The Month That Was That Was September 24

A busy month but with some disappointment


September was another active month for the club, mixed though with success and disappointment.

Supporting Air Ambulance

Held at St Cuthbert’s Church, the play staged by Wells Rotary about the Fossil Lady was by almost every measure a great success. Tickets were sold out, the actress Alison Neil was outstanding, the sponsors were impressed, and over £3,000 was raised in support of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.  A big, big pat on the back to David Randon and team for organising and a big thank you to our event sponsors, Harris & Harris, The Crown at Wells, Wells Reclamation, Cooper and Tanner, Brownes Garden Centre and the Long Story Bistro, and also to everybody who helped sell the tickets.




The disappointment came at the end of the month with the decision to cancel the Great Sedan Chair Race which had also been planned in support of the Air Ambulance.

The Strawberry Line

This turned out to be the theme for the month. At our first meeting of the month, Richard Jones joined us and after supper kept us spell bound with his presentation on the project to bring the Strawberry Line back into Wells, this time as a muti user path but largely following the track of the old railway line. It was a fascinating talk with a swath of pictures from pre Beeching days of the railway set in contrast to how the line looks today in its new role.

At the end of the month an intrepid team from the club met at Easton and yomped the stretch of the line from Easton to Westbury sub Mendip. On route we were met by Andrew Buchanan who is leading the archaeological dig on the edge of Westbury into the remains recently unearthed of a 3rd century Roman villa. The rains held off and we were able to walk around the excavations while Andrew captured our attention with explanations on how he and his team now believe the Romano Britons living at the villa had interacted with the wider community – those digging lead up on the Mendips, the traders moving up and down the Fosse Way, the citizens of Bath while occasionally having to deal with raiding parties from Ireland.



Business Meeting 23rd September

At the meeting, which was at the Museum, our ADG Ian Huxham and a number of supporters of the Nepal Trust joined us for the update presentation on the work of the Nepal Trust. Wells Rotary has been a big supporter of the NT over a long period with quite a few members from the club having participated as volunteers in the Trek to Build programme. Facts and figures shared illustrated the main theme of the presentation: how the chain of health posts built by NT volunteers, very much including Wells Rotarians, had made a real difference to the lives of those living in one of the most remote, most inaccessible and poorest parts of the world.


A group of members visited the Wells Mosaic project and reported very positively on what they had seen.


New Member

And finally a big welcome to our newest member, ex mayor of Wells, Tays Kolizeras, who was inducted this month into the club.



'What We Do' Main Pages:

Our efforts as a Club towards making a difference by supporting local and international good causes came into sharp focus in November.

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The 2025 theme is ‘Wonderful Water’. Just let your imagination fly and interpret it as broadly as you wish. Show your creative talent in sharing what this Theme means to you.

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Volunteers from Wells Rotary in action in Nepal

Working together we are united in the challenge of making a difference to the lives of others

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To find our further detail on meetings and events please contact club President Angela

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October was quite a quiet month by recent standards for the club, that said though looking back across our diaries in addition to our normal routine gatherings there were quite a few project planning meetings looking forward into 2025

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Support St Margaret's Hospice by booking us to collect your tree

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At Wells Rotary Club we are involved with various activities within the community, from working with young people through Kids Out, Young Chef and Public speaking, to organising the Santa Fun Run and Christmas Tree Collection.

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Defibrillators - have we got any and where are they?

Conscious of the need for rapid access to defibrillators following a coronary event, Wells Rotary has been working to make these life-saving machines available to the public at all times. It is an ongoing project.

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Fireworks at the Festival

Wells Rotary has been stewarding the Festival for over 35 years: not only have we raised over £100,000 for humanitarian projects but also have seen a lot of amazing artists. We all have personal memories and highlights from the experience.

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In 2000 Rotarians from Wells trekked out to a remote area in North Nepal to build a health clinic. They came up with the idea of holding an annual Boules Tournament to support the clinic and the rest is history.

Held annually in the Bishop's Palace gardens in the centre of Wells, the Wells Charity Boules Tournament is a fun event for all of the family.

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In commemoration of the Queens Platinum Jubilee the West and East Mendip Ways were re-launched as a single 50-mile walk branded as "The Mendip Way".

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Each week a team of listeners goes to St Cuthbert’s Primary School to listen to children read. It is so rewarding to see the positive impact on the children’s reading skills.

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Helping the blind and partially sighted

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Rotary District 1200 comprises Wells Rotary along with the other rotary clubs of Somerset, West Wilts and West Dorset. Circa 1200 is our district news sheet. Follow the link below to Circa 1200 to see what is going on across Somerset

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Rotary in Wells is part of the global Rotary International, working with other clubs to eradicate polio, to help with other natural disasters, and to help those less fortunate than ourselves elsewhere in the world

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A busy month but with some disappointment

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A busy but fun month for members

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June was the last month with President Angela in the chair and still the heart and soul of the club.

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President Angela welcomes Ray to the club

Wells Rotary inaugurates RotaKids club

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Quiet but Nevertheless busy Months

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What a great thing to do: collecting around 120 trees and raising funds for St. Margaret’s Hospice.

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