At our Fellowship Meeting on 27 March we were delighted to welcome the late Reverend Alan White’s daughters for a meal with us. Our guest speaker was Rotarian Phil Godfrey from Solihull, who spoke about antiphospholipid syndrome and his fundraising for the charity APS Support UK to combat the disease, which is an autoimmune condition which affects the blood and its ability to clot.  An overactive immune system produces antiphospholipid antibodies, which cause the blood to clot too quickly both in veins and arteries. Also, Rotarian David Valentine from North Worcestershire gave a short talk about 9/11, which centred on what happened with the four aircraft involved.

The Rotary Club of Bromsgrove is delighted to continue its association with Age UK in Bromsgrove, and is pleased to be supporting the planned expansion and development of the local ‘Men in Sheds’ Scheme with a donation of £5000. Members of the Club attended the launch of the ‘Shed Share’ Scheme at the Age UK shop in Church Street in Bromsgrove on 24 March. A certificate to mark our support was presented to the Club Secretary. We hope to help broaden public knowledge of and support for the scheme through our networking with businesses in the coming year.

Men in Sheds originates from an Australian project started in the 1990’s, as a way of tackling loneliness and social isolation in older men where retirement can mean loss of status and contact.  The Bromsgrove Men in Sheds Group has been operating since 2016, providing a supportive and friendly setting where anybody (it is not just exclusive to men!) can socialise and learn new skills.

Jim Collis, one of the founding members of the group said;

“Although we make and build items from materials The Shed helps to re-build lives for people who are lonely – it helped me a lot after I lost my wife”

Another member of the group added: “I thought I’d lost all this when I finished work but now I’ve got a new bunch of mates to share interests and experiences with”

The Rotary Club of Bromsgrove is very pleased to announce that a milestone was installed on the Worcester Birmingham Canal on 17 March in memory of the late Reverend Alan White, who was a member of the Rotary Club and had been for fifty years. Alan was the historian for the Worcester Birmingham and Droitwich Canals Society and the author of the respected book ‘The Worcester and Birmingham Canal: Chronicles of the Cut.’  He was a prolific researcher, particularly concerning the canal and Tardebigge.

For many years, he was Chaplain and Head of Mathematics at Bromsgrove School and served as Priest-in-Charge of Tardebigge Parish. Our Club members were delighted when he visited Bromsgrove School with us in 2016 on the occasion of the Worcestershire Evening.

The milestone is situated along the canal just south of bridge 56 a few yards along from Tardebigge Top Lock 58.

All our members send their very best wishes to Rotarians Caroline Spencer and Hans Rostrup who are convalescing at home after their respective short stays in hospital!

By way of update, the pictures show the installation of the water tank at the Lirhanzo Children’s Village in Africa, following the donation of 1500 US dollars by the Rotary Club of Bromsgrove to enable clean water to be supplied on a sustainable basis. One of our members has developed close links with the orphanage, and we will be pleased to investigate other ways in which we may help in the future.

The Rotary Club of Bromsgrove is pleased to be able to support the Friends of St John’s with a donation of £5000 towards the cost of emergency repairs to the spire. We are delighted to be working in partnership in this venture with Jo Slade the Chair of the Friends of St John’s to protect and sustain the beauty of this historic building for the community.

Local media reported the theft of lead from the roof of the Primrose Hospice at some time over the holiday period when the Hospice was closed. Members of the Rotary Club of Bromsgrove are upset and disgusted that criminals should target the Primrose Hospice in this way, which would mean that their funds intended for the support of patients with life limiting illness would need to be diverted to pay for the roof repairs. As a Club, we resolved to support the staff and volunteers at the Hospice, who deliver such caring and outstanding service to patients and their families throughout the year, so that the impact of this despicable crime may be lessened. We are pleased to be able to provide a donation of £600 to reinstate the lead and coping stones and make good the damage. We would urge any member of the community to contact the police immediately if they have information which may lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this despicable theft.

We send every good wish for a Healthy and Happy New Year to all our members and their families, and also to all those with whom we work throughout the year!

Festive greetings to all our members and their families and friends and supporters of Rotary!

As we draw closer to Christmas Day, our thoughts turn to those parts of the world where ordinary people face adversity daily, caused by war and strife. As members of Rotary International, we proclaim again, ‘Rotary and peace the world over!’