Club News - July - December 2008

80 Rotarians, Inner Wheel members, partners and friends attended the annual Christmas Dinner, held this year at Stirrups Country House Hotel. Our guests included District Governor Malcolm Boddington (left), Assistant District Governor Moya Harvey, and this year's President of Ascot Probus Club, Clifford Lewis (right). Entertainment was provided by Rosie's Rainbow Choir, and a collection raised £320 for "Rosie's Rainbow Fund", a charity providing music therapy and expression through music art and play for sick and disabled children and teenagers.

The annual charity collection at Waitrose took place on Friday and Saturday. Despite the recession, shoppers still donated generously for a good cause, the Thames Valley and Chilterns Air Ambulance, and after expenses the net receipts were in the order of £1,800. As usual, seasonal music was provided by the David Jones Jazz Quartet, and on Saturday we were joined by a group of Girl-Scouts from Runnymede, who sang Christmas songs during the lunch hour.

The November INNER WHEEL NEWSLETTER is now available. Click Here to view.

On the evening of Tuesday 18 November Ascot Rotary Club ran its 24th Youth Speaks competition, for schools in the local area. The competition was held at St George’s School, Ascot, with the very kind permission of the Headmistress, Mrs Caroline Jordan. Seventeen teams took part in the competition, which had intermediate and senior sections. Once again, the public speaking was to a very high standard, and the judges did not have an easy task in deciding the winners.

The intermediate section was won by the Charters School B team (left), comprising Kensema Djan, Veronica Mervild, and Laura Eagles, and the trophy for best speaker was won by Celina Brar, from St George’s School. The team prize for the senior section was taken by St George’s School A team (right), comprising Lydia McMillan, Chloe Gass, and Francesca Jay, and Chloe Gass also won the trophy for best speaker. The winning teams will move on to the Zone competition, which is scheduled for 2 February 2009.

The October INNER WHEEL NEWSLETTER is now available. Click Here to view.

Rotarians, Round Tablers, Inner Wheel, Ladies Circle, 41 Club, Tangent, local scouts and volunteers from the Day Centre turned out in appalling weather to act as stewards for the annual Ascot Fireworks at the Racecourse. Despite the weather there was a splendid display of over £15,000 of fireworks, which was enjoyed by all who braved the elements.

An interesting talk on WaterAid was given to the Joint meeting of Rotary and Inner Wheel on Wednesday 29th October, by Anne Whitlock. Anne is an accountant and management systems consultant who worked for Thames Water from 1999 to 2007. Whilst there she became involved in fundraising for WaterAid and after a visit to Tanzania, joined the WaterAid speaker programme.

In outlining the work of WaterAid throughout the world and with specific reference to their work in Zambia, Central Africa, Anne drew attention to the fact that no less than 2.5 Billion people or 40% of the World's population have no toilet. One of the Millenium Development Goals, agreed by all countries, was that this should be halved to 20% by the year 2015, but WaterAid's researches show that it is likely to be 2076 before this happens! This is despite great strides being made by WaterAid and its associated organisations who, for instance, gave access to clean and safe water to 1.3 million people and sanitation to 3 million in the year 2007/8.

Anne showed slides of African women still walking long distances to river and other water sources to collect water in large buckets and olivene cans which they carry on their heads. This they sometimes do several times a day (often with babies on their backs ) and the water is at best a very poor substitute for the safe, clean water which WaterAid helps them to achieve with new boreholes and pumping systems.

Many parts of the world, particularly sub-Saharan countries suffer with high incidences of HIV/Aids and these people are particularly prone to water-related illnesses and desperately need safe, clean water and sanitation systems. Life expectancy in these areas is as low as the late 30s!

Perhaps the worst statistic of all is that 10 million children die every year under the age of 5, many of whom would have been saved with clean water and sanitation.

Though a serious subject, with the aid of some good slides and even humour at times, Anne made the message come alive and evidence of the interest of her listeners was the number of questions at the end of a long evening. David Mear gave a well-earned Vote of Thanks to Anne.

RCA and Ascot Inner Wheel both presented cheques of £250 to Anne for WaterAid.

We were also pleased to welcome Jerry Andrews (Left) as the latest recruit to the Rotary CLub of Ascot. President David carried out the induction, and welcomed Jerry and his wife, Sue, to the club.

President David was back on the job in the evening, leading his team of "experts" (???) to honourable defeat in a Quiz Night, organised by Rtn Mike Lustig and VP Colin. About 50 Rotarians, partners and friends attended the event held in the Sunningdale WI Hall. The questions taxed even the most knowledgeable participants, and most of us were completely lost. However, we were compensated by a supper of lasagne prepared by Pam. The winners at the end of the evening were the team from RC Heathrow.

President David was in the saddle at Charters School for the handover of two X-Dream Reality Bikes to the school for use by the pupils. The bikes were jointly funded by the Rotary Club of Ascot and the Children with Special Needs Foundation. Our contribution came from the money raised at the Golf Day in August. The presentation was made to Marcia Twelftree, Head Teacher at Charters, by Anne Parris of the CWSNF and President David for the Rotary Club.

We were pleased to welcome Adam Sykes of the Rotary CLub of Munich to our Business Meeting tonight.

The second annual East Berkshire heat of the National Rotary Young Chef competition took place at the Licensed Victuallers School tonight. Six young people from schools around the district exercised their skills in the kitchen to produce a healthy meal for 2 people for under £10. Winner was Abbie Alston of Ranelagh School, Bracknell, and the runner up was Jonathon Fielder of the Licensed Victuallers School.

We are grateful to Waitrose Store in Sunningdale for sponsorship of the ingredients cost, and Sodexho (Facilities Management) and the Licensed Victuallers school for hosting the event.

46 Rotarians and partners went down to the woods - the New Forest, to be precise, for President David's Presidential Weekend. The event kicked off with a Gala Dinner on the Friday night in a private room at Balmer Lawn Hotel.

On Saturday a sizeable group headed off to Beaulieu to visit the Motor Museum and house. In the evening a relaxed meal was provided in the hotel restaurant. On Sunday, participants were able to spend time visiting other National Trust and English Heritage properties locally, before heading home.

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President David together with Eileen and a number of Ascot Rotarians joined with about 50 District 1090 Rotarians and partners to welcome the 2008-9 Ambassadorial Scholars to the UK. Twelve new scholars have arrived to take up their studies at Oxford or Reading Universities, and two of the 2007-8 scholars were also in attendance.

The scholars all briefly introduced themselves at the event, held at Harleyford Golf Club, then joined us on our tables for closer discussions. We have invited the scholars to join us at Ascot Racecourse 29th April next year, and also attend our evening meeting with the ladies.

A good turnout, around 40 members, guests and Friends attended the "Friends" evening to hear a fascinating talk by Richard Day, who worked at Windsor Castle for 45 years as a book-binder and part time fireman. He told us of the fateful day, 20th November 1992, when the fire alarm sounded and smoke was seen coming from the state rooms. Richard led us through his account, supported by many on-the-spot colour slides, of the fighting of the fire, the rescue of works of art and valuable furniture, and the devastation that was revealed when the fire was finally quelled. He then took us, with more slides, through the restoration process, and the craftsmanship which went into bringing the rooms back to (and beyond) their former glory.

We were pleased to welcome Rtn. Graeme Crerar of RC Cambridge, NZ (D9930) to our meeting.

A select group attended the Jazz Night on Saturday at the British Legion Hall. Rotarian David Jones brought along his Dixieland Jazz Band which was enjoyed by all.

The September INNER WHEEL NEWSLETTER is now available. Click Here to view.

38 members and partners enjoyed a guided visit to places in London which have been used as film or TV locations. The trip started with coffee in Borough Market, and a walking tour with our knowledgeable guide - he seemed to know every film, its date and the cast for every building we passed. Our coach took us to Notting Hill for lunch, then in the afternoon we went to the Imperial War Museum to see the James Bond/Ian Fleming exhibition. Click Here for more pictures.

David Marshall, 02/10/2008

The club was entertained to a presentation by the GSE Team that recently visited Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The full team of Mike Cannon (leader) and the three members, Marco Maltoni, Oonach McCarthy, and Adrian Pask attended. Our thanks are sent to Ann Cook, wife of Rotarian Geoff Cook, who rushed out a spare PC when the original could not be opened without the password of its owner. The connection of this PC to the projector was achieved with the help of Adrian, who being only just 30 had the magic way that youth has with equipment of this sort.!

Mike introduced the team, explained the project and informed members just where Moldova is – not widely known! The three team members then presented their findings, showing clearly how much they enjoyed the experience and particularly highlighting the benefit of ‘doors being opened’ by the Rotary connection. All three gave amusing and informative short presentations and showed their commitment to the Rotary cause – Rotarians of the future! Many questions were asked indicating the interest of the audience and the evening had obviously been enjoyed by everyone. We thanked the Team and wished them good luck with their busy schedule of presentations to another fifteen clubs.

Anthony Hatch, 22/09/2008

The August INNER WHEEL NEWSLETTER is now available. Click Here to view.

The annual Charity Golf tournement took place at Chobham Golf Course. 19 teams participated this year, and a putting competition was introduced, which proved very popular. In the evening, the Gala Dinner and auction helped to swell the total raised to an estimated £11,400. Entertainment was provided by Mike Cassidy, who also ran the auction. The Acco team (pictured) won the first prize in the Stableford competion. As in previous years, the main beneficiary is the Children with Special Needs Foundation.

The August “Friends” meeting saw the return of Martin Bell and John Oblein with one of their popular quiz evenings “especially adapted for Rotarians”. A close-fought battle allowed us to display our ignorance of the Highway Code, Classical Music, the 20th Century and the human body, amongst other subjects. Table 2 won by the narrowest of margins, with only 8 points separating the top and bottom scores.

Martin reminded us of his sponsored walk with Sir Ian Botham on the 11th of October. He will be in the select group accompanying Sir Ian through the streets of Windsor. Click Here to sponsor Martin

On Tuesday 5th August a party of 16 Rotarians, partners and friends met at the Watermill Theatre at Newbury for dinner, prior to seeing a splendid performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard. It was a damp August evening when the group assembled under the low ceiling of the cosy bar. Dinner was set in the delightful oak beamed restaurant and an excellent three course meal enjoyed with jolly chatter, before going upstairs to the charming little theatre and seats in the balcony facing the apron stage.

The party was entranced by a performance of twelve artists of amazing talent, who sang, danced and played their own instruments on and off stage. They were directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood of recent Strictly Come Dancing fame. All sat spellbound, if a little too warm, for an evening of raw emotion, slick movement on the tiny stage and rare voice quality.

Good friends in great surroundings for superb entertainment – what could be better? Once again we thank Beverley Williams for arranging such an enjoyable evening. Anthony Hatch, 06/08/2008

The July INNER WHEEL NEWSLETTER is now available. Click Here to view.

There is nothing Ascot Rotarians and partners like better than the chance to dress up, and the 5th Wednesday meeting this month gave ample opportunity to parade in exotic costumes. Ex diplomat David Hawkes brought along a collection of Turkoman jewellery and clothing collected during his assignments in the middle east. He gave a most informative and entertaining talk about these items, which are falling into disuse in their countries of origin, as the local people move to a more western dress style.

Aftewards volunteers were allowed to try on various outfits - CLICK HERE for more pictures.

We were reminded at our Business Meeting that on October 11th, Ascot Rotary Club Friend Martin Bell will be taking part in "Beefy's Great British Walk", accompanying Sir Ian Botham in a 7.5 mile sponsored walk in Windsor. Martin had his right leg amputated below the knee after a cycle accident in 2007, and this is his "challenge" for 2008. He is fund-raising for Leukaemia Research, and has set himself a target of £5,000 in sponsorship.

Click Here for more information and to sponsor Martin

The June INNER WHEEL NEWSLETTER is now available. Click Here to view.

President David and Eileen, and Brian Millis joined with District Rotarians and guests for the Group Study Exchange Welcome Home Rally in Maidenhead. We heard talks from our District team, Rotarian Mike Cannon and two of the team members, Oonagh McCarthy (whom our club sponsored) and Marco Maltoni, about their very successful visit to Romania and the Republic of Moldova. They spoke of the excellent hospitality from their hosts, the cultures of the two countries and the considerable regional variations. Members of the Romanian GSE team who visited our District in April took time off to meet and help them throughout.

President David and Eileen attended the Inner Wheel Garden Party on Wednesday at Inner Wheel President Beryl's house. Despite an overcast sky and occasional showers a good time was had by over 90 guests from our own Inner Wheel and other Inner Wheel clubs in the district. The plant stall, bring-and buy, hat stall and raffle helped raise nearly £1,500 for charitable causes.

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