District 1260 Governor’s Newsletter
December 2005
Issue No. 5
 

What Paul Harris said - November 1914

'The power of combined effort knows no limitations'.

Foundation

As reported elsewhere those who attended the Foundation Rally on November 30th enjoyed a terrific evening. Well done to Robert Paterson and his committee.

New Rotarians

On your behalf I extend a very warm welcome to the following who have joined us since I last wrote to you:

Ron Price - Berkhamsted Bulbourne
Ronal Salvesen - Harpenden Village
Jean Bowling - Amersham
Chris Fenwick - St. Albans Verulamium
Tony Skirrow - St. Albans Verulamium
Duncan Ormrod - Rickmansworth
Stephen Curtis - Wolverton
Danny Field - Hertford Shires.
John How - Chesham
Peter Stephenson - Hertford Shires

This brings our number of new Rotarians to 42 so far this year. Heartiest congratulations to all those clubs actively inviting new members to join our great organisation.
Please let me have details of any others who have joined us recently so that I can welcome them.

DG’s Diary

To date I have visited 40 clubs and have been overwhelmed by the welcome and generosity shown to me and Jasmine. She has enjoyed her visits to several clubs many of which sponsored her during the walk in aid of Mercy Ships. If your club sponsored her and would like to present her with the money she would be delighted to accept it personally.

My diary for December is as follows:
2nd. Hertford Shires, Amwell and Ware - Dickensian Evening.
5th. Aylesbury and Aylesbury Hundreds.
6th. Potters Bar.
10th. Watford - Carol Concert.
10th. Winslow - Concert.
13th. Cardiff - conference committee visit.
17th. Hoddesdon - Charity collection.
19th. Bushey and Oxhey.
21st. St. Albans Priory.
21st. The South East Five clubs' annual Carol Service.

The Oldest Active Rotarian?

I'm sure that you would like to join with me in extending our heartiest congratulations to Bernard Stevens of the Dunstable Club who celebrated his 95th birthday recently.
Bernard is still very active aand certainly does not look his age. What's the secret Bernard?
Is he the oldest active Rotarian in District or in R.I.B.I for that matter?
If you know differently please tell me.

In Memoriam
I am very, very sad to inform you that Paul Jones (President of Luton Someries) and his wife Sally suffered the grevious loss of their 18 year old son in a car
accident last week. Those of us who have never lost a child can't begin to know the pain they're suffering.
I have sent a message to Paul and Sally from all of us.
It is with great sadness also that I report the passing of Arthur Warne of the Stevenage Club.
A tribute will be paid to him in the next District News. If a member of your club passes away could you please let me know as early as possible. Thank you.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the clubs in the District who are supporting this worthwhile charity. Hoddesdon and The Brickhills clubs have both donated £5000 - the cost of one dog and I was privileged to attend the presentation
of Hoddesdon's cheque at the HQ of the charity near Princes Risborough. Deafness is often described as the 'hidden disability' and it is really heartwarming to see how the lives of recipients are transformed by having a 'hearing dog'. If your club is supporting the charity please let me know.

District Conference
Can I remind you all once again that we need your registrations a.s.a.p. Please make hotel bookings through Cardiff Marketing Bureau. In that way we can ensure a good subvention which helps to keep the cost down. As I said last month, I do hope that all Club Presidents will be attending because they are to be presented to Conference on Saturday morning.

If you have recently inducted new Rotarians please encourage them to attend. I hope that we'll meet at Cardiff and will have a great time together.

Presidents' half yearly meeting
If you were one of the five Presidents who told me that they would be attending the meeting arranged for December 7th. please accept my thanks and apologies for postponing the meeting. I received 13 responses from clubs, eight of whom couldn't attend for various reasons, so I had no option but to postpone and rearrange the meeting for Thursday February 16th at 7.30 p.m. The venue will be Tilsworth. Since postponing the meeting many presidents have told me that they would be attending but I had no way of knowing.

As I have already received two apologies from Presidents for the new date could I ask you to please consider sending your Vice-President to represent you.

It is important that your club is present so that we can have a meaningful exchange of ideas. If your club meets on a Thursday evening perhaps you could consider attending and handing over the reins of power to your Vice President for one evening. It would be good training for him/her! I will be sending a notice to clubs in the new year - please respond to the notice. The agenda is in your hands so please let me know what you would like raised for discussion. I already have two items - how do you increase membership and progress against the club/district goals.

Community/Vocational Awards
If your club was involved in a Centennial project which you would like recognised I am informed by RIBI the closing date for applications is December 31st.

None will be considered after that date.

Aquaboxes
There is an urgent need for any Aquaboxes being filled at present to be returned as soon as possible.

600 are needed for Guatemala now and the cupboard is bare. If your club is currently filling one please return it urgently. Thank you.

Club Events
As I've mentioned previously, if you have a project or event to which you would like to invite me please do so. I would be happy to attend if my diary is free. Can I also remind you that we will be celebrating club projects at the District Conference so now is the time to let Robert Boulton (Ware)know if you'd like space in the exhibition. If you want to borrow 'Pull Up' stands (similar the ones the District Youth Activities committee have) they are available from RIBI.

Club Bulletins
Thank you very much to all the clubs who send me their bulletins/magazines. The variety of club events/projects I come across never ceases to amaze me as well as the humour of course. Please keep them coming.

Season's greetings
Jasmine and I send you and your loved every good wish for Christmas and hope that the new year brings you happiness, prosperity and good health.

Thank you for all that you are doing to help those countless individuals whose life is that little bit better because Rotarians intervened.
And finally ......

Pause for thought
'Making a positive difference is not an option but an obligation' and in the words of the song - 'What have you done today that makes you proud?'
1260 District News - December 2005

All clubs are invited to contribute details of recent or forthcoming events concerning our District as well as items of general interest to all Rotarians. Please post or email to Peter Lardi at 13 Oxenden Drive, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire EN11 8QF or email: lardi@btinternet.com

 

FOUNDATION BEATS LADIES RUGBY TEAM

Despite a long and noisy game from the ladies, the District Foundation team easily won the attention of a large and lively audience at the Old Albanians Sports Club in St Albans, on Wednesday 30th of November.

GSE Team Returns

The evening kicked off with a mini presentation from the GSE team returned from District 7070, Greater Toronto, during October. Four members each told of their vocational visits.

Fireman Garath Bradbury about fires in high rise buildings, guided by Toronto fire service.

The team's leader, David Worker, said the team will be available to give the full presentations from February 2006, and he is now accepting bookings. (Dja_45@hotmail.com)
 

Introducing our Ambassadorial Scholars


We have now selected our newest Ambassadorial Scholar, Lowri Gott, who will study International Relations at Johns Hopkins University Nanjing Centre for Chinese and American Studies. Nanjing is roughly between Beijing and Shanghai. Lowri has a degree in Chinese, which is vital as the course she will be attending is in Chinese.

The course starts in September 2006 and while in China Lowri, in addition to studies, plans to visit the provisional Rotary clubs in Beijing and Shanghai, also Hong Kong and Taiwan Rotary clubs.


Lowri became fascinated with China and the Chinese people during her gap and changed her degree from English to Chinese. She believes it is important for future understanding to have more people who speak Chinese and understand International Relations. Lowri will be letting us know about her life in China and will be back with us in the District in 2007.

Brought to us by DVD link from New York, our other Ambassadorial Scholar, Russell Able, spoke of his Internship at the United Nations where he has been privileged to be during the 60th Anniversary of the UN. The interview was professionally presented but I'm not sure if he did address the Assembly, talk to Kofie Annan and George Bush or witness the Cuban missile crisis. Russell will start his year at the University of Queensland in February 2006.

EARTHQUAKE UPDATE

Mules carrying Shelter Boxes make one of the most moving among many pictures. ShelterBoxes are making a difference in the Pakistan disaster. Please go to the ShelterBox website www.shelterbox.org and see LATEST NEWS.

There are many pictures and reports on the Pakistan disaster, and Hurricane Katrina, as well as distribution in recent weeks.

No, you are not the first person to think that the Rotary wheel is difficult to see. Plans are in place to increase the size of the Rotary Wheel on Shelter Boxes and Aquaboxes.

Back to the Money

Valerie Leivers looks after Humanitarian Programmes on the RIBI Foundation Committee; she explained the magic of Matching Grants, using three beakers to show how to make £2K into £5K! She then moved into the detail of the different funds. In reply to what Foundation is doing to help with the earthquake disaster in Pakistan, she said: Foundation is not a disaster fund but it will play its part in future rebuilding projects in the area.
Val mentioned an initiative which had come out of an Individual Grant made to a Rotarian in her District. He had been visiting schools in South Africa and noticed the school "library" was devoid of books. Back in the UK, he asked
primary school children to give a "book for a book". Overwhelmed with the response, he says schools now have libraries to be proud of.

 

Support Rotary Foundation

PDG Mike Gardner encouraged clubs to support Foundation by annual giving and by bequests in wills, although he hoped to delay his own donation as long as possible. Most clubs do donate to Foundation, but there are still 10% of the clubs in our District who give nothing. He hoped that those clubs will consider giving to our charity this year, especially after we had all heard the range of work that Rotary Foundation undertakes.
The evening ended with a final whistle and thanks were given to Robert Paterson, Foundation Committee Chairman, for a varied and well run meeting which didn't go into injury time.


Report by John Rowlands

 

 

 

 

Dr Peter Balackwell-Smyth

See story below

PERRANZABULOE GRANT

The Rotary Club of Perranzabuloe (D1290 Perranporth Cornwall) has been awarded a RI Public Relations Grant to help publicise the humanitarian work of Dr Peter Blackwell-Smyth in Zambia. A GP in St. Austell, Cornwall, for 30 years, he has been a volunteer in Africa since 1993 helping to save the lives of mothers and babies.

For the last three years, Peter has been travelling to Monze Hospital in Zambia, taking with him many pieces of greatly needed equipment, some of which is paid for through his personal fundraising activities, and some through Perranzabuloe Rotary Club where Peter is a member.
The PR grant covers the cost of filming Peter's work at the Monze Hospital for a news story for BBC Television to be broadcast later this month, to help raise awareness of Rotary's international work and to encourage further support within Rotary and from the general public.

 

RI introduced the PR grants in July; the $3410 award is the first to a Rotary Club in Europe. While RI has given grants for Peter's travelling costs, his work in the hospital is voluntary and unpaid, and when he was a practising fulltime GP, Peter himself paid a locum to take his place in the UK.

 

 

With the co-operation of the two major stores at Brookfield Centre, Cheshunt, and thanks to Paul Wallace for being our "base camp", the sheep transporter was on hand (and on the double yellow line) to receive donated blankets all day on Saturday November 26th.

BLANKET COVERAGE


Press comment about collecting and despatch of blankets to earthquake victims in Pakistan has been a major help in making known efficient co-operation between Rotary International,Royal Jordanian Airlines, The Duchess of Wessex and Tesco.


The second photo shows Tesco Distribution Centre in Harlow, where Rotarians and their partners take a break between sorting and packing.

In the background, boxes of blankets, sleeping bags and clothes, palleted and shrink wrapped, are ready for loading into the 40ft trailer. On the right are empty boxes, which had to be made up from flat packs.

Rotarians pictured: President- Elect John West, Barrie Hozier (Ware RC), Rosemary Ryan, Arnold Granat, Sue and David Thomas in the Tesco packing warehouse.

Less than 2 hours later the tons of warm blankets and clothing had been delivered to Stansted and were shortly sped on their way to Pakistan.

Then followed the last and hardest part of the long journey, carrying blankets or ShelterBoxes to ultimate destinations in the hills. In the absence of roads, on terrain sometimes even a mule objects to, human carrying power is the last resort

AWARD TO DANNY BONWITT
On 1st November Danny Bonwitt's 35 year long and distinguished adherence to the ideal of service to the community was recognised with a Rotary Long Service Certificate.


Beginning at Henley in Arden, Warwicks, his work took the family to Cheshire where he became President of Knutsford Rotary Club in 1978, before coming to Hertfordshire where he was a founder member of the Rotary Club of Berkhamsted Bulbourne, President in 1988/89.


In a wider district role he led the GSE team to New Zealand in 1995. His dedication over many initiatives resulted in the award of a Paul Harris Fellowship over 10 years ago.


In February, to mark Rotary's Centenary and coordinating efforts with four Dacorum clubs a full page appeared in the Hemel Hempstead Gazette. He was a major participant campaigning for the Sparrow Village in South Africa. He has helped his club and the District to raise over £35,000 for the project, enabling the hospice to buy clinical equipment, and even a truck collecting
food discarded by local supermarkets.


Danny has been a mentor with The Prince's Trust and at The Mount Prison over many years, also a School Governor at Ashlyns School, Berkhamsted, for more than ten years, latterly as Joint Chairman taking a significant role in its successful bid to become a specialist Language College.

 

 

 

ROTARY YOUNG CHEF

The RAF at Halton once again hosted Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted round of the local Rotary Young Chef Competition, on Thursday 17th November. All Secondary schools were invited to take part in this challenging experience for year-10 students of Food Technology.

The winners of the first round cooked their recipes under the watchful eyes of RAF judges who were impressed with the skill and composure of the young contestants who cooked a main and a sweet course for two people which cost under
£12.00. The eight finalists were; Craig Hobbs, Alex Smith and Laura Roff from Hemel Hempstead School, Annabelle Lee from the Berkhamsted Collegiate School, Rebecca Elliot from Abbotts Hill School HH, and Jonathan Quinlivan, Amber Brandon and Marina Beckwith from John F. Kennedy School HH.
Gordon Ramsey - Eat Your Heart Out

The winner was Rebecca Elliot with her recipe of salmon with tomato and olive vinaigrette with couscous followed by strawberry glazed cheesecake.

Andrew Rickett, owner of Boxmoor Lodge presented the prize: a meal for four and the opportunity to work for a day alongside the chefs at The Boxmoor Lodge.

David Howells, Chairman of the National Restaurant Association, presented all finalists with a commemorative plate from Rational UK and a voucher from Asda


TRING IN THE CARIBBEAN

Tring and District RC have twinned with the Rotary Club of Central Port of Spain, in Trinidad,West Indies, with the intention of helping in an important local project.

You may say "Why TrinIdad?" and there is a very good reason. The Secretary of the Tring club, Corriene Thompson, comes from Trinadad and her father is a member of the Central Port of Spain club.

When Corriene and her husband visited Trinidad earlier this year, one project took their interest. The project, the "All In One Development Centre" is a pre-school, and they were both very moved by what they saw and heard, because of the man behind the idea, and how he had managed to set up and run the school.

That man is Wayne Jordan. He spent seven years of his life, from age 12 to 19, at the "Boys Industrial School" - a penal institution in Trinidad.

Upon leaving the institution Wayne moved in with a friend on the Beetham Estate, which is a crime-ridden slum. Wayne wanted to do something to help the poor children on the estate get out of the cycle of crime and poverty. His idea was to get them into school, but this would prove more difficult than he imagined - his first obstacle was the parents. He needed to persuade parents that it would be beneficial for their children to attend school.

Also, many, if not all of the children in the area, were not prepared for school life. He therefore needed a pre-school in order to prepare the children for getting into the local primary school.

So twenty years ago, Wayne set up a preschool in the slum, in a makeshift building with galvanized iron and wood.

Much later, with the help of the local Rotary club, a brick building in the area was "acquired" and the school was given official permission by the government to use it for the pre-school, rent free.

Wayne has not had any formal training and has achieved the creation of a new school through sheer determination, and a desire to help the less fortunate.
He gets no income for his work at the Development Centre and lives in a wooden house on the estate with his wife and two children. There are some ladies who help out as teachers, but they have limited training and get a small wage from a catholic organisation called 'SERVOL'.

The other costs of running the school, such as electricity and water, have to be borne by the school.
By donating money to the Rotary Club of Central Port of Spain, for the "All In One Development Centre" the Tring club knows that it can be used to improve the facilities, and ultimately help the future prospects of these children.
Recently Peter Thomson organised a sponsored walk, and raised over £1000.
The Rotary Club of Central Port of Spain awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship to Wayne.
INVITATION FROM ITV

ITV are looking for people who have done something interesting "Or out of the ordinary". And "people who have triumphed over adversity".

These are things which Rotarians are doing routinely and if we could get a Rotarian onto the program the PR would be brilliant. - says John Mills of RIBI, enclosing Tessa's letter:

From: Tessa McHugh tessam@sotelevision.co.uk
To: John Mills
The 5 O'Clock Show begins on the 3rd of January on ITV and will be broadcast
Every weekday afternoon until mid February.

This style show will feature Richard Hammon (Top/Gear/Brainiac) and Mel Giedroyc (Light Lunch with Mel and Sue) and will bring interesting stories, people and information to the screen.

As part of this we are looking for people who have done or been a witness to something amazing, unusual or interesting and would like to come on the show to talk about it.

5 O'Clock aims at an ITV family audience, is very positive and aims to celebrate
people's achievements by giving them the public recognition they deserve.

In particular, we are looking for...

People who have done something interesting or out of the ordinary or who have been part of an historic event from the sidelines and can share their take on it.

People triumphing in the face of adversity or being reunited with Family or friends after years of separation.

Consumer champions: people who have been the victim of bad workmanship, have had a holiday from hell or are hacked off with bad service from big corporations.

If you, or anyone you know, can think of any stories that might be suitable please give me a call on 0207 960 2065 or email me.


Best wishes,
Tessa McHugh Associate Producer
So Television,
18 Hatfields, London SE1 8GN

HEARING DOGS

The Centre where dogs are trained for this valuable work was recently visited by Hoddesdon Rotarians. They heard at first hand how dogs perform in the homes of those whose hearing is impaired, potentially saving lives.
If there is a fire, or other cause for alarm, a hearing dog attracts the attention of the person in danger so that help can be summoned.

Jeff Ryan (President, Hoddesdon) recently handed to the Centre a cheque for £5,000, enough for a course of training, while his wife, Rosemary,makes friends with one of the dogs.