Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington and Westgate & Birchington Inner Wheel
Members of Westgate & Birchington Rotary and Inner Wheel, together with partners, friends and other Rotary club members participated in a sponsored walk to raise funds to donate to the Global Polio Eradication initiative which has seen Polio banished from 99.9% of countries worldwide. Millions of people have been saved from paralysis by this disease, but the fight must go on to ensure that it never returns.
Our sponsored walk raised £350 and this will be trebled by matched funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which has pledged to add £2 to every £1 raised by Rotary Clubs. To find out more about this partnership visit www.endpolio.org
While raising money for international charities like Polio Plus, the Rotary Club of Westgate & Birchington also supports a wide range of local charities. One of our major fundraising efforts is not far away as we prepare to send Santa in his sleigh round the streets of Westgate and Birchington calling door-to-door inviting donations. Look out for announcements on Facebook and in the local press to find out which streets we will visit on each date.
Inner Wheel also supports Polio Plus with ‘penny’ collections and fundraisers.
To find out more about Rotary activities, please visit www.wb-rotary.co.uk or contact Dave Alker on 07962 929700
To find out more about Inner Wheel, please visit www.innerwheel.co.uk or contact Hazel on 07889 655497
Birchington Heritage Trust
Rarely seen items from the Trust’s collection are on display for the whole of November. These are military artefacts mainly donated by the late Major Reg Elson, a long-time resident of Birchington, who died in 2018.
The items provide a fascinating glimpse into some of the equipment and uniform worn by Major Elson in the Second World War.
The items, along with many other parts of the Trust’s collection, are on display at the museum, in the David Burley Gallery at Birchington Library. The museum is open during normal library hours.
For more information about our collections, archives and publications, our volunteers are on hand to welcome visitors between 0930 and 1230 Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Broadstairs Town Shed
A Christmas fundraiser for the Town Shed will have hundreds of things for sale, to suit every pocket, plus the usual luxury hamper raffle, a tombola and a book sale.
Free mince pies, Mulled wine and mulled apple juice.
At Broadstairs Town Shed , Unit 3 Oakwood Industrial Estate, Dane Valley Road, Broadstairs, CT10 3JL
Parking limited but venue is on the loop.
Date : November 7th
Time – 12.30pm onwards. Auction at 1.30pm
Broadstairs & St Peter’s Town Council
At the referendum held by Thanet District Council on 26th October, local people voted overwhelmingly in favour of supporting the 2nd Edition Neighbourhood Development Plan for the whole of the Broadstairs and St Peter’s area.
The 2nd Edition Neighbourhood Development Plan was produced by a sub-committee comprising of Broadstairs & St. Peter’s Town Councillors and members of the community, using data from extensive community surveys, and was impartially examined by an Independent Examiner.
Cllr Mike Garner, Chairman of the Neighbourhood Plan Sub Committee explains; “The 2nd Edition of the Neighbourhood Development Plan draws on the success of the 1st Edition with updated information and further policies added covering the Environment.
“Having this Neighbourhood Development Plan will continue to benefit the local area as it contains policies setting out how development should be in the local area and is an additional ‘layer of protection’ on top of the Local Plan. It has been produced by the community for the community.”
Now that the result of the referendum is overwhelmingly Yes, Thanet District Council will use the updated 2nd Edition Neighbourhood Development Plan to continue to help decide planning applications in Broadstairs & St. Peter’s.
Isle of Thanet Photographic Society
Two fabulous guest speakers were warmly welcomed by a large audience of members at our October meetings.
Julian Cottrell, from Ramsgate, provided a fascinating and humorous insight into his life as a photographer, showcasing examples of his work with some famous people firstly as an assistant before setting off on his own. He worked in America in the 1960’s and over the decades was commissioned to photograph models and commercial products as well as create advertisements for TV and other media in the 1970s and 1980s.
Our second guest speaker was Paul Parkinson who gave a master-class in the use of long exposure to create memorable images. This was an evening of learning and entertainment, much enjoyed by members.
On 2 November, we welcomed Julian Cottrell back to the club to judge our 2nd quarterly digital projected image competition. Members enjoyed his critique, although not used to being judged by an internationally renowned photographer! Julian used his experience and skills to offer positive advice to members who’d entered the competition. His candid – and humorous – approach was much appreciated.
One of the top scoring images in the competition was called “Watch your step” by Maria Gilbert (above), who came 3rd in group 1. Her monochrome image is an atmospheric shot, eminently suitable for our current wintry conditions.
Our next guest speakers are both club members who take top quality images: on 9 November John Draper will be presenting “Nature and Landscape Photography, Sandwich Bay” and on 16 November David Silk will give a talk on the topic of “Photography on the Edge – Iceland and India”.
More information about the club is at www.isleofthanetphotographicsociety.com and on our Facebook page.
Breast Cancer Awareness- Kerry Banks
“My voluntary work for Breast Cancer Now October Awareness month has been a busy one on top of full time work however I love being able to make a difference in people’s lives.
I started the month with an online raffle which raised £200. These are always very popular. I started the raffles in May of lockdown 2020 and in the space of 3 years, they alone have raised over £20,000!
Asda’s Tickled Pink Campaign which supports Breast Cancer Now is always looking for volunteers to help in store and so myself and friend Amy Papworth volunteered at Broadstairs Asda and Emma & Lucy Orridge plus Jo Stockhall assisted in Asda Folkestone.
11th October saw myself travelling to London to take part in our Parliamentary Campaign Shoot where I met some wonderful ladies who were either living with Secondary Breast Cancer, survived or who had lost someone to Breast Cancer. We were fortunate to join our CEO Baroness Delyth Morgan in Parliament for some lunch and a tour “backstage” where the public are not allowed which was so interesting!
My biggest event for October was the Adult School Disco! It was packed from start to finish and was so much fun! That event raised £3000 with everyone wanting more and so it will now become an annual event with the next one being Saturday 19th October 2024.
This event followed with our annual Pink Day at long term Sponsors The White House Kent plus volunteers Emma & Lucy Orridge held a coffee morning too.
I would like to say a huge thanks to everyone that attended an event, put some change in a bucket, held their own event, shared a Facebook post plus the following for sponsoring the events: Hudson Admin Support ,Deal Welfare Club, Our amazing School Disco DJ, Guards4Hire Ltd, AJ Events & Co, KC Occasion balloons ,Karen Essam, The Dog at Wingham and The White House Kent -I couldn’t do what I do without you!
Our next event is on Saturday 18th November at Kingsdown Village Hall where my amazing mother in law Jane Banks will be holding a Christmas Fayre for Breast Cancer Now from 2-5.30pm. Entry is free!
Our annual Crocus Walk from Walmer to our Sponsors the First Light Bistro in St Margarets and back is on Saturday 6th April 2024-Registration is now open and we welcome people from all over the county!
To register, please contact Kerry on 07708913976