Greetings from rotary

Instead of buying cards for each other, members gave the 316 saved to a charity collection, and each received one specially designed card by artist Ali Myer, daughter of Rotarian Nicholas Myer, signed by all of them.

Rotary International began its campaign to rid the world of polio in 1985, spearheaded by more than one million Rotarians.

It aims to reach its goal by the time it celebrates its centenary year in 2005.

As a result, the number of cases fell from 350,000 in 125 countries in 1988, to 483 cases in 10 countries last year.

"This is a challenging and important aim, and I am glad the Littlehampton club is playing its full part," enthused Littlehampton Rotary Club president Robin Povey.

Once known as infantile paralysis, polio was a feared disease in this country until the 1940s when a vaccine was developed, with one small dose protecting a child for life.

But the crippling disease, for which there is no cure, remained endemic in many parts of the world.