Sportsman's Dinner
The 12th of October brought our major fund-raising event of the Year, the Annual Charity Sportsman's Dinner. This, the 18th such event, was hosted by our inimitable President, Malcolm Davies, with our Master of Ceremonies, Sam Williams and VP1 Barry Linaker ensuring that everything went all right on the night.
After a warm welcome from our President we a sat down to an excellent 4 course dinner in the Banqueting Suite of the Park Royal Hotel, Stretton. The usual assembly of Rotarians and their guests, with representatives from the local business community, was this year complemented by a table of ladies, no doubt attracted by our main speaker of the evening, Graham Gooch OBE. The meal was rounded of by a couple of games of heads and tails and a raffle, the main prizes being a DAB radio and a portable DVD player.
Our speaker then entertained us with tales of daring do on the cricket field and a few less savoury tales from the locker room. The list of names which he failed not to mention made a veritable who's who of English cricket in recent years. Players from other countries, commentators and even umpires were also mentioned, more or less favourably depending on circumstances.
With the room now in a generous good mood, it was time for the Charity Auction expertly led by our auctioneer Andrew Wallace of Wright Manley. A total of 15 items generously donated by local businesses and individuals were duly put under the hammer.
It was then time to refill our glasses and settle down to some soft Irish humour courtesy of our comedian Dusty Young.
The laughter only subsided when, all too soon, our MC (who doubles as Hon Treasurer) announced that we had raised over £2000. This will be used to sponsor local, national and international charitable events and organisations throughout the coming year.
We would like to thank the organisers, helpers, ticket sellers, sponsors of prizes and attendees who again made this event both enjoyable and worthwhile.
Call my wine tasting bluff.
On the 19th October there was an evening organised by the Social and Fellowship Committee which took the form of a wine tasting. Three members of the committee offered their different provenances for each of six wines. The rest of the members had to decide (or guess) which was correct and estimate the price.
The wines were all purchased from Majestic Wine in Chester they were:-
| White Marc Durounau Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne | Colombard grape, tastes of grapefruit | £3.99 |
| White; King's River Viognier from South Africa | Tastes of peaches and apricots | £3.99 |
| White McGuigan Gold Chardonnay | Australian tropical fruit flavour | £3.99 |
| Red McGuigan Gold Shiraz | Australian smoky oak flavour | £3.99 |
| Carrascal 2003/04 Cavas de Weinert | A mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Argentina as recommended by Robert Parker | £3.99 |
| Goat-Roti from South Africa. | A copy of a French wine, Côte-Roti which sells for £30 per bottle | £7.49 |
Majestic have asked me to point out their prices vary, sometimes from week to week. However, if you are thinking of buying a case for Christmas they are well worth a visit as they always have wines open to taste. Follow this link to their website for more information and how to get there!
District Conference 2006 at Llandudno.
Once again our Club was represented at District 1280s Conference, which was held in beautiful Llandudno.
This
year, President Malcolm and his wife Maggie were joined by Adrian and
Jane, Richard and Jean and finally, Sam and Vanessa. Unfortunately,
Hedley and Rosanne were not able to make it due to unforeseen
circumstances, however they did send their best wishes to all of us who
did venture into Welsh Wales!
The George Hotel hosted our Club and following its refurbishment, provided superb accommodation with wonderful food, service and very pleasant staff.
Unfortunately, as with previous visits to Llandudno, the weather was varied and on Saturday evening it did get very wet!
The Conference itself was, it is thought, the best yet with a varied programme for all of the four Plenary Sessions with interesting speakers and subjects. It was unfortunate however that just as RI Representative, Rtn. Cliff Dochterman, was getting into his stride the Fire Alarm was activated and the theatre complex was evacuated.
The entertainment was of the highest order, with Friday Evening featuring a Gala Youth Concert with the Rochdale Youth Band.
To top that, Saturday Evening was a musical spectacular with Beyond the Barricades which was breathtaking to say the least, with the President being rebuked by Jane for singing along 'Too Loud'.
In all, the weekend was a great success, and everyone agreed that future District Conferences should be supported by our Club.
Cant wait for next year in sunny Scarborough .... that's in Yorkshire y'know!
A Perfect Rotary Husband?
In order to ensure that our Club members present themselves at home in the best possible way, Gareth Williams and his Fellowship & Social Committee arranged for (appropriate literary) guidance to be made available for comparison purposes!
On Saturday the 11th of November, some 34 Club members, their Ladies and Guests went along to Theatre Clwyd, in Mold, for a performance of Oscar Wilde's play -- 'A Perfect Husband'.
As you might expect, the feedback from our Club members was UNANIMOUS, in that all were shown to be shining examples of being 'More Than Perfect'!
Unfortunately, it is with regret that statistically this sample response does not allow much more to be drawn from it as NONE of the Ladies comments were allowed to be fed back, hence read into the above what you will.
The evening, for many, continued at the local Plas Fryn hostelry, where appropriate refreshments were taken in appropriate quantities.
Suffice it to say, a good evening was had by all and no doubt more such events will be arranged for our Perfect Club members in the future.
Daffodil Bulb Planting in Helsby.
For several years now, our Club has involved itself in this continuing activity of planting daffodil bulbs in the roadside verges in Helsby.
Our links with Helsby Parish Council remain strong through one of their Councillors and member of our Club, Alan Gardner.
The work was undertaken on Saturday the 18th of November 2006, which was a fine sunny day, perfect weather for those Club members who had made time for this Community Project.
The rewards for all the hard work will be apparent in February/ March next year, but more importantly for years to come, as 'Spring' will bring along a wonderful reminder of time well spent that day.
As you would expect, our Team of Alan Gardner, Mike Collins, Alan Revell, Mike Gammie, Vince Akers and President Malcolm found time to lean on their shovels and pose for the Press. Alan Revell however, in wanting to avoid too much publicity and remain as inconspicuous as was possible, opted for the use of sunglasses as opposed to putting the bucket back on his head!
