Bulletin No. 2 - 13 July 2010

Bulletin No. 2 - 13 July 2010

Duty Roster

Attendance at Today’s Meeting:-

With make ups: + 100%

Editorial

I am back behind the desk and look forward to the year ahead. This bulletin will only be as good as the information that I receive from you. I will welcome your contributions but please remember that I am not in competition with The Herald and will endeavour to publish that which crosses my laptop!

It was indeed pleasing to end off the last Rotary year with an average attendance of more than 80%. The bar has been set. Regular attendance at meetings is a requirement of Rotary and we are sure that our performance in the year ahead will be maintained at a high level. One of our 100% Rotarians has written into his diary that he has an appointment at 13, 00 hrs every Tuesday. His other appointments are structured round this time for this is the only occasion in the week that he takes time off to go to lunch. It is an easy and relaxed hour where he enjoys some good fellowship, a meal and has the opportunity to perhaps hear a good speaker. Why do you not do the same and make a similar appointment with yourself on a Tuesday?  You deserve it!

Make ups

8th July - Family of Rotary Meeting - Cameron Scott, Gianna Doubell, Phillip Shaw, Trevor Wells and                                                                      Christopher  Holmes

9th July - Sunrise Club - Lindsay Pearson

12th July - Fund Raising Committee - Michele Lehy,Randall Prins,Peggy Saunders,Pam Ellis,Bob                                                                           Wynne,Peter Long,Vernon Naidoo,Bernard Rupp, George                                                                               Tzemis,John Rauch

President’s Announcements

President John welcomed all to the meeting. He welcomed Mimi Rupp and Jenny Van Graan as visiting Anns who were present with their husbands. He read from a letter that we had received from Bev Radue who expressed his thanks for all the good wishes. He will be returning home on the 22^nd July. Tony Oshry is in Durban following the death of his step father and we extend our sympathies to him. Cameron is making a strong come back and Birgit and Richard have made good on their promises to donate a R100 for each of the goals scored by Germany in the World Cup semi final! We wish them well on their trip to Cape Town where Richard will be receiving medical attention

The District Governor’s visit has been postponed indefinitely and the District Conference, it would appear, will only take place in June 2011. President John mentioned that our incoming exchange student will be arriving on Thursday and will be attending Collegiate.

The Monthly Draw is done fairly (Fact or Fiction?)

Vaughan Giles has advised us that the monthly draw winners are drawn from across the full spectrum of the club membership. In the last year we have had eleven different winners in all categories. These being for the Attendance Prize and for the First, Second and Third awards. There are three Jokers in the bag. If one is drawn that prize reverts to the Club!

Our Guest Speaker - Arthur Ahlschlager - What you never knew about tortoises!

Arthur, with besides some of his Rotarian colleagues, also has other slow moving friends. Since his childhood he has had an interest in tortoises and this was the subject of his talk to us today. He even brought some of his “friends” along and after his most interesting chat they were viewed with great interest.        There are 15 types of tortoises to be found in South Africa and of these five are found in the Eastern Cape. Arthur gave us an insight into the life cycle of this reptile. The smallest is the Karoo Padlooper and the biggest is the Mountain tortoise that may be seen crossing the roads less traveled. The first only weighs in at 200gms and is the size of a match box!

Tortoises live to an age of about 60 years and those on remote islands have been known to live for more than 150 years. They have few enemies but the presence of ticks who find a tortoise a most suitable host can leave their kind bearer lame as they gorge themselves between his toes.

The reproduction cycle, the laying of their eggs, the powerful scent emitted by the tortoise in season and the loud bellowing that follows this type of reptile evoked much interest. One Rotarian, who sat next to your Editor at lunch, remarked after hearing Arthur’s presentation that we do not really need to go beyond our own membership in finding a good speaker who is an expert in a subject. Ross Kobus thanked Arthur for his presentation and we all congratulated him!

Forthcoming events

19th July                     Ayanda Bambiso (Head, Protocol, Nelson Mandela Stadium)          Lunch venue

26^th July                      Dr.Littleton / Meshack Mpotu- First stem transplant in PE                 Lunch venue

3^rd August                    Monthly Business Meeting                                                                  Lunch venue

14th October               Annual Golf Day                                                                                 Humewood

The Sergeant - Lindsay Pearson

Lindsay ,along with others from his profession , have returned after their 2010 sabbaticals !He announced that there were no anniversaries and wished Mel Levitan and Megan Jones  well for their birthdays on the 18^th July. Lindsay kept his performance short and sweet and raised good laughter with some church notices that he had come across! The Fellowship Box resides with Terry Baker and will be moved very shortly.

Vocational Reading - Nick Wilmot.

Nick had a lengthy reading attributed to Theodor Roosevelt. In essence, Theodor stated that it was better to dare and fight, face failure but yet triumph, than never seeking to better oneself

The Final Word

With every global event come many stories. World Cup Soccer is no exception.    Nigeria is out of the World Cup, their goalkeeper has offered to refund all the money to fans who travelled to South Africa.He said he just needs their bank details and mother’s maiden name to complete the transaction!

The North Korean government has announced the tragic loss of their under achieving World Cup squad in a plane crash next Tuesday!

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