Saturday 2 July 2011 - I am A Past District Governor!

I have had a great year as District Governor and now it is time to return to a normal life, whatever one of those is!
It's goodbye from Dogsbody and me!

Friday 1 July - District 1220 Handover and Awards Evening

The District 1220 Handover and Awards Evening was held at a packed Hostess Restaurant.
I left home in the DG outfit for the last time as DG.

It was a lively, fun evening tinged with emotion, especially when Terry played "Simply the Best" just as I was about to speak!

There were some surprise award winners which added to the occasion followed by the official hand over to Gordon McGlone who is the District Governor for 2011 / 12 and was playe in tohis theme tune by Terry, "Always look on the bright side of life".

Wednesday 29 June 2011 - Rotary Club of Ravenshead Charter

The final Charter celebration of the year was held at The Hostess when the Rotary Club of Ravenshead held their dinner.

Mark Snape is their President for 2011 /12 and Richard Lord has had a successful year in 2010/11.

Terry is now putting his dinner jacket away and he tells me that he has eaten 4 cows, 2 pigs and endless chickes during the year!

Monday 27 June 2011. Bassetlaw Children of Courage awards

The Rotary clubs of Retford, Worksop and Worksop Dukeries held their annual Bassetlaw Children of Courage Awards at Worksop Town Hall.

As usual it was a moving and very humbling occasion and it was emotional for us all.

Monday 27 June 2011 -Rotary Young Photographer winner

Christopher Naylor from the Greenwood School, Kirkby in Ashfield was the proud winner of his age group for the District 1220 Young Photographer of the Year Award.

He was delighted to be given £50 by President John McEwen and the event was organised by John Peacock.

Wednesday 22 June - Rotary Club of Bakewell Charter

President Rita Hickin and her members held their Charter celebration at the magnificent Hassop Hall near Bakewell.

It was a fun, light hearted evening with entertainment provided by a group of very talented violinists from Lady Manners School.

The highlight of the evening was the award of Paul Harris Fellowships to Brian Singleton and Jonathan Wicksteed, both very well deserved.
They were both totally overcome and speechless !

Tuesday 21 June 2011 - Ambassadorial Scholar interview

We interviewed Rob Avery-Phipps, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Wollaton Park, and awarded him the Ambassadorial Scholarship for 2012 / 2013.

We are confident that Rob will prove to be a superb ambassador for Rotary and he is already in touch with Sam Evans, a former Ambassadorial Scholar.

We have put him in touch with our Chinese scholar, Lily Gong as he hopes to do a Masters degree in International Business at the University of Nottingham's campus in China and needs to learn some Mandarin!

Tuesday 12 June 2011 - Sherwood Sunrisers - Talk by Kevin Brown on Everest

Rotarian Kevin Brown and his son Phil decided to climb to Everest Base Camp to celebrate a big birthday.

It was an amazing talk by Kevin with superb photographs and between them they raised £1,200 to pay for two house in our India Homes for Humanity project.

Thank you both so much.

Monday 20 June - RIBI again for the day.

I have been appointed by RI to help and support two other Rotary Districts on Foundation matters in the coming year. We had a meeting at Alcester of those who are performing this role - Assistant Regional Rotary Foundation Co-ordinator (ARRFC).
Now you know what it means when you see it!

Saturday 18 June - Carolyn & Phil Stones party

This is Roger Summers at the end of a good night!

Any suggestions for a caption?!!!

Saturday 18 June 2011 - Phil and Carolyn Stone's 40th Anniversary

Carolyn Stone (Rotary Club of Ilkeston) and her husband Phil celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary with a party at Trent Lock Golf Club for family and friends.

This was a wonderful relaxed evening with singing by Sam Barson and Lily Taylor-Ward followed by the band, Sons and Lovers.

Thanks for your friendshiop Carolyn and Phil and here's to the next 40 years!





Terry could not believe it when one of his football heroes, the ex Nottingham Forest and Holland goalkeeper Hans Van Breukelen was there and he insisted that I have a photograph with him!

Fridat 17 June - Mansfield Inner Wheel Charter at The Hostess

President Lynn of Mansfield Inner Wheel and her husband Kelvin, President of the Rotary Club of Mansfield have both been a great support to me during the year.
Who will ever forget the night we slept rough to highlight the plight of the homeless?

I was delighted to be invited to be with them both at Lynn's Charter dinner, another excellent meal at The Hostess.

Thursday 16 June 2011 - Rotary Club of Nottingham Children of Courage Awards

The Rotary Club of Nottingham held their first Children of Courage Awards at the Park Inn, Nottingham.

The Lord and Lady Mayoress joined us again for an emotional yet extremely rewarding occasion.
There were times when the audience were in tears, particularly when the proposers were trying to read the nominations.
Congratulations to John Bendall and President Tony Poulter for doing a great job.

Tuesday 14 June 2011 - Rotary Club of Trent Bridge Charter

The Rotary Club of Trent Bridge under the leadership of recycled President Charles Moore held their tradition Charter celebration at Mr Manns Cantonese Restaurant.

This is always a very popular event with a full house.

Another very enjoyable evening!

Tuesday 14 June 2011 - Rotary Club of Sherwood Sunrisers Club Assembly

Three of our members plus others did the Moonlight Walk in Derby to raise funds for the Treetops Hospice. Here are Margaret Hunt, Heidi Pawlus and Louise Wyllie. Well done ladies!

Assistant Governor Roger Summers is not used to getting up early and we meet at 7.00am for our meetings!

Roger clearly did not have time to dress so he came in his night attire complete with hot water bottle, candle and his Teddy bear. It was really appreciated by the club members.

Thank you Roger!

Sunday and Monday 12 and 13 June 2011 - RIBI General Council

No photographs - just two days spent in the Council Chamber trying to get 29 District Governors to make decisions! Not easy!

Saturday 11 June 2011 - Cricket at Trent Bridge

After a hectic time with the Rotary Showcase Terry and I went off to our second home, Trent Bridge Cricket Ground to see Notts T20 team win yet again!

Saturday 11 June 2011 - Rotary Showcase in Nottingham

We were very fortunate to be allowed to use the Market Square in the centre of Nottingham for the day and the weather was fantastic.
With the help of an RI PR Grant we were able to provide gazebos and other Rotary equipment to show to the public what Rotary is about. This equipment is now available for use by clubs in other towns throughout the District.

The Tee shirts show the message!



There were hundreds of visitors during the day and we had 33 membership leads as well as 17 young people interested in Rotaract.
Entertainment by many from our various Rotary talent shows on the stage really brought the crowds in. Erewash Sound and local radio presenters gave a slick professional commentary on events during the day.

The Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Michael Wildgust and Lady Mayoress Carol, spent 2 hours with us and were intrigued by the dispalys and the sheer volume of things that we do both locally and internationally.

This was an impromptu performance by Community Chairman Sandra Morrey, International Chairman Gail Ashley and me showing that I can still high kick!

It was a wonderful day for Rotary and I am so proud of the team who pulled it all together.

Wednesday 8 June 2011 - Young Photographer presentation

The Rotary Club of Amber Valley sponsored Joe Marsden, a pupil of the Murray Park School in Mickleover, for the Rotary Young Photographer competition.

I accompanied Rotarian David Hickton to the school and spoke in their morning Assembly.

Joe won the District 1220 competition and went on to win the national RIBI competition for the 11 - 13 age group. He was awarded a trophy, which will be engraved, and a cheque for almost £200.

Well done Joe and the Amber Valley club!

Tuesday 7 June - Rotary Club of Etwall & Hilton Charter

President Barry Snaith and his members held their Charter celebration at the Hilton House Hotel. We had a superb meal and excellent entertainment with a magician and a singer who had us all up on the dance floor. Almost as good as Lionel Ritchie!

It was good to see two members of the newly formed John Port Interact Club there as guests of the club.

A number of members were involved in setting up the Interact club but I make special mention of Keith Rushby who has made it work.

Tuesdat 7 June - Alfreton Rotary Club Golf Day

President Chris Eaton and the members of the Rotary Club of Alfreton held their annual Golf Day at Alfreton Golf Club.

It was good to see a number of teams competing and they all tee'd off at the same time from various points. This is done by synchronising the start by using a very loud air horn which can be heard for miles!

I was so pleased before the event to accept a cheque from Chris Eaton for the India housing project, thank you Alfreton!

Monday 6 June - Rotary Club of Newark

The Rotary Club of Newark, President Denis Poer - Neads, invited partners and members of the local community to their meeting.

The main purpose was to present awards and donations to local projects.

I was delighted to receive a cheque for £1,000 for the housing project in India and also to present a Paul Harris Fellow award to Rotarian Ron Bruce.

Saturday 4 June - Rotary Club of Retford end of year party

President Phil Lewis and his wife Pamela put on an end of year "Thank you" party for the Rotary Club of Retford and the Inner Wheel Club at South Leverton Village Hall.

As usual the friendship, food and entertainment were superb and Terry and I thank all of the members for allowing us to be involved with them at a number of social events this year.

Saturday 4 June - Rotary Club of Mansfield Community clean up at Berry Hill Park

Mansfield Rotary Club with President Kelvin Bowman arranged a second day to involve the local community in cleaning up Berry Hill Park in Mansfield.
The results were excellent and there was a real good factor with Rotary, Inner Wheel and other groups working together.

Sunday 29 May - Laguna Tandoori Restaurant - Fundraiser

Past District Governor Rami Seth, in conjunction with Tony Verma the proprietor of Laguna Tandoori Restaurant in Nottingham, put on a fund raising lunch for our India housing project.

The restaurant was packed and the food was delicious as always. I was left speechless when Rami announced that Tony had donated £1,000 personally to the project.
The raffle, auction and ticket sales resulted in another £1,000 and Rami donated £200 from a previous speaking engagement making a total of £2,200!!!
I was totally stunned at this figure and thank all concerned, particularly Rami and Jenny Seth and Tony Verma.

We have been to a number of these Indian lunches at Laguna which Rami and Tony have been doing for many years for charity.

Tuesday 24 May 2011 - Sherwood Sunrisers new member Sylvia Armstrong

Sylvia Armstrong and I have known each other for more years than we care to admit!
It was a memorable occasion for us both when I introduced Sylvia as a member of Sherwood Sunrisers.
I know that Sylvia will be an excellent member and she has already helped with events and knows everyone.




President Kim Armstrong, Sylvia's husband inducted her and we all wecome Sylvia to Sunrisers.
Is this a first for a President to induct his wife as a new member?

Monday 23 May 2011 - new Honorary members at Drone Valley

Identical twins Francine and Nicola Gleadall who give a tremendous amount of support to the Rotary Club of Drone Valley were made Honoray Members to recognise their valuable contributions.

These girls are very good singers and a delight to be with.

President Patricia Quinn was delighted that the twins family and boyfriends came along to support them.

These are Rotarians of the future!

Monday 23 May 2011 - Hospital garden judging

It was a cold and windy afternoon for the judging at the Sunrisers Hospital Garden.

Fortunately the judge arrived before the torrential rain so we moved indoors for our final discussion.

Now we have to be patient and wait for the results!