Association of Inner Wheel Clubs in Great Britain & Ireland Spring 2020 | Issue 61
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Innerwheel ASSOCIATION OF INNER WHEEL CLUBS IN GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND SPRING 2020 | ISSUE 61 ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT Enid Law’s Charity for 2019-2020 www.innerwheel.co.uk I know many of you have already been fundraising for RDA. I visited the Leeds RDA centre on Boxing Day and saw for myself President how hard the volunteers work under difficult conditions. If you haven’t already done so, please make contact with your local centre to see for yourselves the valuable work being Enid’s Letter carried out. With all my good wishes to you all for 2020. Please carry on working together in the true spirit of friendship. Spring 2020 With my Kindest Regards, Dear Friends, With sincere love, support and friendship, I am sure you will forgive me for beginning this message to you on a very personal note. We often talk, perhaps somewhat Enid glibly, of the comfort of the “Inner Wheel blanket” . Well I have certainly experienced that warmth and comfort in the last few difficult weeks. I have been overwhelmed by all your cards and messages of sympathy to myself and my family. We cannot thank you enough for your generous donations to the charities we support. We must all look forward as a new year - indeed a new decade - brings us fresh opportunities and challenges. I know you will all be working hard in your communities to enhance the name of Inner Wheel and thus allow our great Association to continue. The Conference Committee under the chairmanship of Sue Allen is working hard to make sure your visit to Belfast will be a memorable one. I look forward to meeting you all there in April. It is a wonderful city and we are assured of a warm Irish welcome. Margarette Golding Award for Mary Clough Mary Clough of the Inner Wheel Club of Blyth (District 3) was presented with a Margarette Golding Award for 65 years of service to the community at the Inner Wheel Club of Blyth’s Interclub on 11th November 2019, by District Chairman Gill Boag-Munroe. She was thrilled, as were the members, that we had been successful in securing the Award for her. Her daughter and Margarette Golding Award granddaughter arrived to see the presentation. Sadly, Mary was Award for Mavis Silley admitted to hospital the following day and Brigg Inner Wheel Club (District 127) is full of amazing ladies although she spent but one in particular stands out spectacularly, not just for her a week in a Nursing work and dedication to Inner Wheel, but for the voluntary work Home, she was within the various local communities that she has lived in. This readmitted to hospital is especially true of the involvement that she has had with St where she died on Andrew’s Hospice at Grimsby since its inception 40 years ago. 22nd January 2020. It is because of this dedication to helping others that Mavis has been awarded a Margarette Golding Award. We, in the Inner Wheel Club of Blyth, We presented the award to Mavis at our October meeting, a already miss her so special evening anyway as it was our club member and District much but we can Chairman Pat Alston’s official visit. Special guests in the form hear her chivvying us of her husband, son and daughter surprised the unsuspecting along. Mavis while VIP guest, Association Past President Ann Acaster, had travelled from York to be at this auspicious occasion. It was a most exciting and emotional meeting that won’t be forgotten in a hurry! Page. 2 Innerwheel Honour for Member of Crook Club The Inner Wheel Club of Crook (D3) is very proud to share the following statement made by Sue Snowdon, Lord Lieutenant of Durham. “On the instructions of Her Majesty The Queen, The Sovereign Head of The Priory of England and the Islands of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, and of His Royal Highness Richard Duke of Gloucester the Grand Prior, I was invested yesterday with the Insignia of Commander of the Order. The Order of St John is a Christian Order of Chivalry. Its roots go back many centuries to the first hospital in Jerusalem. The Order has a long and fascinating history, but the nature of the Order as a Christian Order is not just about its foundation and history, it is a present reality, being a major international charity with over 250,000 volunteers and staff in more than 40 countries. The Priory in which yesterday’s Investiture took place stands on the site of the original round church built by the Knights of St John and consecrated in 1185. Today only the Crypt of this church survives. Rebuilt several times, today the Priory Church is used for the services and investitures of the Order. It was an amazing experience for my husband and I, a special day, a great privilege for me to be received 50 years into the Order.” Sue has been a member of our Club since 2006. She has of Riding for the Disabled devoted much of her life to supporting and fundraising for charities, in particular the work of Cancer Research, Our Club, Edgbaston Convention, was delighted when both locally and nationally and to hospice care across one of our members, Maggie, was fortunate to be the Lieutenancy area and when time allows, is an active selected to attend a reception in London in December member of Inner Wheel. 2019 in the company of the Princess Royal to celebrate 50 years of Riding for the Disabled Association. The Thanks to Margaret Compton reception was held at Saddler’s Hall in the City of London which is a very splendid building and home to the City of London Livery companies. By all accounts it was a lively affair – lots of chat whilst attendees waited to be introduced and not too much formality. The Princess Royal was introduced and spoke to all 120 guests; an enjoyable occasion. RDA, which is Association President Enid Law’s chosen charity, is a national charity which provides riding, carriage driving, vaulting and show jumping to children and adults. Today RDA has 500 Member Groups with 18,000 volunteers helping over 25,000 people. Maggie first became involved many years ago when working as a physiotherapist with children and on retiring, became a volunteer. The Princess Royal is President of the Association and very supportive. RDA is a wonderful organisation and gives lots of coaching, therapy, pleasure and fun to all its participants and volunteers too! Maggie Moore is delighted that the Association of Inner Wheel Clubs in GB & I is supporting RDA this year. Gay Bligh Inner Wheel Club of Edgbaston Convention - District 6 www.innerwheel.co.uk Page. 3 this challenge and succeed. Matida will be joining us at GOVI Fulfilling a dream sometime in Feb to see what has actually been achieved. The experience I’ve chosen to share is one that took us to Dakar As Ambassador of Sightbox Trust, my dream was to go back to in Senegal. I had done some research prior to Nov 9th and The Gambia and spend time with visually impaired children and discovered Mercy Ships was docked in Dakar until June 2020. young adults developing their communication skills, confidence I sent an email explaining who I was and what I was doing and and independence. So having given up a full time job, with much asked if it would be possible to board the ship. After some time, planning and a programme put together with the Rotary Club in I received an email to say that we could go on board the ship for The Gambia by which the project is supported, we packed 120kg a 2-hour tour to see the work that was being done to improve of equipment including our clothing. We held a bon voyage people’s lives. As you can imagine, this was an experience never party to say farewell to family and friends and Nigel, my husband to forget. Meeting the crew, surgeons, patients and their families and I took off on November 9th 2019 from Manchester Airport was truly amazing. What made the experience even more to Banjul, The Gambia for 5 months. special was that I was allowed, as Ambassador of Sightbox Trust, On arrival at Banjul airport we were unexpectedly met at the to present the ship with a Sightbox to help those patients and bottom of the steps of the plane by VIP security. Bags were their families who had sight issues. This box will now remain on collected and we were driven to where we would be staying board and will travel wherever the ship goes. New Mercy Ships for the 5 months. Our accommodation was a 2-bed bungalow being built will also have Sightbox on board. What an honour for semi-furnished in a secure compound - with a 4 x 4 vehicle. It Sightbox Trust and also to be allowed to go on board at any time did not take long to settle in amongst our friends and acclimatise I wish in the future. to 11 hours of hot sunshine every day and the challenges of daily This has certainly been one special dream and I hope you have water and power failure! enjoyed reading about it and for those on Facebook seeing Many meetings were planned in our programme – this included many more photos. I return to the UK at the end of March those with various Government Ministers, the British High 2020 and I look forward to seeing many of you in April at our Commissioner, the 5 Rotary Clubs in The Gambia and visiting Conference in Belfast.