As I sit and write my piece for this week’s bulletin I really have to sit back and reflect on how lucky we are. Spring is in the air, the days are getting longer, it is getting warmer each day, and it won’t be long until Summer will be here!
For the last few months two ducks have been swimming in our pool and generally hanging about in our back yard. I guess it is a safe place for them. This morning, much to Geoff’s horror (and my delight), they came with their whole family - 4 very cute little ducklings which are now swimming in the pool as well. They probably won’t stay very long, so we will enjoy them while we can.
On Wednesday night PP Andrew and Michele Somers took us on a journey where there were many birds, as well as other sea creatures, in Antarctica. The photographs of the landscape and the icebergs were absolutely stunning, and it sounds like they had such an amazing time there. The highlight for me was the short video of both of them jumping off the boat…and the very quick pace at which they got back out of the freezing water!
Andrew and Michele also shared highlights of their trip to Peru, where they travelled to Machu Picchu and, once again, showed us some breathtaking photos of the area.
We hope to run more Travel Nights this Rotary year, and we’d love to see more family and partner’s attend these evenings, so keep an eye out for them on the website.
Behind the scenes members have been very busy again this month.
A small group worked at the Berwick Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning. Numbers were nowhere near what we were advised (nor what PP Jack had catered for), however, I guess no one knew we were going to be there and I’m sure that as the weather gets warmer and more stall holders are at the market, that more people will come. The extra eggs that were purchased will be used at the next Market on 10th October. We donated the bread rolls which were not sold to the Vinnies Soup Van, where Andrew Somers volunteers on a regular basis. They were extremely grateful for the extra food.
The other plus to us being at the Farmers Market was that we were out in our community and we had one of the ‘Volunteer with us’ signs which PP Jen created on display, which was a good talking point and generated lots of questions about Rotary and more specifically the Rotary Club of Berwick.
We have made a commitment to run the BBQ again at the next two markets, and then we will look at the figures and make a decision as to whether this is something we will continue.
On Monday Eric Boon and Russell Fellows were busy at SJOG Berwick Hospital, painting the internals of the metal garden boxes, which were moved in the week before. This paint will help protect the metal from the potting mix, which will be put into them very soon.
Earlier this week Russell Fellows and Jenny Hart were busy marking a small playground for Rotary Overseas Relocated Playgrounds (RORP), which Russell and PP Adrian Funston ‘harvested’ on Thursday morning.
On Friday morning, I was at SJOG Berwick, doing my volunteering in the Oncology Unit and before I started my shift, I visited Peter ‘Ako’ Atkinson, star cricketer and one of Geoff’s contractors, who was there with his apprentice, busy draining and drying the water feature in the Chapel Garden. As the weather for the next few days is perfect, Peter headed back to the Chapel Garden that afternoon and put the first coat of sealer on the water feature. Geoff and Peter will put a second coat on, on Saturday morning and then we will let the seal harden for a few weeks, before reinstating the pebbles and finally putting water into the water feature.
Arts Screen deliveries are also ramping up, starting this week, so please, if you or your family or friends are able to help in any way, please let Felicity know.
This week our ‘3 Footy Amigos’, are putting together a night for us all to enjoy. There will be prizes to be won, so get out your footy gear, do your homework…as to who is where on the ladder, who won the Brownlow, etc, and round up your family and friends and join us for a lot of fun and laughter.
Trevor Watson will be chair for the night, with support from PP Adrian ‘Funno’ Funston and Terry Pollock, and we will have two special Sergeants to entertain us too, for the evening.
Hope to see you all there.
Cheers!
Di