February 2017

ROTARY CLUB OF CARLISLE

PRESIDENT David Morton

SECRETARY Mike McNally

THE BORDERER

FEBRUARY 2017

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our members a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Since the last publication of The Borderer, we have had some excellent meetings.

At our Christmas Lunch our very own Norman Butler excelled himself with a mixture of conjuring tricks and first-rate humour – it was an absolutely brilliant lunch – in the true Christmas spirit!

Peter Tiplady organised our Burns Supper with some top-notch speakers and pipers. Both Roland Lawson and Dr Geoffrey Stitt had put an enormous amount of effort in preparing for their part in the evening – and it paid off.  Well done Peter!

Thanks to the efforts of Michael Pearson our Wishing Well has now returned to its prominent position in The Lanes opposite Primark. I personally feel that the Well’s position directly influences the amount that we collect for charity – about £2,500 per year.

While on the subject of the Wishing Well, Michael and his committee are looking for local charities to benefit from the collections, with an emphasis on the local element.

Our speaker last Wednesday was David Simpson, Chairman of District Foundation, and a word of warning – there are two David Simpsons who are District 1190 officers. Beats the four David Mortons joke hands down!

PRESIDENT DAVID

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

14^th December 2016

Christmas lunch now seems a long time ago, so as a reminder we are printing some of the pictures taken one of our cub reporters who was entrusted with the most expensive camera he has ever held and told to capture the event on camera.

The lunch was an occasion to meet up with friends some of whom we do not see on a weekly basis.

Have a look at the expression on Nicki’s face when Clairvoyant Norman recalled several surprise facts about her life.” I wonder how he found out. “Imagine also the gatherings reaction when witnessing the reappearance of a disappearing £5 note and the putting back together of a torn up newspaper. The magic of Christmas, enjoy the pictures.                        

DONALD EDGAR

KERRYANNE WILDE

Community Emergency Response Team UK

Formerly known as Eden Flood Responders,

CERT (UK) formed on the 6^th December 2015 in the aftermath of the foods, a team of volunteers providing on the ground support to flood affected families. Volunteers continue to be the backbone of everything which the organisation does and achieves. Support is given to all districts that have been affected by the floods and the organisation works closely with the councils in those Districts providing as cohesive a service as possible.

CERT UK is open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm Telephone 01768-593190

FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL

Male Hen Harrier

Female Hen Harrier

Aimee Nicholson from RSPB gave us a balanced and informative presentation on the problems associated with the introduction, breeding and survival of the Hen Harrier in areas of suitable habitat.

But they face an uncertain future.

There is enough suitable habitat for over 300 pairs of hen harriers in England but there were no successful breeding attempts in 2013 and only a handful in 2014 and 2015. Numbers of breeding pairs in Scotland fell by over 20% between 2004 and2010 and recovery is absent over a significant area of suitable upland moorland habitat.

Research shows that persecution associated principally with intensive management for red grouse is at the root of the decline. In order to combat this a project known a Hen Harrier LIFE+ involving landowners, raptor fieldworkers and local communities has been set up to protect hen harriers where they are most threatened. This involves on- the- ground monitoring and protection, satellite tagging and raising awareness in the community.

All tagged birds are given a name and the hunt is on for Donald whose last recorded place was is in France

 THE EDITOR

BURNS SUPPER

25 January 2017

An evening with Peter and Friends

The Selkirk Grace was said, and the scene was set, and the atmosphere created by the sound of the bagpipes as the HAGGIS was ceremoniously piped into the room full of hungry people of mixed Nationality and National Dress.

The HAGGIS was now the focus of attention as it was raised high into the air for all to see before being set down before Dr G Stitt who pronounced the traditional address to the haggis before plunging in the knife and filling the air with a warm reeking rich aroma enough to set the taste buds going before the haggis was distributed to all and sunder accompanied with champit neaps and tatties and a whisky sauce.

The banquet continued with roast beef, lightly roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and vegetables and for dessert cranachan

 Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve 
 Are bent like drums; 
Time now for some more pipe tunes to ensure that everyone was awake for the most serious part of the evening The Immortal memory given this year by Mr Paul Hayton a man steeped in the words and life of Robert Burns and here was an opportunity to remind us of just that, but also to highlight some of the poets lesser known and very explicitly rich works!      Three Words see note.

Time to drink the whisky

Now the battle ground was set with the toasts to the Lassies and the Laddies each taking sides with their own interpretation of Robert Burns outlook on life

Leading was our own David Hoggard and in the other corner the formidable Marian Reed

Peter Tiplady proposed a toast to the Guests and Councillor John Mallinson responded.

Following the closing toast everyone joined  in with the pipes in singing

Auld Lang Syne

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!

And gie’s a hand o’ thine!

And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught,

For auld lang syne

Robert Burn’s memory lives on.

Thanks to Peter for pulling it off.

New Year Message

We were pleased to welcome the Rev Nick Mark to deliver this year’s New Year message

Taking as his text Matthew 3 v 13-17 he developed the theme of Servant led Leadership.

Reminding us that New Year is a time when people look both back and forward. Another year of our lives seems to have flashed by and if we have had a wonderful year then perhaps regret its ending. If on the other hand it has been an absolutely dismal year then we really hope that the New will bring a better year.

We live in a very interesting world in terms of what we admire or follow. For some people their idols may be Carlisle United or other contemporary music artistes. Jesus humbled himself in Baptism to demonstrate that Leadership can be servant led and not necessarily by only the exercise of ruthless power. Rotary is also a servant led organisation. It is full of men and women who don’t have to contribute in any way at all to the communities where they are; rather they choose to do so.

I hope this year brings an excellent year for your Rotary Club and one that combines service with another important aspect of both Rotary and Christianity the word is FUN. When people can meet in a sociable environment then even if they can’t agree on everything they can understand better points of view that are not their own.

May this year bring you much happiness and contentment and immense satisfaction and reward for your Rotary Service. There will be times as there are for any of us when you wonder whether it is all worth it. It is then that you realise the camaraderie and encouragement that people from all sorts of different walks of life can give to each other in an organisation like this, to carry you through the tough times.

Happy New Year

ROTARY GOLF DAY

GOLF GREMLINS STRIKE AGAIN!!

Friday 19^th May 2017

It would appear those pesky gremlins have been misbehaving again!

Our Annual Golf Day date has again been altered to allow for Eden Golf Club’s Ladies’ Day which was also scheduled for 12^th May. Accordingly, please note that our Annual Golf Day will now be held on Friday 19^th May 2017.

Letters and Entry/Sponsorship forms will be issued shortly and please, please do try to seek team entries and sponsorship wherever possible as this is our main annual fund raising event. It is always popular and enjoyed by those who take part and we are regularly complimented on the atmosphere of the day. We need as many sponsors and teams to support us as possible as overheads are high.

For those of you who are not golfers, do please still keep the date free in your diary as it would be helpful to have a number of Rotarians to lend a hand on the day. This would just be for a couple of hours to man the desk/receive entry monies/issue raffle tickets etc.  – no knowledge of golf or the rules necessary!!It’s all indoors too, in very pleasant surroundings with lots of seats and coffee to hand. Some counselling experience may be helpful for entrants returning without a smile on their face!

So remember, a change of date to Friday 19^th May 2017 and a need for sponsors, teams and jolly volunteers to give a couple of hours on the day

Robin MacLeod

THE FUTURE OF ROTARY IN CARLISLE

I attended a meeting of the Presidents of the Rotary Clubs in the Carlisle Area recently and there is still an appetite for starting a new Rotary club to appeal to young professionals, possibly after work and not necessarily involving a meal.

Carlisle South would probably be the mother club.

The aim was to have 2 ‘open days’ during April 2017 at a venue at Kingstown – with an aim of starting the club on 1^st July 2017. They were to circulate all businesses at Kingstown. The suggested projects were The Health Mela, Young Carers day, or a Run

The Silloth and Wigton clubs are trying a similar exercise.

Carlisle South could possibly be moving to evening-only meetings

DAVID MORTON

SIMON & MANDY STRICKLAND

Simon has written to say that they were very touched by the generous comments about them. They have appreciated the friendship and good fellowship they have found as members of our Club.

If any members want to contact them, we have the details.

VISIT TO BORDERWAY MART

WHY ARE THERE NO PARKING SPACES AT ROSEHILL ON WEDNESDAYS?

In an attempt to answer the above question and at the same time explain what goes in H&H Borderway Mart, I led a group of a dozen or so Rotarians there for a visit on February 1^st.

We were welcomed by David and Heather Pritchard, husband & wife team, David is Operations Director, and Heather Head of the Pedigree Department.

Over a welcome cup of coffee & biscuits in sale ring number 4, they explained the heritage of the business traced back over 100 years, from the founding Chairman Mr Richard Harrison in 1877 to the Company as it is today with 8 individual businesses now making up the H&H Group. Also with the acquisition in 2015 of the John Swan business in St Boswells the regional coverage expanded by 30% and they now have auctioneering facilities at 9 centres stretching from Northumberland, through Dumfriesshire to South Cumbria. It is still a privately owned company with the original £1 share currently being traded at their quarterly trading days having a value in excess of £25.

We then moved on to see the 3 sale rings which were in operation we had been told there were over 1000 cattle in the market that day. Firstly in ring number 5 we watched the selling of young male & female calves of various breeds mainly from dairy herds, all between 2 & 12 weeks of age, because of the age range & the different breeds the prices varied between & £50 & £400.

Ring number 3 was next where approx. 100 dairy cows were being sold, these animals had either just calved (given birth) or about to do so, and being purchased by dairy farmers for replacement or expansion reasons for their own herd. Prices here, on average, for the sale I guess would probably be around & £1800.

We then moved onto ring 2 and we watched some of the 700 store cattle on offer, this type of animal is between 12 & 24 months of age, all of beef breeds and were going on to further fattening, a great number being purchased by dealers on behalf of farmers, prices here were all well over £1100. Because Carlisle draws animals from such a wide area it gives the buyers, again from a wide area, the opportunity to have in front of them the best selection possible.

Ring number 1 is only used on a Monday for the sale of fat/finished cattle all destined for the abattoir, butchers shops & supermarkets. I am biased of course, but I believe it was a worthwhile, interesting & informative visit, and explains, with the number of people attending on markets days how it puts pressure on parking availability, but with the value these days put into the local and agricultural economy, perhaps we need to accept the inconvenience. I noticed, we were all too polite, but no one asked what they plan to do about parking when work starts on the development in the car park across the road

PS

I came across an interesting book of the history of H&H and how the two farmers Mr Harrison and Mr Hetherington unknown to each other came together in around 1860 from independent auction companies to form what is now the successful present day business.

If any of our members would like to borrow this book please see me.

IAN WATSON

SANTA SLEIGH

We manned the Santa Sleigh on two occasions – 13^th December visiting the Stanwix/Knowfield are and on 20^th we were around the Garlands estate. Tom and Malcolm were our drivers, we had a full complement of Elves and on both occasions Robin stood in as Santa.

We gave many, many children (and parents !) a good deal of pleasure and Christmas joy. But setting up the sound system in a dark barn and then driving the sleigh round some narrow streets is quite a challenge!

We collected £483 on the two nights – many thanks to all those involved

TOTALLY USELESS FACTS

On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.

Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

It's possible to lead a cow upstairs...but not downstairs.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

"Go." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

A snail can sleep for three years.

The volume of the earth's moon is the same as the volume of the Pacific Ocean.

The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.

The "dot" over the letter "i" is called a tittle.        

Spiral staircases in medieval castles are running clockwise. This is because all knights used to be right-handed. When the intruding army would climb the stairs they would not be able to use their right hand which was holding the sword because of the difficulties of climbing the stairs. Left-handed knights would have had no troubles, except left-handed people could never become knights because it was assumed that they were descendants of the devil.

The house fly hums in the middle octave key of F.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

Hummingbirds are the only animals that can fly backwards.

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

ROTARY FOUNDATION

On Wednesday 8th February the Club was addressed by David Simpson the current District Foundation Chairman. He is a past District Governor and has been a Rotarian for many years.

Perhaps I can summarize his presentation in two ways.
1)  PROFESSIONAL He had brought all his own equipment and was very well organized in both what he said to us and his control of the equipment.

2) THOUGHT PROVOKING. He had a message to deliver but he left his audience to come to its own conclusion based on powerful logic and sensible use of facts and statistics.

Rotary started a campaign to eliminate Polio in the knowledge that it would be a lengthy process. We have not ceased in our efforts and we have brought in powerful allies. The Gates Foundation now doubles funds raised by Rotary and the immunization process has been so successful that Polio is now only present in 3 countries and in numbers of less than 100 sufferers. What an excellent achievement and funded by The Rotary Foundation. How proud we all feel.

The Foundations only source of funds is donations from Rotary Clubs.
David showed us that our donations have been static for several years.
Are we in danger of not eradicating Polio.
Where will the funds come from to maintain our other commitments and start new ones ?

Our Club’s contribution to Foundation is slightly above the average for District but is not overly generous. We have something to think about so far as Foundation is concerned.
David gave us other examples of the value of Rotary Foundation and the causes supported by it.

CONCLUSION.  We ought to be proud of Rotary Foundation and we ought to reconsider our contribution. This is my opinion not a summary of what David said.
A fellow Rotarian reminded me that a few years ago we gave £1000 per year to Foundation now we usually give £500.

Surely it is time to reconsider this.

TOM DAWSON

ROTARY NORTH WEST MAGAZINE

From the Editor Ken Jones;

“Welcome to your new District magazine and first a big thank you to all the clubs and individual Rotarians who’ve helped by contributing to this issue.

“We’ve introduced a couple of new features to help you use the magazine to promote your clubs. On pages 3 and 4 you will find meeting and contact details for every club. Already around 25% of our clubs have taken the chance to have their own flyer insert to go along with the magazine. I would appreciate your own views on this.

“One feature I hope you will find especially interesting is Joan Burrows writing as a newly- minted ADG. It’s not always an easy position to fill, so I hope her articles will encourage more of you to have a go.

“Anyone, Rotarian or not reading all the varied activities in our District and reflected in this issue, can’t fail to be impressed with the vitality of Rotary in Lancashire and Cumbria. So please keep the contributions coming in!

“Remember, it’s YOUR magazine and relies totally on YOUR contributions, so please keep contributing.

The same could be said about The Borderer!!

Potato Competition 5^th July 2017

Just a reminder that the time is fast approaching when seed potatoes need to be purchased,  allowed to sprout in a cool dark place, before planting before Easter if you want to stand any chance of having them ready for the first Wednesday in July.

This picture was sent in by one of our readers two days before  this publication went to press.

How are your potatoes doing? Can you send us a picture of your own potatoes as they grow or are you just glad that we have highlighted that it is time to get started.

YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER

Plans for the next competition are well in hand – the closing date for entries is 10^th March 2017

Rotary Club of Carlisle South

The Carlisle South Club are holding their 50^th Charter Anniversary on Friday June 23^rd . The Rotary Club of Carlisle was responsible for setting up Carlisle South and it would be respectful if we could have a substantial representation at the Dinner.

Details to follow.

YOUTH SPEAKS

Rotary District 1190’s Youth Speaks Competition 2017 was held at Windermere School on Saturday, 4 February.   The school provided an excellent venue in a beautiful location, as well as generous hospitality, and the event was thoroughly well organised and compéred by Richard Lea, of the Rotary Club of South Ribble.

In the Senior age group (14 – 17 yrs), 9 schools participated.  Along with our Club’s winners, Trinity School, there were entries from competitions run by the Rotary Clubs of Thornton Cleveleys, Preston, Ambleside, Bassenthwaite, Chorley Astley, Ambleside Kirkstone and Clitheroe.

Topics were wide-ranging.  The host school raised a good deal of laughter with their presentation “Happiness: A necessary goal or a dangerous obsession”.Others tackled more serious subjects, such as: “Animal Cruelty”, “The media – the masters of manipulating children” and “What is racism?”.

Trinity’s speaker, Cameron Inglis, won Best Speaker with his subject “Would human society be better run by an Artificial Intelligence than by people?” but the overall winners, who progress to the Regional Final in March, were John Ruskin School, Coniston, whose subject was a witty piece, presented by a native Greek speaker entitled “The importance of learning a new language”.

All in all, a really good and fast-moving afternoon’s entertainment, with contributions from confident young people, who, with their teachers, had put in a great deal of hard work to achieve an outstanding level of presentation.

STEPHEN HIGGS

WISHING WELL

The Wishing Well has now been moved back to its prominent position opposite Primark

Future collections are for:

• 5 January to 22 February: Eden Valley Hospice; Joe & Robin.

• 23 February to 5 April: Great North Air Ambulance; Robin & Michael.

• 6 April to 31 May: Jigsaw Children’s Hospice; Michael & Peter Yates. 

• 1 June to 28 June: The Lanes charity ‘One Great Day’: Peter Yates & Ken Dewar.

• 29 June to 9 August 2017: Carlisle Key: Ken D & Joe. 

   

  Club Members are invited to submit names of future beneficiaries to cover the period from August 2017. There is an emphasis on the local element.

   

   

   

PICTURE QUIZ

THE ANSWER TO LAST MONTH’S QUIZ

The picture as many people answered correctly was taken at the gardens at WARNELL HALL during a special visit arranged by Marian Reed on a glorious summer evening some time ago. The first correct answer drawn from the box was from Mike McNally.

The prize is on its way.

THIS MONTH’S PICTURE QUIZ

You may know some of these lovely people –but exactly where are they?

Answers should be sent to Editor Donald by 1^st March and winner drawn from our virtual box will receive a magnificent prize, as yet unspecified!
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

CLUB AGM

Wednesday 3^rd May 2017

CLUB ASSEMBLY

Wednesday 28^th June 2017

PRESIDENT’S DAY

Wednesday 12^th July 2017

CHARTER NIGHT

Wednesday 29^th November 2017

RECEPTION DESK FOR CLUB MEETINGS

February    1              Derek Heyes

                8              David Hoggard

                15             Robin Macleod

                22             Peter Atkinson

March        1              Ian Watson        

                8                     

                15             Peter Yates               

                22             Brian Edmundson

                29             Elizabeth Mallinson

April          5              John Harris       

                12             Derek Heyes

                19            

                26            

May           3             

                10            

                17            

                24            

                31            

Rotary Club of Carlisle Events

Club Council Meetings

Club Meetings Programme

Club Meetings Programme