July to September 2011
THE induction of the club's second husband-and-wife team has lifted membership to 60. Norman and Ann Roberts became Rotarians this evening when they were given their badges by club president, William Smith. The couple were proposed by Peter Rhodes.
Halifax-born Norman moved with his family from Lincolnshire to Wakefield in 1986.
The photograph shows president William Smith and Membership chairman Peter Rhodes with Norman & Ann at their induction.
Retired headteacher Sheila Wainwright was inducted into membership by club president William Smith this evening and was welcomed by the rest of the membership.
Rotarian John Daniel of the Huddersfield Pennine club later spoke to members about the humourous side of life in the police service.
BILL BAKER, a member of Leeds Elmete Rotary Club, stepped into the limelight at this evening's meeting at the New Brookhouse Club when he talked about one of his passions - the newly refurbished Leeds City Varieties. In his talk to members and their many guests he delved into the history of our music halls and spoke with enthusiasm about some of the stars of the past who had trodden the boards at what is now the UK's last surviving music hall.
Leeds City Varieties was being reopened this month after a £9.9m facelift funded by the city council and Heritage Lottery Fund. The opening gala fundraising night starring Ken Dodd, had long been sold out, said Bill, but there were plenty of attractions in store, including a series of the Good Old Days, which had been a popular television feature for 30 years.
AUSCHWITZ survivor Arek Hersh told members about his harrowing experiences as a Polish Jew and a young victim of the Nazi death camps where 61 of his extended family lost their lives.
Arek, who said he will never be able to forgive those who committed such atrocities, took away with him a £100 cheque for the charity he supports, the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre at Laxton in Nottinghamshire.
The Germans took Arek from camp to camp during which, although only a young boy, he witnessed some of history's worst crimes against humanity. He described how he saw the first gassings of Jews who were crowded into vans which then had exhaust fumes pumped into them.
As the defeat of the Nazis drew near, he and other prisoners from the Theresienstadt camp were forced into open-topped railway wagons which were then hauled around for a month in all weathers. Arek told how he survived by eating near-indigestible grass before being liberated - and treated well - by the Russians.
Arek, who was awarded an MBE in 2008 for voluntary service to holocaust education, now escorts parties of visitors to the Auschwitz camp, especially groups of young students. Proceeds from the sale of his book, A Detail of History, go to the holocaust centre.
The cheque was presented to Arek, a member of Leeds Elmete Rotary Club, by Wakefield club president William Smith, who gave a vote of thanks.
Youngsters at the Abacus Nursery at Pinderfields Hospital were faced with a busy time helping the grown-ups plant 400 daffodil bulbs given to the nursery by Wakefield Rotary Club. Here the club's president, William Smith, helps make a start. With him are twins Natasha and Lucie Alty, Lewis Giemza and Susan Bagnall, one of the nursery's childcare practitioners.
As part of its community service programme, the club also gave 800 bulbs to Wakefield Hospice and another 400 for the woodland garden opposite the spinal injuries unit at Pinderfields.
Distribution was organised by the Rotary club's environmental officer, Ann Hallaways, who is head of voluntary services for Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust.
Abacus Nursery was built five years ago to provide NHS employees with childcare services, including help during the school holidays.
Recently inducted Rotarian Michael Wharton, a retired police superintendent, gave his My Job talk to the Wakefield club this evening, with the resulting picture of him and president William Smith.
He showed members the various truncheons and batons with which police have been armed over the years. Here he is trying out the current riot baton on William, caught in an arresting moment (and all the other puns).
Michael's wife Julie, who joined the club at the same time, also told members about her working life.
The former Dean of Wakefield, the Very Rev George Nairn-Briggs, provided some light-hearted reflections on his time at the helm at the cathedral, ending on a more serious note when he said that even such well-established buildings cannot be immune from the need for change.
He referred to Project 2013 which has been awarded more than £1.5million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Developments will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the extension to the east end of the cathedral and the first phase will be improvements to the nave.
"If you've ever sat for very long on those benches you'll know how uncomfortable they can be," he said.
The cathedral is to get new pews and, among other changes, the area between the Treacy Hall and the cathedral will glassed over.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Ken Pinder.
22nd September 2011
25th August 2011
