What a wonderful evening of celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the Charter of the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington! 

A large number of Rotarians and guests enjoyed an outstanding dinner at St Augustine's followed by a spectacular series of dance displays performed by students and staff at the Page Mason School of Dance, including a very special dance centred on the President, Chris Hedges! 

Two fantastic birthday cakes (made by Honey Cake Bakers of Birchington) were commissioned by Past President Mike Benton to mark the occasion. 

Messages of congratulation were brought from local Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs and from District Governor-Elect, David Lister. The evening was rounded of by dancing to the music of Nick Bosworth.

Volunteers from our Club are acting as Marshals at the new mass Covid Vaccination Centre at SAGA

ROTARY SUPPORTS THE NHS

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The Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington sent Santa in his sleigh to visit the children in Rainbow Ward and A&E at the QEQM Hospital. He arrived in the card park with sacks laden with selection boxes for each of the children and tins of sweets for the staff. Usually Santa goes into the wards to greet the children but since this was not possible this year, the children were brought to the windows to wave to Santa. Lots of NHS front line staff came out to greet Santa and it clearly lifted their spirits! The Rotary members hope and pray for the children to make swift recoveries and wish all the staff and patients in the hospital a Merry Christmas!

The Weather being kind, The Rotary Santa Claus toured the streets around Victoria Avenue and Belmont Road, Westgate, the streets of Minnis Bay and was outside Wale’s Butchers all day. His elves collected lots of funds to donate to the Viking Chemotherapy Unit at QEQM and Macmillan Cancer Care.

NEVILLE THOMAS RIP

To read all about Neville, please click here

DONATE A GIFT AT BLUEWATER!

If you are shopping at Bluewater why not donate a children's gift the THE GIVING TREE?  

Charities across Kent & Sussex benefit each year from Heart’s Giving Tree so make sure you’re part of something special this Christmas.

Just select a tag, buy a present and hand it to the Heart Angels. Your present will make a difference, giving a child a reason to smile this festive season.

Every day up until Sunday 23rd December they’ll be outside M&S on the upper mall. There are over 40 charities that we will be supporting across Kent and Sussex to make a disadvantaged child's Christmas truly magical this year. The Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington is one of the nominated charities and Charlie Brightling and Loraine Bant will be collecting donated presents for children in Westgate and Birchington.

So, how does it work?

1. Head to the Giving Tree on the Upper Mall, outside M&S
2. Choose a boy's or girl's name tag, which will also show an age
3. Have fun selecting an appropriate gift from Bluewater for the child you have selected
4. Deposit the unwrapped gift into the Drop Box at the Giving Tree
5. Take a picture and share with your friends to help us to support local charities
6. Enjoy the warm feeling from making a child's Christmas special

What happens next?

Make sure you drop your gift off by Sunday 23rd December, so the presents can be wrapped and delivered to local charities in time to give thousands of children a little reason to smile this Christmas.

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REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 2020

On Remembrance Sunday, Rotarian Mick Stokes laid a wreath at the War Memorial in Birchington on behalf of the Rotary Club

On Armistice Day 2020, President Chris laid a wreath at the War Memorial in Westgate-on-Sea

POLIO PLUS CROCUS DONATION

On the 1st October, the Rotary Club of Westgate and Birchington donated 2000 crocus bulbs to Birchington in Bloom, and a further 2000 bulbs to Westgate-on-Sea in Bloom. In the photograph, Past President Charlie Brightling is handing over the net of crocus corms to the Birchington-in-Bloom team who are all equipped to get planting.

Read on to find out the significance of the purple crocus……………. 

Rotary Internationalstarted an oral polio vaccination programme in 1979. This was so successful that Rotary became a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. In 2002 The Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation contributed $1m. That was just the start of their partnership, matching Rotary's fundraising to the tune of many millions of dollars every year since then.

More than 2.5 billion children have been immunised in 122 countries, reducing the cases of Polio by 99.9%. The last 0.01% can only be found in parts of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The whole of Africa has now been declared Polio-free. The challenge now is to maintain the effort so that Polio does not return and so Rotary continues to raise funds to support “Polio Plus” the ongoing vaccination programme. Please contact the Rotary Club if you would like to make a donation towards “Polio Plus”.

When a child is immunised a purple dye is put on their little finger to avoid missing anyone or any duplication. Because of the colour of the dye the purple crocus was chosen to be the symbol of The Polio Eradication Initiative. 

Look around the village in the spring and you should be able to spot where the hard working gardeners planted the bulbs earlier in the year.

MEMORIAL BENCH FOR JERRY & ROBBIE MILLS

The Rotary Club President, Chris Hedges, reports that it was a great privilege to attend the dedication of a new memorial bench in the Lymington Road Recreation Ground in Westgate-on-Sea. The original bench had been placed alongside a Walnut tree thirty years ago, in memory of two young boys, Jerry and Robbie Mills, who were tragically killed in a road traffic accident at Brooksend. Appropriately, it would have been one of the boys’ birthday on the day of the dedication.

Members of the Rotary Club were delighted to have had the opportunity to purchase this replacement bench and are extremely grateful to Thanet District Council for installing the bench free of charge.

The dedication ceremony was led by The Rev Susan Wing, the boys’ step-aunt, who conducted a short service of blessing in front of Jerry and Robbie’s family and friends, together with representatives of TDC and the Town Clerk of Westgate-on-Sea Town Council.

It is hoped that the bench will give many years of pleasure to people who use the Recreation Ground and that the memorial plaques will be a source of comfort to the boys’ family and friends.

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It is with sadness that we report the death of Past President Dr Roger Taylor who passed away peacefully on 11th August 2020. Dr Taylor was President of this Rotary Club from 1973 - 74. He was a dedicated GP and established the new surgery in Westgate-on-Sea. Dr Taylor was always interested in palliative care and became the Chairman of East Kent Hospices. In his latter years he suffered with Alzheimer's Disease. The funeral is a private family service but donations to the Pilgrim's Hospice and Alzheimer's UK are invited via Gore Brothers, Broadstairs.

HANDOVER BY ZOOM!

Having held the formal Handover Meeting on Zoom, outgoing President, Richard O'Sullivan, met up with incoming President, Chris Hedges, "social distancing" in the garden, to handover the Presidential Jewel. Chris presented Richard with his Past President medal and lapel badge. President Chris will be raising funds fr the Viking Chemotherapy Unit at QEQM and Macmillan Nurses.

CONGRATULATIONS !

DAVE ALKER PAUL HARRIS FELLOW

President Richard O'Sullilvan was delighted to perform his final official duty and present our outstanding Club Secretary, Dave Alker with a PAUL HARRIS FELLOW SHIP

Donation to CANINE PARTNERS

The Club has made a donation of £1200 to the wonderful "Canine Partners" charity. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL STORY

Donation to AllStyle Products

The Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs have, together, donated £500 to AllStyle Products in Minnis Bay so that they can buy further materials to manufacture safety visor masks for front line workers. AllStyle are providing the manufacturing facility and staff at their own expense.

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DONATION TO QEQM RAINBOW WARD

Just before Christmas, President Richard O’Sullivan and the Rotary Santa made their annual visit to the Rainbow Ward at QEQM Hospital to give out sweets and Christmas greetings to the children.

The “Play Team” in Rainbow Ward impressed us greatly and we invited them to come along to a Rotary Club Meeting so that we could make a donation towards their equipment stock.

Rather than giving a cash donation, the “Play Team” - Lauren Clayson and Holly Lowery, asked if they could give us a wish list of items they would like to add to their collection of toys and equipment. Accordingly, President Richard and Rotarian Mick Stokes went shopping and bought an array of items ranging from a 24” TV/DVD Combo and loads of art materials to a large number of bottles of bubble-making liquid. (Bubbles are apparently a favourite way of distracting the children when they have to have an injection or blood test!).

After a very interesting and informative talk by Lauren and Holly, there were many questions from Rotary members and their guests before President Richard unveiled a table full of the gifts which he presented to the “Play Team”.

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BURNS NIGHT SUPPER

was held at St Augustine's, Westgate-on-Sea on Friday 28th January. 75 guests witnessed the ceremonies of homage to the Haggis to the accompaniment of the bagpipes played by a piper from the Caledonian Society. Animated readings from the works of Robbie Burns and a history of his colourful life were followed by a rendition of the song "My Love is like a red, red rose" sung by Chris Hedges.

Top-Table Party is piped into St Augustine's Chapel

Chef has presented the Haggis ready to be addressed and "slaughtered"

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CONGRATULTIONS TO JAMES CROALL

WHO WAS AWARDED A PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIP at the Christmas Dinner

FASCINATING TALK ABOUT PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH 

Club Members and guests were delighted to welcome Yasmine Bailey, the Local Fund-raising Coordinator of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund who gave an astonishingly informative talk about this little-funded research programme into the causes and, hopefully. earlier diagnosis of this horribly fatal condition. Having just lost our dear friend and Inner Wheel Member, Veronica Morley, to Pancreatic Cancer very recently this talk was very close to our hearts. The Club and many of our guests made a donation to the charity which will, hopefully, help GPs to understand the condition more closely and assist early diagnosis. For more information click here to visit www.pcrf.co.uk

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Schools Presentation

President Richard presented cheques to pupils at St Saviour's Junior School and St Crispin's Infant School, Westgate-on-Sea so that they could purchase new books for their School Libraries.

Welcome to our new PRESIDENT!

A large number of Rotarians and guests assembled for the annual Handover Dinner at St. Augustine's, Westgate-on-Sea. Outgoing President, Charlie Brightling, finally got to handover the reins to new President, Richard O'Sullivan after a bit of a delay caused by Richard's gallivanting off to the USA & Canada just at the vital moment!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Past President John Hawkins 

and Past President Mike Benton

who were granted Honorary Membership at a recent Club Meeting

SPONSORED CYCLE RIDE

A group of Rotarians and friends recently took part in a cycle ride in aid of Prostate Cancer uk. This was followed by unhealthy cakes, buns and drinks which we enjoyed more than the ride! Nearly £300 was raised. Our thanks to all riders and sponsors.

CONTACT CLUBS REUNION IN DARMSTADT

A large number of members and partners travelled to Darmstadt in Germany for the annual "Contact Clubs" reunion with the Rotary Clubs of Darmstadt Kranichstein and Poitiers Futuroscope. An excellent programme of activities was organised by the German club, including a visit to Heidelberg Castle, and Rotarians were royally wined and dined! Click here for the full programme.

Here is a photo of all the happy delegates..................................

THE BIG BREAKFAST

Lots of Rotarians, partners and friends enjoyed a delicious "Full English" breakfast in Kearns Hall and raised over £100 for local charities.

RIP PHF Steve Puttock

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Honorary Rotarian Steve Puttock. Past President and Paul Harris Fellow Steve was a long-standing member of the Club and was responsible for cementing our international relations with France and Germany, signing the "Contact Club"accord with Darmstadt Kranichstein and Poitiers Futuroscope. Happily, he was able to join the last Contact Club visit to Germany in Celle in 2016 and maintain his his fellowship with old friends.

Massive donation to "BLOOD RUNNERS"

Members were delighted to welcome Trevor Sayer from SERVE Kent (otherwise known as "BLOOD RUNNERS") to our meeting and were fascinated to hear a detailed talk about how the volunteers transport blood transfusion pouches, blood samples and expressed baby milk all around Kent and to the Air Ambulance. These activities are funded entirely by charitable donations and President Charlie was delighted to give Trevor a cheque for £1010, which was half of the cash donations given by the good people of Westgate and Birchington during Santa's Christmas Collections. A collection by the Sergeant-at-Arms at the end of the meeting produced a further £23.15. The photograph shows a SERV Kent vehicle, one of five cars and seven motorcycles maintained by the charity. Many of the volunteers use their own vehicles and donate their own fuel. THIS REALLY IS A LIFE-SAVING CHARITY!!

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Rodney Tapp, a founder member of our Rotary Club.
***************************************It is with great sadness that we report the death of Mike Patterson, a former member of our Rotary Club. RIP***************************************It is with great sadness that we report the death of Rotarian Chris Porteousplease click here to read an appreciation of Chris's life

HOORAH! SANTA COLLECTED £1933.73

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED MONEY WHICH WILL BE SPLIT BETWEEN "DIABETES UK" AND "BLOOD RUNNERS"

SANTA AT QEQM HOSPITAL

Santa made an early flying visit to the children's wards at QEQM with help from Westgate and Birchington Rotary Club on Tuesday afternoon. A smile was brought to children's, parent's and staff faces as Santa delved into his sack of goodies. All of this was possible thanks to generous donations from members of the public during our collections. 

GREAT FUN AT THE SNAIL RACE!

Members, partners and friends came together in Kearns Hall for an hilarious evening of Snail Racing. Not real snails. of course! The "Fundeo" cartoon snail races were played out on a giant screen and everyone placed their bets on the snail most likely to win. Often the favourite would be wiped out by the farmer's boot or a snail with a shotgun, so it was almost impossible to predict who would win! There were eight races, each sponsored by participants, as were many of the exotically-named snails, and a delicious Fish & chip supper delivered by "The Fishbone Grill". In all, the magnificent sum of £437 was raised and this money will be applied to our support of a number of local charitable projects.

Rotary is good for the environment!

All over the country, Rotary Clubs conducted BEACH CLEANS and we were no exception. Our group of members and partners collected bags and bags and bags of rubbish from the beach at Minnis Bay.

TURKISH DINNER

Continuing our series of International Dinners members and partners enjoyed a splendid Turkish Feast at the Turkuaz Rerstaurant in Birchington. These dinners are great social occasions and, by means of a raffle, raise money towards our next "Shelterbox" purchase. (see www.shelterbox.org for further details)

Peace Spiral project at Birchington Primary School

Our latest community activity is to help create a "PEACE SPIRAL" garden at Birchington Primary School. A rather overgrown section of the school grounds is being cleared by volunteers from the Rotary Club to enable the construction of a "peace spiral" where children and staff will be able to enjoy moments of quiet contemplation amidst the hectic life of school. The German Rotary Club with which we are twinned, Darmstadt Kranichstein, has generous donated 300 euros to support our efforts. Click HERE for photos

Birchington Primary School Awards

The Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington is delighted to present Birchington C of E Primary School with a trophy to celebrate the children's CITIZENSHIP.

The award is to recognise the pupils' understanding of community responsibility and to promote the school's core values of Respect, Equality, Forgiveness and Peace.

The first winner of the trophy is Logan Prescott and the photo shows President Loraine and President-Elect Chris presenting the trophy and gift voucher to Logan.

The school has decided to build a "Peace Spiral" garden where children and staff may go to spend quiet time in contemplation, thought and prayer. Members of the Rotary Club are preparing the plot ready for the construction of the Peace Spiral and the school is currently raising funds so that the materials can be bought. Recently, the Rotary Club hosted a visit by Rotarians from our "contact club" in Darmstadt, Germany and their President, Michael Schaefer, very kindly donated £250 to be used for a community project and the peace spiral fits the bill perfectly. The photo shows President Loraine and President-Elect Chris presenting the cheque for £250 to the school's "Spirituality Reps" Gracie Hopkins-Dell and Leo Konetti.

St Crispin's School Awards

The Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington ais delighted to present St Crispin’s School, Westgate-on-Sea with a trophy to celebrate the children’s CREATIVITY.

This award is to recognise excellence right across the fields of creativity from dance to music to art. Children from every class were chosen as winners for their creative efforts and, from those winners, an overall Creativity Champion was chosen.

Rotary President, Loraine Bant, is shown presenting the trophy for the first time to Phoebe Cooper.

The school also made presentations of certificates to a large number of children who had achieved 100% attendance this year and the Rotary Club helped to finance two bicycles which were presented to Aimee-Eloise Grant and George Jeavons-Fellows by President Loraine.

Belgian visitors to Charlie's first meeting

At our first meeting of the new Rotary Year, President Charlie was delighted to welcome two lady Rotarians from the Belgian Rotary Club of Villers-la-Ville. Nicole & Genevieve gave an interesting talk (bravely, in English!) about the activities of their club which, reassuringly, sounded very familiar!

CHARLIE BRIGHTLING BECOMES PRESIDENT

A large gathering of Rotarians, Inner Wheelers and friends met at St Augustine's to witness the induction of Charlie Brightling as President for the coming Rotary Year. After an excellent dinner, there was a "minor emergency" as reports came in of the sounding of the intruder alarm at President Loraine's house and the theft of the priceless Presidential Jewel. After investigation, our brave constable discovered that the culprit was the alarm technician, Charlie Brightling. An inside job! Apparently, Charlie couldn't wait to become President and wanted to get his hands on the Jewel at the earliest opportunity! Happily this was all a SPOOF and, after confirming that everybody present was happy to confirm Charlie's elevation, Loraine was delighted to handover the Jewel, Charlie receiving great acclaim!

Expressing his thanks to Immediate Past President Loraine for a wonderful year under her vegetarian regime, Charlie presented Loraine with a valuable tray of delicious comestibles.

ALLOTMENT PROJECT - THE SEQUEL

Following the clearance of the allotment last year, and the construction of raised beds, the next stage in the project was to construct an Arbour Seat which will have a vine entwined in its spars and provide seating for clients to survey the results of their handiwork. CLICK HERE TO READ A FULL REPORT

  CONTACT CLUB REUNION 2018

For a full report about the Contact Club visit CLICK HERE

CHEQUE PRESENTATION TO SARA AT LOUIE'S HELPING HANDS

President Loraine presented a cheque for £250 to Sara Llewellyn for LOUIE'S HELPING HANDS at the Llewellyn School and Nursery in Westbrook. Click here for further details.

FRENCH DINNER AT LONDON TAVERN

Rotarians and guests assembled at the London Tavern, Margate to enjoy an excellent Boeuf Bourgignon followed by a splendid Cheeseboard in convivial company. Just by enjoying ourselves, we raised £184 towards the cost of another "SHELTERBOX"

£2000 given to charities

President Loraine was delighted to hand over cheques for £1000 each to Terrie Kennor of "YouCan" and Hilary Bryan of the Kent Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre. Click here for a full report......

DELICIOUS BIG BREAKFAST RAISES £192!

A satifying "Full English" was enjoyed by a large number of Rotarians, partners and friends in Kearns Hall, Minnis Bay. What a delicious way to raise nearly £200 for local charities!

SCHOOLS AWARDS

President Loraine Bant visited King Ethelbert’s School to present the first Rotary Schools Award to Molly Copper for her outstanding work in Years 12 & 13. The award is called the IBCP Core Prize and consists of a trophy and voucher, provided annually by the Rotary Club, and can be used by the winner to purchase books or educational equipment.

Two other local schools, St Crispin’s, Westgate-on-Sea and Birchington C of E Primary, will be presented with their annual trophies in due course and will decide what the award will celebrate.

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GREEK TAVERNA EVENT

Hungry Rotarians, partners and friends assembled recently at the Greek Taverna in Albion Street, Broadstairs to enjoy a huge MEZE dinner. Firstly there were cold starters (prawns, stuffed vine leaves, hummus, taramasalata, tzaztiki & pitta bread) followed by hot starters (meat balls, chipolatas, battered courgette, smoked pork topped with grilled halloumi). Just in case we still hungry, out came souvlaki (lamb and chicken kebabs) and moussaka. Finally fresh fruit platters were brought to the tables. We could hardly walk to our cars after that feast! Organised by our International Committee, we raised over £200 to contribute to buying another SHELTERBOX (www.shelterbox.org) 

CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS ARE COMING!

Please click here for the Christmas_Collections_Schedule_2017.pdf

Santa in his sleigh will be touring the streets of Westgate & Birchington collecting money for local charities including the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre and the Youth Cancer Support Centre in Westgate (YouCan) PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY!

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WESTGATE COMMUNITY HALL REDECORATION

FOR A FULL REPORT - CLICK HERE

St Crispin's School

Children who had achieved 100% attendance for the whole year were awarded certificates, wristbands and stickers.  Every time a child achieves 100% attendance for a term, his/her name is put into the girls' or the boys' box and at the end of the year during the Attendance Assembly a lucky boy and a lucky girl will win a new bicycle.

At the assembly, one name was  drawn out of each of the boxes.  The boy's bike went to Evan Goodwin in Reeption Year (shown in the picture). In fact, Evan had 100% attendance for the whole year - which means his name was in the box 6 times. The girl's bike went to Rosie Pike in Year 2.  Both children were excited to win a new bike and the rest of the school were very happy for them.

The school would like to thank the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington which was delighted to donate one of the bicycles.

THE LIVING WALL

The Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington was delighted to make a donation to Raychel Mount to enable her to plant new flowers in the wonderful living wall in King Street, Margate.

The Living Wall is a labour of love for Raychel who seeks to brighten up the town centre environment with beautiful flowers and give people an opportunity to write messages of love on a special heart-shaped blackboard incorporated into the wall.

WELCOME TO OUR FIRST LADY PRESIDENT, LORAINE!

A large assembly of Rotarians and friends witnessed the "transfer of power" from James Croall to Loraine Bant at our "Handover" ceremony at St. Augustine's in Westgate-on-Sea. After an excellent dinner, outgoing President, James, welcomed a returning member, Richard O'Sullivan into membership of the Club before handing over the reins to incoming President Loraine. The Presidents of the other five Rotary Clubs in Thanet, together with the Inner Wheel Club wished President Loraine every success for the coming year, especially in her quest to raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Centre and "YouCan" (supporting young people affected by cancer.)

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PRESIDENT'S NIGHT DINNER & DANCE 2017 

TWO NEW PAUL HARRIS FELLOWS CREATED - CLICK HERE FOR A FULL REPORT

CONTACT CLUB VISIT TO POITIERS 2017

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL REPORT

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OUR SPONSORED CYCLE RIDE FROM MINNIS BAY TO RECULVER AND BACK RAISED £500 FOR BEACH WITHIN REACH 

CLICK HERE TO READ A FULL REPORT

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Kent Community Day Scheme Allotment renovation Project
CLICK HERE TO READ A FULL REPORT AND VIEW PHOTOS

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DONATION TO THE PILGRIM'S HOSPICEMaintaining our long-term support for the Pilgrim's Hospice, President James presented Karen Kenward with a cheque for £1,000 representing part of the money donated generously by the good people of Westgate and Birchington during our Christmas street collections in 2016.

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CHARITY SNAIL RACE RAISES OVER £1000!!

CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

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DONATION TO "THANET BOSOM PALS"

President James was delighted to present a cheque for £1000 to Andrea Boulton and Sarah Levenson for their Breast Cancer support group "Thanet Bosom Pals"

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PRESENTATION BY STUDENTS FROM

KING ETHELBERT'S SCHOOL

A group of students from King Ethelbert's School gave an excellent illustrated presentation about their recent humanitarian expedition to Goa. The "EnJewel India" project began a few years ago and this group of students were able to continue the excellent work providing support to families and orphans which our Rotary Club was pleased to support with a donation of £200, which goes a very long way in Goa.

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CHRISTMAS LUNCH AT PRESIDENT-ELECT LORAINE'S HOUSE

The Rotary “Santa Claus” toured the streets of Westgate and Birchington on the dates below and his “elves” called door-to-door to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Care and The Pilgrim’s Hospice and other local charities.

Wednesday 7^th December – Westgate, Linksfield Road £199.33 collected

Thursday 8^th December- Birchington, Court Mount area £260.33 collected

Saturday 10^th December- Birchington, Station Road £350 collected

Wednesday 14^th December- Westgate, Victoria Road £246.40 collected

Thursday 15^th December- Birchington, Minnis Bay £337.01 collected

Saturday 17^th December- Westgate, Station Road £234.34

THANK YOU FOR GIVING SO GENEROUSLY!

NEW MEMBER INDUCTION

President James was delighted to induct JAMES NEW into Rotary Membership on Tuesday 20th September

ANTIQUE VALUATION DAY - CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

CHARITIES WE SUPPORT - CLICK HERE

"PIMMS" tent at Minnis Bay - click here for details

PAST PRESIDENT COLIN WADE - RIPClick here for the eulogy

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Past President, Colin Wade

INTERNATIONAL BBQ - Click here for a report

Garden Clearance Project - click here for details

AN "IMPORTANCE" OF PRESIDENTS!

Alain Leroy (Boulonge) John Pulford (Broadstairs) Julie Miller (Ramsgate) Chris Burton (Margate)

James Croall (W&B) Richard Parkin (IOTS) Richard Gardner (Thanet)

WELCOME TO NEW PRESIDENT!

At our "Handover Meeting" out-going President David welcomed our new President for 2016 - 17 and handed the Presidential "Jewels" to James Croall.

CLICK FOR A FULL REPORT

PRESIDENT'S LUNCHEON

To read a report on the President's Luncheon please click here

3 Towers tour at Quex Park

Our "5th Tuesday Getaway" in May was a tour of the three towers at Quex Park.

Click the picture to read more

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BEACH CLEAN AT MINNIS BAY

CLICK FOR A FULL REPORT

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CONTACT CLUB VISIT TO CELLE

Rotarians from Darmstadt Kranichstein, Poitiers Futuroscope and Westgate & Birchington

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL REPORT

To view a set of archive photographs of members from the 1980's please CLICK HERE

CHEQUE PRESENTATIONS TO

AIR AMBULANCE & PORCHLIGHT

PRESENTATION TO THE BAY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

President David presented a cheque for £250 to The Revd. George Kalu at the Bay United Reformed Church in Minnis Bay as a contribution to the cost of replacing the central heating boiler for the church and hall.

GOLF DRIVING EVENING AT STONELEES

To emphasize that Rotarians enjoy loads of FUN & FELLOWSHIP, a large group of members, partners & friends met at Stonelees Golf Centre to spend a happy hour getting into the "swing of things" on the driving range and the putting green. After hundreds of golf balls had been swiped into oblivion (some reaching over 100 yards, others hitting the roof of the driving range!), everyone sat down at the "19th Hole" to feast on an excellent two-course dinner.

PRESENTATION OF £350 TO St. Nicholas-at-Wade Playgroup

CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER DETAILS

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STRICTLY COME ROTARY

SATURDAY 16th APRIL 2016 at THE WINTER GARDENS

CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER DETAILS

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DEFENCE FIRE TRAINING CENTRE SPEAKER

AT GUEST NIGHT

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL REPORT

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THE VULCAN BOMBER STORY

CLICK HERE

FOR A FULL REPORT OF THE RECENT SPEAKER - Flt Lt. Paddy Langdown

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CHRISTMAS CHARITY COLLECTIONS

CLICK HERE FOR THE SCHEDULE

SANTA IS GETTING HIS REINDEER AND SLEIGH READY!

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WELCOME TO THE NEW PRESIDENT

Outgoing President, David Hearnshaw

congratulates new President David Guy

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT

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Donation to Alfie Gough Trust

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL REPORT

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SPONSORED CYCLE RIDE

A group of Rotarians and friends completed a sponsored cycle ride to raise over £700 for "Prostate Cancer UK" and local charities.

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL REPORT

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YET ANOTHER CHARITY

 PRESENTATION!

Allocating the last of the funds raised last Christmas during the "Santa's Sleigh" street collections in Westgate and Birchington, President David Hearnshaw was delighted to present a cheque for £1000 to Caitlin O'Neill of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research (which will shortly be rebranded "BLOODWISE"

To find out more about "BLOODWISE" click here

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CONTACT CLUB REUNION

Rotarians from Poitiers Futuroscope and Darmstadt Kranichstein spent the weekend in Westgate & Birchington for the annual reunion.

FOR FULL DETAILS CLICK HERE

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"STRICTLY COME ROTARY"

The annual Dance Competition was held in the Ruby Room

at St. Augustines, Westgate-on-Sea.

FOR FULL DETAILS CLICK HERE

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PRESIDENT'S CHARITY PRESENTATION

President David presented a cheque for £1000 to Loukia Michael, the Fundraising Coordinator for OASIS Domestic Abuse Service.

This donation was the second of three which the President is able to make as a result of the generosity of the good people of Westgate and Birchington during our “Santa Sleigh” street collections last Christmas.

Loukia gave a very informative talk to members and guests, illustrating the work of OASIS in providing a refuge for women and children suffering domestic abuse, and explaining how the organisation is expanding its outreach into the community and into schools with the aim of preventing abuse before it gets out of hand.

If you would be interested to find out more about OASIS log onto www.oasisdaservice.org

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GUEST NIGHT AND CHARITY PRESENTATION

A large gathering of Rotarians and Guests attended a Charity Presentation Dinner at St Augustine's, Westgate-on-Sea on Tuesday 14th March.

After an excellent dinner, President David Hearnshaw presented a cheque for £1000 to The Salvation Army, Margate Branch

Major Richard Oliver and his wife Major Sarah Oliver accepted the cheque.

After the presentation, the Majors gave a fascinating account of their service with the Salvation Army both in the UK and, for many years, in Brazil

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SANTA SAYS "THANK YOU"!

The Rotary Santa toured the streets of Westgate and Birchington in his sleigh and send his thanks to all the generous people who donated

£2163

which will be given to President David's nominated charities:

Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, Leukemia and Lymphoma Research     and The Salvation Army

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ROTARY DISTRICT 1120 CONFERENCE IN EASTBOURNE

President David and his wife Gilly together with President-Elect David Guy, Vice-President Jan Dash and Past President Tony Orpwood & his wife Chris attended the recent District Conference in Eastbourne.

A party of six of us went to the Conference this year and we all enjoyed the weekend very much. The hotel was good, very accommodating to us, the service at meal times was fast and efficient and all the staff were very helpful. At the Conference Centre all the Rotarian stewards played their part with a smile and offered helpful comments. The Saturday night dinner was excellent (the way the chef cooked so many steaks at the right time was amazing!) The bands on Friday and Saturday were good but perhaps the Queen tribute singer did not quite have the depth of Freddie Mercury. All in all we had a good time, enjoying each other's company and, no doubt, the amount of alcohol consumed!!

The Conference speakers were generally interesting, especially if you liked sport. It was disappointing not to have a service on the Sunday morning, but that is the choice of the District Governor. It is good to go along and meet hundreds of other Rotarians from around the district, hear some of their tales and marvel at the good works that they do.

Well done Rotary District 1120, you do put on a good Conference!

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NEW MEMBER INDUCTION

At a well-attended Guest Night Dinner on 30th September, President David formally inducted ALAN HARRIS into Rotary membership.

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NEW HONORARY MEMBER!

Paul Harris Fellow TONY STOKES created an Honorary Member

of the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington

For full details please click here

ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Successful candidates, Elizabeth Irvine and Emily Robertson, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington gave a lively account of their experiences at the Arethusa Venture Centre near Rochester

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL REPORT

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WELCOME TO PRESIDENT PHF DAVID HEARNSHAW!

New President, Paul Harris Fellow David Hearnshaw is congratulated by outgoing President, Tony Orpwood

The Rotary Club of Westgate and Birchington inducted their new President at their recent meeting held at St. Augustines College. Some eighty people attended the meal and they consisted of Club Rotarians, their wives, members of The Inner Wheel Club and representatives from all the Thanet Clubs and their wives and friends. They saw Paul Harris fellow David Hearnshaw take over from Tony Orpwood for the next twelve months.  In his report David said that there was a busy programme of events planned ahead, during which he would be supporting OASIS, which is the local Charity supporting those suffering from domestic abuse, The Leukaemia and Lymphoma Trust, The Salvation Army and The Alfie Gough Trust. Apart from fund raising at various events during the year we shall continue with the Christmas collections, the Come Dine With Me evenings at members homes and the Strictly Come Rotary, the popular dance event in the Spring.

Gilly & David Hearnshaw together with Tony & Christine Orpwood after the Handover

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YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER COMPETITION 2014

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WINNING ENTRIES

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CONTACT CLUB VISIT TO POITIERS - MAY 2014

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL REPORT & SLIDESHOW

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Seven  AQUABOXES

were filled by the children at St Crispin's School, Westgate-on-Sea.

For the full report click here:

Click the picture to go to the Aquabox website

INCOMING PRESIDENT TONY ORPWOOD IS CONGRATULATED

BY IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT CHRIS HEDGES

Click here for the report

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP

Was conferred upon Past President & Paul Harris Fellow STEVE PUTTOCK in recognition of his 37 years of outstanding service to the Club and to the community. Over the years Steve has held most the major official roles within the Club and was instrumental in establishing the "Contact Club" relationships with Poitiers Futuroscope and Darmstadt Kranichstein.

CONTACT CLUB REUNION IN LEIPZIG

To see a slide-show of photographs and a full report please click here

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INTERNATIONAL - THEMED GUEST DINNER

PLUS NEW MEMBER INDUCTION

Please click HERE for full details of the presentations to Richard Barton of The Malawi Association for Christian Suppport and David Hatcher of Shelterbox. The Club welcomed Steven Edes into membership

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"STRICTLY COME ROTARY"

Click HERE for full details of the Dance Competition

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Young Photographer Competition winners chosen.

Click HERE for full details and a slideshow of the winning photographs

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The SCHOOLS PROM was staged in the Winter Gardens by the six local Rotary Clubs. Click HERE for full details of this musical spectacular.

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ITALIAN MASKED BALL

"Cardinal" Allen Cox joins revellers for the Italian Masked Ball

Click HERE for full details and slideshow of guests

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"Celebrating Rotary" Evensong in Rochester Cathedral

For a full report click:

http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?ClubID=753&PgID=349319 

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SANTA CAME AND NOW SENDS HIS THANKS!

When Santa toured the streets of Westgate and Birchington in the weeks before Christmas he was delighted with the generosity of the good people of our two villages who donated £2807 towards the worthy charities supported by the Rotary Club this year: Macmillan Cancer Support and "Sing For Your Life" (Music Therapy for Dementia sufferers) 

Thank you very much to all of the people who delved into their piggy banks and purses to find loads of copper, silver, gold and paper to put into our collecting tins. Santa will be back in December 2013, so please start saving up your small change!

It makes a real difference to the causes we support throughout the year.

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THE DISTRICT 1120 CONFERENCE

Our delegates at the Gala Dinner in the Grand Palais, Lille.

For the full report click here

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President Chris held a "WORLD'S BIGGEST COFFEE MORNING"

on Friday 28th September which was very well attended

and raised £250 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

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ABIGAIL'S DAY OUT!

The six Rotary Cluns in Thanet got together to send four year old Abigail, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and Microcephaly to Peppa Pig World in Hampshire.

For a full report please see:

/upimages/clubfiles/753//Thanet Times Report on Abigail.pdf

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VISIT OF THE RIBI PRESIDENT, JOHN MINHINICK

The Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington hosted a Dinner and Presentations to welcome President John to East Kent

For a full report please click the link in the menu to the left

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HANDOVER CEREMONY 2012

President Iain Norman handed over the Presidential jewel

to incoming President - Chris Hedges

at a ceremony held at St Augustine's, Westgate-on-Sea

on Tuesday 26th June 2012.

Over 100 Rotarians and guests attended the Handover Ceremony which, in accordance with tradition at Westgate & Birchington, involved much merriment and fun & games! Past President Allen Cox interrupted the formal proceedings to introduce a sketch based upon the television series "The Apprentice".

Allen changed his name to ALAN (Sugar) and, with a team of judges (Tony Orpwood and Jan Dash) proceeded to test whether President Iain Norman should continue in post for another year or whether "the apprentice" Chris Hedges should be elevated to the Presidency.

After an intimate examination of their financial prospects for 2012-13, Chris Hedges was finally endorsed as the new President.

To Iain Norman he said "You're fired!"

Iain Norman was then able to exchange the Presidential Jewel for his Immediate Past Presidential Jewel and Chris Hedges was then given free rein to introduce his team for the coming year and enthuse members to support the activities which are planned to raise funds and serve the community.

Chris announced that his President's Charities would be "Sing for your Life" which seeks to delay the onset and progress of Dementia through music therapy, and "Macmillan Cancer Support" which offers support to cancer sufferers and their families and carers in their own homes.

For further details of the President's Charities please click the following links

http://www.singforyourlife.org.uk

http://www.macmillan.org.uk

WELCOME TO OUR INTERNATIONAL CONTACT CLUBS

POITIERS FUTUROSCOPE & DARMSTADT KRANICHSTEIN

On Ascension Day, 17th May 2012, delegations from the Rotary Clubs of Poitiers Futuroscope and Darmstadt Kranichstein arrived for the annual reunion, this year at home in Westgate & Birchington.

For more photos and details of the programme see 

http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?ClubID=753&PgID=287877

INTERNATIONAL ROTARY DAY 2012

To mark International Rotary Day, the Joint Rotary Clubs of Thanet mounted a SHELTERBOX DISPLAY at Westwood Cross. Rotary Clubs throughout the world support SHELTERBOX and tents and equipment are shipped to wherever people have been made homeless by natural disaster such as earthquake or flood. For further information log on to http://www.shelterbox.org

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STRICTLY COME ROTARY SPECTACULAR SUCCESS!!

The "Strictly Come Rotary" Dance Competition and Display was presented at the Winter Gardens in Margate on Friday 30th March 2012 in front of an enthusiastic audience of 300 dining guests. As well as a great entertainment spectacular, �3000 was raised for the Thanet Pilgrims Hospice.

For a full report click http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=237972&ClubID=753

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It is with great sadness that members of the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington

remember the death of Past President Dr. Max Lewis who passed away on 16th January 2010.

Our sincere condolences are offered to Max's widow, Jean.

Max was President of this Club from 1987 -88

Requiescat in pace

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Our Rotary Club was founded in 1971 and over the years has met at various venues in both Westgate-on-Sea and Birchington. We now meet in the beautiful surroundings of St. Augustine's in Westgate which was formerly a convent and later a boys boarding school.

Visiting Rotarians are cordially invited to attend our meetings but should pre-book dinner by contacting the President, Secretary or St.Augustines at least 48 hours before the meeting.

We are a very active club with a very broad age range and welcome both ladies and gentlemen as members. Please contact our Secretary for further information by clicking the "Contact us" link on the menu at the top left of the screen,

We enjoy excellent fellowship and organise a wide range of fund-raising activities from sponsored cyle rides to BBQs, from the "Strictly Come Rotary" dance competition to Santa's Sleigh street collections, all good fun while raising much needed funds for many charities and other good causes.