The Rotary Club of Northallerton Registered Charity No. 257684 Founded 1947

Digital Bulletin for July to September 2020

President: Chris Johnson

Service Above Self

A message from your incoming President, Chris Johnson. Most presidents have a full year, or even more, to become accustomed to the idea and develop a plan and strategies. I will have had 4 hectic weeks, which will have included a handover to Keith Gilbert as incoming treasurer. I would like to thank Keith for stepping up at such short notice and all members of the club who have been incredibly supportive during those 4 weeks. I could not have managed without the willingness of members to help. My first thoughts were towards our members who have not been joining us on Friday Zoom meetings. They are no more or less full members of our club for not joining in, whatever their reasons. I am determined that we will be an inclusive club. I will support our continuing work with Dementia Forward to make us dementia friendly. We should all make a conscious effort not to discriminate in any way. Inclusion also means getting as many members as possible to help in the running of our club and events, so please step forward – do not wait to be asked. There are vacancies now and there will be more as several role holders seek to retire, in some cases after many years of service. Efforts are afoot to improve links and co-operation between Rotary clubs in our area. Susan Rogers of Wensleydale club is Assistant Governor for North Group. She oversees 10 clubs. (In Northallerton (2), Harrogate (2), Thirsk, Ripon (2), Wensleydale, Knaresborough, and Richmond). She is proposing a monthly meeting of presidents and a separate monthly meeting for all members in North Group, with a speaker – both on Zoom to keep time and travel to a minimum. This is in response to DG Andrew Bateman's desire for closer co-operation. Watch this space. Finally, I hope that I can continue to offer the service and leadership that retiring President Duncan has shown in the last 12 months. A big thankyou to him for everything he has done. He certainly led by example, most recently in his excellent job of improving the roadside footpath in Romanby. Chris A message from your outgoing President, Duncan Davison, PHF. A REFLECTION ON MY PRESIDENTIAL YEAR As a past member of the Round Table, Past Chairman of the Northallerton 41 Club and Captain of the Rabbits Section at Bedale golf club it seems to be a requirement that the first paragraph at any end of year report should include the following:• • • •

How fast the year has gone. How much is been crammed into the year How grateful the person is for the support they’ve had and that this made the year so much better, and finally to wish the successor to the post the best of luck and fortune in their quest to keep the ship off the rocks and en route to the destination, no matter where it is.

Well, having got that out of the way let me reflect on a few of the high points of this year. Firstly, my year was not ruined by missing the first 3 weeks with a holiday in Canada. In fact a visit to Banff Rotary club showed me that we have a marvellous club, albeit they were able to raise £20,000 from fewer numbers, nearly a third of our club.

Our scatter week allowed me to visit Cleadon Rotary club in South Shields with John P., Alisdair and our driver for 1

the night Keith. The evening was slightly marred when Wing Commander Keith was the target of the local gendarmerie for flying low on the way. He informed us that his speed awareness course would not qualify as attendance for Rotary. The annual photographic competition was another success, an excellent social occasion, with an increased entry of good images. The Young Musician competition at Darlington was another triumph for our club working with Darlington Rotary club. This was a long day but very worthwhile. The Charter Night was extremely enjoyable occasion for two reasons. One was to spend the evening with my very good friends Frank and Freda Allinson. The night was capped when District Governor Manoj awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship to David Lock. A fantastic evening! The Spring and Autumn fayres are always different, but they do bring in some finance and bring us together with the community with our profile being raised through the press. A new venture was to take the shelter box to Bedale in an effort to find new members in the town. I would hope that this will be repeated in some form or another.

Ripon Rowells Charter Night we enjoyed with excellent fellowship. It was Mowbray’s turn to host the RYLA presentation. A very worthwhile event and definitely worth supporting in the future. Christmas came with the All Saints’ Church Christmas tree competition with contributions from Jan, Lyn and June with our Rotary tree and one for the Friends of the Friarage - well-done girls!

January brought us to the high point of the social year with the fabulous Burns supper compered with military precision and excellent humour by Phil Roser. We even had Phil’s daughter Bethany onstage which was a bonus. The event raised £1600 which was donated to the charity Dementia Forward. That be would be our last meeting at the Allerton Court, later meetings stopped by the government to tackle the coronavirus.

Other high points for the year were continued support for Men Sheds, Dementia Forward, Hambleton Foodshare and spectacle collection for Senegal and other African states. My final high point was to see John proud awarded honorary citizenship of Northallerton. A very special day indeed. With the new development of the prison in Northallerton, we removed from the prison garden 3 benches commemorating the life and work of our friend Rotarian Kenneth Hird PHF. Craig Harrison took it upon himself to refurbish the benches, which are now located at the Abbeyfield Society Home on South Parade, Romanby playing field, and on Ainderby Road just before Warlaby cross roads. This site was used with the blessing of the local parish council and the county highways, making an ideal resting place for weary walkers. With the time available during this period of lockdown, I decided to take my exercise tidying up the area around the seat which solely became a virus of its own and with the assistance of Phil, Andrea, Jan and myself a stretch between the first layby and the second layby was cleared with the assistance of Tom from the highways department. This work has been an absolute joy not only by involving people but also in raising the profile of our club by speaking to passing members of the public who were delighted with the outcome. Duncan Rich bachelors should be heavily taxed. It’s not fair that some men should be happier than others. Oscar Wilde With apologies to our lady members—

A woman’s mind is cleaner than a man’s. She changes it more often. 2

Young Musician Update In a normal year we book our competition venue and the Adjudicator before Easter and send out the entry forms around June. Our preferred date and venue for 2020 was Sat 14 Nov at Queen Elizabeth College, Darlington, (the same place as last year). The College could not actually go firm on that date until Easter, before which along came COVID-19 and lockdown. As a result, we still have no date or adjudicator. Our current thinking is that we should not risk holding the competition this year. We could probably maintain social distancing for everyone, especially under the "one metre plus" rule. The biggest risk would arise from our wind competitors. String players and pianists could at a pinch play whilst masked, but all woodwind and brass instruments are by their very design highly efficient virus spreaders into which the players are putting a fair amount of puff - especially the flute I understand (short and straight, and pointing straight out). The joint Committee is still holding fire on a formal decision for another few weeks, however, and if the decision changes I will circulate the news asap. Tom Banfield

In an unsettling reversal of my teenage years I am now yelling at my parents for going out. Treasurer’s Report The absence of our regular Friday meetings has caused some disruption to our normal financial activities. However, we have sent £500 to Nepal, £500 to the Red Cross, £250 to Hambleton Foodshare and £750 to Appleton Wiske from our Reels funds for a new screen. Members were invited to donate to a Covid fighting fund in lieu of spending money on our Friday lunches. Over £1100 has been donated which could be increased to over £1400 by anticipating the gift aid to be claimed. None of this has yet been spent. Weekly wine raffles have continued via Zoom. Overall we have adequate funds in both our General fund and Charity fund as we approach the year end. However we don't know what, if any, extra expenses may be incurred as we come out of lockdown, so caution is required. I would like to thank the club for their support during my 3 years in office and I'm sure that Keith Gilbert will receive the same help and encouragement. There is a vacancy for treasurer from 1st July 2021 as neither Keith nor I wish to continue/return to the role. A volunteer is needed who can learn gently over the next 12 months. Chris W Johnson

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ROTARY CLUB OF NORTHALLERTON ORGANISATION 2020/21 CLUB COUNCIL President Immediate Past President President Elect Vice President Secretary Treasurer Committee Chairs/ Deputies Elected Members

Chris Johnson (14) Duncan Davison (12) Vacant Vacant Les Crelling (81) Keith Gilbert (19) Listed below John Proud & Phil Roser

NB Only the above may vote but any member may attend as an observer and contributor.

CLUB APPOINTMENTS Webmaster Publicity and Press Officer Club Photographer Facebook Speaker Finders Bulletin Editor Youth Exchange Welfare Officer Assistant secretary Assistant treasurer Protection Officer Charter Night Co-ordinator New Member Finder

John Proud PHF (05) Phil Roser PHF (03) David Lock PHF (01) David Lock PHF (01) Alasdair McWilliam (17); Craig Harrison PHF (83); John Prest (95) David Lock PHF (01); Tom Banfield PHF (00) Emma Biggs (20) Andy Brereton (09) Vacant Tom Banfield PHF (00) David Paramore PHF (97) David Lock PHF (01) Everyone

TRUSTEES: Chair David Paramore PHF (97) Tony Twiggs PHF (96) David Cook PHF (90) David Lock PHF (01) AUDITORS: Charity – John Hart

General – Tony Twiggs PHF (96) David Paramore PHF (97)

DATA PROTECTION: Ex officio Data controller: Secretary.; Data Protection Officer; Chairman of Trustees. CLUB SERVICE AND FELLOWSHIP: Acting chair: David Lock PHF (01) Deputy: Alan Bradley PHF (96), Bob Latter (15) David Parker (19), Derek Parkin (61), John Smith PHF (92), Aubrey Wilson (13). COMMUNITY SERVICE: Chair: Lyn Proud (18), Deputy: Jan Davison (18), Alan Bush PHF (01), Paddy Burke (04), Alasdair McWilliam (17), David Paramore PHF (97), Phil Roser PHF (03), Tony Twiggs PHF (96,) Chris Widdowson (10).

INTERNATIONAL & FOUNDATION: Chair: Duncan Davison PHF (12), Deputy: John Proud PHF (05), Graham Arundell , Dean Biggs (20), Andy Brereton (09), David Cook PHF (90), George Ewart (19), Craig Harrison PHF (83), Ian Stevenson (18) YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES: Chair: Ken Blackwood PHF (01), Deputy: Mike Holmes (19), Jan Arundell, Emma Biggs (20), Tom Banfield PHF (00), Jim Podd (98), John Prest (95), Geoff Sharp PHF (94).

HONORARY MEMBERS: The Rt. Hon the Lord Hague of Richmond (09), Rishi Sunak MP (16), Bob Barratt PHF, (90/17), Robert Morphet PHF (19) Maj. Lil Bahadur Gurung MBE MPHF (16).

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Copy for next Bulletin by

Zoom Speakers 3 July 2020 - Mike Coote - Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

26.09.2020

10 July 2020 - Anth - Blood Run.

Please note this in your diary now as I’m running out

of reminders.

Speaker Suggestions Meeting each week over Zoom is of course nowhere near as nice as meeting in person at the hotel. However, it does give us an opportunity to invite speakers who may live further away - in fact anywhere in the world! Rather than a speaker having to give up several hours to attend our full meeting as well as any travel time and cost, they merely need to give us 15-20 mins of their time from the comfort of their home. If you know of any interesting, entertaining speakers who you think fellow members would enjoy hearing from or indeed any topics that you would like to hear about, then please let me know. Or maybe you would like to share something yourself? Look forward to hearing from you. Alasdair During Lockdown the Club is meeting via Zoom, each Friday at 12 noon. If you wish to attend please contact Alasdair by email at [email protected]. For general enquiries about the Club please contact the Secretary, Les Crelling on

01609 770692

I had no idea how heavy hair is. Since lockdown I’ve put on nearly a stone and a half in weight. Dementia Forward Dementia Forward is a registered charity, formed in April 2012 in response to the growing need for dementia support in North Yorkshire. Originally services were in the Harrogate District and York but in April this year Dementia Forward successfully tendered for the North Yorkshire wide contract with NYCC to provide information, advice and support. We now have a help line where anyone in North Yorkshire can call for advice or information or to refer into the Dementia Forward services. Behind the help line is a team of trained Dementia Support Advisors and Dementia Specialist Nurse who take referrals and do home visits. At home visits we work with the person diagnosed and their families to support people with planning ahead, to provide emotional and practical support as well as education about the diagnosis and support with coping strategies - the list is endless! The most important thing is that we make that connection so that the families will always know where to turn and we help to avoid crisis situations. Our support can start even before a diagnosis and continues after a person has gone into care. The contract work is only half of the picture and in order to support people to live well with the illness we have pop up wellbeing cafes and groups all over North Yorkshire. In order to fund these wellbeing activities, we work hard at fund raising and rely heavily on donations. In addition, we are blessed with over 200 volunteers who we train and support and without who we wouldn't be able to function.

Being new to the Hambleton area we are absolutely delighted that the Rotary club of Northallerton are not only choosing to support with fund raising but are learning about dementia and preparing to welcome people diagnosed into their club lunches. This is a refreshing and exciting idea that we hope might catch on! So many people are affected by dementia and we really need to 'normalise' it so that people can continue to live well and be involved in their own communities - this idea will be a shining example of exactly that! Article from Dementia Forward, kindly relayed by Keith Gilbert.

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