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Swaffham Visual Arts Festival 2010
 
We do hope that everyone enjoyed something from the extended Art Exhibition which this year became a Visual Arts Festival. We all committed considerable time, effort and energy to ensure success both from the financial and fellowship perspective.
The festival included the following events:
• International Film Night and Launch Event
• Artist demonstration with Chris Hollick
• &The Royal Collection& with Charlotte Crawley
• The Art Exibition Preview Evening and Exhibition
• PLUS the Kieron Williamson Special Event
BUT ….. as an Art Ex committee we believe it to be worthwhile. We gained this year from a very active sponsor in Abel Homes and this cooperation enabled us to have greater promotion and publicity than very before. We have even reached the stage when we are the subject of an EDP carton! See the EDP 2nd November 2010 and view our website press clippings.
The final event - the Kieron Williamson appearance - was an absolute privilege and a day to remember. A day that may never be repeated, certainly not in Swaffham. He is am amazing young man. He and his family were just so down to earth and sensible.
Finally over £8000 worth of art was sold over the exhibition preview and weekend, and the financial result for local, national and international charities will once again, be very good.
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Foundation Jazz BBQ 2010
It all started so well. A really good turnout on Saturday morning and by 12.30 six marquees had been erected the Rotary stall was ready and Bernie's venue was looking ready for the big event.
Just before I left at 1.30 the gazebo which was to be used to serve the food was down and twisted beyond repair. Hasty replan and food would be served from the Conservatory. I went home.
Just before 3pm. Bernie phoned to say that the wind had brought down nearly all the marquees and one was about to take off into the adjoining field. Hasty phone calls and most of the team who had been there in them morning were back to dismantle everything.
All the marquees were damaged apart from Alan's which was to be for the band. It looked like a battlefield. The wind was too strong to try to erect anything that afternoon so we retreated and crossed everything for Sunday. If the weather was good we could always get by without marquees.
Sunday morning dawned. The sun was shining the wind had gone; we might just get away with it. An early start for all those who were able to enable us to get the Heygates marquee up after Bernie’s son straightened some of the poles and although David Green's marquee was twisted we managed to get it to hold together for the afternoon. We left most of the sides off the marquees and squeezed 11 tables in to the two.
By 12 noon as some of our guests were arriving we were just about ready. The barbeques were alight the band started to play and the bar was open.
Out of a disaster came a really good event and all who came seemed happy with the afternoon.
Final figures are still being sorted as we do not know what liabilities we have to those whose marquees were ruined. On inspection after the event it was agreed that they were all so damaged that it would be unsafe to use them again. But subject to that we should have made about £1000 for foundation.
My thanks to all who helped the committee over those 2 days. Had it not been for their support we would certainly not have been ready on Sunday morning. It the closest we have ever come to a complete disaster. My thanks also to Bernie and Joan for all their help and for letting us hold the BBQ at their home this year.
Click here to view the photos taken at this event.
Mike Cornwell
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Afternoon Tea for the Elderly 2010
On Sunday 2nd May 2010 the club held another tea for the elderly residents of Swaffham.
Given the miserable weather earlier in the year, caution was our watchword and it was renamed Afternoon Tea. However,
come the day a reasonable supply of strawberries was available, so we were able to follow last year's successful format.
Approaching forty guests were treated to an afternoon tea topped off with strawberries and cream, and followed with a 'sing along' led by Jill Dobbs at the piano. This year we must have had more
singers than last year because they sang much louder and for longer!
Many thanks to Jill Dobbs for entertaining us all, and a special "Thank You" to the Old Maltings staff and management
for their hospitality and support. The catering team again produced a mouth watering array of sandwiches, cakes and scones. Click here to see some photos.
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Blood Pressure Checks on Stroke Awareness Day 2010
On Saturday 17th April 2010 the Rotary Club of Swaffham supported the Stroke
Awareness Day, a part of the Stroke Association's national campaign.
The event was organised and planned by club members John Wallace and Dermot Impson.
Rotarian Dermot Impson said "Using an empty shop unit next to the Assembly
Rooms in Swaffham by kind permission of Mr T Burn, and with the medical
support of six local nurses, the blood pressure was assessed for almost 150
local people, one of which was an urgent referral. One of those having their
blood pressure taken was the local conservative candidate."
The Rotary Club were delighted with the public response and would like to thank all those involved in organising and running this very important, local community event.
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1940's Village Hall Social Evening 2010
The Rotary Club of Swaffham and its International Team lead by Robin and Diana Rayner recreated a 1940's Village Hall social evening at Narborough Community Centre on Friday 12th February 2010.
The hall was suitably decorated with Union flags and bunting. The event coincided with the 70th anniversary of rationing in Britain, and a fugal meal was served to over 100 guests, which comprised a pint of beer or cider, leek and potato soup, cottage pie with peas, followed by treacle tart. The raffle prizes included an instruction book on how to comply with the Black Out regulations.
Many guests came dressed in clothes from the 1940's period. We were delighted to see various service personnel, working mums and dads, a couple of spiv's, land army girls, country squires, farmers and wives, a butcher with a gas mask, a Lyons Tea Shop waitress, a well known toff and many others. The "best dressed competition" was won by Rodger Bilverstone. A 1940's quiz was fiercely contested by all the guests.
The music and entertainment was excellently produced and lead by Jill Dobbs accompanied by "Close Harmony", (a local group), who encouraged everyone to sing along and join in with many songs from the 1940's.
The evening was a great success. We made a profit of £1,000 and this, together with the £950 we already have, will be used to support our two chosen charities: WaterAID and SmileTrain. Photos from this event are available to view in our photo gallery.
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Sacred Heart Convent School Donation for Haiti 2010
The pupils, staff and parents of the Sacred Heart Convent School in Swaffham, collected a massive £1,550 for the Haiti Disaster Appeal, and have passed it on to the Rotary Club of Swaffham to buy three more SHELTER BOXES.
The donation was received by Rotarians John Wallace, Dermot Impson and Denis Bishop. At the handover ceremony, the club demonstrated the contents of the shelter box, explained to the children how the charity was formed, and how the boxes reach the disaster areas.
Many thanks to the parents, teachers and pupils at the Sacred Heart Convent School for making such a generous donation.
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Collection for Haiti Appeal 2010
Members of the Rotary Club of Swaffham have again been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of Swaffham and district.
Collections for the Haiti Disaster Appeal took place in Swaffham town centre and at Waitrose Supermarket on Friday and Saturday last week.
Particular thanks to Waitrose who allowed Rotarians to collect inside the store because of the bad weather, and provided every facilitity to help with the collection.
Shops in the town centre used collection boxes to enable customers to make individual donations, and Rotarians carried out street collections in and around the market place during daylight shopping hours.
The collectors were encouraged by the amount of money and individual cheques handed in during the collection period. The totals for the two days was an amazing £3814 which included £1596 from shoppers in the town centre, and £2218 from customers visiting the Waitrose store.
All the money raised by this appeal will go towards sending eight or more shelter boxes to the disaster area in Haiti. Further funds totalling £1,500 have also been donated from the Sacred Heart Convent School.
For more information about how your money will be spent, please visit the ShelterBox website.
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