Past Events from 2009
2009 was a particularly action packed year for the club. Members took part in numerous activities such as 5K, 10K and even half-marathon races, as well as the annual Dragon Boat Festival, where we were once again crowned the best dressed team! There were also plenty of opportunities for volunteering, and we are very proud to have been able to continue to support many local charities in a difficult economic climate.
Saturday 12 December 2009
Christmas Party
Our 2009 Christmas party was perhaps the highlight of the year. This glamorous event took place at the swanky UniLit in Clifton. There was a burlesque dancer, a magician and a saucy story teller, as well as fantastic live music from the Zen Hussies. There are some fabulous pictures from the night on our Gallery pages.
November 2009
Movember
Never ones to shy away from doing something silly, some of the (male!) members of the club took part in Movember. The idea is that men start November clean shaven and then grow a moustache during the month, in return for sponsorship.
Normally Movember is run in aid of prostate and testicular cancer charities, however we ran it for Above and Beyond so that we could maximise our fund raising efforts for one of our nominated charities. It's not too late to donate whatever you can either via our JustGiving webpage, or by downloading our sponsorship form and bringing it along one breakfast meeting.
Saturday 31 October 2009
Halloween Party
This year's fancy dress halloween party took place from 7pm in the Elbow Room. It was a cheap and cheerful event, with prizes for the best dressed man and woman attending. Have a look at our Gallery for photographic evidence of some crazy outfits!
Thursday 22 October 2009
Haunted and hidden Bristol walking tour
To help people get in the Halloween mood, we organised a trip around Bristol taking in some spooky sights and hearing some eerie tales. Who would have thought that Bristol had so many secrets! You'll just have to come to next year's walk to find out more!
Sunday 20 September 2009
Run for the Future 2009
At last year's Run for the Future, the club provided runners and marshalls who braved the freezing winds and generally damp conditions, just to spend a few seconds in the presence of Carol Vordeman... and help raise money for the Bristol Urological Institute's Prostate Cancer Appeal of course. This year, despite the glorious late summer weather (or perhaps because of it!), only a couple of members were able to make it and take part in the run. Still, well done to all who helped make this event such a success again. Check out the Gallery to see what happened last year!
Wednesday 26 August 2009
Fish and Ships night
After last year's successful event, we once again went on a trip on the Matthew with our parent club, the Rotary Club of Bristol Breakfast. We took in sights of Bristol from this famous ship, and enjoyed a delicious dinner of fish and chips. A great time was had by all.
Monday 10 August 2009
Visit to Bristol Synagogue
Following a fantastic response from his tour with Bristol Breakfast, Leonard Glynn agreed to give our club a tour of the synagogue on Park Row. The tour was then followed up with dinner and drinks at Zero Degrees, a restaurant nearby which does great food and also has a micro brewery.
Friday and Saturday, 10 - 11 July 2009
South Cotswold Beer Festival
What is it with beer and people's sudden willingness to volunteer? Unsurprisingly, our club was very keen to get involved in serving the dozens of unusual beers and ciders at the South Cotswold Beer Festival last year, so much so, that the organisers were already counting on our help again in 2009. Although the weather could have been better, everyone had a really fantastic time, and a small group of hardcore revellers even braved the pouring rain and danced in the fields to the brilliant live music. Check out our Gallery for photos from the event.
Saturday 27 June 2009
Bristol Bridge Club's First Birthday Bash
Who would have thought that the first year of the club's existence would pass by so quickly. It's time to celebrate the success and continued growth of the club, as well as hand over its presidency. Our fantabulous birthday party was held at the magical Byzantium restaurant, where our inauguration dinner took place. Tickets included dinner and a great night's entertainment. See our Galleries page for pictures from the night.
Sunday 14 June 2009
Dragon Boat Racing
Forget paddling - the highlight of this event is always the fancy dress outfits! Last year's Smurfs went down a storm at the annual Dragon Boat Festival. This year's theme of the Oompa-Loompas, complete with Willie Wonka received the best dressed team prize for the second year in a row! Fundraising was once again for the benefit of the Bristol branch of Macmillans Cancer Support, and we think that around £2,000 was raised. There are hundreds of pictures on our Gallery page, or check out this fantastic video from the day!
Friday to Sunday, 12 - 14 June 2009
Bradley Stoke Community Festival
The annual Bradley Stoke Community Festival offered a great opportunity for our members to get involved in manning the beer tent, and a great day was had by all.
Saturday and Sunday, 16 - 17 May 2009
Bucket collection for Jessie May at the airport
The club volunteered at Bristol International Airport, rattling buckets to collect any spare cash from travellers, in aid of the Jessie May Trust. People worked in shifts, and collected a substantial amount of money for Jessie May. There are a few pictures on the Gallery page, in case you need help on how to rattle a bucket!
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Bristol 10K
Our club has quite a few keen athletes who don't mind running huge distances to help raise vital funds for charities. This year's Bristol 10K saw several club members taking to the streets of Bristol, and joining up to 15,000 other runners early on Sunday morning.
While running 10 entire kilometres is an amazing achievement for all runners taking part, we are particularly proud to announce that President Neil also donned his running shoes on this occasion. Before the event, Neil said:
"Well, don't ask what's got into me, but I've decided to take up running and to take part in the Bristol 10K in May! Nick can't quite believe it either (he keeps warbling on about the fact that I'll break out into a sweat!!). I've bought decent running shoes, (slutty) running shorts, special running tops and an arm strap for my iPod. At the moment I'm running 3-4 times a week. I now know all the roads, open spaces, lanes and tracks that make up my neighbourhood, and am now starting to venture further afield. For those of you that live in Bristol, just look out for a runner dressed in black singing to Girls Aloud as he runs!!!
Neil did incredibly well on the day, and raised nearly £600 for BLISS. Our other runners also battled through the hot conditions of the day, and everyone congregated at Simon's house for a much deserved barbeque after the race.
Wednesday 1 April 2009
Charity Quiz Night
We held our first annual Charity Quiz Night on April Fool's Day. However, there was nothing foolish about this event! It was held at the swish new Brasserie Blanc at Cabot Circus. The quiz proved so popular that we had to turn several potential teams away!
Teams were met with a welcome glass of wine, and there was a hot buffet during the break. The challenging questions were set by members of the club, and ranged from tough science topics, to easy local knowledge.
The winning team from Bevan Brittan Solicitors was presented with the "Bristol Bridge Rotary Club Team of 2009" trophy, a bottle of champagne and a goodie bag worth over £50 for each team member. Have a look at some great photos from the night on our Gallery page.
Saturday 28 March 2009
Volunteering for the Avon Wildlife Trust
The club helped with doing up a part of Royate Hill - jobs included trimming bushes, maintenance of branches and brambles that were overhanging the pavements, etc. Volunteers met at the main entrance to Royate Hill at just before 1pm, and worked until roughly 4 - 4.30pm, with a much deserved break for hot tea.
If you would like to help at future volunteering events, or suggest other volunteering opportunities, please contact our Charities Secretary.
Friday 20 March 2009
Curry & Brazilian Night
No, it's nothing rude! Some Brazilian students were staying in Bristol in March, via Rotary's Group Study Exchange initiative. They were accommodated by fellow Rotarians, and shown all around life in Bristol and the rest of the District. So what better way to entertain foreign visitors than by taking them out for a traditional Friday night curry - true British cuisine!
A group of us went to Oh Calcutta! on Gloucester Road and sampled delights such as chicken tikka massala and garlic naan. It was a great opportunity for us all to learn about different cultures and experience the far reach of Rotary International.
Sunday, 16 March 2009
Bath Half Marathon
Several club members ran in this annual race, raising much needed funds for local charities. It's not too late to sponsor them by coming along to one of our breakfasts and donating your money there.
Saturday 24 January 2009
Hollywood Glamour Winter Warmer evening
Our first fundraising social event of 2009 raised a lot of money for our nominated charities. It was a great chance to shake off the Christmas blues, dress up and have a good night out! Check out our photos on the Gallery page.