What's New

Sunday 22nd January 2012.

Community Services & Ways & Means Committee.

The Essar 4 Villages Half Marathon - 2012.

As with previous years, we were asked by representatives from Helsby Community Sports Club, who are the organizers of the Essar 4 Villages Half Marathon, to take charge of car parking as well as the provision of a BBQ stall, providing bacon and burger butties, as well as baked potatoes and hot drinks.

And so at about 0745hrs, on a very cold and windy Sunday the 22nd of January, three “Crack Teams” of highly experienced car parkers took up their positions.

Firstly at Helsby High School, from where the Park-and-Ride bus service operated. As can be seen, this team was not too keen to have people come to park their cars, as that would spoil their enjoyment of lively banter, and the telling of jokes!

                                                                                                       

The two other teams took up their positions at both Meres Edge and the main site of HCSC, and waited quietly for mayhem to commence, which didn’t take long and lasted up until 1045hrs.

Meanwhile, our fourth team of “Gourmet Chefs” put up their BBQ, Mobile Kitchen, Spud Oven and Stall, at the side of the main entrance to the Club House. Having done that, they set about filling the air with the wonderful aromas that were designed to tempt those present to part with their money and enjoy hot butties or potatoes and an extensive range of high quality hot beverages.

The choice of the site of their “Restaurant” gave them prime position to observe the start of the race, which was appreciated by all the team.             

As you might expect, you always get a “Wag” turn up, and in this instance ‘twas our good friend Alan Gardner, who wanted to ensure that for Health and Safety reasons, the competitors were left in no doubt as to where to go to get their drinks after the race, even if it meant the ingenious use of a badly prepared sign.  

All in all a great day was had by all, and once again we were pleased to lend our help and support to this wonderful Community event.

Well done to all those involved.

Thursday 19th January 2012.

Youth / Vocational Committee.

RIBI Young Chef of the Year Competition – 2012.

This year’s involvement began on Thursday the 19th of January at Helsby High School, where President Graham, Tony Fernandez, Alan Laird, Andrew Hendry and Malcolm Davies went along in support of our sponsored local students.

The event was superbly organised by Helsby High School teacher Mrs Cross and the competitors from Helsby were Alex Weale, Anna Scaife, Elysia Hardie, Harry Stubbs and Sophie Parker.

Following a lengthy and difficult judging process a decision was reached, and whilst it was unanimously agreed that all the competitors deserved congratulation, the runner up was SOPHIE PARKER (pictured left) and the winner was ELYSIA HARDIE (below).

Sophie and Elysia will now go forward to a District Final to be held early in February where they will compete against 14 other students from around the North West – good luck to them both !!

We were, and are, indebted to Mr Adam Senior from the Old Hall Hotel who took time off from his duties as Sous Chef to judge the event.

Also, we must say a big thank you to the Headmaster of HHS, Mr. Dowler, who along with several members of his staff and pupils, helped to make the day the success it was.

Similarly, it is important that we record our thanks to all the members of our Club’s Youth and Vocational Committee, who did such a superb job, prior to, and on the day.

Finally, it is worth recording that President Graham, along with all the others that went along in support of the 10 Young Chefs, were encouraged to sample the dishes prepared that afternoon whilst the judging process took place, which was no chore at all!

 6, 11 and 17 December 2011

Round Table's Father Christmas' Float -Raising money for Charity - And cheering the Children

Again, our Club gave help and assistance to our good friends in Frodsham & District Round Table by taking charge of their Christmas Float on three separate occasions. Some 28 of our Club members were involved over the three days, which, was enjoyed enormously by all concerned.

Our involvement began on Tuesday the 6th of December when we toured the Belmonte Road area in Frodsham. It was nice to see that Santa’s “Little Helpers” were kept busy the whole evening with residents giving great support to our efforts and Santa was kept busy with Christmas present requests from the children, as well as adults too!

As might be expected, it was necessary to check the inside of the Belmonte public house, just to make sure we missed no-one!

Now this year, for the fourth time, we visited both local Supermarkets, with Tesco in Helsby being the first, where we were very well received by shoppers on Sunday the 11th of December.

Not to be outdone, the following Saturday we visited Morrisons in Frodsham where, as with the previous Saturday, shoppers supported our collection in superb fashion and Santa ensured all requests were duly noted and passed on ready for Christmas Eve.

We would like to express our thanks to the Management and Staff at both Supermarkets for their support, for which we are so appreciative.

President Graham and all the members of the Rotary Club of Frodsham & Helsby, would also like to pass on thanks, Seasonal Greetings and Best Wishes to all those Children, Parents, Family and Friends who came out and showed their support to this most wonderful of Christmas event, which we are pleased to support and be a part of.

See You All Next Year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sunday 11 December 2011

Silver Band Concert - Raising money for Charity

On Sunday the 11th of December, our Club held its Annual Band Concert, and as with previous years, it was held in Frodsham Community Centre. What a fantastic event it turned out to be.

Once again, we were pleased to have play for us, the wonderful Marsden Silver Prize Band, from Yorkshire. Yes, ….. God's own Country.

In preparing the hall and stage earlier that afternoon, seating was set out under the direction of Sam, who can be seen here giving detailed instructions to Richard, as it was important that they were positioned with pin-point accuracy.

Before the near capacity audience took their seats, Vince, Ian and Fred opened up our “Biscuits Beer Chocolates” Tombola, which was just about cleared of prizes prior to the commencement of the evening. Good On’yer Lad’s.

The evening’s entertainment was opened by our M.C., Sam Williams, who welcomed everyone to the Concert. He then introduced their Conductor, Glyn Williams and Band members on stage, who took no time at all to strike up and begin the evening's entertainment.

Everyone was treated to a fabulous mixture of new and classic band pieces, and of course Christmas Carols which encouraged, nay required, audience participation.

The interval featured further seasonal spirit with warm drinks, mince pies and biscuits provided by Dot Lawless and other members of the Inner Wheel Club of Frodsham & Helsby.

Thank you Ladies.

Prior to the commencement of the second part of the programme, our M.C. introduced President Graham, who thanked everyone for coming along to make the evening the success it was and wished everyone a Safe and Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

The second part of the evening was equally entertaining and memorable in many ways and was thoroughly enjoyed by all present.

So, thanks once again to Glyn Williams, the Marsden Silver Prize Band and of course the good folk of Frodsham, Helsby and surrounding areas for their support of this most enjoyable seasonal event, which provides such a wonderful Community activity whilst at the same time affording our Club the opportunity to raise funds for Rotary Charities.

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to Everyone.

Friday 2nd December 2011

Our Charter Celebration

No doubt there will be more detail to follow this up, but tonight was a bit special. At our celebration of 33 years as a Rotary Club, one of our most committed Rotarians was awarded a very special honour. Roy Wallwork was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship for his many years of service to the community by the club's president, Graham Reeves.Among so many things that Roy has done for our community, and his fund raising for so many good causes, one activity stands out - the Life Education Caravan.

We were once again delighted to have visitors from our sister club of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic with us for our celebration this year. President Jan Michálek, Rotarian Aleš Hýbner and Jan's son Jakub Michálek joined us on Friday night and were entertained by various club members for the whole weekend. Our picture shows the vistors with Rotary District 1280's esteemed Governor, David Ellis. Our visiting speaker, the Independent's Chief Sports Writer, entertained us after dinner with tales of his exploits with some of the most famous names in sport.

Congratulations from the whole club to Roy!

Thursday 1 December to Sunday 4 December 2011

Three Czech visitors Come Along to our Club's Charter Anniversary Dinner.

In what has now become an annual event, representatives from our twin Club of Hradec Králové once again attended our Charter Anniversary Dinner.

President Jan Michálek, his son Jakub and Rotarian Aleš Hýbner arrived on Thursday the 1^st of December and were met at Manchester Airport by President Graham, Richard Brook, Daniela Cervenka and Malcolm Davies.

President Jan and his family have exchanged visits with Richard and Jean Brook several times and they did so again this visit. Aleš, however, is a relatively new member to their Club and has never visited Frodsham before, and was hosted by Maggie and Malcolm Davies. The welcome also included the flying of both Nations flags, as can be seen. 

Knowing they had started in the early hours from Hradec, we were unsure as to whether or not they would need a rest on arrival, however after a brief hour to unpack and have quick refreshments, they were game for a walk on Frodsham Hill to view the surrounding countryside, accompanied by Nemo and Peggy-Chan (canine friends).

The weather was good and although visibility wasn’t brilliant they did manage to see over to Liverpool and the Welsh hills as well as the recently installed Rotary Plaque on the Memorial Field.

Then it was home for a quick change and round to Overton Court to enjoy a wonderful meal prepared by Jean Brook, at which our guests were joined by President Graham and his wife Christine.

Friday morning dawned with surprisingly clement weather for the time of year, and after breakfast everyone set off to visit Chester. Although President Jan has visited Chester many times, neither Aleš nor Jakub had, so we could not miss the opportunity to show off the jewel that we all take for granted. VP1 Gareth and Hilary very kindly allowed the group to park their cars at their home, a real bonus given the time of year, and Gareth did a sterling job acting as guide for the visit. A walk around part of the walls and some shopping was a prelude to a very pleasant lunch spent at the Albion public house, just inside the city walls. Then it was more shopping / sight seeing to allow our visitors to appreciate the Christmas lights.

Hello to you, Vera and Jenda Vitek. We are sure that you would enjoy this wonderful city visit.

This year the drive, on Friday evening, to Catton Hall Shooting Lodge for our Club's Charter Anniversary Dinner was completely without hazard. Last year's drive down Bradley Lane was like negotiating the road to Alpe D’Huez in winter, this year it was quite pleasant. Again, we were pleased to have the Object of Rotary read out in both the Czech language, as well as in English, thanks to President Jan and IPP Ian.

Saturday was quite a different Day!

Sam Williams had taken charge of organising events by arranging to take ten people on a tour of Old Trafford, Manchester United FC’s Ground, and before the trip we had the time to show our visitors some of the interesting buildings Manchester has. The Town Hall was incredibly busy and bustling as the German Christmas Market on the outside had spilled over and there were many stalls inside. We visited the Royal Exchange and the Cathedral before slowly making our way back to the cars for the drive to Old Trafford.

The weather, which until this point in the visit had been very accommodating turned into typical Manchester weather, cold and wet so it was good to spend the rest of the afternoon in the shelter of the various aspects of Old Trafford.

Our guide for the afternoon trip to Old Trafford provided fascinating, if somewhat repetitive, commentary on the history, the many outstanding facilities and personalities that the ground has been home to. Not only the history of Beck’s meeting Posh in the player’s lounge but also the fact that the ground now hosts weddings and the largest was an Indian wedding with 800 guests. The trip through the “Munich Tunnel” was emotional for those old enough to remember that night when so many young talented footballers lost their lives.

There was just enough time when we arrived home for a quick shower and change before heading down to the Helter Skelter, surely one of Frodsham’s nicest pubs, to meet up with several Club members and their wives, who had kindly turned out on a fairly inhospitable night to meet our 3 guests. Then it was upstairs to Oswald’s Restaurant, where eleven of us enjoyed a truly delicious meal in a great atmosphere.

On Sunday there was really only enough time to breakfast before heading off to Manchester Airport for our visitors to catch their return flight to Prague.

So another successful visit from our twin club; action packed, informative, bacchanalian. Truly memorable for all involved.

Friday 11 November & Sunday 13 November

Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday

Our Club was once again represented at local Services of Remembrance, in both Frodsham and Helsby.

Firstly, on Friday the 11^th of November, Mike Collins along with Geoff Bury joined other local dignitaries and organizations at Frodsham War Memorial on Frodsham Hill, where a Service of Remembrance was held.

The following Sunday, Alan Gardner and Don Paterson attended St. Paul’s Church in Helsby, President Graham and his wife Christine, along with Les and Joan Cottrell and Malcolm Davies attended St. Laurence Church in Frodsham and Frank and Val Ball attended a service at Five Crosses Methodist Church, where they too joined other local dignitaries and organizations for the Service of Remembrance.

At all four locations, the Services were very well attended, which clearly demonstrates the respect people have for past sacrifices made, and for that matter sacrifices that continue to be made, by those involved in Wars and Conflicts throughout the world.

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