26th June 2011 : Royston Pink Ribbon Run
21st June 2011 : Presentation of Swimanthon proceeds
9th - 12th June 2011 : Visit to Paray
5th June 2011 : Monthly Walk
Twenty hardy souls met at The Waggon and Horses in Steeple Morden and headed off in the general direction of Litlington. Steaming along the wide pathway we enjoyed the wonderful landscape reaching out ahead of us. Down the hill we went aiming for the Copse below where we were then to head across the fields via a tiny bridge towards the village of Abington Pigotts. Entering the village of Abington Pigotts we were abandoned by Bryony who had brilliantly walked the three miles without any mishaps . Well done Bryony. At the site of the Woodland Trust Wood, we settled ourselves down for coffee and as this is also the site of an Alpaca farm, we persuaded Sandra to educate us all on ‘The Life of Alpacas’. Highly informative and entertaining it was too – BUT one message came loud and clear – ‘DO NOT stare them out – If you do and their ears go back – run!! - they can spit a very long way and the smell is diabolical!! True to form we finished the walk exactly as the instruction sheet says - -Take the path to the church by ‘diddling’ round the back of the school. There ahead of us was the glorious sight of the Waggon and Horses, plus Neil and Sarah, Annette, Bryony and David Izod who thankfully has recovered enough to enjoy a nice cold pint but not the walk. The lunch was very tasty, the weather perfect and all in all it was a grand day out! 20th - 22nd May : President's Weekend in the New Forest
18th May : New member - Induction of Paul Savage
8th May 2011 : Monthly Walk
2nd May 2011 : Classic Car Show - Royston May Fayre
Show organiser Ray Munden said: “The show goes from strength to strength. We seem to be attracting more vehicles each year.” More than 100 vehicles from the year 1905 to the present day were on display along with 57 motor cycles. The mayor’s prize presented by Councillor Martin Beaver went to Phillip Butcher for his 1938 MG TA Midget. Rotary president Jonathan Berks presented the prize for the best car in the show to Edward Rayment for his 1933 Austin 7 and the best motor cycle in the show went to Dave Woods for his 1959 BSA. Click here to see some photos from the show
5th April 2011 : Donations to Community Groups
2nd April 2011 : Fancy Dress Party
14th March 2011 : Rotarians Offer International Study Opportunity
Rotary Club members in Royston are offering the opportunity of a year’s paid study abroad to a lucky local graduate. Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial scholarships provide funding for post-graduate level academic study at a university in a country of the applicant’s choice. Scholarships can be used for almost any field of study, and they cover all travel, tuition and subsistence costs, up to a generous maximum. One scholarship has been specially set aside for applicants in Rotary District 1080, which covers East Anglia and includes Royston. “There must be many young people who would be delighted to spend a year in a country of their choice studying a subject of their choice in a university of their choice” said the club’s International Committee chairman, Ray Munden. The selected candidate would receive around $26,000 towards their costs and represent our Rotary District 1080 abroad as an ambassador of Rotary. They also get the chance to enhance their interpersonal skills by speaking to a number of Rotary Clubs in their host country. A further opportunity to study abroad is the Rotary International Peace and Conflict Resolution Programme for graduates and young business and professional people. Scholarships for this unique programme are available at six universities worldwide. The selected candidate (this is a world-wide contest for 60 places) would attend their chosen university to study peace and conflict resolution for two years. The Rotary Club of Royston can handle initial applications and enquiries. Deadlines are 17 June for the Ambassadorial Scholarships and 1 May for Peace Fellowships. More information can be found by clicking above or by calling Ray Munden on 01763 241217. 4th March 2011 : Youth Makes Music
Yet again the talent of the young musicians from schools in the area was on display at the Rotary Club of Royston’s Youth Makes Music concert on Friday evening. The packed audience in the concert hall at the University of Cambridge’s School of Music was enthralled by the wide-ranging performances with covered all musical skills from the classical to legendary rock. Event organiser Ken Charles said: “The Youth Makes Music concert is a unique event giving our young people the opportunity to perform in front of an audience in an excellent concert hall. “All those taking part this year certainly excelled and gave marvellous performances,” he said. Taking part in Youth Makes Music were choirs and musicians from Barley First School, Barkway First School, Icknield Walk First School, Roman Way First School, Studlands Rise First School, Tannery Drift First School, Therfield First School; Greneway School, Roysia School, The Meridian School and the Royston Youth Choir. The idea behind the event is for schools to portray the exciting work which is taking place both within and outside the curriculum. One inspiring moment which captured the attention of the audience was a solo performance by pianist James Palmer, from Greneway School, with his own composition After Einaudi. 13th February 2011 : Swimathon 2010
The amount raised will be announced in due course. Pictured here is Jonathan Berks, President of the Rotary Club of Royston swimming for the Rotary team.
6th February 2011 : Cheese and Wine Party
6th February 2011 : Monthly Walk
2nd February 2011 : Technology Tournament
There were two competitions, a Basic and and Advanced. The Advanced competition was won by Meridian A team. The Basic competition was won by Roysia A Team, Freman College C Team came second and Roysia B Team came third. The trophy for the most innovative design, awarded by Johnson Matthey, was won by Roysia A Team. The trophy was presented by Royston Town Mayor, Councillor Martin Beaver, watched by Club President, Jonathan Berks
15th January : Rotary Annual Quiz
11th January : New member - Induction of Tony Briar
2nd January 2011 : New Year's Walk
Our jolly band of walkers met at the Golf Club and headed off to the start of the walk from the church in Hinxworth.It was a cold but bright day and just what was needed to blow away the alcoholic fumes and turkey dinners of the last month. Lunch at The Three Tons was a very welcome sight as were the faces of more Rotary friends, David Beardwell , who came to collect Liz and Annette Guttridge who joined us for lunch.Thank you Sandra - A great day was had by all. 14th December : Christmas Dinner
Click here to see selection of photos. 20th November - 24th December : Father ChristmasClub helps Santa at the Country Gardens Garden Centre, Melbourn
20th November : Children in Need Collection
On Saturday 20th November, members of the Club joined in the fund raising events for Children in Need by collecting in Royston town centre. President Jonathan and his wife Linda are seen here on the left. They and other members were joined by a white rabbit and a funky chicken (in reality Di and Ken Charles). The collection raised £1,383. 10/17th November : Youth Speaks
14th November : Remembrance Sunday
On 4th Sept, vandals broke the crow off the bronze sculpture on the War Memorial (see photo on right). Although the damage was covered by insurance there was an excess of £250 which was paid for by the Rotary Club of Royston. The crow was reinstated in time for Remembrance Sunday. 9th November : £3000 raised for Polio Plus
The money was raised by members and friends through a sponsored walk around the 193 Hertfordshire Way footpath. A non-Rotarian, Sandra Scott who completed the full 193 miles raised over £800. For details of the walk visit our blog at www.walk-for-polio-plus.blogspot.com 7th November : 2nd Rotary Sunday WalkGreat Hormead to Anstey and back
23rd October : District ConferenceRoyston wins Award for best Club Magazine
The surprise event of the day was being awarded the prize for the best Club magazine in District. The photo shows Jonathan receiving the award (a decanter plus bottle of port) from District Governor Rodney Howell. Well done to Ken and Di Charles who produce the magazine - this is the second time that they have won the award for Royston. 10th October : Carpet Bowls, Great Chishill village hall
Friday 10th October saw members of the Club enjoying a game or two of Carpet Bowls at Great Chishill village hall following expert tuition from Jim Webb and David Bannister. Refreshments included a fish and chip supper. 7th October : Eat a Curry for Pakistan
Click here to learn more about LifeStraws
3rd October : 1st Rotary Sunday Walk
We should have then walked back to our starting point via Rickling Church but the wet weather and forecast of worse to come persuaded us to abandon the walk in Clavering
28th Sept : Rotary presents £3000 to Hope & Homes For Children
The charity is working on projects in Eastern Europe and Africa in helping children grow up in a caring family environment. Charity representative David James told the meeting: “We move children out of institutions into family-based care, help keep together families at risk of breakdown due to the pressures of poverty, disease or conflict, and to work to prevent child abandonment.” After David James' presentation, President Jonathan said: “I think we have seen the importance of such a charity and the worthwhile work it is undertaking. It has a huge task in a world that always seems under threat where children are always more vulnerable. We can be proud to help such a charity.” Click here to learn more about Hope and Homes for Children
Rotary and Pakistan Flood Aid
Rotary has once again quickly mobilized itself to help another disaster stricken area, the Pakistan floods. Ironically, despite the cause of the disaster being flooding, a major problem is the lack of clean water for drinking and sanitation. To help address this, individual Rotary clubs in the UK have already funded 400 Water-Survival Boxes. Each Water-Survival Box contains water filtration as well as essential survival kits including tools, buckets, filters, sanitary kits, torches, and cutlery. These items help a family to re-establish themselves in temporary shelter when they have lost all of their possessions. People on the ground are training villagers on the use of equipment in the boxes. The Rotary Club of Royston has already donated £1250 to buy this much-needed equipment used in providing clean water. The funds paid for five Water-Survival boxes, which cost £150 each, and £500 towards the cost of Life Straws, a unit containing a water purification system capable of providing up to 700 litres of clean water and which were to be distributed within three days of our donation. The Club is hoping to provide more of this emergency equipment and contributions would be welcomed. We can ensure that any aid funded will get through to the people most in need, and quickly. If you would like to contribute please send chequepayable to “Rotary Club of Royston” and send to Rotarian David Smyth c/o WKH, 22 -24 Kneesworth Street, Royston, Herts, SG8 5AA. Contributions can be gift aided and every penny will go to providing water purification systems.
29th August : Will Payne Memorial Cricket Match
A BBQ followed with a champagne toast to Will very generously provided by Gill Payne
Click here to enjoy photos of the match
10th August : Happy 60th Birthday Mr President
It was not only a surprise to Jonathan but to the rest of the membership! A very well kept secret. It was an excellent evening held at the Heath Sports Club. Happy Birthday to Jonathan whose birthday was on 11th August.
For Birthday Dinner photos click here
1st August : Royston Kite Festival
An estimated crowd of 5000 saw six hours of entertainment in the arena by a wide variety of kite fliers, despite the occasional problems with wind conditions . To entertain the children, there was a puppet show and mini funfair, and in addition a wide variety of charity and trade stalls. It is too early top give a precise figure for the amount raised, but it is expected to exceed the £5000 raised at the 2009 event . The main beneficiary this year is the charity 'Hope and Homes for Children' with other monies going to other Rotary charity projects. President of Royston Rotary Club,Jonathan Berks, said ' it was a marvellous day..as usual the people of Royston, and from further afield, turned out in large numbers to enjoy a great family day out, and enable us to raise money for worthy causes' 23rd July : Rotarians Invest £1,500 in Royston’s Tennis Future
The Wimbledon dreams of budding Andy Murrays in Royston may have come a little closer this week, thanks to the members of the town’s Rotary Club. Trustees of the Deards Royston Rotary Trust presented a cheque for £500 to help with the costs of Royston Tennis Club’s successful youth development programme, which provides coaching to children of all ages, including pupils at 21 associated schools. Further Rotary grants of £500 are proposed for 2011 and 2012. Rotary Community Service Award presented to Katherine Wholley
In making the presentation to Katherine, Rotary President Jonathan Berks described how she had resurrected the Royston Arts Festival in 2007, and under her guidance and leadership the festival had flourished and grown during the following two years. This year’s festival will be held from 23-26 September 2010 when more than 60 events are planned over the four days. Click here for more details of the Royston Arts Festival Royston welcomes new President for 2010-11
Vice President for the year is Neil Heywood and Junior Vice President is Chris Hardy.
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At
the Club meeting on Tuesday 21st June, President Jonathan presented cheques,
each to the value of £1000, to Sharon Redrup of the Royston Day Centre, Sean
Comerford on behalf of the Fire Fighters Charity and Anne Fleming of Myeloma
UK
At
the Club meeting on Tuesday 18th May, President Jonathan had the pleasure of
inducting a new member, Paul Savage, into the Club. Paul is the Northern
European Manager for Rotam, an agrochemical company. In the past, Paul has
been a member of Northallerton Round Table.
More
than £1,000 was presented to two organisations by the Rotary Club of
Royston. The awards from the club's community fund were presented to Barbara
Blower, of Royston and South Cambridgeshire
The
2010 Swimathon finally got underway at 6pm on Sunday 13th Feb at the Royston
Leisure Centre. Fourteen teams each swam for 55 minutes in a sponsored swim
to raise money for the Royston Day Centre, Myeloma UK, the Fire
Fighters' Charity & Rotary Charities.
Our President, Jonathan,
and his wife, Linda, kindly hosted a cheese and wine party at their house.
Fifty five members and their partners enjoyed a selection of wines from
France, Italy and Australia (the New World had to get in there somewhere)
along with cheeses from France, Italy and England (Aussi cheese is difficult
to obtain at the best of times). Thanks to Linda, Jonathan, Howard and other
members of the social committee.
Ray
Munden organised our February walk which started in the car park of Foxton
village Hall and took us to the Fowlmere Nature Reserve (where Ray is a
voluntary helper), a short stop for coffee in the picnic area, then via
Manor Farm where there is an airstrip, remnants of its day as home to 339th
Fighter Group (mustangs) of the American Airforce. We walked through the
village of Fowlmere and on to Thriplow and the Green Man where we met up
with other members and/partners for an excellent Sunday lunch. It was then
across the fields and alongside Hoffer Brook back to Foxton. Then it was off
home for a shower and change before arriving at the President's for a chees
and wine evening. Thanks to Ray for a very enjoyable walk. According to
someone's GPS we had covered 9.66 miles!
Seventeen
teams battled it out in the annual Rotary Quiz at the Meridian School held
on Saturday 15th January. The winning team was the "180 Degrees". The event
raised over £800 for the Club's charity funds.
At
the Club meeting on Tuesday 11th Jan, President Jonathan had the pleasure of
inducting a new member, Tony Briar, into the Club. Tony, a retired IT
Solutions Architect, was formerly a member of Kimbolton Castle Rotary Club
The
Club's Annual Christmas Dinner was held on 14th December at the Royston Golf
Club. After an excellent meal, President Jonathan Berks presented
certificates to those members of the Club who had managed to walk the full
193 miles of the Hertfordshire Way as part of the Club's Walk for Polio
project. Afterwards members and guests were entertained in music hall
tradition by a singing quintet led by Mr Neil Heywood and MC "your very own"
Mr Jonathan Berks. A lesson in how to dance the tango was presented by Mr
Kash Sharma and Mrs Linda Berks. Mrs Linda Berks also gave a recitation of
"Albert and the Lion".
At
the Club meeting on Tuesday 9th November, President Jonathan presented a
cheque for £3000, for the Rotary Polio Plus project, to the District
Governor, Rodney Howell. 
Royston
was represented at the District Conference by President Jonathan Berks, VP
Neil Heywood and JVP Chris Hardy accompanied by Lynda Berks and Sarah
Heywood.
The
Club's International Chairman, Ray Munden organised a curry evening at the
Ashiana Spice restaurant in Royston to raise funds for Pakistan Flood
Appeal. 45 Rotarians and friends attended the evening raising over £210. The
money raised would be used to fund the purchase of Lifestraws through the
Rotary Club of Minorca, who would also arrange for their distribution.
Following
the success of walking the Hertfordshire Way, some members of the Club
decided to have regular walks once a month. The first walk, organised by Jim
Webb took us from the Coach & Horses in Wicken Bonhunt via Arkesden and
Stickling Green to the Fox and Hounds at Clavering where we ate an excellent
Sunday lunch.
President
Jonathan Berks presented a cheque for £3,000 to his charity of the year Hope
and Homes for Children at the Club's meeting on Tuesday 28th September.
A cricket match was held at Don Kingsley's in honour of the late Will Payne,
a well loved member of the Club who devised the rules of the particular game
played. It was a great afternoon, the rain held off and we all had fun. The
President's team won, of course!!
At
the Club meeting on 10th August we had a surprise 60th Birthday Dinner for
our President Jonathan, pictured here with his wife Lynda and a magnificent
birthday cake in the shape of the Rotary rondal surmounted by the "Building
Bridges" symbol.
At
the Changeover Dinner on 29th June the first duty of new President Jonathan
Berks was to present Katherine Wholley with a Community Service Award for
her outstanding contribution to the local community. 
At
the Changeover Dinner at Bluntswood Hall on 29th June retiring President
David Izod handed over the reigns to Jonathan Berks, who takes over as
President for the year 2010-11.