July 2012

The Rotary year starts on 1st July, and in the final week of June the Presidential handover takes place.

My first official duty was to attend the final meeting of the Rotary Club of Trowbridge, an enjoyable evening spent with friends but a very sad occasion too. The difficulty in recruiting new members coupled with the limited number of existing Trowbridge Rotarians and their maturing age range led to a reduced ability to raise funds for charity and to serve the community as they have done for so many years, so after 60 years of service the club has now disbanded.

This situation really brings home to all voluntary organisations the importance of gaining new members so if anyone is wondering what a Rotary club does, please get in touch, come along to a meeting; Wessex Mead would be very happy to welcome you.

July has proven to be an active month. We have participated in two evening walks, one along the canal towpath in Bradford on Avon, the other taking in the hills of Bratton and Westbury White Horse. Both times we were lucky with the weather as the (very) wet & grey days turned into dry & pleasant evenings so all we had to worry about was dodging the puddles!

On a not so dry Saturday, Sarah & I helped Chippenham Rotary with their Art in the Park event. We assisted with 'smash a plate', a fun stand where everyone seemed to leave with a smile on their face.

On a hot & sunny day, Vicky (Club Secretary) put on her running shoes and took part in the Frome Rotary Club 10k Fun Run. Vicky has set herself the goal of running 100 miles this year to raise funds to buy a Rotary Shelter Box.

Taking advantage of the lighter evenings we enjoyed an evening with the Kingston Archers in BOA  - each year they guide us through the art of archery and patiently recover arrows from the undergrowth that inexplicitly miss the targets!

Our Young Chef Competition was a joy to attend as always. This year two students from John of Gaunt College and two students from Lavington School, winners of their school heats, competed at Trowbridge College to become the Wessex Mead Rotary Young Chef. All 4 students produced delicious food and the winner Beth Davey from John of Gaunt College will represent our club at the Rotary District heats in February.

I was delighted to be asked to be a judge for the Trowbridge in Bloom Churches Competition. Having spent hours on the phone earlier this year inviting all the Churches in the BA14 area to take part, it was great to see the wonderful floral displays both inside & out and I am very much looking forward to meeting all the people involved at the presentation evening in September. The main focus for Trowbridge in Bloom is community involvement in creating a common feeling of town pride within both our business and community environment, a sentiment shared by Wessex Mead.