Rotary Club of Senlac

Everyone needs to spend time on meaningful activities and should be included in the wider community - the things that people share with others. The original project in 2005, was with eight learning disabled young people working together with seven non-learning disabled students from Hastings College of Arts and Technology.

The media explored during ten one-day workshops clay, paint, printmaking, charcoal photography, video and computer projections. Students with learning disabilities came from three local day care centres. The organisation is able to consider individual persons support needs on an autistic spectrum.

Emphasis is upon use of different medias as a means of communication through art - colours and marks using different materials.

Individual art projects take place over a number of weeks to present visual images of remarkable high quality of life. In 2007 MENCAP recognised the Working Together Project. Well known local artists have collaborated to develop the project. The project areas include: big paintings and drawings, self-portrait paintings, printing, casting, small paintings and square paintings. The illustrated publication 'Working Together', allows the reader to view an amazing array of art which allows able-bodied persons to appreciate how disabled persons can create visions allowing materials to speak, importance of touch and demonstrating different ways of communication. Rotarian David King offered the vote of thanks.

The Annual Rotary Club of Senlac Walking Weekend changed venue for 2008 to Donnington Manor, Dunton Green, Sevenoaks (a setting within the North Downs Way), when a Friday evening gathering of 37 members and guests socialised and dined to enjoy a selective three-course dinner.

After a strikingly cholesterol breakfast in a tudor-style low-beamed dining room walking parties assembled for a selection of walks.

The routes were: Long walk via Pilgrims Way and Darenth Valley to Lullingstone Castle and Eynesford for a well earned lunch continuing, refreshed, upwards and downwards to Otford in dry weather until last stretch, finally completing 13 miles. For the medium walk way of direction was via Pilgrims Way to Shoreham where a pleasurable lunch sustained the party for returning to Warren Farm and Mount Farm to tread the path of the North Downs Way. A distance in region of six miles was enjoyed by participants. Short walk was via Pilgrims Way to Otford for lunch, view the village attractions and casually return to starting point.

Walking report-back by respective leaders confirmed no missing persons, all limbs intact.

A further successful evening dinner terminated with a 'table quiz' to test whether tiredness had set in or that alertness was able to be maintained.

As was to be expected the victors were overjoyed although the final scores were not so far apart. With another cholesterol breakfast the fitness gained was likely to diminish - however there was another chance to continue the North Downs experience. Driving a short distance along the A25 to Oldbury Hill (once found, by some members, with difficulty), the choice was to skirt Oldbury Wood (the perimeter of car park) or walk on a semi-circular route bypassing Igtham Mote to return once again for a necessary and enjoyable lunch before taking to the road for the return journey back to East Sussex. The weather, unexpectedly was kind, the spirit of endeavour and humour remained constant and Rotary fellowship, happy memories and maybe a few tired feet survived to tell the stories of a weekend which lived up to expectations.