Thanks to Geoff Croad’s good business relationship with Grace at Bunnings, our club was introduced to a company, Living Choice Australia Pty Ltd. The company will soon commence construction of a retirement village on the Gold Coast. Last Saturday, Ms Linda Hooper, their National Marketing Manager, visited our project shed, where Larry Murray outlined our wheelchair project to her. We have been invited to participate in a 'Ground-breaking' ceremony of Stage 1 on 4th of March, 10 am (see Events Section), where Living Choice will present us with a $1,000 donation for the Wheelchair Trust. This will be a good photo opportunity as the presentation will be in the form of a large size (PR style) cheque and much needed exposure for the Wheelchairs.
A reminder to all: our Bunnings BBQ is on Friday 25th February 2022. We need to investigate further the use of Bunnings trailer and/or vehicle.
It was good to see the Project Shed now open, after remaining closed till 19 February 2022. Larry Murray will monitor the situation and advise should there be any new developments at the shed.
This coming Wednesday 23rd, we can't have our meeting at the Surf Club; they won't have electricity early morning due to construction work.
So, instead we'll have our social breakfast at Espresso Bonsai, 66 Thomas Drive, on Chevron Island. Plenty of parking off the road, at the rear of the building - entrance from Anembo Street. Now...
Christian, the chief there, offered a free coffee to all of us on arrival! Howzat for a welcome! See you all there at 07:00 am.
Last Wednesday we met the proverbial ‘gentleman of an old sort’. Nigel is with an organisation that provides a massive free social service to the people of the bush. Yet – as far as I’m aware of – no modern Banjo Paterson has written a poem about Angel Flight. Nigel, raised in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) is a volunteer pilot. He, and dozens of other pilots, donate their time AND their planes to fly non-urgent medical missions from outback places to either a regional airport or – more often – directly to the location of the hospital. Most of the time, these flights are of several hours’ duration, both ways. The flights do not carry medical staff, so they don’t engage in medical emergencies as does the Flying Doctor Service.
Nigel outlined a couple of examples: A woman requiring regular dialysis. A child requiring regular chemotherapy, or follow-up treatment after a serious accident. By road and/or train, the trip could take 8 hours each way, and outback roads are not exactly as smooth as the M1!
Angel Flight often also takes carers with the patient on the same flight. This is, of course, of huge importance, particularly for children.
“This must cost a fortune to run!” I hear you exclaim. Yes, it does indeed. Their 2020-21 Financial Statement shows expenses of over $1.5 Million. And how much financial support do they get from Government (State or Federal)? Zero. Zilch. Nada![Don’t get me started. Ed.]So, they rely on donations. Their pilots provide not only their time but also their planes free of charge.
In the words of C J Dennis, the famous Australian Bush Poet: “I dips me lid.” There is lots more information on their website: https://www.angelflight.org.au/. Angel Flight is a registered charity and donations are tax-deductible.
This year's event is going to be a real country affair, it's in Tenterfield! Go to the Expo Website https://rotary9640.org/page/district-conference and check out what's happening. There you find the program, a brief summary of all the Keynote Speakers, and of course, you can register. But of course, one of the big attractions of attending a conference is always the deep feeling of Rotary Fellowship. Being in the country, formalities will be kept to a minimum. There is a lot more to a District Conference than Keynote Speakers and Rotary business. There is lots of social interaction:
Friday morning is the District Governor's Golf Challenge
Friday night is the Welcome Dinner - held at the historical Tenterfield Railway Station
Saturday night is a Dinner Dance (and yes, you can drink; they have organised bus pick up to/from your accommodation place)
Sunday morning are two styles of breakfast: one the Champagne Breakfast up near Bald Rock (image right), the other at the Historic Walk with PDG Harry Bolton
Duty Roster - note: subject to change - please check every week. Note: Fellowship duty also is expected to be at the Project Shed on the Saturday following the meeting
What's the matter with modern music that 60's and 70's bands, such as the Rolling Stones, are still in demand? Rumour has it that they'll tour again this year despite their drummer Charlie Watts having passed away. Hmmmm... the Stones won't sound the same without a drummer... ☺
If you give politicians more power in an emergency, they’ll create emergencies to get more power. (author unknown)
Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. Mark Twain.
People are so judgmental. I can tell by just looking at them.
Last Wednesday we met the proverbial ‘gentleman of an old sort’. Nigel is with an organisation that provides a massive free social service to the people of the bush. Yet – as far as I’m aware of – no modern Banjo Paterson has written a poem about 
This year's event is going to be a real country affair, it's in Tenterfield! Go to the Expo Website 
