Rotary Club of Gloucester

august 2002

ONCE again the prayers of organisers of the Westgate Medieval  Fayre were answered and the event on Saturday, June 22 was  blessed with 'fayre' weather. Thanks go to organisers Corin  Anderson and Rotarian Teresa Brown who worked unstintingly  throughout the year to organise the event which attracted large  crowds.

As in previous years Westgate from The Cross to St Nicholas Church  was a colourful scene of gaily decorated stalls and fascinating  entertainers which included jousting knights, birds of prey, heavy  horses, street jesters and medieval children's games. All these and much, much more were part of the fun and frolics of  this year's medieval fayre.

Traditionally we in Rotary use the day for a street collection and  once again we were able assisted by pupils from King's School.  Invariably if you are collecting for children's holidays, the public  tends to be more generous to 'children' assisting with the collection  - so once again a very big vote of thanks to them. Two special mentions - to Robert Hall whose tin 'weighed' in with  more than £50 and to City Crier Alan Myatt who once again was an  excellent draw for the crowds.

  * However it would be remiss of us not to record Rotary's thanks to  Colin Rogers who has been the club's liaison with the Westgate  Traders for many years and hopes that this year's event will  eventually raise another £1,000 for our charity funds. This year he  steps down ....so thanks again Colin for a job well done.

Surprise, surprise health issues will play a significant role in Mike  Westbury's presidential year. Proceeds from a special concert next  May will go to the Gloucestershire Prostate Cancer Trust and TOFS,  a charity to help children born with an inability to swallow.

Both are concerns close to Mike's heart (also a matter of concern).  The first because Dave Courtney a former player in Mike Westbury's  rock'n roll bank Mike and the Mystics is suffering from prostate  cancer and the second because Mike's granddaughter Shannon is a  victim. Roughly 1 in 30,000 are born with Shannon's condition and  she had to undergo an emergency operation after six days and,  earlier this year, she underwent another operation.

In addition the club will be taking part in Stroke Awareness Day next  April and will be setting its sights on raising more than £2,000 for  RI's Polio Plus bid to eradicate polio by 2005.

Closer to home Mike is hoping to play Santa and come up with much  needed toys and equipment for the Community Nursery at Colwell. Mike has also earmarked money for a project in the  Barton/Tredworth area possibly with the Widden Family Centre  whose co-ordinator Gail Johnson spoke to the club recently and told  us of the incredible work done there over the past 25 years.

There's also the possibility of help being made available to an  all- girls' football team - as well the club's existing commitments to the elderly at Easter, the Christmas party at Frocester and  holidays  for disadvantaged local families.

To pay for it all Mike is aiming to cash in on a sponsored walk just  prior to the Gold Cup meeting at Cheltenham racecourse, to  organise an upmarket race night with a speaker and meal ...plus  help from the Christmas carol float and next year's Westgate  Medieval market.

"One of the best days I've ever had in Rotary," was the reaction of  Mike Westbury after a visit to see the HMS Gloucester refit at  Devonport.

President Mike accompanied by Martin White, Jack Limbird and  Chris Soane were shown around the ship - although only its hull will  be the same after its £20m upgrade is completed in January.

 "Everything, and I mean literally everything, is being replaced,"  explained Mike who added that only a skeleton crew of about 10  personnel remained of the former crew to liaise with the refitters.

At the beginning of next year a new captain will be announced in  time for the ship's commissioning probably in April when invitations  will again be extended to Gloucester civic chiefs and to our club to  send representatives.

One of the other highlights of the visit to Plymouth was a tour of a  new museum which is dedicated to recalling Devon-port's link with  the sea and the Royal Navy.

This is not yet open to the public and might not be so for a couple  more years but Mike and his 'crew' were able to enjoy a preview of  what will be exhibited and to say Mike was impressed is an  understatement.

 "It was incredible. There's just so much to see. One of the most  impressive exhibits was a one sixth model of the Golden Hind  (which Drake sailed around the world). It was made 200 years ago  and is in incredible detail," said Mike.

Thie was just one of many details Mike enthused about. However  one of the more bizarre items on show was a hanging cell complete  with a trap door. This recalled the fact that during the Napoleonic  War no fewer than 18,500 French POWs were prisoners at  Devonport. While interned there the French ran their own legal  system which included capital punishment.

One other interesting point from the visit was that HMS Gloucester's refit price of £20m was a result of going to public tender this compared with £40m for one of Gloucester's sister ships  to be refitted wasn't put out to tender!

BY an overwhelming majority, Peter Nesbitt has been voted by club  members as the second holder of the Bill Murray Salver for Rotarian  of the Year.

This is a well-deserved accolade for an extremely conscientious  Rotarian whose work within the club particularly for international  projects has been without parallel. Peter was presented with his  award by last year's winner John Smith.

Unfortunately because of other commitments, Bill Murray was  unable to be with us. It was agreed by Club Council that in future no  immediate past president will be eligible for nomination for the  award.

FOUR hours of fun in smashing sunshine was the recipe for a  memorable day out for more than 100 Gloucester children on June  26 when pupils from Tredworth Junior, The Moat and Finlay schools  were taken by coaches to the Cattle Country Adventure Park at  Berkeley as part of the national Kids Out event.

Until now the our club has taken part in the larger district event but  this year it was decided we would do our own thing with spectacular  results.

 "It's the best one I've ever been too," declared president Ken  Watson. "We took over the whole complex and the kids had ample  time to enjoy the facilities."

In addition to gazing at the animals, the children (young and old)  thoroughly enjoyed bouncing on trampolines, experiencing the  thrills of using huge slides, pitting their skills at mini golf course and  tackling obstacle courses, to name but a few of the many  attractions.

For the more courageous there was the opportunity of having a go  on a bucking bronco for which Ken offered the incentive of a prize  for the boy or girl who stayed on longest. Throughout their visit the  young guests were supervised by Rotarians, by members of Inner  Wheel, teachers and staff from the Country Park.

During the day each youngster had a slap up lunch followed by ice  creams. Each child also received a T-shirt as a more permanent  reminder of their day out and to round things off very nicely every  guest returned home with a bag of goodies.

 "The children were extremely well behaved, polite, very friendly  and there was no bad language or bullying. In short it was a  thoroughly enjoyable day out," commented Ken.

* Full marks as always to Andrew Hurley who organised the event  with his usual thoroughness and to all those who turned up to help  out on the day.

* We have camera ace Trevor Picken to thank for these smashing  pictures which encapsulate so very well the enjoyment of the day.  Thanks Trevor.

THIS year's Inner Wheel President is Jacqui Ingram an indefatigable  worker for Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for nearly three decades.  She was born in Lancaster and spent three years at the Lancaster  College of Art after leaving school before seeking a career in  nursing at the John Radcliffe Hospital at Oxford.

In 1956 Jacqui married Robert Ingram and came to live in  Gloucester. She has three children all of whom live in the city and  one grandchild.

For more than 28 years, Jacqui has devoted much of her time and  energy to voluntary work at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. This  has entailed helping with the library, chapel flowers and assisting in  the Accident and Emergency and outpatients' departments. She  has also been involved in the vital job of fund raising.

During this period she has been chairman of the ladies committee  for two years, followed by three years as chairman of the Hospital's  League of Friends ..... and so the work goes on.

In a totally different sphere, Jacqui has been an active member of  the European Union of Women supporting women who for years  have had no voice in repressive regimes.

We wish her well in her year ahead and once again thank the  members of Inner Wheel both for their staunch efforts during  President Jane's year of office and in anticipation of their continued  support during President Jacqui's year of office.

Another club Rotarian who has contributed significantly on  international projects has been Colin Eynon whose efforts on behalf  of the George Regional Hospital in Southern Cape South Africa has  received a commendation from RI's program co-ordinator for  humanitarian programs initiatives Robbyn Singer.

Thanks to Colin's unstinting efforts the hospital has been provided  with an eye microscope.

In his letter Mr Singer congratulates Colin and adds: "Your efforts  have certainly been fruitful and many individuals will benefit as a  result of your generosity and hard work. Rotary Foundation is proud  to have been associated with this fine project."

The project involved funding not only from our club but also from  Cheltenham, Malvern, Wotton Basset, Swindon, South Cotswolds  and Portishead plus, of course matching, RI grants.

Colin isn't sitting back on his laurels and is now investigating a  second project for the same hospital - this time for the treatment of  gall and kidney stones.