2014-15 Highlights

The 2014-15 Rotary year started in July, and our President this year is Mark Williams.

The Club is looking forward to an active year, and we will be adding details of the highlights of the year to these pages in the months ahead.

2015 Photographic Competition - 29th June 2015

Once again the Club held a succesful and enjoyable photographic competition.  There were lots of entries and Club Members enjoyed choosing their favourites.

Full details and the pictures that won or were runners up in the four classes are included on the Photographic Competition pages on the website.

Shown below is the overall winner, taken by Carole Ford.  "Open Wide" won the Rotary Event class, and was taken when Carole was in India earlier in the year taking part in the polio immunisation programme.

Members and guests had an excellent night out on a visit to Sion Hill.  After a very informative guided tour round the house, which is full of some beautiful and interesting furnishings and artwork, we had an opportunity to wander round the grounds on a beautiful summer evening. With a real wow factor both inside and out - we all wished this was our home!

Fundraising for Polio Plus 6th June 2015

Members of the Club were at the Town square offering a shoe shine or face painting for a donation towards Polio Plus.  On a very windy day the town was rather quiet - but a useful sum was raised to send to this worthwhile cause, and should help in ensuring Polio is finally eradicated across the world.

A Trip to the Headingley Test - 31st May 2015 

A number of members of the Club joined fellow rotarians across the District to enjoy a day of the England v New Zealand Test at Headingley.

International Fundraiser in Aid of A Special School in India - 11th April 2015

The Club, together with family and friends, held a very succesful fundraising night for our second charity in April, at which around £2,500 was raised. Full details of the Charity we are supporting can be found on the International page of this website.

A Nostalgic Social Night Out - 6th March 2015

A number of members of the Club were in the audience at a very enjoyable Beatles Tribute night with the band Beatlemania at the Forum in Northallerton. Part of our social programme and also a chance to stretch those muscles with a bit of "the twist" and other old favourites!  Amazing that most of us could still remember the words to the songs word for word!

Rotary Clubs Technology Tournament - 3rd March 2015

The Rotary Clubs of Northallerton Mowbray, Northallerton, Thirsk, Richmond and Wensleydale have joined to put on the Annual Schools Technology Tournament at Catterick Garrison. This was a very successful event, enjoyed by all the young people who took part. Thirty teams from eight schools had the task of designing and building a working model of a bridge, with a lifting span, able to carry a heavy weight across a river. The Tournament is an excellent test of team working and time management as well as design and construction skills. A team from Barnard Castle School, pictured below with their model, were winners at the Foundation level. Teams from Northallerton College won both the Intermediate and Advanced level competitions. Photos of all the winning teams are on the Technology Tournament page in the Youth Services section of our website. As well as the schools mentioned above we had teams from Wensleydale School, Richmond School, The Allertonshire School, Risedale College, Thirsk School and Cundall Manor School.  We had assistance from North Yorkshire Timber who provided most of the wood needed for the models, and also the Army who provided us with the tables used by the teams. 

Rotary Young Chef - North Group Finals - January 2015 - College Girls Go Close

Northallerton College students Georgina Mackley and Ellie Cameron narrowly missed out on a place in the District finals of Rotary Young Chef following the northern area cook-off at Boroughbridge.

The young Chefs were asked to produce a two-course healthy meal on a limited budget of  £8 within a 90-minute time frame. Marks were awarded for a variety of skills from choice of menu, planning, hygiene to the taste and presentation of the meal.

 The standards of cooking and presentation reached a new high, with the judges finding it very hard to decide on the winner. But eventually, for the second year running, the winning Young Chef was Aimee O'Connell from Boroughbridge High School.

 Ellie was second with a main course of marscapone and chive-stuffed chicken wrapped in parma ham with garlic potatoes and crisp green beans. Her dessert was mini meringues wedged with cream and fresh summer fruit coulis. Judges for the competition were Corporal Steve Morrison from RAF Leeming and Mrs Sue Ibbotson.

All competitors received a certificate presented by Rotary Assistant District Governor Derek Jeary. Winner Aimee now goes on to compete in the District final at Betty's Cookery School next month.  

Santa Collections - December 2014

Our festive fundraiser for our young peoples projects kept the Club busy in the run up to Christmas. Santa has been out on his sleigh around the streets of Northallerton and visiting supermarkets as well.  Thanks to Morrisons, Asda and Tescos for their assistance with this. And to Sainsburys for helping with some of the sweets we give out as a thank-you. Over £1,000 was raised to fund future projects organised by our Youth Committee.

Showing our creative side! - December 2014

Anne Wall - one of our Memers, gave a talk about her cake making hobby, and some of the highlights in terms of the designs and themes she has used over the years. It was then a case of everyone donning their pinnies to try their own christmas themed creations. The staff team at The Allerton Court Hotel accepted the tricky task of judging the table with the best plate!  The picture below shows Anne with two of the entries.  The plate on the right hand side created by "Table 4" was the worthy winner.

Rotary Young Chef - Local Round - December 2014

We have just held the local round of the 2014-15 competition.

Georgina Mackley and Ellie Cameron now go North Group cook-offs after impressing in their heat at Northallerton College.

They each prepared tasty two-course meals to a tight timescale and were given top marks by the judges from RAF Leeming's award-winning catering team, Nick Wright, Peter Monaghan and Stephen Morrison.

The girls go forward to the next stage at Boroughbridge, where they will compete for the chance to reach the District final at Bettys Cookery School in Harrogate in February 2015.

Thanks go to College food technology teacher Alex Cook-Smith for helping with arrangements. 

Light Up Rotary Wreath - December 2014

Our Rotary theme for this year - which is "Light Up Rotary" - provided the inspiration for our entry in the exhibition of Christmas Trees and Wreaths at St Helen's Church Ainderby Chuch.  As well as rotary themed colours we were able to include some of the key words underpinning our Rotary Values - as well as Happy Christmas in various languages (google translate permitting!)

Santa ( and a Dalek as well! ) Comes to Town - 30th November 2014

The Club helped ensure Santa arrived safely in town by providing an escort for his bus down the High Street.  Once again the decorations made this vintage vehicle look splendid - and there were lots of families there to wave to our visitor as he made his way to the Town Hall to meet some of the children of the town.  

Fortunately the Dalek appeared to be on our side as well and provided a popular part of the activities during the afternoon - with no evidence of anyone suffering "extermination"!

Helping out at the Town Fireworks - 5th November 2014

Once again a good contingent of Club members helped out with the bucket collection for donations to next year's display, before warming up with our traditional visit to the Red Chilli.

International Fund Raiser on a Eurovision Theme - 18th October 2014

Our International Committee organised a Eurovision themed evening to raise money for children in Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries. Delicious authentic dishes prepared by members, past Eurovision songs and fun quizzes combined to produce an unforgettable experience which had the added plus of raising nearly £700. Merci beaucoup mes amis or should we say boom-bang-a-bang and ding-a-ding dong! 

Ice Bucket Challenge - 1st September 2014

7 brave members of the Club took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge, and the £115 raised has been split equally between the Motor Neurone Disease Charity, and Rotary's own Polio Plus Campaign.

More pictures and a video of the event are available on the Club's Facebook page.  There is a hot link to that on our home page.

An evening cruise on the River Tees - 11th August 2014

Club members, families and friends had an enjoyable evening cruising up the Tees

Fundraising Coffee Morning at the Town Hall Northallerton - 9th August 2014

The club held the annual coffee morning fundraiser in aid of local charities and good causes

Rotary Team tackle the "Tour de Northallerton" as part of Northallerton Carnival - 12th July 2014

Whilst the slight incline encountered on Yafforth Road might not be quite as taxing as Mount Ventoux, our intrepid team enjoyed taking part in the Tour de France themed rides included as part of this year's Carnival.  The weather was kind, and a number of the team were tempted back onto their bikes after an absence of some years in a number of cases!

Ten Pin Bowling with the Children from Chernobyl - 8th July 2014

The Club was pleased to help provide an activity day for this years group of children from Chernobyl, who are staying with families in our area for 4 weeks this summer.  For ten of the twelve it was their first visit, and their first time ten pin bowling - but they picked it up quickly and a great time was had by all.  A burger for lunch and an ice cream to round off the session added to the enjoyment of an excellent day out.

Tour Inspires Bike Artists - July 2014

Pupils at South Otterington C of E Primary School  rose to our Tour De France art challenge by decorating their bikes to mark the historic Grand Depart in Yorkshire.

They showed fantastic imagination to adorn the bikes in the style of famous artists such as Salvador Dali and Jackson Pollock. The bikes were rescued from local rubbish tips and transformed into spectactular works of art with colourful paint jobs.

The children also produced drawings and paintings to reflect the excitemement surrounding the arrival of the world-famous cycle race.

Outgoing president Sue Bush visited the school with youth services chair Graham Bell and presented the children with a book on the Tour de France  as a reward for their efforts. 

Pictures of all the bikes can be seen on the page in the Youth Services Section of this website.