Club Blog May 2016

May is a short month on the Trowbridge Wessex Mead calendar as it contains two bank holiday Mondays, but we still managed to have a busy month.

2nd May, Spring bank holiday Monday = Big T, so an early start for some of our members, meeting poolside at 7am. Only one member was brave enough to take part, the rest of us being armed with clipboards to marshal the 350 competitors in their various swim waves. Another great event by the Hot Chilli Tri Club, very well done to all the competitors, especially Wessex Mead's own Vicky Ody!

TWM are not known for our sporting prowess, other than being placed a surprising 2^nd in a ‘It’s a Knock Out’ competition about twelve years ago, we have not achieved anything notable re sports since. So it is with great surprise that after playing skittles against Bridport Rotary on 11^th May at a very nice pub called Ye Olde Two Brewers at Shaftesbury, Trowbridge Wessex Mead are through to the Skittles Plate final! Ok, so the Plate is a competition for the best of the losers… but we are proud and looking forward to finding out who we will be playing in June.

The 13-16^th May brought some sunshine and our friends from the Rotary Club of Rodez-Espalion over for a visit. As usual we had a full weekend planned, starting on the Friday afternoon when we picked them up from Bristol Airport, stopping off at the Water Survival Box Headquarters in Radstock, to show our visitors a local Rotary project. Liz hosted an evening supper with many of our members attending, before the visitors were taken home with their respective hosts.

Saturday we went to Salisbury; a delightful walk took us to the Cathedral where a very nice lady called Wendy gave us a guided tour in French. A delicious high tea followed (for lunch!) then it on to Stonehenge, a visit we have been promising our ‘Twins’ for years. Saturday evening found us all at the Lamb for supper and a horse racing evening with a difference. Keen participants donned the racing colours waiting for the roll of the dice to allow them to move their big wooden horses down the race course.

Sunday was just as busy, starting at Swindon Steam Museum, stopping for a traditional roast dinner in Wroughton, followed a very interactive visit to Avebury Manor, rounded off with a BBQ hosted by President Julia & Mark. A lovely weekend of fun, food & fellowship, we returned our exhausted French visitors back to Bristol Airport first thing Monday morning.

For her member organised evening on the 16th, Eileen arranged for Wafaa Powell to give us a talk on life in Lebanon, its culture & cuisine (saving the belly dancing for another time). An interesting & enlightening evening, members had little prior knowledge of this fascinating country and were particularly struck on just how green it is, very much different to how they had imagined.

Club Assembly followed on 23^rd May, in addition to our usual monthly business meeting & meal, we reported on our plans for the next Rotary year, agreed our 2016/17 budget and welcomed our new Assistant District Governor for 2016/17 Guy Parkinson. Guy’s role is to represent the District Governor, provide a link to the District Executive, support our club and ensure we uphold the ethos of Rotary - which we do but with perhaps less formality than many other clubs!