Saturday 11th April. We had to be up early today.
Well at least the DG did, because she was hosting two Rotaract speakers at the
Conference this morning and they were due on stage just after 9.00 a.m. with
rehearsals at 8.30. The idea of hosting speakers is to ensure they are looked
after when they arrive, and that they appear on stage when they are required.
One of them, Sean Parry, had been around since Thursday so the DG had plenty of
time to make sure he knew where he was supposed to be and when. The other
person she was hosting, Emily Scott, President of the Rotaract Club of Chester University, had only been in contact by text before this morning, so the DG was
anxious to meet her and make sure her needs were catered for.
Chester University Rotaract Club
Breakfast was consequently a little rushed, and I didn’t get
that extra piece of toast I normally help myself to. We were in the auditorium
just after 8.30, where we found Emily, who had just delivered her memory stick
to the organisers and was waiting to see what to do next. The DG swiftly
arranged for her to get a chance to practice the first few minutes of her
presentation on stage, and spent the rest of the time before 9.00 offering
words of encouragement. Whilst this went on I was hovering, ready to give Emily
the benefit of my vast experience on how to gain the undivided attention of an
audience. It is of course true that I have not made as many speeches as the DG
to large audiences, but I am always prepared with a keynote speech for every
occasion, it’s just that I don’t get called upon to deliver it.
Waterfront Auditorium
When the day’s morning session got under way, our first
speakers were from the Cwmtawe Interact Club in South Wales. Interact is basically Rotary for young people aged 12-18
and we had an excellent presentation from 3 of the members about their
activities. These included providing referees for a primary school football
competition, a week-long charity fundraiser which raised £7,500, and supporting
the youth competitions organised by their local Rotary Club. As ever, when I
hear young people such as these speaking with such assurance and maturity, I
think back to myself as a teenager and how I wouldn’t even have got on to the
stage, never mind addressing 1,000- plus people.
Next up were the Rotaractors. Firstly Emily gave a very
confident presentation about the work of Chester University Rotaract Club,
including fundraising and service in their community. I hadn’t realised it at
the time, but Emily was among a group of Chester Rotaractors who climbed the O2
with me a couple of months ago. Sean Parry, Rotaract Chairman of Britain and
Ireland followed Emily, and he gave an overview of Rotaract membership in these
islands, which is finally starting to increase after a number of years where
numbers were decreasing. This will have been music to the ears of the DG, who
will be responsible for Rotaract in RIBI next year.
Further presentations with emphasis on Youth followed, one
of the highlights being the Rotary Young Citizen Awards, which as usual were
filmed live by the BBC News Channel, fronted by Ellie Crissell, who has
presented our Young Citizen Awards for several years. The Awards are given in
various categories to young people under 25 who have demonstrated their
commitment to citizenship, by involving themselves in community projects. It
was fantastic to meet young people who have overcome physical handicaps, or
worked to find solutions for others less fortunate themselves. The show was
stolen by an 8-year old girl whose older sister died 2 years ago. Since then
she has helped raise over £80,000 for Charity in memory of her sister. Her
extraordinary story moved everybody in the auditorium, including RI President
Gary Huang, who has invited her to this year’s Rotary Convention in Sao Paulo,
Brazil.
Friend of Rotary - Ellie Crisell
Later in the session we heard from Eric Knowles, well known
to viewers of the Antiques Road Show on TV. I hadn’t realised that he was also
a Rotarian. His entertaining talk, ostensibly in support of the Rotary
Foundation, was really an amusing look at other famous people called Eric, from
Viking Erik the Red, to Eric Morecambe and Eric Clapton. Personally, I would
have preferred a talk about the Antiques Road Show, but I suppose he is always
being asked to do that, and fancied a change.
Eric at work
He was followed by Sally Kettles, a BBC Producer who gave us
the sometimes hilarious and occasionally horrifying story of her entry in a
cross- Atlantic rowing race as part of an all-female team calling themselves Rowgirls. Having led the women’s race for over
half the race they were beset with problems, including one of the crew deciding
she couldn’t continue and being taken off the boat. Down to three members, they
then lost their rudder, were attacked by a shark and survived the
worst-recorded weather conditions in the Atlantic in 200 years. Her story
certainly would give inspiration to anyone facing insurmountable problems,
where the choices are to give up or grit your teeth and carry on.
Rowgirls battle rough seas
With the morning session finishing at about 12.45, we then
had an hour for lunch before the start
of the Business Meeting, for which the DG and I were both voting delegates. We
headed back down to the ‘We Make’ café where we were yesterday. There was a very long queue to be served, but
we didn’t really have time to go elsewhere, so the DG grabbed us a seat whilst
I joined the queue. 20 minutes later I got back to the DG with two excellent
soups (we decided against the accompanying sandwich this time), only to find
the DG surrounded by Rotarians, with my seat given to Sandra Townsend.
Naturally I had no intention of trying to move my new best friend so I managed
to find another chair. Unfortunately we were right next to a door and it was
blowing a gale outside. Every time the door was opened paper plates, empty
plastic cups and anything else not nailed down would go flying across the room.
On a number of occasions I saved people around us from being sprayed with hot
soup, but it wasn’t the most relaxing lunch break.
Keep that door shut!
Soon it was time for the Business meeting to commence, and
back we went to the auditorium. As we entered we were handed electronic voting
devices that we were to use when voting. As the DG had two votes every time, she
was given two devices. I remember attending the Business Meeting in Birmingham
last year. It was my first time and to be honest I didn’t fully understand what
was going on. I do remember, though, that there was controversy, which always
makes things more interesting. At that meeting, the marketing budget for the
whole year was voted out by the delegates. It seems logical to me that an
organisation the size of Rotary in Britain and Ireland ought to spend some
money on Marketing, just to try and create public awareness of the work we do,
particularly if we want to recruit new members. However, on that occasion the speakers against the
proposal were more persuasive than the speakers in favour, and so it got voted
out.
A voting device similar to the ones we used
This year I was a bit more aware of what was going on.
Basically at the annual Business meeting, Resolutions agreed by General Council
(basically the current year’s DG’s) decide on amendments to RIBI’s Constitution
which are deemed necessary. This year there was one resolution put forward by a
Rotary Club which, if passed would undo a lot of the work done in General
Council. The electronic signal in the hall was a bit variable, as the voting
devices wouldn’t work in some areas, and in others, including where I was, you
had to hold it up at different angles to make it work. As there were only 20
seconds given in which to register your vote, we all felt under a bit of
pressure. Later on, the time to respond was extended to 30 seconds.
General Council in session - Alcester
As the meeting got
under way, there was no controversy on most of the resolutions, which were passed with 95% or more of the votes. The only controversial one was the one
put forward from the individual club,
which had a degree of support around the room, but general Council would have
been disappointed if it had gone through. I was, however, very impressed with
the way that several DG’s spoke up against the motion, and they won the day.
Had they not showed such good teamwork, I feel the motion may have been
carried. I congratulated the DG and her colleagues afterwards, as they had won
every vote, and their year’s work was therefore vindicated.
Bittles Bar
After the meeting, whilst the DG rested in the Hotel, I went
out for some fresh air and had a stroll around nearby City areas and along the
riverside. There is an interesting looking pub not far from the Hotel called
Bittles Bar, which has a narrow frontage, but widens out into a wedge shape. The
building is about 150 years old and apparently popular with trendy types, like
me. I wish I’d had time to go in for a beer. A little further away, on Donegall Quay by the
river Lagan, is an enormous sculpture of a fish, called simply ‘Big Fish’. It
is covered in ceramic tiles, some of which have news stories printed on them,
depicting the history of the city. It is about 30 feet long, and I rather liked
it.
Big Fish
In the evening we joined Doug, Rosemary, Stan and Sheila at
the St Georges Market Bar & Grill. This is situated above the indoor market we had
been to yesterday. I hadn’t noticed it then, so didn’t really know what to
expect as we went across the road to the market building, although we had heard
good reviews about it from others. It was a relief to see that there was a lift
and we were soon up in the Restaurant, which was much smarter than I had
anticipated. There seemed to be several different groups of Rotarians in the
Restaurant, including a very lively group from Belfast. On a different table I
spotted our driver from Thursday evening, and I waved my camera at him as proof
that I still had it. It was an enjoyable and convivial evening, and a relief to
be dining in a place where we could hear each other speak, rather than trying
to shout above loud music, as with last night.
Doug, DG, Stan, Sheila and Rosemary at the St Georges Market Bar & Grill
Back at the Waterfront Centre there was a Concert in the
main Auditorium starting at 9 p.m. which I fancied attending, as did Stan, Doug
and Rosemary. The DG and Sheila were less interested, so whilst they went back
to the Hotel the rest of us headed back to the Waterfront. I was looking
forward to it for a number of reasons: it was being compered by Gene
Fitzpatrick, the comedian from the other day, the Taylor School of Irish
dancing were doing a turn, and there was to be a male voice choir. All good reasons for attending, in my view.
The Waterfront
The show opened with more jokes from Gene, none of which I
heard yesterday, and he introduced a superb performance from the Northern
Ireland Youth Jazz Orchestra, who had some brilliant soloists and a couple of
great singers. They were followed by another dancing show by the youngsters of
the Taylor School of Irish dancing, who wowed us once again with their dancing
skills and also the gorgeous costumes they were wearing. The Bangor Light
Operatic Society came on next, with a varied routine of popular operatic songs
including some dance routines which were eye opening from the point of view
that some of the troupe were built more like divas than dancers, if you see
what I mean. They were nevertheless great fun and very entertaining.
Irish Dancing (picture from Internet)
The stage was then cleared for the Donaghadee Male Voice Choir. It had to be cleared, because there were 70 of them! They were quite
elderly, I thought, with an average age well over 70. Some of them needed
walking sticks and at least one was blind. But none of this detracted from the
quality of their singing, which was beautiful. They sang a number of standards
and songs from musicals, all of them delivered with an amazing depth of sound,
although nothing too lively, which was probably a good thing. Only later, when
reading the programme, did I realise that the choir is of International renown,
having performed all over the world and won many choral festivals. Their
Musical Director and conductor, Robert Wilson MBE has been with them for 46
years.
Donaghadee Male Voice Choir
Another highlight of the show was a performance from an
operatic duo who took us all by surprise. The male singer started off letting
us think he was an official coming in to report a badly parked car and
surprised us when he burst into song. He then dragged an unwilling woman from
the audience who turned out to be his singing partner, and they sang a
succession of arias and songs from musicals to rapturous applause. The
attractive female singer also moved among the audience, worrying several middle
aged men by flirting with them, even sitting on some of their laps.
Unfortunately I was stuck in the middle of a row, so avoided being accosted by
this young lady. We had repeat performances from the male Voice choir and from
the Bangor Light Operatic Society before Gene Fitzpatrick brought proceedings
to a close at about 11.30. As I left the auditorium heading for my bed, I came
across Ron and Helena Daniels, who also thought it had been a terrific
evening’s entertainment.
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