “Roast beef with all the
trimmings. Noise levels were on par with the Christmas lunch which I a sure is due to the level of alcohol consumed so it appears that everybody had a good time. There were lots
of raffle prizes, in fact so many tickets were sold we ran out and Felicity nipped down to her house to gets some more which brought the grand total raised to £731..This brings
the total raised by these lunches for the year to nearly £1650 which is fantastic.
Danish Guests and Presidents Night
Thursday 21st May saw our Danish Guests arrive from our contact club in “Slagelse”. Other Rotarians from Denmark also arrived on the same aircraft and an impromptu meeting was
held at Gatwick featuring 2 clubs from Denmark, 1 from Essex and our good selves..After settling in with their respective hosts trips were arranged. All our Danish guests attended our
Friday Lunch. The next day our guests visited London including the”London Eye” and had a bit of retail therapy on the return Rochester via “Bluewater”
That evening Shorne Village Hall hosted our black tie dinner for President Ted Bakers Night and our distinguished guests included District Governor John Wilton and Past President
of Slagelse Steen Jespersen who gave responses.
During an excellent 4 course dinner we were entertained by the “Two Jays” on stage with light music and as special surprise the combined choir of the Inner Wheel and the Rochester and Slagelse Rotary Clubs.
This had all come about at Bob Burge's the previous evening when fuelled by wine and Lasagne there was an impromptu choir practise.
Thank you Ruth for the Photo as mine have disappeared somewhere in to the bowels of the computer never to be seen again
Foundation BBQ
Driving across Rochester Bridge on Sunday Lunchtime on the 7th June smoke could be seen rising up into the sky from the top of Frindsbury Hill. Yes it was that time of year and
Derek was signalling Rotarians from near and far to the BBQ at Bob and Marion's in aid of corrective surgery for polio victims. It was well attended by Rotarians and guests and raised
£182. Our contact club in Serbia Kraljevo also donated $300 to the project and with contributions from 5 other Rotary Clubs in District 1120 a total of $2000 was raised. A
documentary on television recently highlighted the enormous difference it can make to a polio victim to have this surgery .
It featured the Mercy Train that goes around India doing all kinds of operations with Doctors and Surgeons and other medical staff giving their time voluntarily to do the very
necessary work. Pictured below is Derek after the smoke had cleared cooking the meat.
Recession and Charity
In a poll taken recently it was found that most people were giving as much to Charities as before the recession. In a poll of 512 people 85% confirmed that their charitable giving had
stayed the same or increased since the recession began. We in Rotary must look to see how we can contribute to our own charity “Foundation” and one of the best ways to do this
is to become a “Sustaining Member” This is part of the “Annual Programmes Fund” Contributions to the Annual Programs Fund are the primary source of funding for Foundation
programmes which cover more than 160 Countries on seven continents. From digging wells for villages in Africa to teaching basic literacy skills to children in Latin America. During
any given moment thousands of Rotarians volunteer their time and expertise. Becoming a “Sustaining Member” means more go into the funds which are wisely spent on quality Rotary
Projects. Your donations can mean a world of difference, A years contribution of £1 a week can fund a years tuition and books for two children in East Africa.
Kids Out
Monday June 8th saw Monkey Biz open its doors once again to the children, their carers from Abbey Court School and Rochester Rotarians. By 10 o'clock everybody was kitted
out with either T shirts or caps. It was then shoes off for the clambering about on the apparatus that is required to keep pace with children who were keen on all the activities. I believe
that some of the apparatus has changed since last year. I seem to remember getting through some rollers with ease before but now they were a struggle. For Lunch Sandra “the. Manageress”
and her staff had prepared where required a special lunch for those with dietary needs and a huge buffet for the rest of us. After lunch is was back on the slides and rollers until the
coaches arrived to take the children back to the School
Inner Wheel Boules Match
Once again Bob and Marion opened the doors and garden to the annual Boules match between Rochester Rotarians and the Inner Wheel on June 19th. Although the forecast had
not been promising the weather remained dry and a good match ensued. The Inner Wheel team won with Jean getting one of the closest Boules to the Jack “ I think it's called that”
After we all repaired indoors for the usual repast of Bangers, Mash and Beans. This all went down very well and was followed by delicious sweets prepared by the ladies of Inner
Wheel and Rotary.
As an added attraction we could also view the wildlife in Bob and Marion's garden with a Vixen and her cubs coming almost to the house for food. That is not all they took, a
cub also took a jumper that had been left by the border hotly pursued by Rotarians. It was returned the next day more than a bit worse for wear. £182 was raised that evening.
International Ascot
The next morning saw a coach load of us off to Royal Ascot. David and Sally had arranged this trip and members and guests were picked up at several points in the Medway Towns.
It was a bright sunny day and the Ladies were all in their finery. Various hats were on display which seemed to me to be just a few feathers and Lace, I was told these are called “fasinators”
and I would think that if seen on a North Yorkshire Moor in the height shooting season would not last long. Upon arrival at Ascot we all opened up our picnics and alcoholic beverages,
Champagne, Wine and beer seemed to be the order of the day. From the area we were picnicking we were able to see the Queen go by with her entourage in their horse drawn coaches.
Suitably refreshed it was off to the Silver Ring for the racing.
The course was packed and the atmosphere electric with everybody seemed set on having a good time. Sometimes it was possible to see the horse flash by through the feather and suchlike
but the huge screen and the tannoy system kept us all well informed. What made it all the more enjoyable was there was a couple of winners among the party.
Forthcoming Events
The next major event is the annual Bat and Trap match against Gravesend Rotary Club on Sunday 16th August. Paddy has kindly opened up her house and grounds for this event. I have
polished up the Silver Cup for the highest Rochester Rotarian score and I hope a suitable bottle of wine has been laid on for the Gravesend highest score.
Apologies
I must apologise for the lateness of this newsletter. I had intended it to go out in the beginning of July just before the Presidents changeover but circumstances beyond my control namely a
loss of hard drive on my computer and a complete loss of data and work constraints delayed it. I hope now I have a lot more information to get the next one out very soon
Rotary Day
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 is Rotary Day. We have been successful of late in attracting new members. Could we not plan ahead to make this day special in Rochester to make more
of the public aware of Rotary?
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