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.