BATHAVON IN ACTION

Around 1,000 happy children treated a group of Rotarians to an extraordinary day out at Longleat on Wednesday 8th June, thanks to the annual Rotary KidsOut Day event.

KidsOut comprises young people aged between 5 and 12, who either attend special schools or are in special units at mainstream schools. The event started locally in 1992, and at least 500 children have helped every year since 1999 - with over 1,000 helping last year.

Some 30 Rotary Clubs from Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire, enjoyed a wonderful day out with the children, who were nominated to help by their schools and other organisations involved in their education and care.

Members and friends of the Bathavon Rotary Club were accompanied by 88 children from the Three Ways and St Martins Garden Primary Schools in Bath, and the Studley Green Primary School in Trowbridge. The members provided four minibuses and eight cars, collecting the children from their schools en route, and transporting everyone to Longleat.

Once at Longleat the day started with a trip through the Safari Park, followed by a picnic lunch with entertainment provided by clowns, musicians, and face-painters, and finished with the group riding the various amusements within the grounds before returning to school and home for a well-earned late afternoon nap.

" Ralph Le Bonbon admiring the home made cakes in the window. Sales of teas & cakes at The Shaws on May 2 2011 raised £268 for Rotary Water Survival Boxes"

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"The Bath Minerva Choir is one of several excellent choirs in the city and has links with the Bathavon club as we have one member and one partner who sing regularly with them. After their last concert in Bath Abbey, they kindly invited the club to undertake a retiring collection in aid of Rotary Water Survival boxes. This cause struck a chord with the choristers and they then asked us to collect whilst they sang Christmas Carols in the new Southgate Centre."

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For the eighth year running, Rotarians from the Bathavon Rotary Club, Bath attended the Peggy Dodd Centre at Combe Down, to paint and refurbish part of thepremises

Ten volunteers turned out with ladders, paint and brushes to, prepare and paint walls, ceilings and woodwork of the designated area on a Friday evening and on Saturday a further group of Rotarians arrived to complete the painting and to clear up.

The Rotary members themselves confirmed it was a worthy task that achieved much satisfaction and was good for fellowship.

President Mac Place stated that local community projects were as important to Rotary as raising money for international and local charities. ‘It’s good to get your hands dirty sometimes and to help worthy local causes with some practical hands on support’.

Rotarians John Burton, Roger Payne, Moussa Nndiaye, Mike Richards, Alison Patrick, Michael Wood and President Mac Place taking a well earned break.

Peggy Dodd Centre expressed their thanks for working out of hours and for not interrupting their own daily activities, plus helping to conserve their limited funds, probably saving them up to £2000.

Bathavon Rotary Club hosted a black tie Gala Dinner in the wonderful setting of the Roman Baths on Friday the 21^st May, with Rachel Elnaugh , one of the original Dragons from the BBC series Dragons Den as the key note speaker.

The Gala evening was attended by 140 local business leaders and included an Auction of Promises and Raffle. The fund raising aspect of the evening was supporting Bathavon’s youth focused projects; Bath Young Carers; The Neem Tree Trust (replacement funding for a school minibus at an Indian school for polio victims) and the Precious Sisters (educational scholarships for 14 year old girls in Kenya to complete their secondary education). The evening was a fantastic success raising £10,000 and Bathavon Rotary Club would like to thank its key sponsors; Morgan Cole LLP, Saffery Champness, First Flight Placements and all the local business community who supported a great evening.”

Pupils from schools in Bath all took part in challenging morning of competition at the City of Bath College.

The winner April Fortune a pupil of Oldfield School was presented with her prize and went forward to the next round of the district competition.

HMS SOMERSET NEWSLETTER – DECEMBER-FEBRUARY 2011/12

Six months after sailing from Devonport HMS Somerset is now returning home having conducted the full range of Maritime Security Operations in the Middle East.

During the deployment we have operated in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman. In the interests of UK diplomacy and international cooperation we have worked alongside the Jordanian, Saudi Arabian, Tanzanian and Omani Navies, as well as the Seychellois Coastguard to share knowledge and improve tactics, procedures and knowledge.

Since taking over our duties we have provided reassurance to countless seafarers transiting the world’s busiest sealanes, disrupted piracy incidents and assisted in the saving of life at sea - overall the deployment has been a huge success.

All that remains is to thank all of our friends, families and affiliates for the outstanding support you have given. We look forward to seeing you soon after our return to UK.

With the ship alongside over Christmas, the Ship’s Company celebrated together a week early while at sea in the Gulf of Oman. A carol service followed by roast turkey with almost all the trimmings (no Brussel sprouts were available) was the order of the day. Boxes of Christmas treats, generously provided by the charity uk4u Thanks!, were distributed and received with real appreciation and delight.

Dubai was the setting for HMS Somerset’s operational stand down over the Christmas season. Some chose to fly out their family or friends, and everyone had an opportunity to relax and enjoy all that the city has to offer.

Just prior to Christmas Day in Dubai, one final treat awaited the Ship’s Company. A CSE team flew out to put on an evening’s entertainment, featuring a band, DJs, dancers, comedians and excellent food.

Back at sea and back on task, there was still time to round off the festive season with a New Year’s Eve party organised by the 45-Man Mess.

The first order of business for 2012 was the arrival of the FOST team, who flew out to put HMS Somerset through her paces and assess our state of readiness. Their visit was a good way of kick-starting the last phase of the deployment and provided many useful training opportunities, including a major fire-fighting exercise involving multiple simulated casualties. Eight months on from our pre-deployment training, it was pleasing to receive some very positive feedback from the FOST team.

January also saw HMS Somerset take part in an anti-submarine warfare exercise (ASWEX) with a Submarine, honing the ship’s capability in this area. It meant a week of Defence Watches and focussed activity for the Ship’s Company but the training benefits gained were well worth the hard work. The exercise confirmed the effectiveness of HMS Somerset in her anti-submarine role.

During the exercise, there was an opportunity for a lucky few to go across to the submarine and see life through the periscope. These included four female members of the Ship’s Company, who are now among the few women to have experienced life on an active patrol with one of the Royal Navy’s submarines.

Haggis, neeps and tatties were on the menu in all the messes. While it proved quite tricky to catch the wee beasties out in the Indian Ocean, our RM maritime sniper team came up trumps and Burns Night was duly celebrated with a formal dinner in the WOs & CPOs Mess. In traditional Scottish style, the haggis was piped-in and WO2 Stu Patterson, himself a proud Scot, read the famous ‘Ode to the Haggis’.

Towards the end of the month, HMS Somerset hosted Capt Paul Lloyd RN, Captain Surface Ships of the Devonport Flotilla, and his team. During their time onboard they conducted a rigorous assessment of Somerset’s overall material condition and seaworthiness. The aim of the visit was to ensure we have adhered to the highest standards of safety during our deployment and to address areas that require attention during the ship’s upkeep period this summer. They left impressed with all the hard work that hasgone on and content with the high standards they witnessed.

Three notable successes were achieved during the DevFlot visit. Lt Emma Bould RN passed her Weapon Engineering Charge Board (required for her to become a Head of Department in future), while POs Peres and Wilsmore passed their professional qualifying examinations, paving the way for them to become Chief Petty Officers. All three passed with flying colours!

Turning west HMS Somerset departed the Indian Ocean and continued her maritime security operations along the Gulf of Aden, up through the Bab-al-Mandeb Straits and into the Red Sea.

Our next stop was the port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This proved a highly useful opportunity to build ties with one our key regional allies. Somerset’s Royal Marines were able to provide a demonstration of their boarding capabilities to visitors from the Saudi Arabian Special Maritime Border Security Unit.

The ship’s football team again saw action during the visit and took part in a mini-tournament against a team organised by the British Consulate. Needless-to-say it was the two Somerset teams who came out on top, with PO Dudman’s blue team losing out to LSTD Millar’s red team!

As part of our wider role in promoting UK interests and ties in the region, Somerset hosted a reception for some 200 local dignitaries, representatives of the business world, consul generals and members of the military. A demonstration of Ceremonial Sunset by the HMS Somerset ship’s Guard of Honour capped off the evening as Lt Ed Gaught RN proudly gave the salute to Saudi dignitaries.

HMS Somerset safely navigated the 120 miles of the Suez Canal in early February. Over 21,000 vessels pass along this famous waterway every year and it remains one of the key arteries for world shipping. Every year all Royal Navy ships passing through the Suez Canal compete in a rowing challenge to see which Ship’s Company can row the equivalent length of the canal quickest. HMS Somerset won this trophy in 2010 on the way back from OP TELIC and LPT Vicky Jarvis led our charge this time. At the time of writing there is still a long way to go in 2012 but doubtless Somerset has thrown down the gauntlet once more!

After a safe transit of the Suez canal the ship called briefly at Akrotiri (Cyprus), where we said goodbye to our Royal Marines Boarding Team from FPGRM who, having truly earned their place as members of the Ship’s Company now return to Scotland for further tasking.

The stunning Grand Harbour of Valetta provided the perfect place for the final port visit of Somerset’s OP KIPION deployment. It gave the Ship’s Company the opportunity for some well-earned relaxation and allowed their thoughts to turn to home.

The Royal Navy has a deep and historic friendship with the island of Malta and its people, a fact borne out during the recent campaign in Libya when ships from OP ELLAMY were replenished there.

As we leave Malta, it is just ten days until we return home. Everyone is eagerly looking forward to getting into Devonport on the morning of 24 Feb. Prior to our arrival in sunny Devonport (at least it was when we left in August) we will bid a fond farewell to 829 Naval Air Squadron `04` Flight, who disembark with their Merlin helicopter back to RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall.

In anticipation of our homecoming, on behalf of HMS Somerset’s Ship’s Company, we want to say a huge “thank you” to all of you, our friends and families, for the unwavering love and support you have given us throughout our time away.

When Somerset returns, she will undertake a period of de-storing prior to a period in dry dock in Devonport from April until November 2012. After conducting sea trials into the New Year, Somerset will once more regenerate for future operational tasking later next year.

You can sign up to http://www.rncom.mod.uk/ for further information on Naval Personnel & Families Services or to chat online and learn more of upcoming events.