Celebrating Rotary 22/23 - Speakers

Speakers will include:

Jim Buttress

Starting at a local nursery and a move to Croydon Parks, Jim then moved on to the Greater London Council where he ended up with the Royal Parks in London responsible for Hyde park, St James Park, Clarence House and Buckingham Palace and finally ended his career as the Superintendent of Greenwich Park.  He has won eight gold medals at RHS, Chelsea and has been a regular judge at RHS, Chelsea, Hampton Court and Tatton Gardens.  He now devotes much of his time giving talks to corporate events, societies and clubs and actively supports schools and local projects.

Holly Robbins and James Faulconbridge

When the original owners of St Martin's Vineyard decided it was time to look for a fresh challenge in 2020,  due to a chance conversation during a visit to the vineyard in 2018, Holly and James realised it was to good an opportunity not to take over the management of this very special place. With backgrounds in ecology and agriculture, and as keen allotmenteers and amateur wine-makers, they saw the opportunity to combine their passions with an exciting new challenge.

Simon Kitchen

Roger McGough  CBE FRSL

Born in Liverpool, Roger McGough is President of the Poetry Society and one of Britain's best loved poets for both adults and children.

He rose to fame in the sixties with the Scaffold and with the publication of the ground-breaking collection The Mersey Sound (with Brian Patten and the late Adrian Henri) which has since sold over a million copies.

As well as helping write the script of the Beatles' animation film Yellow Submarine, he has won a BAFTA for his television work, and his recent adaptations of three Moliere plays Tartuffe, The Hypochondriac and The Misanthrope were met with great acclaim.  A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he is a Freeman of the City of Liverpool, and in 2004 received the CBE from the Queen for services to literature. Currently he presents Poetry Please on BBC Radio 4.

‘Brilliantly entertaining A legend’ Chris Hawkins, BBC Radio 6 Music Presenter
‘The godfather of modern British poetry’ Metro
‘The patron saint of poetry’ Carol Ann Duffy 
‘famous quirky wit  -  another triumph’ Bel Mooney
'rueful, unpredictable observation to please the sharpest wits' The Independent
'Liverpool's own Poet Laureate' Daily Post
'profound surprises and lasting images on almost every line' Siân Hughes T.E.S.

Roger McGough is the author of over a hundred books of poetry for adults and children. Exuberant new collection joinedupwriting ranges from forgotten friendships and the idiosyncrasies of family life to the trauma of war and contemporary global politics. These poems explore the human experience in all its shades of light and dark but always with McGough's signature wit, irreverence and vivacity.

@McgoughRoger 

Nigel Press

Nigel Press is a geologist who spent 40 years pioneering the development of applications of satellite imagery in global mapping and exploration.  He founded Europe’s first satellite mapping company in 1972 and it is still active today.

Having passed on the reins of his company, Nigel has spent the last decade helping to apply the mapping techniques he developed in geoscience to the relief of humanitarian disasters through the charity MapAction with which he has been involved since its founding twenty years ago.  He provides advice on technical development and has been trustee, company  secretary and latterly until 2020 board chair.

Besides geoscience and humanitarian affairs, Nigel is a keen mountain walker, remains actively involved in rowing and performs in chamber choirs specialised in renaissance and contemporary music.

Sergii Zavadskyi and Borys Bodnar

Sergii is Past District Governor of District 2232 Ukraine and ARC Region 24.  A presentation by zoom from the Ukraine on how Rotary has provided valuable assistance to the people of Ukraine during this ongoing conflict.  They will tell us “how it really is”  what the difference our District financial support and other activities and areas of support have made to their everyday existence. They will update us on their continuing needs and what we can continue to do to support those Ukrainian folk forced to live outside their homeland and those who remain at home.

(subject to alteration, as at November 2022)