Rotary Club of Pudsey
	Christmas Dinner distribution 25th December 2001
	For some folk in Pudsey, Christmas can be a very lonely time. The festive dinner that many of us enjoy may be for them a mere memory, often it is a struggle to put together even a simple meal. There are a few organisations in the area that try to "lift" the day a little in one way or another. Our club, the Rotary Club of Pudsey, is one of these with our role in the delivery of a hot Christmas dinner to over 150 people in the area. Volunteers from the public do the actual delivery and each year about 75 drivers break into their Christmas Day to help others....
	The timetable is simple and has been refined over a number of years. The night before, dinners are packed ready for reheating. These are produced by a local restaurant and are very tasty of a high quality. On Christmas day a small team of Rotarians use kitchen facilities at a local school to bring the food to serving temperature. Just before noon dozens of cars arrive in the school car park, drivers collect the meals and of course the delivery instructions and away they go.... Most instructions are straight forward but there can be problems. Rtn Tony Gadsby, who plans the whole delivery process, is on hand to provide help where needed.
	Shortly after leaving the kitchens the meal will be on the table... and someone's Christmas Day will have been made just a little better.
		Credits:- This year Santa's little kitchen helpers were (left to right) President Ian Featherstone, Rtn Paul Hanson, Rtn Chris Johnson-Green and Rtn Ray Holah.
	As with most things in life there is more to this project than meets the eye. It has a fascinating history that goes back a quarter of a century and although it has been organised by our Rotary Club since 1997 it was the Pudsey & District Chamber of Trade and Commerce who created this "tradition" over a couple of decades.