Bulletin 26 RCoBS (Feb 07, 2018)

Stan in the Chair; Set up Crew all done and no response to hitting that gong, as usual. Stan’s recall of events disastrous reminded us that February is the worst month for fires.

Very special welcome to Cooper Haw [Readie’s grandson] just turned one year, sitting up in his high chair, and to Amy, and our guest speakers Elsie L’Huiller and Peter Morrison, champions of the Repair Café.

Rob thanked Peter Rainey; Rotarians, Sandhurst and South; the Girton Community Service students; non Rotarian volunteers and City of Bendigo who all made Australia Day at The Lake a success. Only three sprinklers bent and one shoe dunked.

At least the President remembered the refreshments this year.

Rob also reported that “The Dragon is going to Melbourne Sunday”, well, we’re catering early Sunday morning for a contingent leaving the Chinese Precinct for Melbourne.

Glenn attended the wash up of Swap Meet

$3,900.00 take-home to each of eleven parties.

Cathie reminded us of the Car Rally Sunday Feb 25^th:

09:00 to Lunch

Watch this space.

Ray offered us places on a Rotary Friendship Exchange tour into Scotland. It’s BYOBP [BYO Bagpipes].

Ray also applauded the stamina of Stevo, relentlessly turning tonnes of onions in the RCoBS super-sauna, cleverly disguised as a catering tent.

And, from North of the Bridge, Rotary Club of Eaglehawk are running a GREAT AUSSIE CAMPING SWAP MEET at Marong over the weekend of March 24 & 25. This means any outdoor gear.

“Bricoleurs” and “Bush Mechanics”

“Don’t toss it, fix it” is a paradigm we all need to suss:

Amsterdam Holland 2009 one lady started up a “Repair Café”. Now an international movement, many registered in Australia.

For nine months Bendigo’s Repair Café has opened at Laurie’s Good Loaf café precinct, the third Saturday of each month from about ten until one.

We affluent baby boomers, millennials and all in between have lost the magic of fixing something, with our hands … those things at the end of our arms which we see over keyboards and holding out PayWay cards.

In the space of only one generation we’ve stopped fixing things.

Our brains need us to do manual stuff:

manual

ˈmanjʊ(ə)l/

adjective

relating to or done with the hands.

Check out:

healthy-benefits-of-working-with-your-hands

As a medico I always found, for example, old-school carpenters [not nail-gun framers] calm, grounded, wise, patient men.

The joy of figuring out how to fix it; learning the itty gritty from experts and YouTube; in a fun café and finally achieving is a natural joy we’ve buried in favour a new one online from hardly normal.

We’re passing on old skills, even if it’s off YouTube.

There’s a certain badge of honour, by way of “I fixed it !!!”

Farmers in the USA are banding together, learning how to fix their expensive John Deere’s to the extent of joint three D printing of spare parts.

high-tech-farm-equipment-nightmare-farmers/

Shed-tinkerers, welders, and electricians are especially welcome at Bendigo, not to mention donations and cheerful visitors.

Elsie has the life advantage of time in India where nothing is wasted; everything is recycled.

China has said NO to our tonnes of plastic waste.

“War on Waste” is on our flat screens.

“Don’t toss it, fix it”.

Next week:

Getting to The Bridge:

Queen’s Baton Relay Road Closures

Check out the maps

G for George

Relevant to Clusters Presidents Meeting of: February 7, 2018

And we didn’t take a photo of the nine of us in Bryan’s back yard around tables under a marquee, for our February 2018 Presidents Clusters Meeting, before a beaut backyard BBQ and light refreshment.

Trying to prècis more than two hours of good communications is an ask. However, here goes:

An around the table request for “State of The Nation” reports from Presidents is always an eye opener:

Ian Riseley would wring his hands in frustration learning all the good stuff our clubs do, we who don’t go about flag waving seeking validation.

Our strength is clubs just getting on, doing their thing, with conviction, faithfully following precedence and then diverging off into novel uncharted projects.

Snippets:

Bryan of Rochester gently admonished us for not being at the,

“it was a perfect evening” Long Table by The Wharf dinner last night, hosted by Echuca and Rochie for ROCAN:

ROCAN D9800

Next year Bryan, and we watch as RC Willi gets a new “Wellness Centre” up and running in the Western Suburbs.

I noted:

DIK Open Day West Footscray Sat Feb 24
Echuca Moama Steam Really long weekend in June
- Volunteers welcome
Organised clubs [don’t they embarrass us?] announced their ChangeOver dates June 2018.
And even more embarrassing, most clubs have a PE for 18/19, and even a PEN for 19/20 !!

Ken at Strath introduced us to “Fun Flights”

http://www.funflight.org/

He and his band of Tavern-Attenders have been out at the airport catering for these generous pilots.

The indefatigable Greg Penno and entourage from Strath are in SEA following his Rotary passion: MEC

MEC at Strath

And, Ken has raised the funds for that companion/caring pup.

Alison has kicked off The Great Aussie Camping Swap Meet at Marong March 24 & 25: [Where did that come from ??]

http://www.greataussiecampswap.com.au

Book a site and bring along your pre-loved outdoor gear.

And, Alison reports that “her” [you know who] teams of relentless working bees attendees have nearly finished the kitchen at Camp Getaway.

And for lovers of Penfold’s Grange Hermitage:

You missed out and he has lots of new friends.

Val, as always, brings along really interesting ideas from

RC Bendigo: Think long term Bendigo asset; novel support of a great institution; and, re-affirming Glenn’s contribution to our clusters of exploring rationalisation and cooperation across our clubs.

Alan from Echuca, ever hiding his light under those bushels has no less than seventy [seventy !!!], local business folk paying twenty-five dollars a head to a breakfast meet Tuesday to hear our very own tourism expert, Kathryn McKenzie.

Bernie, true to form, rendered an excellent well organised report from RC BS:

Tony Plant is to step up at Swap Meet;

As traditional supporters of the Science and Engineering Challenge, which is at Girton on June 20^th this year, Bernie exhorts us to flex our minds for sponsors, and come along on the day.

Science-and-Engineering-Challenge

And, in the car en route home he reminded me to review our club rules.

AG Cliff tabled some feedback about NYSF

https://www.nysf.edu.au/

Apparently, there’s been some communication challenges twixt NYSF, Rotary clubs, and the student applicants and awardees.

Our local Youth Directors will sort it and advise us.

Several clubs support the Maubisse community in Timor-Leste by way of funding scholarships via the Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee. We have three Rotarians, from KF, EH and BS on this robust CoGB Section 36 committee.

George has been ensnared by one enthusiastic committee member to volunteer as Dental Assistant [!!] at Moubara, Maubisse and Turiscai in Timor-Leste April/May:

Exciting news is that the RC of Albert Park are talking to us, “armed with”, their “Solar Smiles Dental Charity”, previously in Cambodia.

My personal thanks to Alison for the ride to and fro.

[Our BS RC contributed to the catering]

I have run a golf event with our club and this year is our 10th event. The last 4 years we have run the event as NIGHT golf which is really popular and all in support of Rotary's Operation Cleft. Great thing about night golf is it suits golfers of all abilities, even no ability as if you swing and miss nobody sees you!

It is a fun event and over our 10 years we have changed well over 200 children's lives with life changing cleft palate operations.

I was hoping your club could get a team or two together to support us, details to follow.

Regards

Glenn Reilly