NOVEMBER - DECEMBER EVENTS

6 November St James Place Foundation
13 November 90th Anniversary of Armistice
15 November Swimathon
20 November John Ray District RYLA Officer
20 November Lions Quiz Evening 7.30
Barrington Theatre Ferndown (See News)
27 November Business Meeting
29 November 2008 District Council Meeting
4 December District Governor's Visit
11 December Meeting Cancelled
12 December Ladies Evening Christmas
Luncheon at Drucilla's
18 December Fellowship Christmas Luncheon
22,23,24 December Somerfield Collection

For later events, please see the Events page

Rotary Wives Events

4 December Rotary Wives Christmas Lunch at
Kings Head

Red indicates a programme change

The President's Jottings

October certainly turned out to be a busy month and I hope members have enjoyed all the activities as much as I have. Things got off to a flying start on the first weekend with the arrival of the GSE Team from District 4830 in Argentina. Bill Sharman and his team of volunteers were kept occupied looking after Mariela, Maria, Pablo, Carolina and their leader, Alfredo Monteverde, until they were delivered into the care of Southampton Rotary Club on the following Wednesday. The whole visit was judged a great success and Alfredo asked me to pass on their grateful thanks to all the Club members who had looked after them so well. More about all this from Bill Sharman.

Coinciding with the arrival of the GSE Team was our annual Craft Fair at the Allendale Community Centre. This was another very successful event which raised over £600, including nearly £200 in donations which will go to the Polio Plus campaign. And on top of all that, a group of stalwart members turned out early on the Sunday morning to marshal for one of Michelle Noble's Triathlons.

The following week there was only just time to fit in one of John Slow's riotous soirees at the Hub in Verwood (raising £500 for Club funds) before a party of us were off to Cardiff to join a thousand other Rotarians and partners for the District Conference. This too was a great success and as well as the serious issues raised by the speakers, we had a lot of fun. (See below for my conference report.)

Then there was a friendly skittles match against Ferndown (we lost - but only by 12 points), Bournemouth Club's 90th Anniversary lunch and finally a Group 1 meeting at the Springfield Country Hotel in Wareham.
And now it's all hands on deck for the Swimathon on 15th November.

Stephen

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital and most populous city in Wales (pop. 317,500), as well as being the county town of Glamorgan. Finding our way from the M4 to the Marriott Hotel proved to be a challenge for many of us, not helped by somewhat obscure instructions provided by the hotel and roadworks provided by the city council. Our satnav didn't help matters either by refusing to recognise the hotel's address - but we all got there in the end and more or less at the same time.
The Cardiff Marriott hotel proved to be ideal - welcoming, comfortable, with good food, plenty of parking and close to the conference venue at St David's Hall.
Delegates
There were about a thousand delegates and the Wimborne contingent comprised, myself, Phil Boobyer, Brian Dryden, Rex Hurdle, David Meaden, Bill Sharman, John Slow, Chris Slocock and our respective partners. Fifteen in all - not quite as many as some other clubs but a very respectable number nevertheless.
The Conference
DG Richard Maunder's theme for the conference was Peace. "Peace is possible" he said, "it is up to every one of us. We can make dreams real for all the world's children".

Speakers

After the DG had welcomed guests and delegates, it was the turn of the Lord Mayor, Councillor Kate Lloyd, to give a Civic Welcome and to wish us a very successful conference, adding that she hoped we would return to Cardiff another year. I suspect we might.
Throughout the three days - well three half days to be exact, we heard from a wide variety of interesting and informative speakers, including:
" Tony Hey CBE - Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Research. Tony told us of the 'Data Deluge' brought about by modern computer systems that was transforming science - 'Data Centric Science' in the latest terminology. It is hoped that this will help to provide solutions for problems such as global warming and aid medical research by making it easier for scientists to analyse data.

" Carol Marlow - the President and Managing Director of the Cunard Line, told us the story of the 169 year history of the company, from its first paddle steamer The Britannia which carried the Royal Mail across the Atlantic to its latest cruise liner The Victoria and soon to come, another Queen Elizabeth.

" Rtn Cyril Noitin - RI Representative to UNESCO. He explained UNESCOs Millennium Goals: to make the world a better place by improving health, education and sustainability. He also told us of RIs substantial role in the establishment of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation).

" PDG Norman Proctor - Representative of President of RIBI talked of challenge to maintain Rotary Service in difficult economic times and the challenge of achieving club citations.

" Malcolm Wells - from Canine Partners demonstrated just how much help a trained dog could give to a wheelchair bound person, from opening doors and picking up dropped objects, to helping a person to dress and undress. The three dogs he brought with him were the real stars of the presentation though.

" PDG Arne Kromann - Representative of President of RI reminded us of this year's RI theme "Make Dreams Real" with the emphasis on reducing child mortality. He commented on the successful support in District 1110 of ShelterBox, Aquabox, Shoebox and other overseas aid projects.

" GSE Team, District 4830, Argentina. The team presentation to Conference was polished and professional and demonstrated just how much people can develop in just a few weeks. Alfredo said that after all the kindness and friendship they had experienced, they would return home as ambassadors for the UK.

" Dr Simon Boxall from the National Oceanography Institute at Southampton University gave a talk entitled: Climate Change, Myths & Facts. He presented clear evidence of global warming and explained why scientists were almost certain that the man made rise in Co2 levels was responsible. He also showed why the oceans played such an important role in influencing the climate and how they were being monitored. Schools are being encouraged to participate in the monitoring exercise through a project called 'Young Eyes on the Oceans', a development of RIBI's Excitement of Science Project.

A District 1110 Environment event at the National Oceanography Centre is planned for 7th April 2009. Email wjg@noc.soton.ac.uk for further information.

" Gavin Smith - Rotaract Chairman spoke of how his desire to help others and to make new friends had been met through Rotaract. He told us of the charitable work they undertook and the fun they had while doing it.

" Jane Strother - Inner Wheel Chairman told us of her life-long involvement with Rotary and Inner Wheel as well as various charities. She is currently a volunteer working one day a week at Naomi House. Her joke about the potato sack exercise is worth hearing!
The three speakers who stood out most as far as I was concerned were
" Prof Mark Hanson - Director of the Institute of Developmental Sciences at Southampton University who talked of the ground breaking research being undertaken by his department into maternal nutrition and health and warned of the major personal and financial consequences for developing nations of obesity related disease, particularly diabetes.

In recognition of the importance of Prof Hanson's research, DG Richard Maunder presented him with a Paul Harris Fellowship.

" Scott Lang - Peace Scholar. Scott had interrupted his honeymoon to come and talk to us about the Rotary World Peace Scholar Programme. He is an amazing man who has dedicated his life to the cause of peace. He has an MA in Conflict Resolution from the Dept of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford (one of 7 Rotary peace programme centres around the world). During his Rotary World Peace Fellowship he led a research mission to Kosovo and participated in research in Palestine and Sri Lanka. Scott currently lives in Sarajevo where he is working on conflict resolution. He is soon to join the US Diplomatic Corps where he hopes to continue his work for peace.

and

" Roger Matthews, Head Teacher of Porchester Community School. He told how the school had developed a caring culture through their 'Rights Respect and Responsibilty' programme, coupled with the cultivation of international educational partnerships and unforgettably through their PanJazz project - a steel pan band called "Sounds of Steel".
We were also entertained by the Cantorion Creigiau Welsh Choir and by a very funny stand-up comedian called Bob 'The Cat' Bevan.
* * * * *
House of Friendship

There were thirty three stands in the House of Friendship including, of course, Rotary Business Partners, as well as ShelterBox, Wessex Autistic Society and a host of others.

Entertainment

The DG Richard Maunder's strap line for the weekend was 'The fun conference' and he and the organising committee certainly did their best to make sure it lived up its promise.
Friday evening included a pre-dinner drinks party for Wimborne Rotarians and partners hosted by Rosemary and myself in room 215. Several members had been at pains to remind me that it was 'traditional' for the President to entertain his club members in this way and it certainly got things off to a good start.
Later, entertainment on a rather larger scale was provided by the tribute group, Abba Arrival. This was a loud and lively affair and the scene of some very energetic dancing by members of the GSE team and others.
Saturday evening was the night of the Gala Dinner with cabaret entertainment provided by 'American Legends'. Dinner was followed by dancing to 'Old Dogz New Trix' although many decided to remain in the dining room and dance to 'American Legends'. Whichever people chose, it was a lot of fun with a real party atmosphere. To help us let our hair down, our tables were provided with funny hats, masks, party poppers, confetti guns and pea shooters which were all put to good use!
Excursions
As well as the conference sessions, there were opportunities to explore Cardiff and several excursions had been planned.
Cardiff Castle was within walking distance and many of us chose a visit to this historic site, dating back to Roman times. In the 18th century the castle passed into the hands of the Bute family and in the 19th century was transformed by the 3rd Earl into a 'Victorian fantasy', using his vast wealth from mining, railways and Cardiff docks.
A visit to the National Assembly building, the Senedd, designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership, was also very worthwhile. Although not as spectacular as the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh, at least it was completed on time and to budget, unlike its northern counterpart.
Tours of the Millennium Stadium were also available.

Next Year

The Torquay Conference will be held at the Riviera Centre from 16th to 18th October 2009 and if it as good as Cardiff, should not be missed.