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The quarterly newsletter of Worcester Vigornia Rotary
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The Breakfast Club Newsletter of Worcester Vigornia
Rotary Club – District 1100 -‐ RIBI
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Merry Christmas Everyone!
Contents Pink Breakfast .................................................................................................................... 4 Embracing Disability, Targeting Ability .............................................................................. 5 Viggie enjoys a beer ........................................................................................................... 6 Worcester Writers Read by Firelight .................................................................................. 6 Rotary Young Chef 2011/12 ............................................................................................... 7 Silly Short Jokes .................................................................................................................. 8 The Birth of a Motorbike Ambulance ................................................................................ 8 Skittles ................................................................................................................................ 12 Ghost Walk ......................................................................................................................... 12 Moroccan Evening ............................................................................................................. 12 Mayor visits Vigornia ......................................................................................................... 12 Jill Johnston – Foundation ................................................................................................. 14 Festival of Rotary at District Conference 2012 .................................................................. 14 Useful online links .............................................................................................................. 14 Brunch ................................................................................................................................ 14 Breakfast at Myriad ............................................................................................................ 15 Updated email addresses ................................................................................................... 15 RIBI President’s Visit .......................................................................................................... 15 GPS Challenge .................................................................................................................... 15 District 1100 Social Networking Event ............................................................................... 16 New Generations ............................................................................................................... 17 Rotary Club of Worcester Vigornia Programme ................................................................ 18 Vigornia Rotary says ‘Thank you and Merry Christmas’ to our sponsors .......................... 19
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Polly
says …
How well we work together when we have a project to focus upon. The work being done with Christmas Parcels this year is wonderful; the vast majority of Vigornians are getting stuck in.
Thank you.
Though I missed the Measure Charlie progressive supper it was great to see a demonstration of how Charles was measured at the next breakfast meeting.
Brilliant sunshine heralded the Inaugural GPS Challenge in October; practical advice and hands on demonstrations helped the teams to discover how easy using their SatNavs to find treasure can be, if still a
challenge! You’ll find an article about the day later in Vigornia Voice and there are contributions on other
activities that many of us have been involved in.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading Vigornia Voice and if you haven’t been mentioned by name please accept my thanks for all you do to make Worcester Vigornia so special. I know many of you have appreciated past events and think you will be pleased with many that are coming up.
Wake up with Vigornia, our regular social 1st, 3rd and 5th Wednesdays at The Lounge, is great as an ‘offline’ meeting over breakfast or just coffee and chat, without the hubbub of breakfast going on. As we have just an hour for our breakfast meetings 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, it can be a challenge to fit everything in, so the chance to sit and relax and get to know each other better is not to be missed, just roll up at around 8am as The Lounge is opening its doors.
A couple of disappointments for Vigornia recently, those of us who, in sound community spirit, offered to help out with the Poppy Appeal were surprised when only two of us were contacted; plans have
been put in place for earlier involvement next year, with thanks to Barbara. Following that, an electrical fault meant that Young Chef had to be postponed for a week. You’ll find the report for Young Chef in this edition.
There is good news too! All of our New Generations
Competitions (previously Youth Opportunities) have been well received by schools and colleges and we have competitors for each of them. More good news, following our Measure Charlie, GPS Challenge, Pink Breakfast and Gothic Horror Halloween, all fundraisers for the Breast Unit, a cheque for £1,000.00 was presented to Steven Thrush at our 9 November breakfast meeting.
Nothing yet from the Olympics Committee with regard to our nominated Torchbearers, I’ll keep you in the loop.
The Foundation committee are encouraging our support for the Nutritional Gardens project and joining with Worcester Severn on their Zambia project, which will involve working with them at a fashion show in March 2012.
Mandie and Judy take the measure of Charles
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We’re looking forward to several events; I won’t list them here as you receive updates to our programme regularly by email. Keep an eye on your emails, 97% of us said it was the preferred method of communication, if you scan them you won’t miss anything.
Vigornia is still searching for that fabulous idea for an annual fundraising event to swell the coffers for our nominated charity – if you have a bright idea for a fundraising event, or you see something elsewhere and think it might be for us, please let me know. Once again, my thanks to all those of you who do so much behind the scenes for our activities, from grating cheese to working out co-‐ordinates, Vigornia is the richer for each one of you.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Pink Breakfast
We had a great time at our pink breakfast in aid of the
Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign and with the auction, ably conducted by our own Charles Robinson, made around £200.00 for this worthy cause.
Christmas Parcels 2011 By Ali Chambers
Christmas Parcels has been an annual Rotary Club event for over 40 years. Started by Worcester Rotary Club and joined by other clubs as they formed, this is the largest local project undertaken by all 5 Worcester Clubs. Around 150 Rotarians deliver approximately 1000 parcels to people in need in Worcester. The project requires no financial outlay just your time. The benefits of being part of this high profile project are so rewarding. Worcester residents now expect a bag through their door to fill with produce that will be collected the following week. Even they know the drill. I have been involved in ‘Parcels’ over many years. I can share many stories that express why I am passionate about this project that I urge you all to be a part of it this year. Seeing is believing. You can be an armchair supporter of any sport but to go to the stadium and be
a part of the atmosphere and say,” I was there”, is something else.
This year, however, is slightly different for Vigornia. We are the Lead Club and on the sorting day, all eyes will be on us to make this process a success. It will be all hands to the pump at Sixways that weekend with a variety of operational activities requiring member involvement.
Please support this project, be there. Supporting Rotary and those in need in Worcester. The dates and details of where you can be a part of Christmas Parcels 2011 are listed on the next page.
Mandie and Celia get ready for collecting with Christmas Parcel bags
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Embracing Disability, Targeting Ability By Sue Fitzjohn
Our Speaker Jill Bartels at the meeting on 27 October was an inspiration. Her talk made me want to
find out more about her challenge so initially I contacted her sponsor Evesham Rotary and discovered that the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST) has RIBI support. Indeed Rotarians have played a significant role in bringing the JST experience to many people during nearly 20 years of partnership. This partnership is greatly valued by
JST who recognise the contribution that Rotary has made to the Trust over the years.
To date almost 800 Rotary Clubs have helped to make lives brighter by supporting and enabling people to sail on board the JST's two Tall Ships, Lord Nelson and Tenacious. Jill’s story started with her early years when she had worked very hard as a nurse in a vocation that was stretched to the limit. Suddenly she had a brain haemorrhage. Jill spent the next five months in hospital
before returning home to learn to live with greatly reduced speech and restricted movement down her right side. She started to attend the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) services in Evesham where she began to regain her confidence.
Unbelievable Jill was then diagnosed with a brain tumour for which she received treatment in Birmingham. Followed by an eventual return to ABI services where she took several rehabilitation courses. One day a Rotarian from Evesham club went to ABI services looking for disabled
people who would join an able and disabled crew on board the 200ft square rigged sailing vessel ‘Tenacious’.
Jill had loved the sea and sailing before her illness so she agreed to be sponsored by Evesham Rotary and joined the ship
in Southampton. She spoke of the team spirit and camaraderie between the able bodied and disabled crew but then told us what she had
Christmas Parcels
Date Time Task Place
November 26 10:00 – 15:00
Christmas puddings
The Guildhall
November 26-‐27 10:00 – 17:00
Food and money collection
St Peter’s Garden Centre
December 4 10:00 – 11:00
Distribute bags to houses
Given addresses
December 11 10:00 – 12:00
Collect bags from houses
Warndon area
December 10 – 11
10.00 – 4.00
Lead Club sortation activities
Worcester Rugby Football Ground (Sixways)
December 11 10:30 onwards
Sort bags / collect made up bags for delivery
Worcester Rugby Football Club (Sixways)
December 11 to Christmas eve
To suit Deliver a small number of bags to those in need in Worcester
Given addresses
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achieved. She painted an imaginative picture of being alone on the bridge at night in charge of the ship with the sails flapping around her. We were amazed when Jill quietly explained how she had been encouraged to climb to the top of the rigging. The bosun by her side guiding her weak arm and leg every step of the way. A challenge for the able bodied but bravely achieved by Jill thanks to Evesham Rotary who by sponsoring her had made a real difference to Jill’s life. They gave her the opportunity of experiencing living in a very challenging environment well outside her comfort zone and where her assumptions about herself and her abilities were truly tested.
After sponsoring Jill on a voyage a visit was later arranged for members of Evesham Rotary to volunteer for three days on the Tenacious in Southampton Dock. They slept and ate on board working with the crew to maintain the duckboards, paint woodwork, undertake general repairs in addition to cooking and washing-‐up in the galley. The highlight of each day was ‘Happy Hour’ at 17.30 when they cleaned the toilets and made the beds. It was apparently a great experience serving and working alongside
the crew. The final day they paid to become guests for a day during Cowes Week when they experienced sailing under the 21 sails of this 586 ton, Class A Tall Ship.
Viggie enjoys a beer
Worcester Writers Read by Firelight Gothic Horror Halloween took place Monday 31 October. Vigornia Rotary joined with the gothic horror, sci-‐fi and fantasy writers’ club '42' who asked writers to read their spooky stories and terrifying tales
around the camp fire at an open mic session.
A very respectable £280 was raised for The Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign and 42 people attended!
Polly’s husband, Geoff suggested the idea for a Gothic Horror Halloween night following the Vigornia Summer Party in June; the idea was for
an event to run in conjunction with ‘42’ our local gothic horror, sci-‐fi and fantasy writers’ group. We are delighted to say it
proved to be a partnership that worked
exceptionally well. Chris Bennion of Worcester Music Festival generously allowed the use of his sound equipment, and
Johnny Thunder reads his poetry
Sue Fitzjohn as a vampire
Suz Winspear reads her spooky story
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the writers’ and performers of ‘42’ rose to the occasion so wonderfully that the event was oversubscribed! Much material had to be held back for future events. The same thing happened when the BBC Hereford and Worcester ‘Howard Bentham Show’ requested contributions for the presentation of ghostly stories for Halloween: so much work was put forward that they could only use a small selection. This is typical of the talent and enthusiasm of Worcester writers. There was a formidable degree of writing and performing talent, truly a name check of the exceptionally gifted!
John Taylor, of Worcester ‘42’, has been a solid support since ‘42’ started earlier this year, running the PA and contributing excellent work to the events in his own right as a writer. John could not have picked up a more complicated 42 in which to start his tenure: an open air event, by a campfire, in winter, with the biggest bill of performers staged since ‘42’s inception. But with his natural confidence and experience as an old hand with the Worcester Music Festival, he carried it off effortlessly.
Glenn James, co-‐founder of ‘42’ said ‘We are exceptionally proud of an extremely well
staged evening, and we're really chuffed that everyone had such a great time’.
Polly Robinson, president of Vigornia Rotary, said ‘It was great to have such talented performers at the event; passionate poems, scary stories and terrifying tales – spooky stuff! It was so successful, we plan to have an open mic evening again next year’.
Rotary Young Chef 2011/12 Rotary Young Chef has started again and the Worcester heat was held at the Worcester College of Technology on Wednesday 9th November and was hosted by the Rotary Club of Worcester Vigornia. As in previous years the entrants had to cook and serve a healthy two course meal for two for under £12.00.
The competition should have taken place the previous week, but an electrical fault meant that it had to be postponed and subsequently 2 candidates had to drop out.
On the night we had 6 entrants from local Worcester Schools representing the Chantry, Christopher Whitehead
Language College, Blessed Edward Oldcorne and Bishop Perowne.
The judging was based around the menu choice, they worked and the skills used the presentation of the table and the look and taste of the dishes. The judges on the night were Polly Robinson, President of The Rotary Club of Worcester Vigornia, Neil Tabram Head of Catering at Worcester College of Technology and Rotarian Lucy Hodgson.
As in previous years the judges were most impressed with the standard of food cooked on the night and the skills used by the entrants. After careful deliberation the top three were decided.
In third place, Tom Clark from Christopher Whitehead Language College. Tom’s menu: Pan fried sea bass fillets on a bed a seasonal vegetables Lemon and mascarpone cheese cake
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Second Place was Ellie Burgoyne from The Chantry School. Ellie’s menu: Pan fried sesame seed coated chicken Duchess potatoes Baby carrots Green beans Hollandaise sauce Lemon mousse and raspberry coulis
First Place was awarded to Daniel Foster from Christopher Whitehead Language College. Dan’s menu: Stuffed chicken wrapped in Parma ham Baby carrots New potatoes Stuffed cabbage parcels Eve’s pudding Citrus sauce
Daniel won £50.00 for himself and £50.00 for the food technology department at
Christopher Whitehead Language College. As the successful winner he will now go forward to the next level of the competition, which will be held in the New Year.
Thank you to Sue and the C&PR sotto voce team for a brilliant publication that follows our breakfast meetings – just the job as a reminder of forthcoming events and what went on at the meeting .
Silly Short Jokes What do you call a pig that does karate? A pork chop. What happens when frogs park illegally? They get toad. What kind of cats like to go bowling? Alley cats.
The Birth of a Motorbike Ambulance By Celia Gardner
The Proposal
In September 2009 I visited the Rotary Club of Bwalia in Lilongwe in Malawi. I had visited Malawi two years previously but this was before I was a Rotarian. At the meeting
the President, Michael Khumani asked me to reflect on the changes I had experienced since my previous visit. I had seen great improvement from the government in that it now required all children to be born in the clinics so that they could be registered but in positively discouraging the traditional midwives from assisting with deliveries the overstretched resources of the clinics meant that mortality rates were increasing as women couldn’t get to the clinics on time.
Before I left Malawi President Khumani and Tim Mahoney met with me and a proposal was made – why couldn’t we work together to purchase a motorbike ambulance for the clinic in the area where I had been visiting? This clinic has one nurse working 24/7 delivering over 100 babies each month as well as covering out-‐patient clinics and general nursing. If a mother/baby got into difficulties an ambulance could be called from the City Hospital but this could take days to arrive by which time it was too late. There were a number of medical assistants (health care workers) and they visited the outlying villages and could be trained to use the motorbike ambulance.
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The Marriage Contract
When I returned to my club – Worcester Vigornia – and outlined the proposal the response was a resounding yes. I then visited the other clubs in Worcester and three others signed up to the contract (Worcester, Worcester South and Worcester Wychavon). An application was made to District 1100 for a simplified grant of £1,500 towards the total cost of US$6000. Each Club donated £500 with Vigornia topping up. Spares, tools and transport would be provided by a personal donor.
When I returned to visit the Rotary Club of Bwalia in 2010 they confirmed their support and appointed Rotarian Gift Dulla to arrange for the motorbike ambulance to be registered with the health authorities so that they would cover fuel etc.
Conception
An order was placed with E-‐Ranger in the UK and forwarded to their South African manufacturing factory.
Midwife
DHL was chosen as the delivery agent. Owing to the Horn of Africa crisis they were delayed in
collecting the motorbike ambulance but plenty of time was allowed for the road transport to Malawi.
Near Miscarriage
We nearly had a calamity. The wooden crate was broken and the motorbike ambulance was moving within the structure. Fortunately the manufacturers were prepared to pay for the recrating and the journey continued.
Expected Date of Delivery
All arrangements were made for the delivery to take place before 10 September when the Traditional Chiefs and the Local Medical Officer would be present for the handing over of the motorbike ambulance at Mbabvi Clinic.
The Pains Start
I arrived in Malawi on 31 August and went directly to the Rotary meeting at Bwalia in Lilongwe. The motorbike ambulance had not arrived at its delivery address. By Monday 5 September it had been located in Harare in Zambia. Each day the anxiety mounted – would it arrive in time for the handover on 10 September?
Safe Delivery
On 10 September it arrived at the bond warehouse in Lilongwe but couldn’t be released. The handover was postponed until the Monday. On Monday 12 September I saw the motorbike ambulance in its crate in the bond warehouse but it couldn’t be unpacked until the officials had finished the clearance procedures. A small handover ceremony took place in the warehouse with Rotarian Gift Dulla. I went to the clinic and explained to the assembled Chiefs what had happened and that the ceremony would take place on Friday 16 September.
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Christening
With minutes to spare before I flew back to the UK on Tuesday 13 September a short hand-‐over ceremony took place with IPP Rotarian Prakash Kamath and Rotarian Gift Dulla and the Worcester Vigornian mascot (Viggie Vole) on the top-‐right corner of the crate. They undertook to ensure that the motorbike ambulance would be delivered and that the Rotary sign would be prominently displayed in all the publicity that would surround the ceremony.
Was it worth it?
Oh yes. Even though I couldn’t see the final stages of its birth I know that the motorbike ambulance will play a vital part in the healthcare provision for the villages served by the Mbabvi clinic. The Chiefs
have undertaken to ensure that it is used properly and the Rotarians from Bwalia Rotary Club have now made close links with the clinic and I am sure they will visit.
Would I do it again?
Every mother says immediately after giving birth that they would never do it again – if they kept to their word then the population would decrease dramatically – so time will tell.
Why did I want to become a Rotarian? By Lee Parker
Five weeks of proving my readiness to become a Rotarian, a couple of weeks ago marked my final week as a Rotary guest. Sponsored by Sue Fitzjohn, I was honoured to become a new member of the Rotary Club – Worcester Vigornia. I’m usually a little impatient when it comes to getting something that I want, so these five weeks have seemed almost interminable as I waited to join this special group of people. While reflecting on the journey, I realized that although it felt long at times, it actually turned out to be some of the greatest weeks of my life! I’ve attended meetings every other Wednesday, and for those meetings, I have learned new and wonderful things, and I have met some amazing people. I have witnessed first-‐hand what it means to put Service above Self.
I’ve met many Rotarians over the years that proudly wear their “Rotarian badge.” I often tried to put my finger on exactly what made Rotarians different and why their passion for service was such an integral part of their persona. During meetings or networking events those Rotarians that I would meet often talked about subjects that made others (including me) uncomfortable—sick children, illness, injustice throughout the world.
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These were not the sorts of topics you’d like to talk about at the water-‐cooler on a Monday or over breakfast at a networking event on a Wednesday. These individuals did, though, and they managed to intertwine their passion for Rotary into those conversations, even at times when it was hard to see the link. During the past five weeks, I’ve discovered that link. The link is called service, and there is always a place for it in all of our lives.
In a day and age when we’re barraged with messages of “me, myself and I,” it’s easy to lose sight of the others who are so much worse off than we are. We manage to justify reasons to look the other way, but Rotarians don’t! I’d venture to guess that the vast majority of Rotarians find it incredibly difficult to look the other way.
Rotarians are different. They find a way to make time when it seems as if there isn’t one more second to give. They
welcome new members, and they remember the hearts and struggles of those they’ve known for years. I’ve served on countless committees, boards and agencies. I’ve been involved in running groups, youth support groups and I have sat with parents who have special needs children they just can’t handle. I’ve seen business owners open their doors and felt the pain of families who lost jobs or had to move. I’ve never met people like Rotarians. They do not stop to ask “why” or “what will I get out of it?” They just give, share, listen, and use their knowledge, influence, education and compassion to do the right thing.
So after understanding the cause I searched for my local Rotary club. After watching several videos and communicating with Sue I attended my first breakfast meeting. From the second I walked in, I was blown away. The room was full of successful people who have made fantastic careers for themselves, but that was not their commonality. Beneath the name badges of directors, business owners, doctors, Presidents, CEO’s, CFO’s, lawyers, teachers and council members, were people who manage projects such as raising funds for Worcestershire Breast Unit, bringing much-‐needed support through Christmas parcels and eradicating Polio… in their spare time!
A couple of weeks ago I attended a district meeting with Sue, Polly, Kathy and Linda. I felt it would be a fantastic opportunity to meet other new members; current members and listen to the RIBI president share their experiences of Rotary. Sue also asked me to say a few words regarding my SMART card idea focussing on helping school and college leavers with interview advice. But little did I know someone had been busy behind the scenes and I was to be inducted that night by RIBI President Burman! Well as you can imagine as soon as I found this out on top of my pre-‐speech nerves I was shaking like a leaf.
Welcome to Rotary Low and behold the evening went swimmingly and having a few moments to speak with President Burman re-‐iterates all the comments I have made
Lee Parker at his Rotary induction with RIBI President Burman
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about Rotarians above. Extremely inspired and motivated by what each and every one of you do on a daily basis.
So why did I want to become a Rotarian? Sure, I cannot tell a lie—the breakfast is the best meal I eat all week, but you are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. I am humbled, honoured and so very excited to become a Rotarian and if I can offer just a glimmer of what you all offer as individuals it would be a privilege. Rotary Worcester Vigornia is not only life-‐changing but it is also changing lives.
Skittles
Here’s the evidence – some Vigornians can play skittles – and some have off days!
Ghost Walk By Lance Turner
Twenty-‐two intrepid Rotarians and guests braved the spirit world on the 7th October, for the Historic Ghost Walk of Worcester. The ghost of 'Ron Hengelore' guided us around numerous churches with stories to tell… eerie cells under
The Guildhall… debauchery in CrownGate… executions in the Cornmarket… death by burning in Friar Street… wild bears and Civil War carnage near the Cathedral… and a welcome glass of mulled wine at The Commandery to finish. About half of
the group then headed off for evening meal and drinks at Pizza Express.
Keep your eyes peeled for the second planned dungeon experience to continue the theme in the spring of next year.
Moroccan Evening John Gibson and Celia Gardner organised a Moroccan evening for Vigornians and guests. All enjoyed the evening and there was fabulous food put on by chef Karim who told us that his mother’s cooking is a huge influence.
Mayor visits Vigornia Mayor of Worcester, Mayor Cllr Dr David Tibbutt, enjoyed breakfast with Vigornia Rotarians and told them about
the three charities he is supporting in his year and about some of the things he has learned of our city in the time he’s held office, for example, there has been a find in the basement of the Guildhall, a Bible of 300+ years old that is to be restored, which is bound in turkey skin. An interesting and informative talk with some humorous touches enthralled Vigornians and their guests.
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Jill Johnston – Foundation
District Foundation Officer, Jill Johnson, joined us for breakfast in November,
Rotary Foundation Month. Jill endorsed much of what John Gibson had been telling us about over the past few months and clarified how Foundation works. It is a complex area that sometimes takes working at to understand, but, Jill said, it’s worth it because Rotary Foundation does so much good in the World, for example, the End Polio Now campaign, Group Study Exchange, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and all of the New Generation (previously referred to as Youth Opportunities) competitions that Vigornia has been involved with since the club began.
Festival of Rotary at District Conference 2012 David Wells of Bristol Breakfast requires help with "The Festival of Rotary", the Sunday event at District Conference in Bristol 2012. From feedback received it promises to be a truly
momentous event and you can take part in it by being a member of David's Team to achieve that success. David says, "I cannot do all of this single-‐handed and any Rotarian who can help in whatever way would be most welcome. The Festival will be a very big event and we want helpers to make it a great success". If you have the time and ability and would like to help David please get in touch by email [email protected] David would like to hear from you.
Useful online links Vigornia Website: www.worcester-‐vigornia.org.uk
District 1100 Website: www.rotary-‐ribi.org/districts/homepage.asp?DistrictNo=1100
Vigornia Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-‐Club-‐of-‐Worcester-‐Vigornia/200547053290885
District 1100 Facebook: www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_201823213187008
Brunch By Denise Mylechreest
Brunch? – a traditional breakfast menu eaten around lunch time
The idea of holding a ‘brunch’ was that it should be a leisurely social occasion where Rotarians and friends could get together and enjoy a meal at a later hour of the day than usual.
‘Special invitations’ were sent to other breakfast Clubs in District 1100 who might like an opportunity to meet other early bird Rotarians. Other Rotarians who find it difficult even to contemplate the idea of a breakfast time meeting were also invited. An Edwardian/Downtonesque menu was ordered including such dishes as devilled kidneys, kedgeree and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon to add flavour to the occasion.
On Sunday, October 23rd Rotarians from our mother Club Worcester, from Worcester South and Colwall Rotary Clubs, and friends and members of Worcester Lions and Worcester Tangent, joined
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Vigornians at the Brook Bank House Hotel, Bransford. District Governor, Martin Greaves from Severn Vale was the sole representative from another breakfast Club!
The chef rose to the challenge and did us proud with his buffet breakfast which was constantly replenished. When I asked Stella Hewitt of Canine Partners to speak I was confident about was that she would hold everyone’s attention. An ex-‐primary schoolteacher, Stella’s life was completely changed by a serious car accident, which left her dependant on a succession of carers. She spoke movingly of how her dog Jenson had come to her rescue. Trained to assist her in all aspects of her life, Jenson helps Stella with dressing, putting washing on the line, shopping and posting letters and preparing for bedtime. They are a partnership continually developing new methods of working together. Stella now travels widely, with Jenson, to functions such as ours to publicise the work of Canine Partners training dogs, and their partners, to live independent lives.
We were pleased to make a donation from the proceeds of the brunch to Canine Partners and to the Worcestershire Breast Care Unit. As a
postscript, we made £42 for End Polio Now by holding a ‘sweep’ on the total number of millimetres Tiptree Tomato Sauce consumed at the brunch – the prize? … 3 more bottles of Tomato sauce!!
Breakfast at Myriad
A wonderful welcome and a buffet breakfast awaited us on our return to The Myriad Centre to see Friend of Rotary, Maggie Allan, Centre Director. This centre, a charity which provides highly specialist day care for young adults from all over the county who have profound and multiple disabilities, does amazing work in supporting young people.
Updated email addresses The following Vigornians have updated their email addresses:
Lee Gough: [email protected]
Trevor Lloyd-‐Adams: [email protected]
.uk
Lee Parker: [email protected]
RIBI President’s Visit All five Worcester Rotary Club
Presidents got together to organise an afternoon and evening with RIBI President Burman. Every Worcester Club and many from District were represented at an enjoyable night. RIBI President Burman agreed to provide a Foreword for our Recipe Book.
GPS Challenge What a great way to use today’s technologies! The brainchild of Rtn Steve Hunt of Worcester Vigornia Rotary Club in District 1100, what started off as ‘let’s have a treasure hunt’ was soon ‘let’s do it differently’ and before
Vigornians enjoy breakfast at The Myriad Centre
LR Mike Sheppard (Wychavon), Anne Pooley (Worcester), Allan Scrafton (Severn), Polly Robinson (Vigornia), John Prosser (South) with RIBI President Burman
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we knew it the first Vigornia GPS Challenge was launched.
A team of six Vigornians had a great time hiding caches (boxes) in the wonderful Worcestershire countryside, noting GPS coordinates, checking and rechecking them.
Logistics expert, Rtn Stephen Hodgson, created a matrix working out routes and mileage so that all was fair to the teams who would drive out to find the caches. Each cache concealed small items to swap and a logbook to be signed. On the day, 1 October 2011, with the aid of GPS devices,
ie SatNavs or smart phones, coordinates were given and Rotarians, friends and families set off on a treasure hunt with a twist: caching.
Before the event a ten minute introduction to using GPS devices to find locations using coordinates, eg N52°10.110 W2°17.293, was followed by practical demonstrations in cars; health and safety was covered and Vigornia GPS Challenge handbooks given out. A stall selling small novel items for cache swaps
added to the fun as did the list of natural items to find such as leaves, feathers, seeds and so on. Base for the day was the excellent
Bear and Ragged Staff pub in rural Worcestershire; they offered bacon butties and other refreshments throughout the day and a comprehensive menu for those who stayed to dine.
We encouraged four or more to share a car so that those without their own GPS device could be with those who did. Once a cache was found, text messaging was used to advise the next cache coordinates, and off they set again!
Prizes were given for best mileage, best-‐dressed car, best examples from the natural finds list, most litter picked (rubbish bags and gloves were supplied in advance), and of course there was a booby prize.
Overall winners were the Swindon e’s who said ‘A fantastic day
travelling the local roads surrounding Worcester … laughing when we were looking in the wrong places … excellent fellowship and fun’. Only one team had to be ‘rescued’ by Rtn Lucy Hodgson and they said how much easier caching was than they expected, but that ‘challenge’ was a good word!
Vigornia’s stand at ‘The Festival of Rotary’ will show how a GPS event works; there’s sure to be a whole lot of caching going on!
If you would like to set up a GPS event, let the Vigornia team know, they would be pleased to come along and show you the ropes for a donation to The Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign.
Vigornia’s next GPS Challenge is planned for Sunday 11 March 2012 – again, all welcome and all proceeds will go to the Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign.
District 1100 Social Networking Event A group of online Rotarians joined together to help other Rotarians who wanted to know more about social networking. Worcester Sixth Form College kindly allowed us to use one of their resource centres and the PCs, so, armed with passwords, a group formed to share ideas and advice. Questions arose such as:
The Humphreyes family get ready to cache
Rtn Stephen Hodgson works on the matrix
Swindon e’s won the day
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How much time does social networking take?
How can Rotary use it and what are the benefits?
How are clubs using LinkedIn and Twitter to recruit, motivate and retain members?
How have clubs responded to concerns about the security and privacy of Facebook?
These questions and many more were addressed during an informal, relaxed and enjoyable evening of sharing good practice in social networking.
New Generations A sub-‐committee has been formed to cover New Generations (previously Youth Opportunities). Each competition has potential cross-‐over of information. We have promoted three new (to us) youth competitions this year and we are delighted to report that each one of them has received entries into the competition. Our repertoire for New Generations now includes: Rotary Youth Leadership Awards; Young Chef; Young Citizen; Young Photographer; Young Writer and we shall be discussing entries for RIBI
Technology Tournaments early next year.
This should cheer you all up. Ingenious!
How the Greek
economy bailout works: "It is a slow day in a little Greek Village. The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmers' Co-‐op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the
tavern. The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him “services” on credit. The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note. The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town. No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism. And that, is how the bailout package works."
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Rotary Club of Worcester Vigornia Programme
December 2011 Family Month
December 11 Christmas parcels bag collection, sort and deliver
December 12 C&PR committee meeting
December 12 District Skittles – The Alma
December 14 Breakfast – Special Meeting – Club accounts / progress review
December 14 Membership committee meeting
December 14 Foundation committee meeting
December 19 Admin committee meeting
December 21 Christmas breakfast – invite friends and family – Worcester Racecourse
December 28 No meeting – Merry Christmas!
December Young Photographer / Young Writer / Young Citizen competitions
January 2012 Rotary Awareness Month
January 9 Council meeting
January 10 District meeting – 19:30 – venue TBC
January 11 Breakfast – business meeting – Speaker Tim Mason – eClub
January 11 Foundation committee meeting
January 12 Service Projects committee meeting
January 13 Digby Jones – Worcester Breast Unit Fundraiser
January 16 Admin committee meeting
January 16 C&PR committee meeting
January 17 District Skittles – TBA
January 21 Fundraiser – Treasurer – The Big Quiz
January 25 Breakfast – Speaker: Brian Ely ‘Precious Metals’
January 25 Membership committee meeting
January Young Photographer / Young Writer / Young Citizen competitions
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Vigornia Rotary says ‘Thank you and Merry Christmas’ to our sponsors
Sponsors of Vigornia Voice
Click on the images to go to the websites
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‘A picture paints a thousand words’ … and so does a diagram
We’re all looking forward to seeing Digby Jones, Friday 13 January at Sixways – book your tickets now – don’t miss this wonderful event for the Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign.
