A Cracker Of A Party Without The Crackers!

Every picture tells a story..... well, almost.  What a happy, smiling lot we all look at the Club’s Christmas Partners’ Lunch as shown above.

Lunch, yes – excellent festive fare and super service. Thank you Keith for organising.   
Partners, yes – only Ben Curtis and Mary were missing, away in Cornwall.  All present and correct. Even Margaret managed to come despite all her travails and clerical commitments.

Fellowship, yes.  But Christmas?  What, no crackers, no party hats.!  Nothing to tug with colleagues and wives on the tables; none of those silly cracker jokes to pass round and nothing to wear to lighten up the room, even if you only put the coloured crown on briefly (or upside down !) before dumping it.So be it.

Cost-saving no doubt. 

Sparkling Ben!

Having said all that, in jest I hasten to add, the Reids room was full of glamour (how our partners had changed since standing muffled up in the freezing High Street eight days before) and laughter, merriment and Christmas spirit;  no long speeches – just President Ben doing a sparkling job of welcome and introduction (and remembering the Loyal Toast this time).

Our special guests were Yvonne Kyndt and Barry Howe, President and Vice-President respectively of our daughter Mayflower Club. They also presented a cheque to our Treasurer Mike Ginn for £827, to Aquabox.  Mike  is an Aquabox Ambassador, and this follows his highly successful presentation on that Charity to their Club.   Yvonne also gave an update on the success and future of the Christmas Market.

We shared our table with Chandra, and Norman and Iris.  We were delighted to see how well Iris looked, but a few days later we heard she was in hospital.  All the Club wish her well.  Suspect the empty chair was for Sylvia Hathaway who felt unwell that morning. 
Good company, good wine, good conversation, good fellowship. Rotary at its best.

Shame about the crackers!

100 Club Draw

Roger Kettle, manager of our highly successful 100 Club, again managed the draw superbly.

As lunch organiser, Keith Wood deserved the top prize in the 100 Club Draw. It will pay for a few bottles of Spanish wine when he next flies off to Spain for another break.  (He kindly rejected a second win of £25 - that’s another three bottles in Spain!)

By Trevor Bond