The 27th Running of the Shell Four Villages Half Marathon.
Once again, our Club was pleased to be asked to help runners, their family, friends and supporters, safely park their cars, then feed and water them prior to, during and after the Half Marathon race.
On the day, Sunday 20th January 2008, about ten Club members put on their high-vis vests and tabards, wrapped up well against the elements, and directed the competitors vehicles from about 9.00am until 11.00 when the race started promptly, with this year 2000 athletes being officially registered as entrants.
Helsby Running Club again made use a Park and Ride scheme where buses ferried people from the M56 Services to the venue itself, as well as using the very restricted parking areas that are spread far and wide over their Club’s site, the former BICC factory and the Tesco Supermarket sites.
Along
side our Car Parking Team, another group, including two wives of Club
members, manned our Refreshment Stall, where Tea, Coffee and Hot
Chocolate were produced and purchased in huge quantities to go along
with our now famous “Big Bacon Bapps”.
We made and sold some hundreds of these and once again we can rightly claim that they (wait for it) Sold Like Hot Cakes.
Despite Club member, Mike Collin’s, organizational efforts on the transportation front, the Park & Ride scheme proved somewhat of a headache for him at the end of the event, when one of the two buses broke down, causing substantial logistical problems that were, of course, eventually resolved!
Our Rotary Club members believe that their contribution to this event is not only a service we are pleased to provide to the local Community, but is also a helping hand for our good friends in Helsby Running Club, enabling them to continue to hold this very well respected and attended Half Marathon that attracts athletes of all ages from far and wide.
We would also like to report and congratulate Club members, Frank Ball and Richard Brook (pictured here in blue soon after the start!) on their successful completion of the course, as well as thanking all those from our Club who helped make the day the success it was.
Well done folks.
Further Success In Recruiting New Club Members.
Our Club's efforts to ensure a strong, healthy and vibrant membership has once again proved successful.
At our Dinner meeting held on Thursday the 3rd of April, President Barry was pleased to start proceedings by confirming that he would be inducting Andrew Hendry and Steve Hudson into our Club.
The ceremony started with introductions from all of the Sponsors who, with consummate erudition, provided in depth detail of Andrew and Steve's personal qualities and experiences, with insights into the shadier aspects of their pasts.
The content of these presentations, along with the excellence of their delivery was appreciated and applauded by all present to the extent that there were cries of "Encore!" during the several curtain calls they received!
It therefore only remained for President Barry to formally induct Andrew and Steve into the Club and present each with their Rotary lapel badge, Club and District Year books and, of course, to pass on his personal congratulations to them.
President Barry ended by confirming that, with the addition to the ranks of Andrew and Steve, for the first time our Club's membership has passed the 50 mark; we now have 51 members.
As is our custom, the President invited our two New Club Members to say a few words before being taken by their sponsors and formally presented to all present.
Andrew began and it wasn't long before the beguiling effects of his wonderful Scottish accent had Club members calling out "Rabbie Burns Lives On", yet they were ever mindful that such encouragement would not mean that whisky would flow as he has deep pockets and short arms.
Steve then followed, referring to several pages of notes he had prepared earlier. Unfortunately, this lead to several Club members falling asleep which meant they missed the description of his Company's involvement with Adult Educational Toys for the discerning gentleman!
Our photo shows, seated left to right Andrew Hendry, President Barry and Steve Hudson. Standing from left to right Graham Reeves (Andrew's sponsor), Brian Henshaw and Ian Tickle (Steve's sponsors).
Andrew, Steve - Welcome to our Club and to Rotary.
HALTON HAVEN EASTER APPEAL
Following on from a very successful Christmas Appeal our club happily agreed to take part in Halton Haven's Easter Appeal.
Easter Bunnies, Chicks and other seasonal goodies along with collection tins were distributed by club members, to businesses and schools in Frodsham, Helsby and the surrounding villages.
These Appeals are likely to be fully supported in the future by
Frodsham and Helsby Rotary Club, as the generosity of local people to
this worthy cause is tremendous.
At the time of writing we await to hear the monetary value of the
Easter Appeal and are hoping that it will break the Christmas record
Unfortunately photographs of this event were not possible, it seems that Rotarians will give freely of their time but positively refuse to dress as bunnies or chicks!!
Youth Speaks – North West and Wales Regional Final.
It was with the greatest of pleasure that our Club hosted the Regional Final of the Youth Speaks Competition, which was held on Sunday the 6th April at Forest Hills Hotel, with 16 Teams competing for 2 places in the National Final, which is to be held in London on Sunday the 27th April.
The Competition was opened by President Barry, who formally welcomed everyone to the event. Special mention was made of the two visiting Rotary District Governors Mike Payne (D1050) and Tony Cotton (D1180) and of course the panel of Adjudicators, who were Wendy Sutcliffe, Sheila Dean and Dave Williams.
Finally, the President introduced the time-keepers for the day, Don Patterson and Rod Hyde, who kept the teams under scrutiny, with Richard Brook and Alan Laird providing the questions. Following this, Brian Henshaw then outlined the format for the day and briefly covered the Rules associated with the Competition.
After an excellent series of presentations from the Teams, the Adjudicators retired to consider their verdict whilst everyone else took time out for an excellent buffet and a chat in the Hotels Main Foyer and Bars.
This was the 8th year of the Competition and once again the Hotel's Management and Staff royally looked after us, for which we are most grateful, as they helped ensure the success of the event.
Following each break, the Adjudicators returned to give a brief resume of each Team's performance before announcing the results, these being :-
Senior Competition Winners South Wirral High School (Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Birkenhead).
The make-up of the Teams and their sponsoring Rotary Clubs were as in the table below.
| TEAM | CHAIRPERSON | SPEAKER | VOTE OF THANKS | SUBJECT | SPONSORING ROTARY CLUB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hulme Grammar School for Girls | Hannah Beard | Olivia Downing | Ailsa Lawson | "The Latin Lovers Guide" | Chadderton and Failsworth District 1280 |
| Bury Grammar School for Girls | Alexandra Welsby | Aadhitthya Anbahan | Charlotte Scrivens | "What It Means To Be British" | Bury District 1280 |
| Alderley Edge School for Girls | Jess Keely | Katie Barge | Charlotte Gough | "Where are our Heroines?" | Wilmslow Dean District 1050 |
| The Grange School | Eleanor Harry | Alice Cawson | Sophie Rigby | "The Real Cost of Cheap, Fast Fashion" | Northwich Vale Royal District 1050 |
| South Wirral High School | Katie Pinch | Daniel Tyler | Lauren Whitford-Stark | "Politics has it lost its Relevance to Young People" | Birkenhead District 1180 |
| Hillgrove School | William Aron | Natalie Jones | Anna Thompson | "Euthanasia" | Bangor District 1180 |
| Cartmel Priory | Lauren Davies | Beth Tomison | Ned Sharpe | "Less is More" | Kendal District 1190 |
| Clitheroe Royal Grammar School | Edward Bell | Eleanor Geldard | Thomas Fisher | "Full Fat Tax" | Clitheroe District 1190 |
Intermediate Competition Winners – Golborne High School (Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Newton-le-Willows).
The make-up of the Teams and their sponsoring Rotary Clubs were as in the table below.
| TEAM | CHAIRPERSON | SPEAKER | VOTE OF THANKS | SUBJECT | SPONSORING ROTARY CLUB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argoed High School | Emily Lloyd | Olivia Petie | Daniel Ashley-Cooper | "Are Current Teaching Methods the Most Effective" | Mold District 1180 |
| Ad Lib Community Drama Group | Lois Donnelly | Rebecca Sutton | Alex Parker | "A Whole New Can of Worms" | Bangor District 1180 |
| St Philip Howard Catholic Sports College | Abbie Regan | Rowan Wilkie | Francesca Clark | "How Teenagers are Perceived" | Glossop District 1050 |
| St James Catholic High School | Alexandra Heywood | Lucy McDermott | Grace Taylor | "Media Representation of Teenagers" | Gatley District 1050 |
| Clitheroe Royal Grammar School | Lucy Grime | Kaat Marynissen | Olivia Critchley | "Poles Apart" | Clitheroe District 1190 |
| St Benedict's Catholic High School | Scott Mackay | Jessica Longrigg | Katie Harvey | "Pollution and Environmental Damage in Antarctica" | Whitehaven District 1190 |
| Golborne High School | Anna Hamilton | Larner Taylor | Greg Wilde | "Are The Youth Of Today Growing Up Too Fast" | Newton-Le-Willows District 1280 |
| Westhoughton High School | Sophie Langhorne | Max Harrison | Elizabeth Green | "Media And Its Influence On Youth" | Westhoughton District 1280 |
Following the presentation of the Shields and Awards the District Governors closed by congratulating all those who had taken part in what had been a wonderful occasion. They then went on to thank all those who had helped and supported the Teams and of course those who had helped put together the event itself. In conclusion they wished the two Winning Teams much success in the National Final and hoped that that everyone had enjoyed the event.
Our photographs show the two DG's with their Winning Teams after the presentations along with our very own Time-keepers, Questioners and our esteemed Adjudicators with Brian Henshaw.
