April 2017

ROTARY CLUB OF CARLISLE

PRESIDENT David Morton

SECRETARY Mike McNally

THE BORDERER

APRIL 2017

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

This year’s Young Photographer Competition has produced some spectacular photographs – all credit to the entrants. Both Stephen and Peter should be congratulated for organising the competition. The winning entries are reproduced later in this edition of The Borderer.

This month we have speakers from two of the charities that we are supporting – The Blood Bikes and The Great North Air Ambulance.

The Great North Air Ambulance is one of my charities for this year. I was most impressed when I had first-hand experience of their service some years ago. They are sending their Kerry Steele to speak to us on 26^th April about their helicopter based at Langwathby which covers North Cumbria.

I am taking this opportunity to reiterate my reminder that our two main fund raising events are fast approaching. On Friday 19^th May we have the Golf Day and on Saturday 24^th June it’s the Great Ferret Race. Please put the dates in your diaries and get ready to support and enjoy them in every way!

Can I ask members to put their names down for the reception desk duty – it isn’t all that onerous!

PRESIDENT DAVID

ROTARY SPRING WALK

Sunday 9^th April

Our Spring Walk started at Aira Force and continued along the shore of the lake on the new Ullswater Way to Glenridding for lunch a distance of 3 miles, returning to Aira Force on the steamer. Organisers Ken Dewar, Michael P and Julian Venables.

This walk was chosen because it covered part of the walk undertaken by William Wordsworth and his wife when visiting Pooley Bridge, having travelled from Grasmere. It inspired his poem about daffodils.

The weather was fine and sunny with a cool breeze and ground conditions were dry. Over 20 members were in attendance plus 2 dogs. We set off from the National Trust car park, having gained our tickets from a new machine which requires you to swipe a membership card  in the ticket machinein order to get free car parking. We passed through a gate and passed large bed of daffodils (the only ones we were to see!) before crossing the road onto a well marked path.

Following this path through woodland we rounded several small rocky  bays and watched various forms of sailing boats and paddle canoeists who were facing a brisk wind. The views as expected were excellent if a bit hazy. After the bays the path climbed over some rocky outcrops with view points.Participants made good use of the seats that were available. We then faced the only road challenge were the path ended at a rocky outcrop forcing to walk on the road for about 100 yard on the wrong side of the road due to a blind corner. Having overcome this “risk hazard” we again gained access to the path, following it onto another rock outcrop were views down Ullswater and its islands were seen. In the other direction we saw our destination ... The Inn on the Lake hotel. We idled a bit at the viewpoint as we awaited our allocated time for lunch.

We easily reached the hotel and entered the Ramblers bar for refreshments and lunch. Lunch was a Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding meal, followed by deserts and tea and coffee.

At 14:30,we had now completed the walking section of our outing, and progressed to the Ullswater Steamer pier, to board the Aira Force shuttle. After a 20 minute boat ride we then walked a short distance to the car park.

Whilst a short walk, we enjoyed the fine weather, magnificent views, good walking, pleasant lunch and excellent fellowship.

JULIAN VENABLES

Malcolm Metcalfe distributes sustenance to weary travellers

Purple4Polio Jam

Each member of our Club should now have received their pot of jam and there will be a separate box on our Reception Desk for donations. Please fill in the amount of your donation on the sheet in the box so we can claim back the Gift Aid before sending the money to Purple4Polio.

The aim of the scheme is to raise £1,000,000 for Purple4Polio.

By collecting donations/loose change in the empty jar, that target can be reached.

Enjoy!

BLOOD BIKES

The Blood Bikes are one of Vice- President Nicki’s charities for next year: They are also the charity supported by our District Governor Malcolm Baldwin.

On 19^th April we have Ian Beattie as our guest to tell us more about this charity.

Collection for Prostate Cancer UK

Ellis wishes to thank all those who volunteered to collect buckets of money    for Prostate Cancer UK prior to the match Carlisle United v Notts County at Brunton Park on Saturday 8 April 2017 (as part of the MenUnited link between Prostate Cancer UK and the Football League).

As a reward for their efforts volunteers received complimentary tickets to the match and saw a game where Carlisle United struggled to get a much needed win losing by two goals to one. Due to the other results on the day they still remain in the League Two playoff positions.

The money raised has not been totalled and will be announced in the next edition of The Borderer.

A goal for Notts County

Oh dear!

ROTARY GOLF DAY

Friday 19^th May 2017

Please note that our Annual Golf Day will now be held on Friday 19^th May 2017.

Letters and Entry/Sponsorship forms have been distributed 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.

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

Thought for the month
 "The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to them their own." Benjamin Disraeli

YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER COMPETITION

We reproduce here the prizewinners from the competition – all from Austin Friars School and hope you will appreciate the excellent quality of the entrants.

FIRST PRIZE

Katie Kelton - Judges comments:

Imaginative well composed photographs of very high technical creative standard. A worthy first prize.

FIRST PRIZE

Katie Kelton - continued

RUNNER UP - SENIOR

Sophie Bousefield - Judges comments:

Three excellent photographs showing confident use of processing software. The judges were particularly impressed with the text on a path around the head.

RUNNER UP - SENIOR

Sophie Bousefield - continued

HONOURABLE MENTION - SENIOR 

Lucy Shardlow – Judges comments:

Lovely photographs of  familiar places, well composed and processed.

THE FUTURE OF ROTARY IN CARLISLE

Many Rotarians are concerned about the future of our organisation and see one solution to be the formation of new clubs designed to appeal to younger generations.

Carlisle South will be discussing the possibility of setting up a Satellite Club at a meeting soon and taking a vote on this. 

The Public Interest Meetings have been delayed until Monday 22 May at the Old Fire Station.  This will provide extra time in case Carlisle South decide not to proceed and alternative plans have to put together. 

DAVID MORTON

BETH BAREHAM PHD student.
You will recall that Beth amused us one lunchtime with her discourse about the use of alcohol amongst the elderly and she followed this up with a plea for volunteers ( victims !) to join a Focus Group to further this discussion . I am pleased to announce that seven members have rather bravely agreed to participate in this at my house on Friday 21st of April .

The question is – have they volunteered purely in the spirit of Rotary fellowship or are they rather hoping that their tongues will be loosened by a suitable libation ? Time alone will tell.

DAVID HOGGARD

A PROFESSIONAL MOVES WITH THE TIMES

On March 22^nd at 5 minutes notice Norman explained that it had taken until recently to achieve a satisfying standard in digital photography.

Since he arrived in Carlisle he had been trying to reach a satisfactory level of quality and he was pleased with his portfolio which he showed to the meeting.

He was proud of this photograph of Mumbai railway station.

FERRET RACING

JUNE 24^th 2017

Marian is still looking for serious prizes to be auctioned and she is also looking for tombola prizes.

Marian will be selling tickets at our regular meetings, but they will soon be available at the Eden Valley Bookshop in The Lanes.

Membership Challenge

Are you still up for the Challenge?

It is now weeks rather than months before the time expires. 

This is not a hard challenge and only requires you to bring one guest to one meeting during the current Rotary Year 2016/2017.

Who will be next?

SOLAR PANELS

 A Debate

On 29^th March John Mallinson and Norman Butler gave us opposing sides for and against solar panels and other methods of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.

John pointed out that fossil fuels caused damage to the environment and plant life and they were a limited resource.

He quoted as an example The Rosehill Residential Home run by The Henry Lonsdale Trust. Social Care was in crisis and savings had to be made. The Home used to spend £100,000 on heating oil and had converted their boilers to run on biomass pellets with grant from the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. They had also set up a solar farm on land owned by the Trust to generate electricity for the home and any surplus power would be sold to the National Grid. The long term financial benefit was still to be ascertained.

Norman used a vast number of facts to support the case against solar panels. There had been more deaths in the installation and maintenance of the panels than there had been in the nuclear industry – solar panels had to be cleaned every 3 months – a significant amount of pollution was generated in the manufacture of the panels and an investment in Stock Exchange shares would generate a bigger income than a similar amount invested in solar.

Norman had done a survey of householders who had fitted solar panels and whilst there were benefits, many complained of the damage to roofs.

HERE ARE SOME EU LAWS WHICH WE WILL BE PLEASED TO GET RID OF

Cucumbers and bananas should not be bendy 

International ridicule erupted when the EU stated that all bananas must be "free of abnormal curvature". Under the rules, cucumbers were to be "practically straight" and bent by a gradient of no more than 1/10. But imperfectly-shaped fruit and vegetables were back on the supermarket shelves by 2009 when Britain opted to reform the crazy rule. 

It's illegal to eat your pet horse

In 2009 the EU introduced a law which suggested it was illegal to eat "pet" horses after staggering figures revealed that around two million pet horses are eaten across the EU each year. 

Of course some British supermarkets considered themselves well above this law in 2012. The horse meat scandal hit Britain when equine DNA was discovered in value Tesco and Iceland beef burgers. Lidl and Aldi were also rocked by the scandal. 

Just remember it's okay to be so hungry you could eat a horse - as long as you don't own it. 

Water does NOT prevent dehydration 

If you've been on a mighty old work out or you're struggling with a sore heard from a heavy night out, drinking water will NOT ease your pain.Well, that's according to the EU. 

In 2011 they passed a law, which claimed scientists had found no evidence to suggest drinking water stopped dehydration. This meant manufacturers of bottled drinking water were prohibited from labelling their product with anything that would suggest consumption would fight dehydration. 

Prunes will NOT fight your bowel problems

Meddling legislators made it illegal for prunes to be sold as a super food that acts as a laxative and after a thorough investigation, the EU ruled: "The evidence provided is insufficient to establish a cause and effect relationship between the consumption of dried plums of 'prune' cultivars and maintenance of normal bowel function" But anyone who has ever taken part in a 'who can eat the most prunes' competition would surely disagree with this.. 

Turnips are NOT swede 

In 2010 the EU decided to make sure one and all knew the difference between a turnip and a swede. Now supermarkets are encouraged to avoid confusion when labelling both vegetables and this is because locals in Cornwall often refer to their swedes as turnips.

Diabetics should be BANNED from the roads 

Up to one million drivers faced losing their driving licenses - because harsh EU experts deemed people with diabetes "unfit" to drive. The illogical rules were never enforced but ridiculed and mocked widely back in 2010.

Eggs CANNOT be sold by the dozen

Fury erupted when shopkeepers were told all food must be weighed and sold by the kilo - instead of the number contained in the packet back in 2010. And even though British shoppers can still buy a dozen of eggs, it is now priced based wholly on the weight.

Washing up gloves must be able to handle DETERGENTS 

The price of marigolds and oven gloves soared when the EU imposed rigorous testing on these household products to stop people being injured. 

Bonkers Brussels deemed it to be important that washing gloves could withstand standard kitchen detergents and oven gloves underwent tests to ensure they could cope under the pressure of 200c heat. 

Super vacuum cleaners BANNED 

It was as though the British way of life was under threat when the EU looked to target the nation's kettles, toasters and even lawnmowers. 

Their plans to erode the lifestyle choices of ordinary people were followed by the banning of the powerful vacuum cleaner. 

In 2014 vacuum cleaners, which had motors above the EU limit of 1,600 watts had to go. 

But it was all for a good cause because it was in a bid to cut energy usage. 

Potato Competition 5^th July 2017

Good Friday, the traditional day for planting your specially selected first early potatoes falls this year on 14^th April. Are you ready?

Maybe you are considering planting them a week or two beforehand and nurturing them in a warm greenhouse, do you have a secret special growing mix, how often do you water them?

90 days is as long as it takes so best of luck and we will look forward to seeing the results of your labours in July.

Will it give a yield or a panic attack?

The potatoes are planted and covered with soil

Don’t take things for granted you will need to toil

With potatoes like these you are sure to win

So now is the time to get your seeds in.

Good Luck

THE EDITOR

WELL….

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed and dry cleaners depressed? 

Laundry workers could decrease, eventually becoming depressed and depleted! Even more, bed makers will be debunked, baseball players will be debased, landscapers will be deflowered, bulldozer operators will be degraded, software engineers will be detested, and even musical composers will eventually decompose. 

LOST IN TRANSLATION

A Rotary visitor to Japan told a joke lasting 2 minutes. 

The interpreter then translated using only a few words. Everyone laughed. Afterwards the visitor asked the interpreter how he translated such a long joke so quickly. 

"Well, I didn't think they would get the point, so I said, "Our guest has just told a joke. Everyone please laugh."

WISHING WELL

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

£269.51 was collected in the Wishing Well in March for the Great North Air Ambulance and the Club will make that up to £300.

Future collections are for:

• 6 April to 31 May: Life Education; 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. 

   

   

   

PICTURE QUIZ

Where is this?

The prize of a bottle of wine will go to the person who can guess the nearest approximate venue of the photo.  

The Editor’s decision is absolutely final.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

CLUB AGM

Wednesday 3^rd May 2017

Rotary South Charter Night

Friday 23^rd June 2017

Fifty years ago our Club founded the Rotary Club of Carlisle South, who are planning a special Charter Night and it would be fitting for our Club to have at least one table on 23^rd.

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

April          5              Brian Edmundson               

                12             Derek Heyes

                19             Ellis Amos

                26             John Churchill

May           3              Nicki Quayle

                10             Ian Watson

                17             Tom Dawson

                24            

                31            

Rotary Club of Carlisle Events

Club Council Meetings

Club Meetings Programme