Club Assembly, our Goals and an exciting event to look forward to...

Monday, 24th August

 From our President

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 On the 29th of August Africa will be declared Polio free, as Nigeria, the last country to have active polio cases, has been polio free for three straight years. This is something to celebrate especially as we are all aware of Rotary’s involvement in the fight against Polio. The eradication of polio is one of Rotary’s longest-standing and significant efforts.

As a club we are aiming to raise and donate R5000 to PolioPlus this year. Are you aware of the many pluses in PolioPlus?? The pluses vary from one area to another.  When we talk about PolioPlus, we know we are eradicating polio, but do we realize how many added benefits the program brings? The “plus” is something else that is provided as a part of the polio eradication campaign. It might be a hand-operated tricycle or access to water. It might be additional medical treatment, bed nets, or soap. Of course we can raise more – let’s do it!!

 Spring is in the air and it reminds me of a joke my Dad used to tell us – the merry Bishop and the grumpy Archdeacon were walking along the road one day and the Bishop said “Spring in the air Archdeacon!”, to which the archdeacon replied “Spring in the air yourself Bishop!!”

 I attended some training regarding ClubRunner which we are all going to be using as our Club directory!! We are really moving into the 21st century!! It is just a matter of getting used to it all and you will need a smart phone. Please do not worry – we will send you a list which you can print out if you insist! Training to the Club soon.

Have a lovely warm week.

Ann

Last Week

We combined our monthly business meeting with Club Assembly and the main take-away from this was to review and highlight the Club Goals we have set for the year ahead.

Every member of our Club will no doubt contribute in their own way to collectively achieve these goals. As a family and as a team we can make it happen.

Rob Caskie Fundraiser

We would be very grateful if every member could circulate this invitation to friends and family. This promises to be a wonderful event.

We are ready to accept your bookings.

A Zoom link will be forwarded on proof of payment to: 

Rosebank Rotary Club 

Nedbank

Account Number: 1145 9991 23

Branch Code 198- 765

Reference: Your surname - Caskie

A Plea from Fourways Main Reef - In honour of our Women

This Friday

In our line-up of excellent speakers we are very excited to have Hayley McLellan talk to us this week.

Don't miss it.

Hayley McLellan, an Environmental Campaigner at the Two Oceans Aquarium, is passionate about a healthy environment and conscious, sustainable living choices. Rethink the Bag – an initiative striving for a plastic shopping bag free South Africa, is what gets her out of bed in the morning!

McLellan is generally inspired by conservationists and leaders who sincerely walk their talk. She adds: “I am also motivated when I reap positive results from the environmental action work that I engage in, especially with regards to human behaviour shifts that result in best practice for our earth.”

Loadshedding and Technology, Mandela Month update, Momo's July Report and a Covid Story.......

 Last Week

.....Or should we say, the week that wasn't.

In these times of Covid we have all become quite adept at adjusting to the New Normal and except for some minor glitches we have all embraced technology and slipped into the routine of our usual Friday Zoom meetings.

But lest we become too complacent, Eskom decided to re-introduce us to Hello Darkness my old Friend. And those of us who have not invested in a generator or an inverter and were on the 12:00 to 16:00 load-shedding schedule were snookered. So too our Zoom organizer who had no option but to cancel our meeting at very short notice. Thank goodness it coincided with a Social Meeting, so no damage done.

July - Mandela Month

Last Tuesday Sonja and Sybille used the donated funds from our Mandela Month initiative and  shopped up a storm for Stefan Ferreira's Charity Begins with Me feeding program.

Every Saturday Stefan selflessly distributes much needed meals to hungry communities in the West Rand and Rotary Club of Rosebank's contribution went a long way to fill some empty tummies.

Stefan's food item list came in handy

Covid Stories 

Jean, thank you so much for sharing your story with us:

One Friday afternoon, some weeks back, I heard Jerry return from work. He was frantic and tore through the house like a mini tornado. He was opening cupboards, the fridge, pouring water and then milk into his eyes.

I could not make any sense of what had happened other than him repeating like a mantra: the pain, the pain, you have to get me to a doctor.

As I drove him to Medicross, I finally discovered he had gotten sanitizer (ours also contains antiseptic) into his eyes and the pain was such that he was convinced that he would lose his sight.

All I could think was “the last place I want to be is a medical facility with Covid-19 flying around!”

He was immediately seen by a doctor, who put anesthetic drops in his eyes to dull the pain and then drops to ensure his corneas were not damaged.

The doctor then prescribes eye drops which Jerry proceeds to SQUEEZE into his eyes, as he is craving relief from the pain.

We get home and Jerry is yet again frantic and beside himself with pain in his eyes! I get him into the car and off we go to Sandton Clinic and yet again I’m thinking – COVID ALERT!! I don’t want to be in these places!

As it was not our regular doctor, we realize that the eye drops contained cortisone to which Jerry is allergic and he was experiencing a major allergic reaction.

I drop him off at emergency, park and proceed to go through the rigmarole of having my temperature taken, filling in  details, etc.

I find a quiet corner to sit in with no one else about and think I am safe. The receptionist informs me, that I need to move, as I may not sit there, I must join the others in the waiting room and in my mind I’m like – there is not sufficient space between these people. I’m thinking – Oh my word – this is a COVID den and here I am sitting with these people that touch the doors with their hands, use the same pen as the receptionist, touch the clip board and then use the sanitizer that everyone else has used.

Then I hear the nurse say to the lady next to me – please fill in everyone you have been in contact with as we are admitting him for Covid. I nearly jumped out of my chair. My mind was SCREAMING – COVID and you are sitting next to her!!! ARGH!!!

BREATHE JEAN, BREATHE – as my rational brain kicks in, I realise the nurse needs the info as they want to admit her husband and will test him for Covid. My shattered nerves!

They washed Jerry’s eyes for about an hour and then let him go home. Off to the emergency pharmacy to fill a script for pain killers, and voila – the pharmacy is closed – now what!! Luckily we had some painkillers left over from his fall and he was able to rest an recuperate.

Save the Date......

Our Fundraising Committee was not going to let Lock-down with all it's social distancing restrictions be a deterrent, and they have come up with an exciting and refreshing Zoom event that none of you will want to miss.

We are ready to accept your bookings.

 A Zoom link will be forwarded on payment to: 

Rosebank Rotary Club 

Nedbank

Account Number: 1145 9991 23

Branch Code 198- 765

Reference: Your surname - Caskie

Another Quiz victory and Lee Roebeck inspires us

 Last Week

As President Ann is having a well-deserved break with her family in Cape Town Costa stepped in and led the meeting on her behalf.

David Bradshaw has been ensuring that we have a line-up of excellent speakers and on Friday we were very privileged to have the well-known International Mindset Coach and Corporate Speaker Lee Roebeck  address us.

His aim is to inspire and motivate.

His question to us: Why is it important to have goals?

The simple answer: Much like the captain of a ship we need to know where we a heading.

There are three types of goals:

The A type Goal - This is a goal that you know you can do, and there is not really much growth attached to it.

The B-type Goal - is a goal you think you will be able to achieve, based on logic and self-knowledge

The C-type Goal - is where you have to really THINK BIG! It is something that you really wish to achieve and where you really have to stretch yourself.

Juanette gave us a wonderful example how it had applied to her life when she set herself the goal of completing a full triathlon and with a lot of blood, sweat and tears eventually crossed the finishing line. 

She is now close to achieving her second life goal of returning to university and completing a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree. 

Lee shared a harrowing experience with us of being hijacked one Sunday afternoon when he was bundled into the boot of his car by three gun-wielding criminals and how his Mindset helped him deal with this traumatic situation.

This experience shifted Lee's perspective.

1) It is what it is - accept it.

It will either control you, or you can control it.

2) Harvest the Good. 

There is good in everything. Seek and you will find it. Every adversity brings the seed of something good.

3) Forgive the rest.

Let it go completely, abandon and release it.

Lee invited anyone that would like to change their story to contact him:

 

Rotary - People of Action

In May Jean and Jerry, the Stonestreets, Lyn Collocott, Lenore,Juanette and Ann packed hundreds of food parcels to be donated to the needy.

35 of these parcels went to the Gracepoint Church.

David this week received a heartfelt thank you you letter:

Quiz Night...

Last week we were victorious against the Rotary Club of Northcliff and this week Wednesday the Rosebank Anns have stepped up to the challenge.

Please contact David if you would like to join the fun.

Covid 19 Stories..

Today I insert a link to stories told by 10 remarkable Rotarians from around the World.

The World stopped - They didn't..https://www.rotary.org/en/world-stopped-they-didnt

But from next week I am hoping to share some of our own Covid stories and experiences.

RIP Cesare Vidulich, Blankets making a difference and an inspiring Guest Speaker

Last Week

Before our speaker for the week took to the floor President Ann asked all attending Zoom participants to honour Cesare with a minute's silence. His funeral will be held on Friday the 7th of August at the Maryvale Catholic Church.

CONDOLENCES

The Anns send our sincere condolences to Donny Vidulich and her family on the sad passing of her beloved husband Cesare.   We are with you in spirit, dear Donny and may your happy memories of your times together bring you comfort in the days ahead.

District Survey

Hands up everyone who has completed DG Annemarie's survey. I for one have completed it (it really only took a few minutes) and those that shook their heads, you still have time until the 7th of August to submit. I think our President Ann would be very impressed if our club could boast 100% submission. 

Here is the link.

Membership Survey

Quiz Nights

11 weeks ago when we had our first Quiz Challenge against Kyalami we were all pretty much novices, but boy have we stepped up the ante. Our Quiz master Garreth (Sonja Hood's son) outdoes himself every single week with the most eclectic 40 +1 bonus questions, and Wednesday evenings have pretty much become the social highlight of our week. On average we have had 12 participants per team, but David Bradshaw who has been instrumental in organizing would be thrilled to put you on the list.

 Last week we took on the Newlands Rotary Club in the Cape, and they walked away with the laurels, but when we have a re-match in September we hopefully will be able to settle the score. James Croswell is our secret weapon.

David is in talks with Swaziland and Nairobi, so watch this space.

This Wednesday at 7 pm we are taking on Northcliff Rotary. How about testing your general knowledge?

Have I been pwned?

Richard Tonkin shared some very useful information with us during our business meeting and followed it up with an e-mail for our members and friends interest:

Allan Gray in a webinar on Cyber Security gave the following website to check.. Click on the link and enter your email address, then click on the box  pwned?

 

https://haveibeenpwned.com/  

If it gives a green response Good News - no pwnage found! - then you fine. If it gives a maroon Oh No - pwned! with the number of times it has been breached, and the number of times info has been pasted off your email address, then you need to follow the recommendations to secure your email. I received the following recommendations, but consulting an expert may be the best idea - (there is also a FAQ  section on the pwned website to read)

 

Hi Yash, so the first thing would be to try and understand where the actual breach happened as an example is it connecting to an Mweb service/ Office365 account or connecting to a hosted email service in their office. Obviously the email accounts password must be changed immediately but there may also be software that is installed by someone malicious on their device that is accessing the email account which defeats the purpose of the password change.

 

I would recommend that they get their machine fully up to date (patching and anti-virus) and then also scan the machine with a tool such as Malwarebytes (there is a free version for a once off scan). Once they are sure the machine is good then they should change the password. Again though context is key as they could be using a couple of machines to access the mailbox etc.

 

 

I think in the end, there is no definitive answer because often it is very difficult to ascertain how the breach happened. You can elect to use paid for services but ultimately that will be at your discretion.

 

No full-proof answer I’m afraid but I hope you picked up some helpful hints and tips on how to tighten your security – and hopefully that means you are less vulnerable to a breach or hack.

 

 

I hope this will be a help to us all.

 

Regards

 

RICHARD TONKIN CFP®

Thank you for looking out for us Richard.

Grateful Blanket Recipients

 Dear Rotary Rosebank

 Thank you for the donation of blankets that you gave to us to distribute, they were sent to rural Limpopo for handout. This area is so incredibly poor, this gift was so appreciated.

 I was sent these photos this morning, the doctors who transported the blankets were not allowed on the handout because of the COVID situation here, so I cannot tell you about the recipients. The only story I know, it’s the woman in the far right picture. She cares for her 3 children and 4 orphans from the area as well. She has 2 blankets for all of them, now she at least has another 2. The situation in the rural areas is so dire, whereas here in Gauteng there is hunger, at least there have been some food parcels. Out deep rural, there has been no food whatsoever and grandmothers literally watch while their grandchildren and dogs get thinner and thinner. The animals are the first to die.

Grateful thanks once again. This wasn’t just a donation, it was a life-saver.

 Warm Regards

 Marilyn Bassin

Linda Galvad  - Sought after Seedlings

No doubt every Zoom participant last Friday will agree that our guest speaker Linda Galvad delivered a powerful and inspiring talk from which we could all take some valuable advice.

Linda studied psychology, and took an interest in mental illness and her research led her to believe that what we eat makes us feel and act the way we do. 

This snapshot does not do justice to Linda's radiance and flawless complexion

A few key messages that Linda discussed and conveyed:

• Through proper nutrition and eating 50 - 70% of various, raw, organic vegetables per day one can prevent or even cure any disease.
• Prebiotics feed probiotics, with probiotics being vital to a person's physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Examples of prebiotics include garlic, onion and leeks
• All diseases begin in the gut where good and bad bacteria are formed; this is true for 90% of one's immune system.
• A healthy gut with plenty of good bacteria staves off premature aging, as well as mood and personality disorders.                                                                                                                                 
• This conviction  started her passion for organic gardening and her research into heirloom seeds which come from open-pollinated plants that have been handed down from generation to generation  - some varieties being more than a 100 years old. They have not been tampered with and have a natural resilience to environmental influences. There are about 70 heirloom varieties and very single one is imported.

All in all I took about 3 pages of copious notes and at the end of the presentation Linda was bombarded with questions and asked whether she planned on writing a book. It is not on her agenda right now, but I for one would definitely buy it, if it ever came to fruition.

This Week

We are privileged to welcome another exciting guest speaker Lee Roebeck, who is an international mindset coach and speaker, who believes that every single human being has deep reservoirs of latent potential within them, and he has made it his life's mission to awaken this potential in as many people as possible.

Don't miss it.

 

A Business Meeting and another sad farewell to one of our own.....

Monday 27th July

Last Week

Friday was a business meeting with the various committee heads reporting back to the members.

Of interest:

• Although our weekly Zoom meetings have the same log-in details every time the majority of attendees  asked for Ann to send a reminder on Friday mornings
• John Symons went through the financials, and conveyed the Board decision that the subscription fee for the 2020/21 Rotary year will be R2 000. There was no increase in the previous year, but due to the Rand/Dollar exchange rate now sitting at R17.29/$ it was inevitable that our subs would have to go up.
• James Croswell shared that the container for the Baragwanath Palliative Care Division will be moved from Kevin's property to Bara in the near future and the final interior modifications will be done on site, and Covid permitting we will hopefully be able to host a opening function in September.
• James is also still looking for willing members to join his International committee.
• Jean Bernardo reported on Youth that the Interact Club of Highlands North Boys High School had finally been successfully incorporated into the Rosebank Rotary  club.
• Unfortunately due to the present Covid situation this year's youth camp had to be cancelled. We were refunded the full deposit.
• Les Short reported that there will be various online RI training courses on offer that he hopes all of us will take advantage of.
• Sybille Essmann reported back on Community Services that it had been decided that for the 20/21 Rotary Year they will continue with the projects such as the Spar "Christmas Hamper" collection, the Blanket Drive, as also Charity Begins With Me which is a new initiative. Puthadithjaba, as part of Linda Twala's efforts will also benefit.  
•  Pick & Pay had made a generous donation of R5000 to the Art Exhibition, and it was decided that this will be given to the Boikanyo Trust. 
• DG Annemarie Mostert will be visiting our club on the 18th of September
• President Ann encouraged all of us to install the ClubRunner app onto our Smart Phones.           As per Google: An official Rotary International Licensee, ClubRunner serves thousands of Rotary clubs and districts just like yours across the Globe with one goal in mind - to make technology work for anyone, anywhere while enabling Rotarians to streamline club processes and improve productivity. It manages your club or district with features such as attendance reporting, event and volunteer management, directory builder, social media integration and more.    

Farewell to Cesare 

 

Juanette shares her memories:

Well, when we both were in the Rotary Club of Orange Grove. We were much closer in the sense that he seemed to care about me and my being the youngest in the club at the time (45). But I cannot describe what exactly it was about our friendship.. I believe we just got on well and took the time to actually speak to each other .. sorry..

He and Donny were great, kind, generous people. 

He often came to my office to exchange all the small change collected at Rotary. I cannot remember how this arrangement came about. 

He also used our company truck for the moving of the blankets for the blanket drive. 

 Cesare was an avid cycler... he used to organize the cycling race for RC of Orange Grove long before it became  commercialized as the 94.7 race.. it was one of our big fund raisers, it was before my time. 

 He used to make pizza once a week, and was super proud of this skill. 

 As an Italian he was passionate about anything and everything he did, he was a great family man and spoke often of his children and grandchildren. His son lives in Mozambique and he organised a trip for the club, I am only sad I did not go with. 

 

Tutty's memories of Cesare

Indeed I was shocked to open the e-mails this morning to learn of Cesare’s passing. I got to know Cesare in the 1970’s through business when he served my building company with superb service with the supply of reinforcing steel. This service was so good that it struck me early in my Rotary membership that he would be a good Rotarian so I sponsored him. When he accepted membership of the Orange Grove club he enthusiastically and efficiently got stuck in in all manner of projects. Speaking from memory he successfully served as the Orange Grove President four times. In fact he was the final president. Despite being the president he continued to do all his committee and project work.

 Cesare in his younger days was an competitive and keen cyclist having competed multiple Argus races in the upper echelons. With his knowledge of the cycling world he was instrumental in setting up and organizing the first “Transvaal” Rotary cycle race which was a major money spinner for the Orange Grove club after our “Wilds Tearoom” project finally closed down. We did that for three years before we were muscled out by other sponsored promoters.

 In latter days Cesare served the Highlands North Interact Club as his main Rotary interest. I hope the club can continue to serve those young boys as well as he did.

Tutty's memories of Marian

I had very few dealings with Marian while she was a member of the Hillbrow Club. She contacted me to use my Professional Engineer status to make a professional assessment of the structures in Paterson Park in Norwood. She revealed to me that she was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subjects that occupied a vast spectrum with her. This was illustrated when David Bradshaw invited her to speak to the Club about the re-development of the Rietfontein Fever Hospital site. The tributes to her in the Caxton press were thoroughly deserved.

Residents pay respect to late community member

This week

I hope I am not stealing Linda Cavid's thunder by giving the briefest of introductions to her topic:

For over 230 years, Franchi Sementi has offered their traditional Italian varieties of vegetables to discerning gardening and cooking enthusiasts in Europe, America and Australia. Now, South Africans too can experience the uniqueness and quality of Franchi Sementi seeds and seedlings through its South African distributor - Sought after Seedlings.

In 1783 in Bergamo, Northern Italy, the Franchi family started cultivating seeds that today, have become a byword for quality and authenticity. Franchi Sementi are not your run-of-the-mill seeds but rather, a story of tradition, pride, experience, quality, passion and excellence handed down over seven generations.

Most Franchi Sementi seeds are open pollinating heritage/heirloom varieties that are grown to maintain the longevity of vegetables which have been around for hundreds of years, ensuring quality and exceptional taste. Nature takes care of their propagation which means that they are not genetically engineered nor tampered with in any way.

Besides from the unique look, difference in taste and the obvious nutritional benefit of Franchi Sementi vegetables, South Africans will also benefit from their high germination rate and long shelf life.

As they say, variety is the spice of life – buon appetito!

A social meeting with friends near and far, Membership and an attainable project

Monday 20th July

Last Week

Friday was a social meeting and again we had a good turnout of 23 Zoom participants. Keep it up Fellow Rotarians, at the end of the 2020/21 Rotary year, most of us will be on the 100% attendance Register.

As you can see we had a few laughs along the way

It goes without saying the topic first and foremost on everyone's mind is the Covid19 Pandemic; it is getting ever closer and it was with sadness that President Ann conveyed the news that Marian Laserson had succumbed to this nasty scourge.

Social meetings gives us the opportunity to share what has been happening in our lives and James Croswell told us that the anniversary of the fire set by some dastardly invaders to their home was now a month ago, and slowly the damaged parts of the house have been repaired. We did have a chuckle when we pictured him trying to extinguish the fire dressed only in a t-shirt, which is the attire he usually sleeps in. It was probably not that funny at the time, because he sustained some pretty bad burns to his legs and hands.

We asked Juanette and Reiner how Covid is affecting them in Hamburg, and it seems that Germany has much more freedom of movement. They recently purchased two Harley Davidson motorcycles and took a road-trip 80 km north of Hamburg. Masks are still mandatory as is social distancing and contact tracing, but restaurants are open and the youngsters are quite happy to quarantine for 14 days after a party. The divorce rate has sky rocketed five times and it seems that the pregnancy rate has also increased exponentially.
Life in Italy has also normalized somewhat as attested by Lorenzo, who lives in the town of Palestrina just 35 km east of Rome. We are all envious of his lifestyle and with the power of technology he has promised to give us a guided tour in the very near future.
 John Symons reported that R3 600 had been deposited into the Rotary Project bank account which will go towards our Mandela Day/Month efforts and help with the Charity begins with Me feeding program.

Our President Ann found this very apt image of RI's 7 areas of focus, which she wanted to share with us.

Membership

An impassioned plea by David Bradshaw

The last  Rotary year was a great disappointment as far was membership numbers were concerned, we had to let two members go for not meeting their obligations regarding subscriptions, another decided that he was too frail to attend any more and we had the very sad passing of Past President Brian Leech.

We did not induct any new members and therefore ended the year minus four members. We did have 3 or 4 prospective members attend during the 9 months that we met at the Wanderers but due to various reasons three did not take it any further, and only Chrispin looks set to join us.

 Whilst holding our meetings on Zoom,  Lorenzo, a past member now living in Italy, is a regular attender and hopefully will become our first “E-member”.

 It has been said time and time again that it is the duty of all members to ask friends, relatives and business associates to join us, but in general, we are not very good at this. Of our current membership approximately 42% of our members were not inducted into this club as first time Rotarians, but joined us when their clubs closed down, or for other reasons. The vast majority of the remainder have been members for many years, and only a handful have joined in the last few years.

The new Rotary year is certainly looking more positive member wise with a number of very good prospects lined up already.

 President Ann has set a target of 4 new members in her year, lets really go all out to achieve at least this number.  So as Chairperson of Membership Development, PLEASE really make an effort this Rotary year to ask possible Rotarians to join us on Zoom or bring them along on a Friday, once this is possible. Please let President Ann know in advance if and when you invite a Zoom visitor.

 Wear a Rotary sticker on your car, and keep some Rotary information in your car, chat to everyone you meet socially (on Zoom?) about this wonderful organization.

 Why did you join? You joined because somebody asked you.

 Membership information will appear on a regular basis in the Ramble.

 Let’s make it happen.

 Regards

 David

Charity begins with Me

Here are some easy projects that all of us (well those of us that are in Johannesburg) can get involved with. I took them from Stephan's Facebook page and am sharing with you.

Project  1

  

I have a very special project planned for August but desperately need 150 empty 2l ice cream containers + lids

Please help me collect from friends, family, shops, restaurants etc!!

If you know ANYONE working in the food industry please share this with them.

Drop off in Fairland.

Please WhatsApp or SMS if you can help.

Stephan (072 593 3866)

Project 2

If you have kids, PLEASE ask them to help with a special project.

I need 500 x home made cards by end of July.

Size A5 or smaller - any shape or colour.

Use your creativity to either, paint, draw, use stencils, whatever you like.

The theme = hearts.

Cards must be blank so please don't include any messages.

NO messy glitter please!!!  

.

Drop off in Fairland or via PostNet.

Please SMS or WhatsApp if you can help.

Stephan

072 5933 866