A (POTTED) CLUB HISTORY 1
THE VERY first meeting to consider the
formation of a Rotary Club in Diss was held at the town's King's Head Hotel - in the
market place, nearly opposite Boots, but alas long gone - on April 22,1947, when 14
prospective members attended under the chairmanship of the man who became founder
president - Charles Denny - with the Rotary link man Fred Hares, from King's Lynn, in
attendance.
Nine months later- in January,1948 - the
club was born when, at the same hotel,
the club received its charter from Rotary
International representative
Percy E. Rycroft.
According to the Norfolk & Suffolk Journal and Diss Express of January 23,1948 - the
small local newspaper with a long title, whose editor, the later Harold Holker was a
founder member - the charter night was a glittering occasion and one of the highlights of
the social life of Diss, worth reporting with many hundreds of words. Those were the
days...
''... the presentation which was made to
the interim President, Rotarian Charles
Denny, followed a dinner attended by
almost 100 Rotarians, wives and guests.
In addition to guests from other East
Anglian Rotary Clubs, almost every
sphere of business life in the town was
represented," read the report.
Although the King's Head had the kudos
of being the venue for the dinner, the club grew so rapidly that by July that year the
hotel was unable to cater for the weekly meetings, so they were moved to Wren's
Restaurant, a short distance away in Mere Street.
And even though restaurateur Harold Wren was himself a member of the Rotary Club, there
were problems there. Meetings had to be held late on Friday evenings before settling down
to Tuesday lunchtimes.
|
Cor blast
me! It's a bootiful Club
The Rotary Club of Diss and District
meets at the Park Hotel, Park Road,
Diss, on Tuesdays at lpm for l.l0pm
except on the First Tuesday in the
month 6pm for 6.30pm
the last Tuesday in each
month, starting at 7pm for 7.30pm.
please check
Forthcoming
Events
There are no meetings on the Tuesdays
following Bank Holidays - except on
those following New Year's Day
and May Day.
But if you are in doubt, a quick call to
the Park Hotel on 01379 642244.will
give you the information you require.
If you are a visiting Rotarian making a
last minute decision to join us, don't
hesitate to call the hotel to let us know.
Park Road is part of the A1066/A43
Thetford to Scole road, which runs
alongside the main shopping centre and,
an the eastern side, is Victoria Road.
Look out for the hotel entrance, on the
right, on the Thetford side of the town
after going through a set of traffic lights,
by a garage and the town park.
The hotel has ample parking facilities
and you will be made to feel most
welcome.
In fact, if someone enquires: "Are y'all
roi' then?" you are in Norfolk, in the
right club meeting place, and being given
a bootiful local greeting.
It ts said that behind
every successful '
Rotary Club there is a successful Inner
Wheel Club - for the wives of Rotarians
and that is certainty true in Diss.
Diss Inner Wheel Club, founded in 1949,
meets at the Park Hotel, Park Road,
usually. on the first
Monday on every month, at 7.30pm.
On Bank Holidays the day and venue
may be changed, so please contact the
current secretary.
|
A (POTTED) CLUB HISTORY 2
With the death of Harold Wren, the club
eventually moved its meeting place to the
Park Hotel, where it has remained.
Membership is now over 60, making the club the fourth largest in District 1080.
Perhaps one of the reasons why the club
has bucked the national trend of declining
membership is that it has always been active in promoting true Service Above Self,
combined with fellowship:
In 1968, a group of club members
founded the Diss and District Mobile
Physiotherapy Unit - giving much-need
treatment to patients who would otherwise
have had to travel long distances to
hospital, or go without. Not until 1994 was
it finally superseded by local health centre
facilities.
Club members helped to found - and
are still active in - Waveney Words, the
local talking newspaper for the blind.
For many years club members have
conducted, through vocational service,
mock interviews for pupils at the local high
school. Hundreds have been helped to
overcome the trauma of interviews with
prospective employers as they prepare to
leave school for the world of commerce.
Since 1971 the club has been linked
with the Rotary Club of Hadsten, in
Denmark and there are also strong ties
with the Rotary Club of Oscoda in
America.
Each year dozens of local old folk get
birthday parcels and are given a rousing Christmas party.
And the club is proud to have five Paul
Harris Fellows.
Not bad for a small Norfolk market town!
For full information on Diss,
Visit Diss Information Directory at:-
http://www.diss.co.uk
a Town Guide, complete with free maps,
is on sale locally. |
HISTORY OF DISS
DISS is a small market town on the Norfolk-
Suffolk border, covering less than 4,000
acres, and sitting uncomfortably mainly to the North of the A1066/A143 Thetford to Scole
road, which is an incredibly busy feeder road to the Broads and the Norfolk coastal
resorts, including Great Yarmouth.
On the Eastern edge of the town is a
converted barn complex, owned by South
Norfolk District Council, and called Diss
Business Centre.
To the Southern side of the feeder road is
industrial development and two of the town's three supermarkets, the biggest one,
Morrisions opposite what was historically the main entrance to the town, Mere Street.
Most remarkable feature of Diss is the
Mere, between the appropriately named Mere Street, and the town park, which boasts a fine
pavilion bandstand.
Very near to the Mere is the district council's information centre - whose friendly staff
can tell you about the town and the county.
At the edge of the Market Place is Diss
Museum, which is also a mine of information about the town's history.
And up Market Hill is the Corn Hall, now
used as a meeting place for local
organisations and which, like the Mere, is
administered by Diss Town Council.
The town is on the main Norwich to
Liverpool Street Inter-City Express line; has privately-owned daily coach services to
London and Norwich; is handy for Norwich Airport and - important for travellers - has at
least one 24-hour service petrol station.
And if you fancy a soothing game of golf
is for you, a fine local
course.
|
