Proms in the Park

Our last fund-raiser of the year was in partnership with our friends from Hilltoppers Golf Society (of whom Past President John Hill is a key organiser) towards the Cystic Fibrosis project we have been working on all year.  Coincidental a similar event should have been my first engagement as Club President in July 2012, however the rainfall meant that the ground at Ratcliffe on Trent Golf Club was unsuitable and the concert had to be cancelled.  This year's event , by also falling on Saturday 29th June, was my last club engagement for the Rotary year 2012/13.

Newstead Welfare Brass Band were the guests for the evening and provided a varied programme of  pieces featuring the Beatles. ELO, Frank Sinatra and some Brass Band classics before the 'Last Night of the Proms' finale.

Euphonium soloist Lynden Cooper also acted as compere for the evening.  After the band had played their first number without any introduction, Lynden asked if there were any presidents of clubs present.  Mine was the only hand to be raised.  Lynden then went on to explain that the piece the Band had just played was a march entitled 'The President.'   I'm not sure whether it was really for my benefit!

The finale including all the rousing Prom favourites:  The Hornpipe, Jerusalem, Rule Britannia, Land of Hope & Glory.  An encore was called for so the Band played an arrangement of 'My Way' which, at various points, featured the flugel horn, tenor horn, euphonium and trombone players standing up to play the melody.  The final act of the night was the audience standing to sing the National Anthem accompanied by the Band.

The evening concert raised over £ 1,000 towards the new Cystic Fibrosis unit at the City Hospital, Nottingham.

Going Quackers

The latest fund-raising venture of Hucknall Rotary Club took place on Thursday 27th June 2013 when a fleet  of numbered plastic ducks were released into the freedom of the River Leen (Bakers Brook).  Over 400 ducks had been 'sold' by Hucknall rotarians with the profits of the race supporting Rotary international projects such as 'End Polio now'  and 'Aqua Box'

Rotary International's End Polio Now initiative protects children around the world with Polio vaccines to globally eradicate Polio forever.   Due to the effects of Rotary and it's global partners, we are close to eradicating Polio, however there are still 3 epidemic countries left in the world and the final push towards eradication is needed.

Disasters come in many forms - earthquake; cyclone; flood; refugee displacement - but all share a common factor. The most urgent single problem facing the relief agencies is the provision of a supply of safe drinking-water.

In some cases, it may be possible for the relief agencies to supply water from outside the affected area. In others, there is clearly a need for those suffering in the aftermath of a disaster to achieve an early, if temporary, self-sufficiency in the supply of safe drinking-water.

The Solution is AQUABOX, a robust plastic tank with a family-sized filter unit known as the AQUAFILTER and packed with essential welfare items for a disaster situation. Once the welfare contents have been removed, each AQUABOX can be used to purify up to 18000 litres of polluted water, making it safe and pleasant to drink. Thats enough for 22.5 litres/day of general use potable water for use by the family for a period two years.

The winning duck belonged to Sarah Spencer who wins the first prize of  an Apple IPad .

RC of Ravenshead and Blidworth 27th Charter Anniversary

Charter celebrations are an important feature in the Rotary calendar as they mark the 'birthday' anniversary of the club.   My club Hucknall were instrumental in the formation of the Ravenshead and Blidworth club and so it was good as the 'mother' club to join with colleague rotarians for the last Charter of the Rotary year.  Huckall has two 'daughter' clubs, the other being Alfreton who Charter is always the first one of the new Rotary year and it amuses me that our 'daughters' charter celebrations are the first and last of the year.

President Gwilym Griffith (with only 4/5 days remaining as President) welcome all guests and rotarians to the Hostess Restaurent, Sookholme.  A superb meal ensued as always.

The evening's entertainment was a musical duo who had driven from Belguim, Jacques et Wiske, who were friends with President Gwilym.  They performed a range of numbers and helped make the night enjoyable.

In the absence of District Governor Dave Ashley (who was attending Rotary's International Convention in Portugal so can be excused), Assistant Govenor (shortly to be District Governor Nominee Dr. Rodger Summers proposed the toast to Rotary International.

Club Handover Night

On the last Rotary club meeting night of the Rotary year which runs from the 1st July, I had the privilege of awarding the 'Presidents Rotarian of The Year' Shield.    Through the Rotary year I have received tremendous support from all members of the club.   The honour this year went to Rotarian Allan Johnson who has over the last several years done a fantastic job in organising the Hucknall Christmas Carnival and Christmas Lights Switch-on.  Every year, the task seems to get harder due to legislative changes but Allan has always risen to the challenge and represents all that's good about Rotarians.   On behalf of the club, Allan also runs the Arthritis Group which meets monthly and provides fun and fellowship to members of the community.  Allan is always willing to get involved in any Rotary activity and a worthy recipient of the award.

On a normal Handover night, I would usually hand over the chain of office to my successor who would then present me with a Past Presidents medal.  The new President would then present the badges of office to his team.  However, due to unforeseen circumstances, I have been asked to serve a second consecutive year as Club President and was delighted to accept.

The most senior member of our club who was in attendance was Past District Governor Brian Darlison and the club members present felt it was most appropriate for Brian to hand me the Presidents Badge.  I then handed the Senior Vice President's badge to Rtn. Tony Gluchowski, The Secretary's to PP Colin Worthington and the Treasurer's to Rtn. Neil South.

Visit to Church Wilne Rotary Club

My good friend Greg Mastalick of Church Wilne is preparing to become his club's president for 2013/14.  One of Greg's projects is to try and encourage his club to embrace social media to promote Rotary.  Greg invited me along to the club which meets at the Royal Oak Public House in Ockbrook, Derby to share how I have used this blog, facebook and twitter for the benefit of Hucknall Rotary Club.

National School Community Fun Day

For the second year running, National School (Hucknall) held a networking event and sought to encourage involvement from community groups. President Ian and Rtn. Allan Johnson represented Rotary at this event.

Club Assembly

A Club Assembly is usually an important night in the Club's calendar because the President-elect presents his/her plans for the forthcoming Rotary Year which commences in July.  An Officer from the Rotary district is usually in attendance and also brings along the necessary paperwork for the President-elect to sign.

Hucknall Triathlon

For the second year running, the Balanced Performance club organised the Hucknall Sprint Triathlon and asked the Rotary club of Hucknall to help with the marshalling of the cycle leg of the Triathlon. 

http://www.balancedperformance.org.uk/

The event was run under the British Triathlon Rules and consisted of a 400 m swim (in the pool at Hucknall Leisure Centre, an 18 km bicycle road race finishing with a 5 km run.

My point was marshalling a busy roundabout on Hucknall's Bypass.  There were several cyclists who nearly joined the race as it was difficult at times to work out who was competing and who wasm't.  However, once the cyclists were in vision, their competition number helped.

My stand was also the main road entrance/exit into Hucknall and and lot of vehicles were leaving Hucknall with pink rribbons on, and also with passengers dressed in pink as a Cancer Research Race for Life event was taking place in Nottingham. 

Congratulations to the Balance Performance Club for organising a great event and to all the atheletes for participating.

Down on the Farm

IPP Richard White arranged for a club visit to T. Hammonds and Sons.  The Hammonds family have been farming in Nottingham for over 100 years and have supported us on various projects we have undertaken with local primary schools.

Hammonds are part of a Nottingham group of farms under the banner of ‘Sherwood Produce’ who are a major supplier to all segments of the market with an annual group turnover of £20 million   (www.sherwoodproduce.co.uk) 

It was fascinating to learn how quick the produce is harvested, packed and within a small window, delivered to the supermarket warehouses ready for distribution on the shelves. 

Some of the produce grown on the farm  are   Cabbages, Spring Greens, Parsnips, Carrots, Onions , Potatoes, Leeks, Rhubarb, Beetroot.  The vegetable crops use an area that equates to 1650 football pitches! 

After touring the farm on a tractor, we enjoyed some excellent hospitality and fellowship provided by the Hammond family.  Thank you for a great evening.

Men's Health Week

The National Men’s Health Week runs from the 10^th to 16^th June and this year’s  themed week aims to tackle stigma in men’s mental health and promote mental well-being and help- seeking in men.   

The state of male health in the UK needs seriously addressing.  These following statistics are provided by the Men’s Health Forum (www.menshealthforum.org.uk):

• ·         Men visit the GP 20% less than women
• ·         Almost 100,000 men are dying prematurely (before 75 years) each year compared to about 66,000 women. 22% of men die before the age of 45
• ·         42% of men still die before the age of 75
• ·         Men are 70 per cent more likely than women to die from cancers common to both sexes and 60 per cent more likely to get these forms of the disease. 
• ·         76% of suicides are male
• ·         73% of adults who ‘go missing’ are male
• ·         On average in the UK, a man’s life expectancy is 7.5 years shorter than women.

As men, we don’t tend to seek any medical advice if we’re feeling unwell or down.  We put on a brave face and a stiff upper-lip.  We don’t cry or show our pain, especially to those closest to us.   We may be feeling ill, but in order not to cause worry for anyone else, we downplay how poorly we feel.   Sometimes, this leads to us being labelled as suffering from ‘Man Flu.’    If we have a bad health day, we may decide to ‘give it a day or two’ to see how we feel.  Even then, we don’t tend to seek medical guidance but readjust to coping with the pain.

It’s been proven again and again that early intervention is vital in the battle to cure and treat illness and disease.  Don’t jibe about your partner suffering ‘Man Flu’ but rather encourage him to see his Doctor.  My fellow men if you’re feeling off-colour, don’t feel that you will be wasting your GP’s time by making an appointment.  It’s always best to be certain and play safe rather than ignore the problem hoping that it disappears (because it never will).  Stay and keep healthy.