I do hope this week’s bulletin does find that you are all well and looking after yourself and your loved ones? It seems we have managed to weather the worst of the COVID restriction/lockdown, with a sense of some freedom. We are now able to travel that bit further and meet with family and friends that we have only been able to chat with over zoom. It will feel different, however let us all still be careful and be hopeful we can avoid another repeat lockdown.
Please remember our social get together arranged for 30th October 2021 at Blenheim Park from 10:00am. It has been suggested we support the new café, Giovette’s, in Blenheim Road shops, and bring along coffee and something to eat. Sandeep has some entertaining surprises install for us. Let us hope this ‘opening up’ will keep progressing so we can enjoy a Christmas with our family and friends.
During our meeting last week, we had Graeme Robinson give us a talk on Ethics and Rotary. Graeme explained how ethics is a system of Moral Principles and commenced about 1661. Ethics does raise a myriad of questions of what is deemed to be correct/right. Graeme explained how ethics fitted with the Rotary 4 way test. Ethics can be used as a guide for a decision maker to make decisions they ought to make and not necessarily the one they want to make. Contemplate this?
In the last week, I attended the Area Governor’s meeting with Bruce Jacob our Area Governor and our local Rotary Clubs. It appears the other Clubs are mirroring ours, with their zoom meetings. They also, are all looking forward to new gained freedoms to be able to get out and help/work in the community once again. There was an enlightening presentation from Melanie Lewis who represents Rotary Foundation-Environment for District 9685. Melanie explained how Rotary has been active in protecting the environment in Australia and overseas, for around 30 years, by active involvement and funding of various projects through grants. Melanie also mentioned that Rotary now sponsors EnviroClub Awards for Clubs involved in environmental activities. Rob and Garry, Melanie may be a good presenter for our Club on a Friday morning meeting?
Please be reminded that our delayed Annual Celebration dinner is now arranged for 3rd December 2021 at Basil’s Seafood Restaurant. Club Director Garry has been in contact with the new owners, making the relevant arrangements for this, and the Christmas lunch for the Presbyterian Aged Care- North Ryde Community Aid community members.
Pam advised the Christmas Tree of Joy, at North Ryde Cox’s Road Mall, will go ahead in November and December. There are several local charities we support, that are keen to accept the donated gifts. Pam has asked for help in collecting the gifts at the tree, storing, sorting and delivering to the charities. Let us all get in and help this great cause!
There was a Christmas Carol planning meeting on Thursday afternoon 7 October at 4:00pm for North Ryde and Macquarie Park Rotary clubs, plus representation from Ryde City Council. Council expressed they are keen for the Christmas Carols to proceed in a COVID friendly manner to help revive the community after lockdown. To this end, the Carols are proposed to be held at the T.G. Milner football fields on Vimeria Road, North Ryde as a ticketed event for crowd control reasons. We will keep you informed of discussions and progress.
Please remind your family, friends and colleagues that orders for the Christmas puddings can now be placed until the end of October for delivery in late November.
I am very grateful for all the hard work and commitment by everyone in our club during these difficult times, thank you.
We are delighted to announce that a new date has been set for the Rotary Club of North Ryde's Annual Celebration Dinner. It will now be held on Friday 3 December at Basil's Seafood Restaurant, Delhi Road North Ryde commencing 6.30 for 7.00pm. Please see the invitation below for details. To download the invitation click here.
If you have already booked and paid for the dinner from the postponed dinner in June and can attend, we look forward to seeing you there. Similarly if you were not able to attend previously but would like to come along please notify Club Director Garry Maloney email Garry.maloney@hotmail.com or mobile 0426230458 by Friday 19 November.
However, if you cannot attend on the new date, please advise Club Treasurer, Sandeep Rathi by email sandeeprathi.au@gmail.com include your bank transfer detail to attain a full refund.
Immediate Past President, Mandy Van and President Peter Mason hope you can join us to celebrate the 2020-21 Rotary Year.
The Rotary Club of Chatswood Sunrise lives on as its Pudding fundraising of previous years is on again. This year, however, it is a joint project of the Rotary Clubs of North Ryde, Chatswood/Roseville, Wahroonga, Pennant Hills and Turramurra!
The puddings have won international prizes in previous years and include your traditional Christmas pud, macadamia and brandy, gluten free, date and toffee, rum and plum, mango and brandy and a variety of evil dark chocolate.
All proceeds will go to benefit the “Books in Homes” program at Moree East Public School, where over 80% of the students come from the Aboriginal community.
The program provides “…quality books-of-choice to children living in remote, disadvantaged and low socio-economic circumstances, ensuring crucial early literacy engagement and the development of reading skills needed for lifelong achievement.” The Rotary Clubs in Moree will be our local representatives.
As World Polio Day approaches, the Rotary community is getting ready to amplify our message about eradicating polio to protect the world’s children from this devastating disease.
Zone 8 Polio Chair, PDG Bob Aitken AM (Lower Blue Mountains) is asking every Rotarian to consider donating $10 to Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Together, we’ve made tremendous progress. Now it’s time to... READ MORE
So far 54% of D9685 members have activated their myrotary account. To donate online, access myrotary.org and go to DONATE button to make your tax-deductible donation. SEE MORE
Join us for World Polio Day October 24.
Please note the change of date!
WE ARE CLOSING IN ON POLIO …
PDG Bob Aitken AM, Lower Blue Mountains - RI Meeting this week “never been more confident of the imminent success of our campaign!”
• Only 2 cases of wild polio virus so far in 2021 (last in January 21)!
• Total of 13 wild polio virus cases Afghanistan & Pakistan Sept 20 – Sept 21!
Global Polio Eradication Initiative:
• The new Novel vaccine to attack vaccine derived polio has been very successful - still under ‘early user license’.
• Strong demand – especially the African continent – with 85 million vaccines already administered. Manufactured in Indonesia and supply and delivery remains a challenge.
• Constant reports of new wild polio virus cases across the middle of Africa, on EVERY occasion, all identified as ‘vaccine derived’.
Ian Burnet has spent thirty years, living, working and travelling in Indonesia and is fascinated by the diverse history and culture of the archipelago. This is reflected in his books Spice Islands, followed by East Indies, then Archipelago - A Journey Across Indonesia, then Where Australia Collides with Asia, then The Tasman Map and now his latest book Joseph Conrad’s Eastern Voyages.
The life of Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski reads like an adventure story, an adventure story that could be written by somebody like Joseph Conrad. The young Conrad dreamed of a life at sea, he eventually became a British merchant seaman and he spent fifteen years sailing on the classic three-masted, square-rigged sailing ships before they were ultimately replaced by steamships. During this period, he worked his way up from apprentice to third mate, to second mate, to first mate and finally the captain of one of these beautiful ships.
Conrad loved the ‘mysterious East’ and his first books – Almayers Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, Lord Jim and The Rescue were all set in Borneo and based on the people and places he encountered in his own voyages as first mate on a trading vessel based out of Singapore. In this new book, Ian has taken the liberty to place the parts of these first novels into their proper narrative sequence and focus on the back-story of his characters, which will make it easier to discover Conrad’s genius.
Ian will first talk about Conrad's voyages to Australia and then his voyages from Singapore to Borneo and his first books.
The meeting will be held via Zoom from 7:00 a.m. for 7:15 a.m. start. At about 7:30 a.m., Ian will talk for about 30 minutes, followed by questions. We finish promptly at 8:30 a.m.
