Members are helping to make Christmas special
WELCOME to the latest Rotary column. Has anybody noticed that ‘in the air there’s the feeling of Christmas’ (a line from the song Silver Bells)?
It’s nearly that time of year, when we go to a carol service, wonder if the turkey is big enough, whether we invite all the family this year and just how many pairs of socks can we expect?
In Rotary we have all these questions, but we also try to do our bit for the local community, each club doing their own thing.
What about some of your local clubs? Cosham intends to enter into the Christmas spirit by collecting at the top of Cosham High Street between December 10-13 and at Morrisons, Eastern Road Portsmouth from December 18-24. Any old coppers, silver coins or notes would be gratefully received - wishing everyone a happy and safe Christmas.
Fareham Meon donates all Christmas and new year dinner meeting monies to make a donation to Marys Meals, with whom they
have a valued ongoing relationship in addition to collections and shoeboxes as mentioned in previous columns.
Whiteley are working with Santa on various events in December, with his sleigh (pictured) outside Tesco Whiteley on December 8, followed by a Santa Run around Meadowside where the community can help raise funds for Wessex Heartbeat.
Entry is £5 children and £10 adults, including meeting Santa, reindeer and some elves (don’t tell the children but there’s also a present - it’s a secret).
Finally there’s a trip around the local streets from December 14-17, joining carol singers on December 16 at the Elm Tree, Swanwick, finishing off back at Tesco during the week before Christmas.
Busy, busy, busy Havant have collected age-specific books from various publishers, local authors, organisations and the public to donate to schools to provide children with additional access to reading material,
Christmas is a good time for children to enjoy reading - remember that reading unlocks the door to learning.
Other clubs participate in seasonal activities such as singing in shopping centres with local schools, raising money for children’s charities, helping at local care homes, soup kitchens etc and delivering food parcels.
But we also have to remember that the pandemic is still ever-present, so at vaccination hubs we’re doing our bit to help make the community as safe as possible to enjoy Christmas.
At this time of the year the environment is full of rustic luxury such as nutritious berries, citrus fruits and beautiful flowers.
Make Christmas special without breaking the bank by decking your halls with a homemade wreath, whilst natural pine cones, sugared cinnamon and oranges can conjure up the smells of the joy of Christmas.
You can also use locally-grown vegetables, meats and poultry for the Christmas dinner.
After what has been a difficult two years for everybody, some more than others, your local Rotary clubs wish everyone a happy, peaceful, enjoyable Christmas and a much better (for all) 2022.
If you’d like details of other clubs near to your community, please contact Rotary district officers Ray Drake on raydrake@talktalk.net or Ken Ebbens on kenebbens@aol. com.