http://www.flintandholywellrotary.co.uk/

Rotary Club of Flint and Holywell, Springfield Hotel, A55 Expressway, Pentre Halkyn, Holywell (Treffynnon) (2026)

18/08/2026

** ETHICAL HACKERS VISIT ROTARY CLUB!! **
Members of The Rotary Club of Flint & Holywell were left "shell-shocked" after receiving a visit and talk from two representatives from Deeside based technology consultancy & digital systems company, "SHELLEX LTD"
The CEO of the Company, Arcana Corvus and her co director, Skylar Sutherland explained to a bemused audience that they were "ethical hackers" and the basis of their operations was to "hack" into client company's systems, to find the weaknesses and then to resolve the problems before dishonest hackers found the openings!
Arcana described how only last week, The Police Force's own computer systems had been hacked and this followed on from numerous well publicised other "victims including the Coop, The UK Electoral Commission and major international bodies including McDonalds, Shell, Phillips and even The US Government's own Office of Personnel Management!
Arcana described how hackers were now extremely sophisticated and professional in their approach, with some state run by countries such as Russia, China and North Korea. Indeed "ransom" sums obtained by North Korean Hackers now forms a major source of this State's income! In addition, there were thousands of private hackers, many based in country's such as India, Pakistan and Nigeria who are stealing billions from large multinational companies to small private individuals. Other groups hack to gain information about competitor companies, whilst others are amazingly young but very sophisticated. Kids, some in their early teens, hack, simply 'because they can" but their actions can cause enormous problems
Rotarians could be seen slumping further into their seats at the prospect of their ISA's and pension funds disappearing into the grasping hands of one of these hackers!
Arcana used the analogy of a huge state of the art Apartment Block, protected by the latest security systems, but where somebody has left a small back door unlocked. It is her company's job to use the same skills as the hackers to find these open doors and shut them and also to advise improvements to existing security systems.
Former Rotarian President Andy Orhan on behalf of the Rotary Club expressed his appreciation to Arcana and Skylar whose question and answer session extended well into the late evening. He mentioned that only the previous week a fellow Rotarian's email account had been hacked resulting in many members receiving requests for money!
On bringing the meeting to a close, Club President David Prothero added his appreciation for the time and information given by the guest speakers and pointed out to members and the many guests in attendance, that this most interesting talk was just one of the many benefits of membership of Rotary International.
PHOTOGRAPH LEFT TO RIGHT:
David Prothero Club President. Arcana Corvus & Skylar Sutherland (Shellhex Ltd)
Paul Islip Club Secretary

05/08/2026

*** PRESENTATION OF THE DR. GRUFF JONES COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD***
The Rotary Club of Flint & Holywell were delighted to welcome to their meeting this week Lilly Blythin, the winner of this year’s Dr Gruff Jones award for outstanding community service. This annual award was created in memory of Dr Gruff, a well respected Holywell GP for over 32 years and a long serving member of his local Rotary Club.
It is awarded to the Ysgol Treffynnon student who was considered to have made the most significant contribution to community life both at school and in the Holywell area.
Lilly told the Club about her work and interests. She described how she always tries to put her best efforts into helping others, especially those in need of support.
Lilly came to The Presentation Ceremony at The Springfield Hotel accompanied by proud parents, Michaela and David.
She was presented with the award by Rotary President David Prothero, who commented on not only her contribution to the community, but also the confident manner in which she delivered her acceptance speech. On behalf of the Club he congratulated her on her success and reminded her that receiving such a prestigious award would be a great asset to her C.V. when applying to University and job applications in the future.
He wished Lilly well in her future, which she says will probably focus on a career in engineering, or a science based profession, this ambition being greeted with great enthusiasm by Rotarian Alan Brooke, himself a retired engineer.
The President also paid tribute to long standing Rotarian Rob Board who has over many years put in huge amounts of effort, not only with this Award but in his work with Schools and the local Community.
Photos show
1. Lilly receiving her award from President of the Club
2. Lilly with parents and David
3. Lilly delivering her acceptance speech
4. Lilly with Rotarian Rob Board, organiser of this Award Scheme

06/07/2026

At a well attended meeting of The Rotary Club of Flint & Holywell, David Prothero took over as Chair of the Club with the badge of Office being presented by Holywell Chartered Accountant and former Club President, Malcolm Mellor who introduced David into the Club many years ago. David is a retired Electrical Retailer, well known in Flint where he traded for many years as Flintshire Appliances. The shop continues to trade successfully in the Town and is now run by David's son, Gareth.
Former Flint pharmacist Barry Harrison took over as Senior Vice President of the Club. Although now well in his 80s, Barry is still a practising pharmacist and works in a busy Deeside Pharmacy. Club Secretary Paul Islip described Barry as a human dynamo whose amazing energy puts Club Members half his age to shame!!
One of the first duties of the new President was to welcome a new Member into the Club. Mark Isherwood is well known in the area as a former Member of The Senedd, having served this area for over 23 years. Mark who is married to Hilary, was formerly Chair of Mold Round Table and has been attending meetings for some time now. Already he has taken part in a number of Club events including serving behind the bar at the recent Caerwys Show which The Rotary Club has run successfully for a number of years. This year the increasing popularity of The Caerwys Show has meant the introduction of a second bar was required to cope with the extra demand. One of the Show organisers and fellow Rotary Member, Andy Orhan stated, "The organisation of the two bars on The Showground has, this year, involved some 30 Rotarians and Friends of Rotary and we had no hesitation in throwing Mark straight into the deep end where the additional pair of hands behind the bar was most welcome!"
Mark also helped out at a Rotary Sports Event For the Disabled in Wrexham, where he expertly wielded the rake in The Long Jump Pit!
PHOTOS:
1. New Club President David Prothero being introduced by Malcolm Mellor
2. Club President David with Senior Vice President Barry Harrison
3. Club President David welcomes new Rotarian Mark Isherwood

06/06/2026

Today June 6th 2026, it is the 82nd Anniversary of D Day when Allied Forces stormed the beaches and hinterland of Normandy to reclaim France and mainland Europe from the Germans after 4 years of occupation. The first troops to land in the early hours were soldiers of The Ox & Bucks Regiment led by Major John Howard whose gliders in a daring action made famous in the film, "The Longest Day" landed only a few yards from an important bridge forever known as Pegasus Bridge and were the first soldiers to commence the fighting on this momentous day.
Capturing the Bridge was essential to prevent German tanks and armour counter attacking Allied troops who would shortly be landing on the beaches at daybreak.
The first citizens of France to be liberated on D Day were the owners of a cafe next to the bridge, George's and Therese Gondree. They, along with their 4 year old daughter Arlette, brought out refreshments to the soldiers whilst the battle still raged! (Arlette's older sister Georgette, remained inside the cafe hidden in the cellars!)
Later, Monsieur Gondree, an important member of the French Resistance dug up 78 bottles of ch*****ne he had buried when the Germans attacked in 1940 to celebrate the event and shared these with the victorious soldiers.
After the war, The Gondrees renamed their cafe "PEGASUS BRIDGE CAFE" and it has ever since been a place of pilgrimage for veterans of D Day, their families and all the many visitors who have visited the site of this famous battle. After the passing of Monsieur and Madam Gondree, their daughter, Madam Arlette has continued the tradition and as the first surviving French person to be liberated on D Day she has featured regularly in all the subsequent D Day Celebrations.
In 2018, a group of Rotarians from The Rotary Club of Flint & Holywell visited The Normandy Beaches and Pegasus Bridge, and were introduced to Madam Arlette who Rotarian David Pearse had met a number of times before this trip and also on subsequent occasions. Madam Arlette showed The Rotary Group around the cafe which although still functioning as a cafe, is also a museum full of artefacts from the event donated by former veterans and their families. Two years ago David revisited Pegasus Bridge cafe again and introduced his two granddaughter to Madam Arlette, still a remarkable beautiful and sprightly lady at 84. For two teenagers who are both studying The Second World War in their History lessons, this was indeed a very special occasion that both will remember for the rest of their lives
PHOTO 1: Madam Arlette Gondre with Rotarians holding The Tabard of The Flint & Holywell Rotary Club
PHOTO 2: The Pegasus Bridge Cafe and its proximity to the famous Bridge
PHOTO 3: Madam Gondree inside the Cafe.
TO THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE FREEDOM OF FUTURE GENERATIONS
"WE WILL REMEMBER THEM"

03/06/2026

*** CAERWYS. SHOW. JUNE. 13TH 2026 ***
One of the most popular social events of the year for the people of North East Wales will once again take place at Ty Ucha Farm Caerwys on Saturday June 13th.
Each year The Caerwys Agricultural Show gets bigger and bigger, offering a huge range of attractions which brings in visitors from far and wide.
This year's competitions include, Livestock, equine, shepherding and young handlers as well as vintage tractors and classic cars. Other attractions include a food fare, produce stalls, floral arts displays, a dog show and of course, The Main Event, - THE GRAND PARADE.
Once again The Rotary Club of Flint & Holywell will be supporting the event as they have done FOR THE PAST 25 YEARS.
The Rotary Club, which itself is celebrating its 70th Anniversary this year will be providing bars to keep the visitors refreshed during their visit. Due to the increasing numbers of visitors, Club Members with other volunteers now provide two bars, -the main Show Bar and the more relaxed Marquee Music Bar. Profits from these bars are shared 50-50 with the Show organisers, and these proceeds help The Rotary. Club to continue supporting numerous local needy causes as well as The Annual Christmas Float and international disaster relief requests.
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11/05/2026

*** WELCOME TO THE NEW “INTERACT CLUB” IN HOLYWELL ***
Flint and Holywell Rotary are delighted to welcome the formation of a new Interact Club in Holywell. Interact (short for International Action) Clubs are for young people between 11 and 18 who are very keen to contribute to community activities by working closely with Rotary. The Club has been formed from the Youth Club attached to the Holywell Churches, and they have chosen a very appropriate name ‘Friends in Faith’. The new Club will meet every 2 weeks at the Well Being, and will be delighted to welcome anyone interested in joining them and wanting to get involved in some really meaningful activities. Just come along. They will soon have their own page so you can follow their work.
The President of The Flint & Holywell Rotary Club, Steve Blakesley commented that the new Club are going to be an invaluable asset to the Town and expressed his particular thanks to Rotarian Rob Board whose input has been integral to the creation of this exciting new project.
The inauguration and Charter Ceremony was on Sunday, and the pictures show the new Club President Stacey Nyanjowa cutting the celebration cake with Rotary President Steve Blakesley - the two Presidents with Rotary Assistant District Governor Steve Walker and the Charter together with some of the new members

23/04/2026

***** DOUBLE SUCCESSES AT YSGOL TREFFYNNON ******

The many followers of our Facebook and webpage know that Rotary Club of Flint & Holywell are keen to support the talents of our young people, and we do this through our local schools in competitions, by offering awards and prizes.
We had the pleasure of reporting in January that one of our local teams from Holywell entered the Youth Speaks competition and were the winners in the round for Flintshire Schools. The fantastic news is that they subsequently went on to take the prize as best of ALL schools in our district which covers all of North Wales, East Cheshire, the Wirral, Merseyside and South Lancashire !
A wonderful achievement by Esther, Katie and Jack (pictured below). Our huge congratulations and thanks also goes to teacher Mrs Siobhan Henry for all her time and support.
Benefitting from the tremendous efforts of teacher Mrs Beverley Hartley, students in years 7 and 9 took part in "The Rotary Young Writer Competition". They submitted essays on the subject of ‘Happiness in Nature’ for external judging. Judges said that their task was difficult as the standard was high, but awarded first prize in year 7 to Matilda, and in year 9 to Siobhan. ‘Highly Commended’ certificates also went to Alex, Max, Ophelia, April and Eva. Two other special awards were made, to the student in each year who, in Mrs Harley’s opinion had made a really special effort, and these went to Layla and Hari. Well done to everyone. The picture below shows the award winners with Club President Steve.
Our Rotary Club along with the Mold Rotary Club assists and encourages schools to participate in the competitions for Youth Speaks, Young Writers, Young Poets, etc which can be in both English and Welsh.
Despite the success of this Competition, The Rotary Club were however somewhat dissappointed that apart from Ysgol Treffynnon, no other local school responded. If any teacher reading this, or indeed if there are parents who would like their school to take part, please get in touch with us. We would be pleased to work with you.

01/04/2026

*** ROTARIANS VISIT THE CAMPANOLOGISTS OF HALKYN PARISH CHURCH ***
Last Monday was a very special evening for members of The Rotary Club of Flint & Holywell when they were invited to view the Bell Tower of The Parish Church of Halkyn to experience the art of “change ringing”. Roy Newhouse (tower captain) assisted by Bell Captain Stuart and team explained the intracicies of the art of bellringing, which goes back to the 17th Century and for the most part only exists in British Churches and those in The Commonweath, particuarly Australia. Roy explained the history and then the complex mechanics of how bell ringing developed. Halkyn Church is blessed with a large thriving team and is recognised as one of the foremost teams within Wales. 6 Members had kindly turned out to give a demonstration of their art which was followed by the steep ascent via a narrow spriral staicase to the top of the tower which houses the 6 bells, (All Original) the largest of which weighs over 1/2 ton!
The Rotarians were also able to view the magnificent Parish Church itself which was built entirely at the expense of the First Duke of Westminster in the 18970s era to replace a delapidated old structure that was considered to be too far gone to be repaired, (And which also interfered with the view from The Duke’s newly constructed Halkyn Castle!) The Church is generally accepted as one of the finest examples of the mid Victorian Gothic style, incorporating perfectly dressed Gwespyr Sandstone and extreley rare, highly polished local Halkyn Marble columns. No expense was spared by the Duke and the stained glass windows are another magnificent feature, along with the less well known but equally important monochromatic “Plain Glass” windows. Indeed, such is the quality of this fine old Church that it has long been described as, “THE CATHEDRAL IN THE HILLS” and attract visitors from far and wide, not only to experience the wonders of the Church but also the superb view that can be experience by those with the energy and head for heights to ascend the steep steps leading to the top of the Tower from where the Cumbrian Mountains can be seen on a clear day.
TOP PHOTO: Roy and Team ringing a change.
BOTTOM PHOTO: Roy explains the mechanism to Rotary Club Secretary Paul Islip

Rotary Club of Flint and Holywell

18/08/2026

05/08/2026

06/07/2026

06/06/2026

03/06/2026

11/05/2026

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