Speaker from Dementia Friends - at the Rose and Crown

Another busy Rotary week for me. On Tuesday and Thursday, I spent quite a time in the radio studio recording the Feb programme. On Thursday morning, I went to the 'shop' in Market Road with the other Presidents to sort what space we have for displays etc; not vast but hopefully adequate. 

Thursday saw us at the Rose and Crown. Richard said grace and we welcomed our guest, Gabby.

In the announcements, I mentioned the great Thames trek hopefully some of us will be able to support Malcolm and Dr John at least part of the way. I also mentioned the Rotary competition for young people (7 - 17) to write a poem for the Queens 90th birthday. If you know of anyone that might participate, Dr John can supply further details. The next District Council meeting is Wed 16 March so if you can attend that, please let Sect John know. I drew attention to some current on-line videos about various aspects of Rotary; There will be links on the District website.

We briefly noted the success of last week's jumble sale - well done to all - and Richard reported on the trip some made to a Valentines dinner/dance in Basildon. 

Our guest, Gabby, from Dementia Friends, than provided an interesting and interactive session on Dementia and how people can be helped. The task where we had to write a comprehensive guide to making a cup of tea was eye-opening, showing us that even relatively simple tasks that we do on autopilot are in fact complex. Gabby's analogy of book cases in the mind, provided a clear explanation of what is going wrong when people experience dementia. It was clear from the discussion that this is an issue that either directly or indirectly, affects a vast number of people. 

Linda S gave the vote of thanks, Richard extracted fines and Malcolm won the raffle. 

Next week we are at college for a business meeting so that also means Foodbank donations. 

Have a good week, enjoy Rotary Roundup, will see some of you at the shop on Tuesday and everyone else on Thursday. Don't forget to raise a toast on Tuesday to mark Rotary's 111 birthday!