General Meeting

ROTARY CLUB OF CHESTFIELD

Club Meeting online 07.30am 7^th January 2021

Present:               Dave C; Pat; Andrew & Jean M; Sue, Reggie; Ron; Godfrey; Robert; Hilary; Andrew B; Paul (Chair); Kathryn; Pete; Margaret; Lesley.

Apologies:           None

General:              Paul welcomed everyone to the first meeting of 2021.  On Monday 4^th January there was a meeting about the proposed ‘Easter Bunny Run’; Paul asked Hilary to speak about this.

Hilary:  Everyone should have received an email yesterday about the meeting on Monday.  To recap, we can’t use the sleigh, so it has been suggested that we stage an ‘Easter Bonnet Parade’ over roughly the same route as we follow for the Christmas run.  Since the meeting and email there have been several positive emails and one negative.  There are a number of questions which remain to be answered.  Will we we be able to have music, and how will we do this without the sleigh?  Easter is in April this year; do we know if we will be able to do the parade if the Covid restrictions are still in place?  The suggestion is that we go ahead an do the planning; we could always delay until Whitsun.  We should do something to show the public that we are still active. 

There was a discussion about whether we should invite children to dress up, so we can take a photo and judge who has the best costume.  Margaret said we must have permission forms and a signed disclaimer by a parent (in case the parent later denies having given verbal permission).  She can draft relevant forms for us.  We will need to budget for 550 printed cards to be put through doors along the route, and for a prize for any competition (a giant Easter egg probably).  Assuming we can have the music amp, we can have a small club competition to suggest appropriate songs to be played over the amp.  We need David M to lead the parade in his car (with the amp strapped to the front) since he knows the route off by heart.  Andrew B volunteered to trail the parade in his car to take any donations.  Ideally, we need to collect cash only (in envelopes) this time – not food - and no bedding.

Can all club members please send any comments / suggestions to Hilary by next Monday 11^th January, so she can look at then before she needs to write an entry of the parish magazine.

Andrew B:  He has been in touch with Eric at Apeldoorn over Christmas.  Eric sends the club his good wishes and looks forward to being able to meet again soon.

Andrew & Jean:  The Whitstable magazine has published an article about becoming a friend of Rotary (p37).  It refers to there being seven clubs in the Canterbury / Faversham / Whitstable & Herne Bay area – but doesn’t list them.  The aim of the article may have been to encourage the public to support Emergency Response.  Even so, it feels a bit like a missed opportunity.  However, we do have an entry coming out shortly in The Net, which will include our club contact details.

Robert:  He will have a zoom meeting with Canterbury Sunrise shortly about the Quiz Night, which is now proposed for February; they can’t do January 16^th.

Godfrey:  His daughter is a nurse working for palliative care, and what she has seen in the NHS during the most recent part of the crisis is horrendous.  Staff are at the end of their tether.  As a small gesture of support, could we as a club bake a cake to take in to a local hospital?  Kathryn wondered if we would be allowed to do this; schools still have baking classes but children don’t taste the food because of fears over virus transmission.  Godfrey thinks we would be OK if we minimise food handling once an item has been baked.  We could do individual cakes in food bags, for instance.  Someone mentioned Marian’s flapjacks.  Anyone wanting to bake something for the NHS, please contact Godfrey.

Pat:  Pat said that the Barn Dance is booked for June, but will we be allowed to have big social events then, even if vaccination has diminished the crisis.  Lesley felt we would be setting a poor example if we did go ahead.  There was a show of hands in favour of cancelling it.

Dave C:  Dave said he had had an idea for something we could do which would be outdoors and socially-distanced, which would be to stage a kite flying event on the beach.  We could do this in late August or September.  We could encourage people to make their own – there is a very easy-to-make, easy-to-fly design called a Sledge Kite.  He will do some research.

Ron:  Ron will propose another Garden Competition in the Spring when things have dried out a bit.  The rules will be the same as before.  Pat was asked to be the judge again.  Ron was also asking for those members who aren’t zooming to get in touch with someone in the club so we know they are alright.  There are a few people we haven’t heard from in a while.

Pete:  Pete said that David B and Ann have already had their first vaccination jab and are due to have their second shortly.  This was felt to be encouraging news.

Kathryn:  She has been monitoring the government appeals for volunteers to act as stewards etc at vaccination centres.  Apparently a lot of the red tape involved in vetting volunteers has been scrapped.  Hilary said that some of the pre-training is important ‘though eg conflict resolution – not all the vaccine recipients are going to be grateful or gracious about it.

Sue:  Sue will write to Brian at District to get him to remind local clubs that if they are having an online meeting with a speaker they should advertise it to other clubs.  She has attended several such virtual talks and found them worthwhile.  Also, she has spoken to Gordon; can we include him in an invitation to our zoom meetings, so he can attend if he feels up to it.

Reggie:  Pleased to see everyone.

Lesley:  Last Autumn she said she would email the Golf Club’s new manager to ask about the future.  She did do so but never received any response.  Andrew B suggested an email might have gone to spam, so perhaps she should send a written letter.

Date of next Meetings:

Board Meeting: 8.00pm Wednesday 20^th January 2021

Club Meeting: 7.30pm Thursday 21^st January 2021