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The Editors all say T
hose who attended October’s District Council will recall that your Editor explained to Rotarians present that, where possible, she was keen to focus on any group of people – whether religious or secular – whose objectives could in any way coincide with Rotary’s.
For instance, the previous issue of Rotary in London focused on peace issues, so we sent copies of the magazine to London Quaker Meetings. This is because of the importance to Quakers of their Peace Testimony, which the Quakers presented to King Charles II in 1660. Three centuries on, in 1947, Quakers both sides of the Atlantic shared the Nobel Peace Prize. Certainly Rotary has a strong tradition of avoiding overt sectarian or party political discussion at club meetings. This, of course, is to avoid tiresome recruitment campaigns of members to a particular political or religious cause. However, this tradition should not prevent clubs making themselves aware of what is going on in the world and that, of course, includes what is happening in our national and local government or in our local faith communities. For the past five years or so, Rotary has been encouraging clubs to develop partnerships with other organisations. If you are not already doing so, why not take make a deliberate effort to make your club’s activities known to your local faith communities? Contact local places of worship (and in multi-cultural London that means an incredible range) and invite speakers to tell your members about their work in the community. At the same time, let those same places of worship know that your club is willing to arrange for speakers to come and tell their congregations what Rotary is doing. You never know – you might find such links are exactly what are needed to get a project off the ground. If you manage to make such links, let Rotary in London know. Even better, if your own club is already doing something along the lines suggested, write and tell us about it. We’ll publish whatever you send us, as always. Jane Hammond, Editor his is a gentle reminder to Rotarians about advertising in our District’s own magazine, Rotary in London. In addition to being a good commercial decision, it is an opportunity to publicise your goods and services to an identifiable, intelligent, captive and well informed readership. Your patronage shows commitment to Rotary on a par, dare I say it, with Rotary Foundation Sustaining Members. Not only does it help to generate funds to augment the budget you allocate to cope with production costs, your adverts are repeatedly viewed by a sizeable membership. This effectively strengthens your close connection with your fellow Rotarians, lending credibility and endorsement to your products. Remember, special rates are available to members, more so if you make a series of bookings. PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR MAGAZINE! Margaret Cooper, Assistant Editor
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ello again Rotarian photographers. Some of you still send photos that are low resolution, 72dpi images,
Corrigenda: Summer 2012 issue, page 12: Dennis Bloomfield of the Barking Rotary Club organized the club’s Kids Out event (not President Laurie Ford as published), which was held in Central Park, Dagenham, not Dagenham Park. Autumn 2012 issue, page 2: Rotary spends $5m (approximately £3.5m) on its Peace Study Fellowships (not as indicated). The Editor apologises unreservedly for these incorrect statements. Cover shows Mary Reynolds as “Her Majesty”, with DG Eve, in the New Year’s Day Parade; behind them are Rotarians Mike Wren and Tony Chase, Presidents respectively of the Rotary Clubs of Redbridge and Putney. DG 1140 Mike Thorn took the photo. The views expressed on this page are those of the Editor only. Rotary In London
which are totally unusable! For publication in the magazine, photos MUST be high resolution images of 300dpi (dots per inch). That means setting your digital cameras - or camera phones - to their highest resolution BEFORE you start taking photos. If you are not sure how to do this - and it is really not difficult – please check the instruction manual - or ask a young friend. From now on, any photos received that do not meet these requirements will now be discarded! And lastly, please do not line your subjects up standing square-on to the camera. Place them in a more interesting grouping with perhaps one or two of them seated. Clive Bubley, Picture Editor
Inside this issue… Games legacy ............................Page 1 Conference breaks new ground ..............................................Pages 2 & 3 Don’t forget the Day concert......Page 3 Overseas projects flourish Pages 4 & 5 Now that the Games are over ..Page 7 Rotarians on parade and celebrating Christmas ............................Pages 8 & 9 Have your say about anything you like ..........................................Pages 10 &11 Speakers’ Panel ........................Page 11 Barking Club is busy ................Page 13 Book reviews ............................Page 15 Talking of polio ..........................Page 15 Winners all round ......................Page 16 Mish Mosh..................................Page 16 The Magazine for the Rotary Clubs of Greater London is published by District 1130 of Rotary International
Rotary in London EDITOR Jane Hammond 46 La Providence, Rochester, Kent ME1 1NB Tel: 01634 847 772 Mob: 07949 557 550 email: trident@btconnect.com PICTURE EDITOR Clive Bubley Tel: 020 8455 8208 email: clive@bubley.co.uk ASSISTANT EDITOR Margaret Cooper Tel: 020 8505 5996 Mob: 07542 020 616 email: ma_grooper@yahoo.co.uk Published in association with Pinegen Publishing Ltd Tel: 020 8335 1109 • Fax: 020 8335 1117 e-mail: ppl@pinegen.co.uk For advertising contact: Assistant Editor Printed by The Manson Group Ltd Hard Copy (text and photos) to the Editor by post. e-mails (text) to Editor using Word if possible and photos as high resolution jpgs. All digital images also to: clive@bubley.co.uk and pix@rotaryinlondon.org For further information, go to the Rotary District Website:
www.rotaryinlondon.org
Rotary in London is your magazine. Information is published in good faith, but does not necessarily represent the views of the Editor of Rotary in London or of London District 1130. No liability is accepted for the actions of advertisers, as advertisements are accepted at face value. The Editor welcomes news items, articles, photographs and letters, but is not obliged to publish unsolicited material, reserving the right to edit for clarity and length. Contributors must ensure that material submitted never breaches copyright and must obtain necessary permission in writing for reproduction No responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage to material submitted to Rotary in London magazine.
The next edition of Rotary In London will be the Spring issue. The deadline for copy is 13 March. Please note this date! Winter, 2013
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What an amazing and inspirational year 2012 was with the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, in which Rotary played such a key role as volunteers. Once over it was like a party no one wanted to leave. Rotary in London can build on the legacy of the Games and the enthusiasm generated in volunteering. As a result, we are seeing an increased interest in membership of Rotary in London; our District is receiving the most referrals.
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fter the highlights of 2012, we have a lot to look forward to in 2013. I shall continue to work with you all to increase the profile of Rotary in London and raise awareness about our achievements in making the world a better place. Kicking off 2013 in right royal style, our cover photo shows us in the New Year’s Day Parade – and who is that with us? Has parachuting into the Olympic Stadium whetted Her Majesty’s appetite for even more exciting appearances, such as marching along London streets with Rotarians?
Joyful and frivolous Now from the joyful and frivolous to the serious. At this time, we must remember the Pakistani polio vaccination workers whom the Taliban killed in their murderous series of attacks. No Rotarians were slain on this occasion, but nevertheless it remains a terrible tragedy that people working so hard to save children from the scourge of polio should be slaughtered in this way. Our thoughts are with their families and with the children who, through not being vaccinated, risk becoming victims of the dreadful disease of polio. Nevertheless, Rotary has still managed to achieve much in playing its part in driving forward the fight against polio. January 2013 marks a milestone in Rotary’s battle to eradicate polio with India celebrating two years of being free of polio cases. The three remaining polio – endemic countries are Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. One of my most moving Rotary moments was placing two drops of polio vaccine into a child’s mouth during an immunisation campaign in India in 2009 (see above) and realising now that this really was part of history. We are continuing to play a key role through fundraising, such as selling Purple Crocus Fabric Buttonholes. During Rotary Week (18 to 25 Winter, 2013
February), clubs can get involved in numerous ways in fundraising and awareness activities during Rotary Week, from taking over empty shops or shop windows, to working with schools on activities such as holding a Purple Pinkie event, where everyone dresses up in purple. This is the colour of the dye put on the little fingers of children to show they have been immunised against polio. More information is available from Leonard Specterman, the District’s End Polio Now officer. On Rotary’s 108th Birthday (23 February), a Rotary Day End Polio Now Concert takes place at St Marylebone Church opposite Rotary’s London HQ in York Gate. This will include performances by opera singer Birgit Beer, Honorary Member of the City & Shoreditch Rotary Club, and Rotary Foundation Scholars. As RI President Sakuji Tanaka’s theme is Peace Through Service, promoting peace is an important focus for this Rotary year. It includes issues such as anti-bullying projects in schools and tackling domestic violence, as well as ending conflict in our society and worldwide. A major Rotary in London Peace Event is planned for the Spring and details are being finalised. This will involve inspirational keynote speakers. I am linking up with Peace One Day founder, the actor and film maker Jeremy Gilley, and peacebuilding organisation International Alert.
Peacejam The District is also linking up with Peacejam, a project led by Nobel Peace Prize winners. This will create a new generation of peacemakers, Peace Ambassadors, in Interact Clubs and in schools. Rotary Peace Scholars will participate in this scheme, which helps young people create an atmosphere of peace in their schools and their communities. A Peacejam Seminar at York Gate on 23 March will present more details. Following
Photo: Jean-Marc Giboux
Games legacy is a golden opportunity
EVE GIVES POLIO VACCINE
DG Eve gives a child a polio vaccine drop during her visit to India in 2009. India is now free of polio, but the End Polio Campaign continues to rid the scourge of polio from its last three endemic areas: Afghanistan, Northern Nigeria and Pakistan.
Peacejam will be Peace Talks, a threehour event organised by the Rotary Club of Paddington. Admission to each event is £15. On 8 March, International Women’s Day, I am organising the London part of a Five Cities Women and Men in Rotary Business Networking Breakfast. This will take place in London’s City Hall. The other four venues are in the capital cities of Belfast, Cardiff, Dublin and Edinburgh. I am running in the London Marathon on 21 April 2013 to raise funds for the RIBI and WheelPower Rotary Wheel Appeal. This provides sports wheelchairs to enable youngsters with disabilities to take part in sport and even become future Paralympians, as a legacy project of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. You may recall reading in the Spring issue of Rotary in London about 11-year-old Rotary Young Citizen Award winner Lydia Cross launching this appeal.
Marathon training I am now undergoing my marathon training and urge Rotarians to Get Fit With DG Eve. I shall be training in parks and public spaces near you and invite Rotarians to join me as I work out. You can also take a short sponsored walk or run somewhere to raise money for the Rotary Wheel Appeal and join in the fun! I also plan to take part in a Rotary Global Swimathon and shall be inviting Rotarians to join me in that event as well. With the start of the New Year, the opportunity is also here for Clubs to take part in visioning (see letter page 11). You can invite the District Visioning Team to hold a visioning session. This project has greatly helped clubs plan for their future and boosted membership in America, Australia and New Zealand. Eve Conway District Governor, Rotary in London Rotary In London • 1
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Conference breaks new ground at Hayling Island For this year’s District Conference, clubs were given four choices of venue, based upon views expressed by Rotarians attending Conference over the years. Overwhelmingly, the Council chose Sinah Warren Hotel at Hayling Island. This year’s Conference Chair Clive Amos describes what happened.
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aving served on the conference committee several times and once before been chairman, I knew that doing things in a new way would have problems; they turned out to be far more than I had anticipated. Nevertheless we managed to get everything in place for the start of the conference.
Apart from the change of venue, Conference 2012 was a first for us in other ways because we all stayed together in one venue rather than in a variety of hotels.
Weather We were not at the mercy of the weather to reach our conference venue. We did not have to pay separately for hire of the conference venue or entertainment. We held receptions for everyone attending rather than for just a few, as at previous conferences. On Friday afternoon, two high profile speakers, Rotarian David Hunt (Lord Hunt of Wirral) and Cherie Blair, were the first speakers. Lord Hunt, as chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, discussed press regulation. Cherie Blair talked about her work promoting the advancement of women. RIBI President John Minhinick attended conference in person, the first RIBI President to do so for several years, giving his view of Rotary in these islands.
Receptions The first of the receptions for everyone attending conference and dinner in the restaurant were followed by Warner’s staff entertaining us in the Pavilion and joining us afterwards for dancing. One colleague remarked that for once he had been able to enjoy the
entertainment because the volume was reasonable, whereas normally he had to leave because it was too loud. Saturday morning featured the Family of Rotary, something that we had brought back from earlier years. We heard about Inner Wheel, Rotaract, Interact and School Year Exchange. Jean Charmak, a fellow DG with me in 20062007, brought us the message from RI President Sakuji Tanaka. We were delighted to be joined by Lydia Cross, a former winner of the RIBI/BBC Young Citizens award, who was interviewed by the TV Presenter Konnie Huq. Lydia, despite losing her lower legs when she was two because of undiagnosed meningitis, had swum, run and carried out all sorts of sponsored activities since she had decided to raise money for Help for Heroes when she was nine. In only two years she has raised over £70,000. Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace One Day, inspired us with his enthusiasm and energy for his campaign for world peace, which fitted so well with the RI President’s theme of Peace Through Service. We concluded the morning with DG Eve outlining her hopes and aspirations for our District and for Rotary.
Trip to India In the afternoon session, Konnie Huq and Eve told us about their trip to India to take part in and make a documentary about Rotary’s polio eradication campaign (see picture, page 1).
DG Eve is clearly enjoying Conference with husband Robert Ghazi
Following them was Anne Wafula Strike, a wheelchair user and former Paralympian, who also inspired us by her story (see review, page 15).
Playing golf Whilst some of us listened to the speakers, others relaxed in various ways: playing golf, taking part in archery and pistol shooting, enjoying the hotel facilities and so on. After another reception for everyone, then dinner, we danced to an Abba tribute band.
Parade Sunday morning brought the traditional parade of Club Presidents. The Knott brothers and their coach told us about their experience as Goal Ball players in the Paralympics, Foundation and Global Scholars entertained us and the Rev Debbie Hodge, DG 1260, reflected on peace in Thought for the Day. The closing speaker was Graham Webb, who left school at fifteen.
continued on page 3
Foundation Scholars live it up at Conference
Here are some of this year’s London District’s Foundation Scholars enjoying themselves at Conference. The men have chosen to look solemn, albeit with celebratory glasses in hand (Bucks Fizz or just orange juice – nobody’s saying). They are, left to right: Eric Waldstein, Varun Mahotra, Sean Stephenson, Matt Smith, Jonah Brotman, Derek Marchant and Clark Yuan.
DG Eve is seen with RI’s President’s Representative, PDG Jean Charmak of Reading Matins Rotary Club
2 • Rotary In London
The girls have chosen to be more expressive – are they auditioning for a comedy turn? Left to right, back row: Emily Gordon, Nicole Pay, Erika Larson, Abbi Hannifan, Amy Parker; front row: Samantha Webb, Reva Datar and Kashmira Chawla. Varun, Sean and Jonah are from Canada and Matt is from Australia. Everyone else is from the United States. Other countries of origin for District 1130 Scholars (not shown here) are China (Hong Kong), France, Germany, Japan and South Korea. Winter, 2013
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Speakers at conference continued from page 2 Suffering with undiagnosed spina bifida, he was thought to be “hopeless”, but went on to develop a multi-million dollar hair care products business. After this we sang Auld Lang Syne, retired for lunch and the conference was over.
New venture Was it worth the hassle? Certainly I could have wished that the preparations had gone more smoothly, but, as I said before, it was a new venture and we would have been very lucky if everything had gone without a hitch. But, as I always say, what really matters are the reactions of those for whom we organised the conference. For my part, having us together in one location throughout and having everyone participating in all the activities really made a difference compared with previous conferences. Many people made kind comments, several even saying that it was the best Rotary conference they had attended. So I guess that, in the end, it was worth the effort.
Speakers at Conference shown here are, clockwise from above: DG Eve with Cherie Blair, Anne Strike (photographed at home), Graham Webb and Lord Hunt. See Book Reviews, page 15.
Don’t forget the Day Concert! A highlight of the special End Polio Now! concert at St Marylebone Church on Rotary Day. 23 February (see page 1), will be the maiden performance of the choral Song for Rotary. This has been specially composed for Rotary by entrepreneur Tom Morley of Instant Teamwork. He founded the 80’s pop group Scritti Politti. Opera singer Birgit Beer, Honorary member of the City and Shoreditch Rotary Club, will sing, performing at St Marylebone Church for the second time in two months. Those who attended the District Carol Service at the same church before Christmas will recall that she was the soloist on that occasion. Also performing will be Rotary Foundation Scholars Pierre Largeron and Heidi Luk, who will play the violin. Attending the concert is Gautam Lewis. Born in Kolkata in 1977, he was abandoned as a three-year-old because he had polio, taken in by Mother Teresa, cared for by her Order and adopted by a British couple. In 2008 he received an Asian Who’s Who charity award in recognition of his keen support for Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign, when he returned to India to participate in Rotary’s immunisation of children against polio in India. The Asian Who’s Who is published by Redbridge Rotary Club member Jasbir Sachar Singh, who launched it in 1975. The concert starts at 6.30pm at St Marylebone Church, Marylebone Road. Tickets at £10 each can be obtained from DG Eve at eveconway@hotmail.co.uk, with a copy to parsye@aol.com. Alternatively, telephone DG Eve on 07850 357842. Winter, 2013
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OVERSEAS PROJECTS FLOURISH...
Above: Asella’s fire fighters and residents give the new fire engine an eager welcome in the Stadium; below left: a Rotary road sign welcomes visitors to Asella; below: PP Helen Johnson receives bouquets from dignitaries and children.
Do you remember a picture of a bright red fire engine in our Spring issue, for which Tower Hamlets Rotary Club was raising funds? They were intending to send it to Asella in Ethiopia, birthplace of one of its members. CPP Helen Johnson brings you up to date with what happened next. ower Hamlets Rotary Club had realised the need for a fire engine when visiting Asella the previous October on a trip to look at club projects in Ethiopia. While there, we had learnt that because there was no fire service the local school had burnt down.
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We decided there and then to set up a fire service and began fund raising. During the following year, many things had to be put in place. We established that the Essex Fire Brigade had a suitable fire engine for sale, but before we put in our offer, we obtained a commitment in writing from the Asella Council in Ethiopia, that they could house the fire engine. This turned out to be the police station. The Council undertook to put in place a 999 system and arrange the necessary training for local policemen by the Ethiopian Fire Brigade in Addis Ababa. The local Government Bus Depot agreed to maintain the vehicle. We also obtained 4 • Rotary In London
a written authorisation from the Ethiopian Government that the vehicle would be allowed into Ethiopia without any taxes or duties. The Rotary Club of Finot, in the area, agreed to see that the vehicle was kept in good repair. Having received all the written agreements, we shipped the fire engine, with cutting equipment, helmets and boots, via Djibouti to Ethiopia. Fire suits and first aid kits, which were donated, accompanied the shipment. In October 2012, one year after the idea was first put forward, the fire engine arrived in Ethiopia. Once we knew it had arrived we flew to Addis Ababa and heard that the fire engine was en route on a flat-bed low loader to Asella. The handover was scheduled for Saturday, 27 October, so we arrived three days earlier. Then we had a phone call from the traffic police asking us for the chassis number of the fire engine, which was only 45 miles away! This caused some amusement as it had
cleared all the stringent importation and customs formalities. Fortunately, we were able to tell them where to find the chassis number and it was allowed to proceed to Asella. We had, however lost one day, so the handover was pushed back to Sunday. We arrived in Asella on the Friday evening. On Saturday morning we were taken to a school yard where the elders had hidden the engine until the big day when it would be presented to the town. As the daughter of a fireman during the London Blitz, I had tears in my eyes when I saw the fire engine in Asella. I know that the others with me were feeling the same way. On Sunday morning, after a civic lunch with government ministers, provincial heads and elders, we went to where the Fire Engine was parked, just outside the town. Men with black maned lions’ headdresses greeted us with a dance, mounted their horses and flanked the fire engine. Over 40 vehicles - cars, buses, scooters, three-wheeler taxis (Tuk Tuks) - followed behind the fire engine. In front were a police escort vehicle and motor cycles. Club member Tony Sharma climbed into the driver seat and set the siren and flashing lights going. I was the designated driver, but my high heeled shoes prevented me from driving the fire engine. People lined the streets to wave and cheer as we drive through the town into the Athletic Stadium, where the ceremonial handover was to take place. Over 3,000 people greeted us; there were speeches and more dancing, Rotarians, elders, politicians and firemen joining in with tears in everyone’s eyes. The people were very grateful and could not thank us enough. They had printed signs that they waved at us, saying: “We are so happy. Thank You Rotary.” There has, of course, been a price to pay for all this. Total cost has exceeded £14,000, way more than the club could afford. To avoid any delay in buying and shipping the fire engine and equipment, many club members lent the club funds, which have to be repaid. This means, of course, that we still need money and we hope that other clubs will contribute. We are having plaques designed, one for each side of the fire engine, so that any club donating £250 or more can be named on the plaque. The Asella Council had already shown their appreciation by naming a road at the entrance to the town. The efforts of our club, along with support from Cllr John Housden, a member of Alresford Parish Council in Essex, and the Rotary Clubs of Wembley, Barkingside, Westminster East and Brentwood Beckett, mean that Asella now has its own Fire Rescue Service. Winter, 2013
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...IN AFRICA AND WORLDWIDE Thanks to a Global Grant of $40,335 under Rotary’s new Future Vision Scheme, the Rotary Clubs of Bush Hill Park and Mityana in Uganda have transformed the village of Nkonya. This is situated some 10 km from the town of Mityana and 85 km from Uganda’s capital, Kampala. David Hammond of Bush Hill Park sets the scene ver the past year and a half since early 2011, when we submitted our proposal to the Rotary Foundation, we have had some anxious moments, but at last our dream of a project has become a reality. Thanks to a lot of help and guidance from Mike Hodge of District 1130’s Foundation Committee, we got through all the application and legal tangles and the Nkonya Village Project was under way. The village is comprised of some 300 households. It has been in the grip of poverty and poor health due mainly to malaria and very poor schooling. Thanks to the grant and the hard work of our Rotarian colleagues in Mityana, we have provided the means for some of the neediest people in Africa to survive and earn a living by raising pigs. We have also encouraged them to improve their health and hygiene for themselves and their families through the provision of mosquito nets and washing stations. Schools have been provided with desks and books. Through the regular reports and photos sent by email to us each month by the project coordinator, Mityana Rotarian Sam Kisubi, who supervised the scheme, we could view the developments as they took place. In the early stages, local government officials advised on the best way to proceed with setting up bye-laws to govern the beneficiaries of the project. Each prospective beneficiary had to be a widow or a widower, possibly HIV positive, and in addition had to have or build a latrine. Hygienic conditions in the village are extremely primitive, and this proviso was an incentive to those wishing to be considered for inclusion in the project. A veterinary officer was assigned to the project for 12 months. The Mityana Club President, Ms Noeline Nabulime, with other club members, visited Nkonya village for meetings: first with village elders and counsellors, then a cross section of the residents. Those interested were told to register with the former village chairman, Mr Bikumbi In the first few days, 132 residents registered their interest and ten were selected to be the first beneficiaries: one widower, seven widows and two other elderly ladies. As the months progressed, three bases were constructed and large rain water harvesting tanks fitted together to form the washing stations at each of the
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Doing good in the world
Top: a wall is being built around a tank at Bukanga School; above right: children crowd into a classroom; above left: a villager and her baby try out a mosquito net; above right: a pig farmer shows off his piglets in his new sty.
primary schools. Instruction was given to the pupils on hygiene. Twenty pig sties were provided, as well as two piglets for each household. Owners received training in modern animal husbandry. One thousand one hundred mosquito nets were distributed. Last October, it was reported that 14 healthy babies had arrived and there had been no deaths at any of the schools being monitored. The three primary schools received 148 desks and 749 books. Following this the number of pupils attending rose from 528 to 740. All through we were able to monitor the project via email contact. Monthly progress reports with photographs were provided by Rotarian Sam Kisubi. A Rotary Community Corps (RCC) has been formed and this will continue to monitor and build on all the achievements. We, with District 1130 and the Rotary Foundation provided the money, but the real work was carried out by the members of the Rotary Club of Mityana. We congratulate them on what has developed into a most successful and inspiring project.
Over the last three years Rotary in London has been one of 100 Rotary Districts spread around the world piloting new arrangements for Foundation Grants. Known as Future Vision, the testing phase concludes in June 2013. Henceforth the Rotary Foundation will be implementing worldwide the tried and tested New Grant Model. The emphasis of the New Grant Model is to get better value out of Foundation contributions by ensuring that projects are properly researched, in line with the Areas of Focus, and have measurable and sustainable outcomes. The project described here fully meets the objectives of the new grant model and lives up to the Rotary Foundation motto: Doing Good in the World.
Bagging a future for children Loughton & Buckhurst Hill Rotary Club raised £279 with a raffle at its Handover Meeting last summer, enough to buy 40 back packs. These were filled with basic educational materials and sent it to the children who receive Mary’s Meals, one of the charities the club had selected as an international project. Mary’s Meals provides daily meals to schoolchildren, at an annual cost of £10.70 per child. This attracts chronically poor children into classrooms where they receive an education that can give them ladders out of poverty. Mary’s Meals supports children in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and South America. Rotary In London • 5
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Now that the games are over
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n October, the Rotary Club of London invited over 70 less able and socially disadvantaged children, their parents and families, hospitals and community groups to a post Paralympics party at York Gate to share their Paralympics experiences. Margaret Cooper, Assistant Editor, was a guest; here is her account. The guests had been recipients of the 100 free tickets purchased for the 2012 London Paralympic Games by Rotary Clubs in London. The tickets went to children, adults and organisations that support less able or disadvantaged individuals in London. Guests from a specialist children’s sports college for four- to nineteenyear olds, West Lea, Enfield, felt that the Games legacy has to be the positive impact on how its pupils now look at life, sports and music. Head teacher Sue Tripp at West Lea said: “Pupils are now even more determined to achieve the best that they can to gain skills needed to progress onto further education, work and future sports competitions.” The Rotary Club of London really felt this was both a huge success and a fantastic way to support their local communities today and for the future. DG Eve, along with PDG Clive Amos and Norman Winbourne (Rotary Club of London President), all attended the occasion. Clive had chaired London District Rotary’s Olympic Committee, which carried out so much of the preparatory work for Rotary’s eventual participation in the Games. In her welcoming speech to all
Above: guests with DG Eve at the London Rotary Club’s party.
present, DG Eve reiterated the message that “we are the community spirit of Rotary that the post-Paralympic celebration represented”. The President of the London Rotary Club sponsors of the day’s event, also welcomed all, and expressed his thanks especially to fellow club members Karen Aston and Coleen Doyle. They had both worked very hard with some of the children and young adults for the community initiative, organising the party. London Rotary Club member Neville Shulman CBE, Olympic torch bearer,
mountaineer and adventurer, brought along his Olympic Torch to show to everyone present. The children were delighted to hear about Neville’s charity work and the fact that the Torch can be put to any charitable use. “It’s for everybody “, he stressed. The party was thoroughly enjoyed by all. For the children, the highlight of the occasion was when the children collected their Certificates of Paralympic Participation from DG Eve, London Club Norman Winbourne and Clive Amos.
Scott was a Games Maker… As a Games Maker at the Olympics, Scott Maclachlan from the Rotary Club of Barnet was in charge of the Escort Team who led out the athletes to receive their medals at the main stadium. On his team’s first evening he welcomed GB athletes Mo Farah, Christine Ohuruogu and Glen Rutherford, who was supported by the Rotary Club of Bedford Park. During the week, many of the world’s best athletes passed through the Green Room, finishing up on the final Saturday with the Jamaican 100m relay team, which included Usain Bolt. During the Paralympics, Scott met Gold Medallist cyclist Sarah Storey as well as MPs Justine Greening (of the Rotary Club of Putney) and Ed Veasey, who were presenting medals. Scott says: “The Winter, 2013
experience of polishing the medals, ironing the ribbons and being part of the medal presentation team was a great honour, making 2012 a very memorable year for me.” Games Maker Suraiya Kassamally, of the Rotary Club of City & Shoreditch, worked in the Olympic Village, dealing with the athletes’ laundry. She earned £183, which she has given to her club’s charity fund.
Three young guests admire the Olympic Torch that Neville Shulman brought to the party.
Games Maker Scott Maclachlan is seen here with his team at the Games; above: Games Maker Suraiya Kassamally presents her Olympic earnings to Ennio Falabella, City & Shoreditch Club President.
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Rotarians on parade in London …
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istory was made this year, when Eve became the first woman to lead Rotary District’s contingent in the Lord Mayor’s Show in London Rotary’s 101-year history.
For nearly 800 years, the Lord Mayor’s Show has floated, rolled, trotted, marched and occasionally fought its way from the Lord Mayor’s residence, the Mansion House, to Westminster, survived the black death and the Blitz and survived into the 21st century as one of the world’s best-loved pageants. The modern procession is over three and a half miles long and fills the streets from 11am until about 2.30 pm, cheered by a crowd of around half a million people and watched live on the BBC by millions more. Accompanying Eve was Young Citizen Award 2010 winner Lydia Cross, recipient of the first sports wheelchair through the Rotary Wheel Appeal, and fomer Paralympian Martin McElhatton, the CEO of WheelPower. With Lydia in the procession were her parents Jodie and Tony and 9-year-old sister Millie. Joining them were other Rotary District Governors and Rotarians, as well as Rotary Foundation Scholars and WheelPower representatives. Martin is Chief Executive of WheelPower at Stoke Mandeville where he has worked in a variety of roles since 1987. The charity WheelPower aims to buy 2012 racing chairs so that other people with disabilities can compete and be future Paralympians. Our cover shows Rotary’s “royal progress” in the New Year’s Day Parade; read about it as well in the letters between the Mayor of Harrow and DG Eve on page 10.
DG Eve leads Rotarians and WheelPower (above); below: Jodie Cross helps her daughter Lydia into the bus, aided by DG Eve.
Penguins crowd into Spitalfields On 6 December members of the Rotary Club of Pall Mall also took to the streets. This time it was in aid of the Richard House Hospice. Dressed as penguins to make sure they were noticed, they ran round Spitalfields Market They managed to raise £600 for the Hospice, which has been providing residential care for children over the past decade. The hospice is based in East London. Earlier in the year, some club members ran the BUPA 10K and raised a stellar amount of just under £2,000. But can penguins run? Ed. 8 • Rotary In London
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... and celebrating Christmas with others
Battersea Park Christmas Day lunch for the elderly This year’s Christmas Day lunch which the Rotary Club of Battersea Park organises annually was as successful as ever, as organiser and Club member Ré Johnson explains. As on previous occasions, we catered for 400 guests and 200 volunteers. We sent out 51 buses to pick up the elderly residents of the Borough of Wandsworth who were our guests. The lunch had a Russian theme: large onion shaped balloons, reflecting the Kremlin domes, floated above the diners. We are particularly grateful to Greg Lawson, CEO of Quantum Leap, owners of the marquee where the lunch took place, Smart Hospitality, caterers providing most of the food and their staff, and local Waitrose stores. Waitrose supported the lunch with its green disc collection in its Balham, Clapham Junction, Putney and Wandsworth stores. This encouraged store customers to select the charity of their choice for the store to help raise £1,500. In addition, the manager of the Wandsworth store gave a lot of food for the guests to take home afterwards. During the lunch, Balham RC member David Johnson received a Paul Harris Fellowship Sapphire from Battersea Park RC for his work with this event.
Epping’s Christmas activities At Christmas this year the Rotary Club of Epping held a carol service on the Green for the tenth year running and sent Santa Claus collecting. The carol service was organised by the Rotary Clubs of Epping and Epping Forest (District 1240). The choir and band of St John’s School led by Band Leader Rebecca Harvey, were joined by over a thousand residents of Epping and the surrounding areas. Their family and friends braved the mud and threat of an impending downpour to join the choir and band in singing and playing a wide selection of favourite carols. Epping Rotary Club member the Rev Duncan Whitehouse led a brief interlude of prayer. Mince pies, hot toddy and huge helpings of Christmas Cheer were served throughout. The Epping Club arranged for Santa to tour Epping, Theydon Bois, Coopersale and North Weald in his sleigh. He managed to raise nearly £5,000 for local charities, including St Clair Hospice and The Box. President of the Rotary Club of Epping, Richard Crone said: “I cannot thank people enough for their generosity at this time of year. It makes a huge difference to local charities which depend heavily on donations and support from our local community.”
Carol singers sing on the Green; seen with Santa are, left to right, Epping Rotary Club members Raz Zoers and Wendy Barritt. PP Roy Newland was standing in for Santa. Photos: David Court
Winter, 2013
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Have your say about anything you like! New Year, New Club?
Letter to DG Eve
Looking for a way to fulfil a new year’s resolution to revitalise your club? If so, I invite you to join in the Visioning Programme which is starting in our District in 2013. Visioning may sound like management consultancy jargon, but it’s just a structured process to help Rotary Clubs think through how they want to develop and put together an action plan for change. It started in the States, but in Canada, Australia and New Zealand it’s now transforming clubs, which are becoming more vibrant with re-enthused existing members and many new ones. Visioning isn’t, however, a magic wand. Strong commitment is needed from a club and its leaders. Each programme starts off with a visit by a Visioning Team made up of Rotarians from our District. We will facilitate a session to help your members envision your group’s future, then work out what steps you must take to get there. That first session lasts around four hours, running through a number of structured steps to build consensus. It’s not just a loose, free-for-all discussion. After that club members take away the results of the session and work them into an action plan. It’s important to stress that neither our DG nor the District Executive will impose this programme on your club. Your club needs to invite the Visioning Team in. The process starts with you. This isn’t just a programme to help big cubs. The folks from the States have run successful Visioning programmes with cubs of just six members, who have more than doubled their size after taking part. The key is the commitment. Those six members all wanted their club to survive and change and made it happen. To find out more, give me a ring on 07966 146746 or email me at sjball@hotmail.com. I’m happy to come and talk to your Club about Visioning and help decide whether it’s right for you. You can find a bit more information about Visioning on the District website at www.rotaryinlondon.org/visioning. And if you are interested in joining the District Visioning Team, do get in touch. I’m looking for experienced and enthusiastic facilitators rather than expert Rotarians. Sarah Ball District 1130 Visioning Champion Rotary Club of Ealing
I wish to convey my heartfelt thanks to ALL the performers, volunteers, organisers and community groups who participated in the best ever Harrow Float at the New Year’s Day Parade in London. You were fantastic and displayed your talent through musical and cultural performance and raised the profile of the London Borough of Harrow by your splendid entertainment, side by side with all other performing groups. This was all seen by an estimated 500,000 or so spectators who lined the 2.2 mile route in our capital city of London, and shown on a three-hour television spectacular beamed via satellite all over the world to an estimated 280 million viewers. Your participation in projecting the image of your cultural background and the diversity of the London Borough of Harrow is immense and immeasurable. You contributed your time and energy freely for the love of the Borough, which we are proud of and are part of it. As First Citizen of the London Borough of Harrow, I am greatly indebted and very proud of the community that I represent. My congratulations go to all the participants who came forward to give Harrow’s entry such a tremendous community spirit for those taking part in this great event in the greatest city in the world. Thank you once again and Happy New Year to all of you - hats off to Harrow: a Community United! Cllr Nizam Ismail Mayor of Harrow
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DG’s reply to the Mayor Once again I thank you, on behalf of Rotary in London, for inviting us to join you and the wonderful groups of people who came together to represent Harrow in what was an excellent float. It was also a great representation of the community spirit that is so evident in the Borough. Everyone was truly impressive! Thanks as well to John Hinkley from Harrow Council and Cllr Jean Lammiman, former Mayor of Harrow, for their hard work in helping to organise the float. We all had such a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We were also grateful that it did not rain, as sadly it did when we joined Harrow to take part in the Parade on 1 January the previous year! We were so sorry Harrow did not win an award this year, as they really deserved
to. Congratulations anyway on bringing everyone together as you did - what an inspirational idea! And we were really proud to be part of your float. Photos of the Parade by Christoph von Lutitz of the Hammersmith Rotary Club and a six-minute video of the London Borough of Harrow’s entry by next year’s District Governor for London, Dick Nathan, are on a number of Rotary web sites. Across the world, Rotary International has also retweeted a photo of us in the Parade with Mary Reynolds, the Queen look-alike, taken and put on Twitter by Mike Thorn, District Governor for Croydon and Surrey, who joined us in the Parade. Hats off to Harrow and a Happy New Year. DG Eve Conway
Chigwell’s memory café The Rotary Club of Leytonstone & Woodford have decided to see what we can do to help people suffering with memory problems. So, for the past four months, we have been holding monthly sessions at the Memory Café at Chigwell Convent in Chigwell Road between 10.00 am and noon on Friday mornings. At these free sessions, we aim to stimulate memories in those who suffer with memory problems to come, with their carers, and have a chat and cup of tea. They can look at newspapers from the 1960s, watch old films, have a singalong and generally have a break from being at home all day. At one session, for instance, those attending were able to watch a film of the Queen’s Coronation in 1953. The feedback from carers has been great. If the scheme is successful we hope to encourage other Rotary Clubs in London to do the same. The cafe is open on the last Friday of every month from 10 till noon. If anyone likes to ring me on 01279 600383 or my fellow club member Alan Barnet on 07762 459655, we would be delighted to provide further information about setting up and running a memory club. Barry Plowman Rotary Club of Leytonstone & Woodford
Mike Brace speaks on Paralympic sport In October 2008 Mike Brace CBE, blind since the age of 10, gave an inspirational talk at the Rotary District 1130 Conference about his involvement with the Paralympic movement over recent decades, initially as a performer in five Winter, 2013
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Keep your letters coming so that you can have your say on whatever subject you want. Rotary in London exists among other things to present Rotary and its work to the world, as well as spurring you on to debate important issues. We shall publish your letters wherever possible, reserving the usual right to edit. So keep up the correspondence! Winter Paralympics and then as part of the Organising Committee for the past nine years. He has also given stimulating and amusing talks at other Rotary District Conferences and at Round Table national meetings. Mike has just retired, after 11 years as Chief Executive of VISION 2020 UK. This is an umbrella charity bringing together health and social care organisations involved with sight and sight loss. He has recently set himself a new challenge and is attempting to take part in 10 sports in 10 months to raise £10,000 for VISION 2020 UK. Together with the Chief Executives of Seeability and the Thomas Pocklington Trust, he is participating in five team sports: boccia, goal ball, rowing, sailing and cycling. On his own he is tackling sound tennis, field athletics, track racing, shooting and judo. I have agreed to make a contribution towards Mike’s target and am writing to see if readers would likewise be willing to make a contribution, however small, so that he successfully completes his challenge. Any money raised for VISION 2020 UK will go towards improving the information service it provides to blind and partially-sighted people. Contributions should be sent to Mike Brace CBE, 80 Elms Farm Rd, Hornchurch, Essex, RM12 5RD, and cheques made out to VISION 2020 UK. If your club intends to hold a major fund-raising function and give some of the money to VISION 2020 UK or another charity nominated by Mike Brace, then do drop him a line and see if he would be willing to speak on such an occasion. I would not like clubs to invite him to speak at an ordinary club meeting with 10 to 20 members present, because he has to travel by public transport from Hornchurch in Essex. If you would like Mike to speak to your club, I am sure he would oblige, provided his charity benefited in some way. PDG Grahame Williams Rotary Club of Chigwell
Onward breakfast clubs! Having recently attended a function celebrating the Rotary Club of Roding’s twentieth anniversary, I am surprised that there is only one other breakfast club in London. The formation of the Roding Club was simple. I wrote to everyone I knew between the ages of 30 and 45 and a few months later 35 people attended the first meeting. Effectively they were Winter, 2013
a club from that meeting onwards as we had some Rotary business and a speaker. Projects followed immediately and membership peaked in the third year at 48. • The Roding Club was different: • It met for breakfast • It was dual gender • All members were under 45 It was an all-action club, with little time spent on committees. Membership in London District has
halved since I joined 40 years ago and many of the existing clubs have hardly enough members to be viable. Most young people don’t have the time for lunch or an evening meeting every week. Also they are reluctant to join clubs where the majority of members may be nearly twice their age. The answer must be breakfast clubs for young enthusiastic people (at least one in every borough). If every member was to think hard and nominate potential young members, this project could get off the ground. If so, I would be willing to act as co-ordinator. If something is not done to stop the decline, London Rotary could die within the next two decades. Don Barton Rotary Club of Roding
SPEAKERS’ PANEL Here is the second list of organisations interested in speaking to Rotary Clubs in London. As we stressed in the previous issue, when we launched this column in Rotary in London, inclusion does not indicate endorsement of that organisation – we are merely letting you know of its existence, so that you can make further enquiries. You may yourself with to draw a particular organisation to readers’ attention, so please let us know so that we can include details at a later date. We are particularly interested to hear about organisations which have recently started and would like to get better known. The Brooke An international animal welfare organisation dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules, in the poorest parts of the world. The Brooke’s goal is to increase the number of working animals it helps to two million a year by 2016. Emma Harrison community@thebrooke.org or 020 7653 5812 Enfield Carers Centre Provides a wide range of support, advice and other services to help unpaid, informal carers. This includes access to free personal health trainers, general information and advice, counselling sessions, information and training sessions, computer sessions, support for young carers and for high functioning autism and Aspergers carers support group and legal advice sessions. Pamela Burke pamb@enfieldcarers.org or 0208 366 3677 Merlin International health charity which sends medical experts to the frontline of global emergencies. When disaster strikes, Merlin’s doctors and nurses work together with health workers on the ground, taking countries shattered by war, earthquake or floods from emergency to recovery and staying for as long as it takes. Sarah Brett sarah.brett@merlin.org. or 020 7014 1707 Memory Café, Chigwell Convent, Chigwell Road. Monthly sessions, started in December by Leytonstone & Woodford RC, to stimulate memories in anyone suffering from memory
problems. Visitors can have a chat and a cup of tea, as well as reading newspapers from the 1960s and watching old films. Barry Plowman barry@plowman.com or 01279 600383
St Mungo’s Opens doors for homeless people. Mainly based in London, we provide support towards recovery and help to prevent rough sleeping. We run over 100 projects and help thousands of homeless people make life changes every year who can come and talk about their experiences of being homeless and how St Mungo’s has helped. Russell Benson russell.benson@mungos.org or 0208 762 5586 Sense National charity that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind. Deafblindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss and affects a person’s ability to communicate, to access all kinds of information, and to get around. Ruth Kilcullen community.team@sense.org.uk or 01733 425070 Veterans Aid Over 80 years old, works quietly, without any fuss, helping homeless ex-servicemen and women. Many are young. It gets 2,000 calls for help and provides 20,000 nights of accommodation at its hostel annually. It also helps with travel, food and clothing: nothing complicated, just the basics to restore dignity. Geoffrey Cardozo funds@veterans-aid.net Rotary In London • 11
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Barking busy with food and knives T
wo weeks before Christmas 2012, the members of the Rotary Club of Barking set a new record, having over 26 years collected and distributed 26,000 tins of food to the poor and homeless. Barking’s PDG Robert Hunter explains. With ASDA’s enthusiastic cooperation, our members have stood outside its Beckton store and invited customers to donate a tin of produce for redistribution to the poor and homeless. What other Rotary Club has managed to achieve that? Without fail each year the Rotarians waiting outside ASDA have received over 1,000 tins of assorted meats, beans, vegetables and fruits from the store’s customers. There have even been special donations of dog food for the pets that keep their homeless owners company on London’s streets! Once the tins have been collected, we distribute some of them to night shelters for the homeless, including a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence, in the neighbouring Boroughs of Newham,
Training to run
Redbridge and of course Barking and Dagenham. The balance is held as a foodbank to be drawn on as required during the year.
Barking Rotary Club members Laurie Ford (right) and PP Duncan Ngari man the stand outside ASDA to receive the cans of food the public contribute. Helping on the stand is Duncan’s daughter.
Over 5,000 knives taken off London streets Since last May, the Rotary Club of Barking has linked up to a bold initiative which, over the past five years, has taken five and a half thousand knives off the streets of London. Club member PDG Robert Hunter tells the tale.
DG Eve is out in all kinds of weather, getting ready for the big day: the London Marathon 2013. Her trainer is Harmander Singh, who coached the oldest known marathon runner, 101-year-old Fauja Singh from Ilford – remember his story in the Summer issue of Rotary in London, page 16? He is an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Gants Hill. Eve is taking part in the Marathon to raise awareness about Rotary and generate funds for the Rotary Wheel Appeal, which RIBI is running jointly with the charity WheelPower (see page 8). She will be running the Marathon with fellow District Governor for District 1140 Mike Thorn. Winter, 2013
The programme is the brainchild of Mike Smith from Leytonstone who has placed some 25 specially designed bins at churches, shopping centres and various other venues. Carrying the slogan Get a Life - Bin That Knife, these collection points offer anonymity and are open round the clock throughout the year. Most knives are deposited surreptitiously not only by young people but sometimes by parents or teachers, who have contacted Mike to express their gratitude. Club President Nigel Schultz, a major in the Salvation Army, has arranged for a bin to be located outside the Salvation Army Citadel, Rotary’s weekly venue. Although it has only been in place for a few months, it has already collected 230 knives and a gun. Sadly, young people are dying horribly from knife crimes in every London Borough every week. Asked about the reasons for this, Mike Smith points to gang membership with its territorial aspects and the challenge to prove individual credibility. He admits to being unsure what can be done to solve this problem in the
short term, but believes that at least one bin in every borough would make a difference. It would give additional support for parents and teachers providing a better understanding of the problem from a variety of angles. Mike is an interesting and powerful speaker who knows his subject all too well. It would be good if he could be invited to speak to every Rotary Club in London. Better still if each Club could support or sponsor a Get a Life bin in every borough.
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Two Conference speakers describe their victories over disability At London Rotary’s District Conference at Hayling Island (see pp 2 and 3) Anne Wafula Strike and Graham Webb both spoke about how they had overcome the disabilities which had clouded their early years to become successful in their respective spheres. Kali Clark and Assistant Editor Margaret Cooper review the books they launched at the Conference. IN MY DREAMS I DANCE Anne Wafula Strike Available from Amazon.com at £5.19. 277 pp This true story tells how one woman battled a life changing disability and years of prejudice to become a champion. Losing movement of the lower half of her body to polio as a toddler, Anne Wafula Strike, the author, and her family were ostracised in their Kenyan village and forced to move to Nairobi to escape abusive neighbours. In my dreams I dance continues the story after the family move to Nairobi. At five years, she boarded at Joyland primary school for the disabled. Aged nine and caught up in the 1982 Nairobi military coup, she spent over twelve hours locked inside a clock tower amidst the violence. She is still scared of large crowds and loud noises. After qualifying as a teacher from university, she fell in love with Norman Strike, an Englishman working in Kenya. They visited his home town in Newcastle, married and settled into life in Britain, a complete contrast to the traditional world of her youth. Anne fell pregnant, a feat doctors had said was impossible, and the couple were overjoyed at the birth of their healthy son, Timothy. Anne’s life was transformed when she was given a wheelchair in place of her ‘olden day’ callipers. This wheelchair has provided Anne with a new found freedom. For many people a wheelchair is a personal prison, but Anne was able to soar to new heights in hers. She took up wheelchair racing and her already fierce spirit was mixed with a touch of competitiveness. Nothing would stop her from qualifying for the 2004 Athens Paralympics. She became the first East African Paralympian to compete in her sport at the highest level. This story is neatly presented in chronological order and is easy to read. Although it does deal with her debilitating disease, polio, Anne successfully uses humour as a way to break down barriers and melt prejudice. Her warm, determined spirit shines from the pages. While she manages to inform the reader about her highly infectious disease, she does not dwell sombrely on this fact. She is a strong ambassador for the differently Winter, 2013
abled and an active campaigner for Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign. In February 2012 she was the main guest at the End Polio Now event at Chelmsford’s Civic Theatre. In my dreams I dance is an emotional story which sadly illustrates the prejudice that surrounds many diseases and disabilities. However, it focuses very positively on overcoming these barriers, demonstrating that anything is possible. Kali Clarke
OUT OF THE BOTTLE Graham Webb The Webb Press Ltd Available from www.grahamwebb.co.uk at £24.99 inc P&P (UK); books ordered through the website are also personally signed and sales benefit charities including Kent Spina Bifida. An e-book version will be available shortly: nitially through ibooks, itunes and Kindle. 427 pp. Rotarians at Conference (see pages 2 and 3) were privileged to be let into the darkest secrets of one of the Conference speakers: Graham Webb MBE. You could have heard a pin drop, as members listened with rapt attention to Graham, who appeared to have had no qualms about his honest, personal, revelations, because his motto is: “It can be done.“ He hopes that his revelations will help anybody who has the courage to
believe or who aspires to triumph over any kind of adversity as he has done. Encouraged by his professional colleagues, friends - among whom, as he stresses, is his wife Mandy - and fellow spinal bifida sufferers, Graham reluctantly agreed to put pen to paper. He said himself that Out of the Bottle would never have seen the light of day but for two of his best friends: Floridan journalist Frank Cerabino and his son, Balliol graduate Roderick. Out of the Bottle is a courageous, candid, no holds barred inspirational, personal and professional transition from the adversity of congenital spinal bifida to Graham’s triumph over the challenges that faced him. He has recorded a triumphant clutch of achievements including becoming a multimillionaire at the helm of a multimillion-pound hair care distribution line. This was later sold to Wella in 2001 and on to Procter & Gamble in 2003. Graham’s “can do attitude” has resulted in his triumph over the physical condition which clouded his early personal life. It has led to entrepreneurial successes which received royal recognition with the award of an MBE from the Queen. Successful entrepreneur, rock’n roll drummer, optimIst, motivational speaker, loving family man with wife Mandy and four children, Kent chair of the Institute of Directors, Chair of Kent NSPCC Full Stop Campaign. Will the real Graham Webb stand up? Not bad for a fifteen-year-old school drop out, council flat dwelling Londoner, saddled with spinal bifida. Nobody could have summed up Graham’s achievements better than his own former classmate, Rosemary Parker: “We were in the same class together at Northbrook School 42 years ago. I just had to get in touch with you to say how proud I am of you and what you have achieved.” Yes, it really can be done. Margaret Cooper, Assistant Editor
Talking of polio, baby Aarav says “We are ThisClose” Two-months-old Aarav Veer Singh Baxi wants you to know that the end of polio “is this close” as he brings his finger and thumb close in the traditional manner. This of course is the gesture that so many celebrities have made in the posters publicising Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign. It is hardly surprising that young Aarav should catch on so quickly about the importance of the gesture he is making. After all, his grandfather, Sam Singh Baxi, was Founder President of Gants Hill Rotary Club and is currently its Treasurer. His father, Peter Baxi, is currently the President of the same club. Aarav was born on 18 August last summer to Peter and his wife, Tanveer. Rotary In London • 15
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Winners all round Arnold is BEM Congratulations to Wembley Rotary Club member Arnold Phelops, awarded the British Empire Member (BEM) in the New Year’s Honours for services over the last 50 years to charities. A former dental surgeon who served in the Royal Army Dental Corps in the 1950s, Arnold joined the Westminster East Rotary Club in 1973, of which he was President twice, moving later to the Wembley Club. His charitable work has involved the Salvation Army, Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, Save a Child’s Heart, the Jewish Military Museum and the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women (AJEX). He was National Chair of AJEX for the past two years. The Queen reinstated the BEM for her Diamond Jubilee.
James shows off his medal James Beardwell, from Bancroft’s School, displalys the medal he won in the under-11s race in the annual Rotary Club of Epping Copped Hall Run. This year’s Rotary Club of Epping Copped Hall Run attracted 190 junior runners – a record number. Gerry Smith, chairman of the Copped Hall Run Committee, said: “We were delighted to see so many people turning out for the races, particularly the record number of children. “The event has reached out to the local community and generated a great deal of interest from local schools and individuals who have supported the Rotary Club and the Copped Hall Trust.” Epping-based Stace LLP sponsored the junior races, while Higgins Group, based in Loughton, was the main event sponsor.
Tanzela and Harleigh get cheque for their school
Mish Mosh by “Schlepper” Is there a Rotary Club anywhere in RIBI that didn’t take to the streets or supermarket foyers shaking tins and buckets and raising funds for local and international charities at the end of last year? The Christmas and New Year collections provide a large, reliable part of our annual fund-raising income and we, as an organisation, enjoy contact with millions of people each year. In 2012 my club collected at a brand new (for us) location. We attracted near record donations even though we were collecting from people who, in the main, had not seen us before. Very, very few of our customers asked us which charity we were collecting for. The Rotary logo was good enough for them and they contributed in their thousands. Interestingly the immigrant population, especially from Africa, Asia and the subcontinent, bring with them a very positive view of Rotary from their homelands, where they have often seen Rotary playing an important part in the lives of their communities. This is a tremendously positive position to be in. The public may not really understand who we are or what we do, but they trust ‘The Rotary’ to receive their hard earned cash. They are not the slightest bit interested in how often we meet or whether we eat at our meetings or not. They do not know what a District Governor is. The great debates about Management Boards, RIBI and Councils on Legislation strangely seem to pass them by. But these matters are important to us, and great changes are coming. Some of us will find these changes difficult, or even traumatic. But change we must. Rotary has to keep reinventing itself like Amazon, Ebay, Dyson, or Apple. If not we shall pay the same price as Woolworths, Comet and Jessops – where history and trust were not enough.
REMEMBER Rotary in London is your magazine. We are always interested in hearing from you with your stories and pictures. Please be sure to follow the guidance notes on the inside front cover when sending in your pictures and keep your contributions coming in. Ring or email the Editor at 01634 847 772, 07949 557 550 or editor@rotaryinlondon.org. The Wandsworth Group of Rotary Clubs has raised £1,100 for Greenmead School in Putney from various events. On behalf of the school, Greenmead pupils Tanzela (left) and Harleigh, receive the cheque from Chairman of the Wandsworth Group of Rotary Clubs, Tony Chase. The Wandsworth Group comprises the Rotary Clubs of Balham; Battersea, Brixton & Clapham; Battersea Park; Kennington; Putney; Streatham; and Tooting. 16 • Rotary In London
Tributes to Golders Green and Balham Club members Klaus Neuberg, who sadly died recently, and Paul Newman, included in the New Year’s Honours list, follow in the next issue. Winter, 2013
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