Swanage and Purbeck Rotary were delighted to host their annual Silver Saturday event at the end of February, celebrating the older members of our lovely community.
A gathering of over 100 people, including guests, Rotarians and entertainers, assembled at the Emmanuel Church in Victoria Avenue, our usual venue for this event, to enjoy a sumptuous afternoon tea, with sandwiches, cakes and other goodies a-plenty, lovingly prepared by our catering dream-team!
Entertaining those present was renowned local magician and entertainer Kevin Burke, who amazed those present with his sleight of hand, and the Ukelele Band, playing many of their favourite tunes. We were delighted that Swanage Town Mayor Tina Foster was also able to join us and cut the cake celebrating the 118th birthday of the Rotary movement.
Town Crier Andrew Fleming was on hand to ensure that everyone knew what was happening.
Generous donations amounting to over £320 were collected from the attendees, which will go towards local good causes supported by Rotary.
Saturday 26th February was the date that ‘Silver Saturday’ returned to Swanage, celebrating the older generation in our community.
An annual gathering before the pandemic, we were delighted to once again welcome more than 50 people to Emmanuel Baptist Church in Victoria Avenue, where they enjoyed afternoon tea and company.
This was exactly what everyone had been looking for after the last couple of years and the atmosphere was great with everyone getting involved and catching up.
President of Swanage Rotary Deirdre Selwyn and President-Elect Chris LeFevre cut a cake to celebrate Rotary’s birthday and there was some excellent musical entertainment to round the afternoon off.
We hope that everyone present enjoyed themselves and we are already looking forward to next year.
The weather may have taken a nasty turn for the worse, but nothing stops Swanage Rotarians from carrying on with their planned activities and there’s been quite a lot going on over the past week or so.
At our meeting on 21st February we were delighted to welcome PCSO Iain Leslie and his wife Kerrie to our meeting. Iain has been recognised for his superb work in the local community by being awarded a Rotary Dorset Police Award and the picture shows President Ro and Community & Vocational Committee Chairman Maggie presenting Iain with his certificate. Iain spoke passionately about how much he feels welcomed in the local community and how much he enjoys working and living in the area.
Last Saturday (25th) saw the Silver Sunday Saturday event, postponed from October 2017, take place at Emmanuel Baptist Church with 80 friends. At the same time, Swanage and Purbeck Rotary took the opportunity to celebrate Rotary’s 113th birthday which was reached earlier last week.
Afternoon tea with delicious cakes and sandwiches were greatly enjoyed as was the music kindly provided by Jacqui, Angus and Amanda. The celebration birthday cake was made by Wendy Quayle and was cut by President Elect Linda Winter and Rotarian Hubert Pierce. The event was provided free of charge but guests did make generous donations for Dementia Friendly /Admiral Nurses and £ 130.75 will be added to their funds.
Organisers Rotarians Maggie Hardy and Mo Andrews would like to thank all those who contributed to the very successful afternoon in any way. See our Facebook page for more photos.
Then, at our meeting this week, and despite the sub-zero temperatures and howling gale, we decamped from our usual venue to meet at The Knoll House Hotel in Studland. This was actually the meeting venue for the very first meeting of Swanage Rotary back in 1959. Aside from it being a Fellowship event, to which more than 30 people attended, we were delighted to welcome another two new members to the club – Tracy Tennant (the new General Manager of the Knoll House), and Chris LeFevre, who has recently moved to Purbeck and has transferred to us from Abingdon Vesper RC. Tracy and Chris were formally inducted and welcomed to the club and both were invited to say a few words. With the formalities over, everyone present enjoyed a sumptuous two course meal from the Knoll House kitchen, followed by coffee and tea.
Grateful thanks goes to the management and staff of the Knoll House for hosting us so well and we look forward to Tracy and Chris integrating fully into the club and its activities.
