Alcester Day 2 - Stratford upon Avon

Over breakfast in the Hotel we met up with other DGs and Consorts as they arrived, including Peter and Di King, who arrived very late in the evening, and went straight to bed. The General Council session at RIBI headquarters wasn’t due to begin until lunch time so there were a couple of hours to kill beforehand. I had thought I might go for a stroll around the area, having noticed a National Trust property, Coughton Court, a short distance from the Hotel when we arrived yesterday. The Hotel is actually situated in the village of Kings Coughton (pronounced, I believe Coffton), which is just outside Alcester.

                                                          Coughton Court

In the event, some of us adjourned to the lounge area for a coffee after breakfast, and spent the next couple of hours catching up, and greeting new arrivals, including Alistair and Jo Bains, Stan and Sheila Keller, Lyn and Ron Marshall, Steve and Jan Lawes, Tim and Janet Cowling, to name a few. So I never really got round to my walk down to Coughton Court, which was just as well, as I heard later that the house and gardens were closed for winter, although there was a Winter Festival on this weekend.  John and Joyce Waddell confirmed they were happy for me to drive a group to Stratford upon Avon in their car, a 7-seater Renault Scenic. The car has automatic transmission, and I have had experience driving automatic cars in the USA, so I didn’t foresee any problems, provided I kept my left foot off the pedals. Also The DG has a Renault Scenic, admittedly an older car, and with manual gears. Actually, I refer to it as Daisy’s car, as it is mostly used to transport the dog to the park for walks.

                                                         RIBI Headquarters Alcester

The time came for us to go, and the DG went off in our car to RIBI headquarters in Kinwarton Road, whilst my party climbed into the Renault. It was obviously quite a new car, and didn’t have an ignition key as such, you just put the key fob into a slot, press the Start button, and away you go.  Joyce sat in the passenger seat and gave me some instruction about the controls before we set off. Also in the car were Pat Wilson, Mary Hopkins, Jill Harwood, Margaret Marquis and Jan Lawes. We drove firstly to Kinwarton Road, as one of the afore-mentioned passengers (I can’t remember which) was taken there by taxi from the airport, so we picked her up en route. It was my first view of RIBI Headquarters, and I took the opportunity of nipping in for a quick look round. The council chamber looked quite impressive, although it was empty at the time.

                          Council chamber at RIBI headquarters (picture from Internet)

So, all aboard, we set off to Stratford upon Avon, which was only about 15 minutes away. Incidentally, I learnt recently why some towns are ‘on’ a river and others are ‘upon’. When a town is on just one side of a river it is ‘on’ the river, such as Newark on Trent or Sunbury on Thames. However, when a town is on both sides of a river, it is ‘upon’ the river e.g. Kingston upon Thames and Berwick upon Tweed. A couple of years ago, the town I was brought up in, Staines,  had its name changed to Staines upon Thames, apparently to make it appear more attractive. Personally I didn’t agree with it. Staines has been around for centuries, and was even mentioned in the Magna Carta, and locals will probably continue to call it Staines regardless. In my view if it was good enough for King John, it should be good enough for the local Council.

                                A bevy of beauties - Pat, Margaret, Joyce, Mary, Jill and Jan

I quite enjoyed driving the Renault, I don’t think I did anything to frighten Joyce, back-seat driving was kept to a minimum, and it wasn’t long before we were parked up in a central car park in Stratford upon Avon (which I will call Stratford from now on). I have been to Stratford once before, about 30 years ago, and it seems better now than it did then. The main shopping street is pedestrianised, which makes it a more pleasant environment, but the biggest thing that struck me was how well preserved the Tudor buildings are. There are superb buildings everywhere, some being used as shops, including the most attractive Costa Coffee shop I have seen.

                                 This shop was selling purely Christmas merchandise

                                                      I think the building was here before Costa

Having arrived in town at lunch time my beautiful companions and I decided to have lunch, and descended upon the nearest café, where we met up with Linda Cowling and someone else whose name escapes me, who had travelled in a separate car. Most of us opted for soup, with a couple choosing paninis. It was a pleasant lunch in pleasant company, after which we decided to hit the shops. To be fair we weren’t all here for the shops, I wanted to see what else Stratford has to offer. We all agreed to meet up at 4.15 for a coffee before heading back to the hotel, and we separated to do our own thing. I had only gone a couple of hundred yards up the road when I caught up with Pat, who had unfortunately lost her mobile phone. She had had it in the café, and I was impressed that in such a short time she had noticed it was missing. If the same misfortune had happened to me it could well be days before I realised it was gone.  As the self-appointed minder for my ladies, I resolved to locate the missing phone without delay. The most likely thing was that it had been left in the café so I went back there and learnt it had indeed been left  on the table, and had been handed to Linda. I didn’t know where Linda was, but it was obviously a relief to Pat to know her phone was no longer lost.

                                                     Shakespeare's birthplace 1564

                   Well-preserved - 16th century Harvard House, now owned by Harvard University

With the crisis averted, I headed on towards the river.  The only time  that I had previously been to Stratford was about 1980 when the DG and I arrived on a boat we had hired in Upton upon Severn (it must be on both sides of the river). In our one week trip, we cruised down the Severn as far as Tewkesbury, where the Avon joins it. We then followed the Avon all the way to Stratford, but didn’t have time to get on to the Stratford upon Avon canal. On our way back to Upton I had a slight mishap, when I was admiring some scenery, and allowed the boat to run straight into an overhanging willow tree. The result was a severely buckled front fender (I’m not sure if that’s the right word for it, but it’s a kind of railing that goes round the bow of the boat). As well as buckling it, the whole thing was ripped away from the deck. In an attempt to save my deposit I tried to fix it with superglue. This was unsuccessful.

                                         Clopton Bridge spans the Avon

                          A pleasure cruiser enters the canal lock from the Avon River

Back to the present day, I had a pleasant time by the lock which joins the canal to the river. There is a grassy area where I noticed the local Rotary Club had planted crocuses as part of the End Polio Now campaign. I’m sure it will look a picture in Spring. A little way from the lock is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, home to the Royal Shakespeare Company. Towards the rear of the building I came across the smaller Swan theatre, which by chance was having its mid-matinee intermission. The doors were open so I had a look inside. The stage seemed to be in the centre of the audience, so you could sit around on all sides to watch the performance. The girl on the door told me I could get a ticket from the box office to watch the rest of the play, billed as a Jacobean revenge tragedy called The White Devil, by John Webster (So it’s not just Shakespeare’s plays performed here). I was tempted, but realised that I would miss the rendezvous with my harem, so gave it a miss. I did, however, get to see some of the performance as it was being shown on a big screen in the foyer.

                                                      Crocus plantation

                                                       Royal Shakespeare Theatre as seen from the riverbank

                    Opportunity for members of the public to dress up as Shakespearean characters

At the allotted time I headed back to meet up with my ladies. Incidentally, I passed on my way back a 1940’s café, where the décor and the staff looked very authentically 1940’s (everything, in fact, except the prices). If my companions had been with me at that point I would have suggested that we have our coffee here. I continued to the agreed venue (Costas) only to find there wasn't enough room for 10 of us to sit together, so we went to a café a couple of doors down. I couldn’t help noticing that staff from this café were selling some beautiful looking cakes and gateaux from an outside table at just £1 each. Obviously they were trying to get rid of stock before the end of the day. I always feel drawn to things which cost £1, which perhaps explains my occasional excursions into Poundland, but I resisted the temptation in the knowledge that we would be having dinner in less than 3 hours time. Eight of us ordered hot chocolate, 4 of which were with ‘extras’ of marshmallow and flake and there were two teas. As we sat around chatting, I started wondering what the collective word is for a group of Consorts. In a flash it came to me – a Consortium! Although this was ostensibly  a shopping trip, I didn’t detect much shopping having been done, apart from a scarf bought by Pat.

                                                       Hot Chocolate with extras

At around 5 o’clock, the Consortium piled back into Joyce’s Renault, driven by me, and we found our way back to the hotel without mishap. Stratford was a much finer town than I remembered, and I was glad to have visited it again. There had been very impressive Christmas lights erected all over the town but slightly disappointingly, they did not come on when it got dark. I imagine the official switching on ceremony is yet to come. Of course I shouldn’t have been disappointed, as  I don’t like to think about Christmas until December. However as we were there, and wouldn’t be coming back, it was a shame to have missed the splendour of the lights.

                                                                     Atmospheric - A Tudor passageway

                                                        Did Shakespeare drink in this pub?

Dinner that evening in the hotel was the first (and only) time that weekend that all the DGs and all the Consorts would get together, and it was a convivial occasion. Over dinner of soup, roast duck and cheesecake the day’s activities were discussed, digested and dissected. I found myself sitting with Roger Mason, DG of Cumbria, Nick Cork and Mike Jackson and opposite me were RI Director Mike Webb and his successor from next July, Peter Offer. They are both past presidents of RIBI, so I was clearly in exalted company.  I haven’t really spoken very much to Roger Mason before, but he was very good company, and we are in agreement on many Rotary subjects. When I told Mike Webb I was a member of Shepperton Aurora Rotary Club, he surprised me by saying that he knows one of our founder members, Denis Fuller, very well. Apparently they both took their accountancy exams together, and were Best Man at each other’s wedding. Denis has since moved to Farnborough Rotary club, following retirement from his Accountancy practice.

                                                                      The Hotel bar

As usual, the evening ended in the bar, and it wasn’t too long before the DG indicated that it was time for bed. However I have known her long enough to understand that this doesn’t  really that it’s time for bed just yet, but rather time for her to go round saying farewell to everyone, so I stayed put. Half an hour later, and after several more repeats of ‘Right, it’s time for bed’ we actually went up.

Alcester Day 1 - Redditch

November 21.  Four times a year, all DGs in RIBI have to attend General Council meetings at RIBI headquarters in Alcester, which I have been reliably informed, is pronounced ‘Allster’. It is a two-day affair, and normally they go on their own, but this weekend the Consorts were invited and several of us came along. As is our wont, the DG and I came a day early to make everything comfortable, and also to explore the area a little. At least that was what I believed we would be doing. Having dropped Daisy off at Linda’s early in the morning we headed North on the M40. The DG asked me if I would mind us visiting the town of Redditch on our way, which is just a few miles from Alcester. I readily agreed, as I had never been to Redditch before, and I assumed the DG wanted us to see some beautiful architecture, or maybe there was a fine church to look round, a National Trust property or museum to spend some time in. In fact I was looking forward to it.

The reality was somewhat different to my expectations. I realised this as we drove into a multi-storey car park at the Kingfisher Shopping centre, which turned out to be the only part of Redditch we would be visiting. It seems that the DG discovered this shopping centre on a previous solo visit to Alcester, and found that it contains two of her favourite shops (I can’t remember their names) and visiting them was the only purpose of our visit. It was a large shopping centre which seemed to contain every High Street brand you could imagine.

                                                          The Kingfisher Shopping Centre Redditch

Whilst the DG was shopping I went for a wander around, and came across a shop which buys and sells CDs and DVDs. Consequently there were a lot of CDs on sale at ridiculously cheap prices, such as 80p or £1. These had already been owned by someone else, and I couldn’t help wondering if the original owners ditched them because they were faulty. The other thing I noticed was that I hadn’t heard of any of the artistes. If I could have found a Status Quo CD at a knockdown price I might have been tempted. I did buy something though.  There was a Poundland store in the Centre, where I bought some after shave balm for £1. In fact I bought 2 of them.  Judging by the bags being loaded into our car, I think I spent a lot less than the DG.

                                                   View from the Car Park (the only view of Redditch I got)

I love Christmas, particularly the Rotary activities during the lead up, but I never like to think about it until the beginning of December.  It always seems a little incongruous to me when I see decorations and lights in public places in November, with Christmas music playing in stores. The Kingfisher Shopping centre had all its decorations and lights up and appeared very festive indeed.  I appreciate it is a commercial decision,  but I bet people working in the shops become thoroughly tired of the same carols and songs playing all day for over a month before Christmas day,  never mind the 12 subsequent days.  After we had treated ourselves to a hot chocolate and cream cake in an excellent patisserie / café, it was time to move on to our hotel in Alcester, the Kings Court.

                                                         Christmas decorations in the Kingfisher

It didn’t take us long to reach the Kings Court, thanks to Sat Nav. The female voice on our Sat Nav has a quaint way of saying some words, but I particularly enjoyed her pronunciation of the Hotel ‘s Post Code, which is B49 5QQ. As we reached the Hotel, she (the Sat Nav) announced that we had arrived at B49 5 Questions! The staff in Reception were very friendly, and I found this to be true of all the staff I met that weekend.  We also met up with some of the other early arrivals, namely John Crawford, and Les and Pat Wilson, and arranged to dine together later.  Alcester is in John’s District, and he told us that one of his clubs had a Charter night in the Hotel this evening, and he had been invited to it. The corridors leading to our room appeared to have been freshly decorated, which put me in mind of something the Queen once said, that everywhere she goes smells of wet paint. As Consort to the District Governor, I suppose I will also have to get used to that.

                                                         The Kings Court Hotel

Later on we made our way down to the bar, where we met up with Les and Pat, before moving into the Restaurant. Here we found Doug and Rosemary Price enjoying a quiet evening, and put a stop to it by joining them.  Shortly to arrive on the next table to us were Nick Cork, Mike Jackson, Jean Thompson and Ken Billington, and later still came John and Joyce Waddell, who had had a pretty horrendous journey down from Glasgow. At the same time, in an adjoining room, the local Rotary club’s Charter evening was getting under way. Rotary Clubs celebrate the anniversary of being given their Charter, which is effectively the inauguration of the club. Only significant anniversaries tend to be celebrated e.g. 5 years, 10 years, 25 years etc. Interestingly John Crawford, their DG,  wasn’t eating with them, but would just be visiting their room to make a speech later on. Just before his allotted time, he changed into his DG jacket and tie, put on his chain of office and joined the club meeting. To our surprise, he was back in less than 5 minutes, explaining that he never makes long speeches, and is always brief and to the point. How his clubs must love him!

                                       Jean, Ken, John, Mike and Nick (John has already removed his chain)

It was a very convivial evening, during which a Consorts’ outing to Stratford on Avon the following day was discussed.  The General Council meeting was to start in the afternoon, so we all had the morning free. The DG needed our car in the afternoon to get to RIBI headquarters, so I didn’t have transport of my own. It was then that John Waddell suggested that I drive his car tomorrow. It holds 6 others plus the driver, so would be ideal. He assured me that it was insured for any driver. Joyce seemed entirely happy that I should drive, so it was agreed. The only potetial problem I saw was the fact that their car was automatic, so I would have to remember to keep my left foot planted on the floor. With arrangements for tomorrow made, we went off to bed.

                                                                         Doug, Pat, Les, the DG and Rosemary 

Youth Speaks

20th November. Each year Shepperton Aurora Rotary Club organises the first round of Youth Speaks in Spelthorne. This is a public speaking competition for schools and we regularly have between 8 and 12 teams competing in it. This year we had 4 Intermediate teams (aged 11-13) and 5 senior teams (aged 14-17) so it was going to be a busy evening. The event was held, as usual, in the superb surroundings of the Spelthorne Borough Council Chamber. This is a prestigious venue, and speaking there is a great experience for the youngsters, so we always arrange the date of our competition around the availability of the Chamber. With a scheduled start time of 6.30 p.m. we needed to be there from 5 p.m. to prepare the room and organise refreshments for competitors and their supporters.  I’m afraid to say that no concessions were made for me as Consort to the District Governor, and I was expected to carry things in and out of the building, erect banners and display stands, just like the ordinary Rotarians.

                                                    Spelthorne Council Chamber

Earlier in the day we had visitors from the USA in the form of my nephew Alex and his lovely wife Leigh Anne. Alex and Leigh Anne had lunch with us and we had a very pleasant few hours with them reminiscing about the past, including the fact that our wedding had to be put back by a month due to Alex inconveniently being born on the original date we had chosen. He’s never been allowed to forget that. They live in Wisconsin and are here for just over a week, during which they have spent the entire time visiting relatives at various locations in the country, and have allowed themselves no time for sightseeing. Hoping to add some local colour to their trip, I invited them both along to Youth Speaks in the evening, but they declined, as they had a long drive back to Alex’s sister in Northampton, where they were staying. I was a little disappointed, because I was planning to enlist their help with some of the menial tasks I had been given, thus freeing up my time to swan around  meet and greet VIP guests, which would have been  more appropriate for someone of my status.

                                                  The DG with Leigh Anne, Alex and Daisy

The format of the competition is that each team comprises a Chairman, a Speaker and a Proposer of Vote of Thanks. It is not a debate, rather an opportunity for teams to talk on a subject of their choice. Firstly the Chairman introduces the team and the subject they are speaking on, and he or she has a maximum of 2 minutes to do this. The Speaker then gives a presentation on the subject matter, for which there is a maximum 6 minutes allowed, and finally the Proposer of Vote of Thanks has a maximum of 2 minutes. Time keeping is very strict, and we have two timekeepers who operate a green, amber and red light system to assist the competitors. Following the speaker’s presentation, there will be a question from the floor, which will test the speaker’s knowledge of his / her subject. A panel of 3 adjudicators will assess each competitor and decide on individual winners and overall team winners.

                                             Laurie Burrell and Jean Dumbrell, our timekeepers (note the lights)

Each of the teams is allocated a Rotary Club member to look after them during the evening, and also each VIP guest has a Rotarian to look after them. I’m not sure who was allocated to look after me, as they didn’t make themselves known to me all night. Rather than make an official complaint I will just mention it discreetly to Lyn Derrington, who will probably haul someone over the coals as a result.

                                                          Almost ready to start

One of the key jobs on the evening is that of questioner, the person who asks each speaker a question based on their presentation. I have done this job on 2 occasions, and I think it is the hardest job there is in Youth Speaks. After all, everybody else has hours, days, even weeks to prepare what they will say on the evening, but the poor questioner has just a few minutes to come up with a question to test the speakers knowledge of the subject, which has to be perspicacious, challenging, and something not covered already. I can remember occasions when I had a super question ready to ask, only to find that the speaker covered it with virtually his last sentence. Since then, I have endeavoured to have a second question ready, just in case. Another problem I experienced when I was the questioner is that the subject matter may be technology-based, which every teenager in the country fully understands, but it is quite possible that I may not. In such cases I have asked a question that I hoped would show that I understand the subject, when really I don’t. For instance, when we once had a speech about some obscure (to me) social media site (I can’t remember what) I asked ‘What makes this site more attractive than Facebook?’ thus demonstrating a wide knowledge of different social media offerings (or so I thought).

                                                       A fine array of trophies to be won

Anyway I was relieved that Lyn had sourced a questioner, Tracy Good, from among her friends, so the pressure was off me, or so I thought.  As 6 o’clock came and went, Sylvia Courtney, Lyn’s assistant organiser advised that Tracy had not yet arrived, and asked me if I would  deputise for her if she didn’t turn up. Of course I agreed, but I was in something of a panic for the next 5 minutes, as I grabbed a copy of the programme to see whether I could come up with any questions before we start. I failed to come up with anything, so was resigned to playing it by ear as I have always done, when, miraculously, Tracy arrived. Rarely have I greeted anyone so enthusiastically, and I resorted to hyperbole, telling her that I have never been so pleased to see somebody as I was to see her.

The competition kicked off on time, as David Catt-Camfield , our Master of Ceremonies (another job I have done twice before, although never as well as David) introduced the Mayor of Spelthorne, Suzy Webb, and other dignitaries.  I was gratified to find myself seated among the VIPs, with one of the adjudicators, Police Inspector Ian St John, on my right, and Leader of Spelthorne Council Robert Watts on my left.  I was determined to maintain a dignified air, as befits my position, and condescended to speak briefly to one of the Intermediate teams sitting behind me, wishing them well for the competition. I expect it was the highlight of their evening.

                                                     Ken Howe instructs one of the teams on the procedure

                                                    The DG offers words of encouragement

As ever, we were all extremely impressed with the quality of the speaking from all contestants. When I consider myself at that age, I would have been terrified to even enter the Council Chamber, never mind speaking for several minutes to an audience which included the Mayor, Council Leader and Consort to the District Governor. Some of the senior teams seemed very mature for their age, in fact I thought one of the Bishop Wand team was a teacher, until he went up to the podium to speak, so he couldn’t have been older than 17. The subjects ranged from ‘Celebrities as Role Models’ to ‘Votes for Young People’ among the Intermediate Teams, and from ‘The Death of Journalism’ to ‘Any Last Words?’ from the Senior Teams. I was particularly impressed with St Paul’s Catholic School’s Senior Team, who reflected on this being the 100^th anniversary of the start of the Great War, and spoke very movingly about the sacrifices made.

                                                     The adjudicators are ready

When all the teams had finished speaking, and the DG had awarded certificates to every member of each team, the adjudicators retired to their room to consider their verdicts (Joe Delahunty announced they would be locked in their room until white smoke appeared), whilst everyone else  partook of the excellent refreshments prepared by Gill Fawcett, Janet Matthews and their team. Not having much contact with teenagers, I had forgotten how they descend on food like a swarm of locusts. Fortunately we were prepared for this, and there was plenty for everyone - contestants, parents, teachers, Rotarians and VIPs. There were probably about 70 people present, and I enjoyed speaking to parents and teachers, and shared their justifiable pride in the efforts of their children. Evenings such as these show Rotary in a positive light, and I try to take the opportunity to tell people about what we do, and invite them to our meetings, in the hope they may want to join us.

                                                    The DG hands out certificates

After a particularly long interval (clearly the adjudicators had difficulty separating the winners) we were all called back into the Council Chamber to hear the verdict. Chairman of the adjudicators Janet Shell gave a very good overview on the art of Public Speaking, with some invaluable pointers  towards future success for our contestants. The team winners were then announced, with  Matthew Arnold School winning the team award for the Intermediate Section speaking on ‘Fitness fanatics’, and Halliford School winning the Senior Section on ‘What makes us British?’. Amid great excitement, individual awards were made for best speaker, best Chairman and best Proposer of Vote of Thanks. The winning teams now go forward to the District Final, and if successful there, they will go on to the Regional Final and then the National Final. Last year Halliford School got all the way to the National Final, before being narrowly beaten, so we are hoping for a similar run for either, or both of our winning teams this year. Mayor Suzy Webb said afterwards that she enjoyed the evening so much she would come again next year as a spectator, even though she would no longer be Mayor.

                                                          Mayor Suzy Webb congratulates the winners

Race Night 2014

November 14^th.  Every year my Rotary Club, Shepperton Aurora, organises a charity Race Night in November, and over the years it has attracted a loyal following, with 120 – 140 tickets sold on average in the last five years. This is just about perfect in our venue, The Jubilee Church Hall in Shepperton, which holds a maximum of 145. Our normal format is to show films of 7 races, each with 8 runners. The Races are shown by a professional presenter and each race is picked at random from a series of DVDs.  There is a Tote where bets can be placed. You can buy a horse beforehand for £10, and this gives you the chance to name your horse, which will appear in the programme. Winning owners get a bottle of champagne in most of the races, although one of them is sponsored by Glenfiddich and the winning owner in that race gets a bottle of that fine whisky. There is also an auction race, whereby each horse is auctioned on the night  and the winning owner receives 50% of the Auction race takings. Fish and Chips from a local shop are brought in at the half way point.  The race goers certainly seem to enjoy the event as the same people come back to support the event year after year.

                                                                           Jubilee Church Hall

Since we started organising Race Nights, about 12 years ago, it has been my job to organise the bar, a job which I have done diligently, from arranging the bar licence from the Local Council, to purchasing beers, wines and soft drinks, and various nibbles with paper bowls to put them in. Arranging the bar licence requires sending an application to the Licensing Department of the Local Authority.  The first time I had to do it, there were a few hoops to jump through before I was granted a drinks licence for the evening, including a personal appearance at Staines Magistrates Court whilst they considered my application for a bar licence (correctly called an Occasional Permission licence) authorising me to sell intoxicating liquor.

                                                                 Staines Magistrates Court

Never having attended a Magistrates Court before, it was rather a nerve racking experience, as I sat on a bench  with other applicants waiting to have their licences considered that day. There was a panel of three magistrates, called Licensing Justices, with various other Court officials in attendance, and two police officers sitting at a separate table. One by one, the other applicants were called up to the witness box (I presumed that is what it was, although it felt like being in the dock), whilst the magistrates clarified a couple of points. The chairman of the panel then turned to ask the police officers if they had any further questions, to which they invariably said that they didn’t. Eventually it was my turn to take to the witness box.

                                                   A panel of magistrates with Clerk of the Court (picture taken from internet)

‘What is this licence required for?’ asked the panel chairman. I explained that we were a Rotary Club and were holding a charity Race Night, at which we wished to sell alcoholic drinks. After some consideration the panel seemed satisfied, and the chairman asked the police if they had any questions. I nearly fainted when one of the policemen stood up and said ‘Just one question’. They had said nothing about any of the previous licence requests, why were they picking on me, I thought. It was like Lieutenant Columbo, who always has ‘just one more question’ for the murder suspect. Anyway, the police officer asked  ‘Where will any left-over alcohol be stored overnight?’ The fact is, I had no idea. It was our first ever such event and I hadn’t given a moment’s thought to what would happen to any unsold stock of booze. In my politest voice I said to the policeman ‘I am afraid I don’t know, but will be happy to take your advice.’ His response was ‘It’s not for us to give advice’. There then followed an awkward moment when I feared that our licence application would be refused, until the chairman of the panel rode to my rescue by saying ‘I think that it is normal at Rotary functions  for members to take any unused alcohol back home with them.’ Quickly I said ‘I will ensure that we do that.’ This seemed to satisfy everyone and the licence was granted. Phew!

                                                                   Columbo

When you have attended court once for a licence application, you don’t have to attend again in subsequent occasions, so the process was considerably more straightforward in ensuing years. This year is probably the last that I will submit a written application by post, as there is now an online option which I think I will use in future.

Having organised the licence, my next responsibility was to organise the drinks for Race Night. My aim here is to ensure there is enough for the evening without having too much. Although I buy it all from Tesco, who always take unused stock back from me, I would prefer not to go back there tomorrow with dozens of bottles of wines and beers if I can avoid it. My method is to keep detailed records each year of how many tickets had been sold, what drinks were purchased, how much of it was sold, and how much was returned. This way I will have a pretty good idea of how much to buy next year. However even meticulous record keeping is not foolproof, because some years fashion changes. For instance two years ago all white wine sold out early, whereas I took about 8 bottles of red wine back. The following year, I ordered more white wine, less red wine, only to find the reverse happen, whereby red wine sold out early, and I took white wine back.

                                                     Pauline is caught stealing a crisp

I buy bitter beer and lager for the event. Being a bitter drinker, I stock 4 varieties of beer (my favourites include Old Speckled Hen, London Pride, Black Sheep and Marston Pedigree), but only one variety of lager. I hate drinking beer from tins (it definitely affects the taste) so I always buy bottles of bitter, although the lager tends to come in tins. This year, Chris Arnot was bringing several young men with him, including his son, people who work for him, and members of Weybridge Cricket club. He warned me beforehand that they were serious lager drinkers, so I bought 80 cans of Budweiser (in normal years I only buy 24) and every single one went.

                                                        Chris's group working their way through the Buds

I also buy a wide variety of peanuts, crisps, Doritos and other such nibbles to put out on the tables, which we will top up during the evening. The theory is that eating salty snacks makes people thirsty, so they buy more alcohol. With alcohol inside them people will hopefully bet more on the Tote, so it all goes to create a happy atmosphere, and the charity benefits. We normally raise around £1500 for charity on our Race Night, and we feel we achieve our aim of putting fun into fundraising.

                                              Doreen organises the Fish and Chips distribution

The doors opened at 7 p.m. with the first race scheduled for 7.30. I was a little surprised when 2 ladies approached me as Ken and I were putting our banner up on the car park gates at about 5.30. ‘Are the doors open yet?’ one of them asked me. ‘Oh no, I said, that won’t be until 7 o’clock’. ‘But our tickets say 5.30’ the woman said ‘And also we get a complimentary glass of wine’. At this point I realised that I hadn’t actually seen our tickets, and maybe there had been a misprint. Also, if everyone was going to have a free glass of wine, it would seriously affect our profits, as well as causing us to run out of wine very early.’ Can I see your tickets?’ I asked, nervously. She duly produced an envelope in which there were two tickets…. to a Parent Teacher evening at Thamesmead School. The school was next door to us, and with great relief I showed them the correct gate to enter the school.

                                             Margaret & Roger Fitzgerald and party - regular supporters of Race Night

                                               Brian Holt with Kay and Laurie Gascoigne

The Race Night was a great success as usual, although not for me personally.  My horse ‘Galloping Consort’ failed to win its race despite leading for almost the whole distance. My attempts at betting on  every other race were equally doomed to failure. I had a little more luck in the raffle, where I won a big bunch of flowers which I presented to the DG. She was luckier than me with the racing, because her horse ‘DGs delight’ won its race. So she went home with flowers and bubbly, whilst I was empty handed.

                                                      Pauline and Janet conduct the raffle

                                             The Tote team have a breather between races

                                                      The DG wins champagne

Surrey Crimestoppers

18 November.  The DG and I were back in Guildford for an event organised by the Surrey branch of the charity Crimestoppers, which was founded 25 years ago and wants to increase awareness of their unique services through their Ambassadors programme. Crimestoppers is an Independent Charity which supports the work of the police by offering the public an opportunity to give information about crimes already committed, or being planned, with the assurance of anonymity for the informant.

 Being one of the most influential people in Surrey, I was invited along, together with business leaders and several mayors, to a Reception to promote the Ambassadors programme. The meeting was  hosted by  Surrey Police in their headquarters at Mount Browne, a fine 19^th century building situated on top of a hill, giving fine views across Surrey towards the South Downs. The view was lost on us this evening, unfortunately, as we arrived in darkness.

The format of the event was a series of presentations by people connected with the Charity, and a tour of the building, taking in the Surrey Police Museum on the First Floor, and the Police Control Centre. As we arrived I was dazzled by all the gold in the room, as mayors from almost every borough in Surrey were present, wearing their chains of office. The DG had decided not to wear her chain, and I suspect she felt a little underdressed in this august group of dignitaries. Among all the mayors, I spotted a Paul Harris badge in the lapel of the mayor of Banstead and Reigate, Councillor David Pay, which singled him out as a fellow Rotarian. I had a brief chat with him and learnt that he was a member of Redhill Rotary Club in District 1250, with which our District will be merging next year.

The DG meets David Pay

Shortly after arrival I met last year’s High Sheriff of Surrey, Dr Helen Bowcock , who is an enthusiastic supporter of Crimestoppers. I found her very charming, particularly as she fetched me a glass of wine. At last I felt that my high status was being recognised, which hasn’t always been the case in my travels as Consort to the District Governor. After all, how many people can say that a High Sheriff of Surrey has waited on them? Some snacks were brought out on plates, but I always seemed to be at the wrong end of the room and the plates were empty by the time they reached me, although I did manage to grab the last chipolata from a plate before the DG could get to it. So that was my evening meal. I declined a second glass of wine, just in case the police were conducting routine breathalyser tests as we left the building, and I didn’t want to be detained overnight in the kind of dungeons on display in the museum.

                                                          Surrey Police HQ at Mount Browne

We were taken on tours of the Museum in small groups, and ours went off first, with Inspector Rob Harris as our guide (note we were shown round by an Inspector, not a mere constable). He took us up a floor to the Museum, which was an excellent record of the history of the Surrey Constabulary since it was formed over 160 years ago. It showed, through a series of wall-mounted glass panels, each decade of the Force’s history, including old uniforms, a display of Victorian truncheons, and a mock-up of a Victorian police cell. Both the DG and I thought it would be good to come back here when we had more time to browse the exhibits.

                                                   A display of Victorian police truncheons - some are quite ornate

                                                              Tunic of the Chief Constable of Surrey circa 1900

After we had seen the museum, we were taken into the main hub of the Surrey Police operation, the Control Room, and placed under the wing of another officer, whose name I didn’t get, but who I think was responsible for the Control Room. It was quite fascinating, and I felt quite privileged to be in the nerve centre of the police operation. In the centre of the room was a desk which formed a semi-circle, at which one uniformed officer sat, with a number of civilians. This area was called The Bridge, and this desk controlled all the other activities in the room. Elsewhere there were a cluster of desks which were responsible for the North of Surrey (Spelthorne, Runnymede and Elmbridge) another group responsible for the East and so on. There were probably about 40 people in the room, and whenever an incident occurred in Surrey which required police attendance, the situation was controlled from this room. There were Screens around the room showing CCTV camera film of traffic situations and town centres throughout the County. On each desk were high resolution screens where the operator could zoom in on maps of the County, on which could be seen the whereabouts of all their patrol cars, and their progress could be followed along the roads.  It was terrific to see all this in operation, and I felt somewhat reassured about the ability of local Police to respond to emergencies around the County.

                                                                        Rob Harris guides us around the Museum

Apart from two uniformed officers, (one of whom was showing us around) all the rest of the staff in the room were civilians, which I found interesting. There was a murmur of quiet conversation throughout the room as staff communicated with police officers out on the streets, although every now and again, if there was something important, somebody would call out ‘Bridge!’ and all attention would be focussed on that incident. The officer guiding us was proud of the systems they had and the way his team could communicate quickly with other forces around the country, and gain access to their CCTV screens when necessary. Interestingly, when one of our group asked him if there was anything he needed to make the job more effective, he replied without hesitation  ‘More officers’. I decided not to take any photos in the Control room, for fear of having my camera confiscated and being frogmarched unceremoniously out of the building.

                                                                            Some confiscated weapons

With our tours finished, we returned  to the Reception room where we learnt a little more about Surrey Crimestoppers. Our first speaker was my wine waitress Helen Bowcock, who outlined her own involvement as a supporter of the Charity, before handing over to Commander Nick Ephgrave, the Deputy Chief Constable of Surrey Police. He underlined the importance of Crimestoppers and their message to the public, ‘help fight crime without revealing your identity’. He gave a couple of examples of cases where members of the public, using the Crimestoppers service, helped the police deal with a serious drug problem in Peckham, and in a murder enquiry with which he was involved.

                                                       A display cabinet in the Museum

Tim Prideaux, the Chairman of Surrey Crimestoppers then took  over to underline the features of Crimestoppers that make it successful. The key to everything is being able to guarantee the caller’s anonymity, so they don’t record calls, they don’t track calls, and don’t ask for any personal details over the phone. Call handlers are trained to a high level, and pass actionable material to the police. In their 25 years of operation, they have received 1.5 million actionable calls, leading to 130,000 arrests, £130 million of stolen property recovered, and £312 million of drugs being seized.  Remarkably the Charity costs only £30,000 a year to run.

                                                      Advertising poster

Finally we were told about the Ambassador Scheme, by which they wanted us to spread the word about Crimestoppers to our contacts, so that more people would understand what this Independent Charity does. A recent survey has shown that despite nationwide coverage, only 20% of people know what Crimestoppers actually does. Some people think it is part of the Police, which it isn’t, and others confuse it with the TV show Crimewatch. I will be happy to oblige.