Rotary Club of Romney Marsh newsletter MARCH 2022 Welcome to our March Newsletter just as life for all of us is gradually getting back to what might be considered ‘normal’. Burns Night What a great evening and time we all had in St Mary’s Bay. Thanks to Andrew Sinden who orchestrated the entire event from food, music, games and a quiz. Everyone enjoyed a classic three course Burns Night meal, lovingly prepared and served by various Rotarians including the classic tradition of piped music for the haggis presentation. A big “thank you” to the couple who responded on the day to a Facebook request for kitchen help. The meal was followed by a chance to win the bottle of Scotch by rolling a £1 coin closest to the bottle, and then a challenging quiz with all questions, understandably, being connected with Scotland: not quite so easy for everyone. It was lovely to see so many people attend and fully get into the spirit by wearing tartan. All proceeds for the evening have been donated to ‘Shelterbox’. Big thanks to those who gave up their time and effort to ensure smooth running, quality food and entertainment. Games Evening Yet another entertaining event, this one being hosted by Barbara and Lindy for both Club Members and their partners. A compact, competitive and skill challenging evening comprising various games both table and indoor floor games. Great fun had by all. Mobile Phone Appeal As you may remember our club launched a Mobile Phone Appeal last September for the Charity “Porchlight” which was due to end in November. However so great was the response that our Appeal was continued until the end of January. We eventually handed the final batch of phones and chargers to Georgia Cook of “Porchlight” (pictured right with President Barbara Gold) on 21st of February, in total collecting 128 used mobile phones, which were very kindly given by the generosity of both the Marsh community and members of the Rotary Club in Chatham. All in all a wonderful collaboration from both the Marsh Community and Rotary club friendship. Georgia has written to say, “Thank you so much from staff and clients at ‘Porchlight’ to everyone who so kindly donated towards this mobile phone appeal. Your generosity has been amazing, with so many phones being donated to our Outreach Service so that they can give them to our clients. A mobile phone can be a lifeline for many and something we often take for granted. So thank you for helping to make life a little easier for those who are struggling most in our community”

CARM – “Generations Connect” We welcomed Kath Jones and Helen Mattock from “Generations Connect” who gave the club an interesting and thought provoking talk on their new innovative project. This project is Lottery-funded and strives to combat loneliness across generations being run in partnership by CARM and Romney Resource Centre. Giving an opportunity for adults to share their knowledge, skills and experiences with younger people by either demonstration, activity or talk, working together to tackle and bridge the gap between the generations, sharing and teaching new skills and experiences, and formulating new friendships. Updates Gill Singfield advised that the Young Writer competition is up and running, all entries are now in and submitted to district level. Work is under way for our quiz night on 7th May at the New Romney Bowls club, just £5 pp, contact Andrew Sinden if you are interested on 01797 362097 or email asinden@vfast.co.uk Forthcoming Events March 10th March: Talk by Shepway Foodbank 16th March: Cultural Visit to Tenterden 24th March: “My Job Talk” Julie Lawrence 31st March: Partners Night Newchurch April: 27th April: Charity Golf Day as details opposite 28th April: “My Job Talk” tbc 29th April: Club visit to Gelsenkirchen Birthdays coming up in March & April: Happy birthday one and all! Nigel Whiteley 23rd March Mark Singfield 10th April The club sends its best wishes to Spencer Buck for a continued recovery. So what do I do if I want to join? We’ll be delighted to welcome new Members to the club. If you are interested in joining us, get in touch via email info@romneymarshrotary.co.uk or check out our website – www.romneymarshrotary.co.uk where you can also find out a little more about who we are and what we do. ‘Reg’d charity no 281361’