Rotary Club of Gloucester

may 2002

JUST about four months ago dentist Alun Rees was an unfit Rotarian  whose 49 years belied his youthful determination to have a go and  make a difference. All that changed when Super Hero Alun put together a concerted  training programme to compete in the London marathon. Underlying this gruelling regime was a desire to help those less  fortunate - a goal which was reached when he completed the 26  mile course in 4 hours 44 minutes and 7 seconds and in doing so  raised more than £1,000 for the Marie Curie Foundation.

Commenting on the race, Alun said that after 22 miles he felt as if  he was running backwards as so many fellow competitors raced  past, but driven on by the fact that he couldn't face friends and  sponsors if he failed, he dug deep and pushed on.

Then at 25 miles he spotted wife Sue and their son in the crowd and  from then on the last mile was a cinch....(amazing what love will  do).

Well done Alun. We're all proud of you - and a little bit envious of  your guts and get up and go.

Peter Cosgrif, international committee chairman, has been  approached to see if our club could place two male Russian  students into Gloucester companies over the period from August 5 - 15th . The approach has come about because of the expansion of Rotary  into Russia and its newly independent states.

Peter stresses that the club would not be expected to host these  students as this task has been allocated to Cheltenham North.

If any club member has a suggestion please contact Peter on 01684  299804 (work) or at home on

Centenary logo
Nearly 20,000 grass roots Rotarians voted to decide which of three  finalists would be chosen to be the official Rotary Centennial logo.  They were posted on Rotary's website and the winning logo can be  viewed on www.rotary.org/centennial . It is available in a variety of  file formats for download.

SADLY all good things come to an end and so must say goodbye to  our delightful Kiwi member Graham Creahan. In a message to In  Gear he writes:-

 "When I arrived in Gloucester in April 2001 on a secondment to the  Ecclesiastical Insurance Group I wasn't sure whether I would be  able to attend Rotary but at Ecclesiastical I met Chris Lees who  invited me as a guest to your club and the rest, as they say is  history. What a wonderful welcome I received. It's warm and  friendly, runs like clockwork, gets things done and is very involved  in community causes.

 "There were many highlights - the visits to the shows in London, the  Christmas dinner, carol services, the wonderful outdoor show at  Chevanage and many more.

 "One of the two extra specials for me would have to be our  Christmas Show programme at the Home Farm Trust at Frocester.  (Our pictire shows Graham entertaining with Squawky).

The other was the Father Christmas Street Collection. "I will never  forget trailing behind the Father Christmas sleigh with Christmas  carols blaring out, President Ken waving and shouting to all and  sundry, the icicles dripping off me ......and yet the amazing warmth  of the people we called on was an experience not likely to be seen  in New Zealand - certainly not in the middle of winter with ice on the  ground at 6pm.

"Your friendliness to Alison and I have been overwhelming - thank  you for your wonderful hospitality. Hopefully some of you will make  it across to the 'outer isles' and call in at the Auckland City Sunrise  Rotary Club - we would love to see you."

A NEW page in our club's distinguished history was written when  Richard Dennery, Gloucester city centre manager, became the  club's first 'Friend of Rotary.'

Richard initially came to the club a couple of years ago when he  outlined his views and vision on reinvigorating Gloucester's city  centre. Since then many members have worked with Richard in a  business capacity but his extremely busy life precluded the  possibility of full membership.

David Corbett suggested Richard would be an ideal candidate to  become a 'Friend of Rotary' whereby the recipient would be  expected to honour the Rotary ideal of 'Service Above Self' but  would not be committed to the obligations of full membership. Richard, an American, graciously accepted and thereby became the  first name on our new Friendship roll.

The Central Gloucester Initiative which Richard spearheads has  been involved in a host of programmes to improve the appearance  and prosperity of the city centre including the pedestrianisation  programme and the successful CCTV scheme.  Richard has been quoted as saying that: "We look at everything  from 'Safe and Clean' issues like policing and hanging baskets, to  organising and supporting major events including the blues festival  and the Christmas lights switch on.

"The scheme unites both public and private sector and through our  combined efforts, we will implement policies that will benefit  everyone."

He is an optimist about the city centre's future and reported earlier  this year that the number of empty units in the core area of the city  had dropped from 39 in May 2001 to 21. "The trend is definitely  going down and there's no two ways about it. We are seeking work  at the old C and A site which means that these premises are also  going to be filled."

One of Richard's visions is a Gloucester Blues Festival which could  attract up to tens of thousands of visitors.

The festival, which had a humble beginning last year, is scheduled  to last for 10 days this August from Friday 2 until Sunday 11.

 WITH the famous words of Pools winner Viv Nicholson - 'Spend,  Spend, Spend'- ringing in their ears auctioneer Bob Short presided  over the successful Auction of Gifts and Promises held in March.

Bob's urging to guests to follow Viv's legendary example was  quickly taken to heart when the first two lots - a stay at the  delightful lodge in Lochrannock in Perthshire donated by Joy and  Howard Johnson and a memorable meal fir six in President Ken  Watson's smashing thatched cottage realised £440 and £220  respectively.

Then things settled down a little with many items going for less  than £50 including a pastel painting by local artist Ray Bell although  it's rumoured that it could be worth hundreds in no time at all.

Prices started to rise again when Tess Rogers couldn't live without  the garden furniture donated by McIntyre Caravans and paid £75  for the privilege but the highest bid of the night - £550 - by  Christine Eynon-Barrel (sister of ssshh you know who) - secured for  her the use of a four berth 40ft narrow boat kindly offered by Kay  and John Redman.

A fellow Rotarian from Gloucester Severn, Steve Markham, then  weighed in with a £120 bid which means that his lovely wife Cecile  will be enjoying a day of pampering at La Spa, Cirencester. A  second and similar lot offered by Linda Lloyd went to a similar bid.

Lot 29 caused much amusement as junior vice president Angela  Seddon bought a trial gliding lesson from the Cotswold Gliding Club  for her spouse Norman. When Norman reciprocated by buying a  similar lot for Angela imaginations ran wild with suggestions as to  what they could get up to at a mile high.

Two tickets for the Gloucester Cricket Festival from King's School  fetched £100, memorabilia from HMS Gloucester sailed in at £150  and Everyman Theatre tickets realised £55 to bring up the half way  mark.

IT'S nice to know when a project is successful - particularly it's an  international one and members spend months collecting or money  raising in the hope of meeting an apparent need.

Such was the case with the 'Wheelchairs for Tunisia' project which  was started under President John Smith and completed under  President Ken. A few dedicated but determined Rotarians sourced  and renovated over 160 wheelchairs and additional walking aids to  help the disabled in this North African country.

This press release was written by Raouf Ben Ali, secretary of the  Rotary Club of Sousse, with whom we linked to ensure the success  of the project.

He writes:- "Rotary friendship knows no boundaries and yet another  example of this has come from the Rotary Club of Gloucester  (United Kingdom) who have sent 160 wheelchairs and other walking  aids to the Rotary Club of Sousse.

 "Once they arrived here at the beginning of January of this year,  the consignment was cleared quickly through custom thanks to the  intervention of the Governor of Sousse, Monsieur Abderrahmen  Limam and the co-operation of the regional customs manager.

On Saturday, January 19, after a meeting of the medical committee  in charge of the distribution of these chairs, the first batch was sent  to disabled people in Sousse and the surrounding area and then  throughout Tunisia to Douz, Kebili, Enfidha, Kalaa Kebira, Kalaa  Seghira, Monastir. El Jem, Mahdia and Hammamet.

The Rotary Club of Sousse will be getting in touch with regional  organisations to implement the distribution of the remainder of the  equipment to ensure that it goes to where there is the greatest  need.

We should also mention that all the members of the Rotary Club of  Sousse made themselves available for several days to help in the  distribution of the chairs.