A view of events held
13/10/08 - Members of Middleton Rotary Club were reminded of the chilling story of the Black Panther at their club meeting last night 13/10/08. The speaker was Andy O'Sullivan MBE, BEM. Andy is a Rochdale man who served for the Police in Rochdale for 25 years and has also spent his lifetime in athletics, where he devotes time to organising and running in fun runs etc - in doing so has raised over £300k for local charities and indeed it was for this reason he was awarded the MBE in 2004.
With very thorough research done, Andy was able to retell the horrific story of the Black Panther (Donald Neilson) that had gripped the nation back in the mid 1970's. How Neilson had progressed from house burglary to raiding of sub postoffices, which led to him shooting dead 3 subpostmasters, then on to his ultimate cold blooded crime of kidnapping and eventually killing the transport heiress Lesley Whittle. He reminded members of just how valuable having a policeman on the streets is, as it was a consequence of a couple of policemen in a Panda car and their 'gut feel' that led them to apprehending Neilson and eventually discovering his identity as the 'Black Panther'. A most enthralling talk retold in such a way that had the Rotarians totally gripped.
12/10/08 - A flea market stall at Hetwood civic centre saw the club raise in excess of £40 for Rotary charities, whilst also having a presence i the community.
29/9/08 - The Rotary Club of Middleton together with some friends met at the Norton Grange Hotel in the evening of 29th September for a most interesting talk. An excellent talk on Victorian Dumps, from Peter Sellers who has spent many years collecting these glass ornaments, was given.
Peter explained that these dumps were made from "dumped glass", which would otherwise be wasted during the manufacture of glass bottles. They are a wonderful example of the art of the glassmakers of the 19th Century, and today have become very collectable.
In England, The Excise Act of 1745 raised a tax on the amount of glass produced, which was one of the historic reasons for houses having small windows. It also meant that when making bottles, the raw material left over would be taxed twice if it was recycled for sale, so the manufacturers allowed the glassblowers to make dumps to show off their skills, and to keep them as ornaments, door stops and other decorative articles. The practice ceased in 1914 when a bottle manufacturer in Illinois USA perfected machines which automated bottle blowing, and produced very little waste glass. These very collectable items can be recognised as only being produced over a hundred years or so, between 1820 and 1914.
Peter brought to the meeting a huge number of his own collection of dumps, explaining that the majority were made in green glass because this was the very cheapest material available to make bottles He suggested that the much rarer blue bottles used by chemists for medicines etc., were accordingly therefore much more valuable to collectors because they were so rare. Peter also discussed the history of a number of rather famous English bottle manufacturers such as Kilners from Wakefield in Yorkshire, where many dumps were made, often with the Kilner name impressed on the base.
Altogether a most interesting talk which encouraged us to look at such decorative ornaments in a new light as attractive investments, as well as a means of keeping doors open (or closed!)
21/9/08 - As part of their community service the Rotary Club of Middleton have
sponsored a new strip for a Langley based football team, Our Lady's
A.F.C. The team is only one year old but have already gained their
first promotion. Managed by Mr. Peter Booth, brother of Tommy Booth of
Manchester City fame, they keep things in the family as Mrs. Helen
Lewis, their sister, is secretary of the club.
It was hoped to present the strip before the start of the season but
printing problems meant it could only be handed over prior to their
second match. The strip received a good christening as Our Lady's won
the game 4 - 1. They look set to continue their good work having won 2
out of 2 games thus far.
With the Middleton Rotary Club's name prominently printed on their chest
it is hoped that the teams continued success will help to promote Rotary
in the local community.
The picture shows President Norman Wellens in the
centre with Rtn. John Hallett, a member of the their
Community Service Committee on the far right.
23/8/08 - The 23rd August saw Middleton Rotary Club attending a service of thanksgiving at St.Leonard's Church, Middleton, to celebrate their 75 years off Rotary service. The service was led by Reverend Gerald Higham, who is a former member of Middleton Rotary, and featured readings & Hymns selected by some of the current members. The service was followed by a Cheese and Wine Reception at the Old Grammar School. With around 75 attending, including the Mayor and Mayoress of Rochdale, and many past Rotarians of the club, it was a truly nostalgic and most enjoyable evening of celebration.
*Middleton Rotary Club host European Summer Campers
‘Summer Campers’ spent their penultimate day on their England visit, with Middleton Rotary club last Thursday 31/7/08 where they participated in a game of crown green bowls followed by a potato pie supper at the Old Boars Head. After which they also spoke to the Rotarians about themselves giving their aspirations for the future.
The Summer Campers are a group of 14 young people, aged between 16 and 18, from across Europe selected by Rotary clubs in their respective countries. They were hosted by Rotary clubs in the Manchester area and have an activity fortnight, sightseeing and doing various activities across the region.
They were based at the Petty Pool outdoor activity centre in Northwich, a charitable centre which runs residential experiences for young people with learning disabilities, mainstream schools, colleges, teacher inset days and corporate businesses from throughout the UK and Europe. Petty Pool is used by Rotary for this purpose for a two-week period every year.
The range of countries that the young people came from covered Turkey, Poland, Germany, Portugal, Romania, France and each of the students spoke excellent English. Some are seen in the photo presenting President Norman with a banner commemorating their visit to Middleton Rotary.
* St John's C E Thornham Primary School Childer Award Winner
Middleton Rotary Club President, Norman Wellens, was in attendance at St John's C E Thornham Primary School to present a Childer Award to Alishier Carris on 16th July. Alishier was awarded the Childer for her outstanding contribution in
and out of school life in representing clubs and societies and helping the community. Alishier has represented her school on the Netball and Basketball team. In addition, Alishier gives up her dinnertime to help the dinner ladies look after the younger children. In the community, Alishier attends cheerleading club, football club
and is a girl guide. A very worthy winner
* SADDLEWORTH MALE VOICE CHIOR sang at St Michales, Tonge on 5/7/08. This was a very successful evening, well attended, which after donations to St Michaels parish at St Leonards parish raised just over £340 for the club's charity fund.
* Rotary Club of Middleton WATER PROJECT
The Rotary Club of Middleton is involved in a number International Service projects, three of which are in partnership with the Rotary Club of Meru in Kenya. For the last twelve years Rtn John Brooker and his wife Yvonne have built up a charity supporting a school called Mikoroshoni Primary near Mombasa, Kenya. This was before John joined Rotary.
On one their early trips, whilst on safari, they saw two women digging in dry river bed with their hands searching for water. All the group on the safari were moved to see such tasks carried out by women and also children.
John saw a BBC Blue Peter Christmas special about water project in Kenya that involved a young boy called Elliot Inglis. Elliot wanted to help families and especially children in Africa and the programme took him to Kajuki, 75 miles from Nairobi. It showed people drinking the filthy river water, which was the only water to which they had access. John was put in contact with the Inglis family by Blue Peter programme. He now has a close working relationship with the family, who have helped our Rotary club raise over £28,000 for the water projects in Kenya. (WaterAid pulled out of Kenya some time ago.)
John contacted the President of the Rotary club of Bahari in Mombasa who advised that a new club was being formed in Meru and gave contact details. Since then our club donated £600 towards a Matching Grant with Salt Lake City Rotary Club for a Rain Catchment project, which involved the construction of a 100m3 covered water storage tank in the Tharaka District. This region is extremely dry for 8 months of the year. Wells and bore holes cannot be used as the water contains minerals, which make it unfit to drink.
The Chairman of the District 1280 Foundation Committee, Rtn. David Wilkinson, gained the financial support of 7 Rotary clubs in District 1280 so that an application for a Matching Grant could be submitted to construct a 225m3 covered water storage tank for another Rain Catchment project in Tharaka. The tank will be sited on a hill and gravity will supply clean water for drinking and irrigation.
The Middleton club has also been successful in applying for a Matching Grant to build a bridge over the River Nithi. The construction of the bridge commenced this April and, when it is completed, will not only save about 50 lives a year but also a journey of 30 km to reach the town of Kajuki. Many people swam across the river rather than walk 30km and consequently when the river was in full flood many drowned.
Peter Hayward
International Service Committee Chairman
* The 23rd June was a significant date of the Rotary year as it saw Norman Wellens, whose father was Club President in 1944, installed as the 75th President of the Club at the Norton Grange. The retiring Club President Jim Kenyon was thanked by Norman for his tremendous input into Rotary and especially the Rotary Club of Middleton. During his year notable changes within the Club have seen the introduction of lady members and also a completely new facet, Friends of the Rotary Club of Middleton. Retiring President Jim thank his team and all the members for their support throughout the year. Norman has previously been President at Middleton back in 1980/81, now almost 25 years on he said he was looking forward to a year of fresh challenges and was just as excited at the prospect as he was back then.
The Officers for the new Rotary Year at Middleton are; Vice President Peter Hayward; 1st Vice President Janice Powell; Secretary John Pedley; Treasurer Keith Trinnaman.
They arrange their programme which includes supporting local activities throughout Middleton and the Metropolitan Borough such as Springhill Hospice, the Childer Awards, Medals for the Junior Football inter schools Championships as well as worldwide projects supporting the provision of clean drinking water in Kenya, educating children in India, providing Shoe Boxes in the eastern Sector of Europe. The club also hope to raise funds for Prostate Cancer Charity by organising participation in the Great Manchester10k run in May 2009.