Club News Archive 2013

Archive of News posted during 2013

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21 October 2013: Club says "Goodbye" to Ulli Mehlmann in Great Style

Rotarian Ulli Mehlmann and his wife Renate organised and hosted a special Bavarian Evening for fellow Rotarians and their partners in the prestigous Officers Mess at the Army Headquarters, Andover, to celebrate their return home to Germany after their posting in UK.  Ulli had used his skills in organising this Rotary meeting with military precision and it was a much enjoyed way for everybody to wish them all good fortune in the next phase of their life.  Many of the Marlborough Rotarians and their partners are already looking forward to renewing their friendships during the President's weekend in Germany next May.

As well as arranging for the typical Bavarian meal, which the British Army chefs produced to an excellent standard, Ulli had co-erced one a fellow liason officer, this time from the Danish Army, to deliver a very interesting talk on the issues arising in the Arctic now that the sea ice is receding. He talked of the newly opened summer sea routes north of Russia and north of Canada bringing improved transfer times on major trade routes and also of the increasing possibility of major extraction of the hydrocarbon and mineral wealth of the area and the consequent potential for territorial disputes between the nations of the Arctic. There was much food for thought in the presentation.

Afer several questions and the vote of thanks the memorable evening concluded with a return to the mess bar. 

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7 October 2013: Club Learns about Recycling in Wiltshire 

The speaker at our meeting of 7 October was Steve Burns, Divisional Director of Hills Waste Solutions. Hills have 20 year contract with Wiltshire Council to manage waste and through his excellent talk and presentation material Steve explained the changes that have happened during the first seventeen years of that contract and especially the very significant improvement to the proportion of waste recycled. This proportion will be further improved with the commissioning of the MBT plant in Westbury during the next few months, which will provide fuel as its output together with waste heat that may be used in surrounding properties. After many questions from an interested audience John Robins gave the vote of thanks.

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30 September 2013: Rotarian Sally organises local RotaKids

Rotarian Sally Wolfenden has been working extremely hard to organise RotaKids clubs in both St Peters and St Marys Schools in Marlborough. RotaKids is a means whereby children between the ages of seven and twelve can enjoy working together and have fun with different projects.  The schools will benefit because one of the main objects, apart from them using maths and English, is that the children partaking will also learn the importance of respecting others as well as themselves.  Of pleasure to Sally RotaKids has peroved popular with more children than originally anticipated engaging in the projects and this has resulted in Sally having to produce extra badges, which will be presented to all participants at the end of the projects.

An added benefit of the scheme is that RotaKids spreads the word to parents who will learn more about Rotary which in turn could encourage them to become new members.

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30 September 2013: Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire visits Marlborough Rotary

We were very fortunate to enjoy a visit from Mrs Sarah Troughton Her Majestys Lord-Lieutenant for Wiltshire to our partner meeting Monday night. Mrs Troughton explained that she and other Lord Lieutenants are appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister to be the permanent representative of the Crown in the County and normally serves until retirement at 75 years of age.

In an entertaining speech she went on to describe the responsibilities of the office of Lord-Lieutenant, which dates from the reign of Henry VIII, at which time the holder of the office had responsibility for the maintenance of order in the Lieutenancy and for military measures necessary for defence. However this ability to call men to arms was eventually stopped in 1921 so the duties she described were much more about the busy day to day life of a current day Lord- Lieutenant, attending many functions, chairing committees, supporting charitable works and a host of other similar works.  After a lively question and answer session Rotarian Terence Tovey gave the Vote of Thanks for an illuminating and amusing speech.

We were also pleased to welcome to our meeting Rotarian David Anderson who was visiting from the Rotary Club of Yea in Victoria, Australia.

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25 September 2013: Rotary Golf Day

On a fine September afternoon five Rotarian Golfers enjoyed an excellent afternoon of golf at Marlborough Golf Club, flawlessly arranged by the 2012 winner Martin Couchman. After some fine golf, interspersed with some of which less said the better, Rob Mitchenall took the Trophy with a score of 38 points, closely followed by Martin Couchman.  

Thanks to all participants for making it a fun event and for 2014 it is planned to expand the event and invite other local Rotary Clubs to join us.    

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9 September 2013: Rotarians and Partners Social Evening

The Club social held on Monday evening 9^th September at the home of Barry and Liz Smith was a great success with the Rotarians and their partners enjoying excellent food and company in friendly surroundings. Many thanks to Martin and Bev Luxford for organising the event, to Tony Green for arranging the meal and especially to Barry and Liz for allowing us the use of their lovely home.

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6 September 2013: Rotary Members from India visit Marlborough

With only the promise that the advent of our meteorological autumn might herald an Indian summer, our four Rotarian guests arrived from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India on the first day of September, to be welcomed by glorious sunshine, temperatures far beyond their expectations and clear blue skies which are forecast to last for the duration of their stay.

Hosted by PDG Alan Martin and Peter and Peggy Goldsworth ( from the RC of Swindon Phoenix) the team enjoyed a full day in Marlborough , another at Stonehenge and Salisbury and athird in Swindon visiting the STEAM  museum followed by shopping in the afternoon and a traditional cream tea, hosted by Peggy Goldsworthy.

The team attended Swindon Phoenix Rotary Club in the evening and gave a presentation.

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5 September 2013: Car Boot sale nets 1600 for Charities.

Our Treasurer, Peter Lincoln, reported that the August Bank holiday Car Boot Sale made a net profit of 1600, all of which will be donated to charities supported by Marlborrough and District Rotary Club.

This excellent total was due to the large number of car boot sellers who arrived for the day and to the generosity and support of the people of Marlborough. Very many thanks to all of you. 

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27 August 2013: Star Player Avoids Whitewash for Boules Team

Fresh from their defeat by Cotswold Rotary Club the our boules team took on Swindon Town Rotary Club at Wanborough hoping to improve their record; but it was not to be. With the burden of captancy lifted from his shoulders Jeremy Zabell started the evening contest off in fine form winning his singles match convincingly, at least according to our on-the-spot reporter. Unfortunately the new captain, Martin Luxford, and the rest of his team Alan Martin, Gerry Lane, Gerry Hooper and Trevor Tiplady failed to follow Jeremy's excellent lead and crashed to resounding defeats in all the subsequent matches.

Our correspondent reported that the only good part of losing so comprehensively and quickly was that the players could get down to the serious part of the evening of socialising in the bar earlier than expected.  

Our boules team next try their luck on Tuesday 3 September, this time against Royal Wotton Bassett Rotary Club. Contact Jeremey Zabell if you want to play or go along to support the team - they need all the support they can muster!   

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26 August 2013: Record Numbers Attend Car Boot Sale

When the chief organiser, Rex Sandbach, arrived at Marlborough College Water Meadows at 06:00 to commence the organisation of the Car Boot Sale he was met by several keen booters anxious to take up the prime pitches.

A steady flow of cars and vans then continued to arrive laden with items to sell until over 100 pitches had set up and were selling to the many buyers that were enjoying the excellent weather and the opportunity to pick up a bargain.

These large numbers kept the car parkers on their toes trying to ensure a smooth flow of vehicles on and off the site whilst those Rotarians in charge of the buckets were happily taking donations for Charities supported by Rotary.

The smell of bacon and sausage sandwiches and hot coffee floated across the field making all those who had had an early start feel decidedly peckinsh. The Rotary tent from where the aroma originated was soon doing good business selling the bacon sandwiches etc. at such a speed that there was a danger stocks would run out - but the expert Rotary caterers managed well and kept almost everybody happy.

The final takings on the day are not yet known and this report will be updated as soon as the Treasurer has finished counting. Update; net takings was an excellent 1600.

Thank you to all those who attended, sellers and buyers alike, for making it a very successful day for us.

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19 August 2013: Letter received from Hope for Tomorrow charity.

At tonight's Rotary meeting President Paul Cowan circulated a letter received from 'Hope for Tomorrow' thanking Marlborough & District Rotary Club for their donation of 900 towards providing support for cancer patients in Wiltshire. The full letter is available on the letters page in the members section.

For the full report of the presentation in the article below on 8 August 2013.  

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13 August 2013: Boules Team Narrowly Defeated as Captain Drinks Beer

Marlborough & District Rotary Club boules team captain, Jeremy Zabell, opened the evening competition in stunning form by winning the singles boules game against league leading club South Cotswold Rotary Club.  The effort clearly exhausted him as he took no further active part in the competition, relying on the remainder of the M&DRC team, Martin Luxford, Tony Green, Gerry Hooper and late entry and novice player Rob Mitchenall, to play the doubles games. Despite the valiant efforts of this team, which took the opposition to the wire in several of these games they could only manage second place overall. In the team debrief one question on all the players lips was, 'Could we have won if our Captain had continued to play rather than sitting on the sidelines drinking beer and talking to the wives of the opposition?'   We shall never know.

All in all an excellent evening of sport and friendship in best traditions of Rotary.

The next match on Tuesday 27 August at Wanborough against Swindon Rotary Club.  Contact Jeremy Zabell for details.

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8 August 2013: Presentation to 'Hope For Tomorrow' Charity 

On Thursday 8th August, Paul Cowan, President of the Rotary Club of Marlborough and District, visited the 'Hope For Tomorrow' mobile chemotherapy unit at its local base in the Great Western Hospital, Swindon.  This mobile unit with its complement of highly-skilled chemotherapy nurses travels to Savernake Hospital in Marlborough (as well as going to Malmesbury) to bring chemotherapy to the patients, so they do not need to travel long distances to a major hospital. 

Marlborough Rotary Club has been supporting this project from the beginning, and Paul Cowan was pleased to be able to pass over a cheque for 900 from the Club's charity account.  Several other Rotarians joined Paul at the presentation, and all were impressed by the facilities that this unit offers to both the nursing staff and patients, and the help it brings to cancer patients by reducing the need for them to travel long distances for treatment.

These 'Hope For Tomorrow' units are partnered with the NHS, and each unit costs 260,000 to build and run for three years, but the charity receives no NHS money, and relies on its voluntary donations.  Recognising the tremendous good that it brings to the Marlborough area and local cancer patients, the Rotary Club will continue to support this Hope For Tomorrow Unit into the future, as one of its chosen charities.

Thank you to the magnanimous and kind-hearted people of Marlborough and District for contributing so generously to our Rotary collections, our car-boot sales and our other money-raising events, that make possible these donations to charities that can benefit our local area and local people.

To download a full report click the following link:    REPORT

Marlborough-on-Line also carry the news item on their website. A link to their site is available on the Home Page

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5 August 2013: District Governor Jan Harris visits Club

The Club were pleased to welcome District Governor Jan Harris to the meeting on Monday evening 5th August. She began her talk by stating how proud she was to be the first female to hold the post of DG in District 1100.

Her talk centred upon the work of Rotary International and the importance of the End Polio Now Programme.   She stated, Thanks to Rotary and the Wold Health organisation, one long push will see the end of Polio by 2014, however this will not be the end of the story because vaccinations will need to continue for the foreseeable future.  She explained that very shortly posters will appear on local busses asking the general public to donate money to the Rotary appeal which states that 2 can save children from the disease for life.

In her interesting and well-presented talk, DG Jan told of how she became a Rotarian some previous nineteen years ago, whilst having difficult time both privately and in the work place, and she met a Rotarian who convinced her she should join the Rotary movement.   DG Jan said that this was the most important event of her life because Rotary provided fellowship, initiative and a sense of wellbeing, which she cherished the moment she joined never ever visualising that one day she would become District Governor.

During her term in office she has re-introduced the Rotary Crocus Campaign, which was so successful two years ago and presented the club with pamphlets outlining the programme.  She also invited members to the District 1100 Conference in 2014 to be held at the Bournemouth Conference Centre from Friday 7th March until Sunday 9th March. Although the programme for the conference is in its infancy, a full programme will be available soon and she promised it would be a very informative and entertaining weekend

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5 August 2013: Report from Jack McKay, RYLA 2013 

Jack McKay is 17 years old and was sponsored by The Rotary Club of Marlborough & Disatrict to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Award scheme held at the Dean Field Studies Centre in the Forest of Dean, from 30th July to 4th August with 39 other young people. Jack found the experience extermely worthwhile as may be determined from his letter of thanks to our Rotary Club, which was passed around at our meeting of 5 August. 

Jack writes :-

Dear Rotarians,

I would like to thank you all very much for giving me the chance to attend the 2013 RYLA Course.

I enjoyed every second I spent on the six day course, and met a multitude of fantastic people, and learning many important new skills such as the ability to make a presentation to an audience. I even achieved things I thought I would never be able to accomplish such as overcoming my fear of heights, and to climb the 30 foot Jacobs Ladder and reach the top!

I am very grateful that you as a Club decided to fund my trip to the Dean field Studies Centre, it was a wonderful experience and I am glad I was selected to take part.

I would certainly recommend this course to anyone wanting to develop their leadership and communication skills

Thank you all once again Jack McKay 

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards is a training programme for leaders and potential leaders between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age. As a RYLA participant you will attend a fully sponsored six day (five night) residential course with many other similarly talented young people. 

For further information click on:    

RYLA

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4 August 2013: Rotary Clubs Run Successful Horseless Steeplechase

In association with the Phoenix Rotary Club, Swindon, we held the second Horseless Steeplechase at Barbary Castle racecourse, with the kind permission of Nigel Bunter. The event, now in its second year, attracted over sixty runners and their many supporters to make a great day of cross country running in the fantastic downland surroundings of the Barbary Castle Estate.

The day raised approximately 3500, which will be shared three ways between the charities supported by each of the two Rotary Clubs and the Greatwood Charity.

For the full report of the day go to the Main Events tab on the left hand column and many photographs will be soon be available on this website.

You can also see read about the event in Marlborough News on Line using the following link.

HORSELESS STEEPLECHASE

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29 July 2013: Rotary hears an interesting talk about Naomi House

Monday 29^th July at a meeting with ladies the club were pleased to welcome Mark Smith, the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of fund raising for Naomi House, as guest speaker. Mark commenced by thanking the club for their generous support over the years which has amounted to just over six thousand pounds.

He centred his talk on the Charity and its objectives and with the aid of some excellent photographs we saw the layout of both Naomi House itself and also an adjacent building for young adults called Jacksplace. Mark went on to detail the work at the Hospices for children and young people with life-limiting conditions. We saw the fantastic environment which caters for the young to include the bedrooms, swimming pool, extra rooms where parents can stay, dinning rooms and kitchens, all of which are purpose built. Plans are in hand for the refurbishment of Naomi House itself where it is hoped to introduce more up-to-date facilities. Mark explained that it takes just under seven million a year to run the two units and although they receive some funding from the Department of Health the remainder is raised by business people together with others who support the Charity by raising   funds at various events. 

In conclusion, Mark provided an excellent talk that was very much appreciated by a captive audience and was one which resulted in a number of interesting questions and answers and the end of the evening.

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29 July 2013: Three Rotarians honoured with Paul Harris Fellowships

At the meeting of Monday 29th July, held with partners and guests, Rotarians Martin Luxford, Jack Torrens and Geoff Harrison were each honoured with a Paul Harris Fellowship for their exceptional work as members of the Club and also for their work over many years in the local community.

Each Rotarian honoured with the Fellowship was presented by President Paul Cowan with a beautiful medallion on a blue and gold ribbon, along with the certificate and lapel pin to show that it is an honour of special significance within the international world of Rotary. To recognize a person as a Paul Harris Fellow, named after the founder of Rotary, is an honour because it demonstrates appreciation of the members exceptional support for the work of Rotary over a significant period of time. It is also an appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.

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22 July 2013: Wiltshire Police & Crime Commissioner gives talk to Rotary Club

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson, visited our Rotary Club last Monday and gave a very interesting account of his activities, emphasising that the aspect of reducing crime in the job title was just as important as the police aspect, although generally it received less attention from the media.  Rotarians had been requested to submit questions in advance so that his talk could be structured around those matters of specific interest to them as, given the wide range of potential subjects, it would have been impossible to cover all of them.

Subjects ranged from the structure of the commissioners office, the Commissioners previous and present experience in many aspects of public service, the joint arrangements for policing within the south west, the possible use of common facilities for public service delivery organisations, many of these within the context of making better use of the reduced government funding, to the introduction of speed humps and signs in George Lane. This last subject was raised by a Rotarian however we were told it was a Highways matter not one for the Police, which was probably just as well as a long debate could have ensued! 

Rotarian Peter Waine concluded the evening by giving the Vote of Thanks to what had been an interesting and entertaining talk. 

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20 July 2013: Marlborough Jazz Festival, Rotary organises car parking and collects funds (we're getting experts at this!)

Rotary continued it's annual tradition of organising the car parking on the Common for the ever popular Marlbough Jazz festival. The weather was sunny and hot, which seemed to contribute to the generosity of the parking public which gave 726 to Rotary funds for use in charities we support.

Thank you to all.  

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14 July 2013: Marlborough Fun Day, Rotary organises car parking and collects funds

Rotary members used their expertise in organising car parking to help make the Marlborough Fun Day run smoothly. The event was held on the Common and enjoyed exceptional weather ensuring that everybody enjoyed themselves. During the day nearly 200 was collected for charities supported by Rotary. Rotarians will be out in force next weekend to support car parking for the annual Marlborough International Jazz Festival and to collect funds.

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6/7 July 2013: Rotary Collects funds at Barbury Castle International Horse Trials.

Rotary members and partners organised the car parking and sold programmes at the popular International Horse Trials meeting held in glorious weather at the spectacular Barbury Castle during the weekend of 6th and 7th July. The event raised significant funds, approximately 2,000, for the charities supported by Rotary.

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1 July 2013: Rotary Receives thanks for organising KidsOut

On behalf of Marlborough & District Rotary Rtn Richard Dewey organised a day out to Longleat for a coachload of disadvantaged children from Marlborough and Pewsey as part of the Rotary KidsOut programme. This event is held yearly and is very popular with the children and their teachers and parents. A letter received from St Mary's Church of England School summed up the day and made the efforts made very worthwhile.

Dear Rotary Club

I am writing on behalf of the children and adults at St. Mary's infant School to thank you for our wonderful day out at Longleat last week.

We were all looked after really well, even being provided with waterproof macs! The Rotarians and staff at Longleat were really helpful and bent over backwards to accommodate our wheelchair bound child - no ride was too much trouble and this little boy had the time of his life !

One of the children we took went into his class the next day and re-told the whole class about his day out to the point where he had to be asked to stop as it was taking so long- he obviously wanted to share his experiences with all I

Once again a big thank - you to all involved for making this such a special occasion for the children and asstress free as possible for the staff!

The letter was accompanied by a wonderful thank you card from the children:

 

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1 July 2013: President Howard hands over to President Paul

1 July is the start of the new Rotary Year when the the senior officers of the club change positions. Consequently at our meeting on Monday outgoing President Howard Small passed the chain of office to incoming President Paul Cowan, who in turn passed his President Elect chain to incoming President Elect Gerry Hooper.  President Nominee Rex Sandbach also took up office - but without a chain. Concluding the evening President Paul presented a Howard Small with the Immediate Past President's gong. He announced that Howard had had the honour of being appointed an Assistant District Governor.  So now we are now in good shape and all set for the next year 0f events, friendshop and fundraising.  

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28 June 2013: Rotarians receive awards

During the past month two Rotarians from Marlborough & District Rotary Club haver received awards for services to different parts of the Community.

Firstly, Rtn Barry Smith received an Aldhelm Cross which is an award made each year to people who have made an especially significant contribution to the life of Salisbury Diocese. Bishop Nicholas Holtam presented Barry with the cross at an Evensong service at Salisbury Cathedral on May 25th. The citation read: 

Barry Smith has lived in Wiltshire for forty years and has been a key lay leader in the church at All Saints Burbage in the Savernake Team ministry. Barry is a senior partner for a group of optical practices across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. In the National Church Barry serves as a Lambeth Partner, resourcing  mission initiatives for the Archbishops of Canterbury and York; serves as a Trustee for ReSource, which promotes renewal in the Holy Spirit in parishes; and serves as a Trustee for the Harnhill Centre of Christian Healing. Within our diocesan life, Barry is a member of the Mission Council, a Trustee of the Aldhelm Mission Fund, promoting mission initiatives within the diocese, and a member of the Twenty Group, assisting parishes with mission and stewardship initiatives, as well as offering work consultancy to clergy across the diocese.

Secondly, Rtn Alan Martin received the 'District Governor's Special Service Commendation' in recognition of outstanding service to Rotary District 1100 and the young people of District 1100 by his involvement in RYLA (Rotary Youth leadership Award) during the past 14 years

Congratulations to both these Rotarians 

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24 June 2013: Afrikaya Trustees address Rotary Meeting

The speakers on Monday evening 24^th June introduced by Richard Dewey were Geoff Miles and Sanjeen Payne Kumar who are trustees of the Afrikaya charity based in Pewsey and which was formed in 2007.  As Geoff explained in his well presented talk, Afrikaya is building a nursery school from scratch for the children of a poor and underpriviledged community in the Gambia so that they will not have to endure the three mile walk to their present school, assuming that they could get aplace in it. The nearest medical assistance is over twelve miles away over very poor roads. At present there is no transport, no clean water and no suitable buildings where the children can be taught.  

With fundraising by young people in Pewsey and help from donors, the charity has already managed to find enough funds to build the first part of the premises and also build a well using an electric pump powered from solar panels. The panels will also provide electricity when the project expands.  They have recently raised sufficient money to complete the building, which is constructed with eco-friendly materials including compressed earth bricks, by next year.  Sanjeen pointed out that by carefully managing the funding all the money raised goes into the project and not to other interested parties intent on making a cut for themselves.  Further, everything on the project is a result of asking the villagers what they want prior to any changes taking place, rather than imposing what the charity wants, as is often the case with large charities and donors.

The future looks very bright for the venture and it will help the local young people to become better educated to help them in achieve in their senior schools and subsequently be better able to find work when they reach adulthood.

Geoff and Sanjeen expressed their gratitude for all the support that has been given to the project since its inception six years ago.

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19 June 2013: Club Assembly

Club Assembly took place on Monday evening 17^th June under the auspices of Assistant District Governor Richard Purdon. After Senior Vice Paul Cowan outlined his programme for his 2013/14 Presidential Year,  followed by each of the Committee Chairmen explaining their planned activities, it was over to Richard who thanked President Howard Small for his year in office and for all the work the club had done. Richard stated that he was a delighted to be in Marlborough and was envious of the beautiful countryside where we all live.  He thought that the Club Assembly was exceptionally well presented then went on to detail the work of Rotary International (R.I). whose new theme for the Year 2013/14 is Engage Rotary - Change Lives. Richard then outlined the work of Rotary Foundation and went on to talk about the aims of Rotary in general,  in particular increasing membership as numbers have dropped in the UK, mainly through age, whereas it has increased in many developing countries where members tend to be younger.   He explained that one of the ways that the challenge could be met was by corporate members being invited into Rotary. 

All in all an excellent evening following which Richard said that he would report that the Marlborough Club is in good health and that we had produced a remarkable programme for the next twelve months and beyond.

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19 June 2013: Kids Out Trip

The Rotary KidsOut event saw a full coach load of children from Marlborough & Pewsey accompanied by their carers depart for Longleat on Wednesday 12^th June.  Initial reports state that the children enjoyed a wonderful day and in fact two young children who rarely speak have not stopped talking about it since they returned. Further, a young lad in a wheelchair, who had never been on a holiday, exclaimed that it was the best day in his life.  Our thanks to Richard Dewey for organising the day for the children.

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18 June 2013:  Bluff My Wine Cancelled

The organisers of the Bluff My Wine Event, scheduled for 29th June, advised the Rotary meeting last night that, sadly, they would have to cancel the event due to a lack of ticket sales. The number of tickets sold to date was far short of the number required to break even and to continue with the event would put the event in potential financial loss, with its knock-on effect of reducing Rotary funds available for charities supported by the club.

Marlborough Rotary Club apologises to those people who had requested tickets and were looking forward to an entertaining evening.

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10 June 2013: Gerry Lane joins Rotary

On Monday evening 10^th June the club were pleased to welcome Gerry Lane at his Induction into the world wide Rotary movement.   Following the objects of Rotary,  which was read by Cedric Hollinsworth,  we would learn from Peter Hancock that Gerry had been involved with  various aspects of farming all his life and  had spent  several years as lecturer at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester.

In response and to much amusement he requested that everyone called him Gerry and not Gerald,   a name his mother used only when he had done something wrong. He thanked everyone for their friendship over many months which had been a very pleasant experience and he was more than pleased and honoured to be a member of Rotary where he looked forward to participating in club events.  

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27 May 2013: Successful Boot Sale Held at College Water Meadows

A morning chill greeted members of the club who arose early to park those wishing to sell their wares at the Rotary Spring Bank Holiday Car Boot sale.   The sun soon shone on the site in Marlborough College Water Meadows which became exceptional busy, possibly one of the busiest for many years.   The marquee proved quite demanding for all those working within, visitors queuing for the traditional burgers, bacon sandwiches, or the cups of tea and coffee.  In fact, those working in the car park found that they were running out of space quite early in the morning. 

Special thanks are afforded to Martin Luxford who organised the event and all those members of the club who came along to make the morning such a success.  Thanks also extended to the Ladies who worked so industriously in the marquee.   The Club also offers their special thanks to Marlborough College for allowing the Car Boot to take place in the magnificent surroundings of the Water Meadows. 

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19 -20 May 2013: Club Hosts Exchange Visit from New Zealand Rotarians

On Sunday 19^th May Past District Governor Alan Martin  together with his team of hosts  collected the New Zealand Friendship Exchange Group from Swindon. The team spent the afternoon enjoying the Wiltshire countryside which included a tour of Avebury.  Monday morning saw the group at Marlborough Town Hall where they were welcomed by Mayor Guy Loosmore who was presented with their North Island Rotary banner.   An  excellent potted history by David Sherratt on both the Town and Town Hall followed and later it was off to St Peters Church where they had the offer to climb the stairs to the top of the tower.   After lunch at the Castle & Ball the team found themselves in the Merchant House for an enlightening talk on the history of the building. 

During the evening the group joined fellow Rotarians at the golf club for a meal and presentation by the leader of the group, PDG Bob Jollands who, with the aid of an excellent  screen presentation, showed some remarkable photographs of North Island New Zealand that covered the coastal areas, volcanoes, vineyards and of course some of the towns were the group live.

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13 May 2013: Greatwood Charity Founder Speaks to Rotary

On Monday evening 13th May the club was pleased to welcome Helen Yeadon to the meeting. Helen spoke about how her and her husband Michael's interest in the horse racing world had encouraged them to rescue abandoned race horses which led to the founding of their charity 'Greatwood' in 1998, the name of which came from the farm in Devon where they first started.

Greatwood was also where the concept of Horse Power began to take shape following the time when they had been asked to help a young girl who had become withdrawn and had stopped speaking. Having introduced her to a racing horse that was extremely ill they found that over the ensuing weeks there was an extraordinary interaction between the girl and the horse that resulted in the girl regaining her voice and the remarkable recovery of the horse. 

Soon the charity needed larger premises and found an old dairy farm near Pewsey, Wiltshire and once settled they decided to offer young people with learning difficulties the opportunity to work with the horses. 

Since then the charity has grown from strength to strength and it has re-homed hundreds of old racehorses and has educated over 2000 children at Greatwood. None of the foregoing could have been achieved without financial support and it was with great pleasure that President Howard presented a cheque to the value of 800 towards the ongoing work of the charity. 

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4th May 2013: Blood Pressure Day

Last Saturday, 4th May, was a fine and sunny Bank Holiday Weekend, and Marlborough Rotarians were encouraging the shoppers and strollers in Marlborough High Street to come in to the Jubilee Centre to have their blood pressure taken.

High blood pressure is the most important cause of strokes and heart attacks in the UK, yet it rarely shows any symptoms, so Rotary Clubs have been supporting stroke prevention across the UK for the past 10 years.  It was the first time that Marlborough & District Rotary Club has held this event in the town, and 152 people came in to have their blood pressure checked.

Rotarians were supported by nurses and two doctors, including Rotarian Dr Trevor Tiplady, who is known to many local people from his years of practice in the local district.  He was able to give advice to anyone who needed it after their readings had been taken, and afterwards he said that several people had been advised to go to their own GP because their blood pressure had been high. 

Rotarian Paul Cowan, vice-President of Marlborough Rotary, said Learning that your blood pressure is high can be worrying, but a few simple steps can keep it under control.  We were pleased to be able to test people today, and I think we may have saved a few lives.

Jon Barrick, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association, added These events are so important.  Many people are still unaware of high blood pressure and the risk of stroke.  Thanks to the support of Rotary Clubs we have helped over 200,000 people learn their level of risk and take action if necessary.

This event hosted by Marlborough Rotary Club was one of hundreds of free events held this year across the UK with the Stroke Association, and attended by 30,000 people to raise awareness about the risks of high blood pressure which is the highest risk for stroke.

For more information on stroke, call the Stroke Association helpline on 0303 30 33 100 or visit www.stroke.org.uk/kybp.

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19 April 2013: Presidents Night celebrated in style at Marlborough Town Hall

President Howard Small and his wife Hanne-Lore hosted a stylish dinner and dance for Rotarians, their partners and guests at Marlborough Town Hall on Friday Night. We were honoured to have our District Governor, David Houghton and his wife in attendance together with Rotarians and their partners from several other Rotary clubs in the area.  A full report will be included under recent events and more photographs can be found in the photo gallery. 

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19 April 2013:  Know Your Blood Pressure Event

Marlborough and District Rotaryt Club announced that they would be holding a 'Know your blood pressure' event on Saturday 4th May from 10am until 4pm  at the Jubilee Centre, Marlborough High Street.  All welcome and no booking necessary.  See article in meetings and events section - tab above.

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23 March 2013:  Update on Presentation of cheques to Prospect House:

The  following is the cover and article in the latest Prospect News showing the recent presentation of the cheque for 14,000 from the Rotary Clubs of Marlborough and District and Swindon Thamesdown.

 

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11 - 14 March 2013: St Johns School Interviews

Rotarians together with other local business people and educationalists provided interviewers to assist St Johns School in conducting mock interviews for all their Year 10 students. The objective was to give students their first experience of what they should expect during forthcoming interviews for job, college and university places. The task of the interviewers was not to pass or fail but to give the students feedback on their performance during the interview and pointers on how they could make improvements in presenting themselves in future.

The Rotarians found the exercise rewarding and were impressed with the high standard of performance of the majority of students during what must have been quite stressful experience for them. 

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11 March 2013: Presentation of cheque to the Salvation Army

Following an excellent talk by Michael Beckley entitled 'How the Salvation Army Rescued My Life' at our regular Monday meeting on 11 March President Howard Small presented a cheque for 220 to him for the Salvation Army. The money was collected from Rotary members in lieu of the Christmas 2012 cards that they would have sent to each other.  

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4 March 2013: Presentation of cheques resulting from Avebury Rocks 2012

A cheque for 14,000 was presented to Prospect Hospice by the Rotary Clubs of Marlborough & District and Swindon in a ceremony at Avebury attended by David Frampton on behalf of our Club (pictured left). Photograph supplied by David Uttley

In a ceremony at our Monday evening meeting a second cheque, for 6000 was presented to Richard Crowley of the CALM charity

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15 February 2013: Presentation to Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

As a result of the Horseless Steeplechase held in association with Swindon Phoenix Rotary Club, Marlborough Rotary President, Howard Small, presented a cheque for 709 to Wiltshire Air Ambulance,   one of the charities supported by the event.

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13 February 2013: Rotary Young Photographer Competition

At a special presentation ceremony on Sunday, 3rd February, Joyce Seabrook, 15, from The Wellington Academy, was presented with a prize and a Certificate for the Winning Entry in the Rotary District 1100 Young Photographer competition.  Joyce had already won the earlier stage of the competition, where she beat eleven other pupils at the Academy.  Now she has beaten seven other school finalists from across the Rotary District, with 68 clubs stretching from Worcester in the west, to Bristol and to Marlborough in the east.

Joyce was accompanied at the awards ceremony by her mother and young sister, as well as her photography teacher, Kayleigh Furnell.   Joyce now moves on to the National Final, where she will be competing with the best young photographers from across the country.  Entrants are required to submit a portfolio of three different prints either in colour or black & white on photographic paper no larger than A4 in size. In addition each entrant must provide, in no more than 50 words, a description of the  inspiration for their photographs and how they reflect the theme, which for this year is Peace.

Joyces winning entries will be on display at the Rotary District 1100 Conference being held in Torquay at the beginning of March, and  the good wishes of the whole District will be behind her as she competes in April against the best of the other winners from across the UK in the prestigious National Final. 

The President of Rotary GB&I, which is the Rotary organisation for Great Britain and Ireland, has stressed his support for these competitions and the opportunities they give to young people to demonstrate their skills.   He has said that the Rotary organisation around the world is dedicated to encouraging the younger generation, with many different Rotary programmes to showcase the abilities and leadership potential of todays young people, in contrast to the popular media view, which generally projects a misleading picture.   

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11 February 2013: Rotary North Carolina, USA,  Group Study Exchange Visit

The Marlborough and District Rotary Club welcomed the GSE team of visitors from Rotary District 7730 in North Carolina USA. The team is being led by Bevin Wall and is comprised of three young women, Lindsey Bush, Rachel Nelson and Sheila Roberts.  At our meeting they gave us an entertaining and very informative presentation. They explained what their ambitions are for their visit, why and how they got introduced to the GSE program and described their early impressions. We wish them an enjoyable and fun-filled experience during their 4 weeks visiting clubs in Rotary District 1100

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25 Jan 2013: Rotary Young Chef and Rotary Young Photographer Update

On 6th December Amy Huggins won the Pewsey round of the Rotary Young Chef Competition that took her through to the Souh of England semi finals which which was recently held in Cirencester. She also won that competition and now goes on to the National Final.

Another competition winner in the news is Joyce Seabrook from Wellington Academy Tidworth who won the intemediate prize in the Rotary Photographic Competition held in December and who also goes on to the National Final.