Club News

The Club has now resumed its regular evening meetings after a short break over Christmas and New Year. At two of the January meetings there were guest speakers who talked to members on two very different topics.

Peter Kean is an ambassador for Trinity House, the official authority for lighthouses in England & Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. Himself a retired merchant mariner, Peter spoke about the history of Trinity House from the granting of its first Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1514 to the present day. There have of course been many developments over such a long period of time. There were shore-based lighthouses to start with, followed by the first rock lighthouse in 1698 on the Eddystone Rock. Then light-vessels were added in places such as river estuaries. The first of these was in position in 1732 near the Nore Sands in the mouth of the Thames.

Lighthouses are no longer manned as the lights themselves are now automated and solar-powered, as are the buoys which Trinity House is responsible for. Global positioning and e-navigation systems are just two of the latest technological developments which have been introduced.

All a far cry from the oil lamps in the original lighthouses, but all still designed to ensure the safety of shipping and the well-being of seafarers.

Peter’s talk was of particular interest as Faversham is so close to the sea and the busy Thames estuary.

The Rotary Club’s traditional Christmas Lunch for the elderly could not take place so we found a different way to remember local care home residents, inviting local primary schools to join us, with three taking part – St Mary of Charity, Ospringe and Davington. 

The Rotary Club donated card and envelopes and teachers encouraged the children to design Christmas cards with cheerful messages written inside. One resident of the Almshouses said it had made her day to receive a card.

In the meantime a Faversham Rotarian who really enjoys shopping spent a couple of weeks searching out suitable gifts for 176 residents of Carnalea and Cooksditch Residential Homes and the Almshouses. Fellow Rotarians volunteered to individually wrap all the presents, which included seasonal chocolate, cuddly toys, toiletries and mugs. These were then distributed together with the Christmas  cards. 

On behalf of the residents and staff at the Almshouses, Carolyn Flanagan said “It was lovely to see the smiles on Residents’ faces when they received their gift. We, the staff, really enjoyed giving out the gifts – it was a lot of fun. These things really do make a huge difference.”

Cooksditch requested donations of food for their annual Christmas party and were  happy to receive mince pies, home made cakes and chocolate sweets donated by the U3A. 

Faversham Rotary Club is delighted that local schools are willing to participate in the club’s Christmas activities. The elderly residents feel valued by their community and the children happily share their enthusiasm for the Festive Season.

This year was very different from previous years: fewer street collections with no door knocking, lots more static collections at supermarkets and at the Town Hall, more social media, the support of our Friends and dealing with covid.

It was heart-warming to see so many people of all ages waiting outside their doors for the float to arrive on their streets. The smiling faces of the children said it all as they spotted the penguins, reindeer and of course Father Christmas. Many said that it was great to see the Rotary Carol Tour again after missing a year in 2020. Seeing the float marks the arrival of Christmas for lots of families.

Rotarians and Friends enjoyed seeing all the colourful Christmas lights and the creative ways that houses and gardens were decorated. Some must have taken a very long time to do!

There were more collections at supermarkets this year and the Club would like to thank them all for their help. Morrisons and Tesco let us set up our music outside their front doors for a total of five days. Macknade Food Hall found space for the float, just outside their door, for two very busy days. They all have some very generous customers!

The street and store collections raised an amazing total of more than £3200. 

A huge “Thank You” to everyone who made a donation. The money will be used mainly on the many local projects that the Club supports, with a small proportion being spent overseas.