Wanganui Daybreak News

THE NIGHT OF THE PROMS

Val Bartrum — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:43:15 GMT

Saturday 29 October was a very special night for this group of revellers - who were glimpsed draping their adornments around our Watt Fountain before the show.

We were privileged to have attending Tim & Shelly from the British High Commission, our Mayor Annette, Rotary District Governor Bob and his wife Margaret, as well as members of the show's production team. The night was a tremendous success with all tickets sold and an amazing atmosphere of fun and laughter during the show.

Our wonderful diva was Jennifer Little, from Wanganui, who was supported by prize-winning Brass Wanganui, the Wanganui Pipe Band, our Proms Choir, Evan Huirua and Jodi Mars. Also taking part were Sharyn Underwood's dancers, 4 x 2 singing group, Evan's brother Gary, Keiron Smith playing the cornet so beautifully and, as usual, the fantastic support of members of AMDRAM.

It was announced at the show that the concert had already raised $7,000 for "Life to the Max Whanganui". So a very good result once again from Wanganui Daybreak. Well done everyone!

LNOP STARS SEEN IN WANGANUI

Val Bartrum — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:05:06 GMT

Evan Huirua and Jennifer Little - both starring in our "Last Night of the Proms" concert on 29 October - were seen outside the Royal Wanganui Opera House on Sunday and snapped by our photographer Terry.

A huge number of our club members helped on Sunday for the first of the full cast rehearsals to be held in preparation for the show.

The show promises to be a "cracker"! I hope you have already got your ticket as, to date, tickets are 90% sold out.

Daybreak Members herald the forthcoming Proms

Val Bartrum — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 08:21:00 GMT

A number of Daybreak members braved a blustery midday at Virginia Lake on Saturday to take part in a photo-shoot to coincide with the opening of ticket sales for the forthcoming "Last Night of the Proms" concert.

Hipango Park Working Bee

Val Bartrum — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:19:00 GMT

Members of the Rotary Club of Wanganui Daybreak boarded the riverboat Wairua at an ungodly hour on Saturday morning for the two hour journey up the Whanganui River to Hipangp Park. Over the past 10 years this annual pilgrimage has resulted in significant improvements to the park including four very fancy DOC design long drops, barbecues, picnic tables, a walking track and improvements to the water supply and shelter.

This year saw a couple of clear sheets added to the roof of the shelter to improve the light, and two new seats as well as a general clean up.

Saturday night saw the AGM of SMASH (Single Malt Appreciation Society of Hipango) and a visit by the "Country Girls" who entertained.

The weekend helps to maintain a community asset and also builds club cohesiveness and spirit.

Story and pictures by Judith Timpany, Rotary District 9940 Assistant Governor

Changeover 2010

Terry — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:32:34 GMT

June 26th marked our club Changeover this year and our new president Lyndsey Wood made this a great occasion, honouring President Val with acclamations and a continuous projection of the highlights of Val's year.

Goodbye President Val.

Hello President Lyndsey.

President Val thanked all those who helped to make her year a successful and memorable one, highlighting the "Last Night of the Proms" concert which raised $9,500 for "Birthright" as the major achievement of her year.

Val went on (not on and on, just on) to praise incoming president Lyndsey and assure her that she will find a club full of members eager to help make her year just as memorable too.

The evening's theme of Bigger, Bolder, Brighter, Blue was taken to heart by a few rather looney members and this added to the joviality and celebration of a president past and a president beginning.

Good luck for your year at the helm Lyndsey.

The Benefits of Volunteering

Terry — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:15:50 GMT

Today was a magical day. The Whanganui river is always beautiful but today it was so fantastically beautiful that being there was a truly moving experience. Even David, the skipper of the MV Wairua, who knows the river like he knows his own hand, was knocked for six by the beauty of reflections from this silent highway of glass. He even found navigation difficult at times, not knowing where reflections ended, where the river became dry land or whether he was standing of falling over.

The Whanganui river between Wanganui and Hipango park (2 hours upstream) is tidal. Leaving the wharf at 7am we were lucky enough to strike a dead calm morning when the tide was full and the river slack. By 8:15am or so, when we had left the town behind and were steaming into the hills the light was perfect, being filtered through a benevolent mist still clinging to the hills. It was one of those rare moments when you wished you had your camera, wished you had time to take some images, wished the river would stay calm for a few more minutes, wished that the shy sun would remain in hiding. It was one of those moments when all your wishes came true. For the last hour of the journey we were treated to the surreal, lost in a wonderland that threatened to turn us on our heads. Had we met Alice no-one would have batted an eyelid and probably not even noticed.

There was a reason to make this trip today. David McDermid, friends and four Wanganui Daybreak Rotarians were out for a working bee at Hipango Park. Today the object was to clear the picnic tables of long grass and mow tracks to the hut and toilets. This is in preparation for further working bees and tours to the park. Evidence of the work can be seen below.

So you see, the park got a clean up and we had the trip dreams are made of.

Last Project of the Calendar Year

Terry — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:59:56 GMT

Wednesday evening saw several of our members down at Kowhai Park sprucing up the "Jolly Daybreaker" pirate ship. In need of a paint touch-up before the coming high use season.

Thanks go to Miles, Marie, Graham, Gil, Lynda, Andy, Simon and his two daughters Gabriella and Madeline for all their good work.

There wasn't a great deal of painting to do so there was time for some peering through port holes. Lynda rather fancied herself as prow ornament. Interesting!

Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the holiday break. We have lots to do in the New Year including a concrete pour at Hipango Park, a general clean up there and our usual weekend of fun and industry in the bush.

Christmas Party

Terry — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:29:30 GMT

The Club Christmas Party was held last Saturday night at Judith's place. I'd say it was among the most successful social occasions the club has hosted. The food was fabulous, the petanque was pathetic, the charades cathartic, the venue venerable, the guests gregarious and the reporter very discrete.

The Christmas Fairies were not discrete.

President Val presided over the charades. Scorer Gil was, of course, on the winning team, he had to be, it was a three way tie. This was only achieved however by a recount which saw the scorer's team lose 251,321 points found to be included in error and the losing team awarded a hat full of points for the odd occasion when they really tried. The true winners (the reporter's team) were magnanimous in the face of some of the most creative cheating in the history of Rotary Christmas Parties.

Thanks go to the catering team, the host and all members who will remain anonymous until their names are revealed.

It's great having the opportunity to work together to serve the local community and, at times, the international community in need. It's also great to relax at times.

Merry Christmas

Dictionaries Donated!

Terry — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:46:31 GMT

DAYBREAK ROTARY CLUB GIVES DICTIONARIES TO KEITH STREET SCHOOL CHILDREN

Members of the Rotary Club of Wanganui Daybreak visited Keith Street School today to give illustrated dictionaries to 50 of their pupils.

This is part of a Wanganui-wide Rotary project to help raise the literacy levels of our children and to encourage kids to love books. The children can write their names in the dictionaries and then take them home to keep. It is hoped that they will keep them and use them as they travel on their learning journey.

Each dictionary is inscribed inside the front cover so that the children know it is a gift from the Rotary "family". The school principal, Clyde Piercy, told the students "Whilst the internet is a fantastic source of information, it doesn't replace the "specialness" of picking up a beautiful book and having that book to treasure in your home".

Val Bartrum, president of Daybreak Rotary, said that she was delighted that members of the club had decided to purchase the dictionaries and gift them to school children as a literacy project in their own home town. This shows that a true community spirit is alive and well in Wanganui!

LNOP a Great Success

Terry — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:42:02 GMT

Wamganui Daybreak Rotary Club produced a glorious Last Night of the Proms concert on August 1^st last. This event brought together over 130 talented people mainly from the Whanganui region and showed just what can be done to entertain the local community, give opportunities to local artists and at the same time raise money for a worthy cause (Birthright Wanganui).

This from President Val:

WOW - what a great night it was on Saturday! I think we can all be proud of our efforts to make this project such a success for the club.

The large number of members who had involvement in different areas of the planning, budgeting, advertising, publicity, flag-making, songsheet selling, providing refreshments, help with set-up, buying tickets, and pack-down help, was evidence of a wonderful esprit de corps within the club.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO PLAYED A PART!!

I have just received a thank you from Mike Cherrett - Deputy High Commissioner - who said he thoroughly enjoyed his visit to the show and to Wanganui. He is willing to come back and talk to our club later on in the year if we would like him to.

A big vote of thanks goes to Tony Cowan for bringing everything together, as well as all those "stars" who sang, played, and made us laugh on stage. We are forever in their debt. It was announced at the show that we will have at least $8,000 to present to Birthright Wanganui

- our chosen recipient.

President Val

Last Night of the Proms gathers Pace

Terry — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:16:35 GMT

It's July 4th and only 4 weeks to go before the curtain rises on Daybreaks fourth bi-annual Last Night of the Proms Concert in the Royal Wanganui Opera House. Tickets have been on sale for two weeks now and 273 have already gone. For Wanganui theatregoers, who are notorious for leaving booking until the last minute, that is a wonderful start and puts us well on target for a "sell out"

Publicity for the show so far has been great with articles in the River City Press and Midweek and one scheduled for the Chronicle this week end. Kate Spenser's Midweek article in particular was very well written and promoted both the concert and the cause (Birthright Wanganui) very positively.

There will be much help needed, both on the concert night of August 1st and for preparation in the days beforehand and Daybreak members are already showing their customary willingness to pull finger and get the work done.

This year's concert promises to be a cracker and a performance that will be another step up from previous events, wonderful as they were. There is a brilliant cast headlined by Wanganui's own class soprano, Jennifer Little, tenor Albert Sword and cornet player David Maas. Brass Wanganui, choristers Amdram local dancers and many more ( Oh yes, there will be surprises) will be there.

And, of course, the concert is to raise money for a worthy local cause that will help the youth, the future of our city. This year that organisation is to be Birthright Wanganui. If you want to be entertained and help the artists and young people of Wanganui then now is the time to buy your tickets from the Royal Wanganui Opera House. Be in, they're selling fast.

LETS (Leaders Elect Training)

Val Bartrum — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 03:30:12 GMT

Sunday 17 May in Palmerston North.

Members are encouraged to attend this training day.

MOVIE NIGHT

Terry — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:30:59 GMT

We have a movie night coming up on Thursday 30 April. The movie is the New Zealand Premiere of "Last Chance Harvey", starring the fabulous, sensitive delightful, lovely, intelligent,bewitching, adorable Emma Thompson and Dustin Whatsisname. After the movie we will be going for coffee at an old town venue. Tickets are available at $15 from Embassy 3 Cinema in Wanganui. Proceeds from this event will go towards The Rotary Foundation's polio eradication programme.

NEW TEAM ELECTED FOR 2009/2010

Val Bartrum — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:32:51 GMT

Our new team for 2009 - 2010 Rotary year is:

President: Val Bartrum

Past President: Colin Pepperell

President Elect: Lindsey Wood

Secretary: Stephen Palmer

Treasurer: Simon Cairncross

Membership: Chris Wilks

Communications: Terry Dowdeswell

Bulletin: Alistair Fraser

Projects: Lynda Cobb

Leadership: Robert Gaskin

Rotary Foundation: Ormie Andrews

Sgt at Arms: Gil Button