Down in Dorset, Christchurch Rotary held its 11th annual wine-tasting to raise funds for Rotary International’s End Polio Now campaign.
Over ÂŁ2,000 was raised by the guests at the event which – when tripled to over ÂŁ6,000 by the generous two-for-one additional funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – is sufficient to immunise about 15,000 children.
Sommelier Chris White from Ellis Wines offers his big-bottle raffle prize.
New so-called Wild Polio cases have reduced from 350,000 a year in 125 polio endemic countries in 1985 to just 5 new cases in 2021 which is an astonishing reduction from an average of 1000 new cases a day to an average of 1 new case every 60 days.
Organiser Peter Boardman said: “Our huge thanks to Tim Lloyd and Robert Wilson at Captains Club Hotel for very generously donating the use of their splendid Function Room for the evening, and for hosting and providing the delicious supper.
“Thank you also to Sam, Lauren, Niloo and the Captains Club team for looking after us, and to Chris White of Ellis Wines for supplying the wines, guiding us through the wine tasting and quiz, and for very generously donating the huge bottle of Rioja for auction – very much appreciated indeed.
“And what a great example of one of Christchurch Rotary’s mottos – having fun while helping others”.
Over towards Essex, The Rotary Club of Rochford recently made a donation to Rochford Hundred Rugby Football Club for the “kitting out” and decoration of the junior team changing hut.
After the donation, the football club held a competition to see who could come up with the best name for their new facility, with judges eventually deciding on ‘The Scrum Shed’ as the winner.
Left to right – Jude Cook, William Cullis and prize winner, Drew Williams.
The winner’s prize was presented by Rotary Club Senior Vice President, Rotarian Geoff Newman, who was accompanied by Rotarians Keith Holdsworth, David Reynolds, Paul Veitch and Jerry Davenport.
Club President Brian Hunt said: “We were very pleased to support the senior rugby club in Rochford. The junior team is the future of top class rugby in Rochford and the updated facilities will support their development.”
Finally, Dundee Rotary Club had the privilege of hosting a virtual talk with Scotland’s national clinical director, Professor Jason Leitch, where he gave a captivating account of his role in the country’s battle against COVID-19.
The lead clinician often seen fronting the Scottish Government’s response to the pandemic was widely praised for his communication skills as his regular television appearances made him a household name throughout the UK.
Professor Leitch explained how he was one of the senior team given the role by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon of explaining to the public the Scottish Government’s actions for dealing with the pandemic.
That included the reason for social distancing, restricting public gatherings, regular handwashing and the wearing of face masks to control the spread of the virus.
He [Leitch] is still a very busy man and much in demand so we were very grateful to him for finding the time to speak to us.”
Though the COVID-19 pandemic will not be over when Omicron ends and cautionary measures will still be needed, Professor Leitch was hopeful that the crisis of the last two years will not be repeated.
He explained: “We are also developing better treatments for dealing with Covid.
“There will be better and more reliable testing like saliva instead of swab samples from the nose or throat to make it easier to detect and deal with the virus.”
Dundee Rotary President Andrew Argo said it was a coup for the club to have Professor Leitch give a speech to its members.
He commented: “He has a connection with Dundee in being an honorary professor at Dundee University, and we first approached his office last year to ask if he would be able to speak to us.
“He was understandably very busy at that time and wasn’t able to accept but we were delighted when he accepted our second invitation.
“He is still a very busy man and much in demand so we were very grateful to him for finding the time to speak to us and to deliver such an interesting and well-received speech.”
