The Rotary Club of Turton

The social side of the Rotary year got off to a great start with the Presidents barb-b-que held at Eric and Pat O’Neil’s house on the 18th July. In the halcyon days of June when the sun was turning the grass brown and temperatures were in the thirties it seemed a good idea to kick off the Rotary New Year in style with a charity barb-b-que, and this was arranged for Sunday 18th July.

Following a very wet few days beforehand the rain never stopped on Sunday morning. However, thanks to the big fella up in the sky, the rain stopped and the skies cleared just as the barb-b-que was starting. 54 Rotarians, partners and guests attended the event and an enjoyable time was had by all.

My thanks go to Eric and Pat for the loan of their garden and for all their hard work along with David and Irene Howarth in organising the event. A special thanks to the celebrity chef Brian Evans who single handed stoically manned the bar-b-que all afternoon, except for a little nudging from Hilary and some assistance from Flat Cap.

As ever, Billy Fairclough did his part and raised a few pounds with two raffles. The event raised a total of £406.00 which will be donated to the Thanks for Life programme for the worldwide eradication of Polio.

Thanks to Jeff Hibbert & David Howarth for the photographs.

After last years event for members only, it was decided to open this years event to friends and family. 15 entrants for the golf and 30 for the meal and presentation was an improvement on last year but we had anticipated more.

Weeks of beautiful weather in May and June presented Turton Golf Club in its driest condition for years and we were looking forward to slapping on the sun cream and watching the Titleists and Srixons bouncing off into the distance. Surprise, surprise ! We teed off into driving wind and rain and had to don waterproofs. We even abandoned the “Longest Drive” prize on the 13th hole as the drive was into the teeth of the wind and on that tee the only obstacle to the wind between Turton and New York is Winter Hill – enough said !

Dave Biggar and his sons Brendan and Nicholas went off first, in a jovial mood. On approaching the 4th tee they decided to take their drives a little more serious as on this hole there was a prize for “Nearest the Pin”. Seriousness and a strong wind were not a good combination and only Nicholas landed on the green but at the farthest possible point from the flag. More in humour than hope they measured the putt at 43 ft 6 inches and continued their round assuming that it would be easily beaten.

The weather improved and surprisingly good scores were recorded considering the conditions. The spread of scores, in a full handicap (max 24) Stableford, came in between 30 and 40 and we all looked forward to being joined by our families and friends for the food and presentation.

Needless to say, the food was consumed with ease and the prizes were to be presented by our President, Jeff Hibbert. 3rd and 4th prizes were decided on a card play-off as both had scored 34 points. Rotarian Colin Roberts narrowly beat Rotarian Brian Evans (Captain of Turton Golf Club) with a slightly better back nine. Second prize, with a score of 36 points went to last years winner, Lynn Evans who also picked up the prize for “Nearest the Pin” on the 2nd having landed the ball only 3ft from the flag. This years overall winner, with a score of 40 points, was Nicholas Biggar. Despite his assurances that he hadn’t played since last August he had to endure the “Bandit” jibes, particularly from his father and brother. Incidentally, he was the only one to score a “two” on the 15th hole and picked up that prize as well.

Oh ! and the “Nearest the Pin” prize on the 4th? Well, the 43ft was beaten by a whole 4 ft leaving our President, Jeff with a 39ft putt and the prize.

Thanks to Jeff Hibbert for the photographs.

On 28th June, the Club held its annual bowls evening at Barr Lane Bowling Club.There were 23 members and wives ready for the competition. After nearly twelve weeks of unbroken dry warm weather, the round robin competition took place against a background of intermittent rain showers which fortunately did not detract from the enjoyment of the bowlers or the quality of the bowling.

After a thoroughly enjoyable potato pie and mushy peas supper, President Jeff presented The Ron Bickerstaffe Trophies to the winners Susie Roberts and Alan Smith with minature malt whiskies awarded to the runners up Jim Smith and Billy Fairclough. A good time was had by all!

Thanks to Eric O’Neil for the photographs.

At our weekly meetings we pass round The Box for Others so that members can donate the loose change in their pockets to benefit those who are less fortunate than ourselves. Some members have opted to make an annual donation rather than answer the weekly call. In itself, the money raised each week, normally between £4.00 and £8.00 is not a great sum. But taken over the year and when combined with the annual donations given, it becomes a sizeable amount. Club Council decided that to make the best use of the whole amount it should be donated to a single charity, group or organisation at the end of each Rotary Year in July.

The recipient charity, group, or organisation is nominated by the President and this year President Jeff has chosen ORCHID as this years charity. Formed in 1996 by former testicular cancer patient, Colin Osborne, Orchid is the only UK registered charity to focus entirely on male specific cancers; prostate, penile and testicular.

Past President Mike has donated £320 to the Willow Foundation, this being the total collected in the Box for Others during the Rotary Year 2009/10.

On Thursday 24th June 2010, Past President Mike Croft handed over the Club to President Jeff Hibbert.

Thanks to Stephen Hughes for the photograph.