The Year of President Carl Hallam (2020-21)
Diary July 2020 - June 2021

June 15th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] The Annual Club Walk

Organised by Ben Lyon, this year the walk was to Bowlees Visitor Centre in Upper Teesdale. Everyone met at 2pm for an afternoon walk through the countryside to the Tees riverside at Low Force. After walking through the woods and crossing the bridge over the river, the walk continued back along the other bank, then re-crossed the Tees via the suspension bridge just downstream of Low Force waterfall. On the return to the visitor centre, it was time for everyone to take some well-earned refreshments at the café in the car park. A lovely afternoon with great scenery.

June 1st 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Adrian Quine: The Staycation Express

David Garrick introduced Adrian Quine, tonight’s speaker. Adrian is a trustee of the Settle to Carlisle railway line and also a director of Charter Railway Services. His talk tonight was about the Staycation Express. First introduced in 2020, it will again be running this year between the 19th July and the 9th September. The train runs between Skipton and Carlisle, stopping at Settle and Appleby. This year, they will be using an Intercity 125 High Speed train with the carriages set out in a 1st Class layout, with tables and the required self-distancing. The train has a dining car, buffet or trolley service to offer breakfast, brunch, lunch or afternoon tea. An interesting talk about an alternative way of viewing the Cumbrian and Yorkshire countryside in the comfort of a lovely train. The vote of thanks was given by Rosemary Varley. Staycation Express website.

May 27th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Business Challenge Awards at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School

Today, at long last, saw the presentations to the winners and runners up of the 2020 Business Challenge awards at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School. The Business Challenge is judged by members of the Upper Eden Rotary Club who sponsor the awards. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the presentation to the 2020 students who took part, could only just take place. Upper Eden vice president Rosemary Varley presented the awards together with Rotarian John Andrew who organised the event with the Grammar School. The attached picture shows all the students who entered along with Rosemary, John and Gary Hartley, the Grammar School Head Teacher.

April 20th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] David Garrick. The History of Gaisgill Railway Station.

Club member David Garrick gave an interesting presentation on the history of his house which started life as Gaisgill Railway Station in 1862 on the original South Durham and Lancaster Railway Union railway line. It then had several names until British Rail took it over. The line was closed to passengers in 1951 and ended up being freight only. However, on most Saturdays, they ran specials to take passengers from Newcastle to Blackpool and back for days out. The last train that ran on the line was in 1962. The pictures show how the station has changed through the years until David bought it in 1971 and started renovating and changing it into a home. The old railway line is now the A685 that runs from Kirkby Stephen to Tebay then onto Kendal. Rosemary gave the vote of thanks to David for an interesting and informative presentation.

April 16th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Toaves Allotments Tidy Up

It seems that Upper Eden Rotary Club’s knowledge and willingness to carry out gardening and tidying up jobs is spreading! The latest request was from the Trustees of Toaves Allotments in Kirkby Stephen. Four club members, Arthur Littlefair, Geoff Wall, Ray Thornton and Dave Prince met at Toaves to help clear up redundant allotments and the grounds around. Three skip loads and a bonfire later, it was time to take a break. This was helped by the arrival of John Begg with coffee and cake. Picture shows Arthur, Geoff and Ray setting the fire.

April 6th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Helen Storey, Karen Quinn and Bill Morris. All About Autism (Triple A)

Dave P. introduced the evening and also the speakers. Karen gave an introduction about Triple A and how she became involved in Triple A and working with Helen and Bill. Helen has a grandson with autism and explained how people with autism are treated in society. Autistic people are very knowledgeable but society does not always know what to do with them. They need opportunities to express themselves. Bill Morris joined us from Colorado where he is based. He explained how Blue Star Recyclers came into being and how they work with Rotary in the US, both in Colorado and in Illinois. Bill went onto say that in the main, traditional employees get bored, whereas autistic people do not and that during a work study, the results showed that autistic people in this industry are 98.43% task engaged whereas the norm in America is 49%. The answer in getting autistic people into employment is to train employers to work with autistic people. It was an interesting talk and presentation that explained much about Triple A and what they want to achieve, initially in Cumbria, by working with Blue Star Recyclers.

March 23rd 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Diana Fothergill. Talking Newspapers and the Railways.

At our weekly Zoom meeting Diana explained the theme of the talking newspaper and gave a presentation centred around the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway. Articles and information had been collected from national archives. The archives show how the influence of the railway altered the male/female population numbers. The line ran over Stainmore and down to Smardale and onward to the west. Members read out articles from old newspaper cuttings. The first was Ben who read an article about Thomas McMaine pushing his wheelbarrow! Carl then read an article about the opening of the railway, followed by Claire reading adverts of the time. Sally read about a train being derailed at Smardale Viaduct. Diana’s husband then read about another accident where a man was run over, again at Smardale. Various other readings were by John Begg, Bob Davis and Michael Metcalfe-Gibson. It was an interesting presentation looking back at the history of the line and also examining the various accidents that occurred. Thank you to Diana for all the work in pulling it together.

March 16th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Upper Eden Foodbank.

Upper Eden Rotary Club are continuing with their support for the Upper Eden Foodbank based in Appleby. Another delivery of food (tinned soup, tinned fruit, baked beans, rice pudding, sugar, fruit squash, jam and tinned spaghetti) was delivered and handed over on Tuesday 16th March. Picture shows Dave Prince handing over the goods to Anne Bell of the Upper Eden Foodbank.

March 9th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Neil Cleeveley. Northern Viaduct Trust.

Tonight’s speaker was Neil Cleeveley, who gave a talk about the viaducts in the Kirkby Stephen area. Neil thanked the Rotary Club for the work they did last year in cutting back saplings. NVT was formed in 1989 by a group of railway enthusiasts who purchased Smardale Viaduct for the sum of £1 (yes one pound) and there was a substantial dowry also given to the trust. It was in a poor state of repair and needed £400,000 spending on it. Following this, the Stenkrith to Hartley line was purchased. Assets of the NVT now includes 3 viaducts, Smardale, Podgill and Merrygill which were all part of the South Durham and Lancashire Railway. Any repair/work out needs listed building authorisation. Land management is also required with felling of dead trees, plus cutting back of saplings along side the old track. Maintenance and upkeep form a large part of the work required, plus pointing of the brickwork on the some of the plate layers buildings alongside the track. Smardale viaduct required railings to be installed to meet modern safety requirements. An interesting talk, Diana gave the vote of thanks. More information can be found the Trust's website: www.edenviaducts.org.uk

February 23rd 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Emily Atherstone. Editor. Cumberland & Westmorland Herald.

Introduced by Dave Prince, Emily spoke about the history of the Herald and how the paper had got through their recent troubled times. The paper was founded in 1860 and is one of the few independent broadsheet newspapers in the country. In January 2020, things became challenging when the paper went into administration. Fortunately, the paper has a dedicated following which resulted in a number of people interested in purchasing the paper. It was purchased by local businessman Andy Barr who brought in a new MD who has streamlined the operation and made it more sustainable. They have purchased the Keswick Reminder and the online Cumbria Crack. Emily also explained about how printing techniques have changed over the years. The paper rely on local people sending in reports and photographs, although they do have their own reporters. The paper was printed on site in Penrith then outsourced first to Carlisle and now Glasgow. The paper is currently looking for new premises as the building they are in has been sold. There are more changes to come, so watch this space. Arthur gave the vote of thanks and commented on how many questions were asked, so everyone was listening.

February 17th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Hall's Newsagents Collection Unit.

In collaboration with Hall's Newsagents, UERC installed a collection unit in the shop. The unit, constructed by UERC member Brian Jacobs, is for collecting used mobile phones, ink jet cartridges and spectacles. Cartridges and phones will go to the Great North Air Ambulance Service. Following promotion of the initiative on our Facebook Page and sharing with KS Community Support, a speedy launch was initiated with a substantial number of items being donated.

February 9th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Kirkby Stephen Community Arts with Kate Lynch.

The speaker for the evening, introduced by Rosemary, was Kate Lynch who runs Kirkby Stephen Community Arts (KSCA). Kate is a director with the Hi Lights Rural Touring Group and KSCA is a hobby. She has a background in Arts Management and marketing and spent 10 years at the Shakespeare Globe theatre in London. In 2014, the family moved to Kirkby Stephen and started looking at what the area needed. After doing research and speaking with local people she came up with the idea of KSCA. The group organise cinema and picture screenings, cabaret and dance evenings, children’s story times, forest school events at Jubilee Park and have been working with Eden Rivers Trust on putting together a series of events. Before Christmas 2020, they put together creative and activity packs for children and adults, organised a Santa in the Cloisters for children where everyone received a gift. Kate finished her talk by saying that Kirkby Stephen Community Arts is for and about the community. Vote of thanks was given by Dave Prince who said that although he knew of the KSCA, he didn’t realise they did so much in and for the community.

February 2nd 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Remembering Burns by Zoom.

The evening had been postponed from 26th January and commenced with President Carl talking about “a time of reflection”. This was followed by Rosemary quoting from Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale”. Diana’s husband Jim then gave a reading of “Tam O Shanter” who was a drunken farmer from Ayr, written by Robbie Burns. Diana showed illustrative paintings by Alexander Goudie about Tam O Shanter while Jim was reading. Following this we had a couple of short videos “A wee toast to old Rab” and “To A Louise”, a reading by a pupil of Calderwood School. President Carl spoke about his interesting article, which was a reindeer skin. This came from a time when he was in the Royal Marines and they used these skins to keep themselves warm in the arctic regions of Norway. The marines were there to ensure the Russians did not invade. The meeting concluded with another short video “Tae a Samosa” which talked about having a samosa instead of a Haggis to celebrate Burns Night. This was followed by a recording of “My love is like a red, red rose” by Eddi Reader. An interesting and memorable evening enjoyed by all.

January 25th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Charity Collection Point.

Upper Eden Rotary Club have teamed up with local Kirkby Stephen Hall’s Newsagents to put a collection point for old and redundant ink jet cartridges, spectacles and mobile phones. The cartridges and mobile phones will be going to the Great North Ambulance Service and the spectacles to Vision Aid Overseas.

January 12th 2021. [CORONAVIRUS] Dave Prince. Job Talk by Zoom.

Dave said that it was 10 years since he did his job talk and that with new club members, it was probably right that he did it again. He started his working life as an Aircraft Electrical Apprentice at RNAY Fleetlands in Gosport, Hampshire. After his time there, he moved to a Quality Assurance role on underwater weapons, namely torpedoes. Following this, he applied for a job at IBM, where he then went onto quality and manufacturing engineering on hard disk drives. Dave explained that the first unit he worked on was 5 mb and followed up by showing how storage capacity in disk drives has increased to terabytes in a much smaller format. His career at IBM took in two assignments in the USA, one in Rochester, Minnesota and one in Austin, Texas. He felt that he had an interesting life covering different aspects in different areas and different countries.

December 22nd 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Club Remote Christmas Party and Pantomime.

Tuesday evening saw the first remote Club Christmas party. Everyone taking part took receipt of a party box with a selection of lovely food goodies, party poppers, bits and pieces for making party hats, plus drinks. For those lucky enough to have been chosen, there was a pantomime “Rapunzel”, based on a script by Peter Bond and narrated by Diana. This had an all-star cast of Arthur Littlefair, Ray Thornton, Roger Frank, Michael M-G and Richard Todd. Thanks go to Diana for organising everything and putting together the boxes and John Begg for making the Christmas Cake and mince pies. There was also a raffle where everyone who attended won a prize. An excellent evening which can be seen in the pictures from the evening.

December 12th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Renovating and repairing Bench Seats.

One of the ongoing projects that the club is involved in, is assisting with the renovation and upkeep of approximately 70 benches in the Kirkby Stephen area. One of the first ones renovated, was from the cemetery in Kirkby Stephen. It was taken away to Roger Frank’s place as it needed some welding and slats replacing. The picture shows it being returned to its place at the cemetery, along with some of the team involved.

December 8th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Job Talk by Ray Thornton.

Tonight’s speaker was long servicing Upper Eden member, Rotarian Ray Thornton talking about his career in the building industry. He started with a 5 year apprenticeship with local builder Peter Davidson on £2.50 a week. Back then, everything was built using bricks, no blocks then! He worked on, what is now Kirkby Club, converting it to board pupils for the old Girls Grammar School. One of the worst jobs was cleaning the grease tanks at the King’s Arms Hotel and then having to dispose of it. In the winter of 1963 with snow and a cold winter, they were laid off building work and employed by the council to clear snow from the roads (with shovels), starting up near Pendragon Castle, where they nearly got blocked in with the snow. Although Ray was trained in general building, in 1966, he became involved in plastering, working in many areas of the Eden Valley. He was involved in renovating Hartley Castle Farmhouse and outbuildings. Moving on from this, he started doing his own developments, including two bungalows in Rowgate and Colin Jenkinson’s house. Ray related the story of Ivor carrying out the groundwork for the septic tank in Crosby Garrett, using dynamite! Ray finished by saying that he has enjoyed doing what he has done over the years. President Carl gave the vote of thanks and said that Ray’s talk was very entertaining.

December 3rd 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Donation to Water Survival Box.

When DG Welma spoke to the club on the 17th November, she highlighted that her nominated charity for her year, is the Water Survival Box, a Rotary Humanitarian Aid Project. The water survival box is for families that have lost everything following a disaster. It consists of a water purification unit, shelter and survival tools, general household requirements and feeding and drinking utensils. Each box costs £150, which Includes the box, contents and air freight to the disaster area worldwide. Upper Eden Rotary has donated four boxes. More information on the boxes can be found at watersurvivalbox.org.

November 25th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Polio Plus and Foundation Donation.

The Rotary Club of Upper Eden donated £1,000 to RFUK Polio Plus and RFUK Foundation

• £500 towards the Annual Fund
• £500 towards the End Polio Now campaign

November 24th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Bamako Challenge (Pink Ice Cream Van) and Mali Aid: Roger Frank.

Tonight’s speaker was club member Roger Frank who talked about the trip that he and John Taylor from Appleby Rotary Club made back in 2007. The Pink Ice Cream van object was to purchase a vehicle for less than £100 and to not spend more than £15 preparing it. Roger and John also enquired as to what was required in Bamako in Mali, such as sewing machines, threads, cotton, pens, pencils etc. The van purchased was an old transit van converted to look like an ice cream van. A full report and pictures can be found on the Upper Eden Rotary website here.

In late 2008, Mali Aid, another expedition to Mali took place, organised by members from both Upper Eden and Appleby Rotary clubs. This comprised of six people and three vans loaded with equipment from St. Luke's Hospital, Huddersfield, prior to its demolition. The route taken by the three vehicles was similar to the one taken by the Pink Ice Cream van and a fuller report can be found on the Upper Eden Rotary website here.

Two very interesting talks showing what can be done when people put their minds to things.

November 17th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] DG Welma Robinson.

Introduced by President Carl, DG Welma started by congratulating President Carl on becoming president and wished him all the best in this strange year. She then spoke about the various projects Upper Eden have been involved in, especially with the local community and she thanked members who are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Welma also emphasised the need to talk to people on their own who could well be lonely. The 2021 district conference will be an on-line event with a yet to be announced guest speaker and also a remote gin distillery tour. Tickets for the tour can be purchased at the district website and include three types of gin plus keepsake glasses. Membership numbers are still a problem in District 1190 and everyone needs to promote Rotary and shout about the good work that is carried out. DG Welma then said the District officers are there to help and support when needed. Lastly, Welma spoke about her nominated charity for the year “Water Survival Box”, which provides water purification systems and various other necessities in times of disaster.

October 29th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Christian Head Care Home: Upkeep of the Front Flower Beds.

Members from the club on two occasions, have spent a couple of hours, starting to cut back and tidy up the flower beds at the entrance to the building, plus clearing up the leaves that have fallen. It is planned that this will be an ongoing project supported by Upper Eden Rotary Club with a plaque put up announcing the work done by the club. Pictures show club participants doing their bit.
Footnote: Roger Frank asks if Arthur Littlefair always has his hands in his pockets.

October 27th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Desert Island Discs.

Based on the long-running radio programme, Upper Eden Rotary Club invited members to discuss the reasons why a song meant something special to them. This was followed by the playing of their special song. Participants were Geoff Wall who chose Hotel California by the Eagles because of the memorable tracks on the album, Richard Todd with Big River by Jimmy Nail as it described the people and the area around the River Tyne. Ivor Allonby chose Gerry and the Pacemakers with “You’ll never walk alone” as this reminded him of the time he used to watch Liverpool FC. Next was Bob Davis with the theme from the Archers (an everyday story of country folk), the world’s longest running soap series. Michael Metcalfe-Gibson chose the “Story of Jesse James” by Lonnie Donegan and last but lost least was Ian Udale with “Home Thoughts from Abroad” by Clifford T Ward. A great evening and to be repeated with different people choosing their music and explaining why.

October 15th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Shoe Boxes and Pencils.

September and October are the traditional months for the preparation of Shoeboxes so they are ready for distribution to needy families mainly throughout Eastern Europe over the Festive period. With the pandemic undoubtedly creating additional hardships this year it was felt crucial that we should continue our support for this excellent cause by making the usual recycled Cumberland pencils available. Six large boxes of rejects were collected from Workington and sorted into useable pencils. Together with a good array of coloured crayons around 10,000 items were sorted. By bundling them into 8 coloured crayons plus 2 pencils they make a worthwhile contribution to the Shoeboxes which will soon be on their way throughout Europe ready for Christmas distribution.

October 13th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Jim Woodrope: Staying Alive

Tonight’s speaker was Diana's husband Jim. He talked and explained about his experiences during and following the Hillsborough football disaster in April 1989. Jim was a consultant at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield and was called in on the day of the disaster. His role on the day, apart from organising and understanding the extent of the disaster, was triaging patients as they arrived. He also tried to divert ambulances to their sister hospital to take patients, however, they were already receiving patients. Following this talk, Jim also spoke about a project he later became involved in, which was looking at and setting up a “Major Incident Practice” which would be used to test resilience for major terrorist attacks. This was called the “Archimedes Project”. Their target for this exercise was the Meadowhall Shopping Centre at Sheffield. Two interesting talks. Michael Metcalfe-Gibson gave the vote of thanks.

September 29th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] My Favourite Things. Zoom.

Tonight, was an evening where seven members of the club showed and talked about an interesting object or something that meant a lot to them. First off was Rosemary, showing and talking about a DSM awarded to her Father-in-Law. Ben followed with a talk about how he started his company by designing and manufacturing the first flexible caving ladder. George talked about coping with a caliper and riding a motor bike, plus many of his “experiences”! Next was Michael who showed a variety of items such a grouse shooting/marking tablet and then a clasp for ladies to hold the bottom of their long skirt away from the mud. Fred spoke about the book of memoirs he wrote, called “Family Ties”. Geoff Wall talked about and showed us his electric bike, plus, telling us about some of his experiences. Last, but not least, was Diana who told us about a visit to the Portabella Road in London where she saw a painting of what she first thought, was her son. She then explained about the background of how it all came about. A very interesting evening was had by all.

September 25th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Upper Eden Rotary Club’s 41st Charter Night. Zoom.

Charter Night for 2020 was certainly a different format to normal, due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions. This year the annual event took place via zoom. President Carl Hallam welcomed everyone to the evening. Joining eighteen members of Upper Eden Rotary Club, were representatives from another fourteen Rotary Clubs, including DG Welma Robinson. Welma talked about the Rotary 2020/21 theme of “Rotary Opens Opportunities”, polio vaccination, plus recounting when Roger Frank took the Iron Lung caravan to Barrow and what an impression it made. Guest speaker for the evening, was Local Consultant Thoracic Surgeon Joel Dunning. Joel gave an interesting and enlightening presentation about his time and experiences working ICU shifts at the James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough during the coronavirus crisis. Following which he answered questions. The evening concluded with President Carl proposing the toast to “Rotary Fellowship and Peace the World Over”.

September 8th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Assistant Governor Michael Esters. Zoom.

Tonight’s speaker introduced by President Carl, was Assistant Governor Michael Esters from Carlisle South Rotary Club. Michael spoke about his career in the United States Air Force. Michael was born in Iowa in the US Midwest. After studying at college, he had a couple of jobs then decided he wanted more, so he enlisted and had many varied rolls in the USAF in many parts of the world, a total of 44 different countries, including Germany, Hawaii, Philippines, Japan, South Korea and more. He has flown in many types of aircraft, never having ever fired anything in anger. After 23 years in the USAF, he retired and now lives in Carlisle with his wife. President Carl commented on how fascinating his presentation was and Roger Frank gave the vote of thanks.

August 25th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Club Quiz Night. Zoom.

Tonight was a ”Zoom” quiz night for club members, partners, family members and guests. Quiz Master was Stephen Barnes and the subjects included General Knowledge, Music Lyrics, TV and Film, Geography, Sports, History and a Miscellaneous section. With teams of people ranging from one to five members, it was a very entertaining and enjoyable evening. The overall winner was John Begg’s team, who was way out in front with their correct answers.

August 11th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Pounding the Beat: Tim Parkin. Zoom.

The guest speaker was former professional footballer and policeman Tim Parkin. Tim had previously talked to us about his football career, tonight was about his time in the police force. He started his training, where part of it was “marching”, this was something he was not happy with! His first shift was nights where he had to cycle round Gillwilly Industrial estate where there was report of a burglary, then found his bike was stolen, his colleagues had set him up, so all was well. Tim talked about the most common types of crime, car theft, plus tents and boat engines, rustling, badger baiting. He also worked with mountain rescue teams. He passed his sergeant’s exam, then spent two years as a custody sergeant, which one of the most stressful jobs ever. Following a transfer to Appleby and time as a Inspector, he was talked about community policing, which Tim believes is the way forward, he retired from the police force in 2017. A fascinating and interesting talk about local policing.

July 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Northern Viaduct Trust. Clearing of Vegetation

Over a period of a couple of weeks, volunteer members of Upper Eden Rotary Club have reacted to a request from the Northern Viaduct Trust to help clear and remove some of the saplings, small trees and grass that was beginning to cause a problem. On some of the embankments on the old South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway line, situated near the Podgill and Merrygill viaducts, the roots of the trees and saplings were beginning to damage the wall embankments. The old railway line is a very popular walk for local people and visitors alike.

July 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Face Masks

With the requirement for everyone to wear masks when entering shops, Upper Eden Rotary Club have delivered about 250 face masks to local residents who are over eighty, in and around Kirkby Stephen and Upper Eden Valley. The masks, all made by volunteers in the area with a donation from Upper Eden Rotary, are known as an “Olson” mask developed by clinicians in the USA and are washable. The picture below shows Kirkby Stephen couple, Sam and Joan Ostle wearing their masks. Joan thanked the Rotary Club and commented that they always wear when going in shops and we must all try and do what we can to prevent the coronavirus spreading, wearing masks is one way of doing this.

July 28th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Wine tasting Night. Zoom.

Organised by Diana Fothergill, the club had a Zoom wine tasting evening. All participating members and partners received samples of five different types of wine (plus a small sample of gin). The object of the evening was to taste the wines and guess the country of origin, type of wine and the approximate cost. Before each wine tasting, the wine “Sommelier” for the evening; Peter Jacques of Brownber Hall, described each wine and the best way to taste and smell it to get the best from it. After each of the wines were tasted, participants were put into break out rooms to discuss their findings. With everyone recording their answers for all five wines, the overall winner for the evening was Michael Metcalfe-Gibson and family!!!! An excellent evening enjoyed by all.

July 14th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] Monte Carlo or Bust: Roger Frank. Zoom.

This week, we were joined via Zoom, by three members of the Bishops Waltham Rotary Club in Hampshire. Roger gave an interesting presentation on a trip in 2006, driving to Monte Carlo. Roger and John Taylor from Appleby Rotary Club drove down in a 1947 MG TC that had not been used for a few years, so it had to be brought up to standard before the trip. Roger described some of the problems and challenges they had during the trip and the purpose, which was to raise money to support people suffering from polio, for every £150 raised, this gave a wheelchair. For a fuller report, please go to the Upper Eden Rotary page by clicking on this link https://www.upperedenrotary.org.uk/enterprises/col-du-turini.html

June 30th 2020. [CORONAVIRUS] UERC Change Over Night. Zoom

Like every Rotary Club, things were very different this year, no getting together, no meal and no formal handing over of the Presidents regalia. Everything had to be planned in advance with self-distancing being very much part of the plan. Starting with outgoing President Tony removing the regalia and laying it on the table, it then magically moved to another location where incoming President Carl found it and put it on. He had previously removed his Vice President regalia which miraculously found it’s way to President Elect Rosemary Varley and Rosemary’s Second Vice President regalia then found its way to Geoff Wall. All in all a different change over-night, all done with the help of Zoom. All the best to our incoming Presidential team for 2020/21.