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IN GEARJune 2010 No. 955

THE ROTARY CLUB OF GLOUCESTERChartered 1920

Our sponsors are , HB Digital Printing Ltd and Rotarian Robin Morris

INNER WHEEL

Tuesday, June 8th AnnualGeneralMeeting

Tuesday, June 22nd Coffeemorningat9,BarnwoodRoad,Gloucester

Tuesday, July 13th HandovermeetingfollowedbyFellowshipLunch

Tuesday, August 10th President’sTeaPartyatFieldHouse,Minsterworth

PresidentJanetgavea reportat theAprilmeetingon the InnerWheelConferenceatBournemouthwhichsheandseveralmembershadattended.Shesaid itwasamostenjoyableandstimulatingevent.

TheRotaryOldFolks’TeaPartyonApril18thsawInnerWheelmembersassistingbyprovidingcakesandthepartywasgreatlyenjoyedbyalltheguests.

Details were given for the Inner Wheel World Day Service at the SalvationArmy forMay26thwithlunchafter.Theservicehashadtobere-arrangedastheoriginaleventin January was postponed, due to wintry weather. The food and refreshments whichmembersprovidefortheWillowTrustoutingonMay24thwasalsodiscussed.

Diary Dates and speakers

May 29th - May 30th - Club visit toRodez

Friday, May 28th-Speaker,Thepublicitydirector of Birmingham InternationalAirport,FriendandGrace,MarkNewey.

Friday, June 4th - Speaker finder and grace,RonRing.

Wednesday June 9th - ‘Kids Out’at Cattle Country Adventure Park atBerkeley.

Friday, June 11th-Clubphotograph.

Monday, June 14th - Club CouncilmeetinganddinneratWeighbridgeInn.

Friday, June 18th-Lunchtime:SpeakerFinderandFrace,AndrewFox;Evening:7.30pm Exultate Singers in concert atGloucesterCathedral.

Friday, June 25th-Businessmeeting-Grace,RichardGraham

Friday, July 2nd - Annual PresidentialHandover meeting. Grace, CliveKingscote

Saturday July 3rd - PresidentialIncomingPartyBarnDanceatAshleworthTitheBarn.

(Speaker finders for July informed of their duties but their names do not, as yet,appearintheClubDiaryonline)

Forthcoming Dates:-

Thursday, July 29th-EveningMeetingwhen Rotarian John Sargent will talkon his Indian Experience. Venue to beconfirmed.

Thursday, August, 19th-VisittoMorganCarsfactoryatMalvern.

PROGRAMME

INNER WHEEL OFFICERS

I have been asked to let members know that if they find it necessary to give apologies by phone or e-mail, could they please give them to Nigel Halls and not Angela until further notice. Nigel is on 01452 731993 or nigeljhalls@aol.com. Donʼt forget this needs to be done at the latest by noon on the previous day before the meeting.

Apologies

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LOVE ICE CREAMPresident -MrsJanetHayward(01452725225);Vice President -MrsGillPayne(01452750466);Secretary-MrsJackieMatthews(01452302367);Treasurer-MrsSueWhite(01452831618)

President Janet presented a card and bouquetof flowers to member Hilda Lockwood who was celebrating her 95th birthday. Hilda had broughta lovely iced cake for all members to share(picturedright).

Our speaker, Mrs Jean Homer, then gave amostinterestingtalkonthehistoryoftheatresinGloucester,from1795.Thereweremanytheatresin the city at various times and such famousnames as Henry Irving, Ellen Terry and GracieFields graced Gloucester stages. Jean gave usmanyfascinatingfactsabouttheillustriouspastofGloucester’stheatresandtheireventualfate.

PresidentJanet’scharityeventofaFashionShowinaidoftheRobocapAppealwasverysuccessfulraising£883.Theoccasionwasmadeevenmoreenjoyablebythefactthatseveralmembersbecamemodelsfortheevening,lookingverychic-whoneedsKateMoss.Theyweremostprofessional.

InMayJohnSargentfromtheRotaryClubofGloucesterheldusallenthralledwhenhetoldusofhisvisit toLucknowinIndiawithotherRotariansre- thePolioImmunisationProgrammecalled‘TwoDropofLife.’Theaimistoimmuniseallchildrenmostatriskandhopefullyabolishthisdreadfuldiseasealtogether.

AsuccessfulcoffeemorningonMay18thatBarbaraSeed’shomehasalsoswelledfundsfortheRobocapAppealandanothercoffeemorningisplannedforJune22ndatDorothyAllen’s home. President Janet should have a very substantial cheque to give to thehospital at the Handover Lunch in July as a fitting end to her year in office.

Members were reminded that June 9th is Kids Out Day when some members will behelpingGloucesterRotarianswiththeirannualmeetingatCattleCountryatBerkeley.

Dorothy Allen, Club Correspondent.

90 YEARS OF SERVICE

THIS edition marks the club’s 90th anniversary. On April 9th the city Mayor honoured us with a Civic Reception and on May 1st we enjoyed a gala dinner at Hartpury College where these pictures were taken.

Above President Jeremy Keck and his wife Margaret (right) greet Rotary’s national president David Fowler and his wife Daphne. Above right Rotarian

Sue Smith presents Rear Admiral Terry Loughran with a photo of five former captains of HMS Gloucester taken at the club’s 75th birthday.

On the right we see David Fowler presenting club president Jeremy Keck with a certificate signed by himself and Rotary International President John Kenny to mark the club̓s important milestone.

n Civic reception details pages 8/9 n Gala Dinner 10 /15 n Gloucester Quays’s charter evening 16/17 n District Conference 6/7 n City Senior Citizens’ Party 4/ 5.

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SUPPORTING GLOUCESTER ROTARY CLUB

Focusing on success

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THEclub’slatestrecruitisSarahPowellwhowasinductedbyPresidentJeremyKeckatthefourclubs’dinneratBrockhamptonGolfClub - a first for any newcomer to the club. InGearaskedSarahtogiveusafewdetailsaboutherself.Thisisherresponse.

“I joined Rotary in April this year, havingattended a number of Rotary events as aspeaker.

I live in Churchdown but as a child of aServicefamilyIwasbasedandeducatedataboardingschoolinAbingdonnearOxford.IattendedSouthamptonUniversity,whereIstudied English with French and gained aBAHonoursDegree.

I returned to Gloucester in 1993 as myfamily had relocated here and pursued

90th ANNIVERSARY

Sarah - our latest recruit

Our newest member Sarah Powell who works for Prospect Training Services is pictured with her sponsor, Past President David Corbett and our present chief - President Jeremy.

A newcomer to look up to............President Jeremy pins a badge on newly inducted member Sarah Powell

President Jeremy was invited to a Bollywood Ball at Kings Stanley Village Hall on Saturday, March 13 to receive a cheque on behalf of Sightsavers. The evening had been organised by Madhu Gohil, she of the wonderful Indian cuisine. It was great fun with many ladies dressed in beautiful saris and several gentlemen also dressed on an Indian theme.

Jane Whaley of Sightsavers gave a very interesting talk on their work to eliminate avoidable blindness and to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

The numbers of people they help is quite staggering; in one year almost six million people are seen and over half are treated. They have protected 22 million people from river blindness in Africa, and trained nearly 75,000 primary eye care workers to continue the vital work of Sightsavers.

Madhu prepared another of her wonderful meals for the 150 or so guests at the Ball and it was appropriate she should have invited the Rotary Club to accept the cheque of over £500 for Sightsavers given the District Governors’ interest in the work of the RNIB.

Bollywood Ball charity cheque

President Jeremy is seen accepting the cheque from Madhu with Jane Whaley of Sightsavers on the right.

careers in Recruitment, Hospitality andCustomer Service before joining ProspectTrainingServicesin2006,whereInowholdaverydemandingbuthighlyenjoyablepostaspartof theseniormanagementteam. Iamdirectlyresponsible for inexcessof40staffandawideportfolioofcontracts.

IlivewithmypartnerRob,andIammotherofthreetoHenry,EllaandThomas,(13,11and9respectively).

I’m kept busy with the numerous afterschool activities my children are involvedin. These include rugby, football, danceand cricket. I am also a keen rugby fan,regularly attending Kingsholm to supportthe Gloucester team. Other hobbies andinterests include reading, travelling, andtimewithfriendsandfamily.”

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Aspiring to excellenceONE of Gloucester’s unsung

success stories in recent years has been the launch of the Aspire

Sports and Cultural Trust which manages the GL1 Leisure Centre and Oxstalls Tennis Centre.

Howthiscameaboutanditsconsequenceswereexplained tomembersby theTrust’sdetermined and accomplished chiefexecutive Steve Elway. In a rapid fire presentation-whichwasalmostexhaustingto listen to -SteveoutlinedhowtheTrustwasnowresponsiblefordeliveringaservicewhich had hitherto been done by the CityCouncil.

HeexplainedhowtheTrust’s148staffservedwell over a million customers each yearanditsgoalscoveredarangeoftargetsforsportsand leisureprovisionwhich createdhealthylifestyleopportunitiesinthecity.

In particular he praised his staff who hadresponded amazingly to some significant changes and said that raising servicestandardsandachievingqualityaccreditationwascoretotheTrust’ssuccess.

By becoming more customer/communityfocused they were increasing both theusageandincomefromtheirfacilities.Oneexcellentresultofthiswasthatanysuplusprofits were being re-invested. An example of this was the £200,000 refurbishment

of the health and fitness faculty at GL1 and improving the Trust’s website andcommericaledge.

AsanexampleoftheTrust’ssuccessStevecited how its city facilities had hosted theprestigious European Junior Synchronised

SwimmingChampionshipaswellasnationalfencingandgymnasticevents.

Aspartof itspolicyof inclusion ithadalsohosted the national wheelchair tennischampionship as well as launching thegovernment’s ‘Swim 4 Life’ free swimminginitiative to maximise the health benefits for peopleagedover60or16andunder.

In addition to these significant benchmarks, StevealsomentionedthatGL1hadstagedthelocalRemembranceServiceaswellasaJazzFestivalandseveralkGospelChoirs.Sosuccessfulhad theTrustbeensince itslaunch that it was now being seen as anexemplarandtrainingfacilityforother localauthoritiesandTrust.

But Steve isn’t one to stand on pastachievements as the first slide of his presentation indicated when it emphasizedtheTrust’sobjectiveofmovingfromgoodtoexcellent.....andwithsuchadynamicbossinchargethisisaneminentlyachievablegoal.

Steve was introduced and thanked byRotarianMartynWhite,thecitycouncillorwhohasplayeda leadingrole insettingupandhavinganoverviewoftheTrust’scontinuingsuccess in not only improving sports andhealthopportunities inGloucesterbutonceagainputtingthecityonthenationalmapasavenueofexcellence.

LEFT:- President Jeremy Keck presents John Sargent with a cup as the member to achieve the highest skittles average this year. Enjoy it while you can John....come September Angela Seddon will be back with us and seeking to regain the trophy.

RIGHT:- Handshakes and congratulations there were aplenty when Rotarian Richard Graham returned to the club after his successful bid to become Gloucester’s new MP in the recent General Election. Here we see him with Rotarian Genevieve Flight.

Rotarian Martyn White with Steve Elway.

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Andrew Bellingall is a career soldier. He’s also an excellent raconteur with a seemingly inexhaustible

store of fascinating stories from his 20 or so years in the army.

Andrew is also President Jeremy Keck’snephew, which brought him to the fourclubs̓ annual dinner at Brickhampton Golf ClubattheendofMarch.

AfteranexcellentrepastAndrewentertainedus foranhourwithstoriesdrawn fromhiscareer,beginningappropriatelywithastoryor two fromhisdaysatSandhurstMilitaryAcademy and ending with a few from hismore recent experiences as a full colonelwiththeRoyalEngineers.

InbetweenAndrewhasbeen inchargeofa troop (30 soldiers), a squadron (150), aregiment (500) and now four regiments(2,000).

90th ANNIVERSARY

Stories from the front line

His stories were drawn from all levels ofcommand - and indeed from all over theworld..............from Croatia to Canada,from Chatham to Cyprus, from Norwayto Northumberland and from Australia toAfghanistan......and let’s not forget the twoIraqiwarseither!!!

Andrewnotonlycameacrossasaeloquentand dedicated commanding officer but one who was also modest and possessed of agreatsenseofhumour.

Throughout his talk he paid a wholesometribute to the soldiers under his control,whom he described as some of the mosttalented in the British army. Their multi-

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talented attributes equipped them not onlyto face daunting engineering challengesfrom building bridges, a church and evenasmall townbutalsomoulded them intoaformidable fighting force.

At the end of a fascinating hour Andrewcarefully answered questions - particularlythose on the present conflict in Afghanistan.

Hewasconvincedandconvincingandspokewith humility of men he had lost under hiscommandbutalsopaidtributetothepublicwhosesupporthedescribedas‘fantastic’.

In a raffle prior to the talk £485 was raised for thecharity‘HelpforHeroes.’

Full marks to the organisers for a wellorganisedeveningandtoPresidentJeremyforinvitingAndrewtogiveusatalkwithwasamusing, poignant, thought provoking andalwaysinteresting.

Four clubs’ combined dinner at Brickhampton

Golf Club

The presidents of all four Gloucester Rotary clubs line up with guest speaker Colonel Andrew Bellingall at the combined clubs’ dinner. From the left are Jeremy Keck - the speaker’s ‘Uncle’, Charles Coats (Gloucester North), Andrew himself, Andrew Wilson (Gloucester Severn) and Robert Baxter (Gloucester Quays).

Rotarian Clive Sheridan and his wife Rosemary, Andrew’s aunt and uncle and Sue Bellingall and Rotarian Fred Bellingall, Andrew’s parents. The two ladies are both President Jeremy’s sisters. This photo was taken at the club’s 90th Gala dinner which both couples attended

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A distinguished ancestor

FOR the first time for some years members of the Rotary Club ofGloucesteroutnumberedtheirfriendsfromtheNewentclubattheannualIvanHoustonskittlescompetition.Some20+clubmembersandpartnerstravelledtotheRoyalOakatMuchMarclefortheeventandtoenjoyaconvivialeveningofRotaryfellowship.

Despite thebonhomie therewerenoquartersgivenwhen theskittlingstartedwithNewentpastpresidentMikeCookemakinganimpressivestart.

Not to be outdone our own Sue Smith showed that a moredelicatetouchcanachievethesameresults.ButitwasanotherGloucester member Clive Hannis who came top on the nightandisseenbeingpresentedwiththecovetedtrophybyNewentpresidentJeremyChamberlayne.

nIvanHoustonwasaPastPresidentofourclubwho,withhelpfrom Ross on Wye Rotary Club, was instrumental in formingtheNewentclub. Ivanwasakeenskittlerandwhenhedied it

was decided to provide a trophy in his memory to be playedfor annually. This was the 23rd year of competition and thetrophyhasbeenwonbyGloucesterskittlersonnofewerthan18occasions.

Clive flattens ʻem

What is the link between Britain’s smallest museum - which is one of London’s hidden gems - and

our Rotary Club? The answer - Rotarian Chris Soane.

Chris is thedirectdescendantof thegreatarchitectSirJohnSoaneandinafascinatingtalkhegaveusanoverviewofhisillustriousancestor who was born in 1753, the sonof a bricklayer, and died after a long anddistinguishedcareer,in1837.

Sir John Soane has come to be regardedas one of the great architects of late18th and early 19th century Europe, andcontemporaryarchitectsanddesignersarebecoming increasingly influenced by the subtletiesofhisuniquestyle.

AfterstudyinginItaly-theresultofwinningthe Royal Academy Gold Medal fordesigning a triumphal arch - Soane builtup a considerable private practice and areputation that securedhisappointment in1788 as architect to the Bank of England,whereoveraperiodof45yearshedesigneda vast complex of courts and offices.With his appointment to the Office of Works in1815,hebecame responsible forpublicbuildings in Whitehall and Westminster,which entailed the designing of a RoyalentranceandgalleryintheHouseofLords,new Law Courts, Privy Council Offices and a State Paper Office.

As professor of architecture at the RoyalAcademy from 1806, he was to playa leading role in the improvement ofarchitectural education in Britain; and hewas active in the founding of what is nowtheRoyalInstituteofBritishArchitects.

Althoughmuchofhisworkwasthoughtlesslydestroyed towards the end of the 19thcentury, a substantial number of buildingsand parts of buildings survive, especiallyoutside London, as a testimony to hisgenius.

PerhapstheclosesttoushereinGloucesteris Piercefield at Chepstow. However this too is inneedof refurbishment in theregionof£2m.

After thedeathofhiswife (1815),he livedalone in his house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields,constantly adding to and rearranging hiscollection of antiquities and works of artincludingHogarth’sRaikesProgress.

However having been deeply disappointedbytheconductofhistwosons,oneofwhomsurvivedhim,hedeterminedtoestablishthehouseasamuseumtowhich‘amateursand

students’shouldhaveaccess.Hethereforegave it to the nation in 1833 rather thanbequeathittohisoneremainingson.

It was a fascinating talk on an architectwho deserves to be better know............congratulations to Chris for introducingus tooneofhis famous-and fascinating-ancestors.

The great architect Sir John Soane

Britain’s smallest national museum - the Soane Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields

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Sun shone onThere is something about the Old

Folks̓ Party that ensures fine weather whenever it is arranged.

Sunny weather seems to be guaranteed and everyone feels so much happier for it.

Thisyear’seventstartedasallothershavedonewithsomegood fellowshipsortingoutthe hall at King̓s School during the morning whichwasachievedinnotimeatallbecauseofthenumberofmembersturningout.Thebiggest job was getting MC Mike Westburyinstalled on stage and his equipment wasquiteheavyaswell!

By3pmtheoldfolkhadstartedarrivingandbefore very long the hall was buzzing withvoicesandtheactivityofKingsSchoolgirlstryingtokeepupwiththedemandforanicecuppatea.

Forourguests,thehighlightoftheafternoonwasMichaelWestburyentertainingthemwithhis usual mixture of music, song, wit andsaucinesswhicheveryoneloved.

Thisyearhehadasurprisewhenheintroducedafriendofhisfromhisearlyperformingyears,BarbaraJames.Shewasanabsolutedelightand sang the old classics with a beautifulvoice.Manyofheraudiencejoinedinheartily

President Jeremy who has organised the annual party for local old folk for many years reports on this year’s event

Where would the party be without the musical and comic talents of the irrepressible Mike Westbury. This year he introduced a friend from yesteryear Barbara James who delighted with her singing.

President Jeremy Keck - not one to miss an attractive photo opportunity - pictured with some of the King’s School sixth formers who helped out at the event.

Some of the Rotarians and Inner Wheel ‘backroom helpers’ whose assistance was essential to the party’s success.

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RIGHT:- Our President Jeremy Keck presents Quays present Robert Baxter with a bell as a charter present from Gloucester’s oldest Rotary Club to its newest.

LEFT:- President Jeremy Keck with District Rotary Foundation chairperson Jill Johnston of the Avonmouth club.

Members of the new club with President Robert Baxter centre front row. This was taken at the club’s inauguration and is reproduced courtesy of The Citizen.

We are grateful to Clive Hannis for keeping us up to date with former President Angela Seddon’s news from Afghanistan.

Angela is a senior aircraftman in the RAF 4624 Movements Squadron and has just started a tour of duty in this war torn country. Angela is part of a team that loads and offloads aircraft as they come in and depart from airfields.

In a message e-mailed to Clive Angela writes: “I have been here for just over two weeks and have settled into the routine of up at 0530 for work at 0600 until 1900. “We only have half an hour for lunch and work outside in the searing heat all day building pallets of freight and cargo and loading and offloading aircraft.

“I get to drive all the forks and machinery too although I managed to drop a pallet the other day - nothing damaged though - just a bit of pride!!

“Everything smells really bad (it’s the toilets) and the food now tastes all the

same. “We have to wear our uniform all day and all evening if we are out having coffee which is a pain as it gets really really sandy and dusty and oily during the day. There’s nothing to do except work, gym and sleep. There are no days off at all and occassionally we have a coffee at the coffeee shop in the evenings.

“There are lots of different aircraft and helicopters everywhere and on the road around the airfield, some I have never seen before or even knew existed. All driving is limited to 20kpm (13mph) so I have to get used to driving really slowly. Armoured vehicles are everywhere and most of the nations here all carry their weapons all the time.

“I am really enjoying the work and the experience and will hopefuly bring lots of photos back for everyone to see.

“Hope all is well at club and please send my love and nest regards to everyone.”

Angelaʼs Afghan adventure

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a great partyjoinedinwiththechoruslines.Iamsureshewillbeindemandagainforfutureparties.

Again this year Rotary supplied thesandwiches and trifles, and Inner Wheel supplied some very appealing cakes andserved tea to theold folk.Therewasmorethanenoughforeveryoneeventhoughthereweremorethan100guestsinthehall-morethaninpreviousrecentyears.

Bingo was again the centre of everyone’sattention as Mike delivered the numbersand various prizes were won. There was aslight hiccup when Mike thought the partyended at five o’clock, an hour earlier than planned, which left a bit of a whole to fill. But to everyone’s delight, Mike strapped on hisguitarandentertainedagain.

Well done Mike for all your help and inintroducingBarbaratotheevent,alsothanksto Janet and her Inner Wheel girls for theirpreparationandservingofthetea,andtoalltheRotarianswhohelpedoutwithtransportandwithsupportduringtheafternoon.

But especial thanks to Robert Hall andAmanda Chamberlayne for organising thewholethingwithskillandaplomb.Itisnottheeasiest of events to organise the first time aroundbutitdoesgeteasierwitheveryyearyoudoit.Here’stothenexttime!

n Age does have a few compensations and on the right we see President Jeremy presenting a bottle of sherry to the party’s most senior citizen...........a delightful lady who clocked in at the grand age of 91.

It was a full house at King’s School with slightly more than 100 elderly guests at the party, most of whom were transported to and from the party by club members.

What a smile! The lovely Anthea, wife of Rotarian Richard Graham who handed out cream scones and jam.

Some more of the backstage ladies whose invaluable help made this a party to remember.

Rob Hall, the party organiser with Trevor and Joy Picken who have checked in guests at Rotary senior citizens̓ parties for more years than they care to remember.

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Rotaryʼs newest arrival

greeted

IT seems appropriate that in this the 90th anniversary edition of In Gear we should be recording the Gala night

which marked the birth of Gloucester’s newest Rotary club --that of Gloucester Quays.

We are grateful to Colin Rogers for thepicturesandwordsforthisclubandjoinwitheveryoneelseinwishingthenewclubeverysuccessinthefuture.

Colin writes: “A series of clashes of datesand theproximity of theDistrict conferencereduced the number of Rotarians atGloucester Quays Rotary Club’s Charterdinneranddancebutthosewhowereabletogohadathoroughlyenjoyableevening.

About 120 Rotarians and guests attendedthe splendid evening at Gloucester RugbyClub on Friday, March 26th when the newclub’s President, Robert Baxter, welcomedeveryone and introduced his 23 newRotariansintotheRotaryfamily.

District Governor Stewart Gilbert fromWorcester gave a magnificent Charter speech

tellingthenewRotariansofthegreatthingsthey can achieve as part of a like-mindedgroupof1.3millionRotariansworldwide.

He also urged members of the new clubto enjoy themselves and to approach theiractivitieswithagladheartwhichwouldmaketheirexperiencesallthemoreworthwhile.

Presidents all! From the left Robert Baxter (Gloucester Quays), Andrew Wilson (Gloucester Severn), District Governor Stewart Gilbert, Jeremy Keck (Rotary club of Gloucester) and Charles Coats (Gloucester North).

Past club President Robert Hall with Tess Rogers on the left and Robert’s wife Heather on the right

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In response Quays President Robert listedseveralexcellentprojectshisclubhadalreadyundertakenlocally.

Several items of regalia were presented tothe new club from their neighbours and onbehalf of the Rotary Club of Gloucester ourpresidentJeremyKeckpresentedRobertwithabellwithwhichtokeeporder!!!

Rotarian Colin Rogers who attended theCharter night said it was refreshing tobe among such enthusiastic and excitednewcomerstothemovement.”

Heends:“AssooftenontheseoccasionsonefeelsmorethanproudtobeaRotariuanandespeciallyaGloucesterRotarian.”

n The new club meets every Tuesday at7.15am for breakfast at Coots restaurantwhich is situated next to the NationalWaterwaysMuseumatGloucesterQuays.

With the new club’s arrival it means thatGloucester now has a full set of breakfast/lunch/twilightandeveningclubs.

Past District Governor and a member of the Rotary Club of Gloucester David Seed with - on the left - Margaret Keck wife of President Jeremy and on the right David’s wife Barbara.

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ConferenceAjolly crowd moved into the Torcroft

Hotel inTorquay and were welcomedbynewownersSallyandNeil.Some,

whoarrivedearlierattendedtheConferencefrom its outset which included somegood presentations notably from the RIBIPresident’s representative Gordon McInally(writes President Jeremy Keck).

Laterarrivalseventuallymadeittothehotelandtheeveningbeganwithamealatwhichwe were joined by Bryan and ChristineBamber from Gloucester North. Everyonethen took themselves to theRivieraCentrefor a 60s themed dance. This was goodfunwithadisco followedby theSearchers(Rememberthem?-NeedlesandPins,Don’tthrow your love away) They were so goodthatitwastheGloucestercontingentwholefttheCentrelasttoreturntoourhotel.

TheSaturdaymorningconferencesessionswere quite brilliant. Norman Proctor, the

RI President’s representative was veryentertaining with his keynote speech. Hewas followed by Quentin Letts of the DailyMail who was very humorous and whosearguments,experienceandexamplesofthismodern cotton balled country found muchempathywithhisaudience.

Themorning’slastspeakerwasRayBurman,an ex-South London copper, a memberof Colchester RC and RIBI’s President in2011/2012.Hewasbrilliant-veryfunnybutwithaveryseriousmessageaboutthefutureofRotary.ItwouldseemthatwithhimatthehelmRotarywillbeinverygoodhands.

During the afternoon delegates wererewarded with presentations from theDistrict GSE team followed by the teamfromNorthernItaly.Itwasgreattoseethemagain after entertaining them in Gloucesterrecently. There were also two charmingfemale Ambassadorial Scholars, one from

Group Study Exchange students from Northern Italy - Erica Costigliolo, Lisa Devincenzi and Laura Aimone with President Jeremy.

Trevor Picken (who kindly took most of the photos on these pages) can never resist the lure of the drums.....even at a district conference.

Smiles all round.....President Jeremy and his wife Margaret with Rotarian Genevieve Flight and her husband Paul

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90th ANNIVERSARY

highlights 2010Japan and the other from Korea both nowstudyingintheBristolarea.

The last two to speak were Rotary WorldAffairs Scholars. They had been toMilwaukee with another 150 students fromaround the world and were asked to comeupwithideastosolvetheproblemofhungerintheworld.Bothspeakerswereintheirlateteensbuthadamaturitybeyondtheiryears,especiallytheyoungman.At18hisdeliveryand presentation was simply brilliant. Hewants to be a politician. Remember thename,RupertBailey.

The floor was also given to Inner Wheel Chairman,BarbaraChapman(wifeofDerek,a former Gloucester club member). Shedescribed theworkof InnerWheel bothasa separate organisation and in partnershipwith Rotary. She felt many Rotarians onlythinkofInnerWheelersassomebodytocallon todo thingsmendon’twant todo-she

certainlyprovedthattobeverywrong!

TheDistrictGovernor’sBanquetandBallwasa very well attended do with black tie andall the ladies in theirposh frocks.Themealwasexcellentandtheservicewasextremelyattentive. The live band was Chris Smith’sStringofPearlsBigBandbuttheywerenotbig enough to fill the vastness of the Riviera Centre.TheimageofJohnSargentdancingwithhisarmsaroundthreeyoungItalianGSEstudentswillremainforalongtime!

For the final session on Sunday morning the mainspeakerwasKateO’MaraonbehalfofTalking Books but her rather flat presentation wassomewhattiresome.

After that I was gone (Gloucester vNorthampton beckoned) but I’m told theBishopofBristol,MikeHill,wasverymovingduring the Thanksgiving Service and hadtearsintheeyesofmany.

Former District Governor David Seed and his wife Barbara with past President Robert Hall and his wife Heather.

Club Senior Vice President Chris Peak with his wife Jane.

They always make a delightful picture. The Pickens at play - Rotarian Trevor and his wife Joy toasting the success of another conference.

The club’s eldest statesman and still a regular attender at district conferences, Rotarian Robin Morris and his wife Pat. Past club presidents John Sargent and Graham Howell with Graham’s wife Audrey

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ANNUAL

66 new members inducted since 1990 including eight ladies. Total Rotarians since 1920 - 618Kids’Out event which has involved thousands ofdisadvantagedcitychildrenSenior Citizens’ Easter party which regularly has around 100 guestsSchools Cricket. Our club provides the trophies andumpiresMedieval Fayre for 10 years - a colourful event in Westgate StreetSalvationArmyChristmasCharityConcertwhichhasraised£000sforchairitiesAqua Boxes - 665 filled. Another 100 to fill. One of the best club records in UKStreet and superstore Christmas collections. One of theclub’sbiggestfundraisersOngoing support for Women’s Refuge and holidays for disadvantaged children Members for GSE Teams. One of the best records ofnomineesindistrictMatching Grants and DSG obtained to support projects. Once again one of the best records in District with successful club projects all over the worldHome FarmTrust at Frocester -Annual Christmas partyformorethan20yearsormationofClub’sTrustFundforYoungPeople.Young Musician of the Year Competition. First RIBI winner was from Gloucester’s Crypt Grammar School.InGear-Wonthedistrictcompetitiononceandreceivedthe national award for two years running as best clubmagazineinRIBICar parking for rugby matches which has raised £000s for club projectsEquipmentfor localcommunityandsportingclubsmainlyforyoungpeople.

SELECTION OF MAJOR PROJECTS

In 2005 the three Gloucester Clubs raised £45,000 to build and equip a room where parents of acutely ill children could stay overnight at GRH.FinancialsupportforGloucestershireLifeEducationTrust.Since 2001 six matching grant projects with RC George RSA, to provide medical equipment, lifeboat and ambulance for hospice. Total value $179,000.Clubprojectraised£50,000forCancerResearch.Upgrade existing Salvation Army building in Tallin, Estonia to provide drop in feeding/medical/training centre for homeless people.Purchase of four flat bottom rescue boats for county’s Fire andRescueServiceProvision of seven new mobility scooters and a new playing area at Cypress Gardens, Longford following the July 2007 floods.Financial support for Acorns Children’s Hospice,Worcester.Improvement of sanitary conditions and water supply to three small rural schools in Ecuador. Working party included members of the club and Beaufort Venture Scouts.

n For some of these projects we received help from theRotaryClubofRodezandGeorgeinSouthAfricanDetails of clubprojectsprior to1990are included in theclub’shistorybook.

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A selection of projects/activities since 1990

Anne Nesbitt, Rotarian Peter Nesbitt, Rotarian Robert Hall, Heather Hall, May Campbell and Rotarian John Campbell

Ian Mean, Rotarian Jeremy Dancey, Pat Westbury and Rotarian Mike Westbury.

Rotarians John Lovell and Sue Smith look at a photocopy of the Gloucester Journal reporting on a club dinner from 1920.

Jackie Carlton, Rotarian Julian Farr, Leslie Soane and Rotarian Chris Soane.

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90th ANNIVERSARY

A MayorʼsIS Rotary a well meaning middle class

service organisation obsessed with predictions of its own demise? This

was the controversial question posed by President Jeremy Keck at the Civic Reception hosted on April 9th by the Mayor of Gloucester, Councillor Chris Witts, to mark the club’s 90th anniversary.

Jeremy,whowasrespondingtotheMayor’swholesometributetoRotary,saidtherewasa danger of the organisation becoming anoldmen’sclubwitharound70%ofmembersbeingovertheageof60.Itwasimportanttoreverse this trendorRotary inGreatBritainandIrelandcouldlargelydisappearby2025.Butallwasnotgloomanddoom.

Jeremy said that in Gloucester we werealready making the right moves to secureRotary’sfuture.Withinourownclubwenowhad several younger members and withinthecity therewasnowa fourthRotaryclub(Gloucester Quays) which had attracted anexcellentcoreofyoungermembersbetweentheagesof30and40.

InjestJeremyevensuggestedthereshouldbe a Rotary rule change whereby no-one should be allowed to resign from themovement until they had introduced a newmemberhalftheirage.

He ended on an upbeat note by remindingmembers of the four clubs’ collection onbehalfofPolioinFebruaryandalsoofthefourclub’srecentsocialmeetingatBrickhampton.‘Togetherwewillbestronger’headded.

Earlier the Mayor (an honorary Rotarianduring his term of office) had spoken very

warmly about some of the club’s projectswithwhichhehadbeenassociatedduringhisMayoral year such as those in Estonia andTonga.

He also recalled the way in which Rotarygenerallyand theRotaryclubofGloucesterin particular had rallied to help followingthe disastrous floods in the city in 2007 by providing mobility scooters and four flat bottomrescueboats.

CouncillorWittsalsoremindedthosepresentofthe£45,000theclubhadraisedforcancerresearchinrecentyears.

He congratulated the club’s on its 90thanniversary which he described as a‘significant landmark’ and no mean achievment.

Looking back on a scheme to monitor andhelp lads whose fathers had been lost inthe Great Wart of 1914 -1918 - a schemewhich had been inaugurated shortly aftertheclub’sformationin1920,CouncillorWittssaiditshowedhowtheclubwasdeterminedto tacklesomeof thesocialproblemswhichthenbesetthecity.

It was a determination which he knew still

Gloucester City Council officially recognised the club’s 90 years of service to the city and further afield by granting it the honour of a Civic Reception.

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President Jeremy Keck presents the Mayor of Gloucester, Councillor Chris Witts with a Rotary plaque for display in the Civic HQ.

Rotarian Richard Graham with Councillor - and also club Rotarian - Martyn White.

Rotarian Paul Woodman and his wife Rose.

Former Mayor, Councillor Pam Tracey with Rotarian Genevieve Flight.

Two of the club’s elder statesmen - Rotarian Robin Morris (left) and Rotarian Peter Nesbitt (right) with - from the left - Pat Morris, Norma Kingscote and Anne Nesbitt.

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90th ANNIVERSARY

Presidentsall.......

One for the record books. Included in this line-up of club presidents over the past 30/40 years are John Smith, Chris Lees, Tony Beard, Colin Dunford, David Seed, Clive Kingscote, Robert Hall, our present president Jeremy Keck, Robin Morris, Peter Rickard, Graham Choyce, Martyn White, David Corbett, David Parsons, David Foyle, Jeremy Dancey, John Sargent, Peter Nesbitt, Trevor Picken, Ken Watson, Tony Tetley, Colin Rogers and Mike Westbury. Unable to be there on the night were:- Peter Sanigar, Graham Howell, Howard Johnson, Colin Eynon, Angela Seddon and Norman Gooch.

Rotarian Richard Graham, Mary Weygang, Rotarian John Weygang, Pauline Smith, Anthea Graham and Rotarian John Smith. On the Friday following this photo shot Richard had an additional reason to smile when he was elected MP for Gloucester.

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90th ANNIVERSARY

tributeexisted.Helookedfowardtotheclub’s100thbirthdayandhe was sure the club would continue its excellent workbothinGloucesterandthroughouttheworld.

RobinMorriswhofollowedtheMayorthankedhimforthesplendid Civic reception. He also spoke of the Mayor’spersonalsupport forRotary initiativesduringhisyear inoffice and - as chairman of the Gloucester Civic Trust - for the help Councillor Witts had given to recruitingvolunteersfortheNationalWaterwaysMuseum.

Robinsaidthattheclub’slinkwiththecitywasatwowayaffair and he recalled several Rotarians by name whohadalsoservedthecityinseniorCivicpositionsfromtheclub’s earliest days up to today when Rotarian MartynWhiteisalsoaCityCouncilcabinetmember.

TheeveningwasonetorememberbythemanyRotariansand their wives and the many leading councillors whowerealsopresent.

Let’shopeitprovidesaspringboardfortheclubtomoveforward - refreshed, re-energised and regenerated -towardsourcentenary.

Rotarian David Corbett, Deanna Harris, Rotarian Bob Short, Linda Corbett and Caroline Watson.

Rotarian John Lovell, Margaret Collins, Rotarian Roy Lewis (another elder statesmen) and his wife Chris.

Rotarian Richard Graham with Sue White and Joy Picken.

Rotarian Sue Smith and Rotarian Andrew Fox with his wife Ludmilla.

Rotarian Clive Hannis and his wife Carol with Rotarian Nigel Halls. l

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90th ANNIVERSARY

Making dreams come trueIT was 90 years to the day when the club

was chartered on 1st May 1920 - the 27th such club to be formed in the United

Kingdom and Ireland so it was appropriate that one of the chief guests was the country’s top Rotarian, the RIBI president, David Fowler.

He was accompanied by the Mayor ofGloucester,CouncillorChrisWitts;theBishopof Gloucester, the Rt Rev Michael Perham;Rotary’s District Governor Stewart Gilbert,a former captain of HMS Gloucester, RearAdmiral Terry Loughran and the presentcaptain of the ship Commander DavidGeorge.

Rotary’sUKpresidentsaidthatteamworkinRotary made projects happen and dreamscome true. He said that since the start oftheyearUKclubshadexceededa targetofraising more than a million pounds towardsRotary’sglobalgoalofeliminatingPolio.IthadalsoprovidedinvaluablehelptoHaitifollowing

a devastating earthquake there. This helpincludedhousingmorethan135,000people.

Congratulating the Gloucester club on itsmany achievements Mr Fowler presented acertificate of appreciation signed by himself andthepresidentofRotaryInternationalJohnKenny to thepresidentof theRotaryClubofGloucester,JeremyKeck.

Replying, Robin Morris, the club’s longestservingmember,saiditwasaredletterdaywhenhehadbeenaskedtobecomeaRotarianand although it had involved hard work hecherished the memories of the fellowshipand funhehadhad throughouthis45yearsmembership.

The guest speaker was Terry Loughranwho spoke warmly and humorously of thecontinuinglinkbetweenHMSGloucester, thecity and the club itself. In an amusing andfascinatingspeechhedescribedtheshipasaformidablemachinewhichhadwon itsspurs

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during the first Gulf War when it shot down a missileaimedatthelargestAmericanwarshipinthearea.

HetoopraisedtheclubandsaidthatRotary’smotto of Service Above Self was absolutelyvital in a world where rights were beingdemanded,therewasanincreasingtendencytoblamesomeoneelseandwheretherewasagrowinglackofindividualresponsibility.

Hesaidhewashonouredtohavebeeninvitedbacktomarktheclub’s90thanniversaryandlookedforwardtoaninvitationtocelebratethecentenary.

Other speakers included the Mayor, ChrisWittswhohadbeenpresentat the launchofthepresentHMSGloucesterinthe1980s.Hecommented on the work of the club duringhis year in office which had included projects in Estonia andTonga and said he had beendelighted to host a Civic Reception for theclub’s90th.

Laurence Cook (second from the left) of the Fallbrook Rotary Club in California presents a club banner to Jeremy Keck (far right), president of the Rotary Club of Gloucester who, in turn, presents him with a Gloucester banner. Laurence’s life long friend Trevor Picken is third from the left and on the left is Rotarian David Seed.

Rotarian Martyn White with current Inner Wheel President Janet Hayward (left) and his wife Sue, a past Inner Wheel president.

From the left Ann Simons, wife of Rotarian Paul, Norma Kingscote, wife of Rotarian Clive and Genevieve Dancey wife of Rotarian Jeremy.

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90th anniversary90th anniversary

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A night to rememberGOLD naval braids, civic and religious

insignia, Rotary regalia and jewels contributed to a colourful Gala night

at Hartpury College when the our Rotary Club celebrated its 90th anniversary.

ItwasanighttorememberwhenordinaryRotariansrubbedshoulderswithdistrictandnationalleaders,whentheBishopandMayoraddeddistinctiontotheoccasion,wheneveryonedressedtothe‘nines’andwhenfellowshipandlaughterechoedaroundthe14tablesatHartpuryCollege.

Theintroductionandtoastswereamusingratherthanthought provoking and if no great annoucementswere made and no initiatives launched then thiswasonly tobeexpectedduringaneveningwhichmarked the club’s 90 glorious years of service toGloucester-andbeyond.

The pictures on the following four pages give a

flavour of the event and if anyone escaped having their photo taken for posterity I apologise inadvance.

Certainlyoneimportantommissionisaladytowhomweshouldallbeextremelygratefulfortheevening’sarrangements-AmandaChamberlayne.

SearchthoughImightsheescapedourcameralens- which is a tremendous loss since she and ColinRogers spent hours and hours ensuring the eventwentwithoutahitch....whichitdid.

Celebrating a very special birthday in style

at Hartpury College

Forthat,weowethembothahugevoteofthanks.

OurthanksalsogotoDavidSeedwhoreseached-andthenhadprinted-detailsofourpastpresidentsand theclub’smore recent recordofprojectsbothhereandabroad.

Just in case you missed the projects list on thebackofthemenucardIhaverepeateditininthesepages as a permanent record of the club’s manyachievementsofwhichweshouldallbeproud.

The only poignant part of the evening was an e-mailsent to theclub from formerpresidentAngelaSeddon,nowservingwiththeRAFinAfghanistan.

Aprominentmontageofphotosremindedusofherabsence. In the e-mail she wished us all a greateveningand isnow looking forward to returning totheRotaryfoldinAugust/September.Weallprayforhersafereturn.

LEFT: - The Mayor of Gloucester, Coun. Chris Witts and his wife Sue (left) with President Jeremy Keck and his wife Margaret (centre) and Commander David George (HMS Gloucester) and his wife Becky

RIGHT : Rotarians Andy Wilson and Peter Burton (on the right) both from Gloucester Severn with national president David Fowler and his wife Daphne.

Rotarian Chris Peak with the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt. Rev. Michael Perham.

LEFT:- Rotarian and Dean of Gloucester Nick Bury with his wife Jennifer, Jo Tetley and her Rotarian husband Tony.

RIGHT:- District Governor Stewart Gilbert and his wife Eileen (left) are pictured with former District Governor David Seed and his wife Barbara.

The guest speaker Rear Admiral Terry Loughran being greeted by Rotary Club President Jeremy Keck

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