Week 11

 

Before I start my blog, it would be remiss of me not to stop and think of the death of H.M Queen Elizabeth, a shock not only to the Country, but to the World. Such a beautiful person who served our country so fittingly and so gracefully. May she rest in peace with her beloved husband, Prince Philip.

I had the pleasure to meet the Queen several times, once at Holyrood Palace and twice at Buckingham Palace.

When She presented me with my MBE we had a conversation and she thanked me for the work I was doing. She knew so much about me; it was obvious she had done her homework! Her death has made me so sad, but in other ways it reminds you of lovely memories, if you know what I mean.

 

I also had the pleasure of meeting the now King Charles III when I was invited to Dumfries House in Scotland, also a wonderful memory to pass on to my grandchildren.

God Save the King and the Royal Family and my thoughts are with them during this sad time.

Well, my week started on a good note when I realised as I woke up on Monday morning that I had a full weeks Annual Leave from my normal day job!

It also reminded me that Rotary DG is a 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year commitment and I didn’t want to miss a single minute of it.  I had a few meetings planned for this week, and one event which I was very much looking forward to. I will tell you more about that later.

When I started the blog at the beginning of my year, one Club did come back to say that they would rather have a DG Newsletter. I did take their views on board and my very good friend and excellent Rotarian Linda Lambson agreed to take news from my blog and to share this in a quarterly edition of a newsletter. I have so much to be grateful for, as Linda is a fantastic friend who I have learnt so much from, thanks to Rotary, where many of our good lifelong friendships are formed.

Having early meetings with discussions around global projects, continuity and communication we came to the best part of Rotary, its projects.

I was invited by Penelope, a member at Lytham Rotary Club, to open a garden they had been renovating just outside the gates of Lytham Hall. It was amazing how much work had gone into it. It was beautiful, full of colours and a wonderful sign which gave the story of polio. I was so impressed, I could see how much time, effort and thought had gone into creating the garden.

Having never been to Lytham before President Philip took us to the Lytham Hall for a coffee in the excellent café there.

But the visit didn’t stop with coffee. I don’t know how he managed it but Philip had organised a private viewing of the Hall and I must say I was absolutely overwhelmed; it is a stunning house and well worth a visit.



After a very friendly lunch at Ansdell Memorial Hall to end my visit, I had the pleasure of meeting President Tony from St Annes Club who has invited me to two events they were holding.

I had a great time in Lytham and met so many lovely people. Hopefully Carnforth Club will be organising a joint fellowship event with Lytham and afternoon tea at the Hall soon.

I would highly recommend Lytham Hall for a visit, and I extend my thanks to Lytham Rotary, especially to President Philip and his lovely wife, and Penelope for inviting me. I would also like to mention John who I know worked extremely hard to make sure the garden was ready for my visit.

Before I leave for this week, please could I remind people about the Polio Tins and the District Conference on 18 March 2023 which is now open for bookings. Please book both these items through our District Treasurer Larry Branyan.

 

That’s all for now Folks, TTFN

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