The Rotary Club of Enniskillen welcomed Ruthanne Fawcett, Community Services Officer at Fermanagh-Omagh District Council. She explained that her job is to aid community groups. Two different grants are available: the Community Services Grant, up to £ 500.- and the Community Premises Grant, up to £2000.-. The Community Services Grant can be used for events and project, whereas the Community Premises grant can be awarded for the upkeep or improvement of the buildings, occupied by community Groups.

She works with a group of 7 officers, each of which have a District Electoral Area and Ruthanne is responsible for Enniskillen and its surroundings. They also help to constitute groups and register them with the Charity Commission. At times she will help group solve problems, like succession planning.

Ruthanne made us aware of some of the environmental projects lead by the council's biodiversity team like "Don't mow May" on council areas, tree planting, investigating water pollution and coordinating and rewarding "Litter Champions".

Other schemes include "the Real Nappy Scheme" and the re-using of paint and furniture through the local re- cycling centres. She also has informed us that the council will be supporting the Rotary District Conference in Enniskillen at the end of September with Delegate-packs and incentives to visit some of the town's attractions.

The Rotary Club of Enniskillen was delighted to welcome Noelle McAlinden to their evening meeting at Saddler's Restaurant. Despite her very busy schedule, Noelle took the time to talk to Rotarians about her passions and her role as the new High Sheriff of Fermanagh.

She started off by apologising that her role did not involve riding into town on her horse with a badge and gun and the lack of a chain of office, but - as High Sheriff, she is allowed to drive her sheep down Main Street!

Noelle is originally from County Armagh - a 'blow-in' in her own words. As a teacher and artist, she has worked at Fermanagh College and the Western Education and Library Board. She still has a passion for art and as an artist herself has exhibited her work on many occasions. She is a supporter of many voluntary organisations like the Aisling Centre, Cancer Connect, Children in Need, Fermanagh Art's Festival and Devenish Dragons Boat Race.

Noelle grew up in a farming family with great ties to the community, friends, and family. As her life was also touched by illness and suicide, she is a very passionate supporter of mental health support and suicide prevention work. Noelle has now been retired for 4 years, or as she prefers to call it, "refired", and it is very obvious that she has no intention of slowing down in her efforts to support others.

Today our guest speaker was Jonathan Pinnick from the RSPB. Jonathan has been working for the RSPB for two years and his work includes to support and advice farmers about ways of preserving and increasing biodiversity.

His work in Fermanagh is currently centred on preserving and recreating wet grasslands as a habitat for ground breeding waders. These include the curlew, common snipe, lapwing, and redshank. The habitat of these birds has decreased due a combination of changes in agricultural practice, land abandonment and predation pressures.

His work is part of a 4-year, EU funded project, called "Curlew in Crisis". Jonathan is working in partnership with farmers around the Upper Lough Erne advising on appropriate livestock management, supporting farmers in habitat restoration and enhancement, including free annual rush control. During the breeding season (April to July) Jonathan and his team carry our regular monitoring to assess the number of breeding pairs and if they were successful in raising their young.

The RSPB also manages 40 islands on Lower Lough Erne in conjunction with Landscape Partnership, promoting natural and cultural heritage. This work has seen some success in seeing a good number of waders return to breed on these islands.

Today we welcomed Benny Cassidy as our guest speaker, telling us about his Facebook page "Old Enniskillen". Benny started this after finding some photos in the attic of Enniskillen and County Fermanagh. After publishing the photos on his Facebook page it gradually attracted more and more interest and people were invited to contribute their own photos and memories. Now the page contains approximately 11,000 photos, has over 26000 likes and is viewed in over 100 countries.

Benny has made it clear that the photos are not for publishing outside of the Facebook page and no money is charged or gained from them. The purpose of his collection is to allow people to relive long forgotten memories, matching old photos with their present counterparts.

Benny will at times take his photos into residential homes, where many residents would recognise places or people from long ago, even those with dementia, being able to revive some memories and brighten their day.

The page is now closed to new photos but can be accessed on Facebook by searching "Old Enniskillen".

Today we welcomed Edwin Johnston as our guest speaker. Edwin is the district manager for Library Services in Tyrone and Fermanagh. Library services are no longer aligned with the education authority but are now part of the Department of Communities.

Edwin explained to the Club that libraries have come a long way from doing nothing but lending books to being places of social inclusion. Safe and neutral places, sometimes refuges for children and adults alike, a warm place to spend some time, occasionally with a free cup of tea.

Apart from providing books and magazines, there is now a large catalogue of on-line books and other titles. Currently there is a there is a repertoire of 30,000 on-line titles available. 300 of these are magazines, others are e-books, audio books or National newspapers. Library members come in all ages. Edwin said that youngest library card holder was 5 days old (registered by his mum of course) and the oldest 92 years old!

Libraries also act as a portal to pass on government information, as well as working with schools. There are regular P4 and P6 visits to the library, with 70% of all books being lend to children. Special session for pre-school children (0-4) called Rhythm and Rhyme, Social gatherings like "Knit and Natter" are all part of the fabric of modern libraries.

Some libraries in his district have now started an out of hours service from 5:30 -10pm. No staff are present. People gain access through their library cards and can use the facilities through the self service terminals, including computers, printers and copiers. This has been very well received for working people and those studying for a degree besides jobbing. So far there have been no problems with theft or vandalism.

Finally Edwin that he has organised events that took place in libraries like a book signing, a talent show, even a 30 piece brass band!

Questions were asked to find out if old copies of the Impartial Reporter were available on-line in the library. Unfortunately they are not available on-line before a certain date, but can be accessed on microfilm.

President Angela thanked Edwin for his very informative talk.

Today's speaker was Sarah Jane Beacom who works for Omagh and Fermanagh District Council and talked to us on the council's Biodiversity Strategy Plan 2022.

The department for Biodiversity is charged with the protection, enhancement and restoration of biodiversity in the council area. They also raise awareness and work in partnership with other agencies. Sarah Jane reported on the Pollinator Plan, which included more than 10 hectars of protected grassland and the often seen "don't mow yet" signs. The department planted approximately 200 apple trees to support the bee population. They also planted 1500 crocus bulbs, as these are early flowering and provide much needed pollen for bees and insects.

Another important aspect of their work is the "Trees on the land" project during which 15,000 trees have been planted over the past 4 years and already 3000 this year. The use of pesticides has been reduced by 50% and the control of invasive species has been progressing well. Among these are Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed, as well as Rhododendron, which apparently emits a toxic substance from its leaves that prevents any growth underneath the bush, which in turn leaves the area vulnerable to soil erosion.

The Biodiversity department also play an important role in the education of the general public, schools, various organisations and community groups.

President Angela thanked Sarah Jane for her very informative presentation. Questions involved the spread of invasive species on our waterways and the role that the public can take to protect and enhance our immediate environment.

At our October evening meeting, Rotarian Ken Rainey gave us a talk on his most recent visit to Romania. Ken first visited Romania approximately 30 years ago, when a friend of his invited him to follow him to Galati, where he was establishing help for homeless children and orphans. Ken and his wife Pamela started to sponsor some youngsters through school or university.

Years later the Bethesda Foundation was established and hostel residential care for girls and boys (separately) a day care centre, as well as a farm were created in the area of Galati in the southeast of Romania. In 2004 the foundation started a half-way accommodation for those leaving the hostel and moving to independent living.

During his current visit Ken met up with two of the young people he and Pamela had sponsored many years go. Ken sponsored Sylvia, when she was 12 years old, homeless and begging on public transport for money. Without help Sylvia would have been easy prey for criminals leading her into prostitution and drugs. When Ken met up with Sylvia, she was married with 3 children. Due to Ken's sponsoring she was able to finish school and went on to university to study social work. After completing her Master's degree she decided to return to Galati to help the children there. Her good work was noticed by the Mayor of Galati who employed her and put her in charge of helping the street children of Galati.

Pamela had sponsored a young boy 15 years ago to allow him to go university. He went on to study accountancy. And passed his degree with honours. He was offered a positing with Price Waterhouse Cooper and decided to return to the Bethesda Foundation. He is now married with 4 children and works from home as a logistics manager for a Canadian transport company. He also recommended other people to the company which are now employed.

The club thanked Ken for sharing this very rewarding and at times very emotional experience.

Today we had one of our first vocational talks by Rotarian Archie Birrell. Archie joined GPO Telephones in 1959 for a 2 year training course. He continued to work for GPO in various telephone exchanges as technical officer. Later his job was to maintain the interface between Army equipment and the Post Office. This was an intense and sometimes dangerous job as Archie reported that he was once shot at while he was working up a telephone pole.

After that job was finished he promoted and in 1985 started lecturing at the BT training school for three years. In the fourth year he was head of Team Management Training and travelled all over the province. BT maintenance vans at that time were crammed to the top with equipment and spare parts, so much so that opening the back door was bound to bury you in parts and equipment. Archie first intervention was to recall every single van for refurbishment! After that each van was only stocked for one day's work only, saving millions in petrol and making it safe to open the back door…

Sometime later he trained as a facilitator and was tasked with attending senior management meetings, observing and passing his insight on to the "boss". In 1990 BT were offering early retirement to a number of top employees with an attractive retirement package and Archie grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

He moved to Fermanagh and bought the Kestrel Waterbus, which he ran for several years. He was also involved in the up-grade and regeneration of the Round-O, with the help of the Rotary Club. Archie sold the Kestrel in 2000 and retired completely.

President Angela also gave a quick account of her encounter with "up-side down trees" in Bostwana in the late 1980's. Up-side down trees are called Baobabs in Botswana and Angela had been on Safari with Arthur and a friend called Siggy. They visited the famous trees which were once painted by the artist Baines and were since known as Baines' Baobabs. After a short while of sightseeing, they returned to their vehicle only to find that the battery was flat. Although well equipped, they did not fancy spending several days camping and waiting on the off-chance that another vehicle would come along.

Since the baobabs were situated on a slight elevation surrounded by a huge salt pan, they decided to try and jump start the double cab knowing that they had only one go at this. Arthur was driving and Siggy and Angela pushed with all their might and the double cab rolled its way down onto the salt pan. After what seemed like an eternity, they noticed the car making a gently turn and returning back to them!!! They made it safely to the next town where they got the battery changed and the adventure continued!

Today was our second evening meeting, hosted by Norman Coalter, owner of The Horseshoe & Saddlers Bar and Restaurant in Enniskillen. Norman was also our guest speaker telling us about the history of the restaurant and how his family and himself built up and developed the business.

Norman went to catering college in Jordanstown and spent some time in London working in a hotel. His father bought the Horseshoe pub in 1967. The building dates from the 1800's and was originally a coach stop with stables.

In 1978 Norman's father developed a function room up-stairs, called 'The Coachman'. Weekly dances were held here, with Daniel O'Donnell performing for a £ 60, fee and entry set you back £ 2. Some members reported fond memories of family members "shaking a leg" at the Horseshoe. Later it was used as a night club.

In 1986 Norman's father was keen to have his son's join the business and Norman and Marshall returned to Fermanagh. Norman and Marshall turned out to be a brilliant team with Marshall handling the drinks side of the business and Norman the food.

Together they developed and opened the Saddler's Restaurant in the front room above the pub in 1989. In 1999 they added outside catering to their portfolio and in 2008 the converted 'The Coachman' to the current Bistro and Wine Bar. During lockdown Norman created the latest addition to the business, 'The Terrace', where we met today.

Norman told us that the business is going well and that the outside catering arm is particularly busy. Success like that does however come at a price of long hours of work and very little leisure time to spend with his wife and children. We are wishing Norman well for his business in the future and thank him for the excellent food.

Today's speaker is Past President and Youth Services Chair Catherine Robinson.

The Rotary Youth Leadership Development Competition is the flag ship of Rotary's Youth competition programme. Other competitions include the Young Chef, Young Writer and Young Photographer.

Catherine has been previously involved with the YLDC and has a wealth of experience. She reports that she will be forming a subcommittee that will assist her in contacting schools and carrying out initial interviews. These interviews are designed to explore a student's leadership potential mainly through assessing their extracurricular activities. They will also be quizzed about their knowledge of Rotary, which they will have to research themselves before the interview.

The competition then unfolds over several rounds. In round one students are being interviewed in their schools all over Enniskillen. The best 3 or 4 out of all schools then proceed to the second-round interviews. The winner then enters the area finals and competes against the winners of the other 6 Rotary Clubs in our zone. The overall winner then joins with 23 other winners from all over Ireland (North and South) and will participate in the Euroscholar Trip.

The Euroscholar Trip is an amazing opportunity for young people to visit Stormont, the Dail in Dublin and the parliament in Strasbourg. They usually meet with politicians and in Strasbourg will have an opportunity to debate on a given/chosen subject. This joint experience often leads to long lasting friendships, is a great confidence booster and sometimes even changes a pupil's plans for their future.

This competition has not taken place for 3 years due to the Covid pandemic and Catherine is keen to have a great competition. She reports that Enniskillen student usually do well, and that the area final will be held in Enniskillen again.

The Club held its first evening meeting of the year on the 24th of August. President Angela gave a short presentation on her journey in Rotary.

Angela was invited and sponsored by her Colleague Dr Trevor Anderson, who was a member of Enniskillen Rotary Club. After some initial reluctance she joined in 2008. In the early days Trevor would remind Angela gently and frequently "Hi, are you going to Rotary today?".

In 2013 Angela became secretary and served as such for 3 years. Angela said that being a secretary gave her good insight into the workings of a Rotary Club. In 2013 she went to her first District Conference and encountered Elaine Bannon, who was speaking about her project of building sand dams in Rombo, Kenya. Angela was vey impressed, as was the club and they decided to contribute to the cost of one of these dams.

In 2014 Angela became president of the Rotary Club of Enniskillen and past president Kenny Fisher proposed to travel to Kenya to visit Elaine's charity "Light of Maasai". Angela was very keen as she had lived in Africa in the past and Kenny, Angela and her daughter Danielle spend a very memorable week in Rombo.

Angela's main project during that year was to apply for a global grant in order to raise money for a dry freezer for the human breast milk bank, that provides lifesaving breastmilk to premature and sick babies all over Ireland. This project did not come to fruition as the milk bank received funding from the King's Fund.

In 2019 Elaine Bannon was back raising money for another water project and Kenny organised a second trip to Rombo, this time 12 Rotarians, friends and family travelled. Angela held a 3-day course of essential gynaecological skills for developing countries. Obtaining the teaching materials brought her in contact with a project for reducing maternity associated death in India, which Angela was very interested in.

2019 continued at pace, with attendance at the Rotary Convention in Hamburg, trip to Rombo in September, including teaching the course, presenting the Indian maternity project at District Conference in October and finally receiving a Paul Harris Award for exceptional service in Rotary.

Angela continued as chair of International services and became president for the second time in July 2022.

In the absence of President Angela, Past President Ken Rainey was chairing the meeting. His guest speakers were his son Andrew and Andrew's wife Kate. They reported on their "Honeymoon with a difference" in Tondo, Manila, visiting the Purple Community Fund.

The Purple Community Fund is the charitable arm of the Upskills Foundation Inc. aiming to improve the lives of Philippinos living on a large rubbish dump. It's founder, Jane Walker, was born in Southampton and after a troubled childhood, she worked her way up from chambermaid in a hotel to editor of major newspapers. About 25 years ago, she decided to visit the Philippines and asked her taxi driver to take her to Tondo. She ended up staying, built a school out of shipping containers, became the "Angel of the dump" and was awarded and MBE. She started her charity, the Purple Community Fund, in 2002.

Andrew and Kate visited the Upskills Foundation centre, including their headquarters, the farm and made two home visits to students. The upskills centre provides extracurricular activities; it supports education by providing uniforms and materials. The aim is to encourage children not just to survive but to be able to work their way out of poverty.

In their headquarters a number of teams looks after various needs of the population. The teams include social workers, PE coordinators, finance advisors, a catering and medical team. Malnutrition and worm infestation has been a particular problem in Tondo.

On the farm the aim is to be self-sustaining as much as possible. There is a mixture of arable crops, fruit trees and livestock, mainly chickens. Nothing is wasted.

During their home visits, Andrew and Kate met Mario, a 19-year-old graduate, who lives with parents and 6 other siblings and a two story house built from rubbish which is no larger than a big garden shed, as well as Angel who is the youngest of 8. Her father used to work as a scavenger but is unable to do to so anymore due to poor health.

Andrew and Kate were happy to answer questions:

How has Covid affected Tondo? - There was no pandemic as such but charitable funding reduced by 80% due to covid and the war in Urkaine forcing Jane to rethink and reduce some of her projects and to invest more in self-sustaining projects.

Is there any water supply? - Surface water in Tondo is black and lethal, all water has to be bought in bottles.

Is there a high crime rate? - Not as bad as it used to be. Rather than being perpetrators, people in Tondo are often victims of crime.

How does it compare to other poor areas in the world? - living conditions appear to be more extreme. It is very crowded and the mentality of the people is focused on survival with no thought for the future.

Today we were pleased to host Kerrie Flood from Fermanagh Women's Aid. The Children's Services of Fermanagh Women's Aid are the recipients of this year's Rotary Foundation District Grant. Kerrie kindly gave us an overview of the services offered to women and children.

She revealed that Domestic Violence did not take a break during covid. During lockdown 13 women were murdered in Fermanagh.

Fermanagh Women's Aid offer 1-1 support in the community for up to 12 months. They believe in a holistic approach that covers the whole family and support is tailored to each individual. They also offer support and welfare programmes through counselling in the Aisling Centre, group education and support groups that meet on a weekly basis.

Their service also include training packages for schools and police officers, as well as advocacy for social services, police and disability support.

With regards to their children's services, Kerrie pointed out that Fermanagh Women's Aid are the only organisation in Fermanagh that provide support for children specifically affected by domestic violence.

In the year 21/22 they supported 339 children, 97% of which experienced domestic violence in their own homes. Some of the tools they use to support these children are tools like the "Helping Hands" program and the "Bag of worries". The children learn that they have a right to feel safe all of the time, that there is nothing so small or so awful that you can't talk about it and also that others have a right to feel safe around us.

The money they have received, will facilitate printing of essential material to support these programmes and also will re-establish summer trips for the children in the coming year. Many of these children will have forgotten what it means to be happy, to learn something new, to achieve a new goal or learn a skill. The day trips allow them to be children, to enjoy fun in safety and stability.

Kerry was happy to answer a number of questions from the Rotarians.

Are there men being the victims of domestic violence? - Generally speaking, 30% of victims are men, there is no local support but a support group in Derry, called "Men's Action Network" exist.

How did Covid change domestic violence? - There was 'radio silence' for the first three months and then a 'tidal wave'. If anything, the incidents seem to be more violent.

Are attitudes changing? - Behaviour can be modified, but attitudes rarely change, if anything the problem seems to be increasing. People are aware of the existence of domestic violence but do not appreciate the extend of the problem.

What preventative measures are you taking? - Education in schools regarding healthy relationships in many secondary schools but not yet a fixed part of the curriculum.

How do you protect your staff: - Risk assessments, rules and fixed procedures of checking-in with base, help to keep staff safe.

What role does modern technology play? - It has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand women can contact Women's Aid more readily on the other hand mobile phones can also be an instrument of abuse.

Our guest speaker today was Ken Nixon, Retired District Judge, and Immediate Past President of Belfast Rotary Club.

On the 18th of July the Rotary Club of Enniskillen was delighted to host Alan Brooke, 3rd Viscount of Brookeborough, Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter, Lord in Waiting to Queen Elisabeth II. He thanked everybody involved in the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in Fermanagh. He was impressed and humbled by the multitude of events that were held all over the county. He especially thanked Selwyn Johnston for his huge organisational efforts in Enniskillen.

He gave an account of his role as Lord in Waiting, as well as giving an insight into the duties, personality and homelife of Her Majesty.

As Lord in Waiting, Lord Brookeborough personally represents the sovereign during visits of foreign heads of state to the UK. "We take the Queen's place when she is not with them' and travel in their car/plane to various engagements during the 3 day visit.' His duties include greeting them upon arrival at the airport and basically looking after them for their whole stay, ensuring the have all they need or desire and that they are at the right place at the right time for any official engagements. Depending on the personalities of the visitors, this can be straight forward or sometimes "challenging".

He reminded the Club, that the Queen holds the position of "Head of the Commonwealth", whose members comprise approximately one third of the world's population. He describes the Commonwealth as a "big talking shop" with "no military plan", allowing diverse nations, even enemies, to come together and talk. The Queen is now in her 70th year of reign, which no other monarch (except Louis XIV, who became king at the age of 5) has ever achieved.

He describes Her Majesty as an incredible communicator, a very caring person, always happy with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. Among her many engagements, she regularly invites groups of 8 people for lunches in the autumn. During one of these lunches a doctor who had served overseas, had become tongue-tied and overwhelmed by the occasion. So, the Queen called over her Corgis and started feeding them biscuits. After handing some of the biscuits to the doctor (to give to the dogs) the conversation started to flow freely. One of her most endearing qualities is that she will talk to people from all walks of life in ways they can relate to and feel understood.

At home, the Queen enjoys being a person, rather than a monarch. There are BBQ's, where there are no staff, casual clothes, and of course the dogs. She has also recently been given two new corgis. Question time revolved around Her Majesty's favourite home: Windsor Castle (or any of the other homes), but not Buckingham Palace as it is mainly a place of work.

How many Ladies in Waiting and Lords in Waiting there are: around 6 Ladies in Waiting at any one time and 2 Personal Lords in Waiting.

Will the Queen ever come back to Northern Ireland: Not likely, as she is suffering from a bad back and does not enjoy travelling anymore. However, Lord Brookeborough stressed that she always enjoyed her visits to the province and is very fond of Northern Ireland.

Rotarian Jenny McCrea thanked Lord Brookeborough for an excellent talk.

David Brown gave a detailed presentation on his work as Divisional Vetrinary Officer at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. His division encompasses the whole of county Fermanagh and whilst it previously was purely focussed on agriculture his duties now also include care of the environment.

His team, the Veterinary Services Animal Health Group include 4 Veterinarians and 15 technical staff. Their main duties include animal traceability, disease control, facilitation trade out of the county, animal welfare and public health.

David explained how computerised databases allow livestock to be traced from birth to slaughter or sale. This is made possible through animal traceability, which is essential for disease control. Diseases like Bovine Tuberculosis, Foot and Mouth disease in cattle, African swine fever in pigs and Bird flu in poultry are tested for. Any positive cases trigger a cascade of isolation, contact tracing, removal of infected animals and cleaning and disinfection of the farm.

David and his team are also responsible for animal welfare, which can be through random inspections, in response to a complaint, or as a follow up inspection. This includes pet-shops, riding stables and other places where animal are kept. Public health is kept to the highest standard by random drug testing of animals and animal products and follow-up tests in case of previous positive tests for disease.

His presentation was followed by a lively discussion about tuberculosis and brucellosis and the best way to avoid contact with a cow's tail in the milking parlour.