THE

ROTARY CLUB

OF

STOKE-ON-TRENT

83rd Year – Club No. 237

President: Roger Whittaker

BULLETIN –December 2009

Meetings held each Monday, 6 for 6-15pm, Quality Grand Hotel, HanleyFellowship Meeting on 5th Monday of the month, 7 for 7-15pm.

CLUB OFFICERS

President Roger WhittakerSenior Vice-President Carl MossJunior Vice-President David WoolrichHon. Secretary David WoolrichHon. Treasurer Tony Marsh

Committee Chairmen

Membership Service Carl MossCommunity & Vocational Service Jeff VirgoYouth Activities Service Geoff HillmanInternational Service Mike FrewerRotary Foundation Ted HothersallBulletin Editor David Stewart

THE OBJECT of ROTARY:

To encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:-

First. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service.

Second. High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society.

Third. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business and community life.

Fourth. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

THE FOUR WAY TEST

1) Is it the truth?2) Is it fair to all concerned?3) Will it build goodwill and better relationships?4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

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EDITOR’s COMMENTS

On behalf of all the Editorial, production and distribution staff may I wish all our readers a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous (?) New Year.Enjoy.Editor David.

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PRESIDENT’s LETTER or President’s Musings

... “Was it only yesterday?”

2 days in the “Big Apple” ... eat your heart out, (there’s got to be a pun there somewhere) ... was where Kath and I started our long awaited holiday. Lovely sunny weather should have meant strolling around Central Park, or perhaps in a horse drawn carriage, a leisurely meander down to Times Square, a big bus tour to the 7/11 rebuilding site, or sitting with a coffee and bagel watching the skaters at the Rockafella Centre ... NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!! How many shops can you fit into two days? ... Answers on a postcard please. My, was I glad that shops in NY had strategically placed chairs for shop weary husbands to sit on? I did go along with the excuse, “Well dear, we’ve nearly done all the Christmas Shopping” ... I’ll believe that when it happens!!!

Ah! thinks I, once on the ship all the shopping will be over ... foolish fellow that I am, will I never learn? There was three days sailing before our first port, what we can do with these days? ... you’ve guessed it!However, the shopping was punctuated with some wonderful visits: - Panama and the Canal. Too big to sail through, but the train ride from Atlantic to Pacific was spectacular; Curacao was a reminder of the Dutch colonial days; Grenada, a spicy place to visit; Barbados, no cricket at the Kensington Oval Ted, but we saw how the wealthy and not so wealthy, kind of co-habited; St. Kitts, a lovely visit, from large ship to small catamaran, snorkelling and beach barbeque, thought we were in paradise; and Tortola ... Christmas had arrived here, the decorations were up and the carols playing……………… A lovely holiday. I don’t think I instigated it, but having seen in the daily ships newsletter that the Masons were to meet, I did ask whether there was a gathering

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Welcome to the bumper Christmas edition. We are fortunate to have so many talented contributors this month and each one has written interesting, amusing and thoughtful articles…..my thanks to them all, they certainly make the editor’s job easier.

of Rotary folk ... 2 days later there was a call for all service club members to meet. FIVE of us gathered together ... now does that sum up something (especially when there were 992 Americans on board). However, I flew Stoke’s Flag and enjoyed other folks company and conversation.

Back to reality: Kath back to work, (urm! that went down well) and me with 152 e-mails to sort through, (I wonder who had sent most of those????? I’m mentioning no names, but fellow Rotarians, make the most of it that his e-mail at home is down).

While away from the helm (a term learnt on board), my thanks to Carl for keeping the Rotary ship afloat, to David S. for piloting us to Blythe Bridge, to Ted for his taxing trivia to baffle both Stoke South and ourselves, and to David W. for keeping the Rotary ship on course.

My thanks to Jeff for arranging the presentations of the Young Trier awards at Abbey Hill Special School. Jean Lewis, Carl, Jeff and myself had a lovely morning at the school and it was a delight to see the faces of the winners, as they had no previous knowledge of what was to happen. Thanks to Jean for presenting the awards, it was most fitting that she should do so.

Thanks to Elaine and Russell for their my job/ my life talks ... there’s always more than meets the eye with our Rotarians. What a splendid Indian evening we had at Belashi’s, thanks Carl for arranging this ... maybe we should go in costume to our next cultural meal, (only joking ... or is he???).

I think District Governor Lynne saw our club at its “fellowship” best ... I think from memory that she did manage to get a word in somewhere ... her letter to me suggests she enjoyed the evening.

Now I’m not sure what Captain Bill Morgan has been doing, but our sports teams have been on the crest of a wave ... snooker, into the next round, I’m assured that it wasn’t a flukey black that won the day ... darts, also into the next round. Bill, I hope you have got both teams in training now ... we’re on a roll. Well done to those members concerned.Hope everyone is looking forward to what’s in store over the next few weeks. The Rotary Christmas Dinner on the 14th should be a lovely evening ... hopefully a little different ... we’ll see.

May I take this opportunity to wish, on behalf of Kath and I, “A Very Happy Christmas and Peaceful New Year” to everyone in our club and who-ever has the opportunity of reading these musings.Finally I leave you with my challenge, can you say in:-

1 concise bullet point ... what is Rotary? 4

1 concise bullet point ... why I enjoy being a Rotarian.

.President Roger. ooOoo

PRESIDENT OF THE INNER WHEEL CLUB’s LETTER

Hello. We are back from our travels to the antipodes which we enjoyed very much, but pleased to be home again.

Our December meeting was held as usual at Marylyn and Geoff’s home and our guest was the District Chairman, Mrs Sue Gay. What a warm and friendly lady she is.

After our meeting finished she talked to us about one of her charities for this year which is the International Nepal Trust and in fact at the Club Officers meeting in July we were given a very moving talk with slides by Rowan Pritchard Jones, a surgeon who carries out corrective surgery on children with harelips and cleft palettes in Nepal. We presented her with a cheque for this very worthwhile cause.

After her talk we ate the most gorgeous lunch, all prepared by our ladies. It is funny when you see all the food laid out you are tempted to think you can eat loads, but unfortunately nature takes over and soon, too soon, we were full. The lunch did nothing for anyone’s diet and the puddings were irresistible, just how many different ones can you fit into one dish without muddling them up?

We then had the raffle, how can we get that wrong? We had so many prizes it took for ever. Some numbers came out twice with no-one collecting the prizes (both parts of the ticket got into the draw). It is a good job we started it early I thought we would all be staying the night!

The December meeting at Marylyn and Geoff’s is always the beginning of our Christmas, the house is warm and welcoming, the aroma of mulled wine and food fill the air, and crackers and decorations on the tables. It was lovely. Thank you Marylyn for all the effort you put in for us.

I wish you a very Happy Christmas and in these trying and difficult times I sincerely hope for a Peaceful New Year for us all. Yours in friendshipVal.

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NEWS RELEASE

On Thursday, 12th November The Rotary Club of Stoke-on-Trent presented awards to three pupils of Abbey Hill School & Performing Arts College, Greasley Road, Abbey Hulton, Stoke-on-Trent.

The awards, the Greg Lewis Young Triers Awards, named in memory of a past President of the Club, were awarded to three pupils who, in the view of staff at the school, were deserving of ‘young trier’ awards in recognition of their efforts during the past 12 months. The awards will now be presented on an annual basis. The recipients received individual engraved shields and book tokens. Three larger shields, engraved with the winners names will be retained at the school.

This year’s awards were presented by Mrs Jean Lewis, widow of the late Greg Lewis. A number of Rotarians including this year’s President, Rotarian Roger Whittaker were present at the presentation.This year’s recipients are:

Matthew Thorley – Upper School Mark Birks – Lower School Jack Brookes – Autism Support Department

The Rotary Club President Roger Whittaker said that it was important to encourage pupils by recognising the effort that they put into their work and the Club was delighted to join with the school in this award.

The photograph shows Mrs Jean Lewis, Rotary President Roger Whittaker, Head Teacher Philip Kidman and recipients of the awards (Mark Birks, left hand side, Matthew Thorley, centre and Jack Brookes, right hand side)

Rotarian David Stewart6

Club Communications Officer23/11/09.

Ed: Hopefully this article and photo appeared in the “Sentinel”.ooOoo

A Rotary Club visit in New Zealand Val Dawson

We are safely back from our adventures in foreign parts.

Before we left home Mike contacted the Rotary Club of Feilding NZ and arranged for us to attend their meeting. One of their members called to see us a couple of nights before the meeting to introduce himself so we would see a familiar face when we arrived. The meeting was a very similar format to ours here. We had a good meal - followed by rotten coffee. Five youngsters who had been to a RYLA camp spoke for three minutes each, telling us how much they had enjoyed it. A minister talked for 10 minutes about his early life in the ministry and this was followed by a lady who had taken over as headmistress of a boys boarding school and turned it round from nothing to something. There were no toasts at all but at the end we stood for their National Anthem (we’d never heard it before). The style of dress was not as ours; it was all very laid back and casual, only two or three suits and ties. It was most enjoyable and we were made very welcome.

Our 4½ weeks visit to NZ passed very quickly, we caught up with family, saw most magnificent scenery, Holy Communion in Christchurch Cathedral, took three train rides (one from Auckland to almost the bottom of the North Island and pulled by steam part way), a coach tour down the South Island, a couple of boat journeys and two interisland ferries. Restful? No way, we now need a holiday to get over it. Yours exhaustedlyVal.

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You have to laugh

A magician was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. The audience would be different each week, so the magician allowed himself to do the same tricks over and over again. There was only one problem: The captain's parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the magician did every trick. Once he understood he started shouting in the middle of the show: 

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"Look, it's not the same hat""Look, he is hiding the flowers under the table""Hey, why are all the cards the Ace of Spades?" The magician was furious but couldn't do anything; it was, after all, the captain's parrot. One day the ship had an accident and sank. The magician found himself on a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean with the parrot, of course. They stared at each other with hate, but did not utter a word. This went on for a day and another and another. 

After a week the parrot said: "OK, I give up. Where's the boat?"

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An Epistle from Stonehaven

Story So Far ……….Mike Robins, late of your parish and nine other Rotarians from Stonehaven Club signed up for Rotary Mission challenge 18 (16 – 28 October 2008) to Kenya to help build a school in Suswa in the Rift Valley to house and educate Maasai girls who would otherwise have to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM)This is his sorry story Part 2

1st Day – 16th October 2008Up and away – 3.00a.m. – wot! – dog Basil not amused (nor was Mhairi, but she’s a sport) Quick ablutions and all is well – dropped to our pick up point (here in Stonehaven) with the bus already there. Basil and Mhairi say goodbye – boo hoo!

Aberdeen Airport queue is big as expected but Jim had checked us in in advance – had to be some reason why we made him Club President. Through departures and on our way to Schipol, Amsterdam (1 hour and a bit and a good trip), arrived in Schipol and walked and walked halfway around the world to get to our departure gate for Nairobi – knackered – the hand luggage had turned to concrete blocks.

Flew KLM, brilliant Thai dinner and eight and a half hours of okay in flight entertainment although the harsh reality of the enormity of the project we have got ourselves into is beginning to weigh heavy.

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Arrive at Nairobi Airport – don’t let go of your luggage we were warned as unofficial porters lurk at every turn! Oh no Wilma (Senior VP – every club has one! handed her luggage over! We get to our transport – an oold (and I mean old) school bus – pre invention of springs – load up and watch as Wilma, our driver and our 6ft 3 Canadian contact have huge row with the ‘unofficial porter’ to retrieve Wilma’s luggage A graphic illustration of the perils we would encounter many times. It seems harsh but our best intentions and the Kenyans eye for a quick buck…………………………Oh and did I tell you – you need a VISA to get into Kenya? Don’t bother going through the usual channels – because a 50 dollar bill inside your passport does the same thing!!

Drive in the bus to our apartment and we are already getting a flavour of what’s to come. Brand new buildings, building sites, roadside shanty stalls, unbelievably rutted roads, makes ours look like the A500. And then plush apartment blocks, fully walled, gated and protected by guards. Beginning to get a big strong message.

Our apartment is owned by Ann Gloag (Stagecoach fame) who runs orphanages, schools and workshops in and around Nairobi and in the shanty towns alongside. Well shanty towns of sorts, you know those corrugated wood and mud huts with no electricity, no running water, no sanitation. Rivers of sewage run by the ruts in the ruts that pass as roads. All in a heady local scent that some 750,000 people call home.

It’s 1.00a.m. – had a G&T, unpacked and sharing a room with President Jim – time to reflect. Am I really here? Mhairi wouldn’t believe this – unpacked all on my own, set up my own mosquito net and set the alarm clock. Oh yes it might be a touch of luxury now but the water goes off at 8.00a.m. and the hot water well before – so need an early start. Looking at the pics Mhairi put in my luggage with loads of chocs and nuts – Lump in throat – no it’s a nut I couldn’t swallow!!

Next time – come on wake up you Stokies – I’m nowhere near finished yet! – we visit Ann Gloag’s orphanage and schools, get briefed on our project, get a first taste of the local food and visit Mashimone Squatters Village.

Finally a few words of Swahili ……Habari yako? - how are you?Nyaje? - how’s it going?Wapi choo? - where are the toilets?Kwa heri - goodbye, see you soon.

To be continued.9

Mike Robins.ooOoo

A Spot of British Humour    

As reported in the newspaper...  

Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West Gas said, "We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It's possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the

gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his house."  (The Daily Telegraph)  

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A Rotarian abroad

One of the advantages of being a Rotarian is that you can visit clubs all around the world. Over the years I have visited clubs in Portugal, Houston (one of the largest clubs in the world), Freudenstat, Santa Barbara (California), Kawaii, Rarotonga, Hong Kong and Taipei to name a few. Apart from one in Germany, which I visited with a local Rotarian, and Taipei all the proceedings were conducted in English but I found later that even Taipei had an English speaking club.

When I was President of our club I made a visit with a neighbour and fellow Rotarian to Limoges, a club which was twinned with us. They arranged a special meeting for us in the evening and we were well entertained with a lunch earlier in the day at thee chateau of a former District Governor. This was mainly French speaking but as my fellow Rotarian was Wilfred Barwise, who was fluent in French, there was no language problem. In the following year we made a club visit to a club in Malta but this time a week was spent on the island with a large contingent of Rotarians and Wives

Both clubs I now attend in Portugal are English speaking as the members consist of a great number of different nationalities. One club meets at a Michelin recommended restaurant and the other in a Palace which has recently been renovated with a modern block of bedrooms added on and is a Pousada (equivalent to the Paradore in Spain) but is run by an Hotel group.

At the end of November Marjorie and I attended a dinner for 160 held in the old stables which are now a banqueting suite. The chief guest was the Duke of Braganza who might have been King. He spoke about the history of modern Portugal. The dinner was held to raise funds to help the local community hall install heating and cooling.

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Last year we attended a classical concert held in a children’s home which the other club had organised to raise funds for the home.

You can also meet many interesting members. One of the ones I know well had a lot to do with the building of the ‘Oasis of the Seas’ and had recently sailed on the proving voyage before the one which was recently shown on Television . He knows I do not like these large ships and did mention the only time he saw the sea, when he was on board, was when he was on the bridge. He has retired to Portugal after being a Master of these cruise ships for many years.

Norman Dunning

HSE (Health & Safety Executive) guidance on 'festive' songs (Christmas Carols to you and me)!

The Rocking SongLittle Jesus, sweetly sleep, do not stir; We will lend a coat of fur, We will rock you, rock you, rock you, We will rock you, rock you, rock you:

 Fur is no longer appropriate wear for small infants, both due to risk of allergy to animal fur, and for ethical reasons. Therefore faux fur, a nice cellular blanket or perhaps micro-fleece material should be considered a suitable alternative.  Please note, only persons who have been subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check and have enhanced clearance will be permitted to rock baby Jesus. Persons must carry their CRB disclosure with them at all times and be prepared to provide three forms of identification before rocking commences.  Jingle BellsDashing through the snow In a one horse open sleigh

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 O'er the fields we go Laughing all the way

 A risk assessment must be submitted before an open sleigh is considered safe for members of the public to travel on. The risk assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such a venture, particularly if passengers are of larger proportions. Please note, permission must be gained from landowners before entering their fields. To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we would request that laughter is moderate only and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.  While Shepherds WatchedWhile shepherds watched Their flocks by night All seated on the ground The angel of the Lord came down And glory shone around

 The union of Shepherds has complained that it breaches health and safety regulations to insist that shepherds watch their flocks without appropriate seating arrangements being provided, therefore benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available. Shepherds have also requested that due to the inclement weather conditions at this time of year that they should watch their flocks via cctv cameras from centrally heated shepherd observation huts. Please note, the angel of the lord is reminded that before shining his / her glory all around she / he must ascertain that all shepherds have been issued with glasses capable of filtering out the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and Glory.  Little DonkeyLittle donkey, little donkey on the dusty road Got to keep on plodding onwards with your precious load 

 The RSPCA have issued strict guidelines with regard to how heavy a load that a donkey of small stature is permitted to carry, also included in the guidelines is guidance regarding how often to feed the donkey and how many rest breaks are required over a four hour plodding period. Please note that due to the increased risk of pollution from the dusty road, Mary and Joseph are required to wear face masks to prevent inhalation of any airborne particles. The donkey has expressed his discomfort at being labelled 'little' and would prefer just to be simply referred to as Mr. Donkey. To comment upon his height or lack thereof may be considered an infringement of his equine rights.  We Three KingsWe three kings of Orient are

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 Bearing gifts we traverse afar Field and fountain, moor and mountain Following yonder star 

 Whilst the gift of gold is still considered acceptable - as it may be redeemed at a later date through such organisations as 'cash for gold' etc, gifts of frankincense and myrrh are not appropriate due to the potential risk of oils and fragrances causing allergic reactions. A suggested gift alternative would be to make a donation to a worthy cause in the recipients name or perhaps give a gift voucher. We would not advise that the traversing kings rely on navigation by stars in order to reach their destinations and suggest the use of RAC routefinder or satellite navigation, which will provide the quickest route and advice regarding fuel consumption. Please note as per the guidelines from the RSPCA for Mr Donkey, the camels carrying the three kings of Orient will require regular food and rest breaks. Facemasks for the three kings are also advisable due to the likelihood of dust from the camels’ hooves. 

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Brain Teaser Time: The Sweet & Chocolate Quiz

1        A Mixed Bunch - 2        You Cannot Fry This One - 3        These Look Nice In Your Garden -  4        Approximately 26 Miles -  5        A Romantic Setting -  6        Talk Quietly -  7        Subject Of Conversation -  8        Glad Tidings - 9        Musical Melodies -  10      Wise Guys - 11      Wobbly Infants - 12      Enjoyable On A Summers Day -  13     Black And White Entertainers - 14      Two Days In Every Week -  15      Felix Favourites - 16      Breed Of Dog - 17      Group Of Stars -  18      Can’t Sew These On Your Coat -  19      Eastern Promise -  20      Witchcraft -  They have to match the answers I have!!The winner will receive a BOTTLE OF WINE!! (Ed : Not the usual Rotary stuff, I

hope!).Have Fun.

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DerethPS. Please send your solutions to Dereth by Monday 11th January 2010 by postor e-mail derethwoolrich1@aol.com . All all-correct solutions will be put in a hatand the winning entry will be the first to be drawn out. Answers will be in thenext edition of the Bulletin in February. 

ooOooAND FINALLY:-

Mrs. Irene Graham of Thorpe Avenue, Boscombe, delighted the audience with her reminiscence of the German prisoner of war who was sent each week to do her garden. He was repatriated at the end of 1945, she recalled. "He'd always seemed a nice friendly chap, but when the crocuses came up in the middle of our lawn in February 1946, they spelt out 'Heil Hitler.'"  (Bournemouth Evening Echo).   

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DATES COMING UP (Why don’t you make sure that they are in your diary?)

2009December 18th (Fri) Jt.Collection with Stoke South at Sainburys Stoke2010January 1st Club Walk & Leftover LunchFebruary 4th District Council, PenkridgeMarch 19th/21st Club London WeekendApril 11th/15th Inner Wheel National ConferenceApril 16th/18th RIBI National ConferenceApril 17th Spring Ball, Quality Grand HotelApril 19th Club AGMApril 21st Quiz Night, N/L Rugby ClubMay 9th(Sun)/12th(Wed) Inner Wheel Bruges TripMay 28th District Council, PenkridgeJune 14th Club AssemblyJune 20th/23rd RI Convention, Montreal, CanadaJune 28th Valedictory & Handover Fellowship Evening

CLUB DIARY (Please note that the Speaker’s Host has to arrange for a speaker or do it themselves and if you are not going to be available on the date specified it is your responsibility to arrange for a substitute.)

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Speaker’s Host Speaker

December 14th Pres.Roger Whittaker Christmas Dinner Fellowship at Denry’s Rest’t, Burslem

December 21st Club Business MeetingDecember 28th No Meeting2010January 4th Norman Dunning “2nd Quarter of the 20th Century”January 11th John BrookJanuary 18th Club Business MeetingJanuary 25th Charles Freeman Dangers of the DeepFebruary 1st Mike FrewerFebruary 8th Group Committee MeetingsFebruary 15th Club Business MeetingFebruary 22nd Geoff HillmanMarch 1st No Meeting- Scatter WeekMarch 8th Ted HothersallMarch 15th Club Business MeetingMarch 22nd Bill MorganMarch 29th Pres.Roger Whittaker “Call my Bluff” Fellowship Eve

~~~April 19th Club AGMJune 7th Pres.Roger Whittaker Club Visit Italian (?) Rest’tJune 14th Club AssemblyJune 28th Valedictory & Handover

FUTURE BULLETINS

Deadline for Submission Issue Dates of Articles

2010 Friday 12th February Monday 22nd February

Friday 2nd April Monday 12th April

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

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