Previous Events

Meadowfield School Sensory Garden

On a sunny day, before Easter, a group of Rotarians from Sittingbourne Invicta joined parents and staff for a planting session at Meadowfield School. Meadowfield, in Sittingbourne, is a school for children with profound, severe and complex needs. Their inspirational PE head, Ian Harman, working with the Friends of Meadowfield School, arranged for part of the school grounds to be converted into a sensory garden.

Ian and co did all the major ground work but needed to stock the garden with suitable plants. The Invicta club arranged to fund these, with the help of a District Grant. Colourful, scented and tactile plants (strictly non-toxic!) provide the main elements of the planting.

The first planting day was a great success with much progress made and another day, at which we will assist, will follow in May.

31 March 2025 - Raid on Kings Hill Rotary Club

Club Members "raided" (visited) their Rotary colleagues in the Kings Hill Rotary Club. There was a good balance of numbers from each club and we were greeted by the staff at the Nevill Bull pub in Birling, who opened the pub specially for the meeting. We were made most welcome by the Kings Hill Rotarians and enjoyed an excellent roast meal.

The speaker for the evening was from the Holocaust Memorial Trust and he gave an intriguing talk, not only on the well-known aspects of the Holocaust but also its causes.

24 March 2025 - Frugal Meal - Three Tuns, Lower Halstow

Club members and partners enjoyed a very good frugal meal produced by Carol and Chris of the Three Tuns Lower Halstow who were supporting this fundraising event.

22 March 2025 - Quiz Night at Tunstall Village Hall

The collective brains of Sittingbourne Invicta Rotary Club members and their friends gathered at Tunstall Village Hall to pitch their intellects against veteran quiz masters, Claire and Steve Wood, at the club's annual Quiz Night.

Twelve teams took part in the 10-round quiz and revealed a remarkable knowledge of pubs and alcoholic drinks. Unfazed by questions such as the one requiring them to find a musical instrument in the work carried out by the sons of Zebedee, James and John [they were fishermen and castanet] the teams put up a tremendous show of brain-power and there were just 14 points between first and last places. The winning score of 100 points was secured by the team from Rotary Radio UK although they were hard pressed and achieved their victory by just 1 point.

In excess of £1,000 was raised and will be used to support the club's social and charitable programmes.

22 February 2025 - Cameo Opera and Silent Auction

Sittingbourne Invicta favourites Cameo Opera entertained the club once again on Saturday 22nd February at Tunstall Village Hall, with a broad selection of operatic and show music. This was combined with a Silent Auction of goods and promises provided by club members. The evening was a sell-out great success and raised over £7,000 for club and charitable funds

20 January 2025 - The Woodstock Club

Club Member Mo Dunk hosted a social evening at the Woodstock Club. We had an excellent dinner and a look at the facilities the Woodstock Club can provide.

16 December 2024 - Rotary Christmas Dinner

If music be the food of love...the members of Sittingbourne Invicta Rotary were well served at Hempstead House Hotel. An excellent Christmas-themed meal was enjoyed by the club's members and then the club's own folk duo "Bookem & Riskit" [aka Russ Hughes and Steve Wood] entertained with a selection of folk and Christmas music. A hearty rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas involved everyone present and provided some post-dinner exercise. The entertainment was enhanced by readings from David Brown, Lyn Baxter, Mike Gee, Dudley Cramp and Penny Twaites.

This was the final event for the club in 2024 and everyone departed looking forward to a new range of events in 2025.

9 December 2024 - Sittingbourne Invicta Carol Service - St Mary & the Holy Cross, Milstead

Winter could not have been more bleak when the club members assembled for their annual carol service at St Mary & The Holy Cross, Milstead. It was dark, the rain was in "stair-rod" format and the wind was blowing into all the nooks and crannies. However, the church was warm and the choir, Derek Boyne's Opus 32, joining us for the second year in succession, filled the building with wonderful music.

The service was conducted by benefice vicar Alan Pinnegar and various members performed the readings. The choir finished the service with a rendition of the Christmas Classic, All I Want for Christmas is a Hippopotamus, which was very much enjoyed by those club members who had stayed behind to listen.

Afterwards, the church hall provided shelter from the weather and the congregation enjoyed festive drinks and light refreshments.

1 December 2024 - Swale CVS - Christmas Lunch

Club members and their partners, working with Swale Voluntary Services, entertained a group of Swale pensioners to a wonderful Christmas lunch. A good time was had by all and every person took away a tin of chocolates to keep the party mood going. Special thanks are due to David and Mandy Wilkinson for providing the venue, Martin and Vicky Lukehurst, who financed the event, Sue Porter and her team who did the cooking and of course, the team of Rotarians who drove the guests to and from the venue and those who gave up their time to serve, wash up and entertain the guests.

25 November 2024 - Sentado Lounge and The Light - Tenpin Bowling - Sittingbourne

Club members enjoyed a social evening together with a meal at the Sentado Lounge followed by a competitive tenpin bowling session at The Light in Sittingbourne.

18 - 20 October 2024 - District Conference - Eastbourne

The RC of Sittingbourne Invicta proudly carried off the trophy for the largest attendance at the conference in October, taking the trophy back from arch-rivals RC Minster on Sea. The weather at Eastbourne switched between both extremes of autumn but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of members on the dance floor on the Saturday evening.

There were some excellent speeches from the conference platform with actress and singer Toyah Wilcox bringing the event to a close on Sunday morning.

Invicta members were anticipating winning the golf trophy but the event was cancelled because of a lack of players from other clubs.

The venue for next year's conference has yet to be decided but Invicta members are bound to be there.

5 October 2024 - Swale Donation Day

10 volunteers from the Rotary Club Of Sittingbourne Invicta joined Swale’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Projects Officer, Samuel Brookfield and his team, for Donation Day, to support the Council’s Cycle-re-cycle scheme.

We had assisted in running the first Sittingbourne Bike Donation Day in March, and on this second occasion, we were joined by representatives of SATEDA (domestic abuse support) who were collecting children’s clothing for their ‘Sharewear’ initiative. We also ran a collection of food items for Swale Foodbank.

Over a two hour period, approximately 120 bikes were donated for the project – an amazing result and nearly fifty more than the collection in March! The SATEDA volunteers collected clothes donations which filled the back of a small van and we collected six crates of food items for the Food Bank.

The Swale Cycle-re-Cycle programme is a partnership between the council, HMP Swaleside and the Canterbury Bike Project. HMP Swaleside inmates refurbish unwanted bikes, while working towards and making a positive step toward rehabilitation. The refurbished bikes are then supplied (at nominal cost of £10) through community groups, providing less well off residents with affordable, environmentally friendly transport. Nearly 100 bikes have been processed through the scheme already.

Penny Twaites, the Environment Lead for the Rotary Club of Sittingbourne Invicta, said: “We are very pleased to have been part of this day and it was great to be working alongside SATEDA and helping the foodbank, as well as supporting the wonderful cycle project again”.

27 - 29 September 2024 - Visit of the Rotary Club of Hoorn, Netherlands

They came by boat and train, our visitors from the Rotary Club of Hoorn, and were welcomed into the homes of a team of Invicta Rotarians. After the opportunity to relax and wind down from their journey they were entertained and encouraged to get a good night's sleep before the start of a busy Saturday.

Rotarian Ian George had arranged a fascinating day for everyone and large group gathered at Dover Castle for a tour of the WW2 underground control rooms and emergency hospital located deep below the castle and in tunnels cut into the chalk at various times in history. The tour was followed by a cream tea in the NAFFI canteen where English and Dutch Rotarians were able to discuss which ingredient goes into a scone first - the cream or the jam.

Following this, the group moved on to the Battle of Britain Memorial on the cliffs above Folkestone. The weather was fantastic and the view from the memorial across the "flat calm" and surprisingly blue, Channel to the coast of France was awe inspiring. The memorial is a tribute to the "Few" who fought in the battle and everyone enjoyed the history and the "Scramble Experience".

To complete a busy day, everyone was then able to attend a Gala Dinner at the new Barn, adjacent to the home of Rotarian David Wilkinson and his wife Mandy. Where an excellent meal was enjoyed by all. Naturally, there were speeches and the President of the Hoorn club presented each Rotarian with a personally named bottle of beer. The only thing missing from this Rotary event was a raffle! Visitors and Invicta Rotarians with stout constitutions then repaired to the Carpenters Arms in Wormshill for a taste of a traditional English country pub before getting to bed just before midnight.

The Hoorn visitors were booked on to an early ferry for their return home so breakfast was taken early and everyone left with good wishes and the promise of an Invicta visit to the Netherlands in a year or two.

19 August 2024 - Eastchurch Aviation Museum and The Woolpack, Iwade

Club members and partners visited Eastchurch Aviation Museum followed by a meal at The Woolpack, Iwade. The museum is tucked away very close to the prisons at Eastchurch. We were met by a number of volunteers who kindly opened especially for us. They were all very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and gave us lots of information both inside and outside the museum. It was fascinating to discover the important history of aviation associated with the Isle of Sheppey. After the visit we then enjoyed an excellent meal at the Woolpack.

22 July 2024 - Bat & Trap at The Alma - Painters Forstal

Club Members and their partners enjoyed a meal and an evening of Bat & Trap at The Alma, Painters Forstal.

6 July 2024 - Borden Fete

The Club attended Borden Fete with the very popular 'Pig Racing'. It was a great afternoon which was well supported by Members and the public. There were numerous races with large bags of sweets for the winner and small bags of sweets for the other runners. We raised £151 which will be added to our Trust Fund to fund community causes.

29 June 2024 - President's Evening at The Hub, Sittingbourne

On a warm Saturday evening in June "The Hub" at the Kent Science Park was transformed into a 1920's nightclub by Lyssa Phillips and Denise Gee and over 60 Rotarians and their guests sat down to an excellent meal provided by the staff at Cucumber Catering. The ladies all rose to the occasion by wearing 1920s "Flapper-style" outfits, while the gentlemen did their best to match the sartorial mood. The event was staged to celebrate the end of Patrick and Lyssa's year as heads of the club and the Freewheelers. Music to match the time and dates was provided by Rotary Radio UK and dancing followed the meal until late in the evening.

17 June 2024 - Brogdale Visit

Rotary members and partners had an enjoyable afternoon at Brogdale in Faversham. Lunch was served first at The Courtyard Restaurant followed by a tractor trailer tour around the orchards. We had a very informative and interesting tour guide who told us all about the history of Brogdale and information on the different fruit trees they have. We were then allowed to taste cherries straight off the trees!

9 June 2024 - Pimms in the Garden

On Sunday Rotarians, partners, families and friends gathered in "unseasonably" warm sunshine for the club's annual Pimms In The Garden event. Everyone was able to indulge in Pimms, soft drinks, strawberries and cream and later on in the afternoon, mountains of sausage rolls. Thanks are due to Iain Calder for arranging the event plus the supply of Pimms and strawberries and to David and Mandy Wilkinson for hosting and the sausage rolls.

Over £1300 was raised for Rotary supported organisations.

21 April 2024 - The Big Breakfast

Rotarians and friends of the Club attended the Big Breakfast event held by David and Mandy Wilkinson. The superb breakfast was accompanied with bubbly and orange juice. In excess of 50 attended the event and £1500 was raised for the Club's approved charities.

A special thanks to David and Mandy and several helpers which made it such a successful event.

This was just one of the social events held throughout the year where we can all get together and have a good time.

10 April 2024 - Bowls Match - Swale Indoor Bowls Club

The annual indoor bowls competition between the Rotary Club’s of Sittingbourne Invicta and Minster-on-Sea took place at the Swale Indoors Bowls Club, Milton Regis. Following some practise for the novices, five teams of three per side took part in a closely fought competition with Sittingbourne Invicta the eventual winners. Both club’s teams were supplemented by members of the bowls club which helped keep the standard relatively high!

A great time was had by all with plenty of good humour and banter giving way eventually to a steely determination to win by both sides. The evening ended with a superb buffet laid on by the bowls club and a big thank you must go the Minster’s Danny Stack and, on behalf of Sittingbourne, Mike Scott for keeping control of the assembled Rotary rabble!

Here’s to a return match next year.

25 March 2024 - Frugal Meal - Three Tuns - Lower Halstow

Club members and partners enjoyed a very good frugal meal produced by Carol and Chris of the Three Tuns Lower Halstow who were supporting this fundraising event.

29 January 2024 - The Light - Tenpin Bowling - Sittingbourne

An enjoyable evening where club members attempted to bowl whist consuming pizzas. The star of the evening with the highest scores was George Cole, well done George.

18 December 2023 - Club Christmas Dinner

Members and partners of the club met at Hempstead House Hotel for the annual Christmas Dinner. A splendid time was had by all and the after dinner entertainment was provided by folk duo Russ Hughes & Steve Wood, whose performance was enhanced with readings by John Frewin, Lynn Baxter and Suki Calder. President Patrick Phillips wished everyone a Happy Christmas and thanked the performers for their excellent (and free) contribution, a sentiment echoed by the District Treasurer. Steve Wood hoped the band had passed the audition and looks forward to being paid next time.

11 December 2023 - Carol Service at St Giles Church - Wormshill

Members of Sittingbourne Invicta gathered with their partners in the historic St Giles church in Wormshill for their annual service of carols and lessons. Despite the pouring rain and wind the church was full of people and Christmas cheer. A mix of traditional and modern Christmas music was provided by the members of local choir Opus 32 under the leadership of Derek Boyne and the Rev Alan Pinnegar presided. After the service refreshments were provided in the village hall.

6 November 2023 - The Sun, Bredgar

Club members and their partners had a very enjoyable evening at The Sun in Bredgar.

20/22 October 2023 - Three District Conference - Eastbourne

The District Conference this year was an excellent event made even better by Members from three Districts coming together to have a fun time and celebrate another year in Rotary. When mixing with so many people, opportunities always arise for Members from different Clubs to exchange ideas about things they do in the Community and what they do to raise funds.

The entertainment this year had a sports theme with fun stories being told by Dennis Taylor, retired professional snooker player, and Geoff Miller OBE one of the most respected cricketers of his generation, telling stories about life in cricket in those days and the cricketers he played with and against. I don't know why but he seemed to find cricket balls coming at him at 100mph from 22 yards and without a helmet to be a bit frightening!!

Continuing on the sports theme, I would like to report that the Rotary Club of Sittingbourne Invicta won the golf trophy this year but unfortunately I can't. The golf was rained off so it will have to be next year when that is reported.

Now for the finale: there were other options on the night but as you will see from the picture, all the Members of RCSI chose to go to the Ball and a great time was had by all. Some on the dance floor, others watching those on the dance floor trying to dance and 'one or two' preferring to have a drink and stay away from the dance floor. Wherever you were you had music and it was good fun.

Unfortunately we missed having the highest number of attendees from our District, 1120, by one. The winner was Minster. Again, this is something else to win next year.

Patrick Phillips, President, Rotary Cllub of Sittingbourne Invicta

4 September 2023 - Murston Heart Creative Community Hub

20 members and partners attended the evening at the Murston Heart Creative Community Hub and had a lovely Greek meal prepared by Lenny and his staff in the old Murston chapel. John Nightingale who is the Chair of the Murston All Saints Trust which oversees the site came along and said a few words about the project before our meal.

A number of members who work in the vicinity will I think be enjoying tea/coffee, cakes and lunch on a regular basis at The Hub kitchen in the future!

6 August 2023 - Club Members on Kingfisher Mark

Club members had a great day on Kingfisher Mark thanks to Steve and his crew. We started from Wateringbury Marina, we went through Hempstead Lock and under the lift bridge at Yalding and then on to the disused lock where we turned around. We moored at Teapot Island for lunch where a number stretched their legs before making our way back to Wateringbury. The weather was very kind a most enjoyable day was had by all.

20 May 2023 - Music Evening - Tunstall Village Hall

A very enjoyable music evening on Saturday with music being provided by Jeff Pedley who kindly provided his servicers for free. Ticket sales and the raffle means we raised over £600 for local and Rotary charities.

29 April 2023 - Grand Charity Auction

For the first time since before the pandemic the Grand Charity Auction took place at The Appleyard in Sittingbourne on Saturday evening. The evening was very well attended and following the dinner Kent Auctioneer Clive Emson enthusiastically and amusingly managed the auction. An incredible £14,500 was raised for Rotary Charities, the money will be distributed locally and internationally.

29 March 2023 - Bowls with Minster Rotary Club

The annual bowls match took place at the Swale Indoor Bowling Club. This year it was decided to have mixed teams. A good social event with another Rotary Club.

25 March 2023 - Quiz Night at Bredgar Village Hall

The annual quiz was held on Saturday at Bredgar Village Hall hosted by Steve Wood and ably assisted by Claire Wood, all funds raised will go to local Rotary charities..

20 March 2023 - Frugal Meal

Club members and partners enjoyed a very good frugal meal produced by Carol and Chris of the Three Tuns Lower Halstow who were supporting this fundraising event.

5 February 2023 - The Red Lion - Milstead

Club members and their partners enjoyed a social evening over a meal at the Red Lion in Milstead.

12 December 2022 - Carol Service St. Nicholas Church Rodmersham

In weather that Good King Wenceslas would have been familiar with, club members and their partners and friends descended on picturesque St Nicholas, Rodmersham, church for our annual Carol Service. Led by Rev Paul Longbottom and ably supported by the choir of nearby Tunstall church, the congregation sang heartily during the familiar carols and enjoyed the anthems performed by the choir. The church was almost full, which helped with the temperature, and the lessons and poems were read by club members. At the end of the service Rtn Patrick Phillips was able to announce the club had supplied a record number of Christmas Stockings for Swale Foodbank, which will be distributed to children in the area for Christmas. Thanks are due to Vicky Lukehurst and her team for preparing and serving the refreshments at the end of the service.

12 November 2022 - Wacky Races - Stockbury Village Hall

We had an evening of food and bizarre races. The race challenges were devised by George Cole who, as Chef de Course, started the racing pigs on a predetermined course. Next came horses drawn by string with volunteers sitting backwards to the course, and all complained of wrist ache by the end. Racing “sliding” rats followed easily being won by the tallest in the room. Dice determined the winners of the next race with “human” horses moving by the number rolled on a dice. A ploughman’s platter was prepared and provided to all by Suki Calder and this was accompanied by beverages of one’s own choosing. With a well-supported raffle and a pound game with the proceeds going to the club’s charity fund. A fun evening was had by all.

24 October 2022 - Red Lion Milstead

26 Club members and their partners enjoyed a relaxing social evening and a delicious 2 course meal at the Red Lion in Milstead hosted by owners Chris and Hazel.

21/23 October 2022 - Rotary South East Annual Conference - Eastbourne

This weekend 10 members of Invicta, led by President Penny, with their partners were in Eastbourne for Rotary South East’s annual conference. The conference ran from Friday afternoon to Sunday lunchtime. We had talks that challenged us to be more effective Rotarians, talks that informed us of the initiatives of other Rotary clubs and talks that thoroughly entertained us.

We learnt about how Deal Rotary Pirates bring a different approach to Rotary, how Folkestone Rotary Club is leading a project to bring advice and support to the local community, how Rotary clubs can involve themselves in environmental projects and other inspirational ideas.

We had entertaining talks on the careers of Diddy David Hamilton, the veteran radio DJ and John Lyons, who played Sergeant Goode in a Touch of Frost for 17 and half years. We had comic interludes from the Rev. Ravi Holy, the vicar of Wye and Shaun Williamson, Barry from Eastenders who were both very funny. Steve Brown talked to us again explaining how his career had developed from being captain of the Paralympic wheelchair rugby team to being a familiar face as presenter on a variety of television programmes.

The weekend was also very much a chance for members to socialize through two Italian meals and a Gala Dinner and Dance.

A pleasant and valuable weekend was had by all.

Radio Presenters Meet at the Conference

Club member Steve Wood, who is also part of the Rotary Radio UK team, was delighted to meet renowned DJ David Hamilton and "Touch of Frost" star John Lyon, when he attended the District 1120 conference at Eastbourne. Steve asked David to mention Rotary Radio on his show on Boom Radio, which he duly did, and carried out his promise to mention David on his Rotary Radio show, which he duly did too! Plans are afoot for a podcast with John Lyon about his extensive acting career on TV and the stage.

22 August 2022 - Tour of Gillingham Football Club

We had an excellent evening at Gillingham Football Club getting a behind the scenes look. The tour was very interesting and informative. The photo shows Club Members having a well earned rest before enjoying a very good buffet. Our hosts could not have done more for us.

NB: Some Club Members missed the photo opportunity.

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