Kirkby Charter at The Hostess 12th March

The Hostess Restaurant at Sookholme was the venue for the 66th Charter Anniversary celebrations of the Rotary Club of Kirkby in Ashfield.    I was picked up at home by Rtn John Horwood from the RC of Belper and Duffield for the fifty minute drive.    We were met by President Mike Lee and other members of the Kirkby Club. 

With about 90 people present, the Hostess still managed to provide three choices for each of the four courses and those choices were made after we sat down for the meal.    ( It does beg the question that if The Hostess can do it why oh why can't other venues??)      The quality of the fare on offer was very good and the service equalled it.

After the meal we came to the traditional speeches when I was requested to respond to the toast to Rotary International, proposed by Past President Eric Thompson.      With entertainment from Newstead Brass still to come and having a croaky voice again tonight I kept my speech to a minimum.  During this speech I talked about the work done by President Mike Lee over the years, before surprising him with the award of a Paul Harris Fellowship.   Mike seemed almost stunned by this but everyone who knows him thought it was a really well deserved honour.

President Mike receiving his Paul Harris Fellowship

The Newstead Brass performed for about thirty minutes or so with a wide range of music, which all seemed to have been very well received by the audience.     After the entertainment President Mike closed proceedings with the presentation of floral displays to the ladies on the top table, including myself, which I received on behalf of Gail who had to miss the evening with a chest infection.