August 27th - " 2 New Members Join The Rotary Club of Woodbridge
Today Cliff Longman from Chillesford and Julie Button from Woodbridge became Rotarians. Julie used to be a member of the Club 2 years ago and left when she moved away, sponsored by Chris Walker (Vice President) she made her return to the Woodbridge Club today to bring the female membership back up to 3 members.
Cliff Longman a successful businessman from the IT industry, probably is the first Woodbridge Rotarian to give his 'Job Talk' on the day of his induction into Rotary. This was more to do with a change in the induction date than any special significance but that said, his job talk was very interesting, professionally presented and gave a good insight into the quality and skills of Cliff who will be a great asset to the club.

August 19th - New Suffolk Punch Education Centre proves popular with Rotarians       Twenty nine members, wives and guests had a very interesting visit to the Suffolk Punch Stud and Education Centre. We were shown round by Phillip Ryder- Davies, the Chairman of the trust, (Left in Pictures 1 & 2) who told us of the history behind the establishment of the Trust and the Education Centre. The tour was punctuated by amusing anecdotes of the people who had been involved, some of whom still are, and even one about the Princess Royal who had opened the centre. Most of the animals were out in the fields and so we could admire them in their natural surroundings. After the visit we enjoyed a buffet at the Shepherd and Dog at Hollesley all of which had been arranged by Rotarian Dennis Driver August 17th - The President launches a JustGiving page for his 71 miles Bridge-to-Bridge cycle ride this coming Saturday. The President's Bike ride on JustGiving ......Click for more_ If you wish to sponsor David    July 28th - Bottle Stalls prove very successful in July raising nearly £1000 The middle weekend in July, was a busy time for Woodbridge Rotary Club manning bottle stalls at two locations and raising almost £1000. On the Saturday at Grundisburgh, £336 was collected with the profits going to Life straws. These straws allow people to safely drink contaminated water which is sometimes the only source following a disaster. On the Sunday at the Woodbridge Regatta, £660 was raised with the profits being donated to the RNLI, which proved to be a popular cause to collect for. As ever, we were only able to collect these amounts due to the generosity of the people supporting our stall. We hope everybody who won a bottle of wine, enjoyed it. The picture shows Robert Digby, Ron Whitaker and Sandy Hamilton collecting money at the Grundisburgh show. JULY 16th - Club informed about Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) David Kane, who is the co-ordinator of the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) gave an interesting talk at the Lunchtime meeting on 16 July 2010. The scheme means that non-police staff from partnership organisations who meet agreed standards, could at the discretion of the Chief Constable, be given limited, but targeted, police powers to deal with incidents such as anti-social behaviour, disorder and nuisance..........Click for More The picture shows from left to right Rotarian Sandy Hamilton who gave the vote of thanks, David Kane and our new President, David Houchell. JULY 8th 2010 - Hospital Beds for Sierra Leone Hospital Beds for Sierra Leone on JustGiving ......Click for more_ If you wish to help Hospital Beds for Sierra Leone ?   JULY 3rd 2010 -Incoming President David Houchell takes the helm watched by new Secretary Geoff Springett     The 3rd of July Lunch meeting saw the handing over of the Presidency of the Club from Roger Burgess to David Houchell(Left picture). Chris Walker became the very first lady Vice President of the Woodbridge Club. David who runs a building company in Woodbridge has been a longstanding member of the RC of Woodbridge serving successfully for many years as Chairman of the Fund Raising Committee. Chris Walker who is the Woodbridge Town clerk has served the club for many years previously as Secretary and currently Chairman of Club Service. The Incoming Junior Vice (Right Picture above) is relatively new Rotarian Ron Whittaker, a popular member of the club and currently Chairman of the fund raising committee. .....Click for more JUNE 29th 2010 - Rotary Charity Golf Day At the invitation of the Captain of Woodbridge Golf Club The Rotary Club of Woodbridge, in conjunction with Woodbridge School, held a Charity Golf Day on Tuesday 29th June. Thirty six teams of four each enjoyed the excellent facilities of Woodbridge Golf Club on an almost ideal summers day and played a Team Stapleford competition in the Heath Course (18 holes) and a Texas Scramble on the Forest Course (9 holes). The winners of the Texas Scramble Team Juice (not in any order Chris Leggett, Ev Rumsey, Issie Coe, & Jeannie Tuckwell) are pictured above. The amount raised for the charities which were Rochford House, a drop in facility for young people in Woodbridge, The Bobby Moore Fund, tackling bowl cancer and the local Group of Riding for the Disabled was in the region of £7,500 (nor yet finalised). The organisers wish to thank Rachel Woodmancy for her work on the organisation prior to and on the day and all the staff at the Golf Club who presented the course so well despite the dry summer, the delicious food and served the all important liquid refreshments. They are also extremely grateful to all who have supported the Day, either by sponsoring holes, giving prizes and donations and of course all the players who turned up to try their skill and luck. .....Click for Results JUNE 18th 2010 - Visitors from Canterbury, Hitchin and South Africa, a great talk on Australia by Rtn Canon Jeremy Harrold and last count for Rtn John Hutchinson     A packed club lunch received an entertaining and informative account of Rtn Canon Jeremy Harrold's (Above left)recent extended visit to Australia with his wife Rosemary where he was stationed as a priest many years ago. Their children and grandchildren currently live in South West Australia and judging by the photos Jeremy and Rosemary had a wonderful vacation, missing the cold January weather here. The Rotary Club of Canterbury came in force with their President Richard Kemball-Cook (depicted above Right with Vice President David). Richard gave a short account of his recent experience in India witnessing at first hand the immunisation programme to eradicate polio.Accompnaying him to Woodbridge were his wife Cora, and Rtns Jill Dckinson and Alistair Scott. They had been invited by our own Rtn Rosemary Wood who had served on the same Save the Children Fund Committee in Canterbury some years ago. There were 2 other visitors from the Rotary Club of Hitchin and Hibiscus Cove Rotary Club in Margate South Africa. During the meeting, Rtn John Hutchinson announced, that due to there being an evening meeting this coming week, after many years this will be his last report as Attendance Officer, a role he has performed quite spectacularly with a humour and accuracy his successor will have difficulty in following. The club showed their appreciation. LATEST NEWS - JUNE 13th - Rotary Club of Woodbridge 'Hits the Bottle' The Woodbridge Rotary fund-raising team was present with their popular Bottle stall at both the Debach Open Day and Bentwaters Air Show.     At Debach, the money collected meant we were able to donate £140 to Help for Heroes. An equal amount will be distributed to Rotary supported charities. At Bentwaters Air Show there was a large turnout of people and during the busy morning period we sometimes had people queuing to hand over their money. As a result Woodbridge Rotary will be donating £232 to the RAF Benevolent Fund. The remaining £190 will be distributed to other Rotary supported charities. The members of The Rotary Club of Woodbridge would like to thank all those who generously contributed to these successful events and hope the lucky winners enjoyed their bottles of wine! Rotary members are enthusiastic and fun-loving volunteers who give their time and talents to put something back into society and share a common interest in helping others. We also enjoy ourselves while doing this and have weekly meetings with interesting and varied speakers as well as regular social events. If you feel that Rotary may be for you, send us your contact details using the ‘Contact Us’ button and join us for a meeting. JUNE 11th 2010 - Rotary Club of Woodbridge supports the Army     Members of the Rotary Club of Woodbridge recently met the officers of the 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) at Rock Barracks to formally present a cheque for £2,350. The money will go to ABF - The Soldiers Charity (previously known as the Army Benevolent Fund) and was raised at the Notcutt lecture in April, when two Squadron commanders from the regiment spoke of their experiences in Afghanistan and the preparations being made for their return in September of this year. .....Click for more The President reports on Zambia Trip to inspect water wells     President Roger gave a particularly interesting account of his trip to Zambia with his wife Sheila and other Rotarians in District 1080 to inspect the water wells funded by clubs in District 1080 including Woodbridge. The left picture above depicts one of the wells installed before the housing to protect it from animals and the heat of the sun has been installed over it. The picture on the right shows President Roger sizing the rings used to sink the wells watched by a rather intrigued onlooker. .....Click for more May 28th GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE VISIT INDIA TO UK On Friday 28 May the Rotary Club of Woodbridge welcomed the GSE team from India to Woodbridge for the day. The team consisted of Dr Arathi V B, Shruti Veenam, Rajeev and Rtn H Chandrashekhar, the GSE Team Leader.     We met at The Bull Hotel in Woodbridge for introductions and coffee. We then visited the Shire Hall and moved on to the Woodbridge Museum before walking through the Town to the Woodbridge Art Centre. From there we went to the Tide Mill where we had a tour and an explanation of the history and how the Mill worked. By now it was time for lunch and we walked back through the Town to The Cross Vegetarian Restaurant where we were joined by our new Member of Parliament, Theresa Ann Coffee and other Rotarians from both our Club and Woodbridge Deben Club. After lunch we visited the exhibition and burial mounds at Sutton Hoo and then travelled on to Snape and had a tour of the Maltings complex. We then drove to The Crown Hotel in Framlingham where they were met by their other host, Nick Cork of Framlingham Rotary Club. May 7th At the lunch-time meeting on 7 May 2010, John Stammers gave an entertaining and humorous talk entitled “Ipswich to Ipswich” Returning home as a young man, after a trip to Australia in 1969, John was just in time to see the start of the London to Sydney Marathon. Having been enthused by the event but not being able to afford the entrance fee, he decided to do his own version, with Ipswich near Brisbane as his destination. Purchasing a Mk I Ford Cortina which had been written off, he and a friend repaired it and prepared for the long journey. Collecting various sponsors before and during the trip, he eventually was persuaded to visit two more Ipswich’s, both in the USA. After many adventures, newspaper interviews and hospitality from local people, they finally arrived back home from their round the world trip 20 months later, after having driven 40,500 miles. The picture shows John Stammers on the left with our president Roger Burgess. May 4th - The Madeira Appeal reaches nearly £6000 as at today with over £4000 through the Woodbridge Club JustGiving account. The balance coming through offline and direct donations The clean up is nothing short of a miracle with stories of the local people and the armed forces working night and day to bring things back to normal and they have done a magnificent job of the main tourist areas, although the scars are there to see. An enormous plateau of rocks and debris the size of 2 or 3 football pitches sits in the harbour waiting for a political decision as to what should happen next. The huge storm drains which featured in the many media reports are now being repaired with temporary barriers to prevent vehicles falling in. Many businesses are still closed including the car parks and ground floor of the new Dolce Vita and Anadia shopping centres. The human cost, particularly in the more remote areas is still being counted with reports of people still unaccounted for. 27th April - Webmaster returns and web site will return to normal very shortly. 23rd April Volcano Dust traps Webmaster in Dubai so web site updates may be sporadic until further notice 9th April - Informative talk on drugs, alcohol and gambling dependency by Matt Wilson of Norcas. Left to right David Houchell (vice president), Matt Wilson (NORCAS) and Roger Burgess (President). Matt Wilson from NORCAS gave an informative talk on drugs, alcohol and gambling dependency. Norcas stands for Norfolk Community Alcohol Service and is one of several organizations operating in Suffolk providing help for people and their families with dependency issues. It caters for people between 7 and 80 years old and last year saw 6,000 people. It employs 108 full-time staff and 19 volunteers, who are often previous clients of the organization and costs £3.1m each year to run which is 92% funded by public money It operates from 9 local offices and last year helped 1300 children between the ages of 5 and 13. They now have a new group aimed at the over 50’s where alcohol consumption is often over 30 units per day. They find that many problems originate during childhood with many suffering from sexual abuse between the ages 5-13. Approximately 50% of their clients suffer from alcohol abuse, 45% from drug abuse with a growing number suffering with gambling addictions. It is estimated that about 100,000 people currently suffer from dependency problems in Suffolk and that 1 in 7 adults will require help at some time during their lives. While Alcoholics Anonymous is a church based organisation which promotes abstinence, NORCAS works with clients to reduce their dependencies so that they can live a normal life. Picture shows David Houchell (vice president), Matt Wilson (NORCAS) and Roger Burgess (President). 25th March - The 16th annual Notcutt Lecture organised by the Rotary Club of Woodbridge saw a capacity audience at The Community Centre when Majors Will McDonald and Alan Jarvis from the 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) gave informative and sometimes humorous accounts of their past experiences in Afghanistan and preparations for their next tour. £2350 was raised for the army benevolent fund. .....Click for more (Left to right: Roger Burgess (president of Woodbridge Rotary), Major Alan Jarvis, Major Will McDonald and Charles Notcutt.) 23rd - President Roger (Son of 'Budge') tees off the 2010 Budge Cup in style. This year nine Rotarians met at Woodbridge Golf Club and played 18 holes on the 9 hole Forest Course. The golf tournament was started by this year’s president, Roger Burgess who is the son of Budge. The winner this year was John Pearson......Click for more 19th March Captains Russell and Febe Pipe, from Woodbridge Salvation Army gave an enlightening talk into their work in Woodbridge and The Salvation Army as a whole. .....Click for more 12th March MADEIRA FLOOD DISASTER APPEAL..Over £4000 raised to date....Click _ Madeira International School Childrens walk of solidarity If you wish to help the Madeira Appeal ?   5th March ‘Crossroads – Caring for Carers’ from the TV programme of the same name - Katherine Smith gave an insight into a very important subject The picture shows Keith Dowse (who gave the vote of thanks), Katherine Smith and David Houchell (vice President). Katherine Smith talked about caring for others. The word ‘carer’ has only been in existence for 25 years. There are 220 schemes in England, Ireland and Wales (Scotland has its own scheme).........Click for more 27th February - £301 raised for Polio Plus Appeal     ((Left)Immediate Past President Geoff Springett Rtn John White and President Roger)    ((Right)Geoff Rtn Sandy Hamilton Roger and Rtn John Pearson waiting for customers) A number of Rotarians took shifts to help raise money for Polio Plus on Saturday in the centre of Woodbridge. Fortunately the rain held off and £301 was raised. ....Click for more 25th February 2010 - Good support for evening meeting at the Bull - Experiences is a Nepalese Medical Camp talk by Rtn Stafford Patient Rotarians and their wives were treated to a good meal rather reminiscent of Christmas lunch, but no complaints were to be heard. Following the meal, Rtn Stafford Patient RC of Ipswich East gave an interesting talk on his experiences working in a Nepalese Medical Camp Stafford was a former consultant at the Ipswich Hospital. His presentation described voluntary work in Nepal and contained impressive pictures of the Himalayas. 23rd February 2010 - £100 Raised at Eat a Breakfast and Save a Life 17 Rotarians turned up for breakfast at the Bull hotel including a few guests. It was a great breakfast laid on by the Bull Hotel and to meet at that time was a great change. Including donations, £100 was raised. 19th February 2010 - "When sailing, I leave my wheelchair behind and am my own boss" - John Wilkinson from Ipswich Wolsey Rotary Club gave a presentation on The Woolverstone Project. (John Wilkinson with Senior Vice David Houcell(left) and Geoff Ford (right)) John Wilkinson from Ipswich Wolsey Rotary Club gave a presentation on The Woolverstone Project which opens up sailing to a wide age group of physically and mentally handicapped people. The project is part of Essex and Suffolk Sailability and operates at Woolverstone and at Oulton Water. The object is to get all abilities of people sailing either with qualified sailing people or sailing on their own in single person dinghies. At Woolverstone they operate a Drascombe longboat which can take up to 10 people including 2 able-bodied crew. At Oultan water they operate seven 2 seater and seven single seater dinghies as well as one trimaran for more experienced sailors. There is an open session each Monday when anyone can come along and regular sailors attend each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 52 weeks each year. Last year there were over 200 regular sailors with over 1,000 people attending during the year. As one disabled person described it: when sailing, I leave my wheelchair behind and am my own boss making my own decisions. Many people attending find the experience both soothing and therapeutic. Rotary clubs in the area are a major source of funding for this project and many Rotarians regularly give their time helping both on and off the water. It costs over £30,000 to run each year and John went on to describe the East Coast 50 fundraising event this year when sailing clubs between Walton and Frinton will be participating in a number of events including dinghy races, bar-b-cues and a 50 mile off-shore race. 12th February 2010 - Smugglers, wrecked boats and war time invasions - A Talk by Tim Miller from Coastguard Cottage, Shingle Street (Tim Miller with President Roger) Smugglers, wrecked boats and war time invasion were the evocative images conjured up by the talk from Tim Miller who lives in Coastguard Cottages, Shingle Street. His father had bought a property there after the war for a holiday home. There was nothing at Shingle Street apart from shacks built from wrecked boats and used by fishermen until the Martello Towers instigated by Pitt, and nicknamd Pitt's Pork Pies, were built in 1808. They were built to prevent French invasion although after the Battle of Trafalgar this was exceedingly remote. The main raison d'etre for Shingle Street was apparently smuggling and there are many stories about secret tunnels and warning lights from the local churches. Until the defeat of the French at the Battle of Trafalgar there had always been a frigate moored in Hollesley Bay guarding the coast. During World War II many strange things were said to have taken place including a failed German invasion. All rumours were vigorously denied and all official documents were kept secret until they were released in 1993. A BBC report in 2002 suggested that the whole thing might have been propaganda to help bring the USA into the war, although the Suffolk Home Guard received reports of such an incident at the time. The people living at Shingle Street have to live with the very real threat of flooding every time there is high pressure linked to high spring tides and northerly winds, not to mention rising sea levels from global warming. However Shingle Street does have a sense of real community spirit with the villagers joining together for parties and Christmas concerts. 28th January 2010 - Fascinating insight into the history of The Woodbridge School from Michael Weaver (Mike Weaver with Senior Vice David Houchell) Michael Weaver gave a fascinating insight into the history of The Woodbridge School Cadet Force. Mike and his wife, Carol, wrote the book ‘When Duty Calls’ which celebrates 100 years of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) which is still today part of Woodbridge School life. The CCF has it’s origins in the 1860’s when young men volunteered for Officer Training Cores (OTC). The book documents the experiences of Old Woobridgeons during their military careers from the Boar war onwards including the horrors of war. Mike worked at Woodbridge School for 41 years, was once mayor of the town and is still a town councillor 15th JANUARY 2010 - Haiti Earthquake dominates Business Meeting as Club decides to fund 2 Shelter Boxes as a result of the Haita Earthquake. (Image of a Rotary Shelter box being discharged in Haiti) At £490 each these boxes provide immediate shelter and disaster relief for 10 people for 6 months. ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity which provides humanitarian aid worldwide in the form of shelter, warmth and dignity for people displaced by natural and other disasters. It is an independent charity that relies on public donations to carry out its work. Founded by Rotarian Tom Henderson, a former Royal Navy search and rescue diver, ShelterBox started in 2000 as a project of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, Cornwall. ShelterBox is now the largest Rotary Club project in the world and has raised more than £25 million in donations. It has responded to over 80 major disasters in more than 50 countries including the Indian Ocean Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Each ShelterBox contains a 10-person tent, blankets, water purification and cooking equipment, basic tools, a stove and other essential equipment. All boxes are numbered so they can be tracked by donors. Each box costs £490 – this includes all materials, packing, storage, transport worldwide and distribution to the final recipients. Assuming six month’s use, this equates to shelter and warmth for less than 27 pence per person per day. ShelterBox works closely with key suppliers to ensure all items are of a high quality and are purchased at the most competitive price. The delivery of our aid is undertaken by a volunteer ShelterBox Response Team whose members have undergone an intensive training programme. ShelterBox prides itself on its speedy response to disasters and often works closely with Rotary clubs in recipient countries enabling it to get aid to where it is needed faster than many other charitable organisations. 8th January 2010 - BIG BATTLEFIELD BIKE RIDER Visits Club The signature event in the Help for Heroes calendar is the Big Battlefield Bike Ride. Next year, in May, 300 cyclists will gather at HMS Victory, the Flagship of Britain's greatest wounded hero, Admiral Lord Nelson, before setting off to ride 350 miles across France and at the same time raise a great deal of money to support our current wounded heroes. The route is through Normandy and Picardy countryside, stopping at historic sites to remember those who have fought and died there, before finishing at Dunkirk on the 70th anniversary of the evacuation accompanied by the flotilla of little ships. Various ceremonies and events along the way will take their minds off the saddle and if you want to have an idea of the wonderful atmosphere of the ride, videos of the last two rides can be found on www.helpforheroes.org.uk BOBBR 2009 OVERVIEW. The ride is a challenge, he must ride 75 miles a day. He has been told that when he is feeling a little tired and in a bit of pain on yet another 'undulation', the sight of the Headley Court team of wounded servicemen flashing past him some having lost arms, legs, or both will just focus his mind a little bit. John is seeking to raise a lot of money for these men and women so please give as much as possible on his charity page by , clicking here 18th December 2009 -RECIPE CALENDAR A SELL-OUT - Marina Richmond of Woodbridge Inner Wheel who conceived the idea to turn cake recipes experienced by Woodbridge & Madeiran Rotarians into a calendar for 2010 revealed that the net profit on the joint venture between RC of Woodbridge and the RC of Machico/Santa Cruz reached £2020 at todays family Christmas lunch at the Bull. Marina presented President Roger Burgess with a cheque for £1010 representing 50% of the profit, the other 50% will go to the RC of Machico Santa Cruz who sold half of the 550 calendars printed. Marina, who trajically lost her brother in a fatal accident 3 weeks earlier leaving 2 children as orphans, asked the club if a small part of the profit could be donated to a local orphanage as support for orphans is so very important. She mentioned that the Machico/Santa Cruz club also intend to use some of the funds raised to support an orphanage in Camacha. Whilst many calendars have been sold locally the calendars have reached many cultures, countries and prominent people including the British Ambassador to Portugal and Mr Adam Blandy of Madeira. Cross-translated from English into Portuguese and German and vice versa,the calendar found many fans of the ideal of furthering international understanding and friendship in such an interesting way. President Roger presented Marina with some flowers as a thank you on behalf of the club for all her work. 18th December 2009 - VISITORS FROM LONG ISLAND - USA - Susan and Richard Brewster of Greenford Rotary, Long Island gave a very interesting talk on 18 December 2009, about their experiences with The Smile Train which they helped during March/April 2009. Their trip was combined with The Gambia Mercy Ship Mission and they were involved with 51 operations to correct hare lips and cleft pallets in the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in Banjul, The Gambia. This was their second visit with this very worthwhile cause and this time the hospital had the benefit of running water!! Patients in the hospital are expected to do their own washing and provide their own food – very different to western countries. 11th December - Help for the Heroes - President Roger Burgess (left in picture below) presents a cheque for Help for Heroes to Sergeant Major Kelly Farrant of 23 Engineer Regiment.which are based at Rock barracks. The money was raised by members of Woodbridge Rotary manning a bottle tombola stall at the recent Rock Barracks Open Day. Richard Smith of the RNLI gave the after lunch talk on 11 December 2009. Richard who used to work at the East Anglian Daily Times is one of seven RNLI media managers. The RNLI was formed in 1824 and since then more than 137,000 lives have been saved. There are on average 22 launches a day, with 21 people rescued daily in 2008. There are 235 lifeboat stations around the coastline, in addition to the newer inland rescue craft which include four Hovercraft. An all-weather craft can cost £2.5m to build and the re-fit every four years costs £250,000 The running costs for the organization amount to £378,000 per day with 60% of this coming from legacies. This is an entirely voluntary organization with no government funding. Although the crews freely donate their time, each launch cost £2-5,000 depending upon the size of the boat. The target times are 10 minutes to launch the boat and to reach 90% of vessels within a 10 miles radius in 30 minutes. 20th November Julian Alcock of Deben Yacht Club gives an entertaining talk about his summer adventure to the Island of Elba in a Laser 16 Julian Alcock, who is a member of the local Deben Yacht Club, gave an entertaining talk about his summer adventure, sailing around the island of Elba. Julian who is an experienced dinghy sailor who sails a Laser 16, explained about the preparation for his trip, the navigation and safety course he took the previous winter, fitting out his dingy with anchor, cockpit tent and cooking facilities etc. as well as planning the actual voyage. It took place during September 2009 when he loaded his dingy and equipment on a trailer and drove to Italy. He first had to find a place to launch his boat and to store his car and trailer. He then regaled us with his adventures with a definite light hearted view of sailing in the Mediterranean around Elba. Finally finishing with his journey home. He claims it was a very enjoyable experience which his audience viewed as a brave adventure, as he did it absolutely on his own with no outside help. It is a holiday he plans to repeat next year. 7th November Rotary Cake Recipe Calendar gets an Ambassadorial Launch in Madeira The Rotary Cake Recipe Calendar had a truly ambassadorial launch at a Cocktail Party held in the Library of the English Church, Funchal, in honour of a visit from the HM British Ambassador to Portugal. The pictures show the HM British Ambassador to Portugal, Alexander Ellis ,Honorary British Consul to Madeira Joy Menezes (right), Lourenço Basilio, immediate past President of the Rotary Club Machico e Santa Cruz (left), Keith Richmond Rotarian of the Woodbridge Club (second left) Marina Richmond Inner Wheel Club,Woodbridge who produced the calendar officially presenting the Cake Recipe Calendar 2010, as an example of the strong friendship between Madeira and England. ........READ MORE 6th November Brian Bartrum from the Royal British Legion gives memorable talk Photo shows Brian Bartrum, RBL (centre), Rtn Jeremy Harrold (left) who gave the thanks and Roger Burgess (right) President of Woodbridge Rotary. Brian Bartrum is the Hon Secretary at Stanton District Branch and County Recruiting Officer for Suffolk. He gave a memorable talk about the role of the Royal British Legion which was all the more pertinent with Remembrance Day being so close. The Royal British Legion was formed in 1921 and safeguards the welfare, interests and memory of serving and ex-service people, their families and dependents. Currently 9.5 million people are eligible for help in the UK. In 2008, 100,000 people were given assistance. People as young as 17 ½ years can be sent on active service, so veterans are often much younger these days and can be of either sex. Each year the Legion receives thousands of calls to it’s helpline covering a huge range of issues including counselling, job retraining, skills assessment, claiming the correct pensions and benefits, advice on interest free loans and setting up small businesses, welfare grants and pilgrimages to war graves.. The Legion runs four convalescent homes and seven nursing homes. It is responsible for the Two minute Silence on Remembrance Sunday and 11 November and the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2008, the Poppy Appeal raised £31 million but over £100 million was spent on it’s work. Money is raised from individual donations, legacies, sponsorship, corporate support and fundraising. 380,000 members are involved with the Legion and for every £1 collected only 6.6p goes towards admin. costs. The Poppy Factory at Richmond, Surrey annually produces 30 million poppies, 5 million remembrance petals, 100,000 wreaths and 750,000 Remembrance Crosses. More than 70% of the staff are disabled or chronically ill. 16th October 2009 - Mike Simpson, the Project Director for Just 42 talked about Local Youth Work in Woodbridge Mike Simpson, the Project Director for Just 42, gave an interesting talk about the work that Just 42 do to help the vulnerable children in our society. While Woodbridge has far fewer problems than inner city areas, Kyson and Melton/Ufford are both lacking in lacking economic or social necessities The UK came last in a recent survey of 21 countries for the well being of our young people. ........READ MORE 9th October 2009 - Christmas Cards and a Cake Recipe Calendar for 2010 are in the pipeline Rotary members, family and friends will be able to purchase Rotary Christmas Cards from the Club and a unique Cake Recipe Calendar for 2010 produced by Marina Richmond of Woodbridge Inner Wheel following the informal exchange between the Woodbridge Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Machico/Santa Cruz of Madeira. Orders are already being taken for the cards and clendar and quantities are limited so book your copy now. Any profits on the calendar will be shared between the two Rotary clubs in aid of the cahrities supported by them 18th September 2009 - Diane Milan gave an interesting talk about her 6 months work with the VSO in Tanzania. Originally she was the Director of IT at Ipswich Hospital, Suffolk but decide to use her skills to project manage a program in the Ndanda parish of 20,000 people to combat HIV and Aids. After a week’s induction into the country, she spent 2 weeks learning Swahili before being based near the parish hospital where there was also a Benedictine Abbey. She developed and managed two major projects; Home based care and Prevention. 90 volunteers were trained in Home based care skills where they also treated some of the other chronic illnesses in that area. In addition bedding and money for food was also distributed. Prevention used health clubs for schoolchildren, Behaviour change programs for older people and villagers with the local Community leaders also being involved and trained. At present Diane is using her skills by working for VSO 2 days per week. On 5th September club was raising money at the Woodbridge Rock Barracks open day. The picture shows Fund Raising Chairman Ron Whittaker 'bucket in hand' IMPORTANT PRESS RELEASE - WOODBRIDGE WAR MEMORIAL REFURBISHMENT The Appeal made by the Rotary Club of Woodbridge for funds to repair and restore the War Memorial in the Town has received a swift response from the people of Woodbridge. The target for both the basic repairs and the planned refurbishment has been achieved ........READ MORE 4th September 2009 - “WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE OR HAVE IN WOODBRIDGE ?” The Rotary Club of Woodbridge is anxious to have any ideas which you may have for the improvement of Woodbridge from your point of view or from the point of view of a visitor to the Town. By “improvement” we hope that ideas will range as widely as possible. Perhaps clubs or groups which they would like to see but are not at present catered for, facilities which are presently lacking but which would enhance the lives of people in the town. We feel sure that given time to ponder you will be able to think of some interesting and exciting things to suggest. ........READ MORE 7th August 2009 - St Audry's Golf Club donates £650 to the Woodbridge War Memorial Appeal A successful Golf day on 1st August at St. Audrys Golf Club together with a raffle raised £1300 of which 50% was given to the Woodbridge Rotary War Memorial Appeal and 50% to Help for the Heroes. The picture shows Ron Hepworth receiving the Cheque for £650 from Club Captain Bob Clements. Today Keith Richmond lead a workshop on using the Club website, thanks to a fast Wifi connection and the manager at the Bull Hotel. An interesting statistic emerged from the 24 members present. 75% (18 in number) had access to the Internet with 62.5% (15) using the Internet on a daily basis. Based on email address 75.67% of the club has internet access (28 members). The 31st July 2009 Speaker Stephen Bayfield gave a highly amusing talk on the traits of Suffolk people. His talk was entitled Funny Money which is how he describes the money which as been raised by his amusing talks. A vote of thanks was given on behalf of the club by Rtn Robin Sinclair. War Memorial Appeal Update - The President told members present that hundreds of donations had been received and whilst counting was still taking place and money still arriving it looks as though we are well on the way to achieving the objective. Two donations were particularly noteworthy one of the princely sum of £1000 and another of a £2 coin from an OAP. 24th July 2009 - Jenny Auber of Oxfam Todays lunch had an inspiring talk by Jenny Auber of Oxfam on the work of Oxfam in Senegal. The Rotary Club of Woodbridge leads War Memorial Repairs Appeal New President Roger Burgess seen here today with the Mayor and Town Clerk (Woodbridge RC's Junior Vice President)of Woodbridge as well as the President of the British Legion (left in pict) at the launch of the Appeal on 16th July 2009. ........MORE Woodbridge Rotary Cub New President Roger Burgess makes history at Woodbridge club as Chris Walker takes on the role of Junior Vice President from 10th July 2009 who takes over as President for 2009/10 . ........MORE Woodbridge Rotary Cub President Geoff Springett hands over to Roger Burgess on 3rd July 2009 who takes over as President for 2009/10 . ........MORE President Geoff Springett and David Houchell of Woodbridge Rotary Cub are seen here presenting a cheque for £1000 to Nicola and William Notcutt who are receiving it on behalf of the Deben Rowing Club. The money was raised at the Notcutt lecture held at the Woodbridge Community Centre earlier this year where Nicola Notcutt held a capacity audience enthralled with her experiences in the Galapagos Islands and South America while on honeymoon. The Notcutt lectures are organised by Woodbridge Rotary and have been on-going for a number of years with the next one planned for March 2010. ........MORE District Directory 2010

 2009 All rights reserved E.& O.E