Club News

The Club held its first Burns Night Dinner on 24^th January, the nearest club meeting to Burns Night on the 25^th.

Members and guests were well fed by Kevin and his team at Faversham Golf Club. The three course menu started with pate, followed of course by haggis, chappit carrots & neeps, and mashed potato, (with salmon available for the less adventurous!) and a dessert of cranachan.

The proper ceremonies were observed – the haggis was piped in, then addressed by Billy Rae, who was resplendent in traditional Highland dress. Club President Scott Reeve then ceremonially stabbed the haggis with a sgian-dubh (skee-en doo).

Doug Rogers delivered an address to the lassies which was very well responded to by Emily Kirsch-Mills.

Poetry readings included  “To a Mouse” and “For A’ That” and there was singing by Billy Rae, whose splendid renditions of “Scots Wha Hae”, “Ae Fond Kiss” and “For A’ That” were much appreciated.

The evening concluded with “Auld Lang Syne”.  

Here’s the final result for this year’s Christmas collection. It is an amazing total of £4,472.56!!

This is a record amount, made all the more remarkable by these difficult times. 

The live tracking of the float via the website was definitely well-used. Father Christmas can be quite elusive so it was good to know where he was! An excellent addition by Santa’s elves.

The float is much appreciated, it was looked forward to on the regular routes and warmly welcomed on the new estates. The praise for the float and the Club has been enormous, with one lady reduced to tears because the float and the music were so lovely. We were offered mince pies (more than once), shortbread and mulled wine by Faversham’s generous residents. Many people said that Christmas begins for them when the Carol tour starts.

Rotarians and their friends really enjoy taking the Carol Tour around the town. It’s lovely to see the reactions of all the children - both young and old! 

Thanks to the donations collected on the Carol Tour, the Club will be able to continue its support of many local charities and groups in the coming months.

A huge “THANK YOU” to everyone who contributed so generously.

Faversham Rotary isn’t one of Rotary’s larger clubs, but its members have certainly been busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

The town’s Umbrella Centre is a designated Warm Hub and Rotary has provided mince pies for local residents who drop in. The town’s Food Bank asked for 50 advent calendars which the Club was able to provide, so children and their parents could enjoy the fun of opening a window each day until the 25^th.  Club members have donated various cakes, sweets and mince pies for parties for senior citizens at Age UK and residential homes in the town.

Two local schools were also involved in the Club’s Christmas activities. St Mary of Charity and Davington Primary Schools made Christmas cards for each resident living in the town’s Almshouses and care homes. Pupils from the same schools also took part in a competition to design posters for the Club’s Carol Tour. The winning posters were used around the town to advertise the Tour and were on display in the Town Hall exhibition area for a week. The pupils who created the winning posters and cards received tickets to the Christmas Show at the Arden Theatre in Faversham.

Faversham Rotary provided over 80 tickets for a group of Faversham’s Young Carers to see this year’s Christmas Show at the Arden Theatre, a visit jointly arranged by Rotary and Imago.  The young carers saw the Arden’s production of Alice in Wonderland. Adapted from the story by Lewis Carroll, Alice embarks on 13 adventures in Wonderland – and through the Looking Glass. The Arden theatre gave chocolate bars to each of the young carers.

A busy time for Faversham Rotarians and their friends & families who help them.