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Amherst News
November 2005
Editor Ron Adams
This next month we wish a happy birthday to:
Grant Walker on December
7
Derek Williams on December 16
Wednesday Meetings
23 November, Speaker
Sharon Wright, SDC
30 November Partners’ Evening, Speaker Tracey Tinsley, Sevenoaks Cook Shop
7 December Special General Meeting, Business Meeting
14 My Job Talk, Gail Hallams
21 December Christmas Party
28 DECEMBER NO MEETING
Children in Need Collection
Last Friday we did our annual tin-rattling day for the BBC Children in Need Appeal.
As expected, collecting at Sevenoaks Station during the rush hours was less brisk than we have come to hope for at our usual site. Please, Mr Tesco, have a heart next year.
And from the coalface ……
Collecting at Sevenoaks Station
With the temperature at minus something at dawn on Friday 18th we braved the weather. The station looked uninviting and somewhat hostile with commuters rushing along with their heads down, it got colder as dawn progressed.
I quickly found that the benefit of the clown suit was that it helped to keep you warm and that any clothes mean warmth. There must be hundreds of people who now believe what they were told - " no! these are my everyday clothes."
I was impressed by people’s
generosity and at the end of the two shifts I felt sure that people were feeling
sorry for us.
Don
Backstage at the abbey
Last Saturday a second tranche of us were privileged to go backstage at Westminster
Abbey.
Highlights? Going on the roof, and seeing the Aisle from the place media people call ‘up in the Gods.’
Thanks, our Tony for making it possible and Tony Platt for taking us round (and taking us to an excellent pub for lunch.)
MAIN POINTS FROM THIS MONTH’S COUNCIL
• The Tsunami Fund stands
at £9093 following receipt of £591 in Gift Aid from the Inland Revenue.
• A Spring House theatre visit has been suggested.
• The club has no uncommitted funds at present to help victims of the Kashmir
earthquake.
• Council agreed that Cyclo Sportive should run again in 2006.
• Members with e-mail will in future receive official club notices in this way,
and will be expected to acknowledge their receipt. Others will receive paper
copies as at present.
• Balances in various accounts were reported as
• General ~£4196
• International ~£788
• Charity ~£1906
• Christmas Party. The event, at £25 per head, will include a singer and
pianist if present plans are realised.
• Members who photograph club events should be encouraged to claim expenses
• The suitability of certain jokes appearing in the newsletter was questioned.
John Harland will write the ‘Main Points from Council’ item in future and he
has been co-opted to Council accordingly.
Welcome, John, to the hierarchy.
President
Derek Writes
The last month has been quite a hectic one.
The District Conference at Eastbourne was well attended by members with twenty
of us enjoying some good speakers, good food and also unseasonal weather enabling
us to stroll along the Prom in shirt sleeves.
We have however had a stormy period and I am of course referring to the vote on the Club name change. I hope that we can put this matter behind us now and get on with using our energy to help others less fortunate than ourselves.
On a positive note regarding our change of name Simon and myself met Sevenoaks President Brian Stevenson for lunch last Monday to discuss with him the implications for their Club if we use Sevenoaks Amherst as our name. Brian was accompanied by Secretary John Carrie. and Vice President Phillip Walker. They listened to the reasons we gave them for wanting a name change and were sympathetic. They intend to discuss this at their next Council meeting. To cement the close relationship that the two Clubs enjoy Simon and I proposed a joint venture which would endeavour to raise the profile of Rotary in our area and gain both clubs new members. After all we are not really competitors as new members will have a choice of two clubs in Sevenoaks, one meeting at lunch time and the other in the evening.
Letter to the Editor 1
Sir
The vote was lost (weIl, not quite won) regarding the name change for the club, a new vote was proposed and this time following impassioned pleas for and against it won and we will be known as The Rotary Club of Sevenoaks Amherst or perhaps Sevenoaks Amherst Rotary Club. It is thought that the name will be used from the start of the next Rotary year.
It is hoped now that differences over this issue can be forgotten and that we can concentrate on things that make this club good - the fellowship, the friendship and the good spirits that abound - and let this be the club that is 'raided' by other clubs because of its reputation known throughout District 1120.
The change of name will make no difference to you or to me and I feel that no appreciable increase will happen to our membership because of the name change. This is known and was pointed out by Simon in his submission on the evening of the last vote.
It will, I am sure, help in increasing the identity of the club with a name that can be identified with that of the town in which it exists.
The whole episode is now over, please do not 'pillory' Simon for suggesting and seeing this through, it was done for the right intentions and he has the club's wellbeing at heart.
Let us move forward and enjoy our Rotary.
Dingbat
Editor’s note. We would not normally publish an anonymous letter but the above was clearly written with the club’s best interests at heart. Likewise ......
Letter to the Editor 2
Sir
There has been much hype recently regarding the vigour of the younger members of the Club with direct comparison to the lack of it by the "oldies". With this in mind may I reflect on two earlier events in the Club's history.
It was 1979, the Club was barely out of nappies and I was acting President in the absence of Ken Veryard who was away. We were looking to undertake a big fund raising event when a bright young man named Tony told us that he had a connection with the "Sealed Knot" ( a very popular group at that time) and he was promptly given the job of masterminding an event at Chevening in 1980/81.
The event took place on a very good day and we made a magnificent £5000+ profit.
At this time the Club was very involved with a care home "Mary's Mead" at Godden Green. This home gave respite care to MS sufferers whilst their carers had a break. Club members would go every Saturday or Sunday (sometimes both), get the ambulance out, load with patients and take them for a country tour.
Because of our contact with the Home it was a natural progression to ask the Matron if there was anything she would like for the Home as we had some money to spend from Chevening.
She asked for a particular
nursing bed which would cost about £900. It was then that another bright
and shining star of a pharmacist called Roy took command. He worked on the company
who supplied the beds and we ended up getting three such for the sum of £1000.
We were also instrumental in getting much more equipment for the Home. We spent
the whole of the Chevening money ourselves ensuring that we got the best value
we could for every £1 spent.
It is unfortunate that planning restrictions on extending the Home caused the owners to move to another location out of our area. This had been a good time for the Club with "hands-on" service.
In the mid 80's this Club together with the then DG, Bertie Cook, approached RI for funding to provide fresh water wells in the Gambia. I was then a somewhat minor cog in the District team but I had ready access to the DG and District officers. We eventually raised the sum of £500,000 for Water Aid to carry out the provision and Graeme and I became the District representatives on the Water Aid Steering Committee for the project.
With a subsequent top up of cash from RI some 90+ wells, with their washing facilities and drinking troughs, were produced. Added to this, in the villages involved there was much done to introduce sanitary arrangements.
These were good times, able to do things and see the value of what was being achieved. Perhaps a "hands on" project in these days might improve the ethos of the Club.
Any ideas?? If you have
- tell Simon!
HFT
Remembrance Sunday
A good number of us braved a bitterly cold morning to support Presidents Elizabeth
and Derek who laid wreaths on behalf of the Club and our Inner Wheel at the
Sevenoaks War Memorial. It is noteworthy that public attendance at the ceremony
continues to grow.
Circuit of Kent
Classic autumn cyclo-sportive through the garden of England
- Front cover of Cycling Weekly’29 October 2005
The mag had five of our photos and three pages of reporting by staff writers who had ridden.
Ed Pickering concluded
“ .....once I had wolfed down what can only be described as some of the best
post-event food I have ever experienced, I was able to look back on an event
which for grandeur cannot rival the great mountainous cyclo-sportives of the
Alps or Dolomites, but certainly matches them for charm, accessibility and enjoyment.”
Thanks, Ed. We must be doing something right.
N.b.
Takings have reached £17000
The catalogue of a military equipment supplier lists “Rapidly re-locatable soft-wall tension-fabric and container-based structures.”
The picture looks remarkably like a tent with a carry case.
Walthamstow Hall
Dear Tony (and his little band of helpers!)
Thank you again for an excellent “practice interview course” this year.
All the girls have found the experience very valuable and they send their thanks along with mine. I do appreciate both the time and commitment you give to this event, and can assure you that your words of wisdom are both received and acted upon by the girls.
Thank you again and I will be in contact next year.
Yours sincerely
Head of Sixth Form
STAMPS STAMPS STAMPS STAMPS STAMPS
Please remember to let me have your used postage stamps to help a charity.
They are sold abroad to philatelists by the kilo in bags, often known as kiloware - it enables collectors to find something of value.
At present I am passing the stamps to a leprosy organisation to help with their fundraising.
Thank You - Don