Chatterbox 1211 - Rotary Club of Belper

otary international district 1220
www.belper-rotary.co.uk
Winning Club Bulletin 2010/2011
the rotary club of
belper &
duffield
World Heritage Site
-a birthplace of the Industrial Revolution
In this issue:
Club Birthday Party
Sustainable Transport
Christmas greetings
1
Christmas 2011
CHATTERBOX

Building housing in Ethiopia as described
in the report on page 4.
2
The Club celebrated its 81st
Birthday at a special ‘party’ on
14th November - page 5.
Helping to maintain the cycle tracks around Britain as
described by Clyde Hinton from Sustrans - see page 7.
David Collard receives the
Campbell Cup - page 6.

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
Dear Friends,
I have been looking at the Christmas cards which have just started arriving.
Because we are ‘in the business’ a majority of the cards we receive have a biblical
theme but I guess that for many people few if any of the cards they receive will
feature Mary and Jesus. This is a pity, because this image, at the heart of Christmas,
is of a vulnerable Jesus and of such love in three respects: Mary’s for him; his for
Mary; and God’s for us.
It was Father Damian who famously went to live and work in a leper colony on
remote Hawaiian island. One day, after twelve years, he discovered that he had
caught the disease. His sermon the following Sunday began with the words ‘now I
am one of you.’ He subsequently died of the disease. The image of Mary and the
new born Jesus says the same thing – ‘now I am one of you.’ Bishop Richard Harries,
many years ago in a ‘Thought for the Day’ said, ‘as the world goes its apparently
inexorable way; as the sun rises and sets; as cancer spreads and trees grow; as
children play and God is veiled; the celebration of Christians is that the hidden one
is united with us; in every laugh and every cry, ‘one with us.’
The image of that particular mother and child, the muse of countless artists, is
an impossible one. It could never be could it? Which is why John Betjeman’s answer
to his own question in the poem ‘Christmas’ might just be right:
‘And is it true? And is it true?
The maker of the stars and sea became a child of earth for me?
and his conclusion…………
‘Nothing can with this truth compare,
That God was man in Palestine
And lives today in bread and wine.’
I hope that amidst all the paraphernalia and hype of Christmas, with me you
will be able to wonder at the true miracle of ‘God with us’ - not hidden or veiled but
enmeshed within every moment of our lives.
I wish you a very happy and peaceful Christmas.
3
Rev. Chris Scotchbrook
Belper Central Methodist Church
Cover picture - Santa in Duffield
Children meeting Santa during his trip round Duffield when he was joined by
members of the Massive Project - full report of the evening on page 15.

Meeting – 7th November
Ethiopia
by Tony House
President Martin opened the meeting by thanking the Duty Officers and welcoming
two visitors, Tony House who was the guest speaker and John Marshall,
brother in law of our Activity Organiser for the evening, Peter James. We enjoyed a
very well prepared and presented meal and PP Sheilagh spoiled us all by passing
round After Eight mints to accompany the coffee.
Club Almoner Vernon was the bearer of sad news; after the loss of Honorary
Member Eric Naylor only four months ago, he now reported the death of Eric’s
wife Margaret. Some of the members were to attend the funeral on the 8th.
Peter James then introduced his speaker who was to talk about his work
in Ethiopia. Tony was a civil engineer and he had decided upon retirement to use
his skills with a charity called Habitat for Humanity which was involved in building
housing in deprived areas of the world. Ethiopia was one of the countries benefiting
from this work and Tony gave us a brief account of the country. While it was large
in area, it was sparsely populated and most of the people worked and lived off the
land; some areas were quite productive whilst others were almost barren. It had a
history of occupation by invading countries and the population was mixed both
culturally and by religions.
Tony described his visit with the use of slides. It started with their arrival at
Addis Ababa and the welcome party at their hotel with a typical coffee ceremony
and a display of dancing. The party then travelled a few hundred kilometres up
country to Dessie where they were to help with the construction of houses. These
are quite crude; a stone foundation is built up and the walls are based on eucalyptus
poles which are then covered with a mixture of mud and teff straw (teff is the
local cereal crop). The outer face is covered with chicken wire and a mixture of sand
and cement to give a weatherproof exterior and the roof is corrugated iron sheeting.
The expected life is about 50 years.
After spending some time building houses, Tony went north of Dessie to
visit Karagutu Elementary School. Although it was in a poor district, all the pupils
attended in smart clothes and there was so much demand for schooling that it
operated two shifts daily. He also had the opportunity to visit leprosy colonies at
Dessie and see the progress being made with drugs and improved living conditions.
Alan Widdowson thanked Tony for a very interesting presentation and
invited questions from members. Finally, the Raffle Organiser (David Henson) won
the Raffle!!
John Scotney
Photograph of a house under construction on page 2.
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Meeting – 14th November
Club Birthday Party
This time of the year is usually when we celebrate the granting of our charter,
way back in 1930. President Martin has elected to move the formal Charter
Celebration to May 2012 but we felt we could not let the occasion pass
unrecognised so we decided to hold an informal ‘Birthday Party’ and invite our
partners and friends to come along for a lighted hearted evening. Amongst the
guests, we were especially pleased to welcome back Chris True for the evening; she
explained that while she had settled well in to the Rotary Club of York Ansty, she
had very fond memories of her time with Belper and Duffield.
The Lion served a very good Minestrone Soup with Parmesan shavings and
followed this with Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stew to some) and then as a topical
treat, President Martin lit and blew out some candles on a special cake (see photo
on page 2) which was then served with the coffee.
Following the loyal toast and the bare minimum of club business, David Henson
introduced his guest, Rtn Chris Knight. He started by telling us he would only talk
for 30 minutes as he knew some of the members had to get home in time for their
cocoa! Chris is a fellow Rotarian from neighbouring District 1070, has served as AG
and acted as their District Conference Director. His special interests were Theatre
and Pantomime and he was delighted to tell us he had just heard that he was on
the short list to assist with the promotion of the Olympics.
Chris then proceeded to give a light hearted performance starting with material
from silly food labelling, schoolboy bloomers and moving on to talk about the
greats from Music Hall. The early performers only had one act but they went round
the country with it; the really good ones received sponsorship to the tune of
£120/week, equivalent to £27,000 at present day rates! He then covered the era
of the great entertainers such as Max Millar, the Crazy Gang (‘Underneath the
Arches’ was based on the railway bridge in Derby), the Black and White Minstrel
shows at the Palace Theatre and finished with some pantomime anecdotes (Oh no,
he didn’t!)
Proposing the vote of thanks for a most interesting and entertaining presentation,
SVP Graham revealed that he had been initiated at the tender age of 15 to the
high life of London with a visit to the Palace Theatre as a birthday treat. Chris then
proceeded to draw the Raffle Prize for John Horwood to collect, John Norreys
managed to extract some sustenance for the pig and President Martin brought the
evening to a conclusion with the Rotary Toast.
John Scotney
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Business Meeting
21st November
President Martin started this meeting by asking Paul Taylor to present the
Campbell Club (for the G-word!) to David Collard and John Norreys and Nick
Blurton brought greetings from Ilkeston after attending their Charter Celebration.
Treasurer Peter James presented a summary of the various funds: Hospitality
£817, DG’s £1329, Charities £1286 (Foundation £647 and Polio £650 still to pay),
Mary’s Meals £156, Emergency £241 and the Pig £17.74.
Youth Chair Hilary announced their intention to invite Community Contacts
to Business Meetings to maintain links. The Young Musicians Concert will be
held on 22nd April and David Collard was organizing for the Cadets to attend RYLA
next Spring. The Mock Interviews had been set for 19th – 21st March and it was
planned to extend the idea to Year 11 students for training in job interviews.
Arrangements were in hand for collecting the Christmas Shoeboxes.
President Martin referred to the Report from Review of Membership and
it was agreed to encourage people to associate as ‘Friends of the Club’ while they
decided whether to join. He also announced an initiative to attempt to encourage
local business networking, which had been successfully pioneered by one of the
Nottingham club.
International Chair David Soul reported that the Indian Housing Project
had raised over £60,000 and more than 20 houses had been built already. Shelterbox
and Aquabox had been active in Turkey after the earthquake and they would
continue to need our support. The Polio fund raising is on target; there are still new
outbreaks in local areas and more work will be required to completely eradicate it.
There are changes in the GSE scheme in two years time in that the team will be all
of the same vocation to focus their activities.
Community Chair Gail gave details of a proposed Spring Concert by the
Belper Town Wind Band at Christchurch organised by Peter Davies. There were to
be further discussions about the details and it was expected to raise about £800.
JS
Christmas Shoeboxes
T he collections have fallen considerably this year, mainly because a number of the
regular schools have not taken part. A total of 235 boxes (over 600 last year)
were picked up from Herbert Strutt Primary School, St Elizabeth’s Primary School
and St John’s C of E Primary School and taken to the Collection Centre in Derby .
There, they are checked and then dispatched, this year to Romania.
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Meeting - 28th November
Sustrans
by Clyde Hinton
W ith tonight's speaker it was definitely a case of ‘ON YER BIKE’. Clyde Hinton
was introduced by Stuart Limb and he proceeded to recall the history and
current progress of Sustrans (Sustainable Transport).
It all kicked off during 1977 when a group of enthusiasts took over a derelict
railway line in the Bristol area. This led to a lottery bid and a national vote which
won them an astonishing 50 million pounds. They have developed over the years a
series of routes both local and national which now total 12000 miles. It is looked
after by members who are called Rangers and are responsible for sections of local
routes.
Rangers mark out routes, litter pick, trim vegetation, deal with visits to schools
and other organisations and generally take every opportunity to promote cycling
for health and enjoyment. Health issues are an important part of their strategy -
obesity, heart issues and diabetes are highlighted to encourage people to go and
cycle as a means of keeping fit. We seem to have a long way to go as yet to catch
up with countries such as Sweden, where 10% cycle against 2% in the UK. However,
as more local routes become available we may even be inspired to form a Rotary
Cycling Group. Any volunteers out there?
Clyde went on to talk about the development of the Bennerley Viaduct as a
local central hub with an information centre and cafe. Local maps were handed out,
lots of questions were asked and then most of us probably felt slightly guilty as we
then got into our cars and went home!
Peter Shepherd
Another photograph on page 2.
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Happy Christmas
and Best Wishes to
you all
from David & Ann
8

Sheilagh and Peter wish
all members and friends of the
Rotary Club of Belper and Duffield a
very Merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year.
Happy Christmas
from
Sheila and
Peter James
9
Merry
Christmas
and a
Happy New Year
from David, Susan
and Andrew

With every good wish
for a
Happy Christmas
and a peaceful
New Year
from Vicky and John
10

Best Wishes for
Christmas
and the New Year
from
Ron and Joan
Best Wishes for
Christmas &
the New Year
John Brazier
11
Happy
Christmas
and a peaceful
New Year
from John and Julia

Meeting - 5th December
A visit to the Falkland Islands
by Peter Löchel
Sitting with Peter Loechel at the table when he has returned from one of
the cruises that he and Lilli have taken, you always expect to have and
interesting talk about the places they have visited! Tonight was no
exception to their travelling all over the world.
We have seen pictures of exotic countries but this time we were taken
on an historical visit to the Falkland Islands. On a visit like this, to a country
with few trees but a barren vista of rocks and grass we have known about it
through news about the conflict with Argentina. Peter recorded the history
of the islands using maps and commentary starting first with settlers from
France and England in the early 1700’s, the French on the Eastern part.
Spanish settlers then arrived and the French sold out to them and left.
There was a garrison of British troops on the Western island but this later
withdrawn.
The British were a mixture of Scots and Welsh mostly involved in whaling
and were a consequence of whaling operations on South Georgia. Although
Argentina had a settlement on East Falkland in 1828, Britain
colonised the islands in 1833 after an American warship had destroyed an
Argentinian settlement on East Falkland. The problems with Argentina eventually
led to the fighting in 1982 when the invasion led to many casualties,
and a permanent British garrison and a major airfield was then constructed.
Most of the industry in these early times was associated with the
whaling industry and sheep farming. It became a coaling station for naval
operations at the beginning of the 20th century and the capital, Port Stanley
slowly developed as a harbour. Peter showed a map of the islands with the
places of historical interest and photographs of the present area around the
capital. We noted the Governor’s car was a London taxicab suitably adapted
for diplomatic use and that most vehicles were 4X4 to cope with the weather
conditions in the Winter.
We were pleased to see Lilli enjoying her visit and taking photographs of
the town.
Photographs on page 19.
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David Soul

Meeting – 12th December
Santa Sleigh round Duffield
It had been decided to give the Lion a miss this week and combine a tour of duty
accompanying Santa around Duffield with a supper at Sheilagh and Peter’s. The
day started off bright and dry but unerringly, it clouded over, the glass dropped
alarmingly and the first drops of rain started at 5.30 pm as Santa and his band of
little, and not so little, helpers started to gather in Chestnut Close. We all gritted our
teeth, donned waterproofs and greeted a dozen young volunteers from the Massive
Project who were to accompany us.
Dave Ashley briefed everybody on the best way to extract money painlessly
from the hapless locals and then we set off with Gail overseeing the collectors while
choosing to ignore the fact that Santa (Graham) was without the regulation red
trousers!
As usual, the reception was mixed; some people entered into the spirit of the
evening and gave generously, bringing young children to talk to Santa while others
were just indifferent or downright rude! We took the opportunity of handing out
leaflets advertising the Christmas Concert to be held at St Peters in Belper on 17th
and there was also a message about the Rotary Club on the reverse.
Two hours later, soaked and cold, we returned to our cars and decamped to
Willow Lodge to be greeted by a number of Rotarians who had wisely chosen to
miss the collection or who had been unsuccessful in tracking down Santa (despite
the amplified music). The assembled company then attacked the selection of soups
– potatoe & leek, spicy parsnip and carrot & orange – served with homemade bread
followed by a variety of crumbles and custard; truly comfort food. Thanks, Sheilagh
and Peter, for looking after us and the four guests from Massive.
The final act of the evening was to count out the moneys on the kitchen
table and we were all most gratified to find that it came to £550 +; an excellent start
to our collections in the run up to Christmas. We will have to see how we get on
with the second tour round Duffield on Thursday, when Carole and David have
kindly offered to host us. The following week, Wednesday 21st, is the turn for
Belper and for the Drop Inn to help us; Gail and Dave have volunteered to revive the
team at the end of the session and there is a rumour that the Spicy Parsnip Soup
could be on the menu.
John Scotney
There is a photograph of Santa meeting some of the young children on page 19.
Christmas Greetings
President Martin has decided to donate the proceeds from this years Greetings
to the Stroke Club and the Belper Cottage Project.
15

DG’s December Newsletter
T his is my sixth Newsletter and so the first half of this Rotary year is nearly at an
end. I have just four Club visits to do, and then I can spend the rest of the year
attending charters, visiting businesses and organisations to tell them about Rotary.
Throughout the year Clubs have some busy months but December is a time
when most Clubs are very active with Santa collections and various Christmas
functions for both the community and themselves. This is the time of the year when
Rotary is visible, dressing up as Santa and bringing a smile to the faces of both
young and old. Let us make the most of this time to create awareness of Rotary and
at the same time have some fun. Members will have a great time within their own
Club Christmas parties, but let us as always remember those people who are having
a difficult time through loss of a job or the loss of a family member. For me,
December is a month when there are few District events in the diary so it will give
me time to be back at my Club supporting some of their Christmas events.
This is also the time of the year when Clubs choose their officers for the next
Rotary year. It may seem strange when we are not yet half way through this Rotary
year but this is what helps us to keep that all important continuity that ensures the
future success of our organisation.
Whilst Rotary Day is not until February 2012, now is the time to start planning
how your Club will celebrate this event. Of course the crocuses’ we planted last
year will come up again but I hope Clubs will look once again at arranging displays
in local shop windows and organising special functions to create awareness of
Rotary. Please talk to your AG for support.
I have been talking with the Headquarters of the Mercian Regiment, who have
soldiers from our entire District. I would like to help those who risk so much for our
Country and I will be sending out more details in the New Year once I have shared
my thoughts with my colleagues on the Executive.
Some of you will know that IPDG Val and Terry are off to India for a couple of
months to review the “Housing Project” and of course to have a break. I know you
will all join me in wishing them a safe journey and success in all the work they do in
the name of Rotary.
Finally, December is “Family Month” in the Rotary calendar. It is a time when
we bring the spirit of Christmas to our communities and spend some valued time
with our own families. I hope to see some of you at St Martin’s Church, Alfreton at
2.00p.m. on 18th December for the Inner Wheel and Rotary Carol Service.
Lorraine and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very peaceful
Christmas and a prosperous 2012.
Gordon
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Margaret Naylor
Died 23rd October aged 91
Margaret was the wife of Eric Naylor, a Paul
Harris Fellow and a Past President of this Club.
As you will remember, Eric died earlier this year on
24th July and those of you who were at his funeral
will remember that Margaret was then in a very frail
state. She will be remembered most for her cheerful
disposition and gentle nature and for her support of
Eric throughout his career and Rotary service.
Eric and Margaret began their married life in Eastwood and then moved to
Goatham where they lived for several years before moving to Duffield. At one time
in her life Margaret lived next door to a friend of D H Lawrence. She worked for
several years for the Crippled Guild, a government department which helped the
disabled.
On the back of the order of service at Margaret’s funeral was a very good
likeness of Margaret which Eric had drawn many years ago. Next to the drawing he
had written, “I think she is the sweetest person that ever the sun shone on.”
Ten Pin Bowling
17
Chris Lowe
M iraculously, the club had managed to get through to the second round in this
District Competition and we had been drawn to play neighbours Wirksworth
at Chesterfield on Tuesday 29th November. The party chauffeured by Graham
completely over-estimated the time to travel to the Bowling Alley and arrived in
good time to see the very high standard of play on some of the lanes. Initially
demoralised, we were relieved to find that they were not the Wirksworth Team
warming up!
With both teams eventually assembled, we kicked off (or what ever you do to
start a bowls match) and for a while it looked as though we might be in with a
chance. The good players were performing reasonably well and the passengers
gradually improved with a combination of beginners’ luck and practice. Half way
through, we were down but hoped to make a recovery. Unfortunately, most of us
had peaked and we finished the match truly defeated; I can’t give you the scores,
for some reason Nick has gone into hiding.
John Scotney
Action photograph on page 19.

2012 Organiser Reporter Cash Fraternal
2012
January
2 NEW YEAR
9 P Taylor A Widdowson J Kerr P Davies
16 J Norreys G Wright S Limb J Frankland
23 Business Meeting P Löchel R Giffin
30 D Partridge D Ashley J Lowe S Harnan
February
6 J Scotney
13 P Shepherd
20
D Soul
27 H Surga
March
5
12
19 Business Meeting
J Moore
A Widdowson
26 G Wright
January 2nd Bank Holiday - no meeting
DUTY OFFICERS
DIARY
January 4th District Council at Novotel, Long Eaton
January 23rd Club Council 6.30pm followed by Business Meeting
February 6th Scout Jamboree by Gavin Brookes
The latest information about meetings can be found in the weekly Bulletin Boards
and on the Club web site:
www.belper-rotary.co.uk
January/February CHATTERBOX: Publication - 5th March
Editor - John Scotney 01773 823678
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Graham Wright watches as Stuart Limb attempts a strike at the Ten Pin
Bowling match against Wirksworth - page 17.
19
A view of the Falkland
Islands and a photograph
of the War memorial from
Peter Löchel’s talk - page
14.

The Rotary Club
of
Belper and Duffield
Founded 1930
President Martin Drake
Senior Vice-President Graham Wright
Junior Vice-President Hilary Surga
Treasurer Peter James
Secretary Nick Blurton
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, Nick Blurton:
01773 824607 nickblurton@yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.belper-rotary.co.uk
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