Bulletin May/June 2010
ROTARY CLUB OF ROCHDALE
www.rotaryrochdale.co.uk
President: Elvet Smith
1 July *** holiday ***
8 July Club outing to Llangollen bus from Masonic at 9 am
Next council meeting
At John Cannell’s house on Tuesday 6th July, commencing at 7.30 pm.
July 12th Book group John Whitley’s- THE KING OF TORTS John Grisham
FEB QUIZ CORNER (ANSWERS IN BOLD)
1. Is it true that drivers in Paris are not insured for accidents on the road around the Arc de Triomphe? – True
2. What is the only oscar winning film with no women speaking in it? – Lawrence of Arabia 3. What came first, the savoy cabbage or the Savoy Hotel? - Cabbage
4. Is it true that you are not supposed to eat mince pies on Christmas Day? - True as it is technically illegal. 5. What is the most popular computer password? – Password.
President’s Remarks
The Bournemouth Conference was a great occasion for our club with David Acton’s Urban Garden project winning the Rodney Huggins award on stage meeting President David Fowler among other illustrious Rotarians. Hotel and Conference were within yards of each other and a very sunlit beach was enticing
Highlights of the conference was the diversity of Charities supported by Rotary including the Starfish project to help Stammerers get over their great speech difficulty. RNIB was represented by Denise Leigh an opera singer overcoming her blindness and thrilled us with her marvellous voice. John Bird, founder of The Big Issue, reminded us that work is such an important aspect of life gelling other social aspects in with it. Giving work to people can transform them into brighter and happier people with less reliance on social handouts.
Quentin Letts, a writer of Parliamentary sketches was not showing mercy in deriding humbug and mediocrity in politicians and the media. I bought his book 50 people who B’d up Britain which I’ll bring to Book group (next meeting July 5th-John Whitley’s).
Other entertainers Alistair Mcgowan and Paul Daniels were interspersed between more serious discussion including an update on Polio fundraising - more than a million pounds have been raised in RIBI events in last 12 months
Speakers highlights include a travelogue of US West Coast journey by our Bulletin editor and wife-lucky to escape without injury by all accounts. Mike Lucas, to celebrate St Georges day, had a poetry recital session which was very popular and some members were hard to stop in mid verse!
Dr Ibi described Nigeria’s early attempts to get Renal Medicine off the ground with the help of other Renal specialists including our very own David Smithard.
The Council meetings have been very well attended this year and thanks to all members for all their hard work. Membership and attendance have dominated recent meetings but fortunately retention of members this year has been good and Bob Chadwick is our latest member.
The AGM was a grand success. David Acton was made Paul Harris fellow much to his surprise. Indeed when I invited him to the front he asked if he should undress (must have thought he was to be an impromptu performer)! It was a very enjoyable moment to see his delight at the well deserved award.
It was proposed by the President & seconded by Secretary that Brian Cunliffe should be granted Honorary Membership. This was agreed unanimously.Brian will be presented with certificate sometime in June as he is recovering from illness
The Sounding Brass and Voices Concert at Gracie Field's theatre on Sunday was a resounding success. The Milnrow Cooperative Band under Andrew White started the proceedings with The Dam Busters theme and all was just quality music after that. .'I dreamed a dream' really mesmerised the audience with back-tingling musicianship. A fourteen year old musical prodigy Owen Middlemass with lightening hands on the xylophone gave an exceptional rendition of Bach's toccata and fugue.
The audience were charmed by the Rochdale Girls choir singing so beautifully under direction of Christine Willis 'A Cat Called Alexander' (including a marvelous miaoow) and 'Humpty Dumpty' contrasted with the Spritual 'Steal Away' and 'Beautiful December'. Their youthful enthusiasm and enjoyment of their singing never waned and later were unrestrained in Flag Waving finale
The youthful Wardle Anderson Brass and Sean Conway started with a robust Olympic fanfare with playing full of energy and gusto. Amy Smith a charming tall blondhaired Euphonium player mastered this difficult instrument producing a controlled graceful performance of 'La Belle Americaine'
Then up stood Mr Brass Band himself - Dr .Roy Newsome (photo below) -ex presenter of Radio 2's 'listen to the band' and over 30 years conducting, lecturing and adjudicating. He has spent his life promoting Brass band music in many countries and he conducted the finale of the combined Milnrow and Wardle Bands.
Our very own Tenor soloist Peter Ruane was in fine voice with a rendition of Nessum Dorma. The girls choir sang Jerusalem and the whole performance rounded off with Pomp and Circumstance to a whirl of hundreds of Union Jacks.
The Gracie Fields theatre was well filled despite the Rochdale Football Clubs open top bus celebration and Samaritans and Petrus Day centre in Rochdale will benefit from the proceeds, Thank you Tom and everyone for all your efforts
I’m looking forward to Nidderdale walk on Sunday and a tough band of Rotarians and wives will be given a nice tea afterwards in the Cottage by the Green.Kids out at Camelot on June 9th.The ship is being taken over by John Cannell soon-see you at Castleton bowling club for the Handover on the 24th June. Bill Evans is taking us to Llangollen on July 8th for Eisteddford but we will return!
President Elvet
VP Jottings
The last couple of club meetings saw 'yours truly' in charge, as our illustrious leader was doing Other Things, specifically accompanying David Acton to the Bournemouth Conference to accept his well deserved award and then on a work related trip to Birmingham. I was somewhat concerned on the second occasion, when not only were we without a President but also missing were the secretary and treasurer! Was it something I said?
On the evening of the 15th of April, Neil Helliwell shared with us his trip to America, a mission of mixed fortunes, as Nichola developed a rare condition that prevented her being in strong sunlight.... Not good for the west coast! But Yosemite was a big 'plus', complete with real bears, so overall an enjoyable experience. Neil was ably assisted by John Kay as projection master and the evening was much enjoyed by us all, whetting many an appetite for a trip across the pond.
The lunch time meeting of the 21st was a new idea from Mike Lucas, Poetry Day. I suspect that most of us wondered how this would turn out - would anyone bring a contribution? Well the fears were totally unfounded. In the event we were well over subscribed, so much so that a further Poetry Day is to be held soon. It was a very successful event, with a couple of memorable highlights. David Acton regaled us with an amusing introduction to an appropriate Shakespearian dialogue - this 'Sceptred Isle' from King Richard II, a day before St George's Day and Jack Howorth came up with an original idea by producing a recording of Sir John Betjeman reading 'A Subaltern's Love song' featuring Miss J. Hunter Dunn. (Brought back for me memories of that fine statue in St Pancras station…).
VP John