 This month Bob found another new area to explore that saw us visit deepest, darkest Buckinghamshire!
Our base was Denham Village. Apparently, the name derived from the Old English for “homestead in the valley”. The first point of interest was St Mary’s church & the house nearby which was the residence of the film actor, Sir John Mills. Many of the charming cottages have featured on several films. We crossed the River Misbourne before reaching the busy A412. Crossing carefully we then tackled the even busier A40. We had to go through a gap in the hedge in the central reservation which was a new experience for all of us! After that our route was very rural. It was surprisingly wet underfoot and we passed the aptly named Froggy Lane. Eventually, we reached Higher Denham and followed Old Rectory Lane back to the village. After our new adventure we had a lovely lunch at The Falcon Inn....I wonder where we'll be taken next month!
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 On Wednesday April 10th it was time for our mystery restaurant social... On this occasion we we headed to Hounslow, where there are 142 different languages spoken and about the same number of restaurants!
Uma had chosen the Yellow Chilli, a family run restaurant serving Punjabi and Afghan food. Not only were we on a mystery tour and club social, we were also there to celebrate Uma's 40th anniversary of joining Windsor and Eton Rotary Club, so the evening started with champagne cocktails to mark the occasion. Eleven of us sat down at 7.45 and by 11pm we had been presented with, and consumed, up to 20 dishes of authentic and delicious food consisting of a myriad of tastes and flavours. Uma had chosen all the food with the help of the owner insisting on only one condition...no chillies! All who attended agreed it was an excellent night and Uma confirmed to us yet again how well he can organise such a unique dining experience. The night was a great example of Rotary fellowship and camaraderie, with an opportunity to visit a truly ethnic restaurant which we might normally pass by. Windsor and Eton Rotarian Derek Bishop, wearing his other disguise as Mayor of Eton, was a pivotal member of the restoration team, not only as part of the driving committee but also in designing and constructing himself the new bridge. The watercourse restoration project was officially opened last Tuesday with the unveiling of a plaque by Lord Waldegrave of North Hill and a ribbon cutting at the bridge by Eton Mayoress Mrs Glenys Bishop. What a fantastic community project, with partners galore contributing to what in effect re-established the island of "Eyot-tun", from which the name Eton is derived.  A quiz held on Friday, March 15, to raise money for Thames Valley Adventure Playground and other charities included a visit from Tim Brooke-Taylor. The 76-year-old comedian entertained participants in the Thames Valley Pub Quiz Championship, which was held at the Holiday Inn in Manor Lane, with his trademark humour.
Organised by the Maidenhead Thames Rotary Club, a total of 260 people in 34 teams took part in the event, which is expected to have raised more than £3,000. Half of the total figure will go to Thames Valley Adventure Playground, the rest will be used for Rotary projects. Our club entered two teams of 8 this year, with the team Mind Bogglers coming 17th place with 162 points and our second team, The Free Thinkers, coming 25th with 144 points. Congratulations to the winners, The Quizlings, with 184 points, and also to Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Club who were second, just one point away from winning! A great night full of laughter that got the grey matter working at the same time! Best get quizzing up for next year! Written by Colin Coombs Members of District 9 Inner Wheel and the longest surviving club so far, the Inner Wheel Club of Windsor & Eton, celebrated its 80th anniversary at the idyllic setting of Stirrups Country House Hotel in Maidens Green (Bracknell) together with friends and families, including the RBWM Mayor and Mayoress. Seven of our own Rotarians and their spouses also attend, along with former member Bob Heybourn and Christine.
The celebration was started by the current president Mary Weaver, with words of gratitude about the past, present and the future. Representatives from District 9 (Vicky Mountford), the Association of Inner Wheel Clubs in GB&I (Ann Acaster), the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (Mayor Paul Lion), Windsor & Eton Rotary Club (Richard Carleton) and the Rotary Club of Windsor St. George (Andreas Stavrinides) presented their greetings and spoke highly about the Inner Wheel Club's involvement in the local communities. There followed an excellent 3-course lunch and coffee and mints after which there was a short 'thank you all' from Inner Wheel President Mary. The lunch guest was a distinguished harpist, Margaret Watson Dip. ABRSM, one of the busiest professional harpists in the South East, with performances for social and corporate events. Not only did Margaret play a wide variety of music, ranging from 'pop' through 'traditional' to classic, but also talked about the harp as an instrument; how it was made (cost of a new one about £30k); the (47) strings, tuning and playing - seven-foot pedals with 3 positions for each pedal! Absolutely fascinating and informative - and her final quote, from the composer Shostakovich, "a harpist spends 90% of the time tuning the harp and 10% of the time playing out-of-tune" brought the house down. The celebration could not have ended without the traditional raffle and after the final toast we all wended our way home from a splendid luncheon. By Chris Simon and Paul Andreianu This month Bob led us to a previously unexplored area around Taplow. It was a windy morning but the rain stayed away so we set off from the car park near Taplow Church, went through a series of kissing gates and then reached the A4.
We followed the lane under the railway & past the lake on the left before crossing a number of fields and The Jubilee River, after a while we reached The Thames. We stopped for a quick break whilst enjoying the views of the luxury houses along the Berkshire side of the river. Continuing our stroll we arrived at Brunel’s Railway Bridge, which is known as “the sounding arch” because of its echo. The bridge has the flattest & widest brick built arch in the world and really is an example of amazing engineering. After "testing" the echo we headed back to the A4 where we crossed into Mill Lane before following the path back to Taplow. Total distance 3.8 miles, lots of laughter and some beautiful sights along the wa! Of course no ramble is complete until lunch and a pint are consumed, this time at The Feathers, across the road from Cliveden House. Apparently, Edward VIII frequented the pub during the 1870's when he was Prince of Wales, just another little known fact we thought we'd share with everyone! Here's to the next wander round the countryside!  Following a recent talk at our Rotary Club by Tony Churchill the Founder of 'OKOurKids' we have decided to support the project by getting their book called 'Watch Out 'into all the schools in the area with Key Stage 1 pupils.
OK Our Kids is a community interest company that helps young children to deal confidently with the challenges and dangers of staying safe at home, in school and in the community. Their Mission Our mission is to help our young children deal confidently with the challenges and dangers of staying safe at home, school and in the community: to empower them with the skills they need to face everyday situations knowing what is the right thing to do and leading others by their example. We aim to achieve success in our mission through educational partnerships with schools, businesses, and community and parent groups. Their Inspiration ‘OK Our Kids’ first Watch Out book was the inspired idea of Claire Annison, a serving Police Officer with Thames Valley Police, and Tony Churchill, a former Police Community Support Officer. Through their work in Primary Schools and the wider Community, Claire and Tony saw the need for a new initiative to develop resources specifically designed to educate, inform and empower primary school children to stay safe in the community and on-line. ‘OK Our Kids’ was then further developed by Tony and Lynn Churchill to provide help, guidance and counseling to schools and families that have already been affected by events involving child safety and protection. How we are supporting the campaign We have so far had a good response to our initial contact with schools and in the next few weeks we will take a copy of the book to those interested to encourage them to share with their pupils. The book 'Watch Out' is a child's guide to everyday dangers, it is well written and illustrated in a way that the children will understand. If you’d like to find out more about this project or support us please do contact us. More details of OKOurKids can be found on www.okourkids.org.uk  For our December ramble this year we did a circular walk starting from Boulters Lock.
Bob thought that the first part would be boring so he set us a “Car Rally” type quiz. David W proved to be the most alert (he spotted the Olive Tree) & came top of the pile. We made our way to Widbrook Common which is used by the commoners (not us) to graze their cattle in summer. I think we then went wrong somewhere but with the help of a local resident we did eventually reach Cookham Moor. From there we made our way through woodland down to the River Thames, opposite the Hanging Woods of the National Trust’s Cliveden Estate. We then walked along what is considered to be one of the most beautiful stretches of the Thames, Cliveden Reach. Even on a dark December day it was very scenic. Finally we made our way back to the car park, crossed the road & had lunch at Boulters Inn. A very enjoyable, if somewhat damp walk, with friends.
 The Community and Vocational Committee have supported the Windsor Observer newspaper annual Christmas Toy Appeal for many years through donations of new children's books. The books were given to children in need in the catchment area. In 2018 the newspaper did not promote this appeal, so to ensure our commitment to the community and to ensure local children received gifts at Christmas, the club decided to donate books to DASH, a charity which helps victims of domestic abuse.
The books were selected by Rotarian Martyn Gorton's wife Diana, who is a former teacher and school librarian and had contacts with the trade. We were very pleased to donate over 60 new books to cover ages from babies to teenagers, this year adult books were also purchased for the Mums and Dads. This is just another example of our club doing good in the world and making a difference locally. |
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