March 2021 Magazine - Issue 168

News and views

Rotary Club of Gloucester Severn

www.gloucestersevern.rotary1100.org

March 2021

Issue 168

Jeff’s Jottings

I must start by expressing my sympathies to
Denise, Wendy and Mike for their losses in the
last few weeks. My thoughts are with them all as,
I am sure, are yours. I have been in touch and
offered our help and support should they need
anything. John, Trevor and Maggie will be sadly
missed.

There is not much else to report. Face-to-face
meetings at the hotel seem a long way away. It
appears to me that the Government are working
to toward virtual zero infection rate before we get
back to normality which is why they are floating the
July date for this. I just wish they would say what
the plan is, because each week things seem to change. Hopefully things will be clearer
soon, but I have my doubts somehow.

In the interim, Bob is doing a sterling job with our fortnightly zoom meetings.
Attendance has been reasonable considering the circumstances with thirty-four people
there last night to listen to Martin Surl. We talked afterwards about the possibility of
a virtual wine tasting event, which Simon and Bob are going to research.

There will be no fund-raising per se in my year as the decision has been made to hold
the sponsored walk after Roger takes over. There was some carry-over of monies from
last year and, in addition, Denise and Mike have very kindly offered the donations made
in memory of John and Maggie to our charity account. This has given us some funds
to dispense, but the amounts are greatly reduced. Most donations are to local charities,
but we will consider international ones if the need arises. My thanks to John B, Peter
B and Richard A for keeping on top of this.

Both Richard C and I are receiving material from District and RI which we distribute as
necessary. Richard is keeping well on top of all the admin as usual.

There is nothing to report on sports and social, as you would expect. Planning for the
sponsored walk is well advanced and has the support of Council and Club. I believe,
also, that the response from members with offers of help and support on the day has
been very good. I am pleased about that.

I hope that you are all finding things to do. Perhaps some of us will be allowed back
on the golf courses in March, although the weather is not helping in that respect at the
moment. I need something in respect of socialising - there is only so much killer Sudoku
that one can do! And perhaps I ought to try jigsaws when I get bored with crosswords.

I am doing quite a lot of volunteer work with CGL either by zoom or by telephone and

this is keeping me reasonably occupied. In addition, many in Upton will know that I am

surveying and mapping their churchyard. There are over 6,000 people buried there,

dating back to 1540. I doubt I will find them all! Continued on page 8

Our cover photograph shows Roger Hart starting out on his marathon fundraising walk
-2-

Duncan Lord

What Computers Can Do

30 September 2020

D uncan gave a very interesting talk which
initially detailed the dozens of functions
that the modern computer can perform in

both domestic and professional commercial

UNIVAC settings and the various data storage devices

upon which it was held. He then told us a bit

about the support service that he offers to his customers today before moving on to

outline the history of computing.

He started with the abacus (known as early as 3500 BC)

before moving on to Napier’s Bones (1617), the Difference

Engine (the first automatic calculating machine invented

by Charles Babbage in 1822) and Ada Lovelace (Lord

Byron’s daughter and recognised as the first computer

programmer, who introduced the use of binary notation

in the 1840s). Herman Hollerith came up with punched

card machines in the 1890s, which were the first flexible

data sorting devices. As computers began to be developed

the punched card found a new use - as their principal data

input medium, a function that continued into the 1970s. Ada Lovelace

Electronic computers began to emerge in the 1940s. The Harvard Mk I was one of the

first and was huge – over 50 ft long, 8 ft high and weighing

in at over 4 tons! Duncan moved on to describe the

capabilities of some of the early machines with names

such as ENIAC and UNIVAC before moving on to tell us

about the DEC PDP-1, the first minicomputer which was

introduced in 1963 and used transistors and diodes

rather than vacuum tubes.

We then learned about the Altair 8800: introduced in

1974 and the first microcomputer. It was followed in

1977 by the highly successful Apple II, whose final

Altair 8800 incarnation only ceased production in 1993.

The next section of Duncan’s talk was almost a vocational as it was

way-marked by the make and capabilities of computer which he

was working with at each stage of his professional life.

These involved the Apple and the BBC Micro followed by his time
working at Bang & Olufsen using IBM and Toshiba equipment. He
rounded off his splendid talk by highlighting the vast increase in
capacity and capability between the Toshiba of 1986 and an
over-the-counter Dell PC of 2020 before concluding by telling us
about his new Catseye computer that he has mounted on his
bicycle! Thank you, Duncan.

Roger Hart Apple II

-3-

Nick Rowles

The Shetland Bus

14 October 2020

N ick was warmly welcomed back to speak to his
old friends at the Club. This time his subject was
“The Shetland Bus” following a holiday with Libby in
the Shetland Isles.

Aided by a number of photographs and some
interesting statistics, Nick brought the island to life
for those of us who hadn’t visited.

The Shetland Islands lie some 110 miles from the
Scottish mainland and 190 miles west of Norway.
There are over a hundred islands of which sixteen are
inhabited. Lerwick on the largest island (“Mainland”)
is the capital with a population of 7,500 out of a total of 23,000. Being so far north, a
period in the summer when nineteen hours of daily sunshine have been known is paid
for in the winter when there are fewer than six hours of daylight.

Nick was pleased to tick off a visit to Muckle

Flugga, the northernmost point of the British

Isles. The tour also included the Jarlshof

Prehistoric and Norse settlements, one of the

most important archaeological sites in

Scotland. This site is a complex of ancient

settlements near the southern tip of Mainland

which cover more than 4,000 years of human

history. Archaeological treasures abound

including Neolithic houses, a Bronze Age

village and a Norse Longhouse. One of the original “buses”

Interestingly, in the 2014 referendum on Scottish

independence from the UK, Shetland voted to

remain in the UK by the third largest margin of the

32 local authority areas, by 64% to 36%.

Turning to “The Shetland Bus”, Nick played a short
video (accessible on YouTube) which explained
that this was the nickname of a clandestine special
operations group that made a permanent link
between Mainland from 1941 until the surrender
of Nazi Germany on 8 May 1945. The unit was
based in Scalloway for most of the time and was
operated initially by a large number of small fishing
boats, later augmented by three fast and
well-armed submarine chasers supplied by the
Americans.

The Shetland Bus Memorial

-4-

Crossings were mostly made during the
winter under the cover of darkness,
carrying specialist personnel, weaponry,
explosives and refugees. This meant the
crews and passengers had to endure very
heavy North Sea conditions, with no lights
and constant risk of discovery by German
aircraft or patrol boats. There was also
the possibility of being captured whilst
carrying out the missions on the
Norwegian coast.

Detail of the top of the Memorial These were amazing feats of endurance

and courage of which many of us listening

were unaware. They were all the more incredible as the Bus was crewed by volunteer

Norwegian fishermen and not by enlisted men. These volunteers were able to establish

an astonishingly successful organisation supporting the Resistance behind enemy lines

and effectively helping to tie up 300,000 German troops that could have been more

usefully employed elsewhere in the main battlegrounds of World War II.

This huge contribution to the war effort came at a heavy cost as sadly 44 crewmen lost
their lives on the 210 completed missions.

A stone memorial to the 44 crewmen who gave their lives to this cause stands beside
the dedicated museum in Scalloway. The memorial supports a model of one of the
fishing boats used in the Shetland Bus operation.

Nick had joined us via Zoom from his home in Wadebridge. It is one of the good features
of video conferencing that an old friend can entertain us from the depths of Cornwall
without having to make a lengthy round trip.

Mike Frost

We were very pleased to welcome District
Governor Chris Firth and his virtual “minder”
Richard Everitt, President of the Royal
Wootton Bassett & District club, to our Zoom
meeting about the Shetland Bus.
Chris spoke to us briefly before Nick’s
presentation and said that District
membership had been down by 60 at the start
of the year but that it was now growing
again, largely due to the inventive efforts
of the clubs.
He urged us to be ready for the end of the restrictions rather
than wait for it to happen and then start thinking about doing
something. He would like all of the clubs to try to work together
and share their experiences, particularly with those local to
them, so that we can hit the ground running when we do restart.
It seems clear that both District and RIBI are continuing to work
to try and make sure that something good comes out of adversity.

-5-

Charlie Coats

Thoughts of an Assistant Governor

28 October 2020

C harlie was warmly welcomed and very open
about himself and his duties. His first theme was
about himself and Rotary. He is a member of
Rotary@Kingsholm, joining when it was still known
as Gloucester North after he had been strong-armed
into speaking at one of their meetings. He has since
serve twice as their President. Previously, Charlie had
been a member of Glevum Round Table until he was
ceremoniously thrown out, as was then the custom
once you had reached the grand age of forty.

He then moved on to explain how he became Involved with District. It was only last
February that he was asked to take on the position of Assistant Governor, with
responsibility for Area 4; which covers Gloucester and Central/South Gloucestershire
and consists of twelve clubs. His duties include regular visits to each club during the
year – which is a bit tricky at present! He is expected to keep the District Governor
informed about the activities of each of his clubs, by listening to what is going on and
encouraging each club in those activities. Interactivity, networking and coordination
also feature, as is passing on the ideas to other clubs. His position has a three-year
tenure.

The final part of Charlie’s talk was about themes and initiatives, some, but not all, taking
in the situation of not being able to meet up in person but only electronically. He told
us about various events that other clubs throughout the UK have tried including
sponsored walks, coffee mornings, a race night {something we could perhaps
consider - I’ve been involved in several myself), gin and wine tasting, a cartoon drawing
competition, a desert island discs evening, a book club meeting and, perhaps, joining
in other clubs’ Zoom meetings.

Finally, Charlie spoke about membership. Happily, what had been a perceived challenge
of losing members during the pandemic had not happened in our District. Among other
initiatives, District has been looking at the e-Club that has been set up in Bristol to see
whether the idea of a club that meets only occasionally and electronically has any merit.
There is a move to try and involve the four Cheltenham clubs (one of whom is in danger
of closing due to a drop in membership) in setting one up using a few members from
each club to form an initial nucleus. It will be interesting to see whether it gets off the
ground.

Succession planning is also of concern to some clubs and it became clear that not all
have taken the action we have by having a number of our past presidents filling the
position until our newer members are ready to take it on and lead the Club forward.

An interesting and thought provoking meeting in my view.

Duncan Lord

-6-

Caroline Pover

Adventures in Japan

11 November 2020

T he delightful Caroline Pover was our special
“Zoom Guest” for our meeting, which was also
attended by a goodly number of our lovely ladies.

Whilst the main thrust of Caroline’s talk was to be
about her experiences in Japan in the wake of the
tsunami there in 2011 (no doubt fully, and
movingly, described in full in her latest book “One
Month In Tohoku: An Englishwoman’s memoir on
life after the Japanese tsunami” – for sure an
excellent stocking filler for the upcoming Yuletide
festivities!) she started by giving details of some of
her amazing background leading up to the present day.

Having graduated as a student back in 1996, like many young folk (ah yes, I remember
it well…) she sought adventure and decided to move to Japan, despite never been
there, not speaking the language and wondering about culture shocks she might
encounter. Living first in Tokyo, whilst as a woman she felt safe in this bustling
metropolis, she had difficulty in meeting people and “wondered what Japanese men
were thinking about when their eyes met a young vivacious 24 year old Westerner”!!.
Her entrepreneurial skills evolved when she created a magazine for foreign women in
Japan, followed by a book (which when delivered to her small flat in bulk – 3,000
copies – became a sofa), resulting in her setting up a publishing company and employing
some twenty staff.

Her mid-30s saw her suffering 3 strokes, with a heart operation causing a recovery

period of two years - but did this put off our intrepid

adventurer? Not a bit it seems, for, having sold her

Japanese business to allow more time for writing, she

decided to move to a more remote part of the country

and seek out perhaps the “real Japan”; and so began

a love affair with the remote Oshika-Hanto region, a

rural peninsula in the North East’: peaceful, no doubt,

until that fateful day in 2011 when the ground shook

and a mighty wave came rushing in. Caroline was

staying at a hotel, but was advised to move to high

ground, where, incredibly, she was joined by a gang

of prisoners, chained together, who had been

evacuated from their former home! Caroline saw for

herself the devastation caused by such a natural

disaster, with smashed up cars, boats dumped by the

roadside, villages washed away in a sea of mud, and,

most poignantly, scores of dead bodies. She decided

to do something to help. Continued overleaf

-7-

Adventures in Japan - continued from the previous page

Returning to the UK Caroline gave talks about her experiences, and started both to
raise money and to accept donations…some 10,000 donated items, which, with the
help of Virgin Atlantic, found their way out to Japan. Caroline followed, and helped
out, doing whatever “hands on” jobs she could, including sweeping snow! Backwards
and forwards she went, from the UK to Japan, asking the villagers what they wanted,
and then raising the funds to answer their requests. In 2013, in order to enlarge the
amounts raised, Caroline started up “Auntie Caroline’s Pickled Onions & Chutneys”,
which has gone from strength to strength, and nowadays features a wide variety of
exotic products, including Bloody Mary Chutney, Cheek-Burning Chilli Chutney and
even pickled Brussels Sprouts! There, ladies, more good ideas for your Yuletide Feast!
Caroline has raised over £170,000 to fund projects in Oshika-Hanto, ranging from
providing school uniforms for the youngsters to restoring ancient shrines, truly a most
praiseworthy endeavour – well done Caroline!

Over the years Caroline said that her visits to Japan have taught her to be patient; to
be happy eating alone in a restaurant; and also how to use a chain saw! She then read
excerpts from her new book, which included references to “saucy cackling from women
in their 70s”, a lady after the tsunami wearing the same clothes for 3 weeks, villagers
supposedly living in temporary accommodation for six weeks, but in reality living there
for six months, and even a short legged man …hmm…”with a huge 3rd leg”!! Many
tales reflected both Caroline’s and the villagers’ sense of fun and humour, even in dire
circumstances, with perhaps the most dramatic being Caroline’s colourful underwear
being hung out to dry in public, and attracting great attention from the many sightseers!

All in all Caroline’s address was fascinating and admirable. Her acts of courage and
compassion, coupled with creative generosity, are to be applauded, and her tales made
for a most enjoyable Zoom evening, enjoyed, for sure, by us all. Do buy her book; do
buy her pickles; and do go (post lockdown!) if possible to Japan, it truly is a most
amazing country!

Steve Markham

Jeff’s Jottings - continued from page 2

The church is an historic building (built in Norman times) and worth researching; but
that can be next along with some of the people in the chest tombs, many of which
are ancient monuments. I intend to follow this up by supplying photographs of these
to Historic England.

Interestingly, all of the records around the time of the Civil War (about 15 years’
worth) are missing. I wonder what happened.

It may also be of interest but I read an article about Upton Church some time ago in
a book describing items of interest to be seen as one drove along the M5. Apparently,
in the middle ages, the villagers got so fed up with the length of the sermons by the
rector that they cut his tongue out! I have not come across this in the Registers yet
and not that I am suggesting…….

Enough – you can tell I am running out of things to write about.

I wish you and your families the best and ask that you all take care.

Jeff

-8-

Roger’s Challenge 26

Many people have a bucket list of things that they
would like to achieve before it is ‘too late’.
These are often of a practical nature or involve
visiting places of interest with historic or cultural
connections such as the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu,
Jerusalem, or the pyramids of Egypt. Others long for
golden sands and palm trees reached by means of a
cruise liner or a first-class ticket on an Airbus A380.

Many of the wishes that got dumped into my bucket
ages ago got forgotten, so that they had either stuck
to the bottom or overflowed and got lost in the sands
of time. Those at the bottom eventually seeped away
when it began to leak rather badly, but one stuck to
the side of the bucket and said, ‘run a marathon’!

As early as 1989 I had at times met ‘oxygen debt’ mainly when cycling such hills like
Shap Fell on the Land’s End to John O’Groats route and a few other silly hilly places
that I went to. Notwithstanding this inconvenience and after having once again admired
the thousands of physically disadvantaged competitors taking part in the 2019 London
marathon, I applied for a place in the 2020 event. I had reasoned that, even if I could
not run more than a few hundred yards, I could walk most of it within the allotted time.
Thank goodness I did not get a place which meant not having to navigate the problems
of early starting time and late finishes in central London.

What it did do however was that, by gifting my application fee, I was sent a London
Marathon running top.

As the COVID-19 pandemic exerted its malign influence on the world it became glaringly
obvious that the now parlous state of the Club’s charity account meant that our
Committees would have very few funds to help our communities. I felt that action was
necessary.

Having been walking up and down some of the steepest hills I could find during the
various stages of civil restrictions, the marathon idea took hold. A simple flat 2.9-mile
circular walk centred on our house seemed to fit the bill and required me to complete
nine laps to fulfil the role of a marathon. The first eight laps were completed over two
days and I then enjoyed the company of Adrian and Geraldine who joined me when I
completed the final lap on the following morning.

The only damage inflicted was to a couple of my toes, whilst greater damage was to
the bank accounts of the kind generous wallets of my fellow Rotarians.

I thank all those who encouraged me by making donations and helping to promote the
charitable work of our splendid club.

Roger Hart

Editor’s note: Roger’s efforts raised over £2,400 for our charities. A magnificent
achievement for anyone, but particularly so for a man in his 80s! Well done Roger!

-9-

LADIES ON EDGE!

Before we were tipped back into lockdown in November a group of the ladies
managed to repair to the Edgemoor Inn in Edge for, what I am assured, was an
excellent lunch and, clearly from the photograph I have been sent, some large
glasses of white wine were also enjoyed!

A small but important pleasure in these difficult times. Cheers Ladies!!

Birthday Greetings
Because publication has been delayed due to Covid some of the birthdays
marked in this issue have already been celebrated. I hope that those
members whose birthdays I am late in highlighting enjoyed their day and
that those whose birthdays are yet to come also have a good time.

Richard Allison 1 January Peter Harris 4 January
Simon Owen 7 January Colin Westbury 7 January
Roger Hart 20 January Steve Markham 31 January
6 February David Threlfall 10 February
Jerry Ballinger 14 February John Cresswell 23 February
John Bowman 17 March 22 March
Martin Odell Phil Witcomb
Peter Burton 1 April Duncan Lord 2 April
John Barnes 9 April Clive Townsend 11 April
Neil Normington 14 April Richard Colley 8 May
Eamonn McGurk 13 May Tony Priestley 5 June
11 June Adrian Smith 13 June
Chris Price

Bob Paterson - 14 June

- 10 -

Dawn Fearn

Waste Management
and Recycling

25 November 2020

D awn has been in charge of recycling and waste
management for Gloucester City Council for
the past ten years and told us a bit about what her
job entails.

Following the establishment of a nationwide waste
management policy in the late 1980s, each of the
over 400 local authorities in this country made their
own decisions as to how to implement and
administer the national recommendations in their
own district. Inevitably, they all set up different
ways of collecting recyclable and non-recyclable waste. This explains why there are a
multitude of different sizes of waste bins and no consistency of colour from one
authority to the next to designate the purpose of each type of bin. There is also no
consistency in times or methods of collection. Dawn told us that, were a national
recommended standard to be introduced, it could cost Gloucester City alone an extra
£1 million to comply.

In Gloucester, about 45% of households recycle their rubbish and 60% of “general
rubbish” in whatever colour bin, could have been recycled! Gloucester is renowned
for the particularly high level of sorting general rubbish (steel cans, aluminium cans,
seven different types of plastic, paper and cardboard, glass, food waste etc.), before
sending the rest to the incinerator at Javelin Park. This amounted to 21,000 tonnes in
the last year.

Javelin Park may be considered The incinerator at Javelin Park
either attractive or absolutely
repulsive to view. However, they
do an excellent job for the whole
county and produce enough
electricity to power 25,000 homes.
There are hundreds of such
recycling units around the world,
but there is one in Copenhagen that
looks much better as they built a
“Dry Ski Slope” around it!

As would have been expected, there were many questions for Dawn, following her
excellent presentation, such as how we should deal with light bulbs, batteries, glass of
different colours, shiny photos etc. Covid has caused a massive increase in waste, much
of it being glass and cardboard. Please remember that “greasy pizza boxes” are not
good for recycling!

Tony Jenkinson

- 11 -

As members will know, we recently made a donation to the Gloucester City Mission.
Kevin Howie, the Mission’s manager has sent us this note of thanks:

“Dear Friends at Severn Rotary,

Thank you so much for your donation of £500 towards helping the Homeless. We are
really thankful for supporters like you who give so generously towards this very
necessary ministry.

2020 was a tough year but we have had so many positives. One such positive is the
appointment of our new G.C.M. Chaplain, Mike Curtis. Many people know Mike as
being the founder of G.C.M. way back in 2003.

The move out of the George Whitefield Centre left us with no choice but to change
the way we worked, and we now focus more heavily on outreach work. These changes
actually fitted in well with the enforced regulations around COVID-19.

Our move to focusing on outreach has been very successful. Between March and
November, we had more than 4,600 direct interactions recorded with people in need.
These interactions might be through giving food, drinks, clothes, toiletries, prayer,
or general support such as helping people to write their CVs and apply for jobs.

We now have teams of volunteers out in the city of Gloucester Monday – Saturday
from 10.30 - 12.30. They are able to offer prayer, food, drinks, emergency clothes
packs and advice to anyone rough sleeping and are also able to support anyone who
is vulnerable. Mo, our catering van, gets out and about supporting those clients
sleeping rough away from the city centre. During the current lockdown we have
needed to cut this back to three days a week but as soon as restrictions allow, we
will return to normal service.

Thank you once again for your support, we realise we would not be able to continue
what we do for the Homeless in Gloucester without your help and prayers.

Wishing you every blessing,”

We made a similar donation to the Family Haven and Helen Jackson told us:

“On behalf of The Family Haven, I would like to thank you and your organisation for
donating to our charity. We have been incredibly busy faced with this unprecedented
pandemic. The children and families have been supported throughout both
lockdowns as well as one closure of ten days due to isolation. The nursery has been
attempting to keep as much normality as possible for the children, as they struggle
with us not being their supportive rock in the same manner as past years. The staff
have also been supporting each other and ensuring everyone's mental health is very
much looked after.

Your donation will really help us through this challenging time and we are extremely
grateful to you.”

Some time ago we had applied for a District Grant to supplement the donations that
we had made to support the Gloucester Foodbank in the early days of the crisis.
There has been a bit of a delay in processing this but the money finally came in during
November and we promptly passed it on to them. We know that the Foodbank will
put it to good use.

- 12 -

Baffled by Boucher!

W e stretched our Zoom expertise at our
meeting on 9 December by using its breakout
rooms feature for the first time. The reason?
To enable us to cross swords with Roger Boucher as he
challenged us with a quiz that he had put together.

We were separated into seven teams of four and each team
was assigned to a room to which we were sent to debate each
round and decide our team’s answers before then being whisked
automatically back to the main room for Roger to give us the solutions
and to mark our efforts.

And what a quiz it was! Reading from a simple list of questions was not
for Roger - instead he had created an animated PowerPoint extravaganza
with the answers eventually revealing themselves as if by magic.

We started with a round on beer – an easy subject you would have
thought for most Rotarians. But our team stared blankly at ten pictures of bottles with
any helpful wording removed and scratched our heads as we tried to identify not only
the brand but also its country of origin. Eventually we came up with three of them,
scoring a sterling six out of twenty for the round – a setback from which we never
recovered. It was notable that ‘Three Beards and a Lady’, a team containing three of
our younger members plus the better half of one of them, did much better with
seventeen points. I think we paid the price for more often than not, these days,
eschewing beer in favour of a glass or two of wine or a gin and tonic!

We did improve after that as we went through a round of dingbats, some of which
were very clever. We scored sixteen on that round although we were cross when our
lateral thinking let us down on a simple one. The clue was ‘DEA’ but we couldn’t see
it until afterwards when Roger told us that the answer was ‘NO IDEA’!

A true or false round followed; then a screen of people to identify and match to their
ages at death from the list of possibilities provided; the next round was called Numbers
and turned out to be an expression of letters and figures to flesh out. We did quite
well with them - although I still maintain that ‘two wings on a bird’ is just as valid a
solution to ‘2 = W on a B’ as Roger’s answer of ‘two wheels on a bicycle’!

The last round was a list of anagrams of Rotarians’ names, which must have taken Roger
forever to compose. Some seemed peculiarly appropriate – I did like finding out that
‘Parents Boob’ can be rearranged as ‘Bob Paterson’ and that ‘Jaw Offends’ translates
into our President.

The competition was eventually won by ‘Three Beards and a Lady’ (their encyclopaedic
knowledge of beer having paid off) with a score of 120 out of 140. Most of the rest of
us were very closely bunched in a bracket between 101 (my team) and 109 for the
‘Bravehearts’. The Tail End Charlies were ‘Wheatridge plus One’ with 79.

The organisation went surprisingly smoothly considering that nobody had worked with
breakout rooms before, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It must have taken
Roger ages to research and devise all of the clues and put together such an elegant,
interesting and amusing presentation. Thank you Roger!

John Bowman

- 13 -

A LITTLE BIT OF CLUB HISTORY

G eraldine and I were staying at our favourite hotel in Falmouth recently. The
weather had been reasonable for December and on this day it was bright and
sunny but with the possibility of showers so it was a day to get out and walk part of
the coast. We decided to go to St Just-in-Roseland so we donned our walking boots,
packed our wet weather kit in our rucksack (just in case), and set off on the walk down
to the harbour from where we would be able to catch the passenger ferry.

It then occurred to me that

there may well be a number of

members of our club who do

not know what the connection

is between Gloucester Severn

Rotary Club and the tiny church

of St Just. So I resolved to take

a few pictures when we got

there and then write a short

piece to tell you about it. Of

course it is quite possible that

many of you will say that you

The church at St Just know all about this already, in

which case you need read no

further and turn to the next page in John’s excellent magazine. However, if you don’t

yet know what the connection is then read on.

A few minutes after we arrived at the harbour the small ferry boat came into view and
drew up alongside the pier and we and two others boarded for the trip across the
estuary to St Mawes. Fortunately there was a small cabin on the boat and we settled
down there to shelter from the wind and spray. Half an hour later we arrived at the
tiny harbour of St Mawes, disembarked, and we then set off on foot westwards along
the narrow winding road out of the village with the sea on our left. After passing one
of Henry VIII’s defensive forts the road turns north and becomes a footpath following
the estuary inland.

It had been very rainy for the previous few days and so it was very wet under foot, but
we made good progress and after about an hour and half we arrived at our destination.
I must be honest here and say that we were not actually at the village of St Just. We
were in fact at the village church, which is not the same thing. This is a very unusual
church indeed: firstly because it’s not in the
village, which is about a ten minute walk
away up the hill, but also because the church
is located right at the waterside. It really is
a stunningly beautiful spot.

There, right next to the church is what we
had come to see. It was a wooden bench
set against the church wall facing out across
the creek---and it has a plaque on it with the
inscription “In memory of Adrian Stott, aged
17, Lost on M.V. Derbyshire 1980”.

- 14 -

We sat on the bench and
admired the view across the
water and thought about the
man who had made it and the
circumstances that had
inspired him.

The Derbyshire was a bulk
carrier of 91,655 tons. She
had been built in 1975 and
was of the latest design but
when off the coast of Japan
and carrying 157,000 tons of
iron ore she was caught in a
typhoon on the 8th
September 1980 and sank
suddenly. It was a great mystery at the time as no distress signal had been made; she
just disappeared and all 44 people on board were lost. It must have been terrifying.
It was not until several years later that she was located on the sea bed at a depth of
4,000 m. The hull had been broken in two. She
was and is the largest British vessel ever to have
been lost at sea. There were several theories as
to what had caused the ship to go down but
eventually after an enquiry it was established
that the most likely cause was that the huge seas
crashing over the bows had overwhelmed the
forward hatch covers causing the ship to be
suddenly engulfed in water and sent to the
bottom.

Adrian Stott lived at St Just-in-Roseland. He was the nephew of Graham Choyce and
so it was Graham who made the bench as a memorial to him.

As many of you will know Graham was a member of Gloucester Rotary Club and it was
he who decided that Gloucester should have a second Rotary club. He was instrumental
in the formation of Gloucester Severn and as such was its
founding father. He was an honorary member of our club
for many years. As far as I am aware he attended every
one of our handover dinners despite the failing health of
his later years. His last visit to us was the occasion of the
handover when I went into the chair in 2018. He died just
a few weeks later.

So after some contemplation we rose to our feet and
began to make our way back to St Mawes. Perhaps, if we
timed it right, we would have time to go into the pub
which overlooks the harbour whilst we wait for the ferry
to come in.

Adrian Smith Graham Choyce

- 15 -

Special General and Business Meeting
16 December 2020

We began our meeting with a minute of quiet reflection for our good friend John
Jameson, who had died the previous week.

We then went on to deal with the SGM’s business by approving last year’s accounts
and then electing the 2021 - 2022 Club Officers. Our new Senior Management Team

will be:

Roger Hart

President

John Barnes Adrian Smith

President Elect President Nominee

Richard Colley John Bowman
Secretary Treasurer

The annual business dealt with, we then moved on to discuss other matters.

President Jeff began by presenting a Paul Harris Fellowship to Immediate Past
President Mike Till (see page 28 for the full report). We all felt that this award was
richly deserved and showed our appreciation as best we could within Zoom constraints.

The President then moved on to congratulate Roger Hart on completing his
“walkathon”. His initiative has raised more than £2,400 for our charity account, for
which we are most grateful in these problematic times.

Next, Richard gave a brief update on matters secretarial and drew to our attention
that the Presidency is over-reliant on former Presidents volunteering for a second
term. He hoped that, in time, some of our younger and newer members would
consider taking on the job to ensure our future. John Bowman then reported on our
finances and confirmed that a part of the savings arising from the suspension of our
meetings would be used to reduce members’ subscriptions for the rest of the year.

Peter Burton told us that we had received a District grant of £750 for our Gloucester
Foodbank initiative and that this had been passed on to them. He then moved on to
summarise the other donations that ComVoc have made to the local community since
our last business meeting. Richard Allison reported that International were not looking
for new projects at the moment, although the committee is holding some monies in
reserve in case there was a need for an urgent response to a situation. David Bruce
then said that Foundation activity was constrained by current circumstances, although
the “Rotary Remembers” pins had generated funds for the Royal British Legion.

Simon Owen reported that we have had to postpone the 2021 Dragon Boat Festival
until at least September and that there was a strong possibility that it would have to
be further deferred to May 2022. (Ed: this second deferral has since proved to be
necessary)

Jeff Roberts then told us that we await further information from King’s School before
we can consider whether or not we are able to hold the 2021 Sporting Dinner. He
then went on to explain that we have had to suspend our membership initiative until
some normality returns. Bob, John and Roger then reported on Programme, Social
and Sports, respectively. Each is operating as well as they can within current constraints.

Finally, the President told us that a working group has been set up to explore new
fund-raising initiatives and this would report back to the membership in due course.

- 16 -

Gill Wright

The Mindset of
A Good Night’s Sleep

6 January 2021

O ur Zoom speaker on 6 January was Gill Wright,
part of the Mindset team, talking about getting
a good night’s sleep. A summary of some her
recommendations and suggestions has already been
circulated to members and she has invited anyone
who would like further information to contact her.

Her talk focused on changing habits, actions and
activities to help with sleep. I found some matters
discussed slightly contradictory and some bordering
on the desperate. Some difficulties concerning
achieving a decent night’s sleep are, I agree, reflections from the modern world and
how we allow ourselves to change our habits and also be led and directed, consciously
or subconsciously. Computers, tablets, smart phones and the like are contributory
factors. Gill seemed to separate these away from televisions, even though these also
emit blue light.

I believe television viewing is a very serious contributor to insomnia - and not just
because of their blue light emissions. There are too many channels, too many
programmes to try and follow, and too much banal rubbish that is easy to end up
watching. That is not to say that I don’t watch television, but I do find myself very
irritated by much of it.

There were some points that Gill made that gave cause to reflect. I am sure that those
points will be considered by many of us and some will act on one or more of Gill’s
suggestions.

Duncan Lord

Two of our members
have reached the age
of reason since our
last edition was
published.

Steve Markham turned
70 on 31st January, as
did David Threlfall on
10th February.

Sadly, the current
restrictions mean that they will have to wait for their
celebration tankards. But many happy returns to you both in the
meantime!

- 17 -

Adam Klups

Conservation and the Rural Church

The Status Quo and the
Challenges Ahead

20 January 2021

O ur speaker was introduced by Roger Hart who
told us that Adam is the Secretary to the
Diocesan Advisory Committee at Gloucester
Cathedral, which is a very important appointment.
He is also, “for his sins”, the Church Building Officer.

Adam is clearly a heritage and conservation
professional, holding a B.A. (Hons) in the history of
art and material studies; as well as an M.A. in the
principles of conservation. He has eight years’ experience across the heritage sector,
most recently in the ecclesiastical field, and is currently working for the Diocese of
Gloucester.

Roger also informed us that Adam had been a considerable help in obtaining a grant
to assist in the repair of a monument in his church.

Adam thanked Roger for his introduction and then proceeded to give us a most
interesting and detailed talk about his activities since becoming part of the conservation
scene.

In his early days following his qualification
he worked at a World Heritage site in
Turkey and then in Cyprus on
archaeological digs and he showed us
slides of his activities on site,

There are 9,000 Anglican Churches open

in the UK and the majority of them (8,200)

are either Grade 1 or Grade 2 listed

buildings. Adam took us through an

ongoing case study relating to St James the

Great Church at Stoke Orchard. This is an

unassuming building from the outside, but

a real gem inside due to the wall paintings St James the Great, Stoke Orchard
which have national and international

importance. There are seven paintings (with some painted over earlier ones) referring

to scenes from the life of St James and considerable expertise and skill is required to

evaluate these overlapping paintings, which is still very much work in progress.

Adam then gave us a lot of information in relation to matters concerning historic
buildings. He was pleased to tell us that two recent appointments meant that he now
has a team of three supporting him.

Adam’s love of church buildings and his desire to conserve them was very evident. He
is a most enthusiastic character who is involved in every aspect of his work.

- 18 -

St James had been built because it was en-route for the pilgrimage to Santiago de
Compostela in Spain and Adam told us that he was proposing to undertake this mission.
He had planned to take the trip in 2020, but his flight was cancelled due to the epidemic.
He has booked a ticket again for this year, but sadly it may have to cancelled again
(Fingers crossed it isn’t!). If he does get the go ahead then he will be looking for
sponsors to raise money for the ongoing restoration work at St James the Great.

The meeting was then opened up for
questions which Adam dealt with in detail.
Our President Jeff’s question
(churchyards), Richard Sugdon’s
(insurance) and Mike Till’s (heating costs
at St Barnabas and, rather more
controversially, the demolition thereof!!)
together with several other questions
showed the considerable interest that our
Speaker’s talk had generated.

In conclusion, I would repeat that we all Detail from the wall paintings
enjoyed a very interesting and informative
talk with excellent slides illustrating
various aspects of his work over many
years.

We were indeed extremely fortunate to listen to Adam who is very much on top of his
professional work; and his knowledge of Church Buildings and all matters relating
thereto must be second to none.

Thank you very much Adam. Your enthusiasm shone through!

John Harris

The Writing is on the Wall!

Well actually, it’s on the van. You will recall
from our last issue that our donation to the
Gloucester Foodbank had been
instrumental in helping them to buy a
much-needed van to collect and deliver
supplies.

When Annelise Sterry, the Foodbank’s
manager, sent us this photo showing our
name featured as one of its sponsors, she
told us that the van had been in use almost
every day since they received it and that it
is “a real blessing”.

Hopefully it will help them to continue their
support of those in need in Gloucester
during (and after) these difficult times.

- 19 -

Sarah Ezekiel
Living with Motor Neurone Disease

3 February 2021

S arah gave us a very thought provoking and
interesting presentation about life with Motor
Neurone Disease. Her early life was entirely
normal until the age of 34 when she was
diagnosed with MND midway through starting her
family. Sadly, her husband couldn’t cope and left
her with two young children to raise.
There followed a harrowing time of depression,
denial and isolation and light only appeared at the
point that she was taken under the wing of a local
hospice. They helped her to cope with an awful
illness which is untreatable, progressive and difficult to live with. Mobility was lost
early on but losing her speech was especially devastating.
With the help of technical aids Sarah can now communicate using the internet, social
media and email. By 2010 Eye Gaze technology
enabled her to overcome her communication
problems and also to start painting - something she
had done when younger. The technology is now
available on the NHS. Sarah became secretary of her
local MND society and is now committed to
educating the wider world about the difficulties of
MND sufferers. With the profits she makes from
selling her art she is able to loan out some Eye Gaze
equipment for others to try.
Sarah is a fantastic ambassador for this dreadful
disease and received a suitable response from the
club

Martin Odell

- 20 -

Martin Surl

Gloucestershire Police
and Crime Commissioner

17 February 2021

T onight, Martin Surl, the County's Police
and Crime Commissioner, told us
something about what his job entails and
also some of the challenges that both he and
the Force are facing in the current climate.

Martin started by explaining that the Commissioner’s post is a relatively new one to
which he had been first elected in November 2012. He had stood as an Independent
and won the election in the face of competition from candidates put forward by the
major political parties; gaining 53% of the vote, after the reallocation of second
preferences. He was re-elected in 2016 with an increased share (59%) of the final vote.
Martin’s success is unusual, as most of the PCCs that have been elected in other
counties have been political nominees.

Martin went on to tell us that he believed that it was very important not be affiliated
to any political party in order to do his job successfully. He had appointed Rod Hansen,
the current Chief Constable, with whom he has a good relationship, and he compared
their duties to those of a Chairman and his Chief Executive in the business world.

Martin was born and raised in Gloucestershire and joined the Gloucestershire
Constabulary in 1980. He later became a detective and was promoted to
Superintendent in 2000.

In 2001 he was seconded to the Estonian Ministry of Justice to help them modernise
their police service and develop crime reduction partnerships. In 2005 he was awarded
the Estonian Order of Merit for his work in introducing child protection measures.

He then moved to the Association of Chief Police Officers, Terrorism Branch in 2007 to
help set up the UK's policing anti-terrorism network. Martin had come out of
retirement to stand for election as our Police and Crime Commissioner.

Martin explained that during his time as Commissioner, the Force had to downsize as,
due to austerity, Government funding had been reduced. However, the police were
now starting to expand again, although Council Tax has had to increase to make this
possible, as money from central funds has continued to be cut.

He pointed out that Gloucestershire is a safe county in which to live: a recent survey
had found that it is the eighth safest in the country. A great deal of the crime that did
occur here was drug related, although often starting outside the county. We were told
about an operation where the violent leaders of a county lines gang were based in
Lewisham, so our County Drug Squad went into London to raid them on their own turf.

Martin concluded with a review of current problems, including a significant rise in dog
theft, which is one of issues that our Force is focusing on at the moment.

There followed a lively question and answer session and we then thanked Martin in
the usual way for his interesting insight into modern day policing.

Neil Normington

- 21 -

John Jameson

1944 - 2020

W e all remember John as a very friendly
Rotarian with an extremely sharp
sense of humour and he is certainly a great
loss to our Club. A real gentleman
immaculately dressed (often by Mr James I
believe), he was always welcoming and
pleased to see you. It was over a year ago
that we last saw John at Rotary when he fell
because, typically independent, he had only
brought one stick to the meeting. Very sadly
he then spent three months in hospital and
nearly a year in a nursing home, largely in
Covid isolation.

John began life in Oxford before moving to
Leyland when his father became the head photographer for Leyland Motors.
Caravanning and sailing in the Lake District were an important part of his childhood
and he continued to visit the Lakes all of his life. He was 17 when Denise moved
in next door. Later, when John was starting his career as a photographer and Denise
was training as a radiographer, they both had to travel to Preston. John had a car
and offered Denise a lift and the rest is history. In 1967 John moved to Gloucester
when he became the manager of the Gloucester office of the Hereford firm of
Foster and Skivington. Denise and John married in 1969 and Denise became a
radiographer at Gloucester Royal. John’s office was situated below Curl up and
Dye in Clarence St, so Colin Rogers, its owner, brought him into Round Table. It
was then in its heyday and there they met many of their lifelong friends. John was
a very popular member of Round Table, his wit always adding much to an evening’s
entertainment. He had an excellent year as its Chairman, including building the
‘Biggest Bonfire in the West”!

John’s career as a photographer initially involved much motorsport, which he loved,
and he regaled us with his tales of RAC Rallies and other motoring events. It also
involved wedding photography - which he hated! In 1974 John set up on his own
as Focol Photography in Cheltenham, specialising in industrial photography with,
I recall, a particular bent towards food - notably Kraft products, which apparently
looked better coated with varnish! There aren’t many factories in the country that
John hasn’t photographed and it was always interesting hearing his stories. He
was clearly a leader in his field and gave our Rotary several talks and a visit to his
studio; demonstrating his enthusiasm and professionalism for a job well done.
Leaving Round Table he was rapidly invited to join the Founder Members of the
Rotary Club of Gloucester Severn and again rapidly made his mark.

- 22 -

A committed Club member he always supported any event to the full and
brightened many an evening with his quick one liners: (President: “How do you
feel about the Old People’s Appeal?” John: “Not to me they don’t!”)

He was President in 2000 and in his 35 years as an active member I doubt he ever
missed a meeting unless he was away.

He and Denise were rightly proud of their two sons. Ian, a successful chartered
accountant with the American company Ryder, is married to Alison and with Ewan,
now a tall teenager; they have been a great support to Denise during this last
difficult year. Andrew, who was
no doubt inspired by yachting
with his Dad at Frampton Sailing
Club, joined and rose through
the ranks of the Royal Navy.
With Andrew marrying New
Zealand naval officer, Fee, the
trips to New Zealand have been
highlights of the last few years
of John’s life especially with
grandchildren Amy and Freya.
Andrew is now a Lieutenant
Commander and Fee a
Commander in the New Zealand
Navy.

Despite his handicaps John joined Churchdown Probus and with his usual
enthusiasm he rapidly became their Chairman and programme organiser. He could
have joined the golfing ranks but, just as he retired and started to look a useful
golfer, his arthritis and subsequent heart and stroke problems took their toll. He
and Denise would have been a great asset to our golfing group. Although frustrated
by his deafness and being partially sighted after his stroke, he was rarely heard
complaining and continued to make a good contribution to our Rotary. He was a
lovely man, always friendly and with a fund of stories, usually amusing and always
interesting. Several people have mentioned how he was always one of the first to
make new members to our Club really welcome. Our thoughts go out to Denise,
Andrew and Ian and their families

We all thank you, John, for your marvellous friendship over so many years.

Bob Paterson

The Jameson family very kindly nominated our charity account to be the recipient
of donations in John’s memory. Many of our members made a contribution and
these, together with donations from John’s family and other friends, has added
a significant amount to our available funds, for which we are most grateful.

- 23 -

Margaret (Maggie) Holyoake

1932 - 2020

We were very sorry to learn that Maggie,
the wife of our friend and honorary
member Michael, had died peacefully at home
on 31 December 2020.

Margaret Rose Speck was born in Gloucester
on 18 July 1932. Her father, who was away
serving with the 21st Lancers for much of the
time, died of malaria when Maggie was very
young. In his tribute her son Nick told us that
she had missed the father that she hardly knew
and that the loss had probably contributed to
her leaving home in her early teens to take up
a position as a nanny to a family in the village
of Box. Her memory for details remained sharp all through her life and when Nick
and his family recently moved to the village, Maggie was able to show them not
only the house where she had been employed over 70 years ago but could even
point out the window of what had been her attic bedroom!

Nick then told us tales of Maggie’s motoring escapades, including a trip to Italy that
apparently involved illicit border crossings and camping on the lawn of a local Hotel
de Ville en-route to Lake Como! There was a
photograph in the order of service of her sat in a
three-wheeled Heinkel bubble car before she and
Michael drove in it to London for a society wedding - a
major excursion at the time.

Maggie and Michael married in 1954 and, in addition
to being a dedicated wife and mother, she enjoyed
her own career as a qualified dental surgery assistant
and her efforts were central to the successful
formation of their professional representative
association.

Michael, a founder member of our Club, was our second President and Maggie
played an active part in supporting us and our charitable and social activities over
many years. Always good and lively company when we got together - we shall miss
her.

Unfortunately, current restrictions meant that most of us were unable to attend
the funeral and could only participate by a video link; although President Jeff was
present and representing the Club. There is a celebration of Maggie’s life planned
for 11 May and, hopefully, we shall be able to pay our respects properly then.

Michael has asked that anyone who may wish to make a donation to charity in Maggie’s memory
should support the Club’s charity account. Contact John Bowman if you need further information.

- 24 -

Trevor Martin

1942 - 2021

S adly, on February 5, 2021, Trevor was finally
overcome by his oesophageal cancer, which
had first been diagnosed some eleven months
previously. We were all devastated by the
news and our thoughts are with Wendy, their
son Peter and the rest of the family.

Trevor was born in Tamworth, Staffordshire on
24 April 1942. In 1956 he moved, with his
parents and sister Jill, to Sutton Coldfield. Jill
now lives in California.

Trevor joined the Bishop Vesey Grammar
School in Sutton Coldfield in the third year and
it was there that he met many of his lifelong
friends. Trevor was also a classmate of Peter
Harris in the sixth form for two years, although Trevor studied physics, chemistry
and maths whilst Peter was in the biology group. They went their separate ways,
as school friends often do, but met again when Gloucester Severn Rotary was
formed.

At school Trevor was very keen on football and cross country and became
involved in youth activities.

He started his surveying career in Birmingham, before joining Sandoe & Sons in
Gloucester for a short period and then moving to the local office of Bruton
Knowles. Trevor qualified as an Associate of The Chartered Auctioneers’ and
Estate Agents’ Institute in 1964, following which he became a member of the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Trevor moved from Bruton Knowles to
M&G and subsequently worked for Telewest, British Waterways and then
returned to Bruton Knowles.

Trevor and Wendy met in 1965 and married in 1967. They moved to Churchdown
in 1967 and to their current home in 1978. They had two children, Carol and
Peter. Tragically, Carol passed away in 2002 after suffering from Non-Hodgkin
Lymphoma. Peter now lives in Bristol with Selina and they have two lovely
daughters, Scarlett and Daisy.

Trevor enjoyed playing many sports including football, tennis and golf. He
became a member of Gloucester Golf Club before joining Cotswold Hill Golf Club
in 1982. He also liked watching sport, particularly Aston Villa, cricket and
Gloucester Rugby. Trevor was involved with Churchdown Panthers, the local
youth football club and was a member of the Churchdown U3A walking group.

Continued overleaf

- 25 -

Trevor Martin - continued from the previous page

Trevor was a member of the both the Community Centre and Churchdown Club,
where he was often to be seen enjoying a weekend lunchtime pint!

I first met Trevor in a Round Table Area Tennis competition, which he was
organising on behalf of Area 23, being played on the Chosen Hill School tennis
courts. He was a founder member of both Churchdown Round Table and also
of Gloucester Severn Rotary when it was formed in 1983; and that was where
we were reacquainted when I joined Rotary in 1986. I had moved back to
Gloucester, after a short two-year sojourn in Cheshire. A happy happenstance
occurred when we chose our new Gloucestershire house in Churchdown and
found that Trevor and Wendy were our near neighbours and we became good
friends.

Trevor was very active in our Club, rarely missing a meeting. He served on various
Club committees, including ComVoc, Foundation and International, and was our
Sports Chairman for some years. He was chosen to be the Club’s President in
2006 -2007 and discharged that duty with his normal efficiency and good humour,
with many memorable moments in his year. He was also active in the Club’s
sporting activities and a regular participant in our annual golf championships,
golfing Away Breaks, the Ashbury Tour and latterly, our various inter-club District
golf and boules games.

Trevor was also part of the group that set up the Alzheimer’s Society in Gloucester
and was very active in fund raising for, and supporting it, for many years.

Trevor and Wendy enjoyed a busy social life, hosting very enjoyable dinner parties
on regular occasions and also taking part in the Gloucester Severn ‘Dining Club’.
They also enjoyed their holidays camping in France. One year, we met them in
the Dordogne, quite by chance, as neither of us knew the other was there! They
also had some spectacular foreign trips to India, China and the States. They loved
their camping and caravanning, both in the UK and abroad.

Throughout their life, Trevor and Wendy have had many good times but also
some not so good. I have always admired the way they dealt with life’s
adversities, in such a calm stoical way. One such time, having been made
redundant, Trevor’s response was to say to me that he ‘had never been so
advanced in his garden as he was that year’!

I shall really miss Trevor as a good friend, a fellow member of 41 Club and of
Rotary. I shall also miss his infectious laughter and quick-witted humour. It is
all the sadder that due to the current COVID restrictions, we could not say
goodbye to Trevor and cannot give Wendy the physical support that she deserves;
hopefully that situation will soon improve.

Richard Colley

- 26 -

Our planned Challenge will be Rotary Severn’s chance to fight back
against the impact that Covid has had on our community.
Please Keep the date free so that you can support the sponsored
walk that we are organising to raise money for Covid related
charities – i.e. those that are working to fight the effects of
Coronavirus and those that are suffering from a severe lack of funds
due to lockdown. All of the charities supported will be local.
The walk will be over fifty miles of the Severn Way; based on
Gloucester but split into five stages of eight to twelve miles in
length to cater for different abilities. The walk is mainly flat.
Each member of a team of five will do one of the sections, all starting
at the same time on the Sunday morning. As it is a walk the event
will be relatively easy to adapt to fully comply with the Covid
regulations at the time.
We feel there will be a lot of local support for this event, so please
start thinking of friends, family and businesses who would be
interested in putting in a team. On the day, our Club will have the
task of manning six staging posts, setting the walkers off on their
way and welcoming them at the end.
It is our plan to have two Rotary Severn teams; but their job, as well
as raising funds, will be to complete the Challenge in the two weeks
before the event to check the paths. This will free up as many as
possible to help on the day.
President Elect Roger Hart has been doing a sterling job in
researching the route over the past few weeks and he has completed
a lot of it already despite the muddy and icy conditions
For this event to be a success we shall need members’ full support,
so please make a note of the date in your diaries. The steering
committee believes that the funds that we raise could make a really
significant impact in these difficult times.
See you all there on July 4th!

DISTRICT CONFERENCE

Credit where it’s due – rather than take the easy option and cancel this year’s
conference, District 1100 has converted it into an all whistles and bells online gathering
which will be launching on its own dedicated website on 26 April 2021.

Free to all Rotarians, their partners and friends, we will all be able to view up to fifteen
presentations on various issues: either live or later, as the fancy takes you.

This will be an excellent opportunity for us to get to grips with the wider world of
Rotary and District Governor Chris Firth and his team are to be congratulated for
setting it up for us. Login details will be circulated soon. Please do try and support
this District initiative.

- 27 -

For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow!

President Jeff had great pleasure in presenting a
Paul Harris Fellowship to Immediate Past
President Mike Till at our business meeting held
on 16 December.

When making the presentation (virtually via
Zoom due to the current restrictions) Jeff
highlighted that Mike was a founder member of
our club and that, this year, he was celebrating
thirty-seven years of dedicated service to Rotary.
He had been our fifth President in 1987-88 and
over the years Mike has been tirelessly involved
in all aspects of our activities, particularly
fund-raising and many initiatives to improve the
lives of those in need of our support.

A couple of years ago we had a succession problem and might have found ourselves
unable to continue. Mike solved the immediate difficulty by volunteering to serve a
second term as President, so giving us the breathing space to focus on the issue. His
was an important contribution to ensuring our future and we are all very grateful to
him: although we should not have been surprised that he came forward as Mike’s
whole Rotary career can best be summarised as “service above self”.

From the expression on his face Mike clearly had no idea that he was to become a
Fellow and, once he had recovered from the shock, he thanked the Club for honouring
him.

Our photograph shows Mike receiving his certificate when Richard Colley delivered
it to him at home.

THE LAST WORD

Well, here we are - still unable to meet in person - it’s been almost a year now: our last dinner
meeting was held on 11 March 2020 and since then we have had to be satisfied with the magic
of electronic discussions via Zoom. Bob has done a tremendous job in finding such a variety of
speakers, but it’s not the same as sharing conversation and drinks around a dinner table is it?
Hopefully, the new ‘road map’ will mean that there is now some light at the end of the tunnel and
I am cautiously optimistic that we may be back at Bowden Hall by June.

Of course, only meeting fortnightly has meant that I have less copy than normal which, in turn,
means that it takes longer to fill News and Views. I had hoped to produce an edition at the
beginning of January but had to defer it until March in the end. I am planning to produce our next
issue to mark the end of the Rotary year in June.

I hope that you find something to interest you in these pages: if not, then the solution is in your
hands - write an article for me!

As always, my thanks to those who have written articles and sent photographs to me. I know
that I say this every time, but it’s true - without your efforts there would be no magazine.

See you soon - I hope!

John Bowman