NEW MALDEN ROTARY CLUB - MONTHLY MAGAZINE
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NEW MALDEN ROTARY CLUB
MONTHLY MAGAZINE
JANUARY 2019
PRESIDENT ROGER’S
RUMINATIONS
A very happy new year to all our readers
As you will realise, the Editor has cracked the whip and this
newsletter is being written in that wonderful period between
recovering from Christmas over-indulgence and preparing for the
next round on New Year’s Eve. So if the text contains grievous
spelling errors or omissions, or the syntax is missing, then blame it
on the Season. Thank you Editor, too, for an excruciating collection
of Christmas jokes in the last Bulletin – wonderful, so many so
awful that they deserve repeating. But, since Christmas is over, we
won’t!
Our Rotary festive season started with a magnificent switching on of the Christmas lights
in the High Street. ‘Magnificent’ because nothing went wrong! The lights all came on (well
one stuttered slightly), Rudolph looked at his best having
scrubbed up beautifully and the rubber ‘runners’ on the
sleigh didn’t blow. Santa and the Mayor all reached St
George’s Square safely to find a snug cabin awaiting in
which they could greet the families queuing up to see
them. And, Mother Nature smiled benignly on us all.
The impression I had too was that it all took place in front
of one of the largest crowds we’ve seen in the High Street
for some while. Congratulations to everyone, from the
lamp-post minders to the New Malden Fortnight teams
and especially to Peter Hope
whose dogged telephone calls to Kier and RBK did much to ensure
that we had no ‘illumination malfunction’ of the sort that plagued us
all last year.
Our run up to Christmas also has a serious side – fundraising for
local charities. Here, regrettably, Mother Nature turned her face
away and Santa and his helpers had to endure some pretty wet
evenings and Saturdays. Again, though, we were blessed with a
good selection of Rotarians and friends who turned out – some at
very short notice – to support Santa around the streets and on the
High Street. The end result? We managed to raise over £8.000 for
CONT..
DP 130 JAN 19 1
our charities. A nice start to the New Year. Congratulations to all who
participated, especially organiser Peter Skinley who was out every night and
day, come rain (mostly) or shine.
Christmas is also a time of carols and readings and I was pleased to have the
opportunity, through the kind invitation of Kingston Rotary’s President, to listen to
the choir at Staywell’s Raleigh House in New Malden. The choir, made up of
Staywell attendees, was created as a Christmas initiative and the enthusiasm of
the members – many of whom had never sung before – was infectious.
Kingston Rotary sponsored the choir’s creation and training and should feel very
happy with the result.
It was also real pleasure to follow in to footsteps of
previous Club presidents and read the first lesson at the
special service at the Methodist Church on Sunday
afternoon. The Church was decked out with a number of
Christmas trees – one for each of the Church’s charities,
including one for Rotary, and looked extremely
welcoming. A thoroughly enjoyable start to the final run
up to Christmas.
Finally, any Rumination would not be complete without a
reference to the Club’s own Christmas party, this year
overseen by John Meredith. The 2018 party featured two
new additions – a ‘secret Santa’, the suggestion of
member Sally-Anne Shelton; and a ‘sensory quiz’
devised and run by member Graham Thompson. I hope the new additions
added to the overall enjoyment – perhaps permanent
additions in future years? Thank you to both Graham and
Sally-Anne.
Like previous years, of course, no Club Christmas party
would be complete without the ‘Twelve Days of
Christmas’, sung as always by a glee club assembled on
the night by John Hicks. Despite John’s best efforts, it
has to be said that ‘sung’ is a term which can only be
applied loosely in this case. As always the Club’s
rendition was unique. The ‘Twelve Days’ was first
published in 1789, with the version we know today from
1909 by the composer Frederic Austin. That was twenty
years before the formation of our New Malden Club. It’s
safe to say that had our Club been the first to sing Mr Austin’s composition, the
‘Twelve Days’ would most likely have never become the national favourite it is
today.
A very good time was had by all, though, with more than a large helping of
bonhomie. So now it is time to pack away the considerable achievements of
2018 and it is off to 2019 - and back to business.
To all Club members, have a most enjoyable New Year’s Eve and then a year
ahead to remember.
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NEWS FROM OUR
INNER WHEEL CLUB
President 2018/19
Janet Albert Richards
I began the month by welcoming 17 members of Inner Wheel to
lunch at our house. To say this is a squeeze is a bit of an
understatement but it makes for lively conversation and much
laughter. I think it was enjoyed by all and we added another £160
to our donation in January to the Blood Runners. We have also
chosen to decorate our Christmas Tree in the Methodist Church for
the Blood Runners. I must admit that I was a bit taken aback to
find that somehow we had been given prime position at the centre
of the altar. We definitely connected to our “inner child” when
making the decorations of bottles of blood, hearts, lungs and
motorbikes!
Several members also attended the Mary Preston Carol Concert on the 5th
December. This is a delightful evening featuring local schools and dance
organisations. We enjoyed singing, ballet dancing and a very good ensemble from
Hampton School together with a brilliant piano soloist. The event is run by Bobby
Child and monies contribute towards community events and providing holidays for
disadvantaged children. We were able to help by providing the refreshments for the
interval.
We also had our own Christmas party on the 11th December. It was extremely nice
to have a choice for the main meal and many people opted for the non traditional
salmon which was absolutely delicious with its mixed herb crust. Moira, took up the
challenge, once again, to organise the event and we were entertained with games
and readings by Jose. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.
Several Inner Wheelers also attended the Rotary Christmas Party on the 17th and
after an excellent meal took part in “guess the number of objects”, secret Santa and
the traditional singing. A really great evening.
Together with Roger, we attended A Service of Lessons and
Carols at New Malden Methodist Church and we both read a
lesson. Although I worried about the reading, I definitely
had the easier task as I had a far shorter reading than
Roger! The service was well attended and denotes, for me,
the real start of Christmas, especially with all the beautifully
decorated trees and all the familiar carols.
Happy Christmas and more importantly a Happy and
Healthy 2019.
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Message from Fund Raising
A very big “THANK YOU” to all who helped with the collections. Through your
efforts in the miserable weather this year and the static and donations being
down, the mobile went some way to make up the difference.
We collected the princely sum of £8000.00,, which is £500.00 down on last year.
Again, thank you all for the help and good humour during the mobile and static
collections.
SNIGGER SECTION
• A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better
boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."
• A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six
year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I
wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you
hear Mum say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and
said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"
• If you come across a hot man who is mature, smart, humble, educated,
financially loaded, passionate and patient and who is great at fixing
things around the house, is not materialistic, who is a great lover and is
attentive to his partner's needs..................... rest assured in the
knowledge that the joint you have just smoked is of superior quality!
• What´s the stupidest animal in the jungle? The polar bear.
• I am in a good place right now. Not emotionally. I am in the off-licence.
• Common sense is like deodorant. Those who need it don’t use it.
• Of course I talk to myself, sometimes I need expert advice.
• Even duct tape can't fix stupid ... but it can muffle the sound!
• A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music
will follow..
• My wife and I have an agreement – I admit wrong and she always agrees.
• It is called the mother-tongue because fathers rarely have a chance to
talk.
• I was taught to respect my elders. It's just getting harder to find them.
4
14th David Powers
1911 – Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition makes landfall on the eastern edge
of the Ross Ice Shelf.
83 BC– Mark Antony, Roman general and politician was born.
26th Ken Albert Richards
1905 – The world's largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats
(0.621350 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
1963 – José Mourinho, Portuguese footballer and manager was born.
29th Tony Chalk
1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London
1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer was born.
DUTY OFFICER ROTA
PAY DESK ADMIN 1 ADMIN 2/3
Jan 7 Eva Croucher Ken albert -
Peter Skinley Richards
14 Eva Croucher Nick Higgins
Peter Skinley
21 Eva Croucher John House Peter Hope
Peter Skinley
28 Eva Croucher Brian Garlick Jeff Reardon
Peter Skinley
Feb 4 Robin Linnecar Tony Townsend
Tim Woodcock
CLUB DINNER MENUS
Fish & Chips
Jan 7
Chocolate mousse
Sausages& Mash
14
Bakewell tart & Ice cream
Steak & mushroom pie
21
Crème brulee
Roast Baked Gammon
28
Apple Crumble & Ice cream
Feb 4 To be decided
5
CLUB EVENTS ROTARY YEAR 18 /19
2019
JANUARY
7 Committees
14 Council
19 Inner Wheel coffee morning.
21 Speaker ; Lydia Clark , Royal Marsden Hospital
25 Inner Wheel : Tapas Evening.
28 Speaker: Alan Vincent, Codes and Code breaking
FEBRUARY
4 Committees
11 Business meeting followed by Council
18 Speaker : Dick Elsey - Golden age of Comedy on the
Wireless.
25 tba
MARCH
4 Committees
11 Council
18 Speaker TBA
25 Speaker TBA
APRIL
1 Committees
6 District Council meeting—Reigate
8 Council
15 Speaker
22 No meeting – Bank Holiday
29 Partners evening. Speaker Chris Abbot “From Punch to
War horse. A world of puppets.
NEXT COPY DATE.
BEFORE 24th January 2019
NB. THE COPY DATE IS THE VERY LAST DATE BY WHICH ARTICLES FOR
INCLUSION IN THE NEXT BULLETIN CAN BE CONSIDERED.
THE EARLIER YOU SUBMIT YOUR PIECE THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF
INCLUSION!
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