Bulletin for April 2026

                                                  Rotary Club of Cheltenham North

                                                              April 2026 Bulletin

Did you realise that Easter Eggs are hollow because they represent Christ’s empty tomb. It is amazing what you find on line.

Young Writer Competition Janet Keenan

Among the many Youth competitions that Rotary runs is the ‘Young Writer’. The theme this year was ‘Happiness in Nature’. We suggested to the Headmistress at Rowanfield that the school should enter and two children produced excellent poems. The local clubs judge the entries and can then send the winners to the District Finals. We sent both poems as our joint winners and they came second and third. We are having a presentation at the School Assembly on April 17th and David is going to turn up in his gold chain.

We were impressed with these poems. For both of the little girls who wrote them, English is not their first language. I am referring to them both only by her initial, as one mother did not want her daughter to be identifiable.

Second prize S aged 10

Nature is:

The rustle of trees

The buzz of insects, butterflies and bees

Bird’s sweet songs

As they fly to where they belong,

The vivid exquisite flowers that dot the ground,

Are only more treasures of happiness to be found.

The green opaque leaves,

Fluttering happily in the breeze,

Nature is the silky long grass underneath

And the sky that stretches beyond my reach.

All those colours that streak the sky,

Never fails to dazzle my eyes,

Burning reds, ferousious(sic) oranges and gold too;

Soft purples, pink and striking blue,

A kaleidoscope of light

Mixed to make a perfect sight.

Forests, woods, beaches and desserts all line the land

Volcanoes, canyons and mountains tower high, looking rather grand.

Earth’s provides keep us alive,

Food and plants for us to eat,

A comfy home and a place to sleep.

Earth is home to millions of animals all big or small

Bodies of water, oceans to waterfalls,

Rain, seas, rivers streams and lakes – lots of things for us to take.

Nature is a hundred things – or something simple like the whip of the wind

Maybe just the peace and quiet that it brings

Nature is amazing for sure, Now we have to love it and take care of it all.

Indeed we must be grateful for our world is extremely faithful.

F. aged 8

Nature’s Simple Song

The sun climbs up a morning bright,

Chasing away the shadows of the night.

The sleepy world begins to wake,

For Nature’s simple honest sake.

A gentle wind begins to blow,

Where tall grasses slowly grow.

It whispers secrets through the trees

Carried upon the Autumn breeze.

The leaves danced, a joyful sight,

Caching the day’s fresh air in the golden light.

A tiny stream, so clear and cool,

Flows from a hidden mountain pool.

It babbles over smooth, grey stones,

With happy, quiet, rushing tones.

Clearly, we have two writers in the making!

National Book Day Gwynne Tucker Brown

This took place at Rowanfield School on 5th March 2026

School assembly started the day off. The children were told to come as a character from a book or wear pyjamas so all the children could dress up. The whole school attended the assembly and were in a very varied array of costumes: lots of Harry Potter’s, Matilda’s, Snow Whites etc. Also there were some monsters and dinosaurs as well as a couple of Wally’s.The staff as well as the children dressed up.

The format of the assembly was as a quiz from written pieces or pictures they had to guess the book it was taken from. At break time they played a variant of Top Trumps whereby they had to draw a character from a book and then swop the cards. We, the listeners , were made redundant when later the Year 3 children listened to the infants reading!!

It was so good to be part of Book Day because it is what we hope to do when we listen to them, foster a love of reading.

District Conference Anne Bartholomew

Thank you to all those who have Registered for the District 1100 Conference. With the final deadline for registration having passed, action may be necessary.

The programme is as follows:

Friday evening - networking, dinner and a table Magician

Saturday - conference - only £50 for the day

Saturday evening - Gala Dinner

Sunday - conference - only £15 (combined Saturday and Sunday = £60)

Accommodation book directly with the Bank House Hotel, Bransford Worcester Please contact Oliver Lister for registration and any further details: ojul25@gmail.com

Look forward to seeing you there.

How lovely it would be if we could provide a really good support for Anne.News from

Cheltenham Future Rotary Club Tony Pawley

At the last evening meeting, Sue Jenkins (remember her?!) gave a fascinating “Me” talk: multiple trips to and from Australia, a career in landscape architecture inspired by her father (whose architectural design for the Sydney Opera House was short-listed), much of it contributing to major community improvements, and appearing in an advert for paving slabs. Even a brief mention of projects which went wrong! That with her love of horse racing, Arsenal and the Grateful Dead!

The Club continues to debate what support might be appropriate to help “Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees”: transport, employability, education, household goods, etc. A senior representative of the charity is coming to a Q&A session on Tuesday 31st at the Cornerstone Centre, 6-7pm, with optional fish and chips after. (Unfortunately, Linda and I will be at Poole Rotary’s President’s Night then.)

Tony’s Trivia #4

Thought for the Month: when a close relative-by-marriage tells me that I talk too much, I remind her of Kurt Vonnegut’s advice: People have to talk about something just to keep their voiceboxes in working order so they’ll have good voiceboxes in case there’s ever anything meaningful to say.

Linguistics: as promised last month, our Kissen and Küsse story. Linda and I went to German classes in Poole (to a house in the road where Tony Blackburn’s father was a GP). One day, a class member arrived and tried to ask, in German, for a cushion to ease his bad back. The teacher was taken aback – he’d asked her for kisses, Küsse, not for a cushion, ein Kissen. Oh, how we laughed!

Question of the Month: a dog is said to be man’s best friend, but is man a dog’s best friend?

The apolitical political bit: it was reported that “Labour unveiled a raft of new measures to deal with asylum seekers” – is raft a good word in trying to tackle the small boats?!

And finally: Sir James Dyson, best known for inventing the bagless vacuum cleaner, is reported to own more land than the King, so he presumably won’t be happy that Inheritance Tax relief on farmland is being swept under the carpet.

All About Opera

Come and join us for a relaxed musical evening.

Bring friends and family

You don’t have to be an opera lover to enjoy this evening

Just listen to your favourite arias

Future Programme Clive O’Gorman

Mon, Apr 6th 2026 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Club Meeting Cancelled BANK HOLIDAY

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Wed, Apr 8th 2026 at 10am - 12:00 pm

Council Meeting

A Club Council Meeting with Janet

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Fri, Apr 17th 2026 at 9:00 am - Sun, Apr 19th 2026 - 1:00 pm

District Conference 2025/2026

The District Conference "Building a Future with Rotary" will be held at the Bank House Hotel Bransford (between Worcester and Malvern) For Outline programme see website

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Mon, Apr 20th 2026 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Club Meeting with Guest Speaker

Club Meeting with a Guest Speaker. Jack Peake a Chartered Geotechnical Engineer will speak on the Challenges of the A417 upgrade. See website for more info. and the menu. Host Clive O'Gorman

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Mon, Apr 27th 2026 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Club Meeting plus Guest Speaker

A Club Meeting Plus Speaker our own John Phillip who will talk on "America the Beautiful" NOTE THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL MEETING DUE TO BANK HOLIDAYS. Host Tony Pawley Menu TBA

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Mon, May 4th 2026 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Club Meeting CANCELLED BANK HOLIDAY

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Sat, May 16th 2026 at 10:00 am - 1:00 pm

District Assembly and Handover

District Assembly and Handover Location TBA

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Mon, May 18th 2026 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Club Meeting with Guest Speaker

Club Meeting with a Guest Speaker. Charlene Beasant runs “Friends of Bettridge School” and will talk on Bettridge School. We have given Bettridge School a Small Grant Award. Host Linda Pawley Menu TBA

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Fri, May 29th 2026 at 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

All about Opera

An "All about Opera" Concert at St. Phillip and St. James Church organised by Cheltenham North Rotary Club. See website for more info. Come and hear your favourite arias.

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Mon, Jun 1st 2026 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Club Meeting with Guest Speaker.

Club Meeting with Partners and Guests and a Guest Speaker. Host Beth Phillip Partners and Guests are welcome Menu TBA

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Mon, Jun 15th 2026 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Club Meeting AGM/Assembly and Handover.

A Club Meeting AGM/Assembly and Handover to New President Anne Bartholomew. The District Representative is Lucy Thornton Menu TBA Host David Hearle

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Mon, Jul 6th 2026 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Club Meeting with Guest Speaker

Club Meeting with a Guest Speaker Barry Simon The Speaker will give a talk on “St Kenelm and the Kenelm Way”. Host John Phillip Menu TBA

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