July 2011
Tuesday 5th. This was our Handover Evening and President Roger was formally inducted as President
Tuesday 12th. This evenings Speaker was Amy Johnson of Katherine House. Amy updated the Club on further services, mainly based in the Community, that Katherine House was introducing.
Tuesday 19th. Keith Walker of Crime Stoppers was our guest for the evening. Keith explained the function of Crime Stoppers in providing "intelligence" for the Police. This is mainly done via a call centre where information was taken in confidence and often without names being given. Over the years it has proved a significant contribution in dealing with crime.
Tuesday 26th. A Business Meeting.
August
Tuesday 2nd Our latest new Member, Richard Buttiege gave his My Job Talk entitled "Talking Rubbish" This turned out to be an interesting expose of the Recycling Industry and highlighted just some of the value in what we throw away.
Tuesday 9th Our speaker for this evening was Carol Reilly from Distict. Carol was responsible for the last GCSE visit which was by a group to the West Indies. Clearly, from the slide show, the group had an active and enjoyable time in some very pleasant circumstances
Tuesday 16th. The venue for this evening's Meeting was The Maltings Car Park. This was the start of a Treasure Hunt which took in several villages to the south east of the town. An interesting and challenging evening but cut short for the slower participants by dark! Refreshments followed at the Herbert's.
Tuesday 23rd Jeremy Fisk was our guest speaker; his talk was on Energy Conservation. A wide ranging subject but with the main emphasis on photo voltaic cells, with the current major support from the government. Thought provoking enough for a number of Members to show interest in the possibility of their own installation
Tuesday 30th Following the Bank Holiday there was no Meeting.
September
Tuesday 6th. Peter Coffin gave a talk on our main Charity, Foundation.
Tuesday 13th. This was a Business Meeting with the Club being provided with an update of future activities, particularly for the Christmas period.
Tuesday 20th. Stephen Herbert introduced us to Smile Train, the principal International Charity for this year. A DVD was shown of its activities in India showing the success in treating cleft palates and associated problems.
Tuesday 27th .Barry Preen, District Governor, visited us this evening to pass on the keynote message from the RI President.
October
Tuesday 4th. Capt Tony Spacey visited us to tell us more about his Charity "Fishing for Heroes", supporting Service personnel with battle injuries of all types, both mental and physical. This is done predominately through the therapy of Fly Fishing. An entertaining and provocative speaker, he clearly gave reassurance to the Club that our recent donation was in good hands
Tuesday 11th DI Vicki Roberts was our guest for the evening to talk on Child Protection . She had been involved in this aspect of Policing for a number of years and now had overall responsibility in the County. Vicki explained the many aspects of care that were involved in the role and how a balance with family needs was met.
Tuesday 18th There was No Meeting as this preceded Charter Night.
Saturday 22nd Whilst the venue for our Charter Night was the same as for many years, The Platinum Suite at The Racecourse, the format was different. This year there was no Roast Beef carved at the table or dancing. Instead, following a meal of salmon we were entertained by the Comedian and broadcaster, Don Maclean; for almost an hour he kept the company in fits of laughter. The concensus was of an excellent evening.
Tuesday 25th Paul Archer spoke on the effects of the Internet on our lifestyle. He also addressed some of the problems related by Members in terms of performance of their PCs
November
Tuesday 1st Our RYLA candidate entertained us with his experience at the recent RYLA, organised by District. From his confidence and composure he had clearly benefitted.
Tuesday 8th. Unfortunately the planned speaker for the evening was unwell, but his place was ably taken at short notice by Rtn David Platt. David recounted his experiences in the early days of his career as a brewer in Kenya where life amongst the ex-pats was very different to today, with almost a hedonistic life style. After four years David returned to the UK to a more conventional career in the brewing industry.
Tuesday 15th The venue for this evenings meeting was Thomas Alleynes School where we were holding, for the first time, a senior version of Youth Speaks. Three schools, Abbotsholme, JCB Academy and Alleynes participated, each fielding three candidates. The outcome was a winner from Abbotsholme, Katie Edwards, who not only informed but also entertained.
Tuesday 22nd Business Meeting
Tuesday 29th The venue for this evening Meeting was the Golf Club. It was held jointly with Inner Wheel with a Speaker from Canine Partners. This Charity provided dogs who were multi tasking for people with major disabilities. The extent of their skills were most impressive, even to assisting in the use of ATM machines! The Club made a significant donation to the Charity
December
Tuesday 6th Having recently returned to the Club, Joe Summer gave his "My Job Talk on Magesterial Duties. For many the history of the role of a Magistrate proved an eye opener, as did some of his experiences on the modern Bench
Tuesday 13th There was no Meeting as the Christmas Party was held on the Wednesday
Wednesday 14th. After last year's success the Christmas Party was again held at Weston Hall. Despite some doubts due to a recent change in management, the evening proved a success and was well supported by nearly 90% of the Club. Entertainment followed the meal, hosted by our Secretary ably supported in various roles by the Members.
Tuesday 20th. A traditional Christmas Dinner was prepared by the Robin Hood as a round up for the year.
Monday 12th to Saturday 24th For eight evenings a team of members toured the various housing estates with Santas Sleigh. Santa greeted the children and Members had their collecting buckets. The first Saturday was spent all day outside Tesco and the second (Christmas Eve) in The Maltings. Almost £3,000 was raised from this mammoth effort.
Tuesday 27th Following the Boxing Day Bank Holiday there was no Meeting
January 2012
Tuesday 3rd As this followed the Bank Holiday there was No Meeting
Tuesday 10th. It has been traditional for the first meeting in the New Year to be a "New Year Message". We were pleased to see our Honorary Member Rev Kesh Govan who passed on some of his thoughts as regards life in general in his usual humpurous way.
Tuesday 17th. Our Guest Speaker for the evening was Roy Smith. Under the guidance of Graham Kerby support has been given to the Education Dept of Dovegate Prison. Roy has been involved in setting up a maths course and had been particularly succesful in getting several clients good grades in their exams in a very short time.
Tuesday 24th. A Club Council Meeting was followed by a routine Business Meeting, with Club being given an update on our various events, both past and future. We also took the opportunity to welcome and induct Susanne O'Farrel, Head Teacher at Thomas Alleynes School, as an Honorary Member.
Tuesday 31st. Jerry Parker of Mission Aviation Fellowship showed a brief film and then spoke of the activities of this organsation. Their activities cover many of the under developed countries where they are involved in providing support with light aircraft for a variety of Charities providing humanitarian aid.
February 2012
Tuesday 7th. This evening's meeting moved to the Uttoxeter Golf Club to provide slightly more room for the speaker, John Heath. He spoke on the developments he and his family had made on their Dairy farm, particularly in the direction of cheesemaking under the Staffordshire label. He had brought a selection of his products which were sampled by the members.
Tuesday 14th. Julie Bird, a qualified councillor, and Mel Wood from YESS spoke of their activities with 10-18 year olds, based in Thomas Alleynes School. Following the closure of MIND they saw a need for this age group where mental and emotional problems arose. Their committment to this cause was well received by the Club and a small donation was made.