Mansfield Rotary Club organised a BBQ lunch at the home of Matthew & Sarah Harding on Sunday 25th July on a warm, sunny day

.  Rotarians appreciated the support of Inner Wheel members, who worked diligently in the morning to prepare some of the food.  Veronica & Jenny also sold the raffle tickets. 

It was a most enjoyable afternoon with lots of fun and friendship.  £1,180 was raised for international and local charities.

Unfortunately, after great expectations of a July face to face meeting, we were back to Zoom again in Septmeber. Well done President Lynn, chairing the first meeting of your Inner Wheel year.

We were excited to hear about the planned expansion to build a discovery centre and planetarium on land adjoining the original site restoring and utilising an underground reservoir. They are working towards obtaining funding from various sources and we wish them all the best in their endeavour – as well as being a fantastic facility, it will have great economic impact, much needed in our area.

The Sherwood Observatory, which is situated on Coxmoor Road, is to reopen now that restrictions are being lifted and the first ‘Solar Day’ is on 25th July.

After all our Zoom Meetings this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we really appreciated being all together face to face. How lucky we were that the sun shone so brightly for us all afternoon! We took our own chairs and either ordered an afternoon tea through Dain Pinder or brought our own to eat. Past President Ilean Lumsdon and President Lynn Bowman generously treated us all to a glass of fizz or elderflower cordial, followed by a cup of tea, served to us by Dain and her helpers

Rosemary also had lots of scarves, gift bags and books for sale and Elaine brought her beautifully crafted greetings cards that she sells to boost the Charity Account funds.

Lots of members, including Lorna Pye, Ann Pradhan, Margaret Wilson, Veronica Malkowski and Jennifer Brackenbury had knitted and crocheted a large number of lovely, colourful blankets and baby bears to be sent abroad for international charities.

Veronica and Jenny show us these amazing baby bears & blankets, which they have knitted and crocheted for International Charities.

Past President Ilean Lumsdon hands over her chain of office to our new President Lynn Bowman

Rosemary presented Past District Chairman Anne Lyons with a lovely bouquet. The District Rally organised by Anne for her year sadly never came to be and this was one of the arrangements planned by Rosemary for the occasion.

For all their hard work, Elaine & Ilean are delighted to receive from Past District Chairman, Yvonne Neville, a cushion each, beautifully embroidered by a former Inner Wheel member, Julia Mudford.

What a most enjoyable and memorable afternoon we had, full of fun, laughter and friendship

Following on with our theme of Australia related stories that Barbara Dixon inspired, Margaret Thomas surprised us with the intriguing provenance of a drawing that has hung in her hallway for the last 40 years.

Margaret knew that her Aunt Nancy (circled) had married an artist and moved to Australia in the 1930s but knew little of the life they led there. In recent years on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, she was browsing through a guide book when to her surprise she found that a painting which has been widely reproduced, appropriated and copied and is a big seller on the postcard stands at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, was actually the work of her Uncle Charles!

Margaret later discovered that Charles Meere’s work had been chosen to celebrate two very important occasions in Australian history.

The first was a poster marking the celebration of two hundred years of European settlement in 1938. The second was the inclusion of Australian Beach Pattern in the 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony programme.

The drawing signed by Charles Meere and given to Margaret by her cousin, the artist’s daughter, has since had a little more attention than it has received in the last forty years!

At the same meeting, Rosemary Wilson talked about Book Aid International: one of our chosen International charities. It was started by the wife of the British Governor of the Bahamas in 1954 and was at first called the Ranfurly Library after it’s founder Lady Ranfurly.

They do a tremendous amount of good work throughout the world helping in the education of countless people so that they can reshape their lives. As a club, we have raised funds for this cause for many years, mainly through the sale of books at Club meetings. Rosemary wanted to remind us what a great organisation it is and hopefully, we will be able to resume our book stall soon.

Bellamy Road Tenants & Residents Association works towards raising community spirit to make life a better place for those living in the local area. Mansfield Rotary began to support the initiative some time ago and later Mansfield Inner Wheel donated funds collected at our Christmas meeting towards planned projects.

When Captain Tom Moore’s daughter asked people to ‘Do 100 things for charity to keep his foundation going’ Veronica and Jennifer decided to bake 100 cakes and donate them to the Bellamy Road Food Share on behalf of Inner Wheel.

Last Christmas the money raised from the raffle was to go towards a summer outing for children in the area. It was doubtful it would take place this year but happily, Veronica tells us that two coaches have been booked (and quickly filled) for a day at the coast.

Felicity Whittle, a Gold Star Guide, gave us a very interesting talk online about the history of Standard Hill, which is very near to the entrance to the Castle and the Park in Nottingham.

 Nottingham Hospital in Royal Standard Place. The War Memorial for soldiers, sailors and nurses, who died in the 1st World War, 1914/18.  The hospital became a Nurses’ Home and more recently was sold as flats.

In 1068, Richard 111 stayed in Nottingham Castle and the Ducal Palace before the Battle of Bosworth.  In 1642 King Charles 1st raised his standard near here, which marked the beginning of the Civil War.

Nottingham General Hospital was founded by John Keys in 1781.  The plaque commemorates Queen Victoria’s Jubilee.  Lord Byron stayed in this house in 1798/9 before studying at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Felicity Whittle’s talk was excellent with amazing pictures and detailed information about the important history of Standard Hill in Nottingham.  Many thanks to Dain Pinder for organising Felicity as our speaker!

Our February Zoom Club Meeting was kindly hosted by last year’s President, Elizabeth Roughton, who had invited David Templeman to speak to us about Mary Queen of Scots, “The Captive Queen in England 1568 to 87”.

It was certainly a very captivating and most interesting talk.  Although Mary & Elizabeth I, were cousins, they were rival Queens, as Mary was a Catholic and Elizabeth I, a Protestant. 

Mary certainly had a very difficult life and mistakenly decided to cross over to England to be with Elizabeth, her cousin (once removed).  She stayed at Carlisle Castle and in the north of England for some time before eventually staying in local country houses ie. Chatsworth House, Hardwick Hall, Wingfield Hall and Sheffield Castle etc. where she was confined for some time.  Mary’s health began to deteriorate after falling off her horse and being imprisoned for 13 years.  She became involved in the Babington Plot and was sadly tried and executed in February 1587 at the age of 44.

Instead of spending our Inner Wheel Working Day at Rosemary Wilson’s home, making baby bundles, toy bags, knitting, sewing, crocheting and cutting stamps for International Charities, we relaxed at home and listened on our Zoom Meeting, hosted by Vivienne Brown, to Barbara Dixon’s amazing talk about her and Reg’s experiences as £10 Poms in Australia in the 1960s.

How brave they were to take their 7 month old baby, Mark, on an air passage to Australia!  Her husband, Reg, loved his work as a hospital general surgeon. 

They travelled from Armidale in New South Wales to Darwin, 1,000 miles away, via Sydney, while Barbara was expecting their 2nd child, and were fascinated by very rural countryside with lots of koala bears, kangaroos, camels and dingoes etc, on their journey.

They were made most welcome in this primitive area & settled down in their new house, where Reg built a boat and baby Ian was born.

Queensland was their next destination, where Reg enjoyed his hospital work and fishing, before moving to New Guinea, where they were fortunate to have servants to look after their children, house and garden. 

What a wonderful and unforgettable experience not only for Barbara, Reg and family but for our Inner Wheel members and guests, who attended this Zoom Meeting.

Lynn Bowman enlightened us about her experiences with her friends, some of whose family live in Australia. Anne & Phil Lyons told us about meeting famous cricket players, who were staying in the same hotel in Melbourne.

Many thanks to Carol Hyde-Barker for organising the Zoom Club Meeting so efficiently!  Our four speakers impressed us all with their knowledge and enthusiasm for their chosen subjects.

After learning how to embroider materials with her sewing machine, Jenny Brackenbury showed us the intricate, embroidered squares, which she had sewn together to make amazing, beautiful quilts for Christmas presents for her three granddaughters.

Ilean Lumsdon certainly encouraged us all to read “Where the Crawdads Sing.” by Delia Owens, a novel about a young seven year old adopted girl, who grows up in the marshes in North Carolina.  Her childhood, spent among the beautiful marshlands, gives her so much joy.

Anne Lyons spoke about her unusual year as District 22 Chairman, which started off so successfully, with the support of our members, at the Rotary Conference in Scarborough, her District Charity Luncheon at the Hostess in aid of MacMillan Cancer Care, the Annual Carol Service at St. Philip Neri’s Church and the District Quiz  in February.  Then sadly her preparations for the District Rally and all other events had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown towards the end of March!  What a shame!

Lynn Bowman talked about the series of 30 crime novels by Donna Leon, set in Venice featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. The reader is introduced to his family and the life and culture of Venice. Food features greatly in the novels so much that the author produced a cookery book of Brunetti recipes. 

A brilliant way of raising money for International Charities!  Rosemary Wilson generously sent us all a box of Smarties, which we clearly enjoyed eating, as we either soon returned our empty box filled with coins or sent a donation.  Rosemary raised the amazing sum of £424.50 for ‘School in a Bag’ and other International Charities.  Congratulations!