Stories

Banbury Rotary is proud to be one of the organisations supporting the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal

Today (24 October) is World Polio Day 

See previous post about crocus planting - but read on here to find more about progress to eradicating this terrible disease.

An intrepid group of Rotary members brave the inclement weather to plant thousands of crocus corms to highlight the on-going fight against polio.

Captain Doug Brown spoke to Club members and their partners at our evening meeting on Thu 24 Sep to describe his highly prominent senior flight officer position at British Airways, where he had held major leadership roles across its long-haul fleets becoming BA's Chief Pilot for the Boeing 747 fleet.

Shelterbox specialise in providing essentials like tents, sleeping mats, high thermal blankets, ropes, and solar lights to people affected by disasters.

The Rotary Club of Banbury has an Emergency Response Working Group  which has authorised a donation of £500 to Shelterbox towards tackling the current situation in Nepal.

On 26 August, a sudden glacier collapse sent mud, ice and rock plunging around 1,200 metres into the Bhote Koshi River, triggering a powerful flood that raced downstream through communities in Nepal and Tibet sweeping away homes, roads, bridges and buildings and key infrastructure. As of 9 September, at least 1,375 people have died, more than 5,000 remain missing and over 85,000 are affected across flood-hit districts.

Back in July we posted an article about how some of the money bequeathed to the club by Helen Morris had gone to Dogs for Good to help with the training of a new puppy.

Well - as they do - the puppy is growing up!

We will use this website to keep you abreast of how things are progressing for young Morris - who's current appearance you can see alongside!

Members can check out some informal photos of the steak evening / Fiaz talk  licking on “the ”Fiaz Talk" heading in the photoalbums (down the home page) or by clicking here.

At our Steak Night on Thu 27 Aug 26 Rotarian Fiaz Ahmed described his self-funded visit with the Islamic Welfare Trust UK to refugee settlements in Uganda. He showed images of the many child orphans and displaced families he met and the work being conducted there to feed and shelter hundreds of thousands of people. 

At a meeting on Thursday evening (23 July) at Banbury Cricket Club,the Rotary Club of Banbury inducted a new member, Petronella Mwasandube. Petronella has over 30 years of Healthcare and Management experience in the UK and internationally and was made an OBE for her work with ethnic minority patients and staff in the NHS.

 

The new Rotary year starts in July.

Thus it was that members attended the presidential handover from retiring president, Nigel Randall to our new president, Mark Hughes.

Mark's inaugural speech set out his intention to consolidate existing good practice whilst seeking to review activities with the intent of enabling all members to maximise the use of their skills and abilities.

When Banbury Rotary Club member Helen Morris passed away she left a bequest of £20,000 for the club to disburse to deserving charities.

£10,000 of this went to Dogs for Good and this week we received the following message from them:

Arrangements are well under way for the CSFC concerts on Monday 9th – Thursday 12^th November 2026. 

To find out click to read on.

Koppany Nagy is a Junior Commercial Manager with a strong interest in community service, leadership, and local engagement. He enjoys contributing to initiatives that bring people together and creating lasting positive impact in the community.

When longstanding club member Helen Morris passed away recently, she left a generous £20,000 bequest for use at the discretion of the Rotary Club of Banbury.

After careful and lengthy discussion, it was agreed that the funds should be divided between two charities, allowing each to benefit from a genuinely significant uplift. One organisation that Helen would undoubtedly have approved of is Dogs for Good, who today received a cheque for £10,000 to support their remarkable work.

The invaluable and notable service of six of our members has been recognised.

CONTACT 2026 

“ Contact” is the name given to our long-running European Exchange with Rotary Clubs from France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

This time the “get-together” was in France. Click the picture to see an informal photo-album of the event  or read more for a fuller story of the event.

This well attended meeting included two further service awards:

Here is the Newsletter about the Jigsaw 26: The Missing Pieces that took place on Saturday 25th April 2026 at Sindlesham Court, Reading:

Dogs for Good and Let's Play to share Helen Morris Bequest

Nick was born in Gloucester - 1953. Educated in Towcester & Magdalen College School Brackley (1964 to 1971). Career in Telecommunications (Telephone Exchange Development). Retired in 2010. Moved around a bit - Steeple Claydon (Bucks), Paulerspury (Northants), Nottingham, Sandhurst (Berks) and now Deddington in 2025. Married Glo (Gloria) in 1976. Two children – Elizabeth and Andrew (who sadly died in December 2023). Two grandchildren - James and Isla. Member of Beeston (Notts) Round Table 1981 – 1988. Member of Bisley Lodge (Surrey) 2005 to 2025.

David is our newest member, having transferred from the Lichfield Rotary Club in the New Year, and gave a short description of his career since leaving school in west London aged 16 with some o-levels. He became an apprentice building services engineer (4 years) and spent the next 10 years on various private projects in the London Docklands, the Great Ormond St Hospital and the Hotel de las Artes, Villa Olympico, Barcelona.

Signed-in Members can download notice of the AGM on 1st May 2026 by clicking here.

Emma Orton spoke at the Club Frugal Meal on Thu 26 Mar 26 to introduce Assisted Reading for Children (ARCh), that helps pupils in Oxfordshire who struggle with their reading. They send trained volunteers into primary schools and aim to inspire in the children we see a love of reading. This will enhance their lives and improve their life chances.

In November 2025 The Rotary Club of Banbury raised £7800 for childrens good causes through it's “Children Singing for Children” concerts.

It may seem a bit early to be planning for November 2026 - but in organising four evenings of concerts with around 600 children there's a lot to get sorted!

If you are a local primary school and haven't yet signed up - we recommend you do so ASAP and certainly befote 1st May 2026.

We can only accommodate  maximum of 24 schools. So far we've got 17. 

It's first come: first served so read on to make sure your school doesn't miss out on this truly uplifting event.

Friday 20^th March saw a visit by  Dawn Hodson, from Reducing the Risk, to our meeting to receive a total of £650 from the Autumn Concert surplus and certain supermarket collections. She gave an update on the charity - and in particular the work they are doing with local schools.

 You can read more about this charity here.

She was accompanied by Sally Scott, who is Oxfordshire's Deputy Lieutenant: someone who is playing a lead role in actively supporting the Reducing the Risk project.

You can read more about the lieutenancy here.

Joan Bond gave a short talk to members at the Speaker Meeting on Thu 12 March to share the very personal story of her extensive and heart-felt search for her unknown parents. After much work, and some luck, she was eventually able to make contact and form a close relationship with her maternal family who originally lived in Persia but some members of whom came to the UK during WW2.

At Club on Fri 27 Feb members discussed whether the introduction of Working Groups in replacement for the normal Rotary Club Committee structure had achieved its original objective. A working group structure had been adopted in RY 24/25 in acknowledgement of the reduced attendance levels and individual participation at committee meetings since COVID, noting that big events were already organised outside the routine committee structure. 

Hundreds of Rotary clubs across Great Britain & Ireland have been supporting Lendwithcare since 2011. Lendwithcare is a microfinance initiative run by CARE International UK that allows individuals to lend as little as £15 to support entrepreneurs in low-income countries. The program aims to help people set up and run local businesses in very poor but safe locations throughout the world, where repayments of the loans made can be collected safely and regularly by honest people.

After discussion at a recent Open Club Meeting regarding a perceived drop in regular numbers attending club meetings it was decided to try holding 2 evening meetings a month with a view to attracting those who cannot attend on Friday lunchtime either due to work or cultural commitments. So, from 1 March 2026 there will regular weekly meetings at the Cricket Club held at 1230 for 1300 on odd numbered Friday lunchtimes of the month, and at 1800 for 1830 on Thursday evenings on even numbered weeks of the month. See Event Calendar for details of any specific meeting.

On 26^rd January 2026 we were presented a talk by  Sonia Robinson from Trading Standards entitled  “Scams and Rogue Traders” which set out the role of Oxfordshire Trading Standards and how to protect oneself.

We are coming up to Febriary which for Rotary is Peacebuiling and conflict Prevention month.

Rotary's 1.2 million members are committed to this as one of the seven key areas.

They also actively seek to help those affected by conflict.

Read on for more information including how Rotary Clubs are helping those affeceted by the war in Ukraine.

Following the success of last year’s Charity Christmas Light Trail, the Westminster Group Foundation once again brought a festive cheer to Banbury with a dazzling display of lights and decorations at Westminster House. The 2025 event took place over two weekends — Friday 5th to Sunday 7th December and Friday 12th to Sunday 14th December, from 6pm to 9pm each evening.

Visitors were able to take a magical walk through the illuminated gardens, enjoy hot drinks and food stalls, and take part in a Children’s Christmas Quest. The entry fee was by a suggested donation of £5 per person, with all funds raised going to charity.

The Westminster Corporate Rotary Members helped by a few Club Members helped to raise £5000, which will be split amongst their choice of local charities.  See below for a letter of thanks from them for our support.

See photo-albums further down the page for photos of this event.

Over 40 members, partners and guests shared fellowship and a festive meal at the Whately Hall Hotel on Thu 11 Dec 25 in a Posh Frocks event. The idea originated with a suggestion by Amanda Laurenson and this was taken up by Paul Gardiner, who arranged the venue and festive menu, and Martin Phillips, who arranged the entertainent by the Five Ways Harmony Choir.  The food, service and entertainment were great fun and everyone thoroughly enjoyed dressing up for an evening out with friends - hopefully, a trend that will be repeated again before the end of the Rotary Year!

Annie Gayton, who caters for us at the Cricket Club, teaches her culminary and enterprise skills to catering student at Banbury College. Part of the practical tuition for students is to produce and serve a practice Christmas Meal to paying guests on Tues and Thus lunchtime in the two weeks before Christmas. Purely out of the goodness of our hearts (and stomachs) ten members and partners volunteered to be guineapigs at their first event on Thu 4 Dec 25, and I have to admit that the meal was very generous (in a massive way) and increadibly tasty. Sometimes it can be great fun helping out in the community!

We recently received a heartwarming letter from a trustee of the Banbury SocialEyes charity group, part of MyVision Oxfordshire, to thank us for the generous contributions we made to them this year, and to wish all members a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

Attached is their annual report, highlighting what they have been doing this year and the impact of MyVision in this area. You may spot Steve Baker in one of the photos. 

Members of SocialEyes would welcome the opportunity to tell you more about living with visual impairment and what the local group means to them. Also, members of Rotary would be welcome to join one of their monthly coffee and chats at the Mill so that the group could personally thank you for your support.

You are thanked for Club's work in raising funds and generosity to Banbury SocialEyes. 

Thanks to Alex for some high quality training on the CPR and the use of defibillators.

He commenced by explaining the difference between a heart attack (plumbing) and cardiac arrest (electrics!)

In the case of cardiac arrest the electrical signals to the heart are often in a state of fibrillation (irregular fluttering).

The patient will be unconscious and the first 3-5 minutes are pivotal. CPR keeps oxygen circulating until a defibrillator can be used to stop thje fibrillation and allow the heart to restart with a proper rhythm. 

D - R - S - A - B - C- D

The Events 

What an unforgettable week it has been! Our Children's Concert Series has been a resounding success, with 22 local schools and 450 children shining bright on stage, each school performing two songs before combining into a massed choir of 100 - 150 young singers for each evening’s finale.

The 4 day series of concerts drew to a close with storming renditions by Frank Wise School students singing ‘Elephants have wrinkles’ and ‘Let’s go fly a kite’, again followed the massed  finale songs in which  all the young singers performed with such gusto and enthusiasm that you’d have needed a heart of stone not to be moved by the joyousness of the whole occasion.

🇬🇧 Banbury Rotary Club at Remembrance Sunday 2025 🇬🇧

Today, members of Banbury Rotary Club were honoured to take an active part in Banbury’s Remembrance Day commemorations — a moving and unifying occasion for our town as we remembered those who gave so much for our freedom.

It's World Polio Day.

For more information click here.

See previous article on Crocus Planting

Braving Storm Benjamin, a team of around a dozen intrepid Banbury Rotary Club members and friends  today planted 12,000 crocus corms at Banbury Cemetery and  Crematorium. 

Why?
Because, come spring,  they hope the  burst of purple colour, will raise awareness of Rotary’s global mission to eradicate the terrible disease - polio.
Read on to find out about a project that dwarfs the scale of HS2 but is 99.8% complete!

In a cardiac emergency, time is life. Immediate CPR and defibrillator use can double—or even triple—a person’s chance of survival. Yet too few of us are trained.
Whether you're at home, work, or in the community, knowing how to respond could mean the difference between life and death. Training is quick, accessible, and empowers you to act confidently when it matters most.
💡 Be the difference. Get trained. Save lives.

The most heartwarming series of events of the year is almost here! For four magical evenings, your local Rotary Club is thrilled to present our annual Children's Singing for Children Concert Series! Be enchanted as young voices fill the air with joy, harmony, and a wonderful enthusiasm. Each school will bring two songs of their own choice ranging from timeless classics to modern favourites.

Following that - prepare for unforgettable massed choir finales guaranteed to uplift your spirits and put a smile on your face or maybe bring a tear of joy to your eye! This isn't just a concert; it's a celebration of community and the incredible power of young people singing. 

Bring your family, bring your friends, and make memories that will last a lifetime. All monies raised go to support Children's Charities. Add it to your calendar now!

John Davies told us about how his involvement in stamp collecting when his children became interested got a bit out of hand and ended up with him having a collection exhibited at several international exhibitions!

This article appears in the October edition of the RGB&I Rotary Magazine

Saturday 4th October 2025

7:00pm  at St Mary’s Church Banbury

Supporting 4 local charities 

Alan Wolstencroft is a member of Banbury Rotary Club, and he is undertaking a 20 mile bike ride in order to raise funds for his latest "Alans Africa" project, to totally refurbish a 3-classroom block at Kono Town Primary School.

He's almost 80% there in terms of sponsorship …..

Al;ex  spoke to us about the role of 1st responders in the South and Central Ambulance Charity.

The NHS benefits from people working in this charity helping them meet their response time targets but in reality they are charities and are not formally part of the NHS structure.

The dates for the next Contact meeting are 14-17 May 2026.

See more details of the programme.

Please be deciding whether you will be taking part.

Lend with Care is an enterprising charity that has been running a loan scheme for eligible individuals or suitable groups in support of individuals aiming to be entrepreneurial in their own countries where there is no obvious support for them locally but where there is at least a framework of those who can administer such scheme safely to those providing the capital. There are many countries who cannot organise safe and proper organisation by reliable local agents, so the list may well be shorter than the real need of where help could be provided.

And so it was that an intrepid group of members of Banbury Rotary Club braved the travails of HS2 to visit Quainton Mill near Aylesbury.

They were not disappointed: the windmill soared majestically into the air just an easy walk from the pub at which time had been set-aside to share experiences over lunch.

You can see some of the photos from our 2025 exchange by visiting the photo-album here.

It's easy to look at the news on TV and ask whether anything good is happeninhg!? The answer is “Yes."

Rotary's work to eradicate polio - started in 1979 and has reduced cases of this dreadful disease by 99.9% worldwide.

Join us and help our international effort  to finally eradicate it from the remaining two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

While even a few cases remain we are all at risk - but - as they say in the supermarkets - “When it's gone - it's gone!”

All good wishes  Peter and Pat as you move away to your new home.

Thanks also for the super "farewell do" where good food, good drink, good weather  and most importantly good company were the order of the day.

On Thursday 7^th August, Banbury Rotary Club members and their guests enjoyed  an evening at the Whately Hall Hotel which included  an inspirational talk from Sam Game, who created and runs the charity ‘Standing in the Gap’ - aptly named, because they stand in the gap between an underfunded NHS and children with emotional challenges & their parents.

Rotary is a “Service Club” - which means exactly what it says. We try and provide a service to the community, local, national and international.

Saturday 2nd August, saw one of the many bits of service we engage in: to marshall the parking of over 400 cars at the Dassett Country Show.

Under the auspices of the Rotary Youth Leadership Award the Rotary Club of Banbury has sponsored two students from the Griffiths Centre, Frank Wise School to attend the Calvert Trust, Exmoor each year since 2012.

Tyler Saunderson and Katelyn Bonham were the lucky participants this year.

Unlike the usual new year which commences in the frosts of January, the new Rotary Year starts on 1st July and this year that's happened in the midst of a heatwave with temperatures of 33.9C (93F) being recorded in Essex.

I guess this is a useful reminder that Rotary's most recent “Area of Focus” is the environment.

Banbury Rotary Club has engaged in several on-going environmental projects.

Tuesday 20th May, 7 o'clock at BCC for a pre club European Exchange meeting. (Contact)
 Bring a plate to share with a German theme, and pen and paper 
  Alison will take us through the arrangements for our trip to Aalen-Heidenheim, it is really important at least one person per couple attend but hopefully all can, to make sure we are all well briefed.

Thanks to Alan  for arranging a fascinating visit to the Carpetbagger museum at Harrington.

The airfield upon which the museum stands was home to “Special Ops” missions behind enemy lines in WWII and we were shown a film about this coupled with expl;anations of the role of the base.

In 

The Rotary Club of Banbury received several mentions  of work the club does with local youngsters at a recent Thames Valley District Showcase.

Also mentioned  in a slot of it's own was Alan Wol;stencroft's work with schools in Sierra Lleone.

My Life Story 25 th April

Speaking at our meeting on 25 th April was Banbury Rotary Club member Peter Fowler, who presented his life story. A Banbury boy, Peter told us about early life, his schooling and his initial ventures into the world of employment, as for many of us, a time of uncertainty.
 

Members and partners enjoyed dinner together at the Whately Hall Hotel on the evening of Weds 9 April. 

James Ottley, from the Charity “Children Heard and Seen” (CHAS) gave us a talk about the organisation he works for.

He related how it had been set up Established in 2014, to fill the gap in support for children impacted by parental imprisonment. 

With over 1,200 children and their families already supported, they remain the only charity in England dedicated to serving children within their communities by lending an ear to their concerns, and acting as an advocate for their voices to be heard and extending support to those who care for the child as may seem appropriate.

Over the Christmas Period the club engaged in several fund-raising activities at local supermarkets.

Sainsburys were keen that monies raised were directed towards lessening the challenges of local people experiencing  food poverty.

The Club is donating £250 from monies raised by the Community and Vocational Working Group to a charity called  “Reducing the Risk.”

Reducing the Risk is an Oxfordshire-based charity that works locally, regionally and nationally to empower professionals, volunteers and communities who support victim-survivors of domestic abuse.

You can read more about their work here.  https://reducingtherisk.org.uk/

Our speaker today was Simon Lawton, who visited us 18 months ago to talk about bee keeping. This time the subject was rodent control, a problem which most householders will have need for at some time or another.

Westminster Security create a magical Christmas Light Trail  to raise money for Banbury Rotary Club and The Wesrtminster Foundation.

Come and Join the Fun!