ROTARY members from across the county met to celebrate their collaboration on many local, national and international projects.

Some 75 members of the Rotary Clubs of Ascot, Bracknell, Crowthorne and Sandhurst, Easthampstead and Wokingham descended on Easthampstead Park conference centre for their annual regional dinner.

The centre was floodlit in purple, representing the purple dye used to mark the finger of every child who has been given their life-saving polio vaccine.

This was also in line with the Rotary-led campaign, End Polio Now which is also jointly run by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Guests were treated to an inspirational address by Naomi Riches MBE, Paralympian oarswoman, multiple World Champion and medallist at two Olympic Games including gold in 2012.

Ms Riches, registered blind shortly after birth, was diagnosed with Nystagmus, a condition which causes constant and uncontrollable movement of the eyes. She is also an associate member of Marlow Bridge Rotary Club. Rotary Clubs welcome local men, women and young people, to have fun together, and support selected local, national and international charities which help the sick, the bereaved, the elderly, and the otherwise disadvantaged.