2022-23 Highlights

This page provides details of what the Club did in the Rotary Year that started on 1st July 2022.

Annual Photo Competition - 26th June 

Our tradition for the last meeting of the Rotary year is to hold a Photo Competition where those present can vote for their favourite shot in each of three categories, and also for the overall winner on the night.  All the details including the winners and runners up in each category are on the webpage for the 2023 competition.  Our winner of the category "Quintessentially English" and the overall winner for the night was Janet Crampton with her photo " Cricket on a Village Green" taken at Crakehall.

Helping Out at the Northallerton Homegrown Food Festival - 25th June

Members of the Club were pleased to be able to help to make the Festival another great success by helping festival goers find their way round the site. Congratulations to the Organising Team for the Festival for another great day out. And in spite of a threat of thunderstorms in the afternoon forecast, the weather stayed kind - hot and sunny all day. A great musical offering with lots of local talent was rounded off by the last band of the day - The Crazy Knights - pictured below.

 Knitting Baby Hats for Ukraine - the last batch is despatched - 7th June

For the last few months Club Members and friends have been busy knitting hats and other baby garments to send to Ukraine as part of a wider national Rotary initiative. This has been so successful that a call to "stop knitting", at least for this cause, has been sent out and the final 2 boxes are now on their way.   In all 223 hats, 19 baby cardigans and 28 blankets have been sent. A sample are shown in the photo below:

The Singing Vicar - A Singathon in aid of Shelterbox - May 20th

One of President Robert's chosen charities for the year is Shelterbox, and to raise funds for this he agreed to sing continuously for three hours. All the songs and hymns contained the word King or Crown, to honour the recent Coronation.  The event took place in the Methodist Church.  Thanks to them for hosting this, and thanks to Catherine Woods who provided piano accompaniment for the event. Nearly £1000 has been raised by the event.

A Group Trip to Northumberland - 9th to 11th May

With thanks to Chris Horler for the original idea and making the arrangements, a large group from the Club enjoyed a 3 day break in Northumberland based at Slaley Hall Hotel. Various activities were arranged during the days and we came together for our evening meals on the two nights we were there to swap tales of what we had been up to. 

Whilst we were at the hotel we met a couple of Rotarians on holiday from Ottawa, and the photo shows them and our group (although some seem determined to hide away!) just before we went off for our meal.

Charter Dinner - 1st May

Our Charter Dinner was a bit later than usual this year but was worth waiting for.  We had a good turnout of Club Members, partners and friends, as well as lots of guests from other local Rotary Clubs. Our speaker was The Right Reverend Paul Ferguson, the Bishop of Whitby, and we were also pleased to welcome District Governor Malcolm Tagg and his wife. Alongside the good food and good company the occasion was also used to honour our Member Janet Crampton with a Paul Harris Fellowship to mark her contribution to the work of the Club, and also her role as District Lead for the End Polio Now campaign. She is finishing her time on that at the end of this Rotary year.  We also recognised some of our guests who regularly support Club functions with "Friends of Rotary" badges. Our raffle at the event was in aid of a village support project in Uganda, and we raised £467 for this cause.

Bedale Book and Postcard Fair - 2nd April

Our second bookfair of the year took place as usual in the delightful surroundings of Bedale Hall. Once again we had a full house of dealers and the Club provided the refreshment facilities.  Lots of people turned up to browse and buy.  We raised over £900 on the event to fund our projects and charitable giving.

Thirsk Charter Dinner - 21st March

Worthy of a particular mention here because such a good number of our Club members and partners decided to support the event which was held in the lovely surroundings of the Sergeant's Mess at Allenbrooke Barracks.  We all had a great evening of fellowship with members of the Thirsk Club and their other guests.

Technology Tournament - 7th March

The annual Technology Tournament organised by the Club alongside Northallerton, Thirsk, Richmond and Wensleydale Clubs, was a great event enjoyed by all - be they contestants or helpers.  We had a record turnout from schools this year - an indication that things are indeed returning to normal after Covid, and that events like this that challenge and inspire, and are outside the normal weekly routine, play a great part in the education and development of young people. Thanks go as usual to REME at Catterick Garrison for hosting this event. Thanks also to our sponsors - the West Yorkshire Society of Architects and S&K Windows.

A Successful Night at the Knaresborough Club Quiz - 24th February

A great night out with good company, good food, and a very enjoyable quiz - made even better by the fact our team was victorious on the night!  Thanks to the Knaresborough Club for organising this event.

Pancake Races in Northallerton - 21st February

Three members of the Club donned their Rotary Aprons to represent the Club, and took part in the Annual Pancake Races on the Applegarth.  No doubt more by luck than through training or inate skills, Geoff Wall was able to keep the tossing pancake in the pan along the course and was very happy and surprised to be placed second in the men's race.

A Visit to the Allerton Park Waste Recovery Centre - 17th February

A very informative visit to the Centre gave us all an understanding of the challenges of dealing with the household waste stream - the contents of our grey bins. The Centre aims to sort and recycle what it can.  Then the organic waste is used to power electricity generation from the gases recovered from an anerobic digestion plant. Finally what cannot be recovered is burnt in an environmentally friendly way, once again to power electricity generation.  We were all impressed and felt we had learnt a lot on the trip.  Much better than putting our waste in "holes in the ground".

The day was rounded off with an excellent lunch at a local pub, the Anchor at Whixley.

Collecting for the Turkey/Syria Earthquake Appeal - 12th and 18th February

With grateful thanks to everyone who contributed so generously, and to Tesco who allowed us to collect at the Northallerton Store at short notice, we were able to collect nearly £1200 for the Appeal. This has been sent to Shelterbox to allow them to continue their valuable work in putting emergency survival kits into the affected area. Further information on the work of Shelterbox is at this link

Our second collection - also at Tesco - raised around £1500.  This has been sent to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Appeal.

Thanks to everyone for their amazing support of this fundraiser.

"Rotary the World Over" - Members on tour to India.

In recent weeks Club members have separately been on home visits to India.

Jaya and Muttu Puranik had a long break in their home state of Karnataka.  Whilst there, in December they were joined by their daughter Minoo from the UK, and friends and family from India in undertaking a walk of 100 miles, raising money for the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV) school in Karnataka .  The walk took them from from Muttu's home town of Dharwad to Therdal. Dharwad is Muttu's birth town and Therdal the ancestral village of the family. The photo below was taken at the end of the walk with the walkers and their welcoming party.

KSV is a school that empowers, supports and encourages children from socially marginalised and economically disadvantaged backgrounds to realise their full potential and attain a better life. This is done through a comprehensive educational programme leading to academic qualifications, but also through encouragement of the performing arts, linked to the conservation of India's vast musical heritage.

More information on the school and its work, with plenty of inspiring stories and pictures, can be found by visiting their website at

Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya – A school with a difference (ksv.org.in)

Members Sandhya and Anand Nadgir have also been visiting family.  Whilst in Pune, Anand was able to join a meeeting of the local Rotary Club and hear about their projects and will be having a session sharing something about the work of our own Club.

An update on our Charitable Giving at the half way point of our Rotary year - January 2023

At the start of our Rotary year, President Robert Williamson identified two particular causes that he would like the Club to support during his Presidential year.

Those involved in organising our Pie and Pea Quiz in November were pleased to go down to Thirsk to present the cheque for £600 towards the cost of the works to transform the former Lambert Hospital in Thirsk to it's new use as Herriott Hospice@The Lambert.  It was great to hear that work has now commenced and is due to be finished towards the end of 2023.  There is still a way to go with the Fundraising for the scheme, and as this is one of our chosen charities for this Rotary year, the Club will hope to help further in the months ahead.

The second of Robert's priorities was to support Shelterbox. It seems that natural disasters and other humanitarian crises increase in frequency, and the work of Shelterbox in providing much needed support and facilities to those affected remains an important priority for the Club.  We have been pleased to send £690 to Shelterbox in the first half of this year.

We have also made further donations.

As part of our ongoing support for Hambleton Foodshare we carried out a "pre-Christmas" shop to provide a range of items where the Foodshare had shortages whilst preparing bags for the Christmas period. The trolley load/boot load came to £230.

Following a fascinating talk about the work of the charity at one of our weekly meetings, we agreed to donate £500 to support the work of Bloodrun EVS. The charity arrange emergency delivery of blood supplies to the NHS across the North East and North Yorkshire. Details of the important work they do can be found on their website

Farewell to 2022 - December 2022

Our last meeting of 2022, and our last at our temporary home of the Wellington Heifer in Ainderby Steeple, was a jolly affair with members of the Fellowship Group entertaining those present with their festive version rather loosely based on the classic radio series "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue".  Thanks to Rob and the team for making us welcome at the Heifer.  In January we move to the Village Inn in Brompton to see if that meets our longer term needs as a venue for the Club.

A Quiz with a Pie and Pea Supper - 23rd November 2022

We held another very successful quiz night at the Forum in Northallerton, welcoming teams from our own and the other local Rotary Clubs, family and friends and local people who had booked through the Forum box office.  A full house of over 100 participants enjoyed both the quiz and an excellent supper of pie and peas.  With the obligatory raffle we were pleased to raise £600 for the Herriott Hospice @The Lambert Appeal.

Helping out at the Northallerton Town Fireworks - 5 November 2022

One of our now traditional Community Support projects is to provide the bucket collection at Northallerton Town Fireworks, now organised by the Town Council.  We were out with a good number of our members and were able to collect over £3,000 which will go towards the cost of next year's event.  This year a number of traditional fireworks events in adjacent towns had not taken place - and there was a real sense of new people joining the event from outside the town with good crowds on a very pleasant evening for early November.  The fireworks were great, as was the entertainment with an excellent Queen Tribute Band.

And also as part of our tradition - a number of us went after the event to warm up with a tasty Indian Meal at the Red Chilli.

A Trip to the Houses of Parliament - Part 2! - 1 November 2022

Following the dramas of the July visit, when the heatwave meant travel disruption and non running trains, and hence a large number of disappointed people, we were able to arrange a second visit, hosted again by our Member Peter Gibson who is MP for Darlington.  The party had a great time, and were pleased to be taken by Peter into Downing Street where they met our local MP and Honorary Member, and of course Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.

Bedale Book and Postcard Fair - 30 October 2022

Our biannual Fair was held again in the lovely setting of Bedale Hall and visitors were able to browse and buy from a wide range of stallholders as well as partaking of drinks and homemade cakes in our tearoom.  Once again we raised monies to support our projects during the year. 

iPads for Ukrainian Families in Bedale - October 2022

The Club has worked with the District Disaster Response Fund which provided £900 to fund three iPads for Ukranian families being hosted in the Bedale area.

We hope this will help the children, who are now all settled in local schools, with their homework and support online English Language learning for the adults. Although most of the families have managed to secure jobs locally, one of the main obstacles to employment has been difficulty with the English language. 

In addition, it is hoped that the devices will help the families to maintain links with their families and friends who are still in Ukraine.

All the Ukraine families expressed their thanks to the Club and emphasised what a difference the gifts would make. They are so grateful to have been made to feel welcome by their new neighbours and communities.

The presentations took place at the home of Club member Mark Williams and his wife Alison who have hosted one of the Ukrainian families.

RYLA Feedback Evening - 30 September 2022

We held a joint meeting with the Northallerton Rotary Club to hear about the experiences of the students Alexander and Adam who had been sponsored by our two Clubs to attend the 2022 RYLA programme.  This is an intensive leadership event organised by the District and held each summer at Hebden Hey. Participants develop their skills as a leader whilst having fun and making connections. Thanks to both of them for visiting us and giving such wonderful presentations.

A Stall at the Macmillan Coffee Morning Event - 30th September 2022

The Club took part in this year's Macmillan Coffee Morning event at Northallerton Town Hall.  We aimed to share something about the Club and our work, and sell a few books to raise money for the charity. And of course sample the cakes and coffee whilst we were there.

Annual Treasure Hunt - this time in Bedale - 29th August 2022

Our venue for this year's walking Treasure Hunt was Bedale - where a mixture of cryptic and picture clues kept us all guessing!  The winners were the not very aptly named team "Hopefully Second" - no doubt realising that whilst there is glory in winning, the prize is the honour of setting the event next year!  Well done to the team of the two Annes, Geoff and Alan.

The evening was rounded off with an enjoyable meal at the Wellington Heiffer in Ainderby.

Twelfth Night at Kiplin Hall - 26th August 2022

On an almost perfect summer evening, 30 of our members, family and friends made up a party and enjoyed an hilarious performance of Twelfth Night by the Handlebard's talented cast of 4.  Armed with picnics, chairs and blankets, we experienced the historic and beautiful surroundings of Kiplin, complete with flocks of geese flying overhead as darkness fell.  A wonderful evening of Rotary fellowship.

A Trip to the Houses of Parliament - Part 1 - 19th July 2022

When Member Peter Gibson was elected to be the MP of Darlington it was natural that discusion turmed to when we might visit him in his new workplace.  All this was interrupted of course by Covid - but little did we know that our plans for a visit in July 2022 would also be badly affected - this time by an extreme heatwave.  All trains travelling down to London on the 19th July were cancelled and it was only those who had made other arrangements or were having a longer stay who were able to form our much smaller party for the visit.  In spite of the heat we had a great time.  And it was great to be able to have former District Governor Manoj and Bhavna Joshi as part of the visit.  Manoj had decided to drive down from Bradford to be sure not to miss the event.

We saw lots of places and met lots of people - including our Honorary Member Rishi Sunak who was rushing to one of the hustings in his attempt to be a candidate for the new leader of the Conservative party following the departure of Boris Johnson.  And the rest -as they say- is history!

Part 2 took place later in the year, and a lot had happened by then - so we all made it in the end!

Young Chef Cook-Off July 2022

Following the preliminary rounds held during the last Rotary year it was time to complete the competition with a "Cook-Off" when Northallerton School and Sixth Form College students Lottie and Florrie were joined by Bedale High School student Michaela in the final held at Bedale High School.  Each of the 15 year olds were tasked with preparing a healthy two-course meal against the clock watched by ex-RAF Warrant Officer Nick Wright, formerly of the RAF Leeming catering team, and three judges from the Club.

The standards of catering were extremely high, and the judges had a very difficult job separating the students.  By a narrow margin they awarded top prize to Lottie for her delicious combination of spinach and ricotta ravioli followed by millionaire shortbread domes.

Come and Try It at the Northallerton Bowling Club - 11th July 2022

We had an enjoyable "Come and Try It" session at Northallerton Bowling Club on a glorious summer evening before adjourning back to the Allerton Court where our talk was linked, as members of the Bowling Club told us something about the history and origins of the sport dating back to Ancient Egyptian times, as well as the history of the Northallerton Club itself, and how they have successfully relaunched after Covid and are attracting new members.  At this stage it is not clear whether any members of the Club will take up this pastime - but we all enjoyed our session - even if the results were a little mixed in terms of getting our bowls anywhere near the jack!

Handover to our New Team - 4th July 2022

The new Rotary year brings in our new team.  Robert Williamson takes over as Club President from Dianne Mousley, and our picture shows that, as well as the Presidential Chain, Dianne was also able to handover the Rotary Teapot! We await an update from Robert on whether he has found a suitable "pride of place" to display this during his year. We also have a new Secretary - Anne Ash, and a new Treasurer - Chris Horler.

Thanks go to everyone who helped make 2021-22 such a success, and we look forward to the new year under Robert's leadership.