From the Pen of the President....
The frequency and extent
of electricity blackouts is recurring far too often. It is difficult to
understand why so many generating units break down on a regular basis despite
the increased emphasis on maintenance by Eskom for the past few years. Apart
from the annoyance and inconvenience experienced by individuals at home, the
economy is being adversely impacted and job creation hampered. Let us hope that
there will be a significant improvement in this situation going forward.
Costa Qually
President
Tailpiece
What is the hardest part
about buying a new boomerang? ….. Throwing the old one away!
[courtesy of Jean from
Australia)
Last Friday....
... we were assigned the Cigar Bar on the ground floor of the Wanderers Club for our weekly meeting, which turned out to be a much cosier and intimate venue for our small group of physical attendees.
David Bradshaw, our program coordinator, had been in talks with longstanding and oldest club member Bernard Neuhaus for a while, for him to attend a physical meeting and tell us "his Story".
His friend and fellow Rotarian from Orange Grove days Tutty Faber did the introductions.
As Ramble editor Sybille was taking careful notes, and when Bernard was asked whether he was 90 or 91 years old, he quipped that he was indeed 91 years young, and that he still actively works in his practice as a chartered accountant every day. He considers himself a workaholic.
Bernard was born in Berlin, Germany in 1931. His father was a Judge of the Court, but because of his Jewish faith he was disbarred and as a family they made the painful decision to leave their homeland for an unknown future in South Africa. Their first home was in Schweizer Reneke, and as it was predominantly a farming community Bernard learnt to speak Afrikaans before learning to speak English. German of course remained his mother-tongue and even to this day his accent is still very distinct.
Bernard matriculated from co-ed Athlone High School in Johannesburg in 1948, and he had wanted to become a veterinarian, but in those days it was difficult for a young Jewish English speaking lad to be accepted into Onderstepoort, so instead he became a Chartered Accountant, specializing in taxation.
He met his wife Lily in 1963 and he speaks with pride of his three beautiful children, Linda, a physio who has two boys, Joel, a property administrator with one son living in Sydney and Hazel, a commercial film producer who is unmarried with two horses and two cats.
Bernard himself is a great lover of animals and has in the past donated two guide dogs to the Johannesburg Society for the Blind.
In 1984 Bernard joined the Rotary Club of Bramley, where he served as President on two occasions and was awarded a Paul Harris. His club was eventually incorporated into the Rotary Club of Orange Grove where he earned a further Paul Harris with Sapphire, and in 1998 joined forces with the Rotary Club of Rosebank.
In 1960 Bernard became a Freemason and was instrumental in establishing the Grand Lodge of Mauritius in 2005. He has been awarded the Order of Service to Masonry, which is the highest honour a Grand Master can confer on any member of the Craft, and is an acknowledgement of exceptional services to the Craft.
Bernard is fine example of a philanthropist is indeed an inspiration and a Mensch.
This Wednesday...
You will remember that a few months back we had a highly entertaining virtual quiz challenge against a number of Rotary Clubs from the coastal province of Kerala in India. They proved to be formidable opponents and this week they will be the quizmasters testing our knowledge once again.
An email from President Bibu George, who extends the invitation beyond our Club. We will gladly send you the Zoom link.
Dear President Bradshaw (David did let them know that he is a PP)
Apologies for the long gap in communications. We were a bit busy with our Governor's official visit to our club which concluded on Friday.
Hope we are still "a go" for the quiz on 18th this month? The quizmaster will be our club member Rtn Baburaj. We are inviting a few clubs from our district to participate.
Please invite clubs from your district and abroad too.
Let me also tell you how much we appreciate this opportunity to partner with you in this great fellowship. What you are doing here is really commendable. Our DG spoke about twinning program and we would be very happy to consider this with your club. Please do discuss it in your board and let me know if it is possible.
This Friday....
... please join us for our monthly Business meeting. If you are unable to attend in person, the Zoom login details remain the same as every week.
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