The guest speaker on Monday 25th November meeting was Mervyn Hall, a very warm and passionate gentleman who educated the Club about Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole and the Monument in Enniskillen.

A brief summary of the presentation is below:

• Hon. Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, GCB (1st May 1772 – 4th October 1842) was an Anglo-Irish British general and politician.
• Cole was commissioned a cornet in 1787, and served in the West Indies, Ireland, and Egypt.
• He served as Brigadier general in Sicily and commanded the 1st Brigade at the Battle of Maida on 4 July 1806.
• In 1808 he was promoted to Major-General, to Lieutenant-General in 1813 and full General in 1830.
• He was Colonel of the 27th Foot, commanded the 4th Division in the Peninsular War under Wellington, and was wounded at the Battle of Albuera in which he played a decisive part.
• He was also wounded, much more seriously, at Salamanca.
• For having served with distinction in the battles of Maida, Albuhera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthez and Toulouse, he received the Army Gold Cross with four clasps.
• In 1815 he became General Officer Commanding Northern District.
• He was Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons for the family seat of Enniskillen from 1797 to 1800, and represented Fermanagh in the British House of Commons in 1803.
• He was appointed 2nd Governor of Mauritius from 12 June 1823 to 17 June 1828.
• He left in 1828 to take up the post of Governor of the Cape Colony which position he filled until 1833. Cole was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Bath on 2 January 1815.
• He is commemorated in Enniskillen by a statue surmounting a 30-metre (98 ft) column in Fort Hill Park, carried out by the Irish sculptor, Terence Farrell.

The guest speaker on Monday 18th November’s meeting was Julie Harvey, the Regional Development Manager from Muscular Dystrophy UK. The meeting was also attended by guests Arthur and Amy, whom we hope to see again. Julie educated the Rotary Club on this serious and life changing condition, “MD is about our muscles, and means people’s muscles don’t work in the ways expected, they tend to get tired more quickly. We use muscles for everything. Just to stand up, it takes 54 muscles and it takes 200 muscles to take every step.”

MD Facts

• There is no cure – why research is so important
• It affects everyone from adults to kids
• 60 types of MD
• 70,000 people with MD in the UK
• 2,000 people with MD in Northern Ireland
• It is Genetic
• MDUK Charity need help to fund 50 different research projects
• £16 would help give vital information via telephone helpline
• £44 can fund an hour of world-class research
• £352 would fund a day of research
• £1500 would help fund a child’s powered wheelchair

The Muscular Dystrophy UK depends on fundraising. If you like to help please contact Julie on j.harvey@musculardystrophyuk.org or on 07525 593669.

We also had a very special speaker all the way from Rombo Kenya, Elaine Bannon and her three wonderful children, Ciara, Sopi and Seiki. Elaine wished to thank the Rotarians for all their continued support and donations this year for the Light of Maasi Charity. Elaine also extended an invite to other Rotarians from different Clubs to join her in Rombo to help improve the community.

Monday’s meeting on 4th November was wonderfully addressed by Superintendent Clive Beatty, the District Commander for Policing in Fermanagh and Omagh District. Clive was born and raised in Fermanagh and is thankful for the privilege of policing an area that he holds dear to his heart. He spoke in length about the threats to the Police and how he was worried about the younger generation of police getting the right training from the older generation who have experience during the troubles. On a positive note, Fermanagh has the lowest rate of crime, an encouraging attribute for the county. Great speaker, thank you Clive.

The speaker on Monday 7th October was Claire Mc Dermot from Fermanagh & Omagh District Council (FODC) on “The Council’s Approach to Recycling”. It was a very informative and interesting talk and left us with plenty to think about. It was great to see three new faces at the meeting, Hazel McFarland, Jenny Humphreys and Amy McKinney. We hope to see them again and perhaps convince them to become members.

Claire is an Environmental Education and Recycling Officer, who implements an education programme to schools and community groups throughout the district, aiming to highlight waste minimisation strategies including the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle.

The Environmental Education and Recycling Officer offers a range of services (free of charge) for your school or community group including:

• Presentations on recycling, food waste and composting.
• Advice and information on recycling
• Loan of litter-picking equipment and refuse sacks for clean-ups
• Guided tours of recycling centres

If you would like more information, please contact Environment and Place on 0300 303 1777.