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Every year, members of High Suffolk club, together with partners and helpers, arrange for Santa to tour local villages, saying "Hello" (or rather "Ho,Ho,Ho") to young and old alike.

As ever, the people of High Suffolk were very generous in donating to our Christmas good cause. This year, we raised over £2,250 for East Anglia's Childrens Hospices (EACH), an all-time record for our Christmas collection.

Many thanks to all who helped, especially to Santa; to Harry who drove all 5 nights; to Simon, who took the photos; to members, partners and Friends of the club; and to members of Framlingham Rotary Club.

But thanks most of all to all the people of Debenham, Eye, Stradbroke, and Framlingham, for donating so generously - in spite of the current financial climate - and for all the smiles and good wishes, which warmed our hearts on cold Suffolk nights.

Did you know that Earl Soham has a Mere? Even locals might doubt it, but now we've seen the evidence.

At our last speaker meeting before Xmas, Ces Kerridge treated us to a visual tour around Earl Soham. Ces has lived in one of the oldest houses of the village for many years, and has a deep interest in both family and village history.

As well as showing us how the Mere appears in Earl Soham during wet periods, Ces also told us about many other aspects of the village and its history - including, for example, Little Green, once the home of over 70 children, and a place where "respectable" people might fear to tread. Ces also told us about the church that changed gender, brewing old and new, and even Parliament meeting at Earl Soham !

Once again this year, the club hosted a round of the Rotary Young Chef competition. This years event was held on the 8th November  at Hartismere High School, Eye. There were 3 entrants – Daisy Clelland(15), Carly Bright(14) and Zoe Pearson(15), supported by Head of Food Technology Mrs Helen Peters. The competition was ably judged by Peter Senior, a professional chef and fellow Rotarian.

The Club round is part of a national competition sponsored by Filippo Berio. The winner, Daisy, Clelland, now goes forward to the District round at The College of West Anglia, King's Lynn, on Saturday 25th February 2012. The winner of the national competition will receive a trip to Tuscany, a day's tuition with a Michelin-star chef in the UK, and a cash prize of £250!

See our slideshow here.

In Rotary Year 2012-13, it is proposed that the Rotary Club of High Suffolk support the Friends of the Banyan Tree (www.thebanyantree.org.uk), a Suffolk based charity which addresses the needs of extremely poor and disadvantaged families in Kerala, Southern India.

On the 15th October, a number of members of the club met with represetnatives of the Kerala Cultural Association and the Kerala Community Supplementary School to ask for their help with a proposed Indian Evening to be held in Debenham next year.

The meeting was very positive, with strong support from the Kerala Community for the concept and offers of help with entertaintment and catering.

At our 6th October meeting, we had the pleasure of welcoming a new member, Mike Bone. Mike is a Nuclear Safety expert, having worked at Dungeness and Sizewell power stations and more recently as an independent condsultant.

Coincidentally - but happily - this was the evening when we had a talk from Roger Green, who takes the lead helping on membership matters for District 1080. Roger talked about the way that Rotary needs to change and to approach the membership challenge with a focused and open appoach.

Rotarian Susan and husband Myles Hansen were our hosts for a fund-raising lunch on the 11th SeptemberRotarians and friends were treated to a superb lunch (with pud!), and afterwards enjoyed games in the garden.

The event was much enjoyed by all, raising about £500 for our charitable projects. Even the weather cooperated, with the sun shining most of the afternoon and the rain holding off  until late in the day. Many thanks to all who contributed.

We're not a secret organisation, or an international capitalist conspiracy, or a bunch of weirdos! 

Rotary is made up of mostly professional and business people, men and women, all races and religions, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members work locally, regionally, and internationally to build communities, combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio, under the motto "Service Above Self"

 Oh, and by the way, we have a lot of fun and friendship along the way!

Joining your local Rotary club is a great way to meet people, make contacts, and do some good in the world. Like any club, membership is by invitation, but we're always looking for new members, especially people who GET THINGS DONE.