 Living in the North West as we do here in District 128,
perhaps Blackpool wouldn’t be our first choice as a
conference venue – as they say, ‘familiarity
breeds contempt’ – but, since most of the time
was spent inside the Winter Gardens and the weather was perhaps
a little too cool for making sandcastles and paddling!, it
really didn’t matter and Conference 2008 was absolutely
super. It was a really relaxed, happy and friendly
occasion but underneath lay the usual business-like and efficient
manner with which all Inner Wheel Conferences are held.
Monday was registration day for most of us (though not, of
course, for our intrepid “daily” travellers who
braved the motorways both mornings!!). The Winter Gardens
soon filled up with excited delegates – friendships were
renewed and formed – charity information was collected
and, of course, various items just had to be purchased from
the stalls in the Horseshoe!
The Ruskin Hotel hosted our District get-together on the Monday
evening for my “Around The World” quiz. I
had a great time over the last year cutting pictures out of
magazines and brochures to task their brains – and I’m
delighted to say that everyone joined in – both for the
quiz and on the table questions – and there was a  lot
of chatting and catching up done too, I might add!! I
certainly enjoyed watching their puzzled faces as they tried
to figure out ‘where on earth in the world’ the
pictures showed! There was the odd cry of “I know
where that is!” (obviously a Eureka moment) and “I’ve
been there” – not to mention the “It’s not …..!” Memories
of holidays past were dredged and gradually the answer sheets
began to fill. By the end of the evening, 2 teams were
neck and neck – the tension built as we went to a tie-break
situation – but after that we still had a tie, so I threw
in the towel and awarded Crompton & Royton and Horwich
one bottle of wine each. How they shared those amongst
themselves I’ll never know – but I have to stand
back in amazement at their knowledge of holiday resorts!! I
do thank everyone for their support and for taxing their little
grey cells.
First Conference Session
 Tuesday 8th dawned to heavy rain and we feared the worst
for the remainder of our time in Blackpool, but before we
knew it, the clouds began to clear and although the weather
remained cool and breezy (typical Blackpool in April), we
didn’t get wet and were saved from having to sit and
gently steam in a very warm conference hall.
By 9.30 a.m. the Opera House looked like it was going to
burst at the seams as 2737 delegates took to their seats
for “Songs of Praise” led by the President of
the Rotary Club of Cleckheaton, the Reverend Anthony Hick,
with 4 beautiful pieces performed by the District 4 choir
and readings from our own Association President Audrey Pollard
and  the RIBI President Allan Jagger. The hymns were
accompanied by the Salvation Army Band and we raised the
roof (well it certainly felt like it up in the gods where
I was perched nursing a case of vertigo!!). This year’s
collection was for Children with Leukaemia and amounted to
a magnificent £9,824.80, the cheque being received
by Frank Carson, the comedian, later in the day.
The morning session continued with a welcome from the Mayor
of Blackpool and then it was time to hear from Kamala Ramakrishnan,
the President of International Inner Wheel, who had arrived
in England on Monday routing through Terminal 5 at Heathrow
(a brave lady!), and was returning there on Wednesday to
route on to Mexico – I’m sure there wasn’t
a delegate in the room that wasn’t hoping her luggage
would keep up with her!! Kamala gave us an inspiring
address, urging us to “Communicate Our Vision”,
challenging us to change our ways, to get professional, to
pick projects that had ‘media appeal’, to reinvent
and remain vital. She reminded us that Inner Wheel
bonds us together not only as members but also as women. Her
hope is that one day Rotarians will say, when asked, that
they are the spouses of Inner Wheel members – rather
than the other way round! What a day that would be! Ladies,
the future is in our hands. Let’s continue
to Communicate the Vision of our Founder Member,
Margarette Golding, and get the name of Inner Wheel known.
The final speaker of the morning was Mark Pollock, a young
man who has faced his difficulties and overcome them. Mark
had a wonderful future in front of him on 8th April 1998 – exactly
10 years ago to the day - he was waiting to sit his Finals
at Trinity College, Dublin, and had a superb job offer to
join an investment bank in London. Not only that,
he was rowing for his college and for Ireland. The
world was rosy – nothing could stop him. Within
48 hours he was, and remains, totally blind. Despite
his life-changing difficulties (and after a period of anger
and depression), Mark picked himself up, came to terms with
his blindness and motivated himself to rebuild his life. He
treats his blindness as an inconvenience rather than life
stopping – he started rowing again, winning medals
for Ireland at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and has completed
the equivalent of 6 marathons in one week (all 155 miles!)
in the Gobi Desert. He’s done a marathon at the
North Pole, kayaked the North Sea and is soon to embark on
a 2 month expedition to the South Pole. In our own
daily (and club) lives, Mark challenged us to stop making
excuses, to Face Facts, Ask for Help and Make It Happen! I’m
sure he made us all think about the excuses we put forward
for not doing something, when really there is no reason why
we can’t have a go.  Mark really is an incredible
young man – and those of you not in Blackpool missed
a treat.
Second Conference Session
The Tuesday afternoon session started with a few words from
Association President Audrey, and then it was the turn of
the District Chairmen to be introduced – our photographs
flashed up on the screen – one by one we all cringed – a
photograph is bad enough when it’s small enough to
hold in your hand – when it’s up on the screen
in conference – well, enough said really…! At
the end of the slide show, we all stood up to be recognised
by Conference – and I couldn’t see anyone from
our District in that huge sea of faces!
RIBI President Allan Jagger was next to the podium. Allan
comes from Audrey’s own District 4, and in true Yorkshire
fashion calls a spade a spade. In a very entertaining
address, sprinkled with humour, he reminded us that ‘a
dream remains a dream if you don’t have a plan’. Can
Inner Wheel ‘plan’ for our ‘dreams for
the future’??
Frank Carson was next on stage to receive the cheque for
Children with Leukaemia and of course progressed into his
usual one-joke-after-another routine for a laughter-filled
10 minutes, after which we listened intently to the Vice
Chairman of Rotaract in G.B. & I., Emma Donovan, who
had reluctantly attended her first meeting only 4 years ago. Initially
crippled with shyness, Rotaract has enabled her to blossom
and she is thoroughly enjoying her national position which
has enabled her to go to Sierra Leone to work alongside Mercy
Ships at the Fistula Clinic in October 2007.
 Several members had braved the weather on Monday to play
golf, so Audrey had the pleasant task of presenting the trophies
and thanking the organisers. It was then time to hear
from Beryl Otley, the founder of Get Ahead Hats. A
number of years ago Beryl struggled to find a suitable hat
to wear at her daughter’s wedding – and a germ
of an idea was born as she realised there was a gap in the
market. With several more farmers’ wives, she
formed a co-operative. Hats were sourced and now there
are 21 showrooms around the country where hats can be bought
or hired, can be designed exclusively for you or matched
to your outfit and range from the neat and petite to the
extravagant couture variety. Many of us had already
been gazing at the hats on Beryl’s stall in the Horseshoe
during the lunch break but then, to our delight, we had a
totally unexpected fashion show, with Beryl’s elegant
model (who incidentally would have looked wonderful wearing
a bin bag with a dishcloth on her head!!!) ably assisted
by 5 members of our Association who wore all their hats with
attitude and could easily have been professionals – which
all goes to prove that Inner Wheel members can turn their
hands to anything!!
The session closed, but that wasn’t the end of the
day as that evening we were entertained in the Opera House
by the Timeless Theatre company with their production of “All
Our Yesterdays” giving us songs from music hall through
to the 70s. It was a super end to the day.
Annual General Meeting – Wednesday
9th April 2008
 Our Association President presided calmly and efficiently
over a very smooth-running and interesting Annual General
Meeting. The Association Capitation Fee and Future
Conference Fee were approved, both of which remain at the
same level as last year. Accounts were presented by
the Association Treasurer, Pam Byford, and approved by the
meeting and Pam was presented with flowers as this is her
last year in office. Rae Ogden, in her first year as
Association Editor, gave a detailed report on the year, reminding
us that Inner Wheel posters and the new Inner Wheel plate
are now available from the Association Office, and that the
website has been updated. From all the Home Service
Reports submitted, she told us that more than £1,242,278
had been donated to UK charities and that, on average, each
District supported 103 local charities and 30 national charities. Awe-inspiring
figures!
Pam McConnell, our Association Overseas Service Chairman,
was next to the podium and gave an in-depth report on all
the overseas aid provided by Inner Wheel members – 15,630
garments, 2275 teddies, 8537 shoeboxes, 7076 blankets, more
than 13,000 pairs of spectacles, over 100 sewing machines
together with fabric and notions, stamps, coins, baby bundles,
gift bags for all ages, mobile phones and inkjet cartridges,
medical goods, school supplies, computers, footballs and
kits – the list just went on and on. Inner Wheel
members had visited more than 30 clubs worldwide, hosted
overseas visitors and supported more than 350 charities,
not to mention the £349,387.96 cash we donated. Fabulous
support to people overseas.
 Then we came to the 3 Proposals and 6 General Motions – all
of which were carried. It is now up to every club to
write to the relevant people about these. If we all
do this, then maybe Inner Wheel will make someone listen
and make a difference. There was very little discussion
on some of the items but others had queues forming of members
wishing to speak – which, of course, made for a very
interesting session. As you know, this year none of
District 128’s General Motions were selected for conference. However,
do try again – look for something new to suggest or,
if you feel your original proposal is still valid, then re-submit
it – you never know, you might be lucky for Belfast – but
please do make sure you send them in good time.
Before we knew it, the AGM was over and after a hasty lunch
we were back in the Opera House for the last session.
Third Conference Session
 After brief opening remarks by Association President Audrey,
an interim cheque for £13,567 was presented to the
representative from UNICEF, Helen Aikman, for their Born
Free From HIV campaign. Helen spoke briefly about their
work and showed a moving film about a young African girl
who passed on the virus to her baby. This was
narrated by Gwynneth Paltrow as a poem. Further money
will follow when the proceeds of the very popular Hanky Panky
stall are added to any donations received before the end
of the year.
Joanna Trollope, the (very slim!!) writer was our next speaker. She
had joined us to receive a cheque for £23,024 as a
preliminary donation to the RNIB Talking Books Service appeal. She
spoke briefly about writing, urged us to support the campaign
for zero rate VAT on audio books, and reminded us that, of
the 250,000 books published each year, only 4% ever become
audio books. More money for this appeal will obviously
follow. Incidentally, Audrey’s bookmark stall
did a roaring trade – there were bookmarks of all sizes,
styles, colours – and the display of children’s
bookmarks was quite wonderful. Audrey thanked Joanna
for joining us and presented her with a bookmark, purchased
from the stall, as a small memento of her day with us.
 Aled Jones was next on stage to rapturous applause. A
question and answer session was his way of entertaining us
and he didn’t disappoint, answering questions submitted
by delegates on postcards before his arrival with good-natured
humour and a twinkle in his eye. Before he left he
sang for us, his wonderful voice filling the Opera House
as delegates listened with delight.
As Aled left the stage, a Tardis appeared and after a brief
introduction by Constitution Chairman Barbara Marriott, our
own Association President Audrey emerged from it to a huge
round of applause. In her own gentle, light-hearted,
down-to-earth way, Audrey asked members to ‘get involved’ in
Inner Wheel at any level, reminding us of her 10 two letter
word mantra “If it is to be, it is up to me”,
and pointing out that members of International, Association
or District Committees are just the same as any other club
member. We were thanked for all our contributions to
our District magazines (and she reads every one of them!!)
and urged to enjoy our Inner Wheel. Audrey reinforced
what many members already know only too well, that the friendship
and strength we gain from each other in Inner Wheel means
we are not alone no matter what happens. Members were
thanked for organising the bookmark competitions and sending
in the entries for display and for donating and buying the
bookmarks for her Talking Books appeal.
 Myrtle Buchanan, our Association Vice Chairman, proposed
the vote of thanks following which the Association Officers
and Officials for 2008/09 were introduced. A shocked
Pam Byford had been voted in as Vice Chairman, and our new
Association Treasurer will be Phyllis Charter. Immediate
Past Association President Phyll Fennelly, in her own inimitable
way, made her “Farewell” speech, amusing delegates
by announcing that she’ll “be a ‘has-been’ come
July”! and begged us not to let Inner Wheel die,
finishing to laughter with an old Irish saying – “May
the good Lord take a liking to you, but not too soon!” Flowers
were presented to Phyll and then, before Audrey closed the
2008 Conference, we were treated to a beautiful rendition
of “Aspects of Love” by Margaret Webb of District
24.
Of course, although Conference was officially closed, we
still had the evening to look forward to with dancing in
the Empress Ballroom where, with its sprung floor, just sitting
still meant we were bouncing in time to the music as hundreds
of delegates celebrated a wonderful Conference, dancing to
Veletas, Barn Dances and Disco! In the Pavilion Theatre
it was a little more sedate, and not a spare seat to be had,
as the jazz band played the night away. All too soon
it was time to leave. Those of us staying at the Headquarters
hotel boarded the double-decker buses. Upper deck community
singing on our bus was led by the RIBI President Allan Jagger
(who incidentally was in very good voice) and we drove through
the streets of Blackpool giving a rousing rendition of “On
Ilkley Moor B’art ‘At” in honour of Audrey.
 Looking back now, it was a wonderful conference – everything
appeared to run smoothly and more or less on time – and
was over all too quickly. The friendship and fellowship
were just super and I’m sure all the delegates would
want to congratulate Audrey (who incidentally wrote her part
in the First Conference Session sitting in my kitchen on
the morning of our Rally) and her Conference Committee on
a job well done. Plans are, I understand, well in hand
for next year when hopefully even more of District 128 members
will cross the sea for the 2009 Conference in Belfast and
support incoming District Chairman Sheila and 2008/09 Association
President Myrtle. So – make a note of the dates
in your diaries now – 20th-22nd April 2009 – and
start saving your pennies! To those of you not in Blackpool
this year – you missed a good un! – to those
of you who joined me in the Winter Gardens, thank you so
much for your friendship and support over the 3 days. I
wouldn’t have missed conference for the world.
Linda Gilbert |
