RENOWNED former journalist and war correspondent, Kate Adie CBE, was the star of the show at a Rotary Club president’s evening.

Bridport Rotary Club held its annual president’s evening at Highland’s End Holiday Park, attended by more than 70 guests and members, as well as Colonel Mark Cook, founder of Hope and Homes for Children.

The highlight was Ms Adie who spoke of her early days with local radio, having worked with the BBC at weekends before being taken on by the broadcasting organisation.

Her first assignment was to cover Cruft’s dog show but she progressed to sending dispatches from war torn areas all over the world. In Eastern Europe Ms Adie encountered children in orphanages, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania.

There she also met Colonel Mark Cook serving as an officer with the British army.

Kate told the group about one orphanage in particular, which moved them both, in Sarajevo where the staff had fled - or been killed - and children were left to fend alone, with only the caretaker to help them.

Kate also told the group about the kind of conditions that foreign correspondents lived in whilst reporting from war zones.

They slept in basements, on floors with just mattresses on occasions, there was frequently no food or water in the hotels.

President elect and past president David Weston had organised the evening and past president Clive Bath was MC and toast master.

In her toast to the guests, president Chrissie Bailey spoke of the honour of being the first woman president of the Rotary Club of Bridport. She spoke of the numerous youth activities sponsored by the club locally, and of the large amounts of money raised with the support of partners and supporters.

Past president Clive Jeans toasted absent friends and past president Roger Stoodley gave the Rotary toast, in partnership with all clubs represented at the evening, which included Brit Valley, Lyme Regis, Wells, Crewkerne and Yeovil.