Club News

In June a group of club members, partners and friends visited Provender House, the home of Princess Olga Romanoff, whose father Prince Andrew was the eldest nephew of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia.

The house dates back to the 13th century and was named after its first owner Sir John de Provender. An extraordinary succession of people have passed through Provender over the centuries, with its connections to Joseph Banks and to Jane Austen’s family.

The tour of this fascinating house takes in the history of English architecture and of course the stories of the remarkable people who have lived there. The Rotary visitors heard first hand recollections from Princess Olga as she guided the group around her family home.

The visit finished with tea and cake in the dining room. A splendid setting!

www.provenderhouse.co.uk

At the end of May, a party of seven Rotarians and their partners travelled to Germany where they were hosted by the Rotary Club of Soest-Lippstadt. They were joined by a group of fourteen from the Rotary Club of Harderwijk in the Netherlands, the third club in this contact group.

As usual on these occasions there was a busy programme of varied activities throughout the weekend, starting with an informal get-together and barbecue on Friday evening.

On Saturday morning we all met at Lippstadt golf club to discover how agriculture had given way to golf and leisure, followed by a friendly putting competition and lunch.

A cultural visit in the afternoon took us to the Abbey Museum at Liesborn where the Liesborn gospel takes pride of place. This manuscript has only recently been returned to Liesborn where it was created over 1000 years ago.

Another change of mood – and clothes! – was needed for the formal dinner on Saturday evening. A delicious meal was followed by speeches from the Club Presidents. The Harderwijk guests entertained everyone with their performance of how all the Dutch learn to swim – essential in a country where so much land is below sea level !!

A leisurely start to Sunday found us at a gallery of modern art in Soest before moving on for lunch in a local restaurant. All too soon it was time to say good-bye to friends old and new.

It was certainly an action-packed weekend, but there was also plenty of time for fun and friendship, two of the cornerstones of Rotary.

Organised by Faversham Rotary Club, this year’s Family Bike Ride took place on Sunday 1st June and for the fourth year running the weather was fine and sunny, if a bit breezy. 172 riders, the most yet, were started on their way by Cllr Josh Rowland, Mayor of Faversham.

The 12.5km route started and finished at the Abbey School, with the riders cycling through some of the beautiful countryside around Faversham.

Three generations of riders – children, parents and grandparents – were in some of the family groups and almost 50% of the cyclists were under 16years old. The youngest who completed the route under their own pedal power were just five years old. Even younger children were on child seats or in trailers on adults’ bikes. Well done everyone!

Judging by all the smiling faces when everyone arrived back, the riders had certainly had a good time and all the route marshals enjoyed cheering them on their way.

All that fresh air and exercise meant that the 1st Faversham Scouts were kept busy cooking for the cyclists when they returned. Bacon baps were very popular.

Thanks go to everyone involved, but particularly all the cyclists who took part.  

See you all again next year!

But the last word goes to the rather tired young rider who told a marshal at the half-way point that he was determined to finish so he could collect his medal to show to his school friends. He did reach the finish!