The Rotary Club of Southwold and District held their annual Christmas Carol Service at St Margaret’s Church, Reydon. Featuring Students from Reydon Primary School and Members of Wrentham Brass Band.

The church was packed to the rafters on this evening carol service on Friday 9th
December! The children from Reydon Primary School sang for us and instead of the normal organ music we had members of the Wrentham Brass Band playing. The mixture of children singing and  brass band sound was superb and the whole evening was very enjoyable. Rotary members supplied refreshments and mince pies for all after the service. We are grateful to Revd. Rich Henderson and the PCC at St. Margaret's for their gracious hospitality. Very many thanks to all who contributed to this marvellous occasion.

Monies from the collection went to the church funds and to local charities via the Rotary Club.

Many members braved the icy temperatures today and helped with the collection outside the Rainbow Food Store in Halesworth. The collection was in aid of the Halesworth Community Care Nurses. They managed to raise a remarkable sum of £550. Many thanks to all those who helped and of course to the generous people of Halesworth. A fantastic effort.

Members have once again sold hot-dogs at the annual lights switch-on in Southwold. The weather was cold but fine as hundreds of people came to watch James Bolan switch on the lights with some help from Father Christmas. Trading was brisk and we sold out of all 400 hot-dogs by 8 o'clock. Final costs are not yet in but we hope to have made at least £500 for the charities we support. Many thanks to everyone who helped and to all of you who bought a hot-dog. Hope to see you again next year.

This year's RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) candidate, Chris Hendrickson visited the club last night and spoke to members about his time on the course. He described how it was a life changing event and has had a positive effect on his career. A fine example of what RYLA is all about. Picture shows Chris receiving his certificate from President Peter Trendall.

A regular visitor and good friend of the club, Laurie Atkins entertained the members and their partners on September 29th at the Randolph Hotel. This time Laurie wasn't there to sing for us instead she told us of the organisation "Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R) of which she is a member. Laurie told us of the great work the DAR do in the USA. To become a member you must be able to prove that you are a descendant of someone who aided in the cause of American Independence. To find out more about the DAR visit their website at www.dar.org