Beacon 30 June 2016

Short Notes by Bob Antill

This last week has been full on. We attended Moruya changeover on Wednesday and Thursday evening Batemans Bay. Both were a celebration of the wonderful job done by Mike (Moruya) and Vere (Batemans Bay).

Vere and I have both been Presidents at the same time, twice, and this year I took over as Assistant Governor for Group one from Vere, a position I’ll now hold for another two years.

This Thursday night will be the changeover for Narooma and I get to hand the reigns over to Michael O’Connor. I wish Michael all the best and I know it will be a very positive year ahead. My thanks to all members of our fantastic Club for the hard work and support during this year, you are all a gift to the world.

Today we held our June Markets which not only exceeded expectations but the great turn out made it a fairly easy time full of fellowship with the extra bodies making the jobs  easier, well done all and thank you.

Our Renewable Expo is starting to gather pace. Frank and his team are getting together a great line up of top quality speakers. Look forward to more exciting announcements.

Thank you also to my beautiful and understanding wife, Merinda. Without her support and help, this year would not have been possible.

“So long and thanks for all the fish”

Cheers

Bob

 

Butch Young’s Toolbox for Life’

 

The intensity and passion of last week’s guest speaker Butch Young touched many members.

Butch spoke about the realities and pain of living with schizophrenia for over 20 years, and of the stigma that often surrounds mental illness.

He also shared with us his joys and determination to live a normal and happy life.

Butch is employed by NSW Health at the Chisholm Ross Mental Health Centre in Goulburn as a consumer advocate supporting others with mental illness, helping them live positive and fulfilling lives.

‘I’m always amazed too at how healing it can be to tell my story,’ he said.

He spoke of the need to learn resilience, to learn how to throw the negatives away and make changes in your life, to retrain your brain, to think positively and accept responsibility.

Early intervention and communication he said were key.

‘Everyone needs love to get well, he said. ‘We all need something to go home to.’

Butch showed us his ‘Toolbox for Life’, a treasure trove of small reminders of positive things in his life that help him deal with various situations. Everyone probably should have one.

He also told us some sobering statistics.

·         One in 100 people in Australia suffer from schizophrenia

·         Australia has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, especially amongst men, and especially amongst men over 80.

·         Different regions have higher rates.

Mike Young said when thanking him, Butch had given one of the most inspiring and moving talks he had heard.

2016-06-24 Rotary Butch Young 001
Mike Young thanks Butch Young

 

 

Beacon 23rd June 2016

short words

I’ve often said that the Sydney Harbour Bridge is an excellent example of Government getting it right. They borrowed all the money, and in a time of depression gave jobs to hundreds, which had a flow on effect throughout the community.  It took many decades to pay off but it has repaid the city of Sydney and Australia many times over.

The Harbour bridge, the Snowy Hydro Scheme and the water pipeline from Perth to Kalgoorlie-Boulder are examples of what can be achieved by people with vision and forethought. People who look at the big picture and go for it. Rotary, as an organisation, is very much in this mold.  The best example I can think of, is the eradication of Polio. When the idea was first promoted many thought it was too hard, would cost too much and would take too long. Well because of people with vision and belief we will soon see this. Our grandchildren will not know of Polio.

This week PE Michael and I are off to the Change-over for both Moruya and Batemans Bay. A year has flown by and I wish the incoming Presidents all the best as their Rotary year begins and they take up the challenge to work towards looking after their community, the national community and the global community, who knows, it might be on their watch that Polio is declared eradicated.

Cheers
Bob Ant

Stan Swarbrick – Narooma Probus Club

It was good to hear from Stan Swarbrick last week about Narooma Probus.

Rolf and Stan Swarbrick of Narooma Probus
Rolf and Stan Swarbrick of Narooma Probus

Probus is an association of active retirees who join together in clubs, the basic purpose of which is to provide regular opportunities for them to keep their minds active, expand their interests and to enjoy the fellowship of new friends.  The first clubs were formed in the UK in 1965. Many, but not all Probus clubs have been formed by Rotary clubs.

Our Rotary Club sponsored the formation of Narooma Men’s Probus in 1982. In 2001, the Ladies Probus Club wound up (also sponsored by our Club) and combined with the men.

‘Probus’ – is from ‘Pro’, short for professional, and ‘bus’, from business.
Stan explained that Probus clubs are not service clubs. Instead they are about promoting friendship and stimulating interest among retired people, with meetings once a month.

Like many organisations, they struggle to attract new members. From 50 odd, they are now down to 26, and so they are looking at ways to increase membership. Stan mentioned the possibility of interstate trips with other Probus Clubs, more promotion, including having a stall at our markets starting July, and more publicity.

Beacon 9th June 2016

short notes by bob ant

Hopefully the power will stay on long enough to send this out. It’s been a wild and woolly few days and as we sit high and dry on a hill, the creeks and causeway have cut us off. All going well, we will be mobile again this afternoon.

Thursday evening Radar, our exchange student, stepped into the breech and became our guest speaker. Our advertised speaker, Charmaine, caught a nasty bug and was not able to be with us.

In the 11 months that Radar has been with us, he has grown in confidence and the ‘Australianising’ of his English is almost complete. Slides of his fantastic ‘Reef to Rock 2016’ trip; a short history of Taiwan; and brilliant Q&A session made this a great evening.

Saturday afternoon some very brave souls made it to my place for a joint meeting of the Board, both incoming and out going members.  Part of this meeting was to finalise some of the outgoing expenditure for the changeover and most of the money is allocated, however,  if you feel there is a good cause that might have been left out, then please give me a call…. quickly.

The board was also updated on the Renewable’s Expo which has now been moved to November, as the October date clashed with a similar Expo being hosted in Canberra. Frank and his team are progressing well on this project and should have a web site up soon. It is all looking really good.

Lynda also updated us on MUNA and our NYSF student application. The Board also agreed to funding, towards the NHS Junior and Senior Debating Team who are competing in the Regional Premier’s Debating Challenge on the 10th of June.  A lot of work is going on with Youth and I’m very grateful to Sandra who has come on board to help Lynda.

Thank you to all and I’m looking forward to this Thursday night and finding out about how the Council is facing the challengers of change with renewable and cost saving technologies.

Yours shortly,
bob ant

Rainbow after the big storm
Rainbow after the big storm

Bowel Care

The Bowel care program finished on Tuesday the 31st of May.  330 bowel kits were distributed to the four pharmacies, Cobargo, Bermagui, Narooma pharmacy and Narooma Plaza.  Sales were down this year, with only 204 kits being sold.  Lynn, our Treasurer has sent a cheque of $3029 to BowelCare.
–  John Rungen

Hah hah

It should be easy to write an article about the inside of the trombone player’s head–there’s so  much room there! And if you understand that, you understand the essence of the trombone player’s personality. Supremely confident, superhero, the perfection of the human race–these terms don’t come close to describing the trombonist’s opinion of himself, and yet they greatly exceed the opinion that others hold of him.

What accounts for this remarkable self-image? Perhaps it is the awesome responsibility involved in playing the trombone. You see, most brass instruments have 3 valves, which can be open or closed, yielding 8 possible combinations. However, playing valves 1 and 2 is the same as valve 3, so there are effectively 7 valve combinations from which to produce notes. The trombone, with its slide, has an infinite number of positions, and while only 7 are recommended, the trombonist feels responsible for all of them, and in fact, plays many positions that are totally uncalled for. It’s an awesome responsibility.

And why did Meredith Willson write “76 Trombones”? I believe it was because he knew what trombone players know: that more is better. In addition trombonists save conductors a lot of rehearsal time. They never have to be told to play louder.

Think about it. If you were playing a gig and your band was attacked, and you had to use your instrument as a weapon, would you rather have a clarinet, a trumpet, or a trombone with its variable length poker? Trombone players carry this same weapon mentality right into the rehearsal room. Be thankful for them.