The Rotary Club of Corringham Thameside

The Rotary Club of Corringham Thameside took their “World’s First Fruit Machine” to the King Harold Day Festivities at Waltham Abbey on Saturday 8th October. Along with the Archery, Hawking, Morris Dancers, Knights in armour and the myriad of stalls offering an insight into many aspects of medieval life, our game was in constant use. As always it raised a smile or two from the adults as many of the younger children wondered how it worked.
It was good to see so many people wanting to try their luck to win one of the many soft toys on offer, but it was one particular member of the public that really made us feel good, when he told us that ours was the best sideshow of its kind he had ever seen!! Praise indeed. Apart from the game we were on hand to sell balloons to add to the party spirit, as a result the club has raised a further £200 for its charity work. To all those who were involved – WELL DONE!

At our meeting on Thursday 8th September, President David Fenn inducted Father David Rollins as an honoury member of the club. The award was made in recognition of his distinguished service in the furtherence of Rotary ideals and as a friend of Rotary and his continued support of Rotary’s cause. In offering the hand of friendship, President David Fenn, on behalf of the club membership, wished Father David a long, happy and rewarding experience with the club.
After the brief induction ceremony, Rotarian Brian Munroe, the club’s chairman of the membership committee, introduced our honoury member to each of the club members.
After this, those present were given an entertaining talk by Derek Parker on the progress of the proposed new port to be built at Corringham. After his talk he answered many questions from the club members.
The club was also pleased to welcome past member, Eddie Hardiman who brought along Charles Key who has shown an interest in joining the club.

Friday 1st July was a big day in the life of the Rotary Club of Corringham Thameside as we celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of receiving our charter.
A dinner was held at Barnard’s Farm, West Horndon and the club welcomed incoming District Governor Neil Muir and Assistant Governor Peter Dowse to the party. It was also nice to welcome Rotarian Godwin Swift, the incoming President of our parent club Stanford Le Hope & Corringham.
During the meal, the guests were entertained by the String Quartet from Gable Hall School in Corringham whose playing was of a very high standard and much appreciated by the audience.
Rotarian Danny Lawrence proposed the toast to “Our President” and President David Fenn, in his reply pointed out that two of our founder members, Peter Burfoot and Bernie Purver were still active members and were present on this occasion. David outlined the achievements of the club over the past twelve months which included 13 community and international projects the club were involved in. The President wagered that not many clubs could match that. He also stressed the need to attract new members.
Rotarian Brian Price proposed a toast to “Our Ladies and our guests” with the reply coming from A.G. Peter Dowse. District Governor Neil Muir paid tribute to the achievements of the club and the enthusiasm of its members and wished the club well for the future.
Following the speeches there was a short “handover” ceremomy when District Governor inducted David Fenn as President for the year 2011/12. The first time in the club’s history that a member had been President for successive years. John Wallington is the new vice-president and Danny Lawrence takes over the mantle of junior vice-president.
Singer Debbie Rae entertained the guests until the midnight hour.

On Wednesday 20th April, club members enjoyed an interesting visit to the Crouch Valr Brewery in South Woodham Ferrers. We set out from the Springhouse Club by mini-bus driven by Andrew Brogan, and arrived at the brewery at 7 p.m. just in time for a welcoming drink. Our guide “Olly” briefed us about the methods used in beer brewing and we were able to sample the different types of malt and hops. We were then given a guided tour of the brewery. It was interesting to learn that in these hard financial times, Crouch Vale’s sales are on a high with the brewery operating close to its maximum capacity. They brew only premium standard beers which are made purely from malt, hops and of course water. When asked if there were any additional ingredients like coriander, cardomen etc. we were told an emphatic no, as they do not consider this as necessary. After the tour we returned for another “taster” before setting off for The Queens Arms in Chelmsford for a buffet and the opportunity to taste a wider selection of Crouch Vale beers i.e. Amarillo, Essex Boys, as well as Summer Gold and their stock bitter. We all had a good time and we would like to thank “Olly” for his time and most entertaining presentation.

The club held a fund-raising Quiz Night at The East Thurrock Community Association’s Hall on Friday 11th March 2011 in aid of Rotary charities.
A packed hall of eighty family and friends battled out a very close and keenly fought competition. Question master Terry Finnegan, tested their general knowledge with questions of a wide range of subjects, cunningly disguised to confuse the teams. All of the questions were multi-choice answers which at least gave the contestants a one in four chance of obtaining the correct answer. In the end only three points covered the top three teams.
Our thanks go to all those who supported us and to the Rotarians and friends who gave of their time to organise the event which raised in excess of four hundred pounds.