The Rotary Club of Corringham Thameside

Our club President, Paul Goddard, will be having his Presidents night on the the 29th May 2008 at the Ye Old Plough, Bulphan. A extra special menu along with fantastic music and entertainment supplied by the wonderful Dianne Moore.
Black Tie simply a must !!

We are planning a day trip, for our members, to Lille France to visit a Christmas Market on the 23rd November 2008. Kirbys coaches will be taking the club via the Eurotunnel for what plans to be a great day of fellowship. Au revoir !!

All four members of the team, together with our support team visited the course for a training exercise on Sunday 20th April 2008.We set out from Corringham with Rob leading and Doug following behind. We stopped at a service station on the A3 for breakfast and then set off to our start point. It didn’t take long before we had lost sight of Doug’s car, and after some frantic telephone calls we established that he had followed the wrong silver Ford and had turned off onto the A31. Somebody muttered something about he might find it difficult to find the checkpoints if he couldn’t follow the correct car, but thankfully, it didn’t take him long to catch up with us. Terry meanwhile was beside himself with the fear that Gerry, who was travelling with Doug might have found Terry’s lunch and devoured it.We arrived at Cocking Down, near Midhurst in time to start our walk at 11.15 a.m. There were still anxieties about Doug finding the rendezvous points as he was carrying our food and water supplies. The walk started with a long and labourious climb that lasted for over a mile, not exactly what you want after sitting in a car for two hours, but once we had walked the stiffness out of our legs we made good time. The weather soon turned to a nice sunny day, and we were able to arrive at Littleton Farm, checkpoint 3 on the walk (5.2 miles) in just 1 hour 22 minutes. That’s 8 minutes ahead of schedule. Doug and Ann had got the farmer to allow them to use the corner of a barn to brew up. So there we were, tucking into hot vegetable soup. Gerry had developed a small blister to which he applied a blister plaster and we were off on the next leg.This was quite picturesque, with young lambs everywhere and some stunning views. As the official checkpoint was not available, we had agreed to meet in a pub car park. We covered the 5.8 miles in 1 hour 30 minutes, ten minutes ahead of schedule. We then had about half a mile to reach the pub. Naturally, we could not brewup in the pub’s car park, but the publican of The George and Dragon in Houghton provided us with tea and coffee “on the house”. We would like to express our sincere thanks to him, it was much appreciated.We returned to the route and made our way along the river bank and then we had some big hills to climb. On the second of these, David was having difficulty with a tightened calf muscle and Terry came to his aid by lending him his walking poles. Soon after we decide to have a short break and David took the opprtunity to take on board some isotonic drink, which appeared to help him. He did manage to keep up with the others (or was it that they slowed down for him). This was the longest leg and one in which a navigational error would result in disqualification in the event. Learning from their previous experiences (when they took a wrong turning for being over confident), this time Terry was doing the map reading whilst David would read out the instructions from the walk guide. As a result, no navigational errors ocurred and we got to the official checkpoint after 7.8 miles in 2 hours 30 minutes, just fifteen minutes behind our schedule, but we did have a stop on the way. Tired, but in good spirits, we now had to locate the support team. The nearest safe place for them to stop was a car park a mile further along the route of the next leg, and of course it was uphill all the way. Nevertheless, it was great to meet up, and Doug and Ann had prepared “a feast” of corned beef and baked beans, apple tart and a welcome cup of tea. It may sound basic, but to the walkers it was heaven. A very big thankyou to Doug and Ann, your efforts were very much appreciated. Rob’s wife Mikaila and 9 year old daughter Jessica were also there to greet us. A successful training stint, a great team spirit and some valuable experience gained.

We will be holding our annual Fishing Day for handicapped and under-priviledged children on Sunday 13th July 2008. The club will again be inviting a number of children from local schools and Special Needs Activity Clubs to spend an afternoon fishing at a private lake in South Ockendon. Each of the children, accompanied by a parent or carer will be aided by a member of the Jubilee Fishing Club, who will provide all the necessary equpment.
The Rotary Club will ensure that there is a constant supply of hot dogs and hamburgers as well as soft drinks. Each child will receive a trophy to remember their experience, with special awards for the most fish caught and of course the biggest fish landed.
This event has been organised by the Rotary Club of Corringham Thameside for more than twelve years.

Fifty Six members friends and family enjoyed their curry lunch held at The Tandoori Parlour, Hart Road, Thundersley on Sunday 6th April. The diners enjoyed an array of both Indian and Nepalese dishes as well as the company of friends and family. The event was an outstanding success and raised £342 towards our Trailwalker target. We would like to thank all those who supported us, with a special thanks to the management and staff of The Tandoori Parlour whose efforts made it an event to remember.
Thankyou.