DG's Visits Week 35

One of my most enjoyable activities is collecting cheques, especially when these are for the wonderful cause of finally eliminating polio. Clubs all round District 1010 have already been very active, with even greater activity planned for this coming Saturday 27 February. Despite giving me a very large cheque for this cause last week, my own Club's efforts continue unabated, with a collection today in the Overgate Centre and again at Tesco Kingsway on Saturday. As well as straight forward collections from the public, dinners, sporting events, sales of goods and many other activities are also being pursued. The commitment of 1010 Rotarians is quite superb, the good will of the general public very evident, and the assistance and financial support of the big organisations such as Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrison and Dobbies enormously appreciated. I can only say a very big 'Thank You' to everyone involved and hope that our efforts will finally see an end to this most terrible of diseases.

DG's Visits Week 34

This week saw the start to the run in to the big Thanks for Life campaign in RIBI in which all 29 Districts are participating. There are many wonderful initiatives for fund raising, including everything from face painting to sponsored parachute jumps. However one of my own special favourites is that of Monifieth RC in which 2 of their over 60 members completed a mini triathlon of a mile each of swimming, cycling and running in under 1 hour. Rotarians Phil Leckie and Ally Martin spent many a wearisome session beforehand training for this, but completed the event in fine style. It was a great pleasure to meet up with them and their President David to receive their cheque. The Club's momentum continues unabated with a further collection for TfL on Sat 27 February, at Dobbie's in Monifieth

DG's Visits Week 33

The best of Scottish fare on the Saturday evening was followed by even better food on the Sunday. The latter was the occasion of the District finals of the Young Chef Competition, held again in the Catering Department of Dundee College. This scheme first came into existence due to the good offices and hard work of the Rotary Club of Dundee Discovery, in 2008. Again they were at the forefront of the organisation, ably aided and abetted by Dundee Claverhouse. Fourteen finalist from the local heats duly arrived from every corner of the District, some having left in the astonishingly early hours of Sunday morning to get to Dundee in time. Their task was to produce a balanced, interesting and healthy menu in 2 hours, for 2 people, at a cost of less than £15. Not only did they have to prepare everything and cook it, but they were also assessed on table settings and the quality of food presentation. In the words of the professional chefs who acted as part of the judging panel, this would have taxed many a time served professional and the skills on display were quite remarkable. The menus were excellent, to the extent that the organisers hope to combine them into a publication which can be sold for charity funds. The young people were incredibly committed and extremely hard working. The quality of food was quite superb. I would happily have any one of the young people prepare a meal for me. In the end, we had to select two winners and a reserve who will go forward to the next stage of the northern Britain finals from which further selections will be made to go to the RIBI finals in the south of England. These were Caitie Grainger,BlairWilson and Anne Doidge. However, everyone was a winner. It is no mean achievement to parade your skills in public before your peers and even more so, when at a relatively young age. I hope that all of them will maintain their obvious interest in the culinary arts. My thanks go to the respective Presidents of Discovery and Claverhouse, Craig Suttie and Nick Fleming, and all their Rotarians, for masterminding this very worthwhile competition.

DG's Visits Week 32

My 32nd week in post, having started with 2 days of General Council at RIBI's HQ in Alcester, ended with a unique event held by Dundee Rotary Club. This was their Scots Evening which came into existence to replace the Annual Ball which was increasingly affected by falling support. Happily, this year's event also coincided with the visit of one of Dundee's twin Clubs from Orleans in France. The two Clubs visit each other on alternate years. A little extra spice was added to this year's visit, as the French rugby team were due to take on Scotland at Murrayfield the following day. After 2 days of visits to local places of interest, the Saturday evening event took the form of a dinner with strong Scottish and Burns overtones. With traditional Scotch Broth, etc, it was inevitable that there would be an address to the haggis. Uniquely, not only was this given in our native tongue but it was also translated into French. It was not only our French visitors who looked bemused! The meal was followed by singing, dancing and some very unlikely tales in Franglais. Everyone had a wonderful evening which did much to cement both the spirit of Rotary and that of Entente Cordiale, even if our French accents left something to be desired in singing La Marseillaise.