It was really great to enjoy a few days off on the back of the RIBI conference; and as if by magic, the weather has been amazing. Having flown into Dublin on Tuesday, we were able to make our way up to Belfast; by the scenic route of course, to visit family, and then travel back to Dublin on Thursday for the Conference, via the West Coast.
It was unfortunate that the Conference venue was as far from the headquarters hotel as it was, because although some enjoyed the exercise (a good 15 to 20 minutes each way) many were reliant on the transport which, unless you were extremely lucky, involved a good amount of queuing. The conference centre itself was pretty tired and the seating rather uncomfortable.
Having said that, there was some very good content, and the entertainment particularly on Saturday night was absolutely excellent. It certainly was an extravaganza.
Back in the real world, I caught up with email and the things that had been overlooked by having a week in the Emerald Isle. I downloaded 14 pages of emails from other districts who use our Membership Database Extension in order to try to make some sense of the discussions they'd had at RIBI Assembly about it, and gradually got to grips with what was going on. Fortunately, I spent a pretty quiet Easter so was able to get on with things.
The following week was fairly manic, preparing for an interest meeting in Honiton to see if a new club was viable. I am sure it is now no secret that the present club has, very sadly, decided to close.
We held the last of our AG Meetings for the year and on Thursday I had to attend the hospital for a minor surgical procedure which left me a bit washed out.
Friday saw the first of a clutch of twenty fifth Anniversaries when I attended Kingsbridge Estuary's Presidents Night and Anniversary celebration at the Thurlstone Hotel.
It was a particularly tiring weekend as early on Saturday morning I set off for Stratford on Avon for the national final of the Young Chef Competition. We were delighted and very fortunate that our young chef, Zoe Sing from St Margaret's School in Exeter was placed second, and we are very proud of her and all that she achieved.
I stayed the night with close friends nearby and then made my way to Cranleigh in Surrey for the national final of Youth Speaks. Our young people had again come up trumps and a very competent team form the Trinity School at Teignmouth represented us in the intermediate competition. The standard was extremely high and although they spoke exceptionally well, they were not placed. They were, however, still winners because it is quite an achievement to get down to the last seven!
It was a long drive home after the competition was had finished and I was pretty tired, arriving there at about 10.30 p.m.
The Incoming GSE Team arrived from the Caribbean the same day, and their hours recovering from jet lag gave me time to be ready for action again on Monday evening when they were officially welcomed to District 1170. It was a very pleasant evening and they seem to be a lively group.
On Wednesday a small group of us made our way to Honiton, where we hope to persuade some of the local business community to be part of a new Rotary club. The meeting was reasonably successful, and we have ended up with about a dozen potential members who we hope will form the nucleus of the new club.
The weekend saw two more twenty fifth anniversaries. The first on Friday was Otter Valley's celebration. The room had a wonderful full width bay window at the end, and we were able to watch the spectacular lightening as a storm broke forth.
The following day it was the turn of Datmoor Vale to celebrate. It was a novel experience to take a boat trip with fizz and nibbles before the meal in an adjacent restaurant. Sadly for Dartmoor Vale the weather was such that we weren't able to venture outside the Marina, so we made several circuits of the pontoons viewing a fair amount of monies worth of boats. It didn't really matter, because everyone was in a good mood and the conversation flowed.I must congratulate all three clubs who have just celebrated 25 years of Rotary service. It is quite amazing what they have managed to achieve during those years. We look forward to the next twenty five. The Governor must have had a busy time that year!Dartmoor Vale's twenty fifth was a very busy day with District assembly taking place during the morning and an Executive Meeting following after lunch
Seale Hayne proved to be a very satisfactory venue for the Assembly, giving us sufficient break out rooms for all the groups. It was also well attended, although we would always like to see more of you there. I very much hope that you all took something useful away with you that will help you make the most of your year in office.
