http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=1317

Market Rasen Rotary, New Life Church, Serpentine Street, Market Rasen (2026)

21/08/2026

Bob’s Brainwaves
Rtn. Ron Myland introduced Christine Such and Patrick King to Rasen Rotarians at a recent lunch meeting. Christine and Pat visited us two years ago and were now ready to update Rotarians on their very worthwhile charity, Bob’s Brainwaves. Chris recently lost her husband from complications arising from his dementia which he suffered from for many years. Pat King was briefly a member of Rasen Rotary until his bank employer moved him to Skegness where he joined Rotary there.

Christine gave an update to the Bob’s Brainwave Charity which produces a kit, i.e. a folder containing a mass of information sheets which will support carers of people with memory loss and Dementia. Christine and Bob developed the information packs based on their own experience, over 15 years. They quickly realised that there was no helpful information generally available to help people starting out on their dementia journey. No information on what is available and how to obtain it, what travel schemes are around and where to contact them, what special benefits are available and how to claim for them. Christine and Bob had to find out for themselves and the realisation that everyone else in their situation would be faced with the same issues led to the introduction of the information pack – a simple central place with all the relevant information that could be needed. The information pack has grown significantly as requests from users and carers have continued to come in. For instance the pack now contains a simple booklet on how to avoid scams. Another leaflet describes how to get a dental appointment in a care home. This resulted from the difficulty Chris had in arranging a dental appointment for husband Bob. She then needed to get an urgent prescription from the GP for antibiotics for Bob – she was able to expediate this by mentioning that if she didn’t get the antibiotics that day, she would be contacting Peter Levy (local BBC Newsreader) who was a friend of Bob’s, through their interest in football. The antibiotics were duly provided! As a result, the information pack now has a Community Dentist Referral form that works and there is a similar form for Bowel and Urinary referrals. The list of Memory Cafes has expanded and that has been updated. Useful for those dementia sufferers who are mobile and able to get about, but the story is different immobile sufferers and are often left isolated. Chris got together a list of volunteers and organisations providing travel, local busses and community busses etc. She added a list from Public Health with all the voluntary car schemes and all contact details etc and all the local Lincolnshire bus services. So now the pack contains an A4 double sided sheet with all the transport options available for this region – it has proved to be very popular with users. Similarly, the pack contains a list and map of Public Toilet locations. Since talking to us two years ago the charity has expanded to provide packs all over Lincolnshire. Each council district has different requirements and contact addresses, so it is important to get the right pack for your area.

Another particularly successful addition to the pack is the Signage Widgets. Christine found with Bob, as his dementia progressed, his short-term memory dropped considerably – simple things like opening the front door but then forgetting to close it but by creating and applying simple ‘post it’ notes these would remind him to do things. Developing this thought, she found a manufacturer that would make all sorts of small signs – the Signage Widgets, each with a specific short message and a simple picture. These signs can then be placed wherever the person needs reminding what to do. These now available and are free to download from the website and then print off and use – these would be in addition to the manufactured versions which are also available.

As previously said, the packs are produced specifically for the local authority area that the user resides in – so for West Lindsey the pack will be available from the Memory Clinic in North Hykeham or they can be obtained from a local Memory Café. It is also possible to request one through the website. It is also necessary that the user has a diagnosis of dementia because many of the forms in the pack only work if the user has been diagnosed. Many of the forms result in benefits being made to the user, and these are only available to diagnosed individuals. The subsequent success of these packs is a testament to the foresight of Christine in realising and identifying this missing part of the NHS/Dementia pathway. The success of the project can be seen by the way other regions have requested access and the packs for their local communities. The packs, however, contain information specific to the local community, the West Lindsey pack will be of little use to someone in a completely different area – the council contacts will be different, forms etc will be different, local traffic volunteer schemes will be different etc. There is a limit to how much time Christine and her team can devote to these increasing demands so now they have developed a ‘Tool Kit’ which can be given to areas wishing to introduce something similar. These Tool Kits give the information that is required for the area together with the items such as the Signage Widgets which are of a more general nature and will be relevant for most local areas.

Christine finished her presentation and asked if there were any questions: Rtn. David Mason confirmed that he had firsthand experience of the value of the Bob’s Brainwave packs and the valuable information they contain. He used much of the guidance therein. The information in the packs will have to be updated to reflect the forthcoming Council Boundary changes but this should not cause too much difficulty as the packs are regularly updated anyway to keep them up to date. Christine had noticed as she had expanded her work into Northeast Lincolnshire was that in NE Lincs there was funding for specialist Admiral Dementia nurses and there were 6 of these. In West Lindsey there are none.

Pat, in his treasurer role, answered that most of their funding comes from donations and Rotary is a very good source for them. As the work has expanded and Bob’s Brainwaves Charity has become better known then donation income has increased. They have also had a couple of Government grants – one from Boston Borough Council and another more recently from East Lindsey Council. Christine has been asked to visit Parliament and is hoping to get to talk to Ministers responsible for Health and Alzheimer’s and try and get some central government funding. Therefore, their hope is that they can convince central government of the value of the project and how it should really be available to the whole country.

Market Rasen Rotary then presented Bob’s Brainwaves charity with £500, resulting from their recent Quiz night; – an information pack currently costs £8.65 including VAT to produce.
Rotary District 1220 - News Around 1220

07/08/2026

Following the talk on the garden refurbishment and the history of Bardney Manor to Rotarians and partners at Tealby Village Hall, members thought they should go and see for themselves what has happened this year.

Consequently, some 23 Rotarians, wives, partners and friends descended on Bardney on the 30 July and spent an enjoyable and instructive time seeing the kitchen and other garden areas.

Samantha Cook and husband Martyn own the property, and Samantha being a very knowledgeable horticulturalist welcomed us and showed us around, explaining how she was combating the drought, selecting species and plants that had drought tolerance which was evident in the show the gardens provided. Samantha proudly told us the garden was due to become listed as a Partner Garden with the Royal Horticultural Society, because of its’ historical links within the County. Samantha has contacts with well-known names in the horticultural world, and has research arrangements with several well known seed houses.

Always ready for a lunch, Samantha and Martyn had organised a splendid lunch for us visitors in the shade of ancient trees and with the backdrop of historic garden buildings.

History could be reviewed in a small but well-presented museum in one of the outhouses.

Avery enjoyable and worthwhile visit, and one which others can follow.
For more details, see: www.bardneymanorwalledgarden.com/home
Rotary District 1220 - News Around 1220

29/07/2026

Rasen Rotary has a huge range of speakers to interest and challenge the Rotarians. Last week David Cohen, Ornithologist who works with the Wildlife Trust was introduced by Rtn. John Moore. This was David’s second visit to Rasen Rotary, the first time, a Zoom visit during Covid when David was talking about the re-introduction of Common Cranes to wetlands in the south of Lincolnshire. (The Common Crane is quite a large but shy bird, about four feet tall with a wing span of up to six feet and weighing some 5.5Kg. These birds were quite common up until the 16th Century after which they were hunted for food to almost extinction. The population is now growing).

David is now retired and has spent many years travelling the World, drinking the wine and observing birds. He has recently been to China and is going to talk today about his ornithological experiences in that country. He has recently returned home from a trip to Sichuan and he had also been to Yunnan in 2020. China, he said was an interesting place with a population of 1.4 billion people with a reputation of not being too wildlife friendly. They tend to eat a great deal of wildlife and together with Vietnam are the biggest market for trade in endangered species. Items like tiger parts and pangolins (the most traded creatures on earth) often end up in China where pangolins are viewed as a delicacy. Pangolins are also viewed as a status symbol because if you can afford to eat them you must be very wealthy and of high status. The scales, covering the surface of most of the pangolin are made of keratin (same as our fingernails) and are used in all sorts of herbal remedies and even as an aphrodisiac.

David had a collection of photographs of the areas he had been visiting and had photographs of the birds that he had been able to see. His latest trip to Sichuan began in the capital city of Chengdu, with a population of 22 million people is the fourth largest city in China. It has a GDP of US$350 billion and is one of the most important economic, financial, commercial and communication centres in China. Its surrounding area is known as the country of heaven and the land of abundance.

David’s visit was part of an organised ornithological trip to view the many and varied bird life in this part of China. The area around Chengdu was at quite a high altitude and the scenery was spectacular. Rotarians were shown a range of pictures of the area and the birds that he had managed to photograph.

Although, as he had already mentioned, the Chinese are well known for eating most things, in particular endangered species, David was interested to note that the younger population had developed an interest in bird photography. On one day they had encountered a local ‘birding’ photography competition where there were probably 2 or 300 young Chinese, all equipped with the latest, expensive, camera gear, all looking to capture a rare or exotic bird picture. Because of this growing interest in bird photography, it had led to the introduction of bird watching hides and attempts to attract these rare birds to them. This has really transformed bird watching in China and other parts of Southeast Asia because many birds are very difficult to find in the dense forests but will now come out in front of the hides where food has been provided to attract them out.

One of the top birds to see in China are the pheasants, many of which are spectacular, particularly in colour. Because of their size they have been easy to hunt and consequently now remain hidden in the deep shadows of the forests. The introduction of the bird hides has now tempted these reluctant birds out. The males are the ones with the bright colours which they use to attract a mate, the females tend to be much more subdued as they will tend the eggs and wish to remain inconspicuous.
One of the hides that David visited had a fresh water pool constructed in front of it with numerous perches of twigs arranged all around. This attracted the birds down to drink and bathe and so gave wonderful photo opportunities.

They also visited Wawushan, on a plateau high up at an elevation of nearly 3000m. Here they saw a red panda up in a tree. These are smaller than the Giant Panda, which is very rare and only to be seen in special reserves. The red panda is slightly more active than the Giant version, it feeds down on the ground on bamboo and then climbs up into the treetops and finds a perch to go to sleep. David spoke of birds unique to China? Some birds that are endemic to China and that part of the Far East and they were lucky to see some of these rare endemic birds. The people that organise these ‘birding trips’ are very much conscious of the attraction of endemic species and try to ensure that these the main focus on the trip itinerary.
Despite its high population numbers there are vast areas of China which are uninhabited and remain unspoilt and unexplored habitats. David was able to show pictures looking across the mountain ranges with large areas of untouched forest.
David then visited part of the large Tibetan plateau and showed pictures of several birds that they encountered up there, before showing pictures he took in Yunnan in 2020. There were no security issues with customs or security going into or travelling around China.

An interesting talk, covering a topic not familiar to many Rotarians in Market Rasen.

27/07/2026

Bomber County, a dangerous place in WW 2
Lincolnshire is well known as Bomber County from the activities of the RAF and other nation’s Airforces, based in Lincolnshire during WW 2. Local historian and Rotarian Dr. Hugh Nott researched accidents that occurred during the War, in and around his home village of Tealby, Lincolnshire. Hugh spoke about a second Bomber accident he researched and was now reporting to fellow Rotarians at one of their lunch time meetings.
During the war, there were many aircraft crashes, so many, that most were never documented. The crash Hugh was going to discuss was unusual because records were kept of both the crash and the subsequent investigations.
Lancaster ME641, of 166 Squadron, lifted off into the night of 24 February 1944 from RAF Kirmington, heavy with fuel and bombs, climbing on it’s route towards Reading then on to bomb a ball-bearing factory at Schweinfurt in southern Germany. Five minutes later, Lancaster JB457, from Binbrook (460 Squadron RAAF), which was returning after a 3-hour training flight, collided with ME641 over Owersby.
Both aircraft were badly damaged in the collision. JB457 was spun through 180 degrees and crash landed at Willoughton. All the crew baled out and survived. ME641 was spun through 90 degrees and two of the crew baled out and they landed in a farm-yard in Claxby. The aircraft then struck the ground about 100 yards from Bully Hill Farm in Tealby before coming to rest beside the Caistor High Street. The aircraft was still fully laden with fuel and ammunition, including an 8000lb blockbuster bomb.
The family living at the farm were awoken and thought the haystacks must be on fire. One of the family went out and helped to rescue one of the crew, amid ammunition exploding. All the remaining crew were killed. The blockbuster bomb became detached and rolled down the hill! Another elderly occupant of the farmhouse reported in 2006 that when he was a very small boy he remembered seeing the aftermath of the crash and the lorries removing the wrecked aircraft.
Later investigations concluded that neither aircraft had seen the “aircraft recognition lights” of the other aircraft. These lights were a combination of white, red, green and amber on the fuselage and wings used over friendly territory for identification.
Hugh showed copies of various flight records and Inquiry reports relating to this crash and the planes and crews. He also had maps showing the location of the two airfields and the likely flight paths that the two plane would have taken. Hugh said his father-in-law was responsible for local crash reporting during the war and had a team that would go out to the crash sites and record as much information as possible.
Hugh said he had been in contact with relatives of the then occupants of the farmhouse near where the plane crashed at Bully Hill Farm and went with them to where they thought that the crash had occurred; Hugh came across a piece of aluminium and thought it could have been from the plane. The piece was identified by the Heritage Group at East Kirkby who immediately recognised it as part of the engine cowling from a Lancaster.
Hugh continues to research all manner of items regarding local history around Tealby and is the source of many fascinating stories he is willing to share with others.
Rotary District 1220 - News Around 1220

05/07/2026

Market Rasen Rotary held their annual Quiz on 26th June 2026

The Rotary Club of Market Rasen held its annual quiz at Tealby village hall on the hottest day of the year so far and had a wonderful turnout of 12 teams braving the heat. Fortunately for them there was plenty of chilled drinks to be had! The aim of the evening, in line with Rotary ethos, was to have a good time whilst raising money for worthy causes. The quiz had a variety of rounds with a few novelty rounds giving every team a chance to shine. In the end it was a very close race with several teams scoring over 90 out of a possible 115 points. The eventual winners were Richard Goodhand’s team from Tealby who have supported this event every year and were worthy winners. A raffle was held and the first prize was a well stocked hamper donated by Tesco who are great supporters of Rotary, so thanks is due to them. A super Ploughman’s Supper was enjoyed during the interval and was prepared by Eve Bennett and past Rotary president Dianne Tuckett.

The proceeds of the event came to a magnificent £1000 which will be split between the Market Rasen Baby Bank and Bob’s Brainwaves which is a local charity supporting families living with dementia. The organisers of the event were Derek and Janet Anderson and despite nearly melting on the night are planning to do it all again next year on 25th June.
Rotary District 1220 - News Around 1220

03/07/2026

Recently Market Rasen Rotary had the pleasure of presenting Andrew Coward, volunteer for the Lincs Notts Air Ambulance Service, with a cheque for £2000, profit from the Rotary Bar-B-Que at the recent Open Farm BBQ event at Stainton le Vale.
President Malcolm Stimpson, organiser John Moore and longtime supporter and fund raiser for the Air Ambulance, John Smith presented the cheque.

Andrew thanked Market Rasen Rotary for our donation of £2000 but he asked whether we knew that over the years we have donated over £40k – actually £40,310 to the Air Ambulance. An amazing amount of money to be generated from such a small group and we should be very proud.

The money is needed: Every mission costs on average £4000: other example costs; uniforms for the pilots and paramedics are £1000 each; a blood transfusion costs £600. The helicopter flies from 7am to 2am in the morning, flying in the dark for half of the shift, and to do that, the crew (of 4) all need night vision goggles at a cost of around £20k each pair.

Starting this month there will be a Critical Care car 24/7 based in Nottingham –There is also a similar car based in Lincoln and these have been replaced recently with new Volvo XC90’s provided by another charity – HELP (Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads). HELP also provided a state of the art all weather landing pad at Waddington.

There is an additional helicopter coming in 2027 – an Agusta Westland 109, currently on a production line in Italy, this one costing around £7million. The current Yellow helicopter is an Agusta Westland 169 but is currently in Germany having its 4 year major service. To maintain uninterrupted service LNAA will temporarily operate an AW109 relief helicopter. It will enable the charity to continue delivering critical care to patients across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. (The relief AW109 is black so don’t be surprised when a black one turns up instead of the usual yellow!).

The need for a second helicopter can be seen from the data that shows that every day there are 1.4 missions that the crews are not able to respond to. The availability of a second helicopter and crew will mean that they are able to attend more emergencies, more quickly, and provide critical care to more patients that might not otherwise have access in time. This second helicopter project has been initiated with some considerable donations resulting in currently £4m raised. The LNAA initiated another scheme to raise £500,000 recently and within a few weeks have already managed to raise £150,000. The annual budget for LNAA is – around £13 million.

The new Helicopter will have exactly the same kit on board, and the new one will be based during the day at a landing pad at Edwalton in Nottinghamshire, but both will be housed in the big hangar at their base at Waddington over nonflying hours. Consideration of who gets the help of a helicopter, an emergency fast response car or an ambulance will normally be carried out by the ambulance dispatchers who will prioritise cases and ensure that the patient is attended by the most appropriate crew. Andy then explained why the air ambulance service is not supported by Central Government or the NHS or Ambulance Service. If government funding was to be used it would come with rules, regulations and restrictions as to what could be done. For example, Andy said that they had attended a Road Traffic Accident recently where one of the patients received open heart surgery by the side of the road – this would not have been permitted under official control. A week later this patient was able to walk out of hospital. By maintaining their charitable status and continuing to receive donations allows for much greater flexibility and the opportunity for much better care and attention for patients needing critical care. Andy then finished by thanking us again for all that we and the local population do – it is very necessary and much appreciated’
Link for further info: https://www.ambucopter.org.uk/news-and-stories/

Rotary District 1220 - News Around 1220

29/06/2026

It is the time of the year, when Rotary Presidents hand over their chain of office to their successor, and this procedure occurred at Market Rasen Rotary at the end of June.

President Dianne Tuckett reported she had a very enjoyable year, albeit with a steep learning curve as she took over the Presidency as a fairly new Rotarian. Dianne did us proud however, leading the club through another successful year, of fellowship within the club and with Rotarians from other areas. Support for International and local charities has been as good as ever and Dianne praised the Market Rasen club for its’ endeavours whilst maintaining the spirit of fun whilst working hard.

Rtn David Mason handed over to retiring President Dianne a book of some 65 press cuttings, summarising the Clubs activities through the past year.

Dianne then handed over the (rarely worn, as we are a very relaxed group) Chain of office bearing the names of 49 previous Presidents to Rtn Malcolm Stimpson who is entering his second year in the President’s role. This year will however be very special in that it will see the celebration of 50 years since the club was formed.
Malcolm thanked his team of officers for taking on the responsibilities of office and hoped Market Rasen Rotary continued as before working hard to help others whilst enjoying ourselves tremendously, when giving that help.

Any one wishing to help and support Rotary in anyway in their charitable endeavours can learn more about us by speaking to Peter on 07801435394

26/06/2026

Market Rasen Rotary have made further collections of medical supplies to send to Ukraine to help their citizens in their unjust battle. The goods will be sent to Ukraine by Lynn Atkinson, in Blyton near Gainsborough.

Several personal collections were made from individuals and smaller care homes. Unused supplies were also collected from Waterloo House Care Home in Market Rasen. The majority of this consignment however, came from The Swanholme Care Home in Lincoln.

Once medical supplies are prescribed and delivered to the patient, they cannot be used by others of for other purposes, within the Home. Zuzana Wales, Area Manager for the Swanholme Care Home was grateful for collection of her unwanted goods, all of which would have gone into land fill, or medications destroyed wastefully but safely, if not for Rotary's efforts.

One of the pictures is of Abby, who is Deputy Manager of the Swanholme Care Home. Abby Stimpson is a “Friend of Market Rasen Rotary” and was the arranger of the Swanholme and Waterloo House collection. The other picture is of Suzana and the third is of Lynn Atkinson who arranges transport of the goods to Ukraine.

Lynn Atkinson in Blyton, on behalf of the Vyshyvanka Hub, was very pleased to receive our donations once again. Her organisation's efforts to send medical aid to Ukraine are however under severe pressure. Transport costs have increased dramatically, particularly diesel; the last shipment cost £1,800 for fuel and £300+ for the return ferry journey.

Anyone who has unused medical supplies, bandages, sanitary supplies, (medications in date, unopened) and also unwanted, unreturnable medical equipment, can call Market Rasen Rotary on 0755 175 9116 and collection can be arranged.

Should anyone who wishes to help with transport costs please contact Lynn on 07866 201 144.

Rotary District 1220 - News Around 1220

12/06/2026

More tools for Charity, Thanks to the huge generosity of local people.
Thanks to the enormous generosity of local people, Market Rasen Rotarians continue to support the TWAM charity, (Tools with a Mission).
A recent collection at the Methodist Chapel in Middle Rasen and a collection from De Aston school, boosted the volume of tools, sewing machines, haberdashery and laptop computers, all collected in the last 3 months. As Market Rasen Rotary also collects from people’s homes, garages and workshops, sometimes 5 collections a week, the amount of stock to be collected by the TWAM volunteer driver was more than enough to fill a hi-cube Transit van. Another collection to take the rest of the items to the sorting, refurbishment centre in Rugby will have to be made in the next week or so.
TWAM assembles the goods into trades person’s packs to be sent in 40’ containers to Africa for distribution in rural areas, to enable the locals to start their own businesses, relieving the pressure for external aid and giving pride and self-reliance to many.
The next town/village collection will be announced in due course, but in the meantime, please contact us: [email protected] or phone 0755 175 9116
to arrange a collection of whatever you have:
What do we need?:Knitting and sewing machines; Lengths of Material, Haberdashery, Working Computers and tablets also networking Switch Routers and cables; Builders and Ground worker’s tools; Plumbers, Carpentry, Electricians, Motor Mechanics, Engineering and Agricultural tools, and PowerTools.
Rotary District 1220 - News Around 1220

12/06/2026

Open Farm Sunday at Sutton Estate’s Stainton Le Vale farm was a great success, with many families and individuals attending.
Once more, Market Rasen Rotary were privileged to be asked to cater for the visitors and they were pleased to do so.

Under the planning and watchful eye of Rotarian Mark Strawson, Rotarians and Friends of Rotary cooked and supplied more than 800 meals, locally sourced Lincoln Red burgers, local sausages all presented in bread buns made in Market Rasen and adorned with fried onions, real cheese and with as required mustard, ketchup and or brown sauce, liberally applied by Farmer Rotarian Bob.
The queue started at around 11.00 and by 12.30 until 2.00pm it was long and winding, such that Rotarians will invest in another Bar-B-Que for next year and an additional food service station to make us more efficient.

Success can be shown by the fact Market Rasen Rotary raised approaching £2,000 profit for the Lincs/Notts Air Ambulance and Rotarians agreed to make the donation up to that round figure before the cheque is presented to the Air Ambulance.
Furthermore, there was a residue of Hi quality burgers and buns to the value of £330.00 and this unused stock has been presented to the Food Bank operating from the New Life Church in Market Rasen. This food will be given out to the needy along with the other support the New Life Food Bank gives.

Thank you to Sutton Estates, thank you to all our customers, and we hope to see you next year.

Rotary District 1220 - News Around 1220

Market Rasen Rotary

21/08/2026

07/08/2026

29/07/2026

27/07/2026

05/07/2026

03/07/2026

29/06/2026

26/06/2026

12/06/2026

12/06/2026

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