What A Way To End 2013 With A Post Christmas Walk

It is hard to believe that 2013 comes to an end today and that also marks the first six months of Rotary 2013-14 have also gone by. It seems like yesterday that there was 110 people in my back garden at the Meet The President BBQ this past July. Looking back at all these blogs it is quite rewarding to see what an active club we have been and the amount of money raised has been massive.

The Christmas Float Collection has collected record amounts and I am not going to announce it here as Rtn Brian Stokes (who is basically in charge of the Christmas float) will announce the final total at the next Club meeting on the 6th Jan 2014. But, I can tell you it has shattered all past records by a major amount.

Following on from the Christmas Float Collection and Carol Service (which were talked about in the last blog entry) we had our post-Christmas walk. This year it was once again organised by Rtn John Cox who is an avid walker himself. 

John designed the walk this year to be about 5 miles and on the flat and was in Shipley Park. It was a fantastic walk and the weather held for it too. The night before there was terrific winds and rain, but when morning came all was fine. The fields were a little muddy but not impossible to negotiate. 

The walk started and ended at Shipley Cricket Club. Before the start we enjoyed a hot cup of coffee or tea to get us going. After that it was onwards. In total there were 20 Rotarians and family members along with six dogs. Superb!

Just before we set off on our walk. In front of the SCC Pavilion

We saw some lovely scenery and history as we went by some rather old buildings and houses that once belonged to Earls...

The Long & Winding Road

Finally, after we got back to the Cricket Club we all got into our cars and made our way to Dale Abbey where we enjoyed a pint and some lunch but most important fellowship. Actually, the whole walk was a fantastic time of fellowship too.

There is one final thing to report. Rtn Adrian Perkins parked his car on the grass at the Cricket Club and got stuck in the wet soggy ground. Had to be towed out by Rtn Mick Barker. I am sure there is a fine coming from the Sargent At Arms for this one. Lol.

All that remains to be said is have a happy New Years and a prosperous 2014. 

See you soon!

Greg