RIBI Handover 2013

It seemed that we weren’t back from Lisbon very long when  it was time to attend the District Governor handover event. Unusual for this year, it was being combined with the RIBI President’s handover. This is because the new President of RIBI, Nan McCreadie is a member of Feltham Rotary club, which is within our District, 1140. So she was handed the RIBI presidential chain of office by the outgoing President, John Minhinick. Following this Mike Thorn handed over the District 1140 chain of office to the new  District Governor, Ron Daniels.

The ceremony was held at The Stoop, home ground of Harlequins rugby team, where coincidentally, Ron Daniels is a season ticket holder. I was delighted to attend this venue, as I have been a follower of Harlequins for many years, as they are the nearest Premiership team to where I live. This wasn’t always the case, because for most of my life London Irish were nearest, as their home ground was at The Avenue in Sunbury. However, a few years ago they moved their home ground to the Madejski Stadium in Reading. Consequently I switched my allegiance to Harlequins. I have always liked their kit, and for several years I have worn the ‘Retro’ (i.e. without advertising logos) shirt with pride. To be honest I’ve never actually seen them play, but then most Manchester United fans have never seen their team play, so I’m not alone. I came close once, a couple of seasons ago, when Ron invited me to join him in his Executive Box, but I was otherwise engaged, so the opportunity passed.

                                                                                                  The Stoop

Anyway, getting back to the point, we arrived on a pleasant summer’s day, after an easy journey (It’s only 15 minutes from us).  I was immediately struck by how far some of the guests had travelled to be present at this event.  Jim Moulson, former RIBI President, who the DGN and I have got to know, travelled from Scotland (I’m presuming this, as he is a Scot), and others had come from all over the country.  There was a good turnout from the District Team, so we had a pleasant evening.

                          The new DGE (with ribbon) and Helena Daniels, consort to this year's DG

There was musical entertainment from a band who, on paper at least, sounded good. They had produced  a small booklet with the words to songs they would be singing, to encourage us to sing along. I was impressed. Some of my all time favourite songs were included, such as Proud Mary, American Pie and Delilah, and I was looking forward to belting out these numbers as the band got into their stride. Unfortunately it didn’t really turn out like that. The band had a very subdued style,  more suited for background music, and worse still, they managed to make each song sound like the one before.  Upon reading their biography in the programme it said they often had gigs in old people’s rest homes.  I know that not all Rotarians are spring chickens,  but I suspect the band misjudged its audience somewhat.  However, the music was happily not an obstacle to Vivian doing some networking.

                                                                                          The band entertain us

So, unable to join in a rowdy sing-song, I turned my attention to the food, which was a barbecue, served outside, alongside the rugby pitch. There was no disappointment here, as huge joints of pork, beef and lamb were served up, with salads and potatoes. There was more than enough for everyone, and I must admit I went back for seconds. Even so, there was a lot left over at the end of the evening, and we took a large joint of cooked pork home with us, which went straight into the freezer, and was enjoyed some weeks later, for Sunday lunch.

                                                                    The new DGE does some networking........

                                                                                     And some more networking.....

                                                                              And more networking

The formal part of the evening didn’t take very long. John Minhinick, with a minimum of fuss handed over his chain to Nan McCreadie (incidentally the first woman President of RIBI), and then Mike Thorn handed over to Ron Daniels. I was also promoted at this event, as I moved from being Consort to the DGN to Consort to the DGE. Nobody told me what the’E’ stood for, but I like to think it means ‘Extraordinaire’. Vivian also stepped up at this event, and actually received a chain of office (well, more of a ribbon, actually) but to my surprise there was no bling for the Consort. I made my views on this injustice perfectly clear to anyone within earshot, although on reflection it was probably just an oversight, which will be corrected later. Buoyed up by this thought, I decided not to take my complaint any further.

So, just 12 months to go before I take up my post of Consort to the District Governor. What a treat it will be for the District. I spent some time at The Stoop telling people about my plans to develop the role of Consort to the DGE, as it wasn’t too difficult to be heard over the music, but didn’t really have much time. Just my luck that everyone I started to talk to on this subject was just about to go home. It wasn’t long before we also headed for home, with a joint of pork under my arm, having administered a peck on the cheek of the new President of RIBI.

Lisbon Convention Part 4 - Out and about in Lisbon

The Convention lasted from Saturday until Wednesday, and was fairly full on, with little time to spare to see the city, apart from the evenings. On our first evening, we met up with Mike Thorn at a small Restaurant across the road from the Hotel, where I had my first ever plate of salt cod (bacalhau) a very traditional dish of Lisbon. It is definitely an acquired taste, and I’m afraid I have not yet acquired it.

                                                                                                  Bacalhau

The evening when local entertainment was arranged for us has already been described, and on other evenings we took a taxi down to the riverside, usually to a square called Praça do Comércio, where the Beer Museum was to be found. This was to become our ‘local’, where we would meet up with others from the British contingent, including many of Vivian’s fellow DGN’s and others from District 1140 such as Ron and Helena Daniels, Marcel Markan, Jim Onions and Brigitte Faubert.  One evening we were joined there by RIBI President Nominee Peter  King and his wife Di. On another evening we joined other DGNs and their Consorts to venture for the first and only time into the old part of the City, the BairroAlto, a trip organized by Vivian’s fellow DGN Les Wilson and his wife Pat. Here the streets are very steep, narrow and cobbled (so not easy for wheelchairs), but we took a taxi directly to the Restaurant, which was an old converted monastery, beautifully decorated.  I can’t remember exactly what I ate there, but it was a type of stew, once again a Lisbon speciality.

                                                                 Praça do Comércio  

                                                                          Beer Museum   

   

                                                                         Bairro Alto    

                                                                               The DGN with Peter & Di King  
                             

When the Convention finished, on Wednesday evening, the DGN and I added a couple of days to our trip, staying at the same hotel, so that we could get to see something of the city. It would have been a pity to go straight home without having done so. In fact there was to be a strike on the Friday, which would affect all city transport, including buses, trains and taxis, and would also cause severe problems at the airport, so we were glad to be staying on, and hopefully transport would have returned to normal by Saturday.

On the Thursday, we decided to get a taxi (one that we paid for this time) back to the Convention Centre.  Why, you may well ask? Well one of the biggest attractions in Lisbon is the Oceanarium, the Oceanário de Lisboa, which, like the Convention Centre, is at the Parque de Nações.  It really was a terrific place to visit, full of all kinds of marine wildlife, not just fish. Divided into different zones (Atlantic, Pacific etc) we encountered huge sharks, rays, all manner of smaller fish, frogs, dolphins, otters and much more besides. Thankfully all the information panels were in English as well as Portuguese, so we could understand what we were looking at.

                                                                                      Oceanário de Lisboa

When we left the Oceanarium, we had a ride on the cable car which runs along the river, offering spectacular views of the city, and of the amazing Vasco da Gama bridge.  At 11 miles long, it is the longest bridge in Europe. The city has really made the riverfont in this area attractive, with mile after mile of level  promenade to walk along, with numerous cafes and Restaurants lining the route.

                                                               Vasco da Gama bridge

The next day (Friday) was the day of the strike, so we didn’t bother with any transport, instead walking down to the riverside from our hotel. It was a distance of about 2 miles, but fortunately was all downhill. For about a quarter of the distance we avoided the cobbled streets by strolling through  the Parque Eduardo VII. This is a huge park on a similar scale to Hyde Park, strangely named after the English King Edward VII who came here in 1902. It was very pleasant walking among the flower borders and lawns, along mosaic patterned walkways, away from the hubbub of the city. The park ended at a large square, the Praça Marquês de Pombal,which has cleverly placed paving stones that give the image of waves, where in fact it is all level. We carried on down the main thoroughfare to the city centre, and stopped to ride the Elevador de Santa Justa. This is a 100 year old lift which takes you up from street level to a position high above the rooftops, giving views of the old part of the city, and of the castle, which is perched on top of a hill in the middle of the city (but inaccessible to wheelchairs, unfortunately).

                                                                                               Parque Eduardo VII

                                                                                   Praça Marquês de Pombal

                                                                                      Elevador de Santa Justa

 Eventually we found ourselves back in the Commercial Square at the waterside where we had a leisurely lunch in a pavement café opposite the beer museum. There were still a lot of Rotarians in the city and we had some lively conversations with various people we met that day. We found that taxis were running fairly normally in the late afternoon so went back uphill to our hotel in comfort.

                                       A Lisbon tram - unfortunately inaccessible to wheelchair users

Everything in the city was back to normal by the Saturday, and our flight home was uneventful, although we had treated ourselves to World Traveller Plus seats on our BA flight. This is one step up from economy but not quite business class. However, it was satisfying to have a curtain pulled across so the hoi polloi in economy couldn’t see what we were getting for our lunch. Across the aisle from us was John Kenny, former RI President and his wife, so clearly I was moving in the right circles at last.

Lisbon Convention 2013 Part 3 - Entertainment

The majority of the Entertainment at the Convention was held in the Atlantico Pavilion, which is alongside the main convention centre. On Sunday morning, the DGN and I arrived using the door to door taxi service laid on for us, and made our way into the pavilion. On our way in we got talking to an Aussie couple, one of whom, like the DGN, used a wheelchair.

                                   Atlantico Pavilion, some think it looks a bit like an alien spacecraft has landed

We found ourselves being marshalled into an area at the front of the arena, to the left of the stage, where the stewards wanted wheelchair users to congregate. I left the DGN there whilst I took a seat a few rows up with my new Aussie friend.  After some introductions, the flag ceremony commenced. This is an event which happens at the beginning of all Rotary International Conventions, and it really was quite a spectacle.  One by one, youngsters from a local school carried on stage the flags of all the countries in the world where Rotary is represented. I think there were over 200 of them, including countries that I didn’t even know had a flag, such as Antartica (Yes, there is a Rotary club at the South Pole). Once gathered together, these flags remained on stage throughout the Convention, a reminder of how far reaching this organisation is.

                                                       Another flag is brought on stage during the flag ceremony

RI President Sakuji Tanaka then came on stage to deliver his opening address, to a standing ovation from the 10,000 or so attendees. I joined in this ovation happily, as I had met Mr Tanaka previously, and have a great deal of admiration and respect for him.  As the week progressed, Mr Tanaka appeared on stage a number of times, and each time he received a standing ovation. I thought that was a bit much. Not only that, but a number of RI executives and staff, past RI Presidents, Rotary Foundation trustees and others also paraded on stage, hand in hand with their wives / husbands to a standing ovation. I quickly became rather tired of this obsequiousness. After standing the first time Mr Tanaka came on stage, I didn’t give anyone a standing ovation. In my view such an enthusiastic reception  should be earned, not assumed.  Interestingly, as I looked around the auditorium, most Brits, Europeans and Aussies seemed to agree with me.

Next on stage that morning were the sensational singing quartet, Il Divo.  I had heard of them, and thought they would be good. My Aussie companion was almost in tears. It transpired he was a massive fan of Il Divo, had never seen them at a live show, and like me had no idea they were performing that day. He would have come to Lisbon just to see them never mind the Convention. A closer check of the programme showed that, yes, there they were, but only in smallprint and no fanfare. Anyway, the 40 minute show was fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed one of the highlights of the week. Unfortunately the DGN had an altercation with a steward during the flag ceremony, decided to leave the building, and subsequently missed Il Divo. I played down how good they had been, so as not to rub salt into the wound, so to speak. Thereafter, we had much better seats overlooking the arena with an excellent view of proceedings.

                                                                                                          Il Divo

Besides the Plenary sessions in the main arena, there were numerous ‘break-out’ sessions, and delegates could choose which ones, if any, to attend. As I was on the Membership committee for District and club, I attended a membership seminar, hoping to learn something new. Alas I didn’t. A more interesting seminar was held on the subject of Rotary in Russia, which I found  very interesting. There are only a handful of clubs throughout Russia, enormous though it is, and their District Governor must have a lot of ground to cover to visit them all. The seminar was hosted by a very engaging Russian chap, who was extremely enthusiastic about all aspects of Rotary, particularly about the concept of ‘Friendship Exchanges’. This is a scheme by which Rotarians in a particular country can host a group of Rotarians from another country, and show them something of the local area, and its culture. The roles are then reversed, and the visit is done the opposite way round.  The only problem in Lisbon was that the Russians had been given a very small room, and it was very crowded, and some could not get in.

Back in the Pavilion, there were a number of other outstanding entertainments, including the British singer Hayley Westenra and a superb performance of Fado, which is a type of folk music popular in Portugal. The singer is usually dressed in a certain way and accompanied by two musicians. Without understanding the words, I would guess that the songs are invariably sad, with the underlying theme of ‘He done me wrong’.

                                                                                         A typical Fado band

On one evening we were taken out to an ‘Experience Portugal’ evening organised by local Lisbon Rotary clubs.

There we were given traditional food (some of which I quite liked) and traditional music. No Fado 
this time, but there was a super little group dressed traditionally who played a series of tunes on 
ukeleles. I was sitting with Tim Cowling, one of the other DGEs from the UK, and we were likening 
the performance to George Formby, and joking that one of the tunes was probably a Portuguese 
version of a Formby classic ‘Quando I’m cleaning windows’.

Our taxi journey back to the hotel from that evening out was one of the most memorable ever. The driver showed an interest in what we had been doing, and I happened to mention that we really enjoyed the Fado performance earlier that day. He was delighted with this, and declared that he sang Fado, and would we like to hear some? Well, how could we refuse? Next he inserted a backing track into his CD player and sang Fado songs to us for the rest of the journey home. He really got into the mood and I am sure there were tears in his eyes at one point.

At the end of the Convention, The DGE and I stayed on for a couple of days to see something of Lisbon before going home.  To be continued….

Lisbon Convention 2013 part 2 - House of Friendship

Much of the area inside the 4 pavilions of the Convention Centre was given over to the House of Friendship. This was the area where exhibitors set up commercial and Rotary related stands for delegates to wander around. Also found here was an internet café, a food hall, networking and seating lounges, Meeting points, Rotary marketplace, Rotary Resource centre, Rotary officer ribbons, and voting credentials, for delegates with voting rights.

This huge area must have held hundreds of different stands. Many of these would promote Rotary projects throughout the world. Others would inform and give advice, such as about the Rotary Foundation. Some of them would be selling Rotary merchandise, such as badges and lapel pins (very popular with Rotarians), but also shirts, hats and other clothing items. I was struck with a rather loud shirt covered in Rotary emblems which was manufactured in Africa. I had never seen one of these before, and they weren’t cheap, at $30 each, but I thought it might give me some distinction at Rotary events. After some consideration, I decided to wait a few days before buying one, to make sure I still liked it.  I’m glad I waited, because by the end of the week  every other person at the Convention was  wearing one, and it didn’t look quite so unique any more.

The food hall was very crowded at lunch time, but had various outlets selling a wide variety of food, mostly European (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian particularly). You basically joined a queue, got your food, then tried to find somewhere to sit and eat it. It was pandemonium at times, but fascinating, because you could find yourself having  conversations with people from all over the world. We actually found it cheaper, and more comfortable to leave the Convention area at lunch times and visit one of the many cafes and Restaurants in the surrounding area. At one such Restaurant I had sardines, something I had been looking forward to ever since we booked to come to Lisbon. If there is one item of food that is forever linked to Portugal, it must be sardines, which I love. However, our hotel and all Restaurants we visited (apart from this one) did not offer sardines, to my surprise. I learned later that sardines are one of the cheapest foods available, so consequently the smart Restaurants don’t offer them, preferring to offer more expensive fish. The best place to go for sardines is the old part of the city, which unfortunately was out of bounds to us because of narrow cobbled streets and steep hills.

On another occasion the DGN and I decided to walk over to the Vasco da Gama Centre, which had a number of food outlets. As we went in, we noticed John Dumbrell waving at us from a terrace above us, and I shouted up to him that we would join him and Jean for lunch. As we entered we found a lift which indicated food outlets were on the 2^nd Floor, so up we went. There were several Restaurants up there, each with a fine balcony view, but we went from one end to the other, then back again, but failed to see John and Jean at all. So we had lunch at a pleasant Italian eatery, and only later realised that we were on the floor above them.

Vasco da Gama Shopping Mall

One last word on Portuguese food. Besides sardines, another national dish is salt cod, which is on every restaurant menu, and is exactly as it says, cod which has been covered in salt and baked that way. I always try local specialities, but unfortunately I didn’t much care for it. However I was in raptures about another Portuguese speciality, the custard tarts, which they call pasteis de nata. As a custard tart afficionado, I can declare them absolutely fabulous. I took a couple of dozen home with me, and also found a recipe for making them, and had a go at baking some, with reasonable success.

                                                                                              pasteis de nata

Anyway, back at the House of Friendship, one of the biggest areas was given over to Rotary fellowships. These are interest groups, where you can find a group of like-minded people for almost any interest or hobby you have. I couldn’t find a Fulham supporters  fellowship, nor to my surprise could I find a Consorts fellowship, but I noted that there was a bird-watching fellowship. However this one was not represented at the Convention, so I looked around for something else to join. I came across a stand with a lonely looking man sitting behind a chess board. Yes, this was the Rotary  Chess fellowship stand. It turned out he was from England, and we had a chat about our own Rotary clubs, then he challenged me to a game of chess.  Well, I can play a bit of chess and I usually win when I play against brothers – in -law Tony and Richard. So I fancied my chances with this chap. It wasn’t a long game. He had me in checkmate in 4 or 5 moves, I kid you not. Apparently members of this Fellowship play each other online (There is no other way when your opponent is on the other side of the planet) and I asked if they were all as good as him. No, he said, there were many levels, and I could match myself against a level more appropriate for me. So I agreed to join, filled out a form, and that was the last I heard from the Rotary Chess fellowship to this day.  Oh well, there is always the bird-watching fellowship, if I can find out where they are.

The eradication of Polio worldwide is a major activity for Rotarians around the world. We have been instrumental in reducing a disease which was endemic worldwide just 50 years ago, to being in just 3 countries today. It has been a great help that every dollar raised by Rotary is matched by the Bill Gates Foundation, meaning that millions have been raised fir this project. A very large stand displayed one of the original iron lungs, in which young babies suffering from polio were put to try and keep them alive. It is remarkable to think that within my own lifetime, these machines were in use in the UK.

                                                                Iron lung for Polio victims

One interesting thing that seems to divide Rotarians from around the world was in the wearing of ‘ribbons’.  These were labels about the size and appearance of bookmarks, which you could attach to your delegate badge. Whatever you did in Rotary, there was a ribbon for you. You could wear ribbons if you were a Club President, a Treasurer, a Paul Harris fellow, a District Governor’s spouse. Everything, it seems, except a Consort. Some people were festooned with several different ribbons, which they obviously wore with pride, but I suspected there was a bit of smugness from some of the wearers.  At the Australian stand they were giving away ribbons which appealed more to me. I got one which said ‘Don’t ask me, I just like ribbons.’

The House of Friendship was a good meeting place for people, and we would often turn up at the embroidery fellowship stand, where the lovely Helena Daniels, consort to the DGE  of our District, was displaying, and selling bedspreads and other beautiful embroidered items she and her fellowship colleagues had created.

To be continued….

Lisbon Convention 2013 part 1 - Transport

In June 2013, I finally took to the International stage, with a visit to the annual Rotary International (RI) Convention, which this year was in Lisbon.  The convention itself lasted 4 days, and we added a couple of days on to the end, just to see something of the city. Thousands of Rotarians, from all over the world would be attending, so it was an opportunity to meet like minded people from around the globe.

Our arrival in Lisbon was nothing short of amazing. The aeroplane seemed to give us an aerial tour of the city as it circled to land at the airport. We could see all the major tourist sites as we followed the course of the river Tagus out to sea, turned and came back in to land. On arrival our taxi to the hotel was driven by a very chatty driver, who only wanted to talk about football. He seems to know all the top English teams and the top players. He said he was impressed with the crowds supporting all the English clubs, as in Portugal everyone supports either Benfica or Sporting Lisbon.

We deliberately chose our hotel as it was comparatively small and family-run, so we felt it would be more authentic than the big hotel chains on offer. It was indeed a friendly  hotel, and made us very comfortable.  I spent some time at check-in trying to explain what a Consort  is, in a doomed attempt at a room upgrade, but I think they understood I was a man of some standing.

The travel arrangements as we understood it, was that free buses would be laid on, and we had a timetable of pick up points, one of which was about 400 yards from our hotel. Additionally, special transport was laid on for disabled delegates, although it wasn’t clear where to get it.  On the first morning we made our way to the nearest pick up point, where we waited for about half an hour. No sign of any special transport, and no sign of a bus. So we decided to make our own way to the convention centre, by metro. This was where we discovered one of the problems with Lisbon. The streets were cobbled, especially the pavements, and getting around by wheelchair was not very easy, or comfortable.

                                                                              Feira Internacional de Lisboa

However, we found our way to a metro station, worked out the complicated self-service ticketing system, and got on the correct train for the Convention centre, which was several miles away, on the riverbank. When we arrived, it was still a good walk to the Convention centre, called the Feira Internacional de Lisboa, situated alongside the river Tagus in the Parque de Nacoes, although  mostly through a state of the Art Shopping Centre, appropriately called the Vasco de Gama centre. It  is named after the famous 15th Portuguese Explorer, famous for being the first European to find a sea route to India. We felt equally pleased with ourselves for navigating our way around the metro system, where all information was in Portuguese, with no English translation.

                                                                                         Atlantico Pavilion

It was around midday when we finally arrived at the Convention centre, and it was a very hot day.  The site was enormous, and comprised 4 huge pavilions, joined together in a similar way to the NEC., next to an enormous state of the art concert hall, called the Atlantico Pavilion.  It was in the Atlantico Pavilion where plenary sessions and entertainment were to be held. As we made our way across to the nearest pavilion (No.4) we saw stewards in high viz jackets directing people in and out.  I thought it best to introduce myself, expecting to be whisked away to a VIP suite somewhere and fed canapés and gin for the rest of the afternoon. As I have come to realise, it didn’t work out quite that way. 

‘Ola’ I said, demonstrating my knowledge of the language (my only knowledge, in fact). ‘Consort to the District Governor Nominee’.

‘Where’s your badge’ he said to me.

‘I don’t yet have one, I replied.  ‘You can’t come in here without one’ he said.

‘Where do I get one?’ I asked.  ‘Pavilion 1’ was the answer. 

So here we were at pavilion 4, needing to go to Pavilion 1 to register for the convention, so as to get badges, so that we can come back to Pavilion 4.  I should point out that these pavilions were each the size of a football stadium, we had already had an arduous journey, and it was 80 degrees in the shade.  So we did what anyone would do, we found a bar and had lunch, where we met up with several friends. Eventually we made our way to Pavilion 1, picked up our registration packs (and badges) and finally got in to the convention.

Once inside Pavilion 1, we realised we could walk through to pavilion 4 without going outside. There was a central green carpet that took you from one end to the other, much more convenient, and cooler when out of the midday sun. More about the House of Friendship, Entertainment and Lisbon later, but for the moment I will stick with transport. There was a kiosk in pavilion 1 which advised delegates on transport around the city, and also arranged accessible transport for disabled people.

We went over to complain about the fact that our special taxi had not turned up at the bus stop that morning. Only then did we discover that the taxi called at the Hotel to pick us up, but we had already gone. We had not realised the service would be as good as that! We were able to organise a ride back to the hotel at the end of the day, and a pick-up time for the next morning. The vehicles used are actually private ambulances, in which the wheelchair user can remain in their chair without transferring to a seat. We were very impressed with this service, which did not let us down at any time during the Convention, unlike some of the buses laid on for other delegates. I wondered if the service would have been the same if I hadn’t been Consort to the DGN.

To be continued…

Scalford Hall May 2013

In May I made my second trip to Scalford Hall, to enable our group to continue with our training, discuss momentous issues affecting RIBI, and get to know each other better. While we were doing this, the DGNs also had some meetings.  One of the main talking points of the weekend was the International Assembly in San Diego, which by now was less than 7 months away.  We heard that there was to be an ‘International Evening’ where different countries put on a show on stage for the benefit of the others. A bit like the Eurovision Song Contest, without political correctness (and without Graham Norton). Also nobody judges your performance, thankfully. So all the DGNs and Consorts of Great Britain and Ireland had to put together a 5 minute show portraying our countries. This was not going to be easy.

I’ve always wanted to be a Morris Dancer, but my suggestion didn’t carry enough support in a democratic vote, as one vote was not enough. (Not even the DGN supported it). General agreement was reached that we need to come up with an idea which will include everyone.

A trio of Consorts, Keith Barnard Jones, myself  and Ron Marshall  enjoying a moment's relaxation in our hectic schedule

Fortunately, Lyn Marshall, one of our  DGN’s had some experience of showbiz, and she offered to put together a show for us to perform. Amongst much hilarity, we all sat around in the sunshine on Saturday afternoon, singing songs like Danny Boy, Bread of Heaven, Land of Hope and Glory etc. We wanted to include all of the home nations, so within our 5 minute slot, we had to sing 4 songs, and look interesting whilst doing so. Lyn came up with an idea of playing cards, where we all wore tabards depicting our home countries, arranged ourselves artistically on stage and sang our four songs, following which RIBI President and his wife  Peter and Di  King would skip on to the stage dressed as Jokers.  Nobody else, except me,  had come up with a coherent plan so we all decided to throw ourselves into this routine, assuring ourselves that it would be all right on the night.

                                  Most seem happy with the planned  International evening routine

Earlier that Saturday, myself and a few of my Consort friends, decided to embark on another tour of Melton Mowbray. Our driver was Dave (I’ve forgotten his second name), the same very obliging local Rotarian who drove us last time. We did mostly the same circuit as before, except that this time we visited an extremely old pub. We went to St Mary’s church again, which has a fascinating history, except there were no Christmas trees this time. We also visited (of course) the Dickinson and Morris pork pie shop.  However they did not have any of the mini pork pies that I wanted to take into work. Dave took us to a couple of other pork pie establishments in the town, but they didn’t have any either. Apparently Saturday afternoon is not a good time to look for mini pork pies.  We eventually found some in Morrisons Supermarket. Whilst they are still authentic Melton Mowbray pies, I could have picked them up in any supermarket in the country, probably.

By the end of the weekend, we were all getting to know each other and becoming more comfortable in each other’s company.  I also now have a collective name for a group of Consorts:  A Consortium!

Several of us would be meeting up again in Lisbon next month.

Harrogate April 2013

The RIBI Conference each year is in April, and in 2013 the venue was in the fine town of Harrogate in Yorkshire. In view of my high status in the Rotary world, I felt that I should be seen at such events, so the DGN and I made the trip to Harrogate on the Thursday, leaving early to avoid some of the traffic problems we have experienced in the past when travelling North.  We chose the Holiday Inn  because it was situated next to the Conference centre and boasted a walkway taking you directly from the Hotel into the Conference centre.

Arriving at around lunchtime, I swept up to the Hotel entrance, and was encouraged to see a Hotel employee step forward to greet us as we arrived. This is the way to do things in style, I thought, expecting him to click his fingers and a posse of staff rush out to tend to our needs.  ‘Hello’ I said, in what I thought  was a friendly and non-condescending way, ‘Consort to the DGN.’  His response to this was ‘You can’t park here’.  I don’t blame him, he probably hadn’t been briefed about my arrival. Just imagine it, me having to unload the DGN and all the luggage, before parking the car myself!  Not the most inspiring start to the weekend. Later, we discovered that you had to ascend a staircase to get to the walkway to the Conference venue, so that plan failed as well.

Once inside we met up with chums from our District and our fellow DGNs and their consorts.  Helena Daniels, who is this year’s DGE Consort for 1140, was enjoying a reunion with many of the new friends she had made in San Diego in January.

The conference, attended by RI President Sakuji Tanaka was great fun, and among the highlights was a motivational speech from Simon Weston, whose message was that you can achieve great things if you really put your mind to it. Another highlight for me was a presentation from Helen Lederer, who has always been one of my favourite comediennes.On the Saturday night, we travelled a few hundred yards down the road to the Majestic Hotel Here we attended a rather unusual dinner dance, where many of us were in a different room from the speeches and the entertainment, and couldn’t even see the excellent band, Todd Miller and the Joe Loss Orchestra, playing.  When we arrived at the venue, I adopted my usual policy of checking the top table for my name tag, and then working my way down the table numbers until I found where I was placed. I was on table 46.

We had some free time on Saturday afternoon, and decided to visit the world famous Betty’s tea shop for afternoon tea.  It is a beautiful old building, with a permanent queue outside waiting for tables.  It seemed to be one member of staff’s sole job to organise this queue. We were seated within about 15 minutes and enjoyed our traditional (if rather expensive) tea.  Well it’s not just the food and drink you come to Betty’s for  it’s the atmosphere and the tradition which goes back almost 100 years.

                                                             The DGN at Betty's

Whilst Harrogate is a great venue for a Conference, we did not find it very accessible, in view of the hilly terrain, and old buildings which are understandably difficult to adapt for wheelchairs.

Invitation to Florida Jan 2013

One of the main dates in the diary of all incoming DGs and Consorts is the visit to the International Assembly in San Diego in the second week of January, 6 months  before they take office.  In Vivian’s case that would be January 2014, and obviously we were rather looking forward to going to an exotic location in Southern California to rub shoulders with the great and good of Rotary. It would be the pinnacle of my career as Consort to date.

Just after Christmas 2012, we received an invitation by e-mail from District 6980 in Florida, inviting us both to a ‘Homestay program’ in their District, which covers the area around Orlando, during the first week in January 2014, i.e. the week immediately preceding the International Assembly in San Diego. Well, Florida is not somewhere we had ever been before, and to be honest, Orlando had never really interested us, as Disney World was not very high on our list of destinations to visit.

However, this was an opportunity to stay for a week with a Rotarian family in Florida, and we were only asked to contribute $105 each for our accommodation for a week. It really was an offer we did not feel we could refuse. We guessed that the same invitation had been sent to every other incoming DG in the world (over 500 of them) so not wishing to miss out, we immediately wrote back to book our place, pointing out our requirement for accessible accommodation. Our places were  confirmed by the US District in January 2013, so all that remained was to await contact from our hosts later in the year.

Apparently District 6980 invite 20 incoming DGs and their consorts each year, so we felt fortunate to have

been accepted. Later we discovered that another Florida District made a similar offer, and also one in New York state. As we are talking about mid-winter  here, the new York state destination did not appeal  as much as Florida, and the promise of winter sunshine.

Scalford Hall November 2012

Vivian is one of 29 District Governor Nominees within Great Britain and Ireland. Peter King, who will be President of Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland during her year as District Governor, has been keen for as many as possible of the 29 DGNs to meet up periodically so they can get to know each other, and work together to offer mutual support and practical help to each other as their year of office approaches.

The DGN and I did meet a few of them a couple of months ago when Peter King invited us to lunch at Richmond Golf Club, where he is a member.  However, Richmond is not a convenient location for most of them, and one of the group, Ken Billington, suggested that we all meet up at a hotel he knows called Scalford Hall in Melton Mowbray, which would be more central for people to get to. This idea was approved and arrangements were made for us all to meet there.

So it was that the DGN and I headed  north one Friday afternoon in November to attend this mini-conference, having first driven to East Sheen to pick up Peter’s wife Di.  She is a Rotarian herself, but in a different club from Peter, and even a different District.  I learnt that she was very enthusiastic about Rotary Youth Exchange, which is a means for young people from different countries to visit and stay with each other’s families, followed by a return visit the following year.  The drive to Melton Mowbray took us about 4 hours that evening, and I think I knew all there was to know about Youth Exchange by the time we arrived.

Not all the DGNs were able to attend, but many did, with their partners / spouses / consorts (take your pick). It was interesting how everyone started as strangers but over the course of the weekend became friends. For my part, I have become used to being the centre of attention as the only Consort at any gathering, so it was a bit unnerving to spend a weekend with several others.  However, we got on famously, although the genders were a bit uneven, with just 3 male consorts and the rest women. Whilst Peter King led discussions and workshops with the DGN’s, there were a couple of sessions  led by Di, when the Consorts got to know each other.

The Hotel was excellent, with tea and cakes on arrival, and dinner and breakfast each day served in a private room for our group.  The building is very old, and set in superb grounds, and I think everyone felt it had been worth attending.

On Saturday afternoon, whilst the DGNs were engaged in putting the Rotary world to rights, a few of us Consorts, well, me and a few of my new lady friends were taken out on Saturday afternoon by some local Rotarians, who took us on a tour of Melton Mowbray. Our first stop was St Mary's church, where there was a most amazing display of Christmas trees, probably a couple of hundred of them. They were brought in and decorated by various organisations and community groups in Melton Mowbray, including each of the local Rotary clubs, one of which was, believe it or not, called Melton Aurora, as they meet for breakfast, like our club does.  I left enthused with this community spirit, and determined to set up a similar scheme in Shepperton. To date I have not followed up on this.

After the Christmas trees, we went to a café in a very old building in the town centre for coffee, before moving on to the main event, as far as I was concerned, which was a visit to Dickinson and Morris pork pie shop. You can’t beat a genuine Melton Mowbray pork pie, can you?  That’s what I think anyway, and why I bought 20 of them. Admittedly 12 were mini pork pies to take in to work, but I couldn’t resist having some edible souvenirs of my visit. One of them was for me the ultimate pork pie, in that the usual pastry lid had been removed, and replaced by stilton cheese, which is also made fairly locally, absolutely delicious. Whilst there, I discovered that Red Leicester, which is also made locally, is actually a very tasty cheese. Why then, I asked, does the Red Leicester we buy in supermarkets taste so soapy, bland and flavourless?  The response to this was that I should always buy it in the supermarket delicatessen, where I am more likely to find the ‘real thing’.

Altogether a fine weekend with good company and pork pies.

Lord Mayor's Show 2012

The London District of Rotary had been given a place in the Lord Mayor’s Show in November 2012, and they were using it as an opportunity to demonstrate Rotary’s support of the Wheelpower charity, which provides wheelchairs to disabled people participating in sporting activities. This seemed appropriate for Olympic year. Obviously they wanted the Consort to the DGN to be present, and I graciously accepted their invitation to attend.  I’m sure it was coincidental that the DGN has some smart Rotary insets to the wheels of her wheelchair, and would provide a useful link between Rotary and Wheelpower.

Whilst planning our visit to London for the Lord Mayor’s Show, a moment of sheer serendipity occurred. Normally when travelling to the metropolis by public transport, we have to carefully plan our route, ensuring that we get on and off trains and the Underground at accessible platforms. Not many stations are geared up for wheelchairs, although Shepperton station (our local station) and the terminus at Waterloo are accessible, and all stations have a ramp to assist with getting on and off trains. The problem is when stairs are encountered. Very few stations have lifts, although Hounslow West does have a stairlift. Some of the more recently built Underground stations, such as on the Jubilee line, are much better, but it makes planning a journey to central London on a Sunday, when many roads will be closed for the Show, rather difficult.

So, there I was looking through the Transport for London website when I made my discovery. I thought I would look to see if there were any accessible buses in London.  To my shock, I learnt that all London buses have ramps for wheelchairs! I had never considered this before, but suddenly London had become accessible to us. 

Sure enough, we caught the train to Waterloo early on the Sunday morning, went to the bus stop for the bus we wanted, and it duly arrived, with an automated ramp dropping down for us to use. Better still, wheelchair users go free on London buses, so I only had to pay for myself.

The next amazing thing about this day, was arriving in the City of London and finding it deserted. Most roads in the Square Mile are closed for the Lord Mayors Show, so we had the strange experience of walking up Lombard Street, Threadneedle Street and Cheapside, in the middle of the road, completely alone, with no traffic and hardly any other pedestrians. These are usually among the busiest streets in London, when just stepping off the pavement can be a dangerous activity. It made me imagine we were in one of those disaster movies, where Godzilla suddenly appears from behind a tower block. In fact I wonder if the makers of disaster movies pick on the Lord Mayor’s Show to do their filming.

Eventually we reached London Wall, where the parade was starting to assemble. We met up with Eve Conway, the District Governor of London District, and some other Rotarians, including Mike Thorn, a firm supporter of Wheelpower. Also with us was Rotary Young Citizen Award Winner, double amputee Lydia Cross, who is the recipient of the first sports wheelchair through the Rotary Wheel Appeal. Also joining us was former Paralympian Martin McElhatton, the CEO of WheelPower.

The Lord mayors procession has been going since the time of King John, and there are floats from the City's businesses, Livery Companies, charities, Her Majesty's Forces, the City Police and Londoners from all walks of life forming a procession from the Bank to Fleet Street and back, just as they did in the middle ages.

                                          The DGN meets a couple of well-dressed marchers

As the time to move off approached, and all the different groups collected together, it was a fantastic site, full of colour and sound. As would be expected, the livery Companies all wore their traditional garb, the Armed Forces marched with precision, marching bands looked magnificent, and the whole atmosphere was of fun and camaraderie. We were following one of many overseas groups, A Guild from Switzerland who had the most amazing colourful costumes, and an excellent marching band. Eventually we filtered into the main procession and  started walking down the streets, which were lined with huge crowds, all waving, taking photos and laughing at anything and everything. I understand that over half a million people turn out to watch the parade, which would take an hour to pass an onlooker by. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and the DGN’s hands were sore after all the high fives she was doing.

                                         London Freemasons march past us whilst we await our turn

The Lord Mayor actually followed a little way behind us in his very ornate horse driven coach. I would have stopped for a chat, but didn’t want to take any of the limelight away from him. Also he was probably well protected from people wishing to approach him, even VIPs like myself.

                                      The DGN enjoys her march through the streets of London

Three hours and three and a half miles later it finally came to an end and we said farewell to our new friends from the London Rotary District, before making our way back to the bus stop, and thence to Waterloo.

Bristol Conference 2012

BRISTOL CONFERENCE 2012

This was my first major engagement as Consort to the DGN during 2012-13. I was beginning to realise that I had been setting my expectations a little high, when I learnt there would be no official car laid on for me, and I had to drive not only myself but the DGN to Bristol on a Friday afternoon in October for the District Conference.  Most of my experience to date of being the Consort was the lack of recognition I seemed to get, and I was determined to redress this during my period of office.

So it was that we set off mid afternoon for the drive to Bristol, which we anticipated would take about 2 hours tops, allowing for the usual Friday traffic escaping from London. No sooner had we got on to the M4 when the radio announced that there was a major accident on the M4 and major delays could be expected. My idea was that we would stay with the Motorway for as long as possible, and when it became stop-start, we would simply find an alternative route overland. Little was I to know that every other motorist on the M4 that evening would have the same idea. We turned off near Reading on to a country lane, on which we travelled about a quarter of a mile in 1 hour, before turning back to the M4, which by now had cleared, and we had a comfortable drive for the rest of the way, arriving about 6.30 at the Marriott City Centre Hotel in Bristol

The DGN and I were assigned a VIP to look after for the weekend,  Peter Davey, who was the Rotary International Representative for the Conference, and his lovely wife Sandra. Now I felt that I was moving in the right circles for someone of my rank. Peter and Sandra joined our club at a local Restaurant on Friday evening, which was a jolly affair, and I think Peter was very impressed with my plans to develop the role of Consort to the DGN. We also saw a lot of The District Governor this year, Mike Thorn and his wife Becky, who were by now good friends. He and his wife were very busy all weekend, as you would expect, and I suppose that is what we have to look forward to in a couple of years time.

                                                 Mike Thorn with Olympic torch

Mike Thorn was an Olympic Torch carrier during the build up to the Olympics earlier that year. He brought his souvenir torch to the Conference, and he felt that it would enhance his fund raising activities if I were to pose for a picture with the torch. This I duly agreed to do, but I had to fend off Tony Pipe, consort to the President elect of Shepperton Aurora, who was determined to get in on the act. It was all a bit undignified and I shouldn’t have needed to point out that as a junior consort, he needed to defer to me at official engagements. I think I will need to keep an eye on him in future in case he has any other ideas above his station.

The Marriot Hotel proved to be an excellent venue for our Conference. It is situated close to shopping malls with lots of Restaurants nearby, and because everybody stayed at the hotel where the conference took place, there weren’t the travel issues which always occur when the delegates stay at different hotels, and have to walk, drive or get taxis to the conference location.

There was an interesting mix of speakers at the event, and the stand-out ones for me were Peter Stewart, who spoke about the Eden Project; Baroness Shreela Flather, who was the last speaker of the Conference, but the only one to achieve a standing ovation, talking about women in slavery; and TV Weather presenter Helen Young, talking about… the weather.

We had a free afternoon on Saturday and a few of us decided to visit one of Bristol’s biggest visitor attractions, the SS Great Britain.  Designed by Brunel, at the time of the her launch in 1843 she was the largest ship in the world. She was also the first screw-propelled, ocean-going, iron-hulled steam ship – a truly revolutionary vessel and fore-runner of all modern shipping. (I copied this from the website). It was the world’s first luxury ocean liner, and has been restored to how it might have looked to its early passengers. It was fascinating, and I could easily have spent longer there.

                                   The job has its perks - Me with the gorgeous Pauline Hedges

As usual, the weekend was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends from the world of Rotary. The DGN and I were the last to get to bed on Saturday night after the dance, but it wasn’t easily achieved. We first had to see off Rob Marshall and his Chertsey Rotary club colleagues, who were camped in the Hotel bar long after midnight.  In fact they all went off to bed before I was able to finish telling them of my plans to develop the role of Consort to the DGN.

I wasn’t too surprised on Sunday morning when that year’s DGE Ron Daniels took me to one side for a chat. Naturally I thought he would be looking for a quote from the Consort to go in next year’s Conference programme, something which would inspire Rotarians to achieve even greater things during his year as DG. In fact I already had some thoughts about what I would write. Actually he didn’t ask me that at all. All he wanted to ask me was whether I would join his Conference committee for next year’s Conference, which was to be in Jersey.

I think I hid my disappointment quite well, and although I don’t really enjoy serving on committees, he persuaded me to be Conference Treasurer, which I graciously accepted.