During this time of COVID-19 it is timely that we focus on the question of mental health, including our own together with that of family and friends.
Rotary has a Mental Health Action Group and on their website I recently read a poignant story about Frank Bruno – boxing world champion, UK national treasure and a mental health ambassador.
Frank, who grew up with five brothers and sisters in a terrace house in south London, attended a school for ‘problem’ children where he honed his boxing skills.
The discipline of sport kept Frank on the straight and narrow, as he won all of his fights as a young amateur heavyweight, before turning professional.
With a charming manner, hearty laugh, and neat turn of phrase, Frank also became a television celebrity.
In September 1995, the 6ft 3in Bruno defeated Oliver McCall to be crowned World Heavyweight Champion.
However, within eight years, Frank was facing a fight of a totally different complexity, where the opponent was not standing in the ring in front of him. Instead, this opponent was in his head.
In 2003, then aged 42, he suffered the first of three mental breakdowns after his marriage broke down.
Frank became very vocal about the treatment he received and decided to speak out for the thousands who suffer in silence, either as a patient or a carer.
In 2017 the loveable world champion boxer described mental health as “undoubtedly the biggest battle I’ve ever had to win” and he told his story in an autobiography, “Let Me Be Frank”.
The book is a deeply personal story, where Frank talks about his battle with mental illness, the impact his illness has had on his family and his career - and his long road back to stability.
Frank is now a mental health campaigner, advising large organisations, and government agencies and he has opened up his own mental health centre.
This inspirational story about Frank Bruno can be read in the April/May 2020 edition of Rotary Great Britain & Ireland.
Until next time
Yours in Rotary
Sue
District Governor Mark Humphries and Past President Linda Humphries
Greetings to all Rotarian members at Mt Eliza and other readers of this Bulletin.
This week I thought hat I would reproduce a great story in the recent Rotary Zone 8 Public Image publication.
International Students at Universities around Australia have been unexpected victims of Covid-19. Many have been stranded by border closures unable to return to their home countries, have lost their part-time jobs and have being ‘doing it tough’ during lockdown. Rotary clubs, learning of their predicament, have organised meals for those students who have gone hungry. PDG Di North (pictured below with black mask) from District 9675 has assisted feeding students from Wollongong University.
She said, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rotary Club of West Wollongong has been helping to feed the international students at the University of Wollongong with thanks to Rotarian Harry Hunt from Hunts Hotel in Liverpool. Harry cooks up the meals for us to distribute. Today I assisted Jim Christensen and Arthur Booth. Other groups provide bread, fruit and vegetables. “
Rotary feeds International Students
What a fantastic story! Part of the broad mosaic of Rotary activities across the globe.
Our guest speaker at this week's Rotary Zoom meeting was Janette Etherington, the Interplast Rotarian Engagement Coordinator.
Interplast sends teams of volunteer plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and allied health professionals to provide life changing surgery and medical training in seventeen countries across Asia-Pacific.
This work is undertaken in partnerships with local organisations, including hospitals, universities and local non government organisations.
The mission of Interplast is to "repair bodies and rebuild lives".
Janette describes her role as her "dream job".
Janette has been a Rotarian for 6 years. She is a member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Nunawading, in District 9810.
Her Rotary journey originally started when she was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Nunawading to attend RYLA when she was 19.
In Janette's previous work lives she has held a number of senior management positions in retail, bookselling and the apprenticeship sector, working in both commercial and not-for-profit sectors.
While Janette doesn't have any medical qualifications, she has absolute passion for the work that Interplast does, and the difference it makes to so many peoples’ lives.
Janette pointed out that since 1982 Interplast has performed in excess of 26,510 patient surges and has supported approximately 8,120 training opportunities for medical personal in the 17 countries in which it works.
Janette shared a number of "before" and "after" photographs with us, detailing the amazing corrective work undertaken by the surgeons.
The following photos of "Maria" are examples of the great work that Interplast undertakes.
"Maria" - before and after
Over the years a total of $43,895 has been donated to Interplast by the Rotary Club of Mt Eliza and one very generous individual member of our Club.
Jeanette explained that the work of Interplast in 2020 has been impacted by COVID-19 and she talked about work on that disease being undertaken in each of the 17 countries, both by Interplast and other agencies, including the World Health Organisation.
While all of the 60 to 70 on site programs planned by Interplast have been postponed because of COVID-19, many activities are now being undertaken on-line. This includes with training and doctors and nurses providing online assistance to local medical staff through the use of smart phones and iPads.
Jeanette's talk was followed up with a lengthy question and answer session. Feedback from members has suggested that Jeanette's session was one of the best that we have been able to have using Zoom. We look forward to her being able to visit us in person at a later date.
One of the methods used by comedians to get a laugh [given you are paying him or her for the entertainment] is to make fun of others’ misfortunes. ‘Vicarious’ experience. Some of the best examples often start off simply; the efforts of an individual to undertake a simple task. 'What could possibly go wrong?'.
The Good and Current wife attests to anyone who will listen that I am not a ‘handyman’. She also tells people that I am the Mt Eliza branch of Bunnings. I at least look like I can be of use. The tradies who show up are in awe of my collection.
But I digress. One would think attaching a new TV to an existing wall bracket would be a snap, because the mounting plates all are VESA Standard. Well, yes and no. Mine was, except that it could not be rotated 90° so the holes would not align. Did you ever see the Monty Python ‘Life Insurance’ sketch where a man is shot by an arrow through a window in a high – rise in the City of London? John Cleese [the underwriter] says …. ‘Aha! Except if you are killed by an arrow…. etc’.
The wall mount was vertically fixed to a stud through the plaster. I ordered a new mount. Of course, it attached to the wall horizontally and [do not believe what RAMSET tell you] their fasteners pull out of plaster board. By this stage, the number of holes in the wall mirrored the finest Emmentaler cheese. Feeling eyes boring into the back of my head, I filled in the holes in, then sanded and painted the wall. I did actually use one of my RYOBI sanders, ex Bunnings.
‘Our’ tradie Brett is marooned in Bittern, so plan B failed. Creatively, I ordered yet another bracket [yet to arrive, because of the throw – away line: Corona Virus Delays]. The new one is vertical – mount. Its arrival may cause a new adventure.
So, I hear you say, ‘Why did you not check the wall bracket direction with the first order?’ I ponder this; The Good Wife asks much the same. I was distracted by ensuring the holes in the TV plate were spaced correctly. The perfect decoy. I now have a comprehensive stock of RAMSET fasteners for future use. A leather lounge chair doubles as a TV stand [It is otherwise known as the David Rew / John Gilbert wine chair.
Collateral damage: As one does, The Good and Current Wife then ordered a ‘shot locker wine rack’? It sits juxtaposed to the Rew / Gilbert armchair, meaning we had to dispose of some fire tongs and a perfectly good compact stereo. But wait, there’s more! Another leather armchair will ‘appear’ in a couple of months in case said Gentlemen arrive simultaneously.
In addition, I got to meet Jehd [my favourite grandchild Ella’s beau]. A Sparky, Jehd is moonlighting at Church a.k.a. Bunnings –Jehd is seen here explaining to PE Neil Heron and hostage ‘Look, Sir, you were an august teacher. I respectfully submit that you measure dimensions accurately next time, before ordering timber’.
The brackets cost $30………No Good Deed goes unpunished, as Good Friend Daniel says.
Be in good health.
Ross
The Rew / Gilbert Chair showing wine rack within easy grasp.
Jehd dealing with a puzzled PE and escaping child.
Message from Rotarian Brynton Fennell, Vocational Director:
It is "Shine On Recognition" time again, when the Rotary International Shine On Committee invites you to nominate a volunteer with a disability or chronic illness so that their community spirit and efforts can be celebrated.
The Nomination Form for 2020-2021 was distributed by Secretary Pauline McFarlane to all members on behalf of Vocational Director Brynton. It also has an information sheet: "Shine On what is it?"
Please would you read the documents and should you know of someone, or of a local community organisation in our area of service, please would you send it on to them. We would then need the completed nomination documentation returned to me.
Our goal is to acknowledge and celebrate the volunteer work performed by people with a disability and/or chronic illness. These are people who put in so much effort to assist others and yet they do it willingly.
Should you have a candidate, please forward the nomination documentation to Brynton, and he will forward it to the Board for consideration.
Rotarian Frank Flowers has kindly spent time writing about his involvement and favourite memories of our Club as we celebrate 50 years of Rotary in Mt Eliza, as follows:
My journey in Rotary started in May, 1999, when I was Proposed as a Member by Alex Pigdon and inducted into the Club by the then President, Harry Macdonald. Both Barb and I received a terrific welcome, and before that Rotary year was out, we had enjoyed Home Hosting at the Manchester’s home. This was the first of many Home Hosting events over the past 21 years and they were a wonderful way to get to know the other Rotarians and their partners. In my third year I was appointed Community Services Director, a role that I enjoyed. One of the projects was the Community Notice Board outside what was then known as Safeway. This was to be built by Council contractors as part of the Streetscape project, with the Club paying half of the cost. It was a relatively simple structure which cost $5,200, with our share being $2,600. I think our share was plenty to pay for this item, having unwieldy top hinged screens and being located on Safeway land. It was my first experience of dealing with the Council, and I was not impressed. In 2004, Past President Harry Macdonald persuaded the Minister for Veterans Affairs, Bruce Billson, to provide $4,000 seed funding for the Memorial Garden. Various locations were considered, with the North Eastern corner of the grassed area in front of the Community Centre being preferred. In the end, the current location in front of the Senior Citizen’s building was chosen. This has proved to be an excellent choice, having tea and coffee facilities close by, power available and the ability to borrow chairs for the Anzac and Remembrance Day services. The design for the garden was prepared by Ric Berg, with virtually no change to that design in the final result. The white stone for the wall came from the fountain on the Village green. Contractors built the wall on an extremely strong, well engineered footing. When the wall was finished, we had a large number of stones left over. These stones were about 60cm. x 45cm. x 45cm, very heavy. We put them behind the wall for the Council to collect, but some unknown person collected them first. We should have left them out the front of the wall and made their job harder. The wall was finished, the plaque installed and the lone pine planted in time for Remembrance Day, 2007. The footing for the flagpole was prepared but not complete. By the next April, for Anzac Day, we were in much better shape. We had to fund the paving, to be repaid for by Council. This amount was eventually recovered some 15 months later. When it came to the solar powered floodlight costing about $7,000, we waited until the Council were prepared to actually pay for it. They had money from CB Hotel to cover lighting, which was offset against a deficit in parking spaces. The initial watering of the garden was from the Hotel supply. Our Club paid for the two seats, which were made from recycled material with vandal proof screws. It was a project that I was proud to be part of from start to finish, with a result that has been a great asset to the community, with Anzac and Remembrance Day services presided over, firstly by Harry Macdonald and for the past 9 or 10 years by Alex Anderson. In 2006, I accepted nomination as President for the 2008 – 2009 Rotary year. The year as President Elect – Club/ Service Director was very valuable preparation for the role, with a lot of help from John Horscroft and Paul Harvey, being my previous Presidents. I felt very happy, in retrospect, that I accepted the President’s role and felt that it helped my knowledge of Rotary, communication skills and the honour of dealing with people outside of Rotary as President gave me much satisfaction. We maintained a membership in the high 50’s with strong Fellowship within the Club. We continued with the development of the Young Carers Scholarships, with over 70 scholarships of average $500 provided to young people who had a Carers role for their parent or sibling. This was funded by the Young Carers Race Day at Mornington Racecourse. The first of the Gigantic Garage Sale was held at Peninsula School. This event, proposed by Richard Robinson, continued for many years and raised substantial funds for Rotary projects.
Internationally, initiated by our first Friend of the Rotary Club of Mt Eliza, Alana Street, we funded food vouchers for the nursing mothers at the Kimbe Maternity Hospital. This was done in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Kimbe. The Hospital did not provide meals, nor many other necessities, and for a modest amount, we provided many vouchers for the nursing mothers from the local food store. Locally, we renovated all of the bedrooms at Fusion, which accommodates young people who have an upset home life or are otherwise at risk. Painting all of the rooms, providing new beds, mattresses and bedding helped give these young people more comfortable rooms. One of the roles I enjoyed, starting prior to my Presidency and continuing thereafter was as Chair of the Membership Committee for several years. The first time on the Membership Committee was working with PDG John Dunn, who gave excellent guidance, particularly with respect to the information session with each proposed new member. I feel it is a gift that we can offer membership to Rotary, and it is our duty to ensure that each new member is best prepared about our Club on the benefits and responsibilities of Rotary Membership. In 2016-17, the then Membership Chairman resigned from Rotary early in the Rotary year, so I again took on that role. I had a target of 8 new members, just missing by 1, and 3 of those members in that year have gone on to be President. I also looked after the Bulletin for 4 years, which again helps one know about what is going on within the Club. It also forced me to improve my computer skills. All of these roles are very much dependent on support from others and the fellowship and teamwork of Rotary are what makes Rotary such a wonderful organisation. In 2012, a speaker from the Peninsula Branch of the Riding for the Disabled spoke at Rotary, suggesting that they were looking for volunteers. I took up that suggestion and have very much enjoyed my involvement in the RDA. Although not from a horse background, I have learnt so much about grooming, saddling, feeding and handling horses, particularly with respect to young riders with a disability. The reward that one gets from helping a young person with a disability grow from being too shy to even get on a horse, to the stage that they can confidently ride a 15 hand, 500 kg. horse is most heart-warming, and for that reason I look forward to attending every week. In the past 8 years, Rotary Mt Eliza has made substantial donations towards the purchase of horses, horse shelters, stall matting and the arena fencing. To the many friendships that Barb and I have made through Rotary, for the opportunity to be part of the Community Projects and for the self-development through Rotary roles, I am extremely grateful.
Our first female Rotarian at Mt Eliza, Trish Stamp, recounts her introduction to and memories of Rotary:
It was a bit of a thrill when Harry McDonald and John Dunn came into my office many years ago to see if I would like to join the Rotary Club of Mt Eliza. I of course accepted the invitation and off I went to George Vowell a few Tuesday nights later to my first meeting. I was greeted quite warmly but there was one member in particular (Harry, and I can't think of his surname) who was trying to do his best to make me shocked and perhaps leave by telling dirty jokes. I was not shocked and just laughed with the rest of the members. I loved the projects we did as in tidying up the walking paths at George Vowell so the visually impaired didn’t have obstacles, as in branches and twigs, to contend with. Another one was going up to the market gardens in the Cheltenham area and get to harvest the vegetables that were not considered good enough for the shops. They we just wonky shapes but fine to eat. We took them to a food bank in Dandenong. John Dunn would entertain us doing his exercises between the garden beds. John was a fair age at that stage but fit as a fiddle and very entertaining and loved the ladies. I love the reason for Rotary and these days love organizing the hampers at Christmas that was started by a past member Bev Clancy. This year may be a challenge getting all the donations that I have managed to get over the past couple of years. Another great project that I was involved with were the initial talks on was the Farmers Market. In normal times the Market brings in some good revenue for our club. There have been interesting moments at the club over the last couple of years, and I can't wait to get back to proper meetings at Toorak College. I love hearing the guest speakers at meetings and we have been very lucky with them still being able to talk at the zoom meetings. However, just not the same as being at Toorak.
Due to space constraints, further great Graham Reid stories will appear next time. In addition, Honorary Member Reg Smith has also made a wonderful contribution. Stand by!
Her husband stood by, looking concerned and ready to help.
Suddenly she called out "Shouldn't! Wouldn't!" Couldn't! Didn't! Can't!"
The father to be looked up in dismay.
"Don't worry", the doctor reassured him, "Those are just contractions!"
A bear walked into a bar and said to the barman, "Give me a whiskey ....................................................... and cola."
The barman asked, "Why the big pause?"
The bear replied, "I'm not sure. I was born with them."
A fellow walked into a bank in New York City and applied for a loan of $4000.
"Well", said the loans officer, "Before we lend you the money we are going to need some form of security."
"No problem", said the man, "Come with me".
They walked out into the bank carpark and the was a black, top of the range, Mercedes Benz AMG63.
"The car is mine", the man said. "Here are the registration papers".
He continued, "I only need the loan for three weeks. You can keep the car in the meantime."
The loan was organised, the documents signed and the man left.
Three weeks later he came in and repaid the $4,000 loan, plus $24 interest.
The loans officer said to the man, "I can't understand it. We checked you out after you left and you are a millionaire any times over. Why did you need to borrow $4,000?"
"Well", the man replied, "To be honest, it's quite simple, while I was staying here in New York for three weeks, where else could I park my car for $24?"
An old man went to the doctor complaining of a terrible pain in his left leg.
"I'm afraid its just old age", replied the doctor. "There is nothing that we can do about it".
"That can't be," fumed the old man. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Listen", said the doctor. "I am qualified to know these things. How come you think that you know better?"
"Well", said the old man, "You say my left leg's problem is old age. But my right leg is fine and it's the exact same age!"
Terry was at a seminar when a guest speaker started talking; comparing a company's success with a long happy marriage.
The speaker look around the room and said, "Who has been married for twenty or more years?"
Quite a few hands went up.
"OK", said the speaker, "who has been married for over 40 years?'
Three or four hands went up.
The speaker then said, "Right, let's find out who has been really successful. Stand up if you have been married for 50 years."
Terry was the only person to stand up.
"Wow", said the speaker, "Come out here. Tell me when did you get married?"
Terry replied, "I was married on 26 August 1970. That's fifty years ago tomorrow."
The speaker gushed, "That's fantastic. Perhaps your can give us some insights from which we can learn. What do you do for your wife that makes your marriage so successful?"
Terry thought for a moment and said, "Well, I try to be nice, buy her presents, take her on trips ... and best of all, for our 25th Wedding Anniversary I took her to Bali."
"That's inspirational", said the speaker. "What are you going to do for your 50th anniversary?"
"Well", said Terry, "I'm thinking of going back to Bali to pick her up!"
Orders are now being taken for Meals from Toorak Collegefor Tuesday 1 September 2020.
These main meals are packaged in foil trays ready to reheat in the oven. This means that they can be eaten when you wish and not necessarily on the day of delivery.
The menu for week 5 (delivered on Tuesday 1 September) is:
Salmon patties (burgers - those lovely ones you make with fresh salmon)
Broccoli and cauliflower gratin
Carrot and pineapple cake with cream cheese icing)
The cost of each meal is $15 and your can pay cash when delivered (preferred) or pay by credit card over the telephone.
It is requested that anyone who wishes to order the coming week's meal, delivered on Tuesday 1 September, email Jim Young by 11.30 am this Friday, 28 August. (James.young03@bigpond.com)
Kindly indicate the number of meals required and confirm your address for delivery.
