Chipping Norton Times - Issue 4/5 - January-February

14
Rotary Club of the North Cotswolds
North Cotswold Rotary
From Brian Honess, PRO
Although the weather forced us to cancel our collecting days at
Tesco Stores, we were able to visit the Tescos at Stow to present
Mark MacDonald the current store manager with a framed citation
in recognition of the help received from Tesco in our fund raising.
In 2010 some £10,000 was raised through the collections at Tesco.
These have often been for the specific relief of people severely
affected by natural disasters – the Haitian earthquake and the
Pakistani floods being two major such events. At other times, such
as Christmas, we have collected for selected Rotary charities. We
thank all those who have contributed so generously. (The photo
shows our President Michael Orme presenting the citation.)
HOWEVER we did have some successful fund raising activities prior
to Christmas. The Victorian Evening in Bourton raised some £2,000
from car parking and we are grateful to John Hackling for allowing
us the use of Hackling’s car park. The BIG BAND Concert with the
Band of the Army Air Corps, enjoyed by a full house at Bourton
School, brought in £3,300 – this is split between the band’s own
charity (the Corps of Army Music Trust) and Rotary Charities. The
future of the Army Air Corps Band is uncertain due to budget cuts,
but we hope that they will be with us again on December 11th
(make a note!). The photo above shows Rotary President Michael
Orme with the Band’s Director of Music, Captain Justin Mathews
(right) and Bandmaster WO1 Peter Bede.
AUCTION of PROMISES
Finally – make a note of SATURDAY March 19th, when we are
holding an Auction of Promises at The Plough, Ford. More of this
next month – but if you, or someone you know, has an item which
they are prepared to promise and which can be auctioned for
charity – please contact your local Rotarian - NOW!!.
TREE OF LIGHT
The Tree-of-Light, in remembrance of family or friends who have
died, raised £2,700 this Christmas. Thank you to all who
supported this activity. The funds are distributed to Kates Home
Nursing, Gloucestershire Air Ambulance and Rotary Charities
including the Rotary Foundation.
ROTARY CLUB OF KINGHAM AND DAYLESFORD
From Paul Jackson
High Court judge on the importance of Independent Judges.
Kingham resident Sir Anthony Mann gave a well attended club meeting an
interesting expose on the role of Judges in our democratic society. Judges
not only interpret and therefore create the law by constant reference to
precedent, they also protect citizen rights from over excessive
governments. (Apparently High Court Judges can only be fired by an act
passed by both Houses of Parliament…perhaps we all underestimate their
role in our free society.)
Champagne Classic on Sunday July 3rd - Book now!
The new “Cotswold Event of the Year” - a very special lunch garden party
with Jazz, Champagne and Classic Cars. Sponsored by Savills, Bentleys
and the House of Fraser. See
www.champagneclassic.org.uk for more details.
Duck Race…..a sell out and lots of fun.
The now well established New Year’s Day Duck Races, sponsored by
WORLD OF COLOR Chipping Norton, and held at The Mill House Hotel was
a runaway success, raising nearly £1200 for the primary school outside
classroom, local charities and Rotary’s global Foundation (currently
“almost there” with its eradicate Polio campaign). Forty one winners
shared £500 of prize money with the £100 prize going to Juliet, an 8 year
old holiday visitor who was overwhelmed to have won.
Keith Hartley Chairman of
Kingham Parish Council
starts the first race.
Juliet receives her winnings from
President Nova Bradley
Where does your money go?
Well some of it goes to a Micro Bank in Malawi - Nick Teale from the
Rotary Club of Burnham Beeches recently gave a fascinating overview of a
venture that is transforming the lives of the economically disadvantaged,
loaning them starter business loans of £25 for four months at a time.
What is really interesting is that the Bank, based in Oxford, avoids
mentioning its charitable status as their customers in Malawi are reluctant
to accept charity. The majority are women, who are the marketeers of the
country. Other unique approaches are that the PINs are fingerprints; to
get a loan you need to belong to a Trust Group of around ten people who
take out a joint loan and underwrite each other. No wonder they have a
98% repayment record, something our UK banks could learn! The local
Rotary Clubs in this UK region have donated over £73,000 in the last
three years to this worthwhile venture, which has increased its capital
employed from £1.9 million to £5.7. They plan to increase the number of
customers from 250k to 1 million in four years. Thank you for your
donations to Rotary.
New Members joining our one year old club!
There is no doubt that as a new club, younger members, ladies and
couples are finding our new very informal style attractive. This month we
welcome 5 new members from Churchill, Bledington and Chipping Norton.
See www.kinghamrotary.org.uk and come along without any obligation -
the next meetings are February 9th and 21st. It’s fun!