Digital Bulletin No 99

October 2026

From the editor’s desk

Philip Smith edited our Bulletin for 20 years. He produced our first Online Bulletin during the Covid lockdown to help keep us all in touch when we weren’t allowed to meet in person. (Even funerals were restricted to seven mourners and, unless they lived together, they had to sit a minimum of two metres from each other.) I took over in December 2021 with digital edition No 43. Next month we will reach digital edition No 100, something of a milestone of its own before we get to our Centenary next year.

It would be nice if we could mark the 100th edition in some way. I would welcome contributions from you on either your memories of Rotary at that time or your memories of lockdown.

Words from the President

September 3

Business meeting on Zoom and yet another change!

When I was President in 2018 we had Committees for Club Admin, Membership, Public Image, Foundation, International, Community & Vocational, and Youth Services. All reported, together with the Treasurer and Secretary, to the monthly Club Council Meeting which lasted up to an hour. The salient points were then reported to the Club at the monthly Business Meeting. This was before the use of Zoom so Business Meetings were subject to time constraints because some of us had to get back to work.

We no longer have those Committees but somehow Council Meetings still last an hour. The difference being that now, with Zoom, the Business Meeting lasts longer and much of it is simply repeating what happened at the Council Meeting.

It was proposed therefore that, in common with several Clubs in the District, we cease having monthly Council Meetings and all Club business would be conducted during the Business Meeting. If something sensitive arises then a Special Meeting of Council could be arranged.

We will be trialling this change until the end of this Rotary year.

At the meeting we also agreed to send £500 to Shelter Box for use in the Nepal flood disaster.

September 4

Bob and Jean Booker, Alison and Phil Moses plus Stephen and myself made up a team for the Danbury & Villages Rotary quiz. We did quite well on the questions but unfortunately it soon became apparent that identifying bugs was not one of our specialist subjects and we lost out on the marathon round. We ended up third.

September 5

Warwick, Graham and I represented the Club at the District Forum held at the County Hotel.

After opening the meeting District Governor Gloria Nichols expressed concern over declining membership figures. The District lost three Clubs last year through failure to attract new members. Gloria urged everyone to think differently to reverse the trend. She suggested Clubs might attract younger people if they can just come along and participate in an event of interest to them. They may become members at a later date. Clubs can also generate interest by making use of things like social media to advertise activities.

Humanitarian lead IPDG Mark Williamson talked about the Essex Heritage Orchard project. There will be opportunities for us to get involved in planting, maintaining and harvesting. The produce is intended for local food banks.

District Environment Chair Graham Everard is hoping all Clubs will engage in the Plastic Blitz project next year. We will be looking to collect 100 bags of litter in our Centenary year. Watch this space!

Steve Gale gave us the latest polio figures of 19 cases in Afghanistan and 3 in Pakistan. Polio eradication is now so close that we need to keep up the momentum. Steve’s Club Southend City will be hosting a fundraising dinner in aid of End Polio Now at the Pearl Dragon Chinese restaurant in Southend on 27 October. (This is the same evening as the Five Clubs Dinner, also in aid of polio eradication, hosted by Chelmsford Mildmay at the Royal Tiger in Rettendon).

Finally, a date for your 2027 diary: next year’s District Conference will be held at the Essex Business School in Colchester on 8 September.

September 9

We couldn’t have a meeting at Ivy Hill this week so a scatter week was planned. Steve and I were in King’s Lynn for a few days to celebrate our golden wedding anniversary. Unfortunately the Rotary Club of King’s Lynn, celebrating its centenary this year, met the day before we arrived but the King’s Lynn Priory Club met the day after so we invited ourselves to their meeting.

The Club meet Wednesday evenings at King’s Lynn Golf Club. Members can go along for a one course meal at 6.30pm or join the meeting after the meal to just hear the speaker. The speaker was District 1080’s Safeguarding Officer Claire Jaques from nearby Downham Market Club. I already knew Claire because she was Secretary of Halstead Club before moving to Norfolk two years ago. Small world; it was lovely to catch up with her.

King’s Lynn Priory is a fairly small Club and with three visitors from Downham Market plus Steve and myself they were almost outnumbered. Their main fundraiser is a fire walk which raises over £30,000. I’m still debating whether this would be a good way to create impact in our Centenary year.

I chatted with a Past President who said that he had made some changes in his year but a couple of them had been reversed by his successors. Rotary evolves slowly!

We had a lovely evening with them and it just shows that as a Rotarian you can go anywhere and receive a warm welcome.

September 17

Our monthly Fellowship Meeting took place at North Weald Airfield, one of the two bases of Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT). As we approached the airfield a red and yellow liveried car with flashing blue lights was driving the other way. When we arrived we were told that we were fortunate because the low cloud cover meant that the doctor and paramedic had left to attend an emergency in a car and the helicopter was still on site.

We had a detailed look at the helicopter with pilot Justin and his co pilot. Justin explained that flying a helicopter was a bit like trying to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time. Easy when you know how.

Volunteers Lesley and Martin Sulley (better known to some of us as Past District Governor Lesley and Foundation Chair Martin) gave us an informative overview of the charity and the challenges it faces. EHAAT does not receive any money from the government or subsidy from the NHS. Lesley explained that this has been a deliberate policy so that the charity retains its independence and ability to respond to any emergency.

Our modest donation from Graham’s President’s Lunch will go towards the £1,000,000 per month cost of keeping two helicopters operational.

Fifteen of us had an enjoyable and informative morning and while none of us would wish to encounter the EHAAT helicopter and crew in an emergency situation it is very reassuring to know that they are out there.

Thanks to Graham for organising the visit.

September 24

Today we were at Ivy Hill. My opening thought was that if every computer in the world crashed and the internet was completely gone then people our age are the only ones who would cope.

Having won the raffle at the previous Ivy Hill meeting I also had to give the thought for the day. My thought came from the address that Antonio Guterres, General Secretary to the United Nations, gave earlier in the week “Equality is not a dream, it is a decision.”

Our speaker was John Spence on the subject of local government reorganisation in Essex. Currently we have Essex County Council plus the unitary authorities of Southend and Thurrock. The changes proposed would give either three or five new districts each with a directly elected mayor. The County Council proposed three districts whereas the town and borough councils wanted five.

John outlined some of the pros and cons of reorganisation. On the plus side local government would be more efficient without the current two tier system. Planning decisions would be quicker as only one decision would be needed. There are currently 14 different waste collection authorities over the whole of Essex so streamlining would be beneficial. However one major downside would be the effect on education which would move from one overall body to the new authorities causing potential cross-boundary issues.

The changes were due to be implemented in March 2028 but a late challenge from Essex and other affected Council areas citing that criteria had not been followed mean that plans are on hold. The expectation is that there will be no change during the lifetime of this Parliament.

As ever when I hear John speak I am in awe of his ability to remember facts and figure and craft a speech without being able to refer to notes.

Thoughts for the Day

August 10, David Axon
It is not the hearing that improves life,
but the listening.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

September 24, President Anne
Equality is not a dream, it is a decision.
Antonio Guterres

Rotary in Green Close

Keith Otter

Bear with me while I fill in the background.

Background

Pat and I have lived in Springfield since 1972 and in Green Close since 1998. The Close is built on former glebe land about ½ kilometre south-west from All Saints’ Church. Glebe land was originally land owned by churches for the use of the incumbents. In 1978 all glebe land was transferred to the local dioceses.

All Saints’ has a very nice font. During the Civil War and Cromwellian period (1641-1660) it was removed from the church and hidden to prevent it being destroyed by religious zealots who objected to any ornamentation in churches. One rumour is that it was submerged in the large pond that is now at the back of Green Close. The other, which seems to me more likely, is that it was buried on the glebe land, which may or may not have been somewhere n the area of Green Close. The font was retrieved and put back in the church on the Restoration.

The glebe land extended from Springfield Road to Church Lane. In Victorian times it was split in two by the railway line. A large Rectory with extensive grounds was built on part at the Church Lane end. This is now a private house.

In the late 1930s the land between the railway line and the grounds of the Rectory was taken for Green Close. It is a T shape. The developer laid down the road, installed the services and marked out building plots. The plots were sold on condition that each buyer should erect a house costing at least £600.(Those were the days!) The houses still use the original plot numbers, which is why they run consecutively instead of in the usual “odd and even” pattern.

One of our neighbours has a plan of Green Close as it was in 1942. There were just four houses at the top of the T, facing east towards Stump Lane, and a few on the southern side of the “upright”. I assume building work was suspended at the start of the Second World War, as it was elsewhere.

Rotary

What has all this got to do with Rotary?

The connection comes mainly from those four original houses at the top of the T. Maurice Garside, who was our President in 1943-44, lived in the third of those, counting from the left. Our Honorary Member and former Secretary Malcolm Hamlyn and his wife Rita have lived in the first for over 40 years. Pat and I have lived in the second, between the Hamlyns’ house and what was Maurice Garside’s, for 28.

I don’t know how long Maurice Garside lived in Green Close. When we moved in his house was owned by a couple who had been there since the 1950s.

So that’s two Presidents and a Secretary who lived in Green Close. There is one other, more tenuous, connection. Some members will remember that shortly before Covid one of our neighbours, living on the north side of the “upright”, held a fund-raising plant sale in his magnificent garden. I can’t recall how much was raised but I do know those of us who went all had a good time.

Random jottings

I’ve decided to boycott any company that only sells things I can’t afford.

Teamwork is important. It helps put the blame on someone else.

What do fish say when they hit a concrete wall? Dam!

Behind every angry woman is a man with no idea what he did wrong.

Why did Beethoven get rid of his dogs? All they said was “Bach, Bach, Bach”.

Two men walked into a bar. You would have thought at least one of them would have ducked.

Apparently I snore so loudly it scares everyone in the car I’m driving.

Our visit to Air Ambulance

Forthcoming meetings

October 8: Rtn Dave Axon: My first trip abroad
At the Ivy Hill Hotel
Vote of Thanks: President

October 15: Fellowship Meeting
Venue: Channels

October 22: Freya & Mayer: Support Dogs
Venue: Ivy Hill Hotel
Vote of Thanks: TBA

October 29: Joint Clubs Meeting
At the Royal Tiger, Rettendon
Organised by the Rotary Club of Chelmsford Mildmay
This is an evening meeting

November 5: Business Meeting
On Zoom

November 12: Carol Weller: Essex Voluntary Blood Service
Venue: Ivy Hill Hotel
Vote of Thanks:TBA

November 19: Fellowship Meeting
Venue: Channels

November 26: Rtn Keith Dabbs: Micro States of Europe
Venue: Ivy Hill Hotel
Vote of Thanks: President Anne