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Kirkby-in-Ashfield Rotary Club
E-Bulletin: October 2017
„End Polio‟
Polio is in the news. In August, Priti Patel, Secretary of State for International Development,
announced a UK contribution of £100 million to the global Polio Eradication initiative that will help
eliminate polio around the world for good. This will pay to
immunise 45 million children against the disease each year
until 2020. Soon after making that announcement Ms Patel
said :: "Rotary has been at the forefront of the campaign to
end polio.”
The disease is now endemic in only three countries –
Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan – as one report said “a
testament to the hard work and dedication of thousands of
polio workers around the world”. The latest information is
that there are only 11 cases remaining. But when even
one case exists, the
disease could still
return. Thus the
work has to go on.
Kirkby Rotary Club has a direct link with this: early last
year two Rotary couples, Rotns Philip and Kate Hurt, Mrs Carol
Riley and Rotn Paul Riley (l to r above), went to India to take part
in a National Immunisation Day in which tens of millions of
children were given the vaccine. On their return, the couples‟
recounting of their experiences was an inspiration to club
members. (Kate is pictured right.)
Polio Day
October 21st is Kirkby Rotary Polio Day, when we will
be in the town plaza with another of our popular stalls.
On sale will be crocus bulbs in bags, crocus bulbs
planted in pots, and crocus badges, plus some bric-a-
brac to add to the appeal. The little purple flower has
become the End Polio symbol, at least in this part of
the world, from the purple dye used to mark the fingers
of children when they receive the vital vaccine.
Support for
our Polio Day
from the local
community is
brilliant. For a
start, St Wilfrid‟s
parish church will
have its spire lit up in purple for the occasion, from the 21st to
the 24th of October. The primary schools are on board too.
Annesley and Greenwood are planting bulbs, selling packs and
pots and wearing purple to raise funds, and we‟ll be giving End
Polio presentations to their assemblies. At Kingsway Primary,
fifty pupils will plant crocus bulbs in the grounds to mark the
school‟s donation to the campaign fund.
An important factor in all this fundraising is the pledge by
the Gates Foundation, in which every pound collected becomes
three.
Charity Trail Kirkby Rotary members were among the 48 walkers who took part in the Teversal
Trail sponsored walk on Sunday 10th September. Rotarians, family and friends from 11 clubs
completed the five mile trail that started and finished at the Teversal Visitor Centre. Clubs represented
were Bakewell, Belper & Duffield, Bretby, Derby, Epworth & Isle of Axholme, Kirkby-in-Ashfield,
Sheffield, Sherwood Sunrisers, Sutton-
in-Ashfield, Wirksworth and Worksop.
The event was organised by Rotn
Trevor Carter of Sutton.
Appropriately the first to complete
the course were walkers from Sutton;
second came Kirkby Rotarians Pam and
Eric Thompson and their daughter
Claire, pictured with DG Michael
Longdon. Meanwhile Rotn Drs Karl
White (Kirkby) & Koshy Mathew (Sutton)
were in the Centre giving blood
pressure checks to any who
wanted them. Rotn David
Turner (Kirkby), pictured with Dr
Karl, was one. DG Michae l
thanked all the walkers,
stewards and organisers for a
very successful event.
Each club was raising money for a particular charity.
Kirkby‟s was Rotary Foundation, our organisation‟s own
charity and the world‟s largest of its kind, funding and
organising a huge range of humanitarian and educational
programmes. Kirkby walkers raised over £800 and the total for the day was £3000.
Ambulance Chaplain Club Calendar
Revd Kevin Charles, Vicar of St Wilfrid’s October
Kirkby, was our guest speaker on August 17 Schools & Charities Invitation (SC)
22nd, and he was accompanied by his wife 24 Joint Meeting with Mansfield RC:
Sue. Speaker: High Sheriff of Notts.(CGC)
His subject was the East Midlands 31 Meal at Ciao Bella, Mansfield
Ambulance Service (EMAS). Revd Kevin
November
served in the organisation for 37 years, first
7 Rtn Eric Thompson club speaker on
as a paramedic, then in management , and District Communications (SC)
after he had gone full time as a C of E 8 Council
clergyman, their chaplain. Known as ‘Rev 14 Guest Speaker Nick Blurton (CGC)
Kev’, he is the only permanent chaplain in 21 Business (SC)
the UK ambulance service. EMAS covers Notts, Derbys, Leics, 28 Special General Meeting (CGC)
Northants and Lincs.
He explained that most of the crews work twelve hour shifts, December
sometimes without proper meal breaks. The number of callouts 5 Sleigh/informal meeting
6 Council
increases and geographical areas widen, due to insufficient funding.,
12 Sleigh/informal meeting
he said Among the problems faced by the personnel are vandalism to 19 Party (CGC)
vehicles, stolen defibrillators, longer A & E waiting times to unload 26 No meeting
patients, verbal abuse and even physical assault. The chaplain has to 27 Panto outing
give the appropriate advice, Revd Kevin said, to help deal with stress, CGC - Coxmoor Golf Club .
anxiety, depression, work/life balance and long hours. The ministry SC - Summit Centre
programme includes peer-to-peer support groups. Guests always welcome
The methods adopted at EMAS have been adopted by Please book with our Club President
ambulance services in other branches of the NHS. Fellow cleric Rotn Email kate.hurt@sky.com
Revd Eric Ashby gave the vote of thanks. Seasonal Favourites page 5
Members, Members!
Our club continues to grow. On September
19th President Philip enrolled two new
members: Mrs Helena Selby as associate and
Mr Pat Harrison as full member.
Helena, whose classification is systems
analyst (retired), lives in Kirkby and has a
daughter, a grandson and a great grandson.
She and her late husband lived and worked
variously in England,
Wales, Spain and Canada.
Helena’s father, a rear-
gunner in the Polish Air
Force, came to England
and settled here during WW2.
Pat lives in Edenbridge, Kent, with his wife Tracey and seven year old son,
but as an IT contractor is currently commuting to work here on an E.On project to
improve the systems supporting the roll-out of smart meters. From 2003 until
2008 Pat and Tracey spent half of their time in Ootacamund
in India where they both joined and became active
members of the local Rotary club. Four weeks before
these enrolments, Rotn Revd Eric Ashby transferred from
associate to full membership. All three have already
become welcome and active participants in the life of our
club.
Going Live
As part of a new recruitment campaign, we’re making a
short video to be featured in the Facebook facility on our
website. The last club meeting in September was taken up
by filming the live sequences at Coxmoor Golf Club, one of our two regular venues. Rotn Ron Walker
and his non-Rotarian colleague David Yeo (David is pictured) did the organising; the ‘starring’ roles
required by the script were very effectively taken by several venerable Rotarians. Everyone appeared in
at least one shot and members said they really enjoyed it! The finished product is due to be unveiled
before Christmas.
For our non-Rotarian readers
We meet weekly at 6.30 for 7 pm on Tuesdays, usually with a meal and
often a speaker. We are currently alternating (see our calendar on p 2)
between Coxmoor Golf Club (below), Coxmoor Road, NG17 5LF and The
Summit Centre, Pavilion Road, NG17 7LL.
We welcome new members. If you’re interested in our Associate
Member scheme or full Rotary Membership, or for any information about
Rotary, please ring the Club phone 07548 694937 , or contact our
secretary on secretary@kirkbyrotary.org.uk. Full information is on our
website www.kirkbyrotary.org.uk.,
which now includes a link to Facebook.
Also we are fortunate to have a number of friends who come
and help at our community events, including those who belong to
other organisations. If you would like to take part in one or more
of the items in our programme please contact any Kirkby Rotarian.
Rotary & In ner Wh eel
Barbecue Sunday 13th August.
After a week of very variable
weather, the gods smiled upon us
with a beautiful warm sunny
afternoon. Having “closed the
gates” on a full house, the result
was a record £518 coming to Kirkby
Rotary‟s charity account. At the
club meeting two days later, with the
dreadful Sierra Leone mudslide
disaster in mind, we decided to
donate part of this sum to Aquabox
Linda and Karl White‟s garden
was as always, the perfect venue,
with gazebos, chairs and a few
Rotary and other games scattered
decoratively about the lawn. Nigel
Aston, his wife Peta and Kate Hurt,
all Rotarians, were the main cooks,
and sundry Inner Wheel members
beetled about selling raffle tickets
and doing other essential jobs.
Our „Find the Key‟ game to
unlock the box containing £10, was
once again a financial non-profit-
maker, with two people finding the
right key. This after a similar fluke
at a summer fair two weeks before,
when three kids won tenners! We
need to add to the 350 keys! At
least the Splat the Rat game didn‟t
lose money.
Two nuggets of conversation
overheard at the barbecue.
> Rotarian Gordon Sugg, a veteran
of WW2 (pictured bouling), reported
that he‟d been to see the film
Dunkirk. Gordon was wounded and
evacuated from those beaches.
What did he think of the film? “It
was nonsense!”, he said.
> Rotarian (to lady guest): Have you
seen this game Splat the Rat?
Guest: No but I was married to one
for a time.
Castaway Nigel
For the latest in our occasional series of Desert Island Discs on September 9th, the
castaway was Nigel Aston, who will be our 2018/19 president. Nigel outlined his
amazing professional career in the catering and wine and spirits industries. During
his progress he met and married Peta, who is also a Kirkby Rotarian and daughter of
Rotn John Chambers. Nigel’s and Peta’s joint careers led them to living in dozens of
different parts of the country, eventually settling in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
Nigel also followed a parallel career as an amateur musician, primarily playing
the trombone. At an early stage he was dragooned into an army band for a spell.
His choice of music covered an interesting and enjoyable range: Edelweiss,
Woodchoppers’ Ball, Scherezade by Rimsky-Korsakov, Aria by Acker Bilk, I Just
Called to Say I Love You, and I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables.
Nigel’s castaway book was a chef’ handbook, and his object - obviously a
trombone!
“Don’t Look Down”
Kirkby Rotarian Pam Thompson writes:
I had never abseiled until I went to support Steve Lawes in his year as District Governor. I had
opportunity to take part and enjoyed the challenge. At conference last year I was speaking with the
people on the Rainbows stall and they asked me if
I had ever thought of abseiling down Derby
Cathedral. This event is held every year to raise
money for Rainbows Hospice for children and
young people. I thought about it for about 10
seconds and then signed up to register my
interest.
In February this year I received an email and
paid my £20 fee to join up. In June I set up a Just
Giving page and
set myself a
target to raise
£500. On the 9th
of September I
set off to Derby
with my family and friends to accomplish my mission. The weather Pam
wasn't great at the start of the day with rain and storms forecast. My
given time was 5.40 pm so I could only hope for the weather to
change.
On arrival I signed up and received my ticket and instructions as
to what time I had to start my 189 step climb up to the top. At 4pm it
rained quite heavily but then when my time came it was glorious
sunshine. I put on the harness and made my way up to the top. Once
at the top it was quite exciting looking down at all the people that had
come to support me. I awaited
my turn from the instructors and
kept thinking about what
everyone had said about not
looking down, however once I started the descent I found it
impossible not to look down and wave. It was an amazing
experience and I totally felt safe at the hands of the mountain
rescue folk, and as soon as I was on the ground I felt that I could
easily do it all again.
At that point I had raised about £700 including gift aid so I
was well pleased. Since the photos went on Facebook I have
raised £1005 with probably another £150 to add on for gift aid. For
this I am truly grateful to all who have supported this very worthy
cause.
PS. Between abseils, Pam skydived from a plane and joined a
sleep-out for charity. The day after Derby, she walked the five
miles at Teversal. (see p 5) Congratulations, Pam! What next?
Seasonal Favourites
Starting Oct 30 till Nov 10, Rotarians will again be helping the local Royal British Legion by selling poppies at the
Kirkby Asda store in two-hour shifts from 9 am till 7 pm . At the Festival Hall on Dec 1 our games stall is in
action 4.30-8 pm for Kirkby Carnival. Then on Dec 2 Santa‟s Grotto starts: every Saturday and Sunday during
shopping hours until Dec 23, plus the Wednesday the 21st, we‟ll being welcoming families to Reuben Shaw‟s
garden centre, Moor Green. Tuesdays Dec 5 and 12 see Santa‟s sleigh out in the town, when there are no
formal club meetings.
Early Warning
Advance notice of two special events in 2018. On Feb 16 and 17 Kirkby Rotary will be putting on our first ever
Beer Festival at the Festival Hall - where else could it be? This promises to be something spectacular with a
number of breweries, caterers and drinks trade companies taking part. Initial info is that the festival will feature,
as well as a range of beers, stuff like cider and gin. March 24 sees the ever popular Ferret Night, now an
annual event, raising funds, like all those mentioned here, for very worthwhile causes.
Anyone interested in helping us with these events will be welcome. Contact any member of Kirkby Rotary Club.
“Sheer Determination”
Monday September 25th saw
the building and installation of
our second Eco-greenhouse,
this time at Annesley Primary
School. Rotarians, pupils, staff
and hoards of volunteers from
Central Co-op, who also
provided funding, were on site
to get the job done. (In fact
there were enough green tee-
shirted Co-op people to be
drafted onto some garden
clearing work too.) But
there‟d been a problem: the
vital wooden framework wasn‟t
going to be available from the
supplier in time.
Annesley head teacher
Dawn Roberts (pictured with
two pupils) takes up the story.
“The obvious solution would
have been to cancel the „Build
Day‟. However, I was very
aware that many volunteers
were planned to be in school
for the build. So I consulted
another head teacher, who had
built a greenhouse from an
instruction guide found on the
internet, for some advice. I
compiled a shopping list and
headed off, in the school
minibus, on the Saturday
before the build, to Wickes in
Sheffield, the only branch which
had all the components
needed.
“On the Sunday, I roped
in a family friend to help unload
the minibus and cut the wood to
the correct lengths using a
circular saw. Not having the
specific kit led to the build being
much more complicated than it
should have been, but through
sheer determination, the team
succeeded, starting work at
8.00 am and finishing at 3.30
pm.” And Rotarian Melissa
Blythe, our projects committee
chair (in pink in the photos),
who oversaw the day, breathed
a sigh of relief!
Throughout the day,
spirits were high, different
sections of the community
working for a common cause.
Which is much what Rotary is
about.
Enabling Young People to Achieve
The New Life Children’s Centre in Gambia was
the subject of the presentation given to the club
meeting on August 12th by guest speakers Ken
and Sylvia Morgan. The West African country of
Gambia has a population of 1.7 million, half of
whom are under 14, with a national average age
of 17. Malaria is rife; the death rate is high; the
toilet is usually a hole in the ground. Ken and
Sylvia thanked Kirkby Rotary for the £1500
cheque - presented to them a few
weeks earlier - that enabled a water
tower to be built at the school.
Previously, the only source of water
for hundreds of people was a single
tap.
New Life school began in 1995
with a couple on holiday in Gambia
and finding “appalling poverty” in
the villages, with no schooling for
children. The couple set up a charity
to raise money, and when they
retired, the Morgans took over. It
took them and their daughter Lisa
twelve months in Gambia to set
up the school.
Today New Life School is a
success story. Two thousand
children have passed through its
classrooms; it has 64 staff,
including 46 teachers, of which
23 are ex-pupils of the school.
“It’s enabling young people to
achieve” Sylvia said. “The
children are proud, they’re clean, with 80 to 90
per cent passing their exams at top grade. A
school inspector stated that New Life School is
one of the best in Gambia.”
A new two-storey school is being built at
a village called Half-Dye. Much more
information on the charity is available at
newlifegambia.co.uk
From the Editor
To all our readers, I hope you have enjoyed this bulletin.
If you know of someone else who would like to
receive it please send me
their name and email address.
If you don‟t want to get it in future,
please do let me know. Thank you.
Rotn Ron Walker
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