Dawlish Water Rotary Club has been meeting via Zoom throughout the pandemic - and the members have also been joining the virtual meetings of clubs around the world. Robin Buchanan from the club has provided this update for Dawlish Nub News.

In view of the three lockdowns and other restrictions, as you would imagine it's not been possible to hold our usual 'in-person' weekly meetings, usually at the Mount Pleasant Inn, Dawlish Warren, nor to carry out the effective kind of fund-raising we've been used to doing.

However, from the very start we've been holding at least weekly meetings (Tuesdays at 6.30 pm) on Zoom, which have been really well-attended. A weekly on-line newsletter has also been published, perhaps a little bizarrely one would imagine from Nairobi in Kenya!

We've now been publishing this, with a growing readership, for 50 weeks.

We certainly now live at a very unusual time and this is something that our club has never done before. The driving force behind the Newsletter is Brian Hodge, our club's current President who, for family reasons, is now in Kenya but who will return to Dawlish when he is able to do so.

What you would notice from our newsletter is that, largely because of the potential of Zoom, we have gone international! Members have been attending Zoom meetings with clubs round the world: this has included, Canada, the USA, France, Spain, Egypt, Kenya and India and South Africa! In addition, members from others clubs, not just in the UK, have also been to our meetings. Another feature is that we're been inviting gifted and charismatic speakers from abroad, and even from Dawlish, to deliver illustrated talks to our club. Examples of what is being offered is also given in the programme in the newsletter.

In a recent initiative, we've also begun to invite non-Rotarians to attend some of our meetings as a way of further supporting and encouraging local groups and individuals.

Finally, as Brian has said recently, " I have been cheered knowing that Rotary is such a great International club with such a heart for Service. We soon need to get back to the job of properly regenerating our funds and helping those in need. Roll on June 21st June when, hopefully, there will be some light at the end of the tunnel!"

Striking a blow for diversity, the club also hopes to have its First Lady President, Anne Harrison, in July!

Robin Buchanan is swimming in the sea at Coryton Cove once a week to raise money for the Rotary Club's charities. Read more about that here

More information about Dawlish Water Rotary on their website