Issue No 1 / 2020-21 July 5th, 2020

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HOWZAT!

The Rotary Club of Newlands The Club that Appeals

PRESIDENT JENNY IBBOTSON

Editor Janey Ball Email howzat@newlands.org.za Website www.newlands.org.za Facebook www.facebook.com/NewlandsRotary

Apologies before 10:00 on a Monday to Heidi Andersson, please.

COMMENT: LONDON to CAPE TOWN 100 YEARS AGO (Vanessa Rousseau)

In the early part of the last century, the route between London and Cape Town was regarded as

one of the challenges for aviators. Parts of the route had been covered but no-one had flown the

full distance.

In December 1919, the British Air Ministry announced that surveys had been completed by the RAF

and a string of airfields established on the African route. It was now open to aviators! Urged on by

the successes achieved by Alcock and Brown, on the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic, and

the Smith brothers' first flight to Australia, the challenge began to gather momentum.

In January 1920 the London Times offered a prize for the first person to fly from London to Cape

Town. The reward offered was £10,000 - about £300,000 in today's terms. Less than a month later,

a Vickers Vimy set out from England for the Cape. Piloted by Captains S Cockerell and F C Broome,

with Dr Chalmers Mitchell, Secretary of the Zoological Society.

General Smuts wanted a South African to be the first to achieve this feat, so he authorized the

purchase of a Vickers Vimy at a cost of £4 500. Lt. Col Pierre van Ryneveld and Flight Lieutenant

Christopher Joseph (Flossie) Quintin-Brand left London on 4 February 1920 from Brooklands

Aerodrome in Surrey, England in the Vimy, named the Silver Queen.

Van Ryneveld and Brand had to do some night flying to catch up with the Vimy sponsored by the

Times. They encountered bad weather over the Mediterranean, so the crossing took approximately

11 hours. Their aircraft was written off in a forced landing at night due to a leaking radiator at Wadi

Halfa in the Sudan.

A second Vimy F8615 was loaned from the Royal Air Force at Heliopolis, in Egypt, and they

continued their journey 11 days later. They left from Cairo on 22 February. On 27 February the

competing aircraft crashed at Tabora in Tanganyika, without injury. The Silver Queen II crashed in

Bulawayo due to being overloaded on 6 March. The hot and high conditions over Africa were taking

their toll.

Issue No 1 / 2020-21 July 5th, 2020

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MINUTES of the ORDINARY (ZOOM) MEETING, 29th June 2020, 18h15

Scribe: Wendy Goddard

38 users logged into the meeting.

Sergeant Glynis called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone.

President Terry opened the meeting by welcoming partners and guests – Jeremy Opperman,

Michelle Roos and Lisa Lombard – to our 12th Zoom meeting.

Sergeant Glynis lamented that although she enjoyed the Zoom meetings, she missed the wine raffle.

Richard B awarded the virtual wooden spoon to President Terry, for a fantastic year as President,

especially during the last few difficult months.

Lew B recited the Four-Way Test.

Chris B said Grace and proposed the Toast.

Pres Terry inducted Michelle Roos and Lisa Lombard and welcomed them as the newest members of

the Rotary Club of Newlands.

Sergeant Glynis echoed President Terry's welcome to Michelle R and Lisa L.

Graham F introduced the speaker - our very own Shelley Finch.

Shelley started by telling the story of how and why she was locked up in an Indian prison, before

telling us about her one-month backpacking trip around Indonesia – about ten years ago. Her talk

was accompanied by a wonderful slideshow.

Indonesia is good for ecotourism – the good kind, not the exploitative kind. Shelley 'adopted' and

released a baby turtle into the sea, and planted trees.

But the South African Government and the two South African pilots were determined that they would be the first airmen to complete an end-to-end trip to their homeland. Another aircraft, this time a de Havilland DH9, part of the Imperial Gift, was flown to Bulawayo and handed over to the two pilots. Their journey resumed on 17 March and the aviators landed three days later at Young's Field, Wynberg, Cape Town. Their mail cargo of letters had been transferred from aircraft to aircraft and so safely reached its destination. Van Ryneveld and Brand were knighted for their achievement.

Their flight took a total of 45 days with a flight time of 109 hours and 30 minutes. Quite a difference from the less than 12 hours it takes today.

(Ref: http://sapfa.co.za/index.php/2-uncategorised/234-1920-s-london-to-cape-town)

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Shelley undertook a 4-day river journey to see the orangutans in Kementeria Kehutanan. Did you

know that orangutans can't swim? And that orangutan babies stay with their mothers until they are

eight years old? The food on that trip was amazing – fresh and tasty, every meal. Shelley got very

emotional when she saw her first orangutan (Tom) in the wild – it was literally a dream come true.

This was the highlight of Shelley's trip.

Indonesia is a wildlife photographer's paradise.

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, and scooters own the road – a common sight being entire

families and their shopping on the equivalent of a 50cc scooter.

The temples are magnificent, each one telling their own stories with their carvings.

Shelley went to the world's largest Buddhist Temple – Borobudur – which was built in the 9th

century.

Afterwards, she went to Ubud, in Bali, which is more Buddhist than Muslim. There are lots of

offerings in the streets, everywhere you go, which made it very festive. Ubud was very serene – the

only noise was scooters and barking dogs. The monkeys in the Monkey Forest are protected and are

wonderful subjects for photos.

Shelley then travelled by ferry to the Gili Islands, an archipelago of three islands, which were very

beautiful.

In summary, Shelley said that Indonesia is beautiful, exciting and inexpensive – and it is well worth

planning a trip there. The only problem is that the amount of litter and quality of water is not good.

It is a disposable society.

There were a few questions from an appreciative audience.

Sergeant Glynis shared a story about thieving, but tidy, baboons which came into her house recently.

There were a few spots: Jenny I, Geraldine N, Richard B and Wybe M.

President Terry noted the birthdays and anniversaries, and echoed the thanks to Shelley for an

interesting talk.

President Terry also thanked Janey B, Mr Ian Pursch, Jenny I and Shelley F for a wonderful evening on

Saturday night – the Induction 'Dinner' went very smoothly and there was a great feeling of

camaraderie. Congratulations to the Paul Harris recipients, and to Kevin A for his Service to Rotary

award. Congratulations to the recipients of the District awards, as well as to Lew B for his

achievement. Thank you too, to the 2020 Board, especially to Corinne, who is taking a well-earned

rest from the Board, after many years of service. Thank you to Vanessa for four years of service to

Youth on the Board. Finally, Terry thanked all the members for their support during his year and

wished Jenny I all the best for her year as President.

There was no call for Happy Rands – by design, or an oversight?

The meeting was closed at 19h41

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NEWLANDS ROTARY CLUB NEWS

On Saturday 27th June, in a glittering online event, close to 100 guests crammed into Newlands’

Zoom Room to attend the induction of the 27th President of Newlands Rotary, Jenny Ibbotson.

Moderator, Chris Beech deftly handled admissions and enthusiastic welcomes of guests from across

the Rotary world. The Ed could swear that the volume of a Zoom ‘meet and greet’ exceeds that of

even the sonorous ballroom at Kelvin. She learned too that there is no escaping the someone who’s

determined to say ‘hello’ to someone on the faaaar side of the room who has no idea they’re being

spoken to. Learning a lesson here, the Ed landed up randomly offering enthusiastic ‘hellos’ just in

case she’d missed a greeting.

MC, Mr Ian Pursch, was, as always, a

gracious and unflappable host, and

outgoing President Terry Lancaster’s

address included well-deserved awards

to seven Paul Harris Fellows. Their

citations record that the recognition is

“……in appreciation of tangible and

significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding

and friendly relations between the peoples of the world.”

Also acknowledged, for ‘Service above Self’ was Kevin Andersson, our One-to-One 2IC, our wizard

braai master and uber-factotum.

Heidi Andersson Chris Beech Lew Botha Wendy Goddard

Lungie Gwaai-Nzube Jeannine Ibbotson John Stephenson Kevin Andersson

With thanks to Ian and Shelley for the powerpoint slides and thus these pics.

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Guests appear to have used the ‘dinner-break’, to top-up on peanuts, pretzels, nuts and crisps and

the ensuing audio chaos was a substantial test of our moderator’s skill and tact. Some guests

appeared even to top-up on wine and others, thanks to Richard Burnett, on champagne.

Then, in a jaw-dropping feat of supersonic-wizardry, the presidential chain of office made its way

from Bergvliet to Rosebank where, deftly guided-in by Lucy, Jenny’s daughter, it landed neatly on the

shoulders of our incoming President. And thus did President Jenny take office!

Jenny thanked the Club for its support and Terry for ably helming the Newlands ship through waves

of events and surprises that none of us could have prepared for. After introducing her board and

goals for the Rotary year ahead, it was over to our new AG, RC Blouberg’s Lizelle de Wet.

Lizelle’s infectious enthusiasm will be a welcome string to our Newlands bow, but members were

disappointed to learn that dancing on the table and belting out repertoire previously only attempted

by Montserrat Caballé may not be a regular feature of Lizelle’s visits.

‘Godfather’ Paul de Groot, Geraldine Nicol and Vanessa Rousseau then gave the final toasts to

Newlands, Rotary International, and to our partners leaving MC Ian to give a final thanks to the

organizing team and all who attended. For moderator Chris Beech then came the greatest test of

the evening …… getting the guests to leave. Enthusiastic conversations notwithstanding, when one of

the guests switched from DJ to jarmies, Chris could take it no more and bit the ‘end meeting for all’

button. And so another special Newlands induction evening came to a close.

Happily 100 Rotarians and friends in one Zoom space did nothing to dent the enthusiasm of two

Newlands’ special guests and, on Monday 29th, Michelle Roos and Lisa Lombard became the newest

members of the Newlands Rotary family. Welcome Lisa! Welcome Michelle! We’re looking forward

to getting to know you.

President Jenny Ibbotson Assistant Governor Lizelle de Wet

Issue No 1 / 2020-21 July 5th, 2020

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MORE ROTARY NEWS

The Art of Focus

It was fourteen years ago

that Newlands Rotarian,

Lew Botha, sought a spot

at one of our meetings

and urged us all to see Al

Gore’s “An Inconvenient

Truth”. A few months

later, armed with his DVD

of the movie, Lew made

another appeal, this time

offering viewing rights.

Then he brought us the

book and, in 2009, an

alert on Franny

Armstrong’s “The Age of

Stupid”.

Lew knew he and others

were onto something,

and, inconvenient or not,

he was going to pursue it.

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He was going to pursue it.

Happily for Lew, RI

President Ian Risely felt

the same, and so did Ian’s

successor, RIP Barry

Rassin. Actually, RIP Ian

felt that strongly about it

that, wherever his Rotary

travels took him, he

planted a tree, in

September 2017, adding

one to the Company’s

Gardens in Cape Town.

(See left.)

DG Lynette, also an

environmental champion,

added her voice to an

appeal in the media:

RI President Ian Risely's challange to Rotarians for the 2017-18 Rotary Year.

RI President Ian Risely's environmental message.

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FUTURE FIXTURES (Online, for the time being.)

JULY

6 Partners’ Meeting

Speaker: John Winship, Costa Rica

13 Ordinary Meeting

Speaker: Dr Rudi Kimmie, CEO, TSIBA

18 District Rotaract Conference

20 Ordinary Meeting

22 Board Meeting

27 Business Meeting

AUGUST: Membership and Extension Month

3 Partners’ Meeting

10 No Meeting (Public Holiday, Women’s Day)

17 Ordinary Meeting

19 Board Meeting

24 Business Meeting

31 Ordinary Meeting

And then along came

Greta Thunberg, and

Extinction Rebellion, and a

few more inconvenient

sleuths.

And all the while Lew, and

his District Environmental

Sustainability Committee

were chipping away;

networking, writing,

researching and

connecting with ESRAG.

It was the work of ESRAG

(the Environmental

Sustainability Rotarian

Action Group) that

significantly contributed

to the adoption of a 7th

area of Rotary Focus.

Congratulations, Lew and

team. And thank you for

focusing so intently on

this new area of Rotary

focus.

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UMPIRES and SCORERS

6 July 2020 13 July 2020 20 July 2020 Partners Ordinary Ordinary

Sergeant Wybe Meinesz Jeannine Ibbotson Richard House

Four-Way Test Melinda Stapleton Andy Ismay Michael Walwyn

Grace and Loyal Toast John Stephenson Pieter van Aswegen Terry Lancaster

Attendance

Fellowship

Minutes Shân Biesman-Simons Peter Ennis Henry Campbell

Intro speaker Johan Beukman Shelley Finch Ian Pursch

Thank speaker Tony Davidson Chris Beech Vanessa Rousseau

Comment Geraldine Nicol Graham Lowden Graham Finlayson

If you cannot make this duty, please arrange a substitute and let the Sergeant know.

Beforehand. Thank you.

CLUB OFFICE BEARERS

BIRTHDAYS Please sign up

ANNIVERSARIES new members

JOINED ROTARY and help fill these slots.

WOODEN SPOON Terry Lancaster

LOOKING FOR MEMBERS’ CONTACT INFORMATION ?

Download the ClubRunner App from the Playstore or the AppStore. And if you’ve lost your login details, send wine to the Secretary

or WhatsApp +27 82 378 7800.

Issue No 1 / 2020-21 July 5th, 2020

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AND the LAST WORD …..

“Words, words, words, I’m so sick of words, I get words all day through, first from him, now from you ….. now the editor’s adding some too?”…. (with apologies to Lerner & Leowe, and Eliza in My Fair Lady.)

And, yes, just a few more words (to make up for those that will no longer appear in my cover note).

A new Rotary year means a new handbook. If you’ve not previously held one, now’s your chance to

do so. The handbook contains all the information you need to navigate this Rotary Year. Of course,

you can view it online but it’s best downloaded to your computer’s desktop for easy access and

reference. It will also help you win friends and influence people. (No, really!)

Meanwhile, Master Sergeant Mike Walwyn has been working

away on the Sergeant’s Roster and the schedule up until

December is attached.

Then we have a request from Heidi: If you are unable to

attend a Club meeting, please send apologies. Zoom meetings

notwithstanding, Heidi still monitors attendance and although

participation may seem evident from our Zoom screens, some

of us have not-so-dependable internet connections, which

means, to her possible consternation, we ‘pop in and out’ or

perhaps don’t pop in at all.

Lastly, induction season is not quite over. Check out DG

David’s last newsletter for the schedule. As far as this Ed can

see, they are all online but, who knows, maybe a Club in our

District will try the socially-distanced option suggested

alongside.

See you on the moro….