Chris’s Chatter - Ferndown Rotary€¦ · Chris’s Chatter Mission ... which is hoping to set up Rotakids in the local ... The speaker was Howard Nichols and his PowerPoint presentation

THE ROTARY CLUB OF FERNDOWN

Chris’s Chatter

Mission Accomplished

Scatter to Godalming

Police Commissionaire

Scatter to Blandford

Gone but not Forgotten

Lou Knight Induction

News from Inner Wheel

Charity Golf Day

Club Slimming results

Visit to Teignmouth

I have a little Sat-nav

Janet & friends

Safari Holiday

Business Partners

Special points of interest:

Meets at Cobhams Sports and Social Club

Merley Park Road Wimborne

Telephone: 01202 885773

E-Mail: [email protected]

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Service above Self

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Chris’s Chatter

At the beginning of April, we had the collection at Haskins arranged by Tim, but

carried through with great expertise by Bob Nicholson – thanks Bob. We achieved

a great result, so thanks to everyone who contributed effort. The Howard/Marshall

combo, henceforth called the „Drowned Rats‟, managed to provide some music on

the Saturday amongst the drizzle.

„Operation Devour It All‟, the President‟s Night came at last on 2nd May. I hoped

to provide you with an enjoyable evening of amusement, good fellowship, enter-

tainment, with good food, and all couched within a framework of my RAF back-

ground. Judging by the kind comments, „phone calls and e mails that I have re-

ceived, the evening seems to have been a success. I was amazed that I could still

get into my flying suit, though the moustache tickled like crazy! The BITESIZE

entertainers did a splendid job of keeping us entertained. Doreen‟s flower arrange-

ments were wonderfully and imaginatively in keeping with the theme of the eve-

ning, having small aircraft flying in and out of clouds of gypsophila.

I was delighted to be able to award two DSAs - Distinguished Service Awards:

One to Jim, the DH (direct hit) or Bull‟s Eye award for attacking his targets with

great determination and success in spite of having been attacked by an enemy

GOLF SAM (surface to air missile). The other to Bill - the Miss of Distinction

Award - for completely missing his targets with his BOMBIGATOR secret weap-

ons, This was a signed photo to Bill from Anna Siderova the skipper of the Rus-

sian ladies curling team. I shall never forget the delighted look on his face at re-

ceiving it. We now look ahead to Charter Night on 21st May. This will be on a

normal club evening, but the dress code is DJs (or dark suits if you do not have

one). There will therefore be no tick list, and members must give apologies as nor-

mal, or sign in any guests that they may be bringing. We have our DG John Eade,

and speaker Dr Tim Le Bas from the National Oceanographic Centre Southamp-

ton talking about the work of the Centre. The cost is £16 debited to your accounts

to include a two-course meal (starter and main) and coffee.

Our thoughts are with Graham Barnett and his family at this difficult Time.

Chris

Flying Officer Kite

At his Presidential Evening

Phil giving a weather briefing

Chris giving Bill his award Harrier table

The Entertainment arranged by the President was brilliant

With BITSIZE performing songs from the shows

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Induction of Lou Knight

President Chris inducting Lou Knight our latest member into the Club a profile of Lou will be in

the next issue of the Club‟s newsletter.

Scatter by Foundation Committee

At

The Rotary Club of Godalming

Malcolm Day, Mike Sismey and Neville Platt set forth on a foggy morning to visit the Rotary Club

of Godalming, stopped on the way for coffee at Langrish House near Petersfield before going on

to join President Chris ( who was in the area visiting his new grandchild )at the White Lion. We

had a lovely lunch, the Godalming members were very pleasant but the Speaker was very boring .

We scored 550 points but Malcolm in his wisdom and sense of fair play decided that in view of

well founded suspicions of bias & self interest which were not in the spirit of Rotary‟s Four Way

Test together with the main judge‟s obvious lack of independence & his failure to bring the Tro-

phy, the Fellowship team were fined 50 points reducing its total down to 500, making Community

team the winners with 510 points. Well done Community.

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Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner

Martyn Underwood A very good informative talk by Martin Underwood the new Police Commissionaire gave the

Club an insight on the hard work that entails Martin in his new job. Having been a serving

Police Officer he is certainly capable and well equipped for this unenviable job.

Best of luck Martin.

Scatter

By

Youth Services at

The Blandford Rotary Club.

The Crown Hotel, Blandford.

31st. March 2014

Mike Clampin organised the scatter to the Blandford Club and

researched the details. The club meets on a Monday at a lunch time, however, our visit coincided

with their Council meeting. When Council meet they have what they call a light Lunch and a short

meeting before Council.

The four people representing Youth Services in the scatter were Mike Clampin, Neil Meldrum,

Mike Fenner and Derrick Powell. Three people from Youth Services and Mike Fenner from Inter-

national scattered but because of circumstances members were not able to travel together in one

vehicle. Neil Meldrum and Mike Fenner travelled together from Ferndown, Mike Clampin trav-

elled separately from Wimborne and Derrick Powell travelled from Winterbourne Clenston. The

group met at 12.30pm at the Crown for lunch at 1.00pm.The group were welcomed by the Presi-

dent, John Bentley who introduced us to the club members present and who made us all very wel-

come. After the Grace Derrick Powell introduced the visitors with all the pomp he could manage

and then together with the Ferndown visitors enjoyed the excellent company. The light lunch was

a single course comprising a very modestly sized cod fillet, some chips, a few peas and a very

large portion of tarter sauce. Tea or coffee included. We all enjoyed the occasion immensely, how-

ever, regrettably fellowship was curtailed by the need to start Council business. The scatter group

despite best intentions and superb organisational skills were only able to claim 140 points.

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The Fish that Cracked a Rib

By

Ann Banks

Mine not his. I just wanted a David Bailey moment to capture the fish - a

60 pound dorada - landed by my other half. The skipper had other ideas

though. He shot off at speed and I flew across the deck, only stopping when

my side collided with the hatchway. I suppose I should have been thankful I

didn't go overboard but it's a little difficult being grateful when it's

uncomfortable to move. The upshot is that Alan has refused to take me on a

boat again. However, on reflection I would rather spend my time on a much

larger variety with its spa, fine dining and cocktail bars.

Ann

Gone but not Forgotten

Greetings from north of the Watford

Gap

Is it really almost a year since I left Ferndown Rotary? Doesn‟t time fly when you are busy?? I

have settled in very well at the Rotary Club of Bakewell – so well in fact that I shall be President

Elect from July!! Something I said I would never do – but the alternative was Treasurer!!! Need I

say more? Chris has also become a member and is currently on the Youth Services Committee

which is hoping to set up Rotakids in the local schools. She is still a member of Ferndown Inner

Wheel and hopes to transfer to Alfreton club for the coming year.

Bakewell Club has 34 members of whom three are 87 years young (picture me in 20 years‟ time if

you can) and still very keen to participate. There are 8 lady members – 2 of whom have been

President and next year‟s President will be the third.

The Club has a strong Community ethos (meeting in the town centre and the town itself having

good links with all aspects of community life) and there are many events and fund-raising activi-

ties supporting local schools and groups. If anyone would like to buy a yellow plastic duck for £2,

the prize if you were to be first over the weir and under the bridge over the River Wye could earn

you £100. Contact Chris or me before 11 May. Proceeds for this (2000 ducks are usually sold) go

to local and overseas charities.

Still keeping in with the idea of nature – our next event is a ferret Race Night. Guess who two of

the jockeys are! Anyone got any spare lettuce leaves?

The Aquaboxes are filled locally and a number of Club members regularly help at the depot; we

have just been informed that the 4,000th filter for clean water has been sent abroad.

Believe it or not, but we do have a life beyond Rotary. We have returned to the Crooked Spire

Church where I am on the PCC and we are both servers. We have recently hosted a Lent Group

and this will continue as a House Group. I am still involved with local charities and Chris has two

French groups who meet here every week.

Our other main activity is looking after our grandson, Lewis, who is 16 months old and a delight to

be with – even if he does wear us out sometimes. We have him each week varying from half a day

to 2 whole days so are really enjoying him grow and develop.

Mike Webb

(scripted by Chris)

The Rotary Club of Bakewell

News from Inner Wheel

Our dinner meeting in April proved to be a lively affair since we were delighted to entertain our hus-

bands and other guests at this event. Over 50 people sat down to an excellent dinner of pork esca-

lope followed by treacle sponge pudding! After this satisfying meal we were all in the mood to be

entertained, and were not disappointed.

The speaker was Howard Nichols and his PowerPoint presentation was called “A Lifeboat on the

Road”. Having been a practising paramedic within the NHS for many years and followed on with

becoming a service instructor, he was approached by the RNLI with a unique opportunity to use

these skills by updating the medical procedures of lifeboat crews.

This was in the 1980s and he was needed to work with the crews instructing them how to deal with

injured people when called out on a “Shout”. The training was to be on the lifeboat station sites

themselves, so a mobile training vehicle was being constructed. There had to be different courses for

boats from inflatable inshore craft to the much more powerful all weather launches. so Howard was

sent out to experience the conditions the crews had to deal with on the sea in each class of boat. He

spent months acquiring his “sea legs” before he was ready to begin the training, while the “Lifeboat

on Wheels was designed. This was an extremely large trailer with the interior laid out as a medical

training section and there was also a mock-up lifeboat section. After all the planning and prepara-

tion, at the end of the 1989 Howard eventually was sent out to visit all the lifeboat stations in the

UK and Ireland. He told of his adventures during his tours and the people he had met during the

years with his trailer, until his retirement. He had had a unique pre retirement job and thoroughly

enjoyed every minute. Everyone also enjoyed this talk and Jean Hunter gave the vote of thanks, ex-

pressing our appreciation.

The same week our fund raising event “Ladies Pamper Night” was held in the Ferndown Guide

Hall. This was an opportunity for ladies to view products and services sold by local busi-

ness women. There were stalls with jewellery, handbags, scarves, greetings cards, plus a hair-

dresser, nail technician, colour specialist and other beauty products. The visitors attending were

treated to a glass of Bucks Fizz and offered nibbles. After spending time in the main hall coffee and

homemade cake were served in the smaller hall, which proved to be very popular. A splendid raffle

also brought in additional revenue for the event. Proceeds from this Pamper night will be donated to

the Heart Club and other local charities supported by Inner Wheel.

Sheila Smith

Club Correspondent

Charity Golf Day

June 4th

Canford Magna Golf

Club

The Hendy Group are sponsoring the main event ,many thanks Norman and Rob Paris of Comfort

Rooms has kindly agreed to sponsor the Golf Balls for the Hole in One Competition. David Phipp

has agreed to sponsor the Pimms drinks for the golfers when they finish. We are still looking for

more sponsors, so please get your thinking caps on and try and find sponsors for the 18 holes, the

halfway house. The cost for any of these will be £50.

DAVID PHIPP

House Furnisher

Clubs Slimming Event

by

John Hill

Out of a total membership of over 40 only 19 members entered the event of which only 13 finished

the course. Two members disgraced themselves by forgetting that they were involved and put ON

weight of 1 pound and 5 pounds respectively! They suffered a penalty of £5 cash donation to the

President‟s Charity.

The results were:

Joint 3rd position; Bill Field and Jim Sanders with a loss of 6 Pounds.

2nd position; Bob Jones with a very creditable loss of 11 pounds.

1st position ; And Champion Slimmer of 2014 was Derek Powell with an excellent loss

of 21 pounds. Hearty congratulations. Derek receives the West Moors Pharmacy Trophy, Italian

Fizz and Chocolates as a reward for a great effort.

Many thanks to all who supported this fun event and to Helen Chiari for presenting the results and

the prizes so nicely.

The Winners

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The Editors Visit to his Old Club

The Rotary Club of Teignmouth

Old being the operative word, most of the members were older than ours, walking sticks, oxygen

bottles, etc. As well as the Lectern and the Bell on the Top table I thought that a defibrillator

would have been handy, joking aside it was good to catch up with all my old mates. Whilst I was

at the meeting Maureen had lunch with some of her old friends from the Inner Wheel Club, these

particular friends also belonged to a new club that had been formed in the village, The BMW Club

or to give it its full title. The Bishopsteignton Merry Widows Club, Maureen has applied for an

application form. Does she know something that I don‟t?

Neville

I HAVE A LITTLE SAT-NAV BY

MIKE CLAMPIN

I have a little sat-nav I have a little sat-nav

It sits there in my car I‟ve had it all my life

A Sat-nav is a driver‟s friend It‟s better than the normal ones

It Tell you were you are My sat-nav is my wife

It gives me full instructions It tells me when to stop and start

Especially how to drive And when to use the brake

“ It‟s thirty miles an hour”, it says And telle me that it‟s never ever

“ Your doing thirtyfive” Safe to overtake

It tells me when the light is red It lists the vehicles just in front

And when it goes to green And all those to the rear

It seems to know instinctively And taking this into account

Just when to intervine It specifies my gear

I‟m sure no other driver It fills me up with counselling

Has so helpful a device Each journey‟s pretty fraught

For when we leave and lock the car So why don‟t I exchange it

It still gives its advice And get a quieter sort

Ah well you see, it cleans the house Despite all these advantages

Makes sure I‟m properly fed And my tendency to scoff

It washes all my shorts and things I only wish that now and then

And keeps me warm in bed I could turn the B....R off

Janet and Friends

Knitting for Charity Janet and former Inner Wheel member Diana Slatem with five women from Grosvenor

Court knitting blankets in aid of African people in need. Well Done Ladies

THE LEWISES

SAFARI ADVENTURE

On 11th March we flew overnight to Johannesburg airport to start our safari adventure. There, we

met up with the other seven people who with our Tour Manager comprised our party. We arrived

to warmth and sunshine, but as we went across country to the Waterburg so it became cloudier

which turned to drizzle and by the time we arrived at Entebeni it was pouring! This wasn‟t what

we expected and the afternoon Game Drive was cancelled in favour of a bush walk for those brave

enough to face slipping and sliding in the mud. The forecast for the next day wasn‟t good, so we

were spared a 5am start and were told decisions would be made according to the weather. There

was no improvement so it was arranged that we would all have free spa treatments and a trip on

the lake at tea time to see the hippos. It wasn‟t actually raining on Friday, although overcast so the

plan was to fit in all the activities for that day plus the ones we had missed out on the day before.

At last we were out in the safari jeep and very soon came upon zebra, wildebeest and giraffe.

This was more like it! The tracks gave way to heavy mud and it wasn‟t long before the jeep was

completely stuck – twice! This proved an excellent bonding exercise for the „team‟ – trying to ex-

tricate several tons of truck from mud and by then everyone‟s need for „facilities‟. A couple wan-

dered into the bush and came back to report that we were about 20 yards away from a Toilet. This

seemed unbelievable, but there in the bush was a Ladies and a Gents, complete with resident liz-

ard. This mystery was solved later when we returned to the same area to find a table beautifully

laid and hot food simmering on nearby stones. After lunch we visited a local Conservancy Centre

to see white lions and then on to a Pedi Village to learn how the people would have lived in the

past. We were offered a selection of their usual food including fried Mopane worms – this we de-

clined! We were then entertained by children dancing and young men drumming which we were

invited to join in. Not needing to be asked twice, Howard immediately took over the lead drum.

We only had three nights at each Camp so the next morning, in brilliant sunshine we left. Unfortu-

nately, the sand track back to the main road hadn‟t dried out and once again we were stuck, this

time in wet sand. Our coach had to be pulled out by a local Farmer and his tractor. The weather

may not have been what we expected, but we were left with happy memories of the fun we had at

Entebeni and the wonderful staff, who not only looked after, but entertained us a couple of eve-

nings with singing and dancing.

Our next stop was Mopane Bush Lodge a private Park in the Limpopo. This was named for the

bushes that were the home of the Mopane worms we had been offered at the Pedi Village. They

were bright blue and orange, looked like caterpillars and got literally everywhere! At the Lodge

we were hosted by the lady owner and her Manager a big, bluff Afrikaan who was a mine of infor-

mation on flora, fauna and history. Our trips out were all to Mapagumbwe National Park which

was about 10minutes away. Although we saw some Game and beautiful birds, here the emphasis

was more on history. We were taken to an archaeological dig, the site of an Iron Age Bantu vil-

lage and this involved a climb over rocks and a nearly perpendicular wooden staircase to an es-

carpment used as a royal burial ground. The highlight, for me, was Knaxa Shelter where there

were Bushman cave paintings dating back 2,000 – 3,000BC. They were still so clear that they

could have been done yesterday.

Our third Camp was Chorismo Bush Lodge at Karangwe, a private Game Reserve on the edge of

the Kruger. Here we settled into traditional safari pattern with Game Drives at 5am and 4pm with

the time in between to enjoy relaxing or using the beautiful swimming pool. This was also our

first experience of a tented Camp, but they were very luxurious, on stilts with our own decking

overlooking a river bed where we could sit and watch the elephants. The stilts allowed animals to

sleep underneath us, and it wasn‟t unusual to find Impala, Kudu or Warthogs sharing our space.

Howard & June’s Safari Continued We had a wonderful Ranger, Setepi and a Tracker whose name was Obvious. They would keep going

until they had tracked down all the animals they knew were in an area. Here we saw not only the Big

Five, but many more animals. They found a leopard who crossed in front of our jeep and just sat by the

side of the track, we had a pride of lions pass us complete with four cubs. There was some excitement

when we got a little too close for comfort to a family of elephants. The bull took exception to another

jeep and we heard loud trumpeting and the squeal of wheels as the other vehicle reversed at a rate of

knots. Another memorable event was when Setepi and Obvious took us walking into the Bush and

there in front of us were four cheetahs who just sat about 25 yards from us whilst we photographed

them. We had one trip out and that was to Moholoho Game Conservancy. Here we met a honey

badger a tame impala and among the many birds was a Bata Leur Eagle who just loved having her

head scratched. We were very pleased to see the local Rotary Club was involved – even if it was spon-

soring the Toilet Block! We loved our time at Chorismo, it really was our favourite place.

Our fourth camp was right in the Kruger, so our drive took us through the Drakensburg Mountains,

along the Panorama Route calling at points of interest, Bourke‟s Luck Potholes (magnificent rock for-

mations), Blyde River Canyon and Dam and Berlin Falls. We stopped at Pilgrim‟s Rest, an old gold

mining town for a look round and a rare (if limited) shopping opportunity. We entered the Kruger

through one of the „Gates‟ and initially we were on tarmac roads where we immediately saw elephants,

rhino and buffalo. This last Camp was to be the highlight of the holiday, we eventually arrived as night

was falling – the roads having long given way to rough tracks – tired and hungry and full of anticipa-

tion – to be told we had been moved to another Camp half an hour back the way we had just come. We

set off again to the strains of „ Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life‟. We eventually arrived at

Hamiltons where we received a very warm welcome from the staff, a table was laid for our meal under

the stars and the food was delicious. One of the staff told us this was an unfenced camp so no walking

on our own after dark, a Guard would accompany us along the raised walkways to our tents. In the

next breath we were told that the noise we could hear was the sound of the lions roaring in the nearby

Bush. With some trepidation and disappointment we made our way to bed. All night we could hear

animal noise and we were aware of movements on our roof. Next day we realised we were at the most

beautiful place. It was based on an 1880s Gentlemans Safari Camp and everything was Victorian. Our

bathroom had a hip bath and although there was a shower attached, the main shower was outside in the

treetops. We soon got used to the animal sounds and the activity on the roof was the baboons using it

as a playground. The Game Drives took place in two Landcruisers, so we all had plenty of room and

excellent views. We would meet during the morning Drive and the Rangers would brew coffee and

serve biscuits (we would return to the Lodge for breakfast). In the evening we would meet for Sun-

downers and snacks- all served on a small table with an immaculate white table cloth. On our last

morning, the Landcruiser took us to the Orpen Gate to meet up with our coach for the long journey

back to Jo‟burg. It was ironic that when we stopped at a Service Station for petrol there was a man

made waterhole out the back with buffalo, ostrich, zebra and white rhino.

We had a wonderful holiday, saw everything we expected and the accommodation and the food were

marvellous. Lots of memories, not only of the animals, but the stunning sunrises and sunsets and star

laden night skies. Our South African Tour Manager told us once you have experienced the the sounds,

sights and smells of Africa you have to return. This was proved by the fact that out of our Group we

were the only ones on our first visit and we eagerly anticipate our next.

It is with sadness that I have received the resignation of Phil Holt. It is fully understandable

under the circumstances , and on behalf of the Club I wish a successful outcome to his medi-

cal issues. Phil has helped me personally throughout my Presidential year, and also the

Club during his time with us, for which I thank him.

Chris

The Object of Rotary

The object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as

a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and fos-

ter:

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

2. High ethical standards in business and professions, and the

recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations and the

dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to

serve society.

3. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s

personal, business and community life.

4. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill

and peace through a world fellowship of business and

professional persons united in the ideal of service.

The “Four-Way Test”

First: Is it the truth

Second: Is it fair to all Concerned?

Third: Will it build goodwill and better friendships

Fourth: Will it be beneficial to all concerned

Business Partners of Ferndown Rotary Club

Helping Our Community

Haskins Garden Centres

Henderson’s Opticians

Hendy Group Motor Dealers

Insley & Partners,Solicitors

A.E.Jolliffe & Sons, Funeral Directors

Merlo UK Ltd

Moors Pharmacy

Simon R Puddle, Certified Accountant

Swift Body Repairs

The Practice at Ferndown, Osteopaths

The Roman Group Printers

Wellstead & Wellstead Estate Agents