A warm pleasant room and a great meal just the beginning of another good evening. Adrian behind the bar was as busy as a one-armed paper hanger trying to come to grips with technology. He tried to charge Lea 35 dollars for a drink which Sergeant at Arms Rob was quick to fine him for, and a multitude of others. Ron Andrews was the lucky winner of bottle of wine in our new Heads and Tails fundraiser which will help the club to offset the losses incurred by not running our own bar. Morry and Chrissie Neilson-Vold were our guest speakers from the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association. An idea by one couple in 1956 became 14 members by 1960 and now has nearly 150000 members. They have a wide network of parks to stay at throughout the country where members can stay for $5 per night. It wouldn't make sense to not be a member if you owned a campervan. Just a reminder we would love to see our new caterer feel happy about his work so would love to see as many members as possible each week and don't forget apologies to Brian Shanks if you cannot attend. Its only three more weeks until the book sale.  If you have not been able to fill out the firm on availability.

 

It was great to see both Warren and Peter Davie back at meetings, recovering well.  After 1 weeks following her hop replacement Jill Clearwater has thrown away the crutches and driving around again.  Caroline Office is also making good progress after her hip op last Friday, and being well supported by Stu.

The book sale roster have been forwarded to all members on a separate email, please keep an eye out for it.  Should you have any questions relating to the roster please contact Ross.

 

 

 
Men wore ties to Rotary;
 
Women didn’t need to worry as there were none;
 
We sang a lot;  National Anthem in 2 languages
                                       We sang a birthday song (composed by Bob Stanaway) – Peter Chin might do a rendition
                                       We had a song book and sang a song each week, but not well
 
We never missed a meeting if we did a make up at another club;
 
We stood up when being addressed or fined, just ask Coin MacIntosh;
 
The President always wore the chain of Office, and everyone bowed in his presence (well maybe that wasn’t true);
 
We had Fire side meetings;
 
We did Heads and Tails;
 
Before Birthday Bar shouts, we used to put an envelope in the Sgts dish with an amount equivalent to our age;
 
There wouldn’t be much of the above I would to go back to but to raise money to support the running of the club the final two thoughts might be a voluntary option!!!

The initial impression as our Friendship exchange got under way in Cape Town is the exceptional rugged beauty of the landscape. Table mountain really is part of the city. Combine that with a beautiful harbour and surrounding hills means the views are stunning in every direction!

Cape Town is a much “calmer” city then Johannesburg where most of us had spent some time prior to our exchange. Wonderful people with a great sense of humour and warm hospitality. 
The projects we have seen are well thought out and providing for great need. Many social issues we barely consider in NZ. With walkable borders and a tumultuous history there are many displaced people. No papers, no rights. They do have families and do want to provide and look for a better future. The schools we visited were providing well for their kids with very little resources. The children were so friendly, not at all shy and we found a High 5 is a universal language of friendship.

Local clubs have provided support to help these centres get their standards to the point where they can be  Govt registered  and receive funding. … being $1.70 per day per child and pay wages! 

The Trust has approved the purchase of 45 volunteer vests for Riding for the Disabled along with 5 riding helmets. We were able to gain assistance from other Rotary Clubs to contribute towards the cost of the vests. Special thanks to Merv for coordinating with the other clubs and printers enabling the Rotary emblem to be added as well. Sample photo attached although the final product  has the addition of " Supported by" above the emblem.