Our visit to the Rotary Conference 2010
Rotary Conference – Isle of Man. 17th – 19th September 2010.
Jottings from Sue Cannell, Inner Wheel Club of Rochdale.
You may notice in this report that there is a definite bias towards the favourable attributes of the beautiful Isle of Man. The reason for this is that my husband’s parents originated from the island and our surname is Manx. We love the island, and visit fairly regularly, so know most of it intimately and spent a few days in Peel on the West coast prior to the Conference. Indeed it was very appropriate that the conference was held here during my husband’s year as President of Rochdale Rotary Club.
We arrived in Douglas from Peel (a mere 30 minutes drive) on the Friday morning in order firstly to secure a good and permanent car parking space in front of the hotel for the weekend and secondly as we needed to settled in our hotel and ready to attend the first session at 2p.m. District Governor Bernard Tupman opened the Conference and Rotary President of Douglas welcomed us. Two presentations followed firstly ‘New Generations’ by D.C. Rosemary Boardman, followed by ‘Youth Projects in the Isle of Man’ by Ged Power. R.I.B.I. President Jim Moulson then addressed the audience, followed by the Presentation of District Awards by I.P.D.G. Elizabeth Tatman. John and I were delighted that Rochdale Rotary Club won an award for its work with The Befriending Scheme’. Unfortunately its creator, Mike Tomkinson, was unable to attend conference this year. After dinner in our hotel most of us from Rochdale walked back to the Villa Marina (where the conference was held) and greatly enjoyed the evening’s entertainment, which consisted of the Manx Salute to the Proms, played by the Rushen Silver Band with the Meadowside Choral Society. Besides wonderful music and singing it was greatly entertaining and we all joined in with great gusto! (Some more than others – I will go no further)!!
Saturday morning’s session started off with a welcome by Chief Minister Hon Tony Brown MHK. Following various introductions, District Governor Bernard Tupman gave his address and then there was a presentation about Salford Sailing Group by Tony Beckett, currently an operational police officer with G.M. Police, a Rotarian who has helped to greatly enhance the lives of many youngsters in his district. The third session continued with a talk by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, in particular the work they do around the island. Once again R.I.B.I. President Jim Moulson addressed us in his own inimitable way, a superb speaker with a great sense of humour. The final speaker for Saturday morning was the brilliant Gervase Phinn. Words that have been attributed ho him through the press are ‘A born raconteur’, Funny, touching & entertaining’ & ‘He tells a cracking good tale’ – all of these are accurate – he is a natural! We were all in fits of laughter, absolutely brilliant.
Saturday afternoon, everyone went their own way, some sight seeing, some shopping, some lazing in the hotel. Sadly the weather was not brilliant, but in Douglas there is plenty to do including an excellent folk museum, and some good shops for the ladies! In fine weather the island is lovely. I liken it to a mini version of the British Isles, lots of gorgeous coastal scenery, lovely beaches, lots of super walks and of course the famous TT course which weaves its way through the mountains and provides spectacular views. Sorry I did warn you I might get carried away! After an excellent dinner in the hotel most of us decided to stay put and enjoy a few more drinks (!) and chatter the night away. A quiz was also available for those amongst us who wanted a bit of culture! There was entertainment provided again in the form of ‘Calor Gas Ceili Band & Perree Bane’ in the Villa Marina – some of our crowd wandered along to enjoy the music.
Sunday morning sessions opened with music from the Rushen Silver Band. The first presentation was by Tom Henderson Founder & CEO of Shelter Box. An excellent talk, and of great interest to many Rotarians who collect great sums of money for this very worthy charity. During the intervals there was an opportunity to visit the Exhibition area where many of the charities supported had stands The final session started off with a presentation by Andrea Coleman of Riders. Once again RIBI President Jim addressed us with his closing comments. A further talk was given by a lady called Jan Meek, a remarkable person who has trekked alone in China and joined her son for the first ever ocean rowing race, all in her 60s! What a life – exhausting! A touch of humour with local comedian Dot Tilbury ably assisted by Jim Moulson rounded off the events. DGE David Ellis gave a vote of thanks and the District Governor closed the conference.
A very enjoyable week end and all who attended had a thought provoking, interesting and often amusing time. Some of us from Rochdale were due home via the afternoon ferry, some flew in the evening and others stayed an extra day. Here’s to next year and Scarborough Conference!
Sue Cannell.