THE out-going president of Newent's Rotary Club remembered 12 months of achievement as he reviewed the past year.

Speaking to the club's 28 members, Brian Robbins began his review with the Newent Onion Fayre, where the club was prominent.

He also remembered Christmas time, when the club organised visits by Father Christmas to local schools, and a recent outdoor Shakespeare performance by the Festival Players.

Local schools have benefited from club donations, and a project has just been started to landscape ground at the Chill Out Zone Caf.

The Newent club supports polio eradication and the Sight Savers project, and also works with clubs in Estonia and Rwanda to protect vulnerable young children. At a recent meeting, the director of special education for Rwanda thanked the club for its support of a project to develop braille facilities.

The social side of the club is strong, with barbecues, a vintage car rally, carol service, golf, skittles and dinner dances.

Mr Robbins paid tribute to the role in the club of the ladies of the Inner Wheel and remembered a founder member, past president and Newent's first mayor, Mike Smith, who died in February.