Bob’s Buzz

Hello Everyone

We had a great time last Thursday preparing and serving meals for all the volunteers at BlazeAid, Cobargo. I was very impressed with the organisation of the BlazeAid camp site and their food preparation areas. When we arrived, John Rungen, Rolf, Therese and I started cooking the meat and vegetarian skewers whilst Angie and Lynn Hastings finalised the salad preparation along with buttering the bread kindly donated by our local bakers.

At 6:30 we started serving the much needed food which was greatly appreciated by all volunteers. In fact we got lots of very positive comments about our culinary skills, some saying it was even better than food prepared by top class chiefs a few weeks ago!

Thanks to John and Sandra Doyle and Charmaine who prepared salads, to Angie, John Doyle and Rolf for organising meat, other food and utensils required on the night. Also thank you to Lynn Hastings, John Rungen, Angie and Therese who also prepared salads and Rolf who won over many with his delicious slice.  

The BlazeAid crew is doing a wonderful job repairing and replacing hundreds of kilometres of fencing in and around Cobargo. At this stage they plan to be in the area until at least Christmas. No doubt we will be called upon again to help feed the crew.

As you are all aware, we live in strange times with COVID–19 now infecting more than 1000 people across Australia. We need to take care of ourselves and our loved ones at this time. Please stay safe.

The NSW Government has closed down all non-essential activities. Because of this I have decided to cancel Thursday’s meeting and all meetings at least until the end of May. We may look at holding some virtual meetings using Zoom or some other video conferencing system. I will email all members later in the week when we have more information.

Regards Bob

THIS WEEK

Regrettably this week’s meeting at the Golf Club is cancelled, as are all meetings for the foreseeable future. Tim Burke was to have been our speaker this week; Tim might run a virtual talk on Thursday; details through the week if that is the case.

We will continue to publish the Beacon but maybe only every few weeks or when there is something to report. All contributions gratefully received.

The Week that Was – Out and About

Thank You Ange

Ange Ulrichsen puts so much thought and effort into finding fascinating guest speakers for our meetings. She had organised a wonderful line-up through to June. Hopefully we will be able to catch up with them when we are through all this.

Pride of Workmanship

Already we have received some worthy nominations for this year’s Pride of Workmanship Awards. These have been postponed to later in the year.

Only a Week Ago

How rapidly things can change. Only a week ago, VP Laurelle Pacey represented our Club (last Monday) at the ‘meet and greet’ with Premier Gladys Berejiklian and some NSW Cabinet members at Club Narooma. Many people were there from Bega Valley and Eurobodalla Shire Councils, the various fire authorities including the Rural Fire service, Police and a multitude of community groups. The idea was to thank everyone for their work through the bushfires and to try to reassure everyone that the recovery would continue even through this Covid-19 crisis.

The Batemans Bay Rotary newsletter reminded your editor of some good advice our Member for Bega Andrew Constance gave last Monday. He said during the fires our community proved to the world what true resilience and kindness is about. He said we now need to dig deep and care for our neighbours, our seniors and our local community and businesses. Our bushfire recovery cannot stop because of the virus and whilst we all face the disappointment of cancelled community events and gatherings, we must maintain our spirit. Please ensure everyone follows the health advice and let’s look after each other.

On a lighter note

This is what social distancing would have looked like in the 1960s…

There are many tools available to help work out social distancing…

Look after yourselves. Cheers Laurelle

Bob’s Buzz

Hello Everyone

We had a great start to last Thursday’s meeting with a tour of the workshop at Georgie’s Fine Jewellery. Georgie and Dave showed us the many processes used to make a piece of jewellery.

We were amazed to learn that they use finely crafted tools, presses, laser welders, microscopes, high tech computer design programs and 3D printers. Georgie and Dave have invested heavily to ensure that the far south coast has the best available jewellery. And of course, they employ award winning jewellers to make it all happen.

We were delighted to welcome Fred and Pam Falk to our vocational tour and the meeting that followed. Fred, the District Chair of ShelterBox, presented the Club with a certificate recognising our commitment to ShelterBox.  He also updated us on his quest to collect old or unused hospital equipment for distribution to those in need.

This Thursday we are off to Cobargo with the evening meal for BlazeAid so no formal meeting at the Golf Club.

All members are aware of the devastating hold Covid-19 is having across the world. I don’t think any of us would have thought that cities and countries would be locked down, sporting and cultural events cancelled, and international flights all but stopped. However, this is the world we now live in. Let’s hope the virus is quickly controlled and we can get back on with our lives.

Our job as Rotarians is to help those in need, so please do not hesitate to help others who may be more adversely impacted by Covid-19 than us. Please ensure that you read the email sent to all members by RI President, Mark Maloney and RI President Elect, Holger Knaack.

Advice from PDG Peter Kaye, Chair Zone Insurance and Protection Committee is that Rotary markets and events should be suspended. Based on this advice and advice from the Board, I have decided to cancel our markets set down for this Sunday. A determination about the April markets will be made at a later time.

THIS WEEK

There is no meeting at the Golf Club this week. Our Rotary team will be providing dinner for the BlazeAid team based at Cobargo. The team (either preparing salads, getting supplies or serving out) consists of Bob Aston, Sandra Doyle, Rolf Gimmel, John Rungen, Ange Ulrichsen, Lynn Hastings and possibly Rod Walker. You do us proud.

The Week that Was

Busking Championships cancelled

Our Busking Championships committee decided on Monday to cancel the 2020 event to avoid the possible spread of COVID-19.

Committee chair Di Riley said it was sad such a decision was necessary. In the media release, she noted how much the organisers appreciated the support of the event’s loyal sponsors and buskers, and that any funds already paid would be refunded.

“Everyone was looking forward to it to help in the recovery from the summer’s bushfire emergency, but our main concern has to be public safety,” she said. “Our committee looks forward to a bigger and more vibrant event in 2021.”

The 2020 Narooma Busking Championships was being organised by Narooma Rotarians with the assistance of a number of community volunteers.

On ShelterBox

During Fred Falk’s visit last week, we heard that 33% of ShelterBox Australia money comes from D9710 and the three adjoining Districts, possibly largely influenced by Fred’s hard work on behalf of ShelterBox.

Out and About

Moruya cancels meetings while Bay continues

Moruya Rotary Club has cancelled meetings until further notice, while Batemans Bay Rotary Club continues.

The Batemans Bay bulletin this week reports: “The future is uncertain meetings will continue as planned until we are advised to do otherwise.. If you are feeling at all unwell do not come along to meetings. If there is a change to the situation and meetings are cancelled you will be advised by email.”

RYDA postponed

The respective school systems have banned all student excursions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore RYDA will not go ahead at Moruya on 30/31 March 2020 as planned.

Eurobodalla RYDA Organiser Neil Simpson said if the situation improves after winter he will look for another date September/ October and see if they can get it up and running for this year.

BlazeAid Moruya

Several Moruya Rotarians are active in this volunteer organisation which is likely to be ongoing for many months. Phil Armstrong is part of the Management Team and others are involved in the fencing teams and administration tasks including catering. Depending on the day’s program, up to ten fencing teams may go out.

Currently, the program is concentrating on securing the boundary fences of the affected properties. Teams work under the guidance of an experienced team leader to strip damaged fencing out and replace it with a system agreed to by the farmer concerned,.

NEXT WEEK

Tim Burke is our scheduled speaker to talk about ‘Never Judge a Book without a cover’. It promises to be a fascinating talk about his accidental step into the health care industry and how he operates a business within it, complete with some great stories and examples of the amazing work produced by some of his clients.

At this stage we are scheduled to meet in the Golf Club’s Board Room. A decision about whether or not to proceed with this meeting will be made at the weekend.

On a lighter note…

Bob’s Buzz

Hello Everyone

We had a great night last Thursday with our annual Cinders Trivia Competition against our friendly rivals, Moruya Rotary. The food was excellent and Peter and Karen Bull were excellent in their roles of quiz master and assistant. The only down side of the night was we didn’t answer enough questions correctly and Moruya once again walked away with the Trophy, congratulations to the Moruya crew on an excellent effort.

This Thursday we start out at Georgie’s Fine Jewellery for a tour of the workshop before dinner at the Golf Club.  Please meet in front of Georgie’s at 6:00pm sharp. Dinner afterwards will be in the 1^st Hole Room.

On 19 March we are due to cook dinner for BlazeAid at Cobargo. I think it is very important that as a service club we strongly support BlazeAid volunteers who are doing a wonderful job helping farmers get back on their feet after the bushfires. Cooking dinner is one simple and practical way we can help.  We will discuss the details at our meeting on Thursday.

There is an excellent article in the Rotarian / Rotary Down Under about President Elect of Rotary International Holger Knaack. Holger is the first President Elect from Germany and he has some excellent ideas about how to grow Rotary in our community. You can read the article by clicking here.

Thank you to Ange and John Rungen who have offered to represent the Club by helping out in the wonderful Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) programme on 30 March.

Have a great week. Bob

THIS WEEK

This Thursday we start in front of Georgie’s Fine Jewellery at 6pm sharp for a tour of the workshop before dinner at the Golf Club’s 1^st Hole Room. Should be a fascinating insight into this wonderful business.

The Week that Was

What a great Cinders evening

Thanks to great work by President Bob and quiz master extraordinaire Peter Bull and his assistant Karen, plus top food from Paul’s kitchen, this year’s Cinders was a great evening enjoyed by all.

We had a lovely note from John Spencer on behalf of Moruya Club thanking us for “a thoroughly entertaining night”. John asked Bob to convey their thanks to the kitchen “for the delicious meal and your members for been such excellent hosts”. He added that they “look forward to hosting next year’s battle and retaining our trophy”. Now there’s a challenge! As John mentioned on the night, it used to be regularly won by Narooma with Micki and Ian Thomlinson mentioned as key factors in Narooma’s previous success. With the Moruya contingent was their Danish exchange student Josefine.

More from this week’s Moruya bulletin: Despite Narooma’s attempt to soften our acuity by the warmth of their welcome and the sheer size and quality of their enormous dinners, we (not to put too fine a point on the outcome) won – two teams (Moruya) against three (Narooma). It was good to have Peter Bull back again as quizmaster – a fine range of questions, including three pictorial sheets and a delivery spiced with humour. Our Team 1 scored 65 and our Team 3 scored 64 – scores would have been equal had your Editor on Team 3 not insisted that a sonnet always has 12 lines. So thank you Narooma for a great night of friendship and laughter.

Out and About

Pride of Workmanship Awards

These annual awards which give employers the opportunity to recognise employees who take great pride in the work they do and go ‘the extra mile’, are on Thursday 16 April. Letters have gone out this week to about 50 employers inviting nominations. This is a prestigious Club event. The cost for a two-course meal will be $35 a head).

Rotary helps again at Nerrigundah

The Bay Rotary newsletter reports that tradesmen and their friends from Sydney have been helping the Mogo and Nerrigundah communities in their recovery, volunteering their time. At Nerrigundah, they have been helping turn the disused NSW Department of Education Field Study Centre that miraculously survived the recent bushfire into the new community hall for the district. The former hall, the Agricultural Bureau, was totally destroyed in the fire. They have installed a new kitchen, new water tanks, and showers and generally assisted the community. Rotary has donated to the project by supplying building materials, presumably Moruya or the Bay Clubs. Our Club contributed to the secure storage container on site for tools and other donated goods.

NEXT WEEK 19 March

Instead of our weekly meeting, we will be cooking dinner for BlazeAid at Cobargo. Ange is taking the lead on this, having already been assisting down there .Thank you to all who have offered to help but more are needed. More discussion this Thursday.

Bob’s Buzz

Hello Everyone.

This week’s meeting is one of the biggest on our Narooma Rotary calendar – the annual Cinders Trivia night with our friends from Moruya Rotary.  For many years we were unbeatable, however in recent times Moruya have honed their skills and thrashed us on a few occasions. No doubt this week’s competition will be tough, yet fair to all concerned. Please ensure you let Charmaine know numbers by Tuesday, we need to know exact numbers as the Golf Club will charge based on the final numbers we submit on Tuesday afternoon.

Thank you to Laurelle for chairing last week’s meeting in my absence, I understand that Phil Armstrong provided members with some good up-to-date information on Rotary’s bushfire relief efforts on the far south coast.

Thank you also to Lynda Ord and Ashley who dropped into the Leisure Centre on Saturday to meet up crew from Sydney overseeing ‘Mattress for a Mate ‘ project (please see story below). 

We still need a member of the Club to assist Angie at RYDA on 30 March. Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) is a great project that informs learner drivers about the dos and don’ts of driving. The feedback from students and teachers over the years has been excellent and it saves lives, so if you can help out please let me know as soon as possible.

Have a great week everyone, Bob

THIS WEEK IS CINDERS

We are back at Narooma Golf Club to welcome our Moruya Rotary friends for the annual battle for the greatly coveted Cinders Trophy. Please bring your partners and all your friends (particularly if they are trivia buffs!) to the Golf Club for our annual Cinders Trivia challenge with Moruya Rotary Club. Moruya currently holds the much coveted Cinders trophy and competition will be keen on the night. As Bob said, please book in any extras with Charmaine. Cost is $32 per person for a two-course meal (entrée and main, two-drop). See you then.

The Week that Was

Phil’s Visit

With the Seahorse Room at the Golf Club still being used for the Disaster Recovery Centre last week, our alternative venue of the School of Arts’ Studios worked out well with take-aways from the Inlet.

Our guest speaker PDG Phil Armstrong from Moruya was, as always, really interesting. His main thrust was to say there is a lot of Rotary funding available to assist in the bushfire recovery and as usual we can quickly build on funds, viz we put up so much as a club which can be matched by district and also from Rotary International. The first thing is to identify where in the community that money could best be spent and what that community really needs. Phil is also closely involved with BlazeAid at Moruya.

Clean Up Australia Day

We had three helpers on Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday – Ange Ulrichsen, Steve Deck and Laurelle Pacey. President Bob had to pull out due to a heavy head cold, courtesy of catching up with old friends from Nyngan days. A key observation from the clean-up was again the marked absence of bottles and cans compared with several years ago, testament to the success of the introduction of cash for returnables.

Mattress-for-a-Mate

Narooma Rotarians Lynn Hastings, Ange Ulrichsen and Lynda Ord were ready to lend a hand on Saturday and Sunday, if needed, with the distribution in Narooma of new mattresses to people from Cobargo and Quaama to Batemans Bay who lost their homes due the recent bushfires.

Lynda dropped by to see if they were needed, having already spotted a number of burley blokes there. They weren’t but Lynda was very impressed with the whole project.

The project was coordinated by Sarah Richards from Kurrajong/North Richmond Club in conjunction with The Women for Western Sydney. About 700 mattresses donated by manufacturer AH Beard are being delivered to fire impacted areas across NSW.   People had to register with the project to receive the mattresses.

NEXT WEEK

We have another vocational visit, this time to Georgie Staley and Dave O’Brien’s Georgie’s Fine Jewellery. Meet at 6pm at Georgie’s, with dinner at 7 at the Golf Club after. Please ensure you let Charmaine know by next Tuesday if you are an apology and any extras you might like to bring.