What’s UpWhat’s UpThe Rosedale Newsletter

January 2019

A special New Year’s message from chair Stephen Leibbrandt to all the Rosedale Service Centre mem-

bers in particular and readers in general:

Food for thought: we’re nearly a fifth of the way through the 21st century and, as we enter 2019, I’d like to wish you as well as your nearest and dearest only good things with special emphasis on staying healthy.

The world is moving at a very fast pace – what with Twitter, Instagram etc. – but, at Rosedale, we take the view that we’re here to have fun and if it’s at a slower rate, then so be it. Which means, dear readers, that the committee is

THINKING OF YOU Whether it is in celebratory style (birthdays and an-niversaries) or maybe you’ve been poorly (sick or even hospitalised), perhaps there’s some consolation in knowing that you’re very much in our thoughts, in particular to Jenny Jewell and her family on the passing of Syd on 28 December.

WELCOME to Colleen Yeates (2NR) and David Kenny (109R) who we hope have now settled into their re-spective new abodes.

GOODBYE to Daphne Roux who has moved to the George and Annie Starke Home in Pinelands, as well as Laura Stevens who has moved into a frail care centre in Port Elizabeth where 2 of her sons are based.

FUNCTIONS AND EVENTS

The little ones from Odette Leach’s Kay-Dee Educare Centre enter-tained the residents on Thursday

6 December to a festive season song-and-dance routine and I don’t know who enjoyed it more – them or us.

Odette is, of course, Lita Gonsalves’ daughter and you can see the love she has for the kiddies under her care.

planning some entertaining events dur-ing its tenure till the AGM in July. We are always open to suggestions so, do pass on any good ideas you might have. I can be contacted at 082 95 95 911.

Besides the social activities we will be involved in we’re remain aware of the needs of the military veterans that the SA Legion supports and it is with great pleasure that I can report that the tak-ings for Poppy Day reached the record figure of R105,000 which, in essence, means 100+ military veterans will be on the receiving end of the Legion’s wel-fare. You’ll agree that’s a great way to kick off the New Year!

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That’s Entertainment

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New Legionnaires inducted

Manager David Holmes and Exco chair Ray Nesset had the pleasure of inducting 14 legion-

naires on Thursday 6 December. They were: C Buys, L Byrnes, R Docherty, A Ingram, T Kain, N Lefevre, M Melamed, K & R Newby, S Ritchie, S Sainsbury, H Shagham, A Tarr, T Venn & E Wittert.

The SA Legion’s mantra, which Da-vid read out and which the inductees agreed to uphold, is worth repeating:

The Legion provides a non-sectari-an, apolitical, national organisation for those who have served in the armed

services and those who recognise and accept the ideals of service to others. It perpetuates the memory of those who have given their lives for their country and fosters the spirit of self-sacrifice, service and comradeship amongst the living. The Legion stands for solidari-ty, upliftment and peace in our country but recognises that a prepared defence force is necessary.

Ray Nessett then asked the candi-dates whether they subscribed to these objectives and their readiness to ad-vance them in the name of the Legion

and, having said the formal “I do”, they were then formally admitted as members of the Cape Town branch of the South African Legion of Military Veterans. He concluded the formal proceedings by re-minding us of the Legion’s motto - Not for ourselves but for others – and asked members to serve our comrades and their dependants who are in need or in distress.

Time afterwards for recruits and es-tablished members to mingle over a ver-itable spread of snacks and utilise the cash bar on hand.

Inductee Nicole Lefevre, Ray Nessett & David Holmes. Peter Napier, John Woolley & Meg Napier.

Christmas Dinner

SA Legion’s Christmas dinner on Saturday 8 December was a jolly affair with a full complement

of hungry legionnaires and residents sit-ting down to a sumptuous spread pre-

pared in-house. Well done, Philippa, and the kitchen

team who served up a delicious three-course meal.

Thanks also to the residents who

helped lay the tables, to Nicola Webb and Sue Gow for taking the pictures and Sue for florally adorning each table.

David Brackley, Gail Thornton & Veronica Trollip. Jean Todd, Mary Bremner& Desiré Boltman

Gill & Andrew McLaren & John Verster.

John Gandy & Marianne Minnaar.

Robbie Roberts, Exco memberPeter & Marietjie Muirhead.

Martha Janse van Rensburg,Daphne Roux & Yvonne Rosslind.

What a Wonderful World

A special handout of gifts took place in the lounge on Wednesday 12 December at 17:00.

This generous – indeed, let me say, unbelievable - contribution to the happi-ness and welfare of Rosedale residents was a tribute to Biddy Jackson and was organised by her adopted daughter Vir-ginia Johnson.

Virginia on keyboard, daughter Debbie Nordien, Diana Woodhouse, Guy Woodhouse & Paul Koning, withgrandsons Caleb & Saige

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But before the actual handing out to residents who enjoyed tea and biscuits in the lounge, the quartet entertained us with renditions of “Georgia”, “Singin’ in the Rain” and that all-time favourite “What a Wonderful World”.

Del & Virginia get help from grandson Caleb in handing out the Clicks gift vouchers.

Christmas Carol Service

Ho, ho, ho … Tim reads from the scriptures.A message of good cheer from

Bishop Frank Retief.

This event, under the leadership of chair Stephen Leibbrandt, contin-ues to be an annual highlight. Of

course, I’m talking about the Christmas Carol Service which was held on Sat-urday 15 December.

A veritable number of residents and their families and friends were accom-panied in song by our very own choir as well as members of the Cape Welsh Choir and the band from St Peter’s, Fish Hoek, with Ralph Kelly on piano.

Tim Reilly delivered the Bible reading, Luke 19:1-10, and the message by re-nowned Bishop Frank Retief who spoke of keeping the door open and answering the knock to let the Saviour in.

Father Christmas arrived in his very own custom-made sleigh (created by Sue Gow and John Moulder) and hand-ed out sweets to the audience.

During the singing of “Away in a Manger”, children dressed the crib, set-ting the scene for the nativity. From the

lounge to the lawns where boerie/frank-furter rolls were dished up that hungry attendees enjoyed either with a glass from the cash bar or a cup of tea or cof-fee.

Christmas hats off to chair Stephen Leibbrandt who led the team that worked so hard on making this an outstanding evening’s entertainment.

The nearly 200-strong audience sings joyfully. The musicians in full refrain.

Sue helps Benjamin to create the nativity scene. Team leader Stephen proudly conducts the choir.

Declared the best boerie rolls ever!(And judging by the queue, that claim is spot-on.)

Pianist Ralph also gets a sweetie.

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A-list Christmas Spread

The A-list spread produced by Del Davies and Phyllis Webb on Christmas Day once again proved

to be uit die boeke uit, especially given the economic climate that prevails.

How they do it remains a mystery – and these visuals capture the essence of a very special day:

The true spirit of Christmas

Still in the spirit of Christmas, the SA Legion spread its message of good cheer to the many military

veterans it supports. Here the men at Beth Rogelim Salva-

tion Army in the Waterfront receive their parcels on Friday December 14.

I carried the message from David Holmes that, courtesy of the SA Legion and, through the shop where Kevin Webb works, clothing has been set aside for this establishment and for the benefit of all who reside there.

Desmond Barnard and Glenn Bock set the scene. A contender for

next year’s Santa Clause?

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Temporary home to military veterans

Wynberg’s 2 Military Hospital is temporary home to many mili-tary veterans who are receiv-

ing treatment there and as a result will not be with their loved ones over the festive season.

On December 21 David Holmes (back row) and Peter Napier delivered gift parcels to Maj. RS van Zyl (left Maj. Helen Motseane) to be handed out to these unfortunate individuals on Xmas Day and hopefully bring a little joy into their lives.

Goodbye 2018, welcome 2019

Anthony van Reenen (right) has been living with motor neuron disease for nearly five years and is wheelchair- and home-bound, but his dark days are made more cheerful by Coco, a 2½ year-old golden cocker spaniel who was only too glad to have rubs and scratches from the Legion’s visitors.

Anthony van Reenen and Coco.

New Year’s Eve (also known as Saint Sylvester’s Day) is, of course, the last day of the year

and in true tradition more than 50 of us gathered in the Wreck Room on Monday 31 December to say goodbye (and, for some of us, good riddance!) to 2018 and see in 2019.

The fires were lit, glasses charged, music playing and a grand time was had by all. Here’s the proof. Thought you might be interested to know that Austral-ia is not the first country to welcome in the New Year.

No, that honour goes to Samoa, Ton-ga and Kiritimati (Christmas Island), part of Kiribati, while American Samoa and Baker Island in the United States of America are among the last.

The first three-named islands lie west of the artificial boundary known as the international date line, set up in 1884

to separate two consecutive calendar dates, which follows a 180-degree longi-tude irregularly from North Pole to South Pole.

Having written that about Australia, one small (it only has two permanent residents) outback town in Australia has triple the reason to celebrate: Cameron Corner (on the borders of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia) and more than 1,300km from Brisbane is situated in a rather unique position: it lies between the three state’s time zones, which are each 30 minutes behind one another. These two locals and far flung party goers alike ring in the countdown with each state on New Year’s Eve.

Says old-timer Fenn Miller, ‘We go over to the corner post, we do the big happy new year in New South Wales – then we slide into South Australia and half an hour later we do it all again, and half again later we do it all again in Queensland.’

Hogamanay, Cranachan, and Athole Brose

Ever wondered where Hogmanay got its name? Well, the etymol-ogy of the word remains un-

clear, although it could come from the Anglo-Saxon ‘haleg monath’ meaning holy month or possibly from the French where in Normandy presents given at Hogmanay were ‘hoguignetes’.

It is believed that the celebration itself may have been introduced to Scotland by the Vikings, who invaded Scotland in the 8th and 9th Centuries. The Norse raiders would celebrate the Winter Sol-stice with lively parties, a tradition that’s continued throughout the years for Scots celebrating the New Year. Certainly ‘Hogmanay’ became more widespread after Mary Queen of Scots returned to her home country after visiting France in

1561. Today, a person entering the home of

another is expected to bring them gifts such as whisky, shortbread or black bun, before being presented with food and drink by the host, the drink more of-ten than not being Atholl Brose (or Athol Brose, Athole Brose, named after the 1st Earl of Atholl, who quashed a High-land rebellion in 1475 by filling the re-bel leader’s well with the mixture, mak-ing him easily captured). It is obtained by mixing oatmeal brose, whisky and sometimes cream (particularly on fes-tive occasions).

When made with cream the drink is rather like Baileys Irish Cream. Atholl Brose has also become an alternative name for the dessert Cranachan, which

uses similar ingredients.Some of the fun facts about the event

are that for good luck you should eat black-eyed peas, ham, and cabbage on New Year’s Eve or Day because it is be-lieved they will bring you money, where-as lobster and chicken are considered bad luck because lobsters can move backward and chickens can scratch in reverse, so it is thought these foods could bring a reversal of fortune.

Auld Lang Syne“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scots-language poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song (Roud # 6294). It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world, its traditional use being to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. By extension, it is also sung at funerals, graduations, and as a farewell or ending to other occasions. The international Scouting movement in many countries uses it to close jamborees and other functions.The poem’s Scots title may be translated into standard English as “old long since” or, more idiomatically, “long long ago”, “days gone by”, or “old times”. Conse-quently, “For auld lang syne”, as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be loosely translated as “for the sake of old times”.The phrase “Auld Lang Syne” is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686–1757), and James Watson (1711), as well as older folk songs pre-dating Burns. Matthew Fitt uses the phrase “in the days of auld lang syne” as the equivalent of “once upon a time” in his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language.

Did you know?2 Military Hospital in Wynberg is one of three military hospitals in South Af-rica.The others are 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria and 3 Military Hospital in Bloemfontein. There are also four specialized insti-tutes - the Institute for Aviation Med-icine, the Institute for Maritime Med-icine, the Military Veterinary Institute and the Military Psychological Insti-tute.

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Barking up the same tree

Our very keen and active group of garden enthusiasts met recent-ly and, led by manager David

Holmes, discussed ways and means of creating even more attractive surrounds at Rosedale than we enjoy at present.

A working committee was formed, each member being allocated his or her area of responsibility, with Kevin New-ton unanimously being voted in as chair, who will invite feedback from each dele-gate to be discussed and progress mon-itored at monthly meetings.

A hearty round of applause to Sue Gow for her sterling contribution to gar-

dening matters these past years. She has been a leading light in seeing the grounds reach the stage they’re at to-day: simply lovely given, amongst oth-er setbacks, severe water restrictions. She’s handing over a fine set of reins and will be quite content just to – as she puts it, “Do my little patch”. She contin-ues, “Thanks to all those residents and the staff who have supported me in var-ious ways and to the gardeners who have assisted.”

RemindersA reminder that the next Social Dance evening will be held on Friday 18 January 2019 at 19:30 – cost R15 pp. Bring your own XYZ and enquir-ies to Carmen on 021-6857045 / 079 191 7371.

A memory-jog about Jimmy’s Golf Day on Friday 29 March, a fund-raising drive for 71 Signal Unit (the SANDF Reserve Unit) and the Signals Association. Details about the competition itself, the prizes to be won and how you can contribute can be read in the attached. What I don’t have to remind you about is how much Robbie Roberts has done for Rosedale; now it’s our turn to recipro-cate so get to it, guys!

Come rain or shine, Cavendish Square management continues to support Rosedale via its bi-month-ly bus service to and from the mall. Anne Huddy collected money that was handed to Mr Jacobs for his safe driving skills and helpful attitude. Some have only utilised this service once or twice, but still they dug deep to make a donation and their contri-bution is highly appreciated. Sea-sonal good wishes and thanks were emailed to Lana-Maree Arendse at Cavendish Square.

Days of our lives

On 21 January (nicely slotted in between Christmas and Val-entine’s Day) the Americans cel-

ebrate Hug Day which I consider to be a wonderful opportunity to express our ad-miration for and love of those around us.

We don’t show physical love nearly enough and it is a proven fact that peo-ple who hug on a regular basis have closer bonds and trust each other more than those who don’t. So, expect a hug from Moi this fine day and hopefully I’ll get one in return.

A new look

Share your copy of the newsletter with a friend or tablemate and if you remove the

newsletter from the noticeboard in order toread it please put it back for the benefit of others.

Till next time – keep smiling

The Rosedale Service Centre CommitteeThe opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the SA Legion or Rosedale Service Centre

and/or its members. Ideas for future articles can be relayed to Lucille Byrne s flat 211 Rosedale tel. 021-6854375 / 083 558 4900 email lucillebyrnes@gmail.com

Born and raised in Ireland, Matt Tennyson did his last two years of schooling in South Africa before

being called up for National Service. Because of his limited knowledge of

Afrikaans he ended up joining the Per-manent Force where he spent eight years.

He then spent more than three dec-ades as a conflict journalist, travelling to war zones around the world, reporting, photographing, and filming.

He is currently the editor of Military Despatches, a monthly on-line maga-zine that has just over 90,000 readers.

He is no stranger to Rosedale as he is a member of Admiral Halifax Moth Shellhole that meets once a month at Rosedale.

I’ve been struggling with pagination problems in creating What’s Up news-letter and my Christmas present was an offer from Matt to do it in a more profes-sional format.

So, readers, this is the first issue in a new format and what I’d like from you is your reaction and comments.

Enjoy.