Charter Dinner 2012 - A Celebration of the 89th Anniversary of the founding of our Club

A formal evening to mark the 89th anniversary of the Club's Charter.

And a great evening it was!

After a typical Ramside meal came the traditional welcomes and toasts. In responding to a toast to Rotary International, DG Tony Wortman took the opportunity to present long-service awards to a number of members.  The fact that there were so many is an indication of the age profile of our Club - but none the worse for that!.

President Patrick was pleased to welcome our guests and visitors, among whom were the Mayor and Mayoress of Durham, representatives from the Rotary Clubs of Durham Elvet, Crook and Spennymoor, District Governor Tony Wortman and his wife Elizabeth (who is currently President of the Rotary Club of Seaham), Assistant Governor Jean Thompson (a member of the Rotary Club of Newton Aycliffe), the President of the Inner Wheel Club of Durham, Doris Dobson, and, of course, our Speaker for the evening, Alan Gibson and his wife Rita.

After the toasts, we settled down to enjoy an intriguing and informative presentation from Alan on his experiences in the Falklands Conflict on this, the 30th anniversary.  Alan retired from the Royal Marines with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel a few years ago, but was a Lieutenant and Intelligence Officer with the Marines in the Falkland Islands.  He illustrated his talk with many vivid images, both official and non-official, and recounted some hair-raising events, including the run-up to the tragedy of the Sir Galahad and the Welsh Guards.  It was indeed intriguing to hear of the experiences of someone, other than a journalist, who was actually "on the ground and in the thick of it".

Afterwards, Alan responded willingly to a number of questions, including "could we do it again", to which his answer was - no, but neither could the Argentineans!

Thanks, Alan, for a thoroughly professional presentation.

The Top Table
From left to right:- DG Tony and his wife; Doris Dobson, President of the Inner Wheel Club of Durham; AG Jean Thompson, the Mayoress and Mayor of Durham; and with their backs to us, President Patrick and his wife.  Unfortunately, our speaker, Alan Gibson, is just out of the picture to the left!
 

DG Tony Wortman responds to the toast to Rotary International with a toast to the
Rotary Club of Durham

... and presents a long service award to Rtn. John Clark
who has been a member of our Club since 1969.