The Rotary Club of Tenby held a formal dinner in the Fourcroft Hotel last week to celebrate and highlight the safe return of Rosie Swale Pope after her epic run round the world for charity. Presidents and members of other charitable organisations in the town, including Inner Wheel, Lions and Soroptimists, and the Mayor, Clr. Sue Lane, all enjoyed a memorable evening.
After a splendid meal, the club president, Dr. John Bowen, welcomed all the guests and visitors and said how proud and impressed the whole community was of Rosie, her zest for life and the enthusiastic way she tackled that most daunting challenge of running round the world. Her boundless energy and determination to do something for several needy causes was an example of true heroism and she deserved a medal just as much as the winners returning from the Olympics that afternoon.
He invited Rosie to give the 70-odd diners a tiny preview of her experiences during the adventure which no doubt would be made public when the book was written.
As everyone expected, Rosie responded with her usual gusto and entertained all with an avalanche of tales, including running through Siberia in winter where temperatures of -30 to -50 were the norm, and sleeping with your food in your sleeping bag was necessary to stop it being very deeply frozen and impossible to use; her meeting with the infamous 'mad axe-man' who, was in truth, a charming Russian who left gifts of bread, cheese and vodka; running through parts of cities in America where major street crime was a way of life, but a smile and a cheery wave ensured her safety.
The audience was enthralled and never more so than her throwaway remark that that whole episode of her life was "a fun run that got out of hand"!
She went on to thank the wonderful people all over the world who helped her, but the team of supporters in Tenby who made it all possible would always be in her heart.
An important part of the evening was a presentation to Rosie by the Rotary District Governor-Elect, Rtn Bob Higgins, of a Paul Harris Fellowship. Bob explained the origins of the award which is one of the highest given by Rotary International, and is given only to those who show outstanding compassion and concern for others and their problems.
He could think of no-one more deserving of the Fellowship than Rosie whose superhuman efforts and dedicated fund-raising were an example and inspiration to others. To much applause, he then presented Rosie with her regalia and certificate.
The presidents of Tenby and Saundersfoot Lions, and the Rotary Club of Tenby, then presented Rosie with substantial cheques for her main charity, The Prostate Cancer Charity, and so an enjoyable evening of fine speeches, good food and fellowship came to an end.