competition, thanks to the help from Brecon Petanque and Rugby Clubs. We had our marquee at Brecon Show which proved vital shelter against the elements during the day! We also launched our second round of Community Chest and planted up the flower beds on each of the roads entering town.
To mark the centennial of Rotary Founda- tion, Bridgend club held a dinner to celebrate the Foundation’s many achievements particu- larly the imminent eradication of polio. Welsh rugby legend, JJ Williams, was guest speaker for the evening. JJ was not only a very lively and entertaining speaker but also a very convivial guest, speaking to all the members and guests, most of whom seemed to be long-standing friends. He told entertaining stories about his rugby career and also spoke about his early athletics career (narrowly miss- ing out on a Commonwealth Games Bronze). In addition he spoke about his charity work as Chairman of NSPCC Bridgend, where he helped raise £10,000 for the cause. A highlight for many was the large screen compilation of JJ’s tries compiled by Rtn Phil Davies.
CARDIFF BREAKFAST Cardiff Breakfast again sponsored a
Armed with gardening gloves and garden- ing equipment some of the children from Pen- maes School helped plant hundreds of purple crocus bulbs around their school. These were donated to the school by Brecon Rotary club as part of the Purple 4 Polio campaign. As part of their gardening lesson and supported by their teachers and Rotarians Anne Ingham, Roger Reese and Mike Mellors the children enjoyed digging holes and planting the crocus bulbs along some paths and around a tree, to give them a show of purple colour when they bloom in the spring.
BRIDGEND
Bridgend Club was pleased to welcome Rtn. Brian Stoyel, a current Rotary Interna- tional (RI) Director, a Past President of RIBI and a Past District Governor of two differing Rotary Districts.
Brian had just returned from a meeting at RI Headquarters in Evanston, Chicago, and earlier in the day was at a medical research meeting in London - so a special effort had been made to be at Bridgend. In introducing Brian, Rtn. Dr William
Williams informed members that 212 million people were affected by malaria last year and the mosquito is the deadliest creature on earth. In that vein, it was appropriate that Inter- national Committee, had put malaria as its charity of choice for the coming year. A warm welcome was given to Brian as founder and Chairman of REMIT - Rotarians Eliminating Malaria in Tanzania. His talk provided detail background of
REMIT and an enthusiastic description of the ongoing and planned work of the charity. In his vote of thanks, Bridgend President, Major Wayne Morgan MBE, thanked Brian for his commitment and enthusiasm for the cause and presented a cheque for £500 for REMIT, (pictured).
successful and enjoyable concert by the Cardiff County & Vale of Glamorgan Youth Orchestra in the Dutch Barn concert hall at Whitchurch High School. The hall was full almost to overflowing for this excellent and most enjoyable event. The orchestra present- ed a Night at the Movies, with music from 007, Pink Panther, Harry Potter, Star Wars and many others. The evening was enhanced by stellar performances from two outstanding young sopranos from the Rotary Young Vocal- ist competition, Llinos Haf Jones and Manon Ogwen Parry.
The profit of £3408 from the evening has been split between 75% to the orchestra, and 25% to other charities supported by the Club. As this excellent young orchestra no longer receives any local authority support, the club’s efforts were much appreciated.
Michael S and Chris (pictured here) brought out their tool kits and got to work.
CARDIFF LLANISHEN A group of volunteers from Llanishen Club
have brought their community together to transform their local train station and plant hundreds of purple crocuses.
Members of the club enlisted the help of local schoolchildren from Christ the King RC Primary School to lay hundreds of crocus bulbs which will erupt into a stunning mauve floral display for commuters next spring at Llanishen train station.
The flowers were planted in recognition of Rotary International’s latest campaign, Purple4Polio, which is designed to unite com- munities to engage in activities as part of the final push to eradicate polio for good. Llanishen adopted the unstaffed railway station through Arriva Trains Wales’ nation- al ‘Adopt a Station’ scheme, which aims to improve links with local communities and customers across its network.
In addition to sowing the crocus bulbs, the volunteers have potted three new planters filled with seasonal blooms to brighten up the station. Youngsters from the primary school visit every week to water the new plants. Tony Fundell, from Llanishen Rotary, said: “We were approached by Arriva about the possibility of taking on the local station and thought that there was great potential to deliver benefits for the group and the wider community. It was only at a later date that we realised we could use the station as a way to help spread an important message and raise awareness of the charitable work of the Rotary club.
“Polio is a highly infectious disease which mainly affects children under five years of age and cannot be cured, only prevented. Over 2.5 billion children have received vaccinations thanks to the help of Rotary and eradication is now closer than ever. “A group of us visited Chirk train station
near Wrexham and met their volunteers for inspiration and advice because they are a very active group who have won multiple awards for their gardening efforts. They are continu- ing to give us tips and it would be fantastic to enter a competition for our work one day.” For more information on Arriva
Bethan Powell is an Honorary Member of the club and Chair of Trustees & Volunteer Coordinator for the 5Cs charity (Chernobyl Children Cancer Care Cardiff). President Ste- ve took the opportunity to present Bethan with a cheque for £500 (pictured above).
Trains Wales Adopt a Station scheme
www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/AdoptStation or 03333 211202.
CEFN SIDAN
One of the club’s vocational projects is to provide assistance with reading in primary schools, and this includes Bryn Celyn school in Pentwyn. Head teacher Mrs Keys asked whether the club could help with the erection of a playhouse. So in February, Steve F with
Founder member and double Past President David Gravell PHF of Cefn Sidan Rotary was awarded a BEM in the New Year’s Honours for services to charity, sport and education. David follows his father, Tom, also a member of Cefn Sidan Rotary Club who received an MBE.
It is estimated that he has fundraised more 21
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