DO NOT TURN UP AT THE RACV TUESDAY NOV 12, YOU WILL BE A LONELY PERSON AS THE REST OF US ARE GOING TO THE RACV ON WEDNESDAY NOV 13 TO ENJOY THE PAUL HARRIS BREAKFAST!
Our 21st Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Breakfast has secured Justice Chris Maxwell as speaker. He is Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and President of the Court of Appeal. He will talk on "Reflections on Victoria's Human Rights Charter - Has It Made a Difference?"
The Charter has been in force nearly six years. J. Maxwell will offer views on its impact in Victoria. He will look into legal consequences and cultural changes that it has brought about, including within government.
This is a great opportunity to hear important and stimulating views from a top authority.
Time: 7.15 for 7.30am.
RACV, 17th Fl.
$60 or $580 per table of ten.
Book at http://www.trybooking.com/62083
Justice Maxwell graduated from Melbourne University in 1975. He was the 1975 Rhodes Scholar for Victoria and in 1977 completed a B.Phil at New College, Oxford.
On his return to Australia, Chris practised as a solicitor and barrister and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1998. In 1994 Chris was counsel assisting the Judicial Inquiry into the Australian Secret Intelligence Service.
Between 2000 and 2002, Chris was President of the Victorian Council of Civil Liberties. In 2003-04 he undertook a review for the Victorian Government of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985.
In July 2005 Christ was appointed President of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria.
The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 is a Victorian law that sets out the basic rights, freedoms and responsibilities of all people in Victoria. The Charter requires those delivering public services to act consistently with twenty fundamental human rights.
The Charter has now been in force nearly six years. Justice Maxwell will offer some reflections on its impact in Victoria, addressing both the legal consequences of the Charter and the cultural changes that it has brought about within government. He will also discuss the role of the Courts under the Charter and whether deciding human rights questions is an appropriate function for the judiciary.
The Paul Harris Breakfast celebrates Paul Harris Fellow Recognition recipients in Rotary District 9800.
All Paul Harris Breakfast proceeds go toward Rotary Foundation programmes.
Marg Thomas has volunteered to help all those shopping for the Christmas hampers get a better deal on spices and nuts, which are specifically recommended for “Green” Hampers.
Buying in bulk and packaging at home, Marg can deliver the following selection for just $27.53 as against supermarket online price for the same products that would be $123.Incredible but true!
In addition, the quantities sold in the supermarkets e.g. cumin in 25 gram packages, would not go very far in cooking for a family on a daily basis where there is an emphasis on use of spices.
The selection is:
Cumin 250 grams $2.38
Coriander 250 grams $2.13
Paprika 250 grams $2.13
Chilli 250grams $2.13
Almonds (whole) 250 grams $3.38
Walnuts (whole) 250 grams $2.88
Lentils - red 1 kg $3.50
Lentils - green 1 kg $3.00
Dates - Tunisian 1 kg $6.00
TOTAL $27.53
If we get enough orders from Club members before NOVEMBER 27th, Marg will do the buying and packaging and Tony will bring the products to the final December 17th meeting at the RACV to add to the hampers. The additions weighs 4.5kg so be sure to leave enough space for this in your green bag.
All you will have to do is to pay the Thomas’s- call it $28 including overheads . Payment method to be advised.
So we can get a fix on how many smart shoppers we have, please let Marg know quickly on margthomas6@gmail.com or Tel. 9370 3091.
A group of members enjoyed an excellent Hungarian-themed dinner at the Seales' place at East Melbourne on Saturday November 9.
Paying $125 a head, they generated a profit of $1000 to club funds. Alan says Robyn did 99% of the work involved. The whole gross proceeds went to the club.
The menu was:
Duck and Orange Paté
Hungarian Salami
Liptauer Cheese Spread
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Chilled Sour Cherry Soup
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Veal Cutlets with Mushrooms
Paprika Fish
Mushroom Stuffed Peppers
Lecsó
Vinters Rice
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Slid Pancakes
Hungarian Cheescake
The guests were Neville and Suzette Taylor, John and Cathy Price, Tony and Marg Thomas and Roy and Annie Garrett. Wines came from the deepest recesses of Alan's cellar.
The event included a selection of highlights of comedy movies, some in dubious taste.
Dinner parties with paying guests are a painless way to keep club fundraising rolling along and are a great fellowship opportunity, so Alan suggests other members consider hosting similar events.
Thank you for your kind thoughts and offers of help, following our recent fire. The house was fortunately saved with no interior damage from smoke or fire, however the fire did race up the outer wall and and the large garage area was destroyed. It contained a lot of stuff, the yard is quite a mess and no debris has been cleared which means the house -- although all services are operational --would be difficult to live in. That's especially as our daughter and children one a 3 yo
h ad just moved home. She unfortunately suffered the most as the garage and wall line of house which was a covered area, was a staging ground for unpacking. She also lost a cat. Our insurers have found a home nearby for a 12 month lease but hopefully we will be back home well before then. Meanwhile Lyn and I are with our son and daughter in law and Heidi and children are also in good hands. We appreciate your offers of help but the clean up is definitely for the professionals and otherwise it's just a slow process of getting back to life as normal. Its times like this you realize the importance of the Rotary Family. Lyn and I look forward to seeing many of you next Wednesday at the Paul Harris Breakfasts.
One member, for reasons too complex to narrate, became the subject of a feature the other day in the My Place section of his local throw-over-the-fence newspaper.
He was aware that this regular feature includes a side-bar of his/her likes and grouches, so pre-prepared for the reporter the following two plugsfor worthy causes. Note that he couldn't work his own club RCCMS into the story because its focus is purely on local-district issues.
My Local Favorites
Favorite School: "Mount Alexander College. Whenever I visit I love the buzz.The IT and science labs are state of the art and I see the 'united nations' of kids in their smart school uniforms gettoing on famously and working hard." [NB Our club is developing a strong relationship with this College].
Best Rotary Club
Essendon Rotary Club. It is not my club but I am astonished at its donations to Myanmar -- a million dollars worth of medical aid and equipment as saved more than 10,000 kids lives."
The Australian newpaper gave Rotary some national publicity in Saturday's issue November 9. It was in their front-page story "Bikies Inc: how a police sting revealed clubs' bid to amass a legal warchest", which spilled to page 8.
There one reads: "Watson [a brutal member of the Finks club] also boasted of what had happened to an ex-girlfriend who 'pissed' him off: he hacked off her hair and kicked her in the head.
The Finks are part crime business, part Animal House fraternity and part Rotary Club Chapter, run to stringent rules enforced bvy the sergeant-at-arms, a kind of first among equals. There is no president; full or patched members vote at meetings where minutes are taken by the club secretary.
Detective Inspector Garry Watts, the operations manager of the Queensland Police Service's Taskforce Hydra, which goes after bikies, suggests it is not so much democracy as anarchy...the club treasurer also manages the 'dues' levied on members..."
Our editor is not sure that the Finks and RCCMS are in fact comparable.
Paul Harris Breakfast - On Wednesday 13 November 2013. Kay Stevens promoted this special event. Bookings can be made online.
Kay Stevens announced that our Sister Club, the merged RC Osaka Midosuji Hommachi, had recently written to us, thanking us for our congratulatory video of May 2013. Many of their members are intending to go to the Rotary International Conference in Sydney, June 2014. Included with the letter was their new Club banner.
Community Village - Neil Salvano thanked members in advance for their volunteering to assist next Saturday night, post Derby day. He also asked that members consider volunteering for any one or more Friday or Saturday nights over 4 weekends commencing Friday 29 November 2013.
Vocational Visit – Jillian Cavanagh advised of a forthcoming visit on Wednesday 27 November 2013 to the Kangan Institute Automotive Centre at Docklands followed by a tour of the nearby Lindsay Fox Car Museum. Cost is $25 inclusive of finger food.
Volunteer Hours – Russell Rolls announced that he was now the chief recorder of volunteer hours of Club members. He sought details by email (when, where and what) of any such hours since 1 July and continuing advices in future.
Director’s Report - International Service Presentation : Roy Garrett, fresh from his return from Myanmar, gave an update on what the International Service Committee had been focussing on. Roy spoke of the funds which had been spent on renovating and improving impoverished schools outside Luang Prabang in Northern Laos including the Hue Kang High School and the proposed Ban Houe Tout school project.
President’s Announcements –
Play last week. President Doug announced that due to the refund of the audio visual charges, Club had made an overall profit of $9,500.
Election of 2014/2015 Office Bearers and Timing. Pres Doug advised that a committee had been formed to consider the appointment of the Club’s 2015/2016 President. Then President Elect Roy Garrett made reference to his incoming committee which, he said, illustrated continuity within the Club. Committee members were:
Community, Neville Taylor ; Secretary, Tony Thomas; International Service, Robin Stevens; Treasurer, Yanpu Zhang; Fundraising, Greg Cuthbert; Youth Services, George Mackay; Vocational Service, Jillian Cavanagh and Foundation, Doug Robertson. Director of Club Administration was yet to be filled.
LAUNCH OF 2013 CHRISTMAS HAMPER APPEAL
Aided by Anne Mitchell from Steps Ministry, Robin Stevens launched the 2013 Christmas Hamper Appeal. As of recent times, there will be 2 beneficiaries (as nominated by the colour of the Hamper bags (Red or Green), the Steps Outreach Service (Red bag) and the Lentara UnitingCare Asylum Seeker Project (Green bag). Bags were available for collection at the meeting and will continue to be, along with flyers which detail suggested goods for each bag.
Anne Mitchell spoke briefly, indicating that Steps came into contact with about 150 youth each year, including about 50 who are supported intensively.
SERGEANT”s SESSION
Sadly, despite the Sergeant being in the building, no such session occurred. Unconfirmed reports suggested that Herb Greenwood needed further time to craft and refine his contribution to our never ending poem and given the additional length of time to the next Tuesday meeting, this will surely be something to be witnessed!!
GUEST SPEAKER
Don Stewart was our guest speaker. Don has an engineering background and has devoted much time to teaching appropriate technology to engineering students from developing countries at the University of Melbourne.
It became clear very early in his presentation that Don has a life long passion for establishing simple technology, rather than modern technology, to alleviate poverty in poorer countries. One of his key messages was that unless people are part of the whole activity, they have no ownership. They must be involved from the beginning, learning how to use and how to fix.. This simple recipe leads to sustaining developing countries.
