Croydon South
Rotary Club
News:
12th June - Rotary Benchmark for Service
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At a recent ceremony members, family and friends of a former Rotarian gathered at Hammerwood House in Sussex to dedicate a bench in his memory. Bernard Goss, former headmaster of Riddlesdown School and long serving member of our Rotary Club passed away two years ago. The short ceremony of thanksgiving was a fitting tribute to this popular man. Guests visiting Hammerwood house will have the opportunity to enjoy the bench for many years to come. President Joe said “This bench will stand as a memorial to Bernard and will provide a place for reflection and remembrance for his family and friends for many years to come. We are delighted to have the opportunity to provide the bench in his memory.” The engraving on the bench reads: "Bernard Goss, A true Rotarian. Supporter of Hammerwood House and Wonderful Family Man" Pictured here, in the center Michael Goss (Bernard's Son) with members of the Rotary Club and their wives. |
5th June - Rotary Reaches out again!
On another glorious day, many gathered to welcome nearly 100 elderly guests to our annual event at Warlingham School, this year celebrating the 170th anniversary of the trooping of the colour.
This is our largest community event of the year and as always we are grateful to all those who made it possible. This year, the Oxted Band played stirring brass band music to help us celebrate this important occasion. As ever, Tom Ho and his band of dedicated helpers ensured a feast fit for a queen was provided for our guests.
Maurice Hyde florists provided table decorations and balloons which helped to create the mood.
We are grateful to local Rotary Clubs, our own members and friends and all of you who came out to help on this day.
Our thanks also go out to the many organisations that allowed us to borrow minibusses to collect and return our guests. 
26th May - Kid's Out
Members and friends of the club treated our young friends from a local special needs school to a day out to Horton Park Farm in Epsom. Starting with an enjoyable time in the soft play area, our guests then enjoyed a tractor ride around the farm, time to meet the animals and play in an outside activity area.
Particularly popular was the huge ‘bouncy cushion’ enjoyed not only by our guests but also by members of our club. As ever, fun was had by all and the weather was kind to us.
Vice President Tim Parr said “It was great to have the opportunity to spend time with these important children. The atmosphere throughout the day was incredibly positive with parents, helpers, teachers and the kids having a whale of a time.”
15th May - Quiz Night
Our ever popular quiz night again drew a record number of teams to Warlingham School on this warm evening for a hotly contested team quiz event. Defending their title were 'Johnny and the Moondogs' and despite valiant effort from the other teams they swept to victory once again.
Everyone enjoyed a Tom Ho supper, following which they found the answers that had been eluding them all evening. Well done to our second Vice President - Bill Fisher for selflessly taking the wooden spoon and sparing everyone else from the embarrasment of last place.
President Joe said "It is wonderful to see so many people entering this quiz - it seems to become more popular every year. My thanks go to all those who made this evening possible."
12th May - Steam and Cream
Finally, a day out that was just for us and our families. The sun shone, it was a beautiful day, the flowers were exceptional and nostalgia was in the air as we enjoyed a train ride on the Bluebell railway and a stroll through the grounds of Sheffield Park.
As ever, food is never very far from the mind of a Rotarian and today we enjoyed a superb traditional English cream tea from the comfort of our seats on the train.
Highly reccommended - what a great day out!
7th May - Trinity Quiz Night
At Trinity School, members and friends met to compete in a charity fundraising quiz in aid of a local children's hospice. Our team, President's dilema, put on a valiant show (thanks particularly to Will) but, not wanting to show everyone up, arranged matters so that we would come in a very respectable (and respectful) second place.
Our own Tom Ho was providing the supper and so of course we were all very full by the end of the quiz. A good fun evening was had by all concerned.
17th April - Rotary Gambles on a Casino Fundraiser
Members, friends and guests gathered at St. Anthony's Hall, Hamsey Green, to enjoy the first annual Casino Evening. Games ranging from Roulette to the more difficult Craps (and everything in between) proved a great success with all those who attended.
We are grateful as ever to Tom Ho for his usual superb supper and after an evening of fun and games both first and second prizes for the highest number of chips at the end of the evening were awarded to ladies - well done girls!
Vice President Tim Parr (pictured with our two winners) said "This was a wonderful evening and I hope the first of many. I would like to thank particularly those members of the club and friends who gave up their weekends to practice running the games. Your dedication allowed us to provide a really professional evening."
8th March - Schools Debates
The annual school debating competition was again held at Warlingham School where teams from Caterham, Reigate and Croydon schools went head to head in a bid to win over the audience opinion on a variety of subjects ranging from the reformation of our political system to women’s involvement in cricket.
After a hard fought battle, Croydon high school were victorious and are pictured with the President of the Rotary Club of Reigate receiving their reward.
President Joe said “The standard of the debating was exceptionally high this year and I send my warmest congratulations to all those who participated.”
6th March - Rotary Springs into Action
On what was actually quite a nice weekend for a change a number of members of the club made their way to the home of 'Mr March' (Bernard) to collect spring plants to deliver to elderly residents in our area. With very few exceptions, the plants were all well received, with one Rotarian even spending an hour having a cup of tea and a chat - which is, after all, what the exercise is all about. It is fair to say that some of us had slight difficulties gaining access to deliver our plants, but undaunted we left them in the porch and legged it. Reports have been coming in from all our delivering Rotarians and the information gained is as always useful in the planning of our reachout event later in this year. President Joe has been inundated with thankyou notes and cards from the grateful recipients of the plants. He said "We are as ever grateful to Knight's Garden Centers who provided the plants, to Bernard for nurturing them and to record number of members of our club who gave their time so willingly."
27th February - Rotary Gives Thanks for Life
This year, Rotary International is aiming to raise millions of US Dollars in a campaign to eliminate polio. The Chinese New Year dinner succeeded in raising an amazing £900 in support of this cause. In February, all five Croydon clubs together with the Coulsdon and Purley Clubs, raised, through a variety of activities, including standing with collecting tines in the Whitgift Centre, Tesco’s and Knights Garden Centre, almost £4000, of which Croydon South contributed some £1200 – a great effort again!
19th February - Year of the Tiger Arrives With a Bang
On a cold February afternoon the Club members foregathered to set up the main hall in Warlingham School for what promised to be a fun packed evening with our chums. Members worked tirelessly to dress the hall and make it ready to receive our guests. With the start time drawing ever nearer , Tom and his team were laying out the food area, lanterns and lights were being hung in the hall, tables laid, the raffle table dressed, and music made ready to play. With the count down showing seconds to spare the team took a final breath before opening the doors and greeting the hoards.
Indeed the masses gathered to bid a fond welcome to the year of the Tiger, and with everything in place it was all systems go. As ever Tom Ho from Kelong Restaurant provided a fantastic spread with no less than a fifteen course buffet. Our guests returned to the buffet on several occasions and many remarked on the superb food. With a bar manned throughout the evening our guests had been fed, watered and made ready to experience our dance troop.
This year as in others our trusty Lion Dance Troop performed the traditional New Year dance, demonstrated their gymnastic abilities followed by a sword fighting demonstration. The haunting and motivational percussion drum galvanized everyone into life, and as our guests gasped in amazement they were inspired by the remarkable antics of this agile and youthful troop. Fortunately our guests did not have to take part in the display but offers are being seriously considered for next year ! More food, as if that were possible, including sweets, tea and coffee were made available, and in the last moments of a frantic evening we bid our friends a fond farewell – until next time.
President Joe Trickey said “It was fantastic to see such support for this magnificent event. Without exception all the comments I have seen are highly praiseworthy of the organisation, food and entertainment for the evening. My particular thanks go to Tom for providing us with a most excellent meal."
Thanks to the generosity of our guests the evening including the raffle raised a fantastic amount of money in support of our charity ‘Thanks for Life’ which will allow Rotary to endeavour to eradicate polio in the four remaining countries in the world. To our members, guests and friends – Thanks A Million.
15th February - Urban Survivors Set the Pace
Friend of the Rotary club and former member Maureen Pembridge spoke to us at our Monday lunch today on the topic of 'Urban Survivors'. Maureen is a member of a national badger protection charity and these are the survivors of the title. The society are very active in caring for abandoned or injured badgers and reintroducing them to the wild. She explained how artificial sets were made and deployed as well as the precautions that were necessary to avoid the animals becoming too domesticated. All in all she gave a fascinating and enlightening insight into the lives of these seemingly ordinary creatures.
After the talk, President Joe was delighted to present a cheque to support the work of this charity.
6th February - All goes swimmingly at Purley pool
The Croydon South Flyers (Sir Humph, Vivien, Graham, Banda and Tricia) stormed to success at the annual Swimathon organised by the Rotary Club of Purley. Raising £641 for our Rotary Charities our brave quintet flew the flag for our club managing 102 lengths in an hour. Soggy, but with their honour completely intact our team withdrew for a well earned drink and to discuss their strategy. From a spectator's point of view it was interesting to see that each swimmer had a very different and individual style, with no two of them employing the same stroke. It was an exciting spectacle and the fans were particularly frenzied as the length count approached the 100 mark. Spectator and ppp, Wendy Bourner said "Graham dived into the pool in the remaining 60 seconds of the hour. It was tense and exciting to see if he could complete the length in the time that remained. We cheered, we shouted, we thundered with applause, some of us passed out with the excitement, but those who retained their consciousness were treated with the sight of Graham storming to victory with only seconds to spare. My word!"
On a more serious note, it is gratifying to see new members of the club being involved in such an active and committed way. Tricia is our newest member and Graham and Vivien have both joined in the last few years. We are also particularly grateful to Banda who is not (yet) a member of the club but was helping out as a friend of Tricia. President Joe Trickey said "It is nice to see our new members getting involved in this event. It also highlight the fact that Rotary does more than just eat, drink and have a jolly good time."
1st February - President Joe Inoculates/Anoints/Induces or Inducts new Vice President, Tim Parr
President Joe was delighted to induct Tim Parr as first Vice President of our club at the meeting held on the 1st February. Tim will become President on the 1st July. after Joe's President's weekend. Tim joined our Club in 2008 and is the systems development manager for Warlingham School. Tim is following in the footsteps of his father, a former member of the Rotary Club of Caterham. Tim said "I am delighted and honoured to be taking this position and would like to thank all the members of the club for the support I have already received. I am hoping that we can continue the positive atmosphere that the last few presidents have inculcated and hope to pass on a happy, lively and active club to my successor next year."
December - Christmas Collections, Santa at Knights and the Christmas Parcel Delivery
Cometh December its Christmas all the way. By 23rd December still trying to get through the collections meant that even IPP Bernard could not be encouraged to complete Are you looking forward to Christmas ? ………………….. with a smile until he climbed onto the float for the last evening and as ever, despite the rain and the ice he made Christmas come true for so many children. Can I thank all those who were Santa on the float or in the grotto, those who collected, hosted, marshaled, drove the vehicles, counted the money, maintained the system, housed the float and made the process of raising in the region of £6k look so easy and enjoyable. This year we welcome Will Ryan to the ranks of Santa for the first time, we look forward to many more opportunities in the future.
I would like to thank Bernard who said he really didn’t want to be Santa on the sleigh this year, but agreed to help me out whenever he could, and he did – thanks a million. Santa’s stood to attention for six long weeks to provide Santa every weekend and sometimes during the week for special needs children at Knights in Chelsham – you were all great, and your services were appreciated by the children concerned, by me, and importantly by David Knight. A cheque is still to come but we confidently expect over £1k for our services, a great contribution to our fund raising this year as ever.
This year we trialled gift aid envelopes on three routes and so far the signs are encouraging, whilst our Treasurer as ever is cautious, we have our fingers crossed that we may be lucky to receive in the region of £250.00 if the authorities are on our side and happy with our return. So, whilst we must not count our chickens just yet, we are hopeful, and plan that the exercise may be repeated next year. Thank Tim for the idea and Ian for his hard work on the night and with the return.
Just when we finally thought we had braved the worst of the weather, the failing sound system and the administrative error made by Waitrose, with the collections behind us and Knights counting our pennies, – it was Christmas Day, with the paths still icy but time to meet for breakfast before delivering our parcels to those in need throughout the area.
Rotarians and their grandchildren, children and partners gathered at Tim’s home for Tom to lay on, as ever, a superb breakfast which fortified us to brave the still slightly icy conditions in order to deliver our parcels. I am delighted to say that only one parcel was returned due to a house move. The remaining items not used in the parcels and the returned parcel have been passed to Purley Baptist Church for inclusion in their shelter for the homeless which runs over the Christmas and New Year period. Thanks to everyone who gave up their Christmas morning to bring cheer to those less fortunate, and in particular to IPP Bernard who celebrates his 39th year of distributing parcels on Christmas morning – thank you so much for the commitment and support, and from all those who have received parcels from you over the years. This is certainly a model to which we should all aspire.
1st December - Christmas Dinner and Will Ryan's induction
The Christmas Dinner was as ever a jolly affair, well attended at the Chateaux, with former members wives, friends, Hon members, members of Inner Wheel and of course our partners and families in attendance. Vivien Beal spoke with great enthusiasm inspiringly of her experiences in the USA with Surrey Harmony. We should hear more of this throughout the year perhaps. Delighted to see Will Ryan inducted on the evening, a great start to his Rotary career, and well done Graham Upton his sponsor. An enjoyable and varied evening as ever heralded the busy month to come.
21st November - 60s Night, Music and Dancing to 'Out of the Shadows'
St. Anthonys was the venue for our ever-popular 60s night. As usual we were entertained by the very talented 60's music combo 'Out of the Shadows' playing all of our favourite hits from the period. The band proudly boasts a number of Rotarians amongst their members (but sadly none from our club). Their support for our fund raising event gained us a record profit which will help us to support local Rotary charities.
Tom Ho was at his best for this evening providing us a remarkable range of dishes, both Oriental and Western, which were much enjoyed by all, including the band.
13th November - Skittles at the Haycutter Enjoyed by All
Another win for the Inner Wheel club of Purley. Following on from the success of Margaret Franklin at our Croquet event, Joy Guilford, pictured left, clinched her victory in our annual club skittles evening. During an exciting two round game, many skittles were felled, many beers drunk, much food consumed and muscles sprained - all in the cause of winning the coveted trophy.
7th November - Another Successful Craft
Despite appalling weather in the morning the annual craft fair at Warlingham School was the biggest ever. With over 50 stalls selling everything from amythist broaches to zig-zag needlework and more than 400 customers all agreed it was a roaring success. As usual Tom Ho did a brisk trade selling his oriental and western meals in the food hall, and our club sold an array of mouth watering home made cakes.
After a day of retail therapy followed by a good meal, our customers retired content and pledging to return next year.
President Joe Trickey said "Thanks are due to everyone who made the day such a great success. There is no doubt that this popular event goes from strength to strength and we look forward to next year with great anticipation".
October 2009 - Croydon South welcomes its newest member
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Tricia Underwood was warmly welcomed into the Club on Monday 19th October, we are sure that she will make a great contribution to our Club. Tricia is based in the Croydon area and practices as an alternative therapist. Tricia said "Thank you for the warm welcome. I am delighted to be joining such an active and high spirited club." |
14th September 2009 - Conquering Croquet Hero Gets Her Just Reward
Member of Purley Inner Wheel Margaret Franklin attended Rotary lunch on Monday to collect a shield as the winner of the croquet competition held in July in her own garden. President Joe was delighted to make the presentation on behalf of the members of the Club, despite not wining the competition himself. A fiercely fought contest ended with an exciting climax and Margaret swept the board to become our new champion. President Joe said “I am delighted to present Margaret with this award and look forward to the opportunity of winning this magnificent shield next year”. |
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12th September - Cookery Demonstration at Kelong Restaurant
We are grateful to Kelong restaurant who kindly hosted our thai cookery demonstration on Saturday, 12 September 2009 which raised £175.00 for our Rotary charities. The day was a huge success and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.
The day commenced with Wei (the chef) demonstrating how to cook a selection of dishes to a keen and eager audience. Once the demonstration had been completed, everyone indulged in a delicious lunch that included prawn balls with a cucumber and sweet chili dip, thai style curry & mango with sticky rice and coconut milk amongst other dishes. Of course the Pimm's was also enjoyed very much! There were even an array of ingredients which were used in the lunch's cooking, available to buy so everyone could go home and practice what they had just learnt with the aid of the detailed recipes we provided them with.
We would like to extend our thanks to Wei, all at the restaurant staff and all of you who attended the day and helped us raise so much money.
We would also like to take this opportunity to let you know that Kelong are holding a Special Noodles Weekend (25th-27th September). Standing in for President Joe, Ex-Ex-President Wendy Bourner said
"The day was a great success and very well attended. We were particularly pleased to see some new faces amongst our faithful supporters. The cookery demonstration is starting to become a firm tradition for our club. We are grateful to Wei who stood in for Tom on very short notice. Of course we all wish Tom all the best for a speedy recovery."
26th July 2009 - Croquet and Cream Tea
The annual croquet match took place this Saturday at the home of Alan and Margaret Franklin who provided an olympic standard cross country croquet court. Umpire Tim Parr organised the event and managed to keep order amidst the excitement and anticipation of all those taking part. The competition was divided into three rounds, the preliminaries, semi finals and grand final. Our worthy winner this year, defeating a team of 3 men was our hostess, Margaret Franklin, pictured receiving flowers from the president as well as her winner's trophy. Refreshments were provided by Tom Ho and others and as usual these comprised a veritable feast, including Pimms, Sandwiches, Home-Made Cakes, Strawberries and Cream and of course, a cream tea. President Joe said "It was great fun. We ate well, played well and went home happy. My congratulations to Margaret and grateful thanks to all who made the day a great success."
20th July 2009 - New Member Taeko Marveley inducted
We are delighted to welcome our newest member, Taeko to our club. She was inducted by President Joe during our lunchtime meeting today. Taeko was introduced to our club by her good friend, Tom Ho, one of our longest serving members. She has recently returned from Japan where she runs a flower-arranging school. Among her claims to fame are providing arrangements for the palace of the Emperor of Japan. Taeko has already made great contributions to the life and work of the club and we look forward to a long association with her.
4th July 2009 - Summer Fun in Coulsdon
President Joe led his team to Coulsdon Manor Rotary Club's annual fayre, as ever opened by the Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Margaret Mead. The sun shone, the sky was blue, children played and there was a huge banana by the announcement tent. Croydon South displayed an example of the Shelter Tent and the public were very supportive. As part of Rotary's 'Stroke Awareness' campaign, we encouraged many members of the public to have their blood pressures checked. We also sold strawberries and cream, watermelon and fresh fruit to raise money for our many charities. A great time was had by all our members and not a few of the punters. President Joe Trickey said "We had a wonderful day and raised over £350 for the shelterbox scheme. I would like to thank all the members of my team for their hard work for the day in making this the success it undoubtedly was."
