It’s always sad to lose a member; and our thoughts are with Terrell as she mourns Phil Slobom, that personification of positivism, that constant contributor to Rotary, and one time Town Cryer of Kew (anointed, I believe by Anne Scott!).
Thank you Sheridan Brown and Ian Macfarlane for keeping us up to date on our support of Second Bite – a truly worthy activity.
Thanks to Katrina Flinn for telling us
· that we spend too much on credit card fees ($1,759 last year!).
· So, please, no premium credit cards (bank charges us very high fees)
· And, please, debit card is best.
· Also, cheques are really difficult for us to process. But cash is ok!
I’m delighted to learn that Katrina, who is overworked at work, is going on long service – leaving for France maybe 10 August, back maybe late October! (Do I hear sighs of envy?)
I’m equally delighted that the indefatigable Robert Ball, despite no longer (alas) being a member, is helping out with Treasurer stuff while Katrina is away.
Very soon, Ginia and I will be away briefly on holiday: Mt Buller for 2 nights. Home for one night. Queensland (O’Reilly’s, in the Gold Coast hinterland) for 4 nights to celebrate a certain milestone birthday. Not much internet access in any of that week!
At extreme left does the belt still fit, at left is that the iconic "urn", and above is he blinking?
Allhighly questionable.
The usual meeting on July 14 was different. There was no external speaker but instead three members tested the bounds of Rotary's integrity creed when they each described the circumstances around an item of interest brought along to the meeting.
The meeting tolerated possible embellishment or a bit of truth stretching from each speaker as an audience in a TV Game Show might, perhaps one called Lie Detectors (Rove McManus runs such a show in the USA). Our compere David Rush sought to distinguish himself from the run of the mill TV host by asking us to act like a jury under his learned judicial direction in assessing the truth of each of the three stories behind the items. Alas there were no parallels to a sober court room. The meeting was fun for all, and a little boisterous, but the speakers skill in weaving an interesting story theme around an inanimate object was to be applauded. Thank you Noel McInnes,Henry Drury and Bill Troedel and your accompanying karate black belt, mystical urn, and World War One vintage document (in French).
That all stories were essentially true except for one small but critical fact was great--the underlying background was highly interesting in each case. Noel, a karate devotee, told of a trip to Toyko to seek out a famed karate school and master in the back streets of that city.
It was interesting to hear about difficulties in finding ones way around, there are no signs or street names displayed ..true. Noel found the spot but sadly the master had died a few weeks before and so the story of Noel receiving a black belt from said man although beautifully conveyed to us as fact by Noel was a dream...the belt on display was Noels.
Henry told of his trip to Guatemala. At the time there was much unrest and Henry's packaged group tour dissipated into a single guide for him and Jane. As such they managed to travel off the norm. They saw many aspects of past Mayan activity and the later proliferation of Catholic Churches. Henry visited a shrine of the "Maximon". Depending on who you ask, Maximón is Satan, a Catholic saint, or a relic of the pre-colonial Mayan religion. So supposedly this perceived hybrid religious icon a dapper, mustachioed gentleman in a black suit and sombrero is recreated each year at a new shrine location and the previous one burned and the ashes saved in some urn. Here Henry's story became troubled when he held up an urn (actually acquired in Myers) as the Maximon one.
Bill Troedel's exhibit was a dated contract written in French. It described the terms and conditions for employment of an English engineer with Michelin in France soon after World War 1. At a time when trust between the English and French was low it was fascinating to hear of the Draconian terms (even in French) of employment and the rights to intellectual and real property. The departing employee could literally only take away a blank notebook! Bill's problem was that, albeit he invented a credible(?) story about how this engineer was some long past relative, it was not so. The document had come from Jill Weeks archives.
SecondBite is a national charity initiative whereby excess food from markets and fresh food retailers is collected by volunteers at the close of business and delivered to appropriate organisations which provide free meals to the community.
Hawthorn Rotary has been involved in this for some years. Our modest involvement has been to collect fresh food from Camberwell Market at about closure time between 4pm and 5 pm Saturday. In combination with the Salvation Army -Bowen Street unit we take that collection to Bowen Street where it is sorted for future meals to be put on by the Salvation Army.
Camberwell Market is small but the shop keepers there, of varying generosity, can donate significant amounts of produce to the SecondBiter reps (one from Hawthorn Rotary the other from the Salvos) many Saturdays. Obviously seasonal demand or sales influence the available excess and hence donation.
The Hawthorn Rotary member (needs a car) and his/her role is simple. First, ones canvases the shopkeepers for donated produce and then takes whatever is collected to the Bowen Street Salvation Army complex. There should be a member of the Salvation Army present too. All this happens between 4 and 5pm each Saturday.
Sheridan Brown and Ian Macfarlane are two stalwarts for this, but need help from others to spread the load so that one is on duty say once every 6 or so weeks. Please touch base with them.
·Ian Warren has agreed to lead the implementation of our Rotary Opportunity Centre
·Worry about lack of a President Elect, despite many requests to many members.
·Agree to try Home Hosting again.
·Progress with planning Christmas Dinner – details soon
·Investigating concept of a fun run in conjunction with Glenferrie Festival (22 March) and other Rotary clubs
Age shall not weary them, even when they’re Scottish and, how shall we say, “past the first flush of youth”. Yes, Gordon and Sheila Cheyne are on holidays. But where? The Shadow understands that their first port of call was Berlin where Gordon’s brother, aged 80ish, was having an exhibition of his art. Or something equally unlikely. (A Scot living in Berlin? It stretches credulity!) Then there’s talk of retracing their honeymoon journey up the West coast of Scotland, and visiting some of those numerous islands. Aaaah!
Remember Geoff Wright collates attendance information and he needs to be told of "make up " events which we attend.
Tell Noel Halford days before of an inability to attend Tuesday. Late or non apologies raise catering costs.
Also please alert him to attending guests. Recently with swollen numbers pursuant to a high profile speaker there were problems for a surprised chef in supplying all meals simultaneously.
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SecondBite is a national charity initiative whereby excess food from markets and fresh food retailers is collected by volunteers at the close of business and delivered to appropriate organisations which provide free meals to the community..jpg)
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