Visit from Rotary Sodertalje - Sept 2015

Visit from Rotary Sodertalje

Our nine guests from the Rotary Club of Södertälje in Sweden arrived on Wednesday 2^nd September.

Ake and Margareta Persson – President 2015-16

Torgny Carlsson and Meggi Bergstrom – Bukavu project

Vigo Gunilla Lofcrantz – Youth and International

Peter and Kerstin Viriden – Past president

Inga Lundblad – Past president and the book reading project

Our first social engagement was an informal dinner at a local 16th century pub, the White Bear, where our guests renewed acquaintances or met club members and their partners for the first time.

On Thursday there was a more formal gathering for a Rotary lunch at the Park Langley Club. President, Nick Randall, told our friends about our club and the charities it supports and social activities it enjoys. Then, President, Äke Persson, replied in a similar vein about their Swedish club. 

Torgny Carlsson and Meggie Bergstrom then gave a presentation about a charity that Rotary Södertälje helps and which we plan to support this year. The charity is Laissez l'Afrique Vivre (LAV) which works in Bukavu in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo and offers help to young women who have been raped and to their children and to traumatized boy soldiers. The charity helps them recover from their ordeals and works to teach them skills and trades for a better future.

After lunch, a brief walk in Kelsey Park helped refresh our guests before the evening’s entertainment. Then a return visit to the Haycutter in Oxted introduced our guests to both skittles and to English ale, together with a traditional buffet supper

On Friday a party of our members, partners and our guests travelled to London for a visit to the Palace of Westminster, kindly hosted by our member of parliament for Beckenham, Col. Bob Stewart MP and his wife Claire. A tour of the building was followed by lunch on the terrace, overlooking the Thames. After lunch the party crossed the river for a ‘flight’ on the London Eye, before returning to Beckenham.

Friday evening our party, comprising members, partners and friends, together with our guests from Sweden, enjoyed a 3 course Italian supper at L’Aragosta and listened to Zita’s lovely singing of arias from Italian operas. During this evening and the course of the visit we raised over £500.00 towards the charity that we will jointly support, Laissez l'Afrique Vivre (LAV).

On Saturday morning our guests checked out from their hotel and we visited Nyman’s Gardens, a National Trust property at Handcross, West Sussex. There is a wonderful selection of trees and shrubs originally set out and planted in the 19^th century by the owners at that time, the Messel family.

Then finally, a short drive back to Gatwick from where our friends from Rotary Sodertalje have now returned home.

To view the presentation Sodertalje members gave to the club at Beckenham, click HERE

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