Friday morning began with a team meeting over breakfast at
7.30 a.m. in the Executive Dining Room,
during which Mike Thorn went over the priorities for the day. The Conference
gets under way at 2.30 p.m. and before
then the stage, audio-visual etc had to
be put together. There had been another Conference in the Hotel which only finished on Thursday, so these
things could not be done in advance. Joe Delahunty confirmed that all steward
positions were filled, mostly with members of the two Shepperton clubs. All Conference bags and programmes were now
at the Registration desk, which was to open at 12 a.m. Ron Enticott had a problem in that he had
forgotten to bring his dinner suit and tie, which was necessary for the Gala
Dinner on Saturday, but I was able to help out. I had a black jacket that he
could borrow, and, as I had bought a new dress shirt yesterday, I also had an
old shirt he could borrow. Not only that, but ever since I had forgotten a bow
tie a few years ago, I now always carried a spare one, so I offered him that as
well.
team meeting in the Executive Dining Room
After breakfast, whilst
the DG had a number of people to see, there was not much for me to do.
As it was a nice bright day, I decided to go for a walk. Just across the road
from the hotel there is a large park called Castle Park, which is on the site
of the ancient Bristol Castle, of which not very much remains. There is a fine
old 12th century church, St Peter’s, within the park. Now ruined, it
has become a war memorial in memory of civilians who lost their lives in the
blitz of 1940. From the park, I wandered into the old part of the City, where
there are some well kept old buildings, including the Nails Market, and, at the
foot of the ancient Christmas Steps, there is a 13th Century shop
claiming to be one of the oldest fish and chip shops in England. There was an
intriguing plaque high up on the wall with the word ‘Royal’. I have been unable
to find out what this means, but it appears to be an old-fashioned kind of Royal
warrant.
Interesting pub, I'm sure they serve other drinks than gin
I got back to the Hotel in good time for the Past District
Governors lunch. This is a tradition that takes place at every 1140 Conference,
and the current DG is always invited. It was my first opportunity to meet Jens
Erik Rasmussen, and his partner, Cornelia, who is Swedish. Interestingly, he
speaks to her in Danish, and she speaks to him in Swedish, and they both
understand each other’s languages perfectly. I found Jens Erik and Cornelia to
be relaxed, friendly, down to earth, and easy to talk to. Jens Erik speaks
perfect English, and can also speak French, German, and, I believe one or two
East European languages. It always makes me feel slightly ashamed to meet
people with suchlanguage skills, compared to my schoolboy French and German.
Olympic torches from London and Sochi at the Wheelpower stand
It is a testament to my progress in high society that I knew
almost all of the PDGs present, and what’s more some of them knew me. So there
weren’t too many of those ‘Hello there’ moments, which is code for ‘Who on
earth are you?’ We shared a table with Jens-Erik and Cornelia, and also Chris
Jenner, who is President of Inner Wheel in our District. Inner Wheel has been
going almost as long as Rotary in the UK. It started out as an organisation
exclusively for wives of Rotarians, back in the days when women weren’t allowed
to join Rotary clubs, and has carried on ever since, even though some of their
members are now also Rotarians. Chris was due to speak that afternoon at the
Conference, and was rather worried about it. I reassured her that she would be
fine, and anyway, I was on before her and I wasn’t worried. I didn’t mention that I was only due to speak
for one minute, whereas she had twenty minutes.
After lunch, I had just a few minutes to look around the
Rotary Showcase, which is like an exhibition hall, filled with different stalls
run by Charities and other organisations with something to promote, including
next year’s Conference for the new District in Bournemouth. I stopped for a chat at the Wheelpower stand, which had Olympic torches on display. Before long, it was
2.30 and time for the Conference to begin. I sat near the front, as I would be
introducing one of the speakers during the session. By this time most Rotarians
had arrived at Bristol, although inevitably the hall seemed a little sparsely
populated as we started. People were arriving throughout, so by the final
presentation it was reasonably full.
The Conference was opened formally by Mike Thorn, Conference
Chairman, who in his haste, forgot to
ring the bell which traditionally launches the Conference. I think he may have been
fined for this oversight by MC David Thompson, who was also acting as Sergeant at Arms. The DG was next up and she introduced the Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor
of Bristol, Alastair Watson, who looked resplendent in his robes. He is the
first citizen of Bristol, and there is a particular form of address one has to
use when speaking to him, something like ‘Your Lordship’ I think. I didn’t get
to speak to him, but if I had done so, I would have avoided calling him
anything, in case I inadvertently committed treason.
The Lord Mayor of Bristol speaks
The Lord Mayor took great delight in admonishing us, for
incorrectly describing Bristol as a town, when inviting him to attend. It is,
of course, a city. At the end of his ‘welcome to Bristol’ address, the DG
admitted a faux pas of her own. It is customary to ask all those present to
stand when the Lord Mayor enters, and this was overlooked. However she put this
right by asking all those assembled to stand and applaud him after he had
spoken. The first of 16 VIP gift bags was handed to him, although the DG
thought it would be inappropriate to give the Lord Mayor a Bristol Blue Glass
paperweight. After all, the last thing
he needs is a souvenir of Bristol, so he just got the ‘Light Up Rotary’ candle.
Bristol Blue Glass paperweight
Next up was Brand Richey, from Rushmoor Club, who spoke
about their project called Freewheeling, whereby club members collect together
and refurbish old unwanted wheelchairs and ship them out to South Africa, where
local Rotarians arrange to deliver them free of charge to those in need. The DG
has been so impressed with this project that she has donated one of her old
wheelchairs. After Brand had finished,
and the DG had given him a gift bag, it was my turn on stage. My job was to
introduce Ian Squire, of Mission for Vision and I think I did a good job in the
one minute at my disposal. Ian gets better every time I see him deliver
presentations, and this time he had the added advantage of his lens cutting
machine, which he was able to demonstrate later in the Rotary Showcase
I introduce Ian Squire
Ian Squire's lens cutting machine
Chris Jenner of Inner Wheel came next, and although she said
beforehand that she was very nervous, she did extremely well, and was actually
quite humorous at times. Humour is always a bit risky for infrequent speakers,
but she carried it off well. Chris was
followed on stage by Lee Bridges, the Director of Public Information at the House of Commons. He did his best to make the work of Parliament sound
interesting. He reminded us that the year 2015 will bring several notable
anniversaries for this country. Most importantly, it is the anniversary of the
signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. It will also be 750 years since the first
English parliament was established, 200 years since the Battle of Waterloo in
1815, and the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, which
led to the 100 Years War.
Two top speakers finished the first session. Firstly we had David
Kenyon, a military historian specialising in Cavalry during the 1st
World War. He was an advisor to the makers of the film Warhorse, and had many
interesting stories to tell about the making of that film. He was followed by Captain
Mike Bannister, a Concorde pilot. He actually flew the last Concorde to land at
Heathrow in 2003. I have heard him speak before, and knew he would be good. He didn’t
disappoint. I think most British people feel very proud of Concorde, and regret that it was withdrawn
from service. The speech was, at times, quite emotional, and accompanied with
terrific photographs and film clips. From my own point of view, living close to
Heathrow as I do, there are aircraft flying overhead constantly, and I don’t
really notice them. However when Concorde flew past, I always looked up to see
it.
Concorde
The DG was on stage the whole time, and hid behind some
banners during the presentations. At the end of each presentation, she emerged
to thank them and hand over a gift bag. She didn’t want to be in full view all the
time, and I think the plan worked well. There was the added advantage that if
she wanted to nod off for a few minutes no-one would notice.
Vivian was in a hurry to get back to our room after the
first afternoon had finished at around 5.00 p.m, as her two sisters Lynne and Sharon had arrived by now with their
husbands, and she wanted to meet them. She had arranged for them to have rooms
adjoining ours, so that dividing doors could be opened between the rooms, and
they could enjoy our sitting room. When we got back upstairs, they were nowhere
to be seen. It transpired that they had gone down to the Leisure Spa, and made
good use of the pool, Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. Our club dinner was booked
for 7.30 at the Hotel Du Vin, and we were meeting up with the DG’s other guests,
District Governors Les Wilson (District 1180) and Ken Billington (District
1070) in our room at 6.45. When Lynne, Richard, Sharon and Tony got back up
from the pool, we didn’t have much time with them before our guests arrived and
it was time to go. Sharon and Lynne had already decided not to accompany us to
our club dinner, and instead ate in the Hotel.
Elaine Sefton (in red) at the Trade Aid Stand
Les Wilson’s wife was unwell, and we were very sorry that
she couldn’t make the journey to Bristol, and we were grateful to Les for
making the effort on his own. Ken Billington’s wife also had not come with him,
and he was accompanied to the dinner with his Trade Aid colleague, Elaine Sefton
(herself a Rotarian) who was helping to man the Trade Aid stand in the Rotary
Showcase. The Hotel Du Vin was about 20 minutes walk away, and we decided to
walk there rather than drive, or use a taxi. When we arrived, we found it to be
a very old building, (a former sugar factory, we heard later) a bit of a warren, and on several floors. The
first person we spoke to wasn’t entirely sure where the Rotary meeting was, and
it was a while before we found it. I was not concerned about accessibility, as
I knew that John Dumbrell, who had made all arrangements, would have ensured
the room was accessible. And so it proved, as a lift took the DG straight to
the door of our private dining room.
The DG holds court at Hotel du Vin
It was a splendid occasion, with around 30 guests, including
all Shepperton Aurora members at the Conference, their partners, plus recently
departed member Nigel Wilson, former member Denis Fuller with his wife Carol, Les Wilson, Ken Billington and Elaine Sefton. The evening was chaired by our President
Elect Karen Sutton, and I was delighted with champagne on arrival, short speeches and
nouvelle cuisine. Over dessert, we had a talk from the Assistant Manager, about the very interesting history of the Hotel, which started life as a Sugar factory, and then diversified to include being a warehouse for tobacco. There used to be a river flowing right past the front door, which gave excellent access to the Bristol Channel and worldwide trading opportunities which that brought.
With Les Wilson (left), Ken Billington and Elaine Sefton
Karen had bought a fine bottle of white wine, which I shared
with her, because she couldn’t manage a whole one herself. Towards the end of
the meal, the bottle ran out, and I suggested I buy another. Karen was
reluctant, and to be honest so was I, but I felt I should make the gesture so
she wouldn’t think me a freeloader. ‘OK’ she said, as I tried to attract the
attention of the sommelier, ‘but it costs £32 a bottle’. My enthusiasm started
to wane, as it dawned on me that I was about to spend £32 on a bottle of wine
that neither of us wanted. It was almost time to leave, when the waiter came
back to me, saying that there was no more left of the wine that I had ordered,
but would I like this alternative, showing me a similar looking bottle. I
grasped the straw offered to me with both hands. ‘No thanks,’ I said ‘I only wanted the other one.’
Peter McDonough with Karen Sutton
As the evening drew to a close, Ken Billington was worrying
about one of tomorrow’s speakers. He had been instrumental in us getting Afghan
war hero Andy Reid to speak to us on the Saturday. However Andy was already at
the Hotel when we went out earlier, and Ken feared that he had been in the bar
for the last few hours. Not wanting to jeopardise one of our keynote speakers,
Ken needed to get back to ensure he wasn’t getting too merry. We went home by
taxi, and the DG and I went up to the Hotel bar with Ken and Les. Andy was
indeed at the bar, and bought us all a beer, which was very welcome. He is
obviously a man who can take his drink, and looked quite sober, to Ken’s
relief. The DG went up to bed at about 12.30, I stayed chatting to Mike Thorn
and John Brewer until about 1 a.m. before turning in.
Dinner is served
No comments:
Post a Comment