Rotary Club of Lichfield July 2019

Welcome President David Smedley

On Thursday June 27th David Smedley was passed thesymbol of Presidency. On behalf of the club, he expressedhis thanks to Mike Godfrey for leading us over the lastyear.

This year, David will have the assistance of 3 PresidentElects, each taking the role for 4 months. David pased onhis old ribbon to the first ie Terry Partridge. On November1st the role is handed to Gill Cooper and then passed ontoChris Spruce on March 1st. Each person will Chair theService Committe during their term of office and deputisefor David.

President 2019-20 David SmedleyClub 719 – Chartered October 1951 by Rotary International – District 1060

Meeting at Darnford Moors Golf Club, Darnford Lane – Thursdays 12:30 pmLichfield, WS14 9JG Tel. 01543 256661

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1st Weekend of Rotary Service

The new year started with all available Rotarians being involved in Cars in the Park and the Bottle Stall. Here a team of Car Park attendants enjoy a break. It was a pleasant role, except for the period between 10 and 12pm on Sunday when the other Car Parks were full …… then, our car park filled up very quickly, and the money collection became a skilled role…. to prevent people leaving their cars before payment.

In spite of rain on the Saturday afternoon thebottle stall raised almost £500 for our RotaryCharities. The photo was taken by DavidSmedley before the public got their hands onthose bottles.

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Not just cars. Have you seen JCBs Dance?

Donna WallbankRotary President of Great Britain and Ireland

Extracts from an interview found in Rotary GBI Members Newsletter

You’re not a typical Rotarian, are you?I like to think I am, but I suppose you are right, because of my vocation, it is not typical.It was written on social media “It is incredible a hairdresser is going to be leading our association”.I have used that in my speeches to say the word ‘incredible’ could be positive or it could be regarded as negative.

The full article can be found here https://www.rotarygbi.org/rotary-president-donna-wallbank/

Bala Jaspal 2019-20 Rotary District 1060 Governor

by Brian Homewood

Our new District Governor will be visiting us on 1st August and we shall have an opportunity to get to know her. I liked this photo of her with our immediate Past District Governor wishing her well. Some of the best photos I found were withher husband Paul Jaspal, who was District Governor in 2015-16. As they are in different clubs I did not realise the connection until now.

The June/July District Governor’s newsletter which was sent out by Ian on an email titled ‘Amendment to Club List’ provides us with Bala’s incoming speech. I still need to log into the District website to see the photos of the Handover.

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Pathway’s Secret Gardenby Mike Godfrey

This year’s District Grant of £500 together with a similar donation from the Club has been given to Pathway Project enabling them to purchase outdoor play equipment for use at their refuge.This is where victims of domestic abuse and their children can stay in safe, well- furnished accommodation until decisions can be made about their long term future. Until now there was no play equipment for use in the garden and many of the children had never had the opportunity or the facilities to play outdoors. The equipment is kept in what Pathway calls the Secret Garden, a secure, grassed area where the children can play under close supervision.

Mike Godfrey and David Smedley have visited the refuge and seen the equipment which will givehours of fun to children for years to come. It’s clear from talking to the staff that they are sograteful for the help we have given them.

Our Projectorby John Cole

It is some two years since we purchased the projector and it has served us well. Since itspurchase the only cost we have born is a spare bulb which, fortunately, has not yet been used.The new screen also is ok. Darnford Moors have been very accommodating in allowing us tostore it on their premises although it takes two of us to carry it up the two flights of stairs in thefire exit.Our biggest difficulty is ensuring that Darnford Moors are informed well in advance of a meeting that wewill be using the projector as, it appears, they lay the room out differently, and possible in advance, so it isextremely important that we are told the week before that it will be required. As you know BrianHomewood or I set up and operate the equipment and Robin Place has agreed to join the team. Thank youRobin.

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What’s all the buzz about bees?By Henrik Thiele, a member of the Rotaract Club of Paderborn, Germany, and president of the

Rotaract Germany Committee

German Rotaractors build hotels for wild bees as part of the BeeAlive project.

Recently, Rotaract clubs throughout Germany were looking for a signature project and decided toconcentrate on the environment. After watching a Swiss documentary on bees, “More than honey,” one Rotaractor became passionate about focusing our attention on protecting these little superheroes. Did you know, for instance, that wild bees are responsible for pollinating more than 80 percent of our crops and wild plants? We can’t survive without them.Most of the dangers to bees are man-made. Climate change, monotonous agricultural landscapes, and pesticides are just a few of the many reasons why our little yellow friends are dying in ever-increasing numbers.With the project “BeeAlive” German Rotaractors began to support wild bees by building bee hotels, educating people about the threat to the bee population, and sowing wildflower meadows.All German Rotaract clubs participated, starting with the most northern club of Flensburg, which visited a beekeeper with their sponsor Rotary club. The southern-most Rotaract club in Germany,Kempten Allgäu, planted a meadow of more than 32,000 square feet for bees to pollinate.The Bundessozialaktion (BuSo) project, as it is called in German, is divided into three parts:InformAll the Rotaract clubs in Germany worked together to education the population about bee mortality and the associated consequences for our environment, organizing theme days and informational events. We found many opportunities to cooperate with beekeepers’ associations and nature conservation associations. Efforts ranged from the Rotoract Club of Berlin organizing an online presentation that was promoted across the country, by Dr. Kaspar Bienefeld, a renowned scientist and professor in the field of insects and bees at the Humboldt University of Berlin, to the Rotaract Club of Rheda Wiedenbrück holding a local fair.FundraisingMany of the projects are costly. Therefore, fundraising is an integral part of our efforts. The

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Rotaract Club of Duisburg-Niederrhein organized a Bee-Pong tournament, raising over $1,000 and the Rotaract Club of Paderborn hosted a Pub Quiz on the topic of bees. Clubs also got creative by selling homemade products, from beeswax chapsticks by the Bad Wörishofen-Mindelheim Club to bee-hotels (Herne-Wanne Eickel). There are also many organizations that dogreat work with our fundraising, like the NaBu; the German Nature and Biodiversity ConservationUnion, or the local beekeepers associations.Hands-onBy building bee hotels and diversifying local beds, we make room for wildflowers and create a better environment for insects. Over 100,000 square feet of meadows were planted by clubs in District 1841 and by the Rotaract clubs of Lemgo-Lippe and AC Landshut-Trausnitz. In many of these, Rotaractors, Rotarians, family and friends joined together.Building a few thousand hotels, we were already able to surpass our goal of 500. The reason is simple. All you need for a hotel is a wooden frame for the outside, hardwood with holes drilled into it, and hollowed out bamboo for the inside. The best part is that you can put up a plaque reading “Made by Rotary/Rotaract” and you have the perfect ambassador for Rotary in your localcommunity.All in all, we hope to make the world a better place by raising awareness of this important issueand working to solve the problem in our local communities. But this is not an issue that can besolved locally. It is a global problem and we need to make a global impact. Join us in our efforts.

ROTARIANS IN SALZBURGby Mike Godfrey

The four day visit to Salzburg in June was a memorable end to my Presidential year. Superbly organised and managed by David Kershaw our party of ten flew to Munich and then on by train to Salzburg.

Blessed by good weather we were able to visit so many interesting places. Going our own way during the day we met up each evening to enjoy excellent food and share experiences. The Mirabell Gardens, surely one of the finest in Europe, Hellbrun Palace with its trick fountains and Mozart’s birthplace were my favourites. The city is small enough to be able to explore with ease and our excellent hotel was situated close to the centre. On the last evening we went up to the Castle which towers over the city by funicular for a splendid meal followed by a Mozart concert.It really was a special weekend.

200 ClubJune Draw

£100 #99 Thelma Sanders£30 #145 Ian James

£20 #39 Mike Castree£10 #165 Gill Cooper

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Club Calendar

Editors Comments.I thank those who have contributed to this bulletin …. Brian Darby, Tony Hill, David Smedley, Mike Godfrey, Ian James, Terry Partridge and John Cole come to mind.. Without relevant contributions the bulletin would be dull. The next publication date is Thursday 5th September.

Finally: Here is an article that is thought provoking:- https://www.rotarygbi.org/rotary-social-innovation/Happy New Rotary Year to all Rotarians and their supporters.

Brian Homewood

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