Chatterbox 0611 - Rotary Club of Belper

otary international district 1220
www.belper-rotary.co.uk
the rotary club of
belper &
duffield
World Heritage Site
-a birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
In this issue:
Valedictory Address by President David Harris
Presentations by DG Val Leivers
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
1
May/June 2011
CHATTERBOX

Vernon Barnes and John Scotney still recovering from the shock after their presentations
from DG Val Leivers. Report of the evening on page 8.
President David congratulates Stuart Limb
after his enrolment as a member.
See page 10.
Getting a ‘Drivers eye’ view going up the Ecclesbourne Valley to Wirksworth. Full report on pages 11 - 12.
2

Valedictory Address
by President David Harris
For most people practice makes perfect but for myself the more I prepared for the
meetings the more mistakes I made; with the exception of a few meetings I managed to
get things wrong. It became a feature, and somewhat expected and I thank all the members
for their sense of fun during my year in office. So what I will remember more than
anything is the sense of fun and good will in our meeting together which I feel is the
nature of our Club. Thanks for laughing with me!! For this I thank all the members for their
wonderful support especially as most of my year in office has been a difficult time for Ann
and me. In addition the quality of the Club officials has been a wonderful contribution to my
year in that I was assured that what needs to be done was done with very little chasing. I
know that at some Clubs this is not always so. So I thank all those who took up a role for my
Rotary year.
We as a Club have supported both local community events and further afield
and I think we just about got the balance right. Generous financial support went to Happy
Home in Kenya and the District Governor's Val's Leiver's housing project in India as
well as Aqua Box and Rotary International's Polio Eradication scheme and others and
more locally our support included the Massive project at Duffield and the Drop Inn at Belper
and the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre at Skegness. All three support our local young
people. Despite the recession our fundraising was slightly up from the previous year and this
is through the events that we have held that have all been a great success as well as great
fun. A few come to mind and probably the highlight was the Christmas Extravaganza
at St Peters with the Dalesman choirs, Derwent Brass and the choir of Belper Pottery School.
This was a special evening and I urge the members to embrace the event a little more
this time round as it boosted our funds greatly for the Holiday Centre (E750) and it is
now a joint annual event with the Dalesman. The Tree of Light was also introduced into our
calendar and from a standing start the scheme raised £145 for funds as well as adding to our
profile in Belper. I feel that this is also something else that needs more of our support leading
up to Christmas.
Another special time together was the Fun Race evening at the 'new' Strutts
School with just over £1000 raised for our charities; a wonderful achievement and the street
collection prior to Christmas which was probably our best ever with a wonderful amount
raised of £2744. A big thank you to all those who stood in the cold and encouraged the
generous giving in our community.
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Over the last year we have made a few more excursions into the area with an
excellent visit to the Round House followed by a meal and on a beautiful evening a trip on
the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway with a meal at Wirksworth station. Both these were special
occasions and made a good break from regular meetings at the Lion. Also the Murder
Mystery Evening at Peter and Sheilagh's home was a lovely fun time together and I thank
all of you for what you have put into these events and please excuse anything I cannot recall.
I also enjoyed our Charter evening very much especially the playing of 'Reflections' (classical
flute and guitar). Back at the Lion I feel that we have had a varied range of speakers with a
great range of topics and entertainment for our meetings with a few highlights that come
to mind including the Christmas Guest Evening with Peter Morley, the Burns Night with
some impromptu entertainment from the members and more recently the visit by the
Ripley Morris dancers. Probably for me the most memorable evening of all was the
Presentation Evening for the award of the Paul Harris Fellowship to John Scotney for
his wonderful work over many years and a long service award to Vernon Barnes (thanks for
staying alive so long Vernon) and the way we managed to keep the occasion a secret to them.
I felt very proud to be associated with these awards and again I offer my congratulations to
them both. In addition it was good to welcome at their installation Stuart and Allen to our
Club as I feel that they will both be excellent members of our Club. Both Chris and Vicki
through personal reasons will be leaving us and this is sad as they will be missed as they
have made such a positive contribution to the life of our Club. It will be good to see them
back when they can make it and we will make them very welcome.
All our activities are not about fundraising but support within the
community and we have supported by our hard work a number of activities. For
me personally it has been great to be involved with cycling proficiency at William
Gilbert School and the Meadows and the mock interviews for Ecclesbourne School
students. What wonderful young people we have encountered at our schools and what a
joy to help them along their way and help to keep them safe. I thank you all for all the hard
work you have put into all the projects with our young people and others in the local
community and I urge you all to give Martin all your support for his year in office so he too
can have a year to cherish. Have a wonderful year Martin and I look forward to a different
type of Charter.
Your may be thinking after reading this "what about?" ………. Sorry!!
4

District 1220 Assembly
Saturday 7th May 2011
Seven members of the Club attended the District Assembly held at the Clifton
Campus of Nottingham Trent University on the morning of Saturday 7th May
2011. The RI President for 2011-12, Kalyan Banerjee from the Rotary Club of Vapi,
Gujerat, India has chosen as his theme for the year ’Reach Within to Embrace
Humanity’. He believes that to serve the world we must look at the reasons we give
service and that those reasons come from within ourselves. He places great
emphasis on the strength of our family ties and the need to maintain it if we are to
serve others.
District Governor Elect, Gordon McGlone and his wife Lorraine were introduced
by two of his colleagues from the Wirksworth Club. Gordon reported that,
other than continued support for the Polio Plus project, there are no preferred
projects designated by RI or RIBI. He has no plans at this stage for a District
preferred project but wants clubs to look closely at their local communities which,
in these stricken economic times, are likely to be in need of help from Rotary.
On the international front, Gordon would like clubs to consider joining with
others in the District to support bigger and better projects as well as making contact
with clubs worldwide so that use can be made of matching grants. As ever, Gordon
stressed the need to put membership at the top of our agendas. He concluded by
inviting everyone to the District Conference at Scarborough (30th September - 2nd
October 2011), promising us a really enjoyable time with the theme ‘Always Look
on the Bright Side of Life’ (cue for a song!).
Delegates then joined the various breakout sessions. I attended the one for
the Presidents Elect of the Erewash group of clubs led by AG Roger Summers, where
we highlighted the planning and action needed to prepare us for our coming year.
Community and Vocational Projects
5
Martin Drake
This was a fascinating and inspirational session with a number of diverse projects
being put forward which would involve the opportunity for service and publicity
for Rotary.
RIBI’s particular suggestions for projects which clubs could support are
the BBC’s Children In Need and The Rotary National Spring Clean. A brief presentation
on Children in Need followed, with an appeal by Terry Wogan for Rotary Clubs
throughout Britain to get involved with this project. Rotarians present were given
(continued over …)

a short DVD with ideas on fundraising and information on resources available such
as costumes, legal advice, local PR contacts etc. Clubs in the East Midlands could
get involved with fundraising, with a pantomime theme, at East Midlands airport.
This would also provide an opportunity to involve Interact and Rotakids and the
media coverage would greatly enhance the profile of Rotary.
There were many other suggestions for opportunities to serve including
provision of accident prevention programmes for young children, caring for young
carers, sports opportunities for children with disabilities and funding provision of
customized wheelchairs through WhizzKidz and Hearing Dogs for deaf people of all
ages. Whilst Rotary International is committed to helping the world with the
problems of illiteracy, Rotarians could look at the literacy needs of children and
adults in their own community, perhaps visiting schools to ascertain the need,
listening to children read and mentoring young people. Some local clubs issue
Dictionaries4Life to school leavers at home and abroad and support ‘Kids Days Out’
for disadvantaged children. Other projects worthy of support are the Young Enterprise
scheme and Excitement for Science where Rotary Clubs arrange for buses to
take school children to visit science museums such as the Faraday Centre in London.
Guest speaker, Peter Winson from the East Midlands Ambulance service,
told delegates of his work as Senior Community First Responder. This was followed
by a film presentation on REPOD (Rotarians Easing Problems of Dementia) describing
the success of the Wakebridge Memory Cafe which won the Magic of Rotary
Award. Known as the 5th Emergency Service there are starter and resource packs
available as well as many suggestions as to how Rotarians could support people
with Dementia and their carers in practical ways as well as offering care and
support even if only as a sympathetic “listening ear”. (For more details contact
www.repod.org.uk – enquiries @repod.org.uk).
The Rotary National Spring Clean Day has been scheduled for 23rd February
2012 and Clubs are urged to get involved with this project, whether within their
local community or further afield – perhaps even globally? For example perhaps an
Environmental Officer could be appointed by a Club? This officer might also represent
the Club during Climate Week (details to be available later). Thinking on a more
globally, perhaps Rotary Clubs could consider raising funds towards such vital
equipment as solar cookers for use in hot climes e.g India and Africa. I understand
that these cookers are currently being made by a group of women in Uganda and
are very effective.
With such a packed programme, there was little time for the Open Forum
and Summary before the 12.30 p.m. finish and although our session had overrun
the allotted time, such was the interest and enthusiasm generated, most of us
hadn’t even noticed!
Vicky Horwood
There is a report of the Youth Opportunities Group by Hilary Surga on page 9.
6

Meeting - 9th May
Belper Schools Extended Services
by Marilyn Deakin and Sandra Russell
W e had two speakers for the meeting this evening, Marilyn Deakin and Sandra
Russell, who were introduced by John Norreys. They both work from Belper
School and are involved with the school's Extended Services. This involves providing
facilities at the school and for the eight primary schools in the area for people other
than the students.
Since September 2010 all schools have been required to provide such
services under the “Every Child Matters” Agenda. Marilyn told us how she carried
out an audit of the facilities available in the area, at the various schools or provided
by other agencies. She then produced literature and a web site which was able to
“signpost” people to relevant support services for their needs. This includes things
such as Parenting Support, Other Support Groups, the Arts and Community involvement.
They used the “Signpost” as the emblem for the project.
The web site is a particularly helpful tool in this respect. There is a varied
menu of activities, some after school for the children, including hobbies, sports etc.
All are shown on the web site. Any group in the catchments area is at liberty to
advertise its events on the web site as a part of the programme.
Last year “Extended Services” merged with “Community Cohesion”. This
allows the schools to have contacts with other schools not just in Derbyshire, but in
other parts of the world as well. The latest aspect of the project is to create
meaningful links with the local business community. Funding for the project was
initially from central government and from Lottery funding but has since been
taken over by the Derbyshire County Council.
Sandra then continued the talk by telling us that since 1990 the school has
been required by the government to specialise and be linked to industry, which is
when and why the link between the school and Thornton's was created. Latterly all
funding has been from the government but they insist that at least one third of the
budget is used for the benefit of the community. Free adult education lessons are
provided in six different areas and a technician is made available to help in all local
primary schools.
They are looking at ways of getting the local community into the schools
and a large number of local organisations have taken advantage of the opportunities
provided. Children can make a variety of items, such as bird and bat boxes, mug
design and greetings cards. The Children from Chernobyl spent a day at the school,
building and flying kites last year and are due to attend again later.
After the speakers had answered a number of questions about the projects,
Paul Taylor gave our usual vote of thanks.
David Ashley
7

Meeting - 16th May
Special Visit of DG Val Leivers
The meeting this evening was a little out of the ordinary. John Scotney had been
keeping secrets from Vernon Barnes, Vernon Barnes had been keeping secrets
from John Scotney and David Harris and David Ashley had been keeping secrets
from everyone. The evening had been made a guest evening and we had 31 people
present, including District Governor Val Leivers and Terry, with President David
Harris in the Chair. It was also nice to see one of our former members, in the guise
of Derek Smith present for the meeting.
Following the meal, and during the club business, David Ashley took a
delight in asking Terry, a fervent Nottingham Forest supporter if he was aware of
the score in their match that was taking place – knowing full well that Forest were
losing 2 – 0.
President David then asked Vernon if he would speak about tonight's
business in hand. Vernon then gave a potted history of John Scotney, who suddenly
became really alert and purposeful, wondering what was coming next. Vernon
recounted John's first meeting when he delivered a talk entitled “Dying to Finish” a
pun on his vocation. He recounted how John had brought along a golf sweater that
had been produced at John's company. This ended up in Derek Smith's wardrobe
but apparently no money ever changed hands.
Well John didn't have long to wait as President David asked DG Val to
present him with a Paul Harris Fellows Award which she did, reading out the
citation for the benefit of all present. John responded as you would expect. Never
lost for words, he was able to admirably thank the club for the honour bestowed
upon him, of which he was very proud.
After this we had the second revelation of the night, when David Ashley
was asked by the President to speak. He recounted some details of Vernon's early
life in Rotary and in business, making the point that he had now been an active
Rotarian for 46 years. Vernon's business life was centred around painting and
decorating but included the decoration of Showmen's caravans. After Dave's introduction
President David again called upon Val to present an RIBI Certificate of 45
Years Service, signed by the RIBI President, Jim Moulson. After presenting the
framed certificate and reading out the citation, Val spoke about Vernon's long and
proud record of service to the community and said how honoured she was to be
able to present the award. She said this was one of the better tasks she had carried
out during her term of office.
Val continued then and talked about the “Housing for Humanity” project in
India. She revealed that the finance raised so far would enable the District to build
75 houses, three times as many as her original target. She gave details of the houses
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Continued on page 9 …

District Assembly - Youth Opportunities Report
The presenter was Carolyn Stone who had been asked to lead the session with
very little opportunity to have prepared it.
The main areas for Youth Opportunities to be developed were - Young Writer,
Young Photographer, Young Speaker, Young Chef and Rotary Youth Leadership
Awards (RYLA). Some districts are promoting Technology Tournaments which Chris
True had told us a little about after a visit to a club in Yorkshire.
It was felt that a more pro active approach was required eg visiting schools to
encourage their involvement or through promotion at information events. (Unsure
as to what these might be!) Schools may be more interested in involving their
students if we make them aware that schools who have been engaged in Rotary
Opportunities, who have been inspected by Ofsted, have been looked on positively
so there is a pay off for schools. It was also agreed that the activities fulfilled the 5
key areas on which Ofsted base part of their Inspection.
Part of the presentation described the opportunities for young people to be
involved in exchanges to other countries and to take part in camps. The web site for
more details is www.youthribi.org There are also opportunities for Vocational
placements which are usually fairly short term and directed at 18 - 25 year olds.
The speakers from Rotoract were advocating Rotary groups to get together to
develop a Rotoract group in their area. Interact is school based and currently there
are three in the District. It was suggested that these should be visited to see how
they work.
We are strongly advised to appoint a Youth Exchange Officer for the club and
the appointment should be published in the District Directory. This group meets
separately to the Youth Opportunities group at District Assemblies.
It was suggested that the Club Youth Opportunities officers should have interim
meetings between District Assemblies as several of us were new to the post and
still vague about what needed to be done and what was expected of us, so hopefully
this will be arranged. It will provide a vehicle for mutual support. A youth
opportunities handbook is available but is in the process of being updated.
and the way the building was developing and showed us a number of photographs
of the partly built houses. The Rotary Club of Belper and Duffield has of course
sponsored one such house and we look forward to seeing the end result and
making some sort of contact with its new occupants.
Everyone present commented on what a good meeting this had been.
Photograph of the presentations on page 2.
9
Hilary Surga
Gail Ashley

Meeting – 23rd May
Fellowship Evening
President David had the pleasure of inducting another new member this evening
when Stuart Limb was added to our team. Secretary John Scotney (now PHF)
introduced Stuart on behalf of his sponsors, Peter Shepherd and Sheilagh, who
were away on holiday - although they had sent a card of congratulations - and this
introduction was followed by David Soul who read out the objects of Rotary.
We all stood for the induction ceremony by our President, who told Stuart
of the advantages and responsibilities of his new position as a Rotarian and presented
him with his badge and his “welcome pack”. Stuart’s classification is Engineering
and a photograph of the ceremony appears on page 2 of this magazine. Although
Stuart’s wife, Dorothy had been able to be present at the meal, unfortunately due
to another commitment she wasn’t able to stay for the ceremony to see her
husband actually inducted. Stuart thanked everyone present for their welcome,
saying he and Dorothy had enjoyed the company of club members at various
functions they had attended, and hoped to live up to the ideals of the movement.
There wasn’t a speaker organised for the evening, but we were privileged
to have a visitor with us who was prevailed upon to introduce himself. Peter Ball
had been made a member of the Rotary Club of Alloa, Ayrshire, only a month
previously. He was in Derbyshire because of his profession as a cattle fertility
specialist and was assisting vets in Ashbourne to arrange instructive courses with
local farmers on this subject. He knew the area, because at one time during his
career as a milk inspector he was also a part-time lecturer at Sutton Bonington
agricultural college for four years as part of his total career of 13 years studying the
reproduction of cows and had made tests on the milk yield of 6300 cows in this
area! He is now a self-employed consultant on the subject.
Speaking to Peter afterwards, it transpired that he knew Peter James’
sister who lives next door to Sutton Bonington church where Peter Ball was a
lay-reader during his time in this area, and although he didn’t tell us this, apparently
he did a great work in bringing the village and college together. Peter Ball is also a
great friend of Chris Parker who is a senior partner in the Scarsdale Veterinary
Hospital at Markeaton to which my son in law, Eric, “subscribes” (I think he will
consider that the right description!).
Altogether a most delightful and interesting evening. What a pity we are
having such low attendances at the moment.
Vernon Barnes
Peter emailed the club on his return to say what a friendly and welcoming club
we were and he looked forward to visiting us again when he was next in the area.
Editor
10

Meeting - 6th June
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
A beautiful sunny evening saw a group of about 30 members and friends assembled
at Duffield railway station for a journey on our own private train. Peter
Shepherd was the organiser and the train was provided by the Ecclesbourne Valley
Railway. We set out from Duffield at 19.00 for the 8.5 mile journey to Wirksworth
which took us through some (obviously) rarely explored scenery.
The line between Wirksworth and Duffield re-opened after a 10 year refurbishment
by volunteers in April this year, 64 years after it ceased operation. The original
Duffield station was opened in 1841 a few yards further north to the current station
at Duffield by the North Midland Railway. In 1867, the station was moved and
turned into a V-shape when the branch line to Wirksworth was built by the Midland
Railway. Passenger traffic on Platform 3 to Wirksworth ceased in 1947 and the large
station building was demolished in 1969 to leave a typical way-side halt serving
trains on the main line only.
The first station after Duffield is Shottle. The station opened at the same time
as all of the others on the line in 1867 as Cower's Lane. The name was changed to
Shottle on request from the owner of nearby Shottle Hall (which is also not in
Shottle). It closed on the suspension of passenger services in 1947. The original
station building and cottages are private dwellings and offices. The railway sidings
remain in use by the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway to this day.
The next station is Idridgehay. When operational, passenger traffic was mainly
light but provided a vital lifeline to the residents of the small village before buses
became mainstream. Upon suspension of passenger services in 1947, the station
effectively closed except for some goods including milk and honey. This is why the
railway is sometimes referred to as "The Milk and Honey Line". Today, the railway
sidings have been lifted, however the station building and Crossing Keeper’s House
are still in existence as private residences. Idridgehay Station is home to British Rail
1980's experimental solar panels that were installed to power the level crossing
lights. The technology was pioneering at the time and must have been very good
because the solar panels are still operational to this day!
The end of our journey was Wirksworth (although the line continues to
Ravenstor about ¾ mile further up the valley). Wirksworth Station was home to a
beautiful Midland Railway station building with one platform. When passenger
traffic ceased in 1947, the station building was mothballed before being
demolished in the 1960's to make way for a stone loading dock. A shunter's cabin
(a very small mess building) was erected on the station site instead to aid the stone
traffic before this too was mothballed when the goods traffic ended in 1989. This
cabin now forms part of the current Wirksworth Station. After a leisurely journey
which included having to wait while level crossings were opened and closed
11

manually, we arrived at Wirksworth Station where we were served a buffet in the
Dining Car of a former Gatwick Express train.
During our visit to Wirksworth a some of the members took the opportunity to
ride “on the platform” of a diesel shunter, while others of us took a more leisurely
approach to our buffet. And then it was 20.30 and time for our return to Duffield.
On arrival at Duffield, yours truly was to be found on his hands & knees
listening to the engine. The journey had sounded distinctly like travelling on a
London Transport AEC Routemaster bus. Investigations revealed that the engine
was a BUT (British United Traction), which were “badge engineered” by either AEC
or Leyland. This one was definitely an AEC.
I was further impressed to learn from Elizabeth Henson that she not only had
heard of Metro-Cammell (the builders of the train and indeed buses), but also knew
they were based at Washwood Heath in Birmingham.
Everybody enjoyed the evening, and with the weather as it was, this really
was Derbyshire at it’s best. It’s just a shame that half the party was made up of
visitors and support from the members was so limited.
For those of a particular “bent” our train comprised a Class 108 Driving
Motor Brake Second (DMBS) 50599 built in 1958 at Derby the first vehicle of what
was to become a very successful class , and a Class 101 Driving Motor Composite
with Lavatory E50170.
50599 was initially paired with 56190 and allocated to Darlington where it
worked in Brunswick green with cream lining and speed whiskers until the early
1960’s when the speed whiskers were replaced by a small yellow warning panel. In
the late 1960’s, the vehicles received the British Railways Blue livery with full yellow
ends in accordance with the new standards. The set was withdrawn at some point
between 1990 and 1993 and placed into storage. 50599 was lucky as it was saved
for preservation whilst partner vehicle 56190 was not so fortunate. After spending
a significant amount of its preservation years at the East Anglian Railway Museum
where it was returned to its original number, the vehicle moved to the
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway.
E50170 was one of a final batch of six Class 101 vehicles to be withdrawn
mid-2004 and it entered preservation at the Midland Railway Butterley just a few
weeks later allowing it to star in “as withdrawn” condition at the Railcar 50 event
at the Severn Valley Railway in 2004.
Since then, considerable work has been undertaken on the vehicle with it
being returned into original British Railways lined green livery and wearing the
as-built number. The First Class accommodation has been rebuilt and bodywork
repairs allowed the original four marker light system at the front to be restored to
use.
Nick Blurton
12

Meeting - 13th June
Morris Dancing
by Clive Sturgess
Prior to the main presentation,
David Ashley gave a talk on his
attendance at the Nottingham Road
Show in the city centre. This included
a slide show of what is available for
use of Rotary clubs.
Hilary Surga introduced our
main speakers who were from Ripley
Morris Dancers. They were represented
by Clive Sturgess and two
members. Clive and his colleague
were dressed in traditional Morris
costumes The third member was the
musician who played the accordion.
Morris can be traced back to 1800 and some villages have existed since
then; sword dancing goes back at least 100 years. Most groups practice in
winter and perform during the summer months. Dance is taught using the
traditional black book.
Music is provided by wood whistle, accordion and drum. The majority
of tunes have been lost in antiquity, but if you listen to the last night of the
Proms you will hear some of them.
The traditional dress and colour represents the area they come
from. The area also decides which of the 5 types of dance they perform. In
addition to the dancers, most groups include a Fool and an Animal who are
dressed up to entertain the audience. However they often frighten the
children.
A slide show accompanied the presentation and a practical
demonstration of music and dancing was performed by the group. John
Norrreys gave a vote of thanks .
John Brazier
There is a photograph of their colourful costumes on page 19.
13

Meeting - 20th June
Club Assembly
The paperwork for the Club Assembly was distributed to all the members before
the meeting, either by email or in hard copy and there is no need to duplicate it
in Chatterbox.
AG Roger Summers was our special guest and he will be passing on his report
to DG Gordon McGlone. After thanking the club for their hospitality, he highlighted
several of the projects and initiatives presented by the incoming officers and in
offering his full support for the coming Rotary Year, he wished us well with all our
efforts.
The club’s aims for 2011-2012 were summarised at the Assembly by President-
Elect Martin Drake and a shortened version of his speech follows:
During my year as President of the Club, I hope that we will be able to continue and
build on two traditional values so genially cultivated during his year by President David.
These are 1) To be a happy and sociable Club to which members enjoy belonging and to
which visitors want to return; and 2) To be supportive of our local community, and not just
through the raising and distribution of funds.
The membership of the Club has remained steady at 29 throughout most of this year.
We have recently inducted two new members, Alan Widdowson and Stuart Limb, I wish them
a long, happy and fulfilling time with the Club. Unfortunately, at the end of the year we are
to lose two lady members, Chris True and Vicki Horwood, through personal circumstances.
They have both been active and involved members and the Club will miss them greatly. I
wish them well and hope that they will maintain contact with the Club.
I am looking into the practical and cost implications of the Club supporting, perhaps
with other Clubs in the area, Jole Rider an educational charity providing books and bikes for
schools in Africa. I know from personal experience and from the work that Margaret did
while we were in Ethiopia, with invaluable support from Brenda Norreys, what a difference
both these items can make to the lives of children in Africa.
During 2011-12 the Club’s emphasis will continue to be on supporting the local
community. With the straightened economic times showing little sign of improvement, the
requests for help are likely to increase. Paul Taylor, as donations coordinator, will continue
the excellent job he has done helping the Club to ensure that our limited resources are put
to the most effective use. The funds to meet the costs of the projects proposed by
committees and the donations approved by Club Council will be raised throughout the year
but, as usual, the efforts are likely to be concentrated round Christmas. The Club’s Tree of
Light made a promising start last year under Sheilagh Harnan’s tender care and will, I hope,
be continued this year. A concert given by the choral group, Cantata, will take place in
October. The Club will look at whether the successful race night of last year can be repeated
and I will explore whether we can collaborate with the Belper Players in, say, a murder
mystery evening as a fundraising event.
Martin Drake
14

Meeting - 27th June
Watersafe UK Search and Rescue Team
(WUKSART)
by James Blake and Dan Carter
The speakers had originally emailed the club Secretary with an appeal for
support of the Team and this was passed on to Donations Coordinator Paul
Taylor. He set up a visit to the club for this evening as it was his turn to be
Activity Organiser.
This is a Voluntary Charity organisation formed in 2009 and now has 30
members who undergo training in search and rescue operations using the latest
techniques and are on standby in the event of emergencies working closely with
other service teams such as Police, Firefighters, Ambulance, Mountain rescue,
etc. Most of the members have a Fire service background bringing many years
experience to the team.
In recent times major emergencies such as the Floods in the Lake
District in 2005 and 2007 have highlighted the need for a more coordinated
search and rescue activity and WUKSART help to fulfil this gap.
The Government body responsible DEFRA also had concerns about this
matter and conducted a survey to review the situation named 'The Pit Review'in
2007 but recommendations have not yet been fully actioned. Meantime
partnerships with other emergency services are being developed and the use of
dogs has been added to the WUKSART team to good effect.
To operate in difficult emergencies as occurs a wide range of specialised
dressware and equipment is essential for each member which is costly and as
a charity funding is needed to fulfil the role in such search and rescue situations.
This will include in future suitable additional vehicles for crew carrying , 4 wheel
drives, etc and to maintain the continuous training programme.
Peter Shepherd gave the vote of thanks on behalf of club members
adding how grateful we are for the high professional standards needed in such
operations.
After the meeting, club members had the opportunity of inspecting the
rescue vehicle and the extensive range of rescue equipment and tackle as it was
parked at the back of the Lion Hotel.
Ron Giffin
There is a photograph of the speakers with the vehicle on page 19.
15

Meeting - 11th April
Belper School ACCESS Unit
by Rob Simms
Following a meal of Coq au Vin or Pork we all listened intently to an excellent
presentation by Rob Simms of the Belper School Access Unit, invited by Dave
Ashley.
Access stands for Alternative Curriculum Extended Study Support and
cared initially for 14 to 16 year olds but has recently been extended to take in 11
year olds. Rob explained that the unit supports students with behavior problems
and offers them a safe haven with a kitchen facility. The key to their success is in
the informal counseling, advice and subject support. Students moving in from other
schools are also taking under the wing of the Access unit to ensure a smooth
transition.
Specialist courses, AOPE & COPE, are offered aimed at improving the
personal development and effectiveness of the student. The unit is developing new
land based studies, they already have a garden growing herbs and are hoping to get
some chickens.
Strong links will be developed with the Drop Inn Centre in the future. The
opportunity to also work with gifted and talented students offers the unit different
challenges; Rob explained that they had one student at the school who was a very
gifted tennis player but is now rowing for England.
Mentoring plays a very significant part in the development of the students.
Mentors at present come from our own Rotary Club, Deb, the local council and
Nelson Distribution. The mentors work with disaffected and C/D grade students in
areas such as career plans, CV writing and college applications.
One of the big advantages that Mentors have is that they offer a listening
ear as the students often prefer to speak someone outside the school. Mentoring
started two years ago and is now run by the school following the demise of DEBP,
The team are hoping that this will lead to a more tailored package for the students,
money and time permitting. Two of the areas the students found particularly useful
were first aid and mock interviews.
Rob stressed that the school were extremely grateful for the help and
support the Mentors offer the students explaining that they help the students make
life decisions positively and confidently.
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Graham Wright
This report missed the previous edition of Chatterbox; we are pleased to print an
account of such a positive and worthwhile initiative, albeit belatedly! Editor.

MISCELLANY
Children's Garden blooming thanks to Rotary
Early this year children in Year 1 at St. John's Church of England Primary School
in Belper began a project to grow their own flowers and vegetables. A start was
made, but their teacher, Mrs Zoe Smallman, wanted some assistance with it. She
let it be known that she was looking for someone to give a help out with the project
and in stepped Dave Ashley, a member of the Rotary Club of Belper and Duffield,
who also has a grand-daughter at the school.
He agreed to go into school and help the children with planting their seeds
etc. He soon noticed that there was a shortage of certain equipment, compost and
other sundry items for the project to be a success. As a result the Rotary Club
agreed a small donation of £50 to help with the purchase of the necessary items.
The children have planted a wide variety of vegetables including potatoes, carrots,
peas, various beans and lettuce, as well as flowers.
Mrs Smallman said; “The children have had great fun from working in the
garden and are all eager to help with the planting and watering. Since we started
parents have also been generous with donations of plants and seeds etc. Over the
last few weeks the children have seen their produce begin to grow and have
developed a taste for fresh rocket salad. They are now eagerly looking forward to
eating more of their crops. We are really grateful to Dave and the Rotary Club for
their support with this project”
Editor - a photograph (see page 19) and an abridged version of this report
appeared in the Belper News 29th June. The idea of supporting local primary
schools with gardening clubs has been discussed by the Club Council and the
incoming Chair of Youth Opportunities, Hilary Surga, did put this forward as a
project at the Club Assembly held on 20th June.
Cycling Proficiency Training
Training Sessions have been held at several primary schools in Belper and Duffield
by our team of dedicated trainers and helpers and we have the satisfaction of
knowing that well over a hundred youngsters will now be riding their cycles with
much increased awareness of the problems and dangers of the roads.
Our resources have been stretched this year and it would help us to continue
this valuable work if some more members considered going on the half day training
course and become qualified trainers.
17

2011 Organiser Reporter Cash Fraternal
July
4th Installation J Lowe D Soul
11th A Widdowson P Davies J Moore H Surga
18th Business Meeting G Wright J Norreys P Taylor
25th D Ashley J Frankland D Partridge J Horwood
August
1st G Ashley R Giffin J Scotney P James
8th DG Visit S Harnan P Shepherd J Kerr
15th V Barnes D Harris D Soul S Limb
22nd J Brazier D Henson H Surga P Löchel
29th Bank Holiday
September
DUTY OFFICERS
5th D Collard J Horwood P Taylor J Lowe
12th P Davies P James A Widdowson J Moore
19th J Frankland J Kerr G Wright J Norreys
26th R Giffin S Limb D Ashley D Partridge
Note: this rota is only provisional and it may be changed when the new Secretary
assumes his duties in July.
DIARY
July 11th My Job Talk? By Alan Widdowson
July 18th Club Business Meeting preceded by Club Council at 6.30pm
July 25th Rotary and the Olympics by David Ashley
August 1st Speaker to be arranged by Gail Ashley
August 8th Visit to the Club by District Governor Gordon McGlone
The latest information about meetings can be found in the weekly Bulletin Boards
and on the Club website:
www.belper-rotary.co.uk
July/August CHATTERBOX: Publication - 5th September
Editor - John Scotney
18

Ripley Morris Men show off their colourful
costumes when they spent an evening with us.
More on page 13.
James Blake and Dan Carter show off the WUKSART van
after their presentation. Page 15.
19
President David listens intently as Martin Drake
outlines his plans for next year, watched over by
AG Roger Summers! Report on page 14.
Pupils at St John’s Primary School
show off their horticultural skills.
Report on page 17.

The Rotary Club
of
Belper and Duffield
Founded 1930
President David Harris
Senior Vice-President Martin Drake
Junior Vice-President Christine True
Treasurer David Henson
Secretary John Scotney
The Club meets every week on Monday at 7.30pm.
The Lion Hotel, Bridge Street, Belper (01773 824033)
Rotary is a service organisation which exists to help those in need and to provide
fellowship and support to its members, whilst maintaining high ethical standards. If you
are interested in visiting the Club and learning more about Rotary, please contact the
Secretary, John Scotney:
01773 823678 john.scotney617@btinternet.com
Website: www.belper-rotary.co.uk
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