Presidents Evening – Bakewell Golf Club 24^th May

A very convivial gathering for some 30 Bakewell Rotarians, partners and guests and an excellent hot buffet on a warm Spring evening was held on 24^th May at Bakewell Golf Club. Unfortunately, our guest speaker Keith Mosely of Air Ambulance had to cancel at very short notice due to illness – but our own David Rawson BEM gave a very lively presentation on his years with the Grenadier Guards in London and overseas with many humorous anecdotes. Peter Huxtable organised a fun general quiz and a cryptic clue quiz. The raffle raised some £135 which will go to the President’s chosen charity CRY (Sudden Cardiac Arrest in the Young).

Rotary Bakewell – Welcomes new Peak Park Chief to their lunchtime meeting.

Phil Mulligan the new Chief Executive at PDNP (Peak District National Park) was the speaker at our well-attended lunchtime meeting at the Rutland Arms, Bakewell on 17^th May.  Phil joined the authority September 2022 with an extensive background in the environmental and voluntary sectors most recently as Director, East Midlands for the Canal & River Trust – and having held various executive and board positions including National Trust Council, United Nations Association UK, The Landscape Institute and The Conservation Volunteers Trust.

He outlined the history and demographics of the Park and its 38,000 residents and 26 million annual visitors – along with the decreasing allocation of central government funds in recent years – and the challenges this presents!  He stressed that public input into the Peak park’s local plans is being sought – and he was aware of the concerns over the closures of information centres. Time limited the number of questions from those present – and he has offered to return at a later date to continue with further discussion and dialogue with club members.

Social Musical Evening 26^th April

Over 20 Rotarians and friends gathered at the Red Lion, Bakewell for a very enjoyable last Wednesday in the month evening gathering – with a bit of local music provided by singer/songwriter Jamie Jones airing his latest  composition – and there was a great discussion on the latest Rotary project to open a Bakewell Repair Café in the autumn!

Rotary Bakewell - Senior Citizens’ Tea Party returns 

Some 70 invited guests attended the Easter Senior Citizens’ tea party organised by Rotary Bakewell at the Methodist Church Hall in Bakewell on Friday 21^st April, a return after more than 3 years.  The event had been rescheduled from 31^st March due to an unexpected very high level of Covid/flu sickness cancellations from those who had been invited that earlier day.

A very convivial afternoon and much appreciated and enjoyed by all. Christine, Margaret, and Ruth produced all the sandwiches, food and drinks in the kitchens with ingredients kindly provided by Aldi and Bloomers – and trifle from Rotarian Mary Ingham. President David Goodlad opened proceedings. Bakewell Rotarians had set up the tables and served the guests at their tables.  Entertainment was provided by the Tom Pilkington trio and some wonderful singing from Louise – and also later some community singing.  Everyone was given an Easter egg with a raffle ticket– and there was a draw for three food hampers which had been kindly donated by local businesses.

All in all, a very enjoyable afternoon – and David Rawson who had organised the day thanked everyone and the Church for their assistance and support – and to all those guests who had joined us. Rotarians assisted in taking and escorting some home.

Rotary Bakewell Learns more about the intricacies of Brain Health

Our speaker at our evening social meeting at Red Lion, Bakewell on Wednesday 29^th March was Mayne Fakharuzi.  Mayne is studying for her PhD at Sheffield University and has attended previous club gatherings. The subject was Brain Health and prompted a very lively and interactive discussion with those present. Mayne along with our currently youngest club member and Bakewell Rotary scholar Dave Cook completed the Sheffield half-marathon on Sunday (26^th) after a quick return from their visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall on Saturday!!

Rotary Bakewell Donates £1,000 to Aquabox for the Syria/Turkey Earthquake mission

From the proceeds of the collections in February at the Aldi Store, Bakewell, the Club is sending £1,000 to Aquabox in Wirksworth for urgent relief aid. This will fund water filters to provide drinkable water even where the supply is very poor. 

Will Throssel guest speaker at Rotary Bakewell meeting on 15^th March

At the Events Suite, Rutland Arms, Bakewell our speaker was Will Throssel from Archaeological Research Services (www.archaeologicalresearchservices.com) based out of Bakewell. Will is a geophysicist and is Chief Operating Officer and lives in Buxton. The company is a highly recognised organisation and Will outlined several of the more recent faster and less intrusive investigative tools – and showed several recent success stories with the Environment Agency and the HS2 project.   The company, founded by local Derbyshire lad Clive Waddington, is again this year in line for industry awards for its work.

Another New Member – Jane Meredith

Rotary Bakewell welcomed another new member to the club at the lunch meeting on 1^st March in the Events Suite at Rutland Arms. Jane Meredith has visited several club meetings in recent months and after many years in Canada has settled in Tideswell where she is active in the local community including the regular Repair Shops which Bakewell Rotarians Allen Bower and Mike Gray are regular fixer/repairers!!

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Rotary Bakewell welcomes Chatsworth Players

Rotary Bakewell guest speaker at the Rutland Arms on Wednesday 15^th February was Lindsay Jackson, Director of the Chatsworth Players. She gave the meeting a very interesting, informative and entertaining presentation on the history of the “Royal” theatre at Chatsworth and its most recent history since refurbishment and formation of the Chatsworth Players by her mother Sylvia in 2007.  The contribution of amateur dramatics in the UK generates some £34M income from 2,500 venues – and many professional actors started on this stage!  The Chatsworth Theatre has 130 members who provide the artists and backstage crews for the annual programme which attracts some 2,000 to the shows and a further 3,000 online.  Lindsay exuded the enthusiasm of the group – and clearly they have fun and great joy from the theatre. They have extended their reach to outdoor venues like Cromford Mills immediately post pandemic – and also at the Buxton Festival fringe. They also raise funds for various charities including Cancer Research and Alzheimer’s Society. The next show is Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” March 23, 24, 25, 30, 31 & April 1^st. More details of forthcoming programmes can be found at www.chatsworthplayers.com.  The speaker was introduced by Christopher Harrison and a vote of thanks given by John Burn.

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Another New Member joins Rotary Bakewell - Margie Stuckey from the Medway Centre

Rotary Bakewell was delighted to welcome Margie Stuckey as  a new and returning member to the club at the meeting on 15^th February at the Rutland Arms. Margie is well known to Bakewell residents where she is based at the Medway Centre – and has had close contacts with the club for many years where we have hosted various events, most recently very successful quiz nights.

We have several new members lined up in the near future – and always looking for more to join our ranks -  for more details please contact Membership secretary Ann Esders at aesders@aol.com or (M) 07967 665580

1st February

Spring is here

Last autumn Rotary Bakewell purchased thousands of crocus bulbs in support of End Polio Now. They were planted outside the Bakewell Agricultural Centre. In March there are several drifts of purple across the grassy areas.