To give you a flavour of our Club, here are some of the activities that we have been involved in so far this Rotary Year. For previous years, go to:
The best laid plans... We were all ready to have our 'Cowboys & Indians' themed barbecue in the garden at the Conservative Club, but it rained! Never mind, as a contingency plan we had booked the hall too, so the food was cooked in the oven and the shooting gallery was set up indoors. Several people had a go at the 'Fastest Draw' competition and a good time was had by all. DG Norman & Eunice were able to join us together with President David from Malling and other guests. There was a small profit on the afternoon and also a raffle, the proceeds of which will be going towards our projects with Greenwich Women's Aid. President Mark inducted two new members, Bill & Pam Langmaid and our retiring Treasurer, Chris Thompson, was presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship for all his contributions to Rotary and Rotaract over the last 20 plus years.
We invited some of the charities we support together with local business people to meet us. There was an excellent buffet provided and a raffle which raised £52 for the Darfur Appeal. Several people have expressed an interest in joining Rotary so we hope to be able to take this further.
Once again we took part in Rotary Stroke Awareness Day, this year at Direct Health 2000's Eltham Clinic. Many thanks to Sarah Dean for allowing us to use her clinic and also to all the doctors and nurses who volunteered us their time on the day. 103 people had their blood pressures taken and at least 6 people who had high values were referred to their GP and may have been prevented having a stroke or cardiac event. For more information on the day, see The Stroke Association's website.
A second successful 'Women in Rotary' dinner resulted in a record £301.10 for Breast Cancer Campaign. We had a pink themed raffle with many donated prizes including a £25.00 voucher from Radiance Nail & Beauty Salon of Sidcup. 46 Rotarians, partners, Inner Wheel ladies and guests wore pink, ate an excellent meal and listened to Peter Johnstone, Community Liaison Officer for Breast Cancer Campaign talk about the charity's work.
March was Cancer Research Campaign's Big Breakfast month, so we held a fund-raising breakfast at 8.15pm with bacon and eggs on the menu. Everyone joined in the spirit of breakfast by wearing their pyjamas and bringing their teddy-bears. As it was the day before Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 07 we also 'Picked Our Noses' and the funds raised were shared between the two charities.
Several members and partners attended an excellent evening of traditional Scottish food including 'Haggis, Neeps and Tatties' and entertainment - Scottish Country Dancing and bagpipes. They raised an substantial amount for the Wheelchair Foundation too! Many guests wore tartan and our very own Kevin Till wore half a kilt! You will have to ask him for more information!
Several club members provided food and entertainment for approximately 50 children from the families who have used the refuge in the last few years. They were ably assisted by Fenella the Fairy and there was also a visit from Santa. We received the following:
"Hi, Just a quick note to thank you and your team for organising, and running, the excellent children’s Christmas party on Saturday. The children all had a wonderful time and the mothers appreciated the opportunity to meet up in a fun atmosphere. Your generosity has gone a long way toward making Christmas the fun time it should be. Once again thank you to you and your team (and especially Christmas fairy!)"
Sandra Clark, Greenwich Women’s Aid
Club members helped Santa to collect in aid of our President's charity over three Saturdays in November and December. The final sum collected was £1192.08. We thank the people of Eltham for their generosity.
A great night for everyone, especially for our Santa who proved very popular with his supply of sweets! The local MP, Clive Efford, turned the lights on and we took part in the parade up and down Eltham High Street, with Santa leading the way alongside the fire eater. We were dressed up as elves, clowns and a fairy! It was a colourful night which culminated in a spectacular firework display. We also collected on behalf of Demelza CHILD, who will be building a 6-bedded children's hospice in Eltham to serve the communities of South-East London. We will be back next year!
This month's Fellowship Friday was a fun night out in Bexleyheath! Nine members of the club went ten-pin bowling as organised by Nicola. We played two games, boys v girls, and despite the superior numbers, the girls were trounced by the boys! We followed this by a couple of drinks at Wetherspoon's round the corner.
Fourteen members and guests enjoyed a private tour of the castle and grounds. We also visited the aviary, the maze, the tea shop and of course the ubiquitous gift shop! It was a lovely warm autumn day and we finished it all off with a nice lunch at a local hostelry.
Tea, cakes, more cakes and a raffle raised around £80.
Enjoying tea in the Hughesdon's garden
A light hearted evening was held in aid of the Rotaract Overseas Projects and the International Aid Trust. It was a closely fought battle and the winners were from the Rotary Club of Woolwich, plus a couple of ringers from Eltham Phoenix. The evening raised £72.
We painted around 85 little faces during the lovely warm afternoon, including lots of butterflies, spidermen and ladybirds! As with last year, we were victims of our own success and at one point we had a backlog of around 30 faces to do! Real teamwork was again displayed by Eltham Phoenix and we can be proud in our part of a successful day.
Watch this space for photos and for the amount raised.
Carol's Dalmatian!
Several members braved the rain to help Demelza CHILD with their fundraising. We were all dressed as clowns as we walked down a very wet Bromley High Street and on to Norman Park, followed by the Demelza Bus.
Alison, Peter, Mark, Sally & Kevin just clowning around!
10 members of the club were present to witness Norman Jones taking over as DG and our own Christine Scally as District Secretary. A very enjoyable evening was had by all in the splendid setting of Leeds Castle. We sipped our drinks on the lawn, enjoyed a tasty buffet and watched President Mark get chased by a Harris Hawk. All in all a very enjoyable evening.
President Mark acting as a lure for Harris Hawk Rodney.
Sally and Nicola enjoyed the hospitality of Bexley Women's Aid to help them celebrate their 30th birthday. It was a very pleasant evening at the Bexley Civic Centre with fine food and a disco. Nicola's luck was in for the evening as she won a lovely raffle prize.