Guests: Guide Rtn John Sandham, Haydn & Sue Baillie, Rtn Briony Casburn, Ros Elms, Graham Ey, Karen Forrest, Bronwyn Kenny, Vivienne Liddle, Madeleine Martin, Ali Mostaghim, David Short
Attendance: 19 members 12 guests
In the absence of President Nathan, Jerry Casburn implicitly opened the meeting at Friends Gate of the Botanic Gardens at 6.30pm.....or something like this.
A Tour of the Botanic Gardens with John Sandham
Photos were taken of the assembled throng to ensure that we did not lose anyone....and it worked.John Sandham who is a member of Coromandel Valley Rotary and curator of the Gardens took us on a leisurely stroll. He explained that the Gardens needed more funding. Significant assistance is provided by Friends of the Gardens and volunteers.
These gardens were established as the cultural heart of Adelaide from the mid 1800s and were made possible by the good burgers of Adelaide pursuing civic duty and creation of lasting legacies with large dollops of cash. Dr Richard Schomburgk, a botanist, was the second director and unstintingly splashed out on imported plants from around the globe; he commissioned Palm House (see John opposite in front of it).
The first stop was the 300 yo river red gum which is only one of 2 trees to survive since the gardens were first established...many lives have been saved from falling boughs as these trees are diabolical. Bats (or actually flying foxes) are partial to the aleppo pines and have to be shifted to minimise damage. During the heat of summer they become stressed and need to be cooled down.....on the 40+ degree days, volunteers help gather up the young which have fallen from the trees.
Among the many highlights we had the:
ambiance of being in lush green surroundings with large and imposing trees....and being the only ones there!
tree planted to remember the Bali bombing
Palm House with curtain glass which was built from a kit early in the late 19th century. It was one of only 14 of that type (in kit form) and the only one to survive to today. Palm Houses were a must in many cities across the globe at that time. The Schomburgk grotto was built from German coral 'stone'.
Amazon Water Lily Pavilion with outstanding lily species (enormous pads) from South America and the Caribbean
Simpson Shade House with its large staghorns
and last but not least, evolution of the park which had changed in shape and texture over the past 130+ years
There was also the identification of carnivorous plants, development of wetlands to improve water sustainability, the demise of the once marvelous conservatory (too much carbon generated), the dead house which catered for cadavers from the early lunatic asylum, the long standing rose garden, the cactus array plus dahlia plantings, and seed bank enhancement. Below are the spectacular lily pads plus the unloved conservatory.
Our journey finished at 8.00pm with guide John being thanked in a generous fashion, and then off to The Stag for a surfeit of straw chips......at which time the meeting implicitly closed. A leisurely stroll back to Plane Tree Drive followed the gourmet meal.
By Kristin Brown, past president, Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse
The Evanston Lighthouse Rotary Ride to End polio team.
We ride so that others may walk. I don’t know who said it first, but the phrase has become a tagline for Rotary cyclists around the world, pedaling for PolioPlus, logging miles, and raising funds in the global effort to fully eradicate this disease.
My husband, Mahmoud, and I are looking forward to returning to Tucson, Arizona, for my seventh and his fifth Ride to End Polio. It would be my eighth and his sixth ride if everything hadn’t ground to a halt with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. For all kinds of reasons, getting back on the bike this year is an important statement: of Rotary’s determination to finish what we started 36 years ago and of our collective determination to reclaim our lives after 18 months of relative isolation.
For me, and especially for Mahmoud, participating in the ride is also a testament to his determination to recover from a severe case of COVID-19. When he emerged from a drug-induced coma toward the end of eight weeks in the hospital and two stints on a ventilator, Mahmoud was stunned to discover his legs could no longer support him. Before he could come home, he would need to spend a month in inpatient rehab learning to sit up, stand, and walk again.
One year ago, it was hard to imagine that I would describe Mahmoud as “lucky.” In retrospect, we both recognize that the fact that he is alive and well and able to get on a bike in Tucson is the result of a combination of good luck, hard work, and determination.
Mahmoud is lucky that we live in an area where local leaders, employers, and healthcare professionals took COVID-19 seriously from the beginning. The hospitals in the area started implementing plans for COVID-19 a few months before patients started arriving in the ICU. People here paid attention to what was happening in Europe and Asia and in New York City. They took masking and social distancing seriously, so that while cases spiked and hospitals were extremely busy, they were not overflowing. Mahmoud had a bed and a ventilator available when he needed them. He also had the support of an extraordinary and dedicated team of healthcare providers.
His luck and hard work came together during a month of inpatient rehab and 10 weeks of full-time outpatient rehab, working with physical, occupational, and speech/swallow therapists. In June 2020, I wrote, “If you needed any proof that he is feeling more and more like himself, he told me today that whatever the trainer tells him to do, he doubles.”
In mid-July, he came home with a wheelchair and a walker and started outpatient therapy. By November 2020, he was riding his bike on a trainer in our basement and in May, 16 months after his first COVID-19 symptom, he was ready to get back on the road.
This November, Mahmoud and I are both ready to give back: and what better way to pay our good fortune forward, than to rejoin our Rotary cycling friends in Tucson for the resumption of the D5500 Ride to End Polio?
Rotary continues to put in the hard work and determination to end polio once and for all. The PolioPlus program provides vaccines and other healthcare services to people that would not otherwise have access. In fact, Rotary was able to leverage the PolioPlus infrastructure to provide important information about COVID-19. When and where necessary, Rotary doubled down.
When Rotary started this work, there were more than 350,000 cases of polio worldwide every year. In 2014, when I first joined the Ride to End Polio, there were a few hundred. Since then, the numbers dipped to a few dozen, and bumped up slightly in 2019 and 2020 before dropping again. In 2019 Nigeria was the last country in Africa to be certified polio-free after three years without a single case. So far this year, there are only two reported cases, one each in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
We ride so that others may walk. We ride because we can, and we won’t stop until we cross the finish line. We ride to eradicate polio.
Coffee Chat at Impressa, Unley Shopping Centre
10.30 am on the first Friday of the month is good for a chat with Rotary friends and a caffeine fix! Next one is Friday 3 December.
Upcoming Meetings
Tuesday 23 November 2021 6.00 for 6.30pm Damien on Fisher
Guest Speaker: Dr Brian Wheeler 'Up Up and Away' with Royal Flying Doctor Service
Set-up and Welcome.......Patsy Beckett & Valerie Bonython
Tuesday 30 November 2021 6.00 for 6.30pm Damien on Fisher
Guest Speaker: John Crowhurst 'The anaesthetic legacy of Pearl Harbor'
Set-up and Welcome.......Jason Booth & Robyn Carnachan
Early: David Middleton & Nathan White | Late: Pam Trimmer & Vera Holt
Week 4: 27 November 2021
Early: Stephen Baker & Judi Corcoran | Late: Jason Booth & Rhonda Hoare
Week 5:
Early: Bob Mullins & Wendy Andrews | Late: Jerry Casburn & Paul Duke
Rotarians, who are unable to attend as rostered, please arrange a swap or as a very last resort contact: Pam Trimmer (T) 8293 2612; (M) 0415 238 333; e-mail: pamela.trimmer@bigpond.com
Mitre 10 and Bunnings Barbeques
The Mitre 10 BBQs are the first and third Saturdays of each month. Morning shift 8.30am - 12 noon; afternoon shift 12.00 - 3.30pm, then clean-up.....next is this Saturday 20 November
ALL the Bunnings Mile End Barbeque shifts are from 8am to 5pm
We have been allocated the last Monday of each month.....next one is Monday 29 November
The Tale End.....
An excellent investment
A balding, white-haired man walked into a jeweler store this past Friday evening with a beautiful much younger gal at his side. He told the jeweler he was looking for a special ring for his girlfriend.
The jeweler looked through his stock and brought out a $5,000 ring. The man said, 'No, I'd like to see something more special.'
At that statement, the jeweler went to his special stock and brought another ring over. 'Here's a stunning ring at only $40,000 the jeweler said. The lady's eyes sparkled and her whole body trembled with excitement. The old man seeing this said, 'We'll take it.'
The jeweler asked how payment would be made and the man stated, 'By check. I know you need to make sure my check is good, so I'll write it nowand you can call the bankMondayto verify the funds. I'll pick the ring up Monday afternoon.'
On Monday morning, the jeweler angrily phoned the old man and said 'Sir...There's no money in that account. ''I know,' said the old man... 'But let me tell you about my weekend.'
John Sandham who is a member of Coromandel Valley Rotary and curator of the Gardens took us on a leisurely stroll. He explained that the Gardens needed more funding. Significant assistance is provided by Friends of the Gardens and volunteers. 
These gardens were established as the cultural heart of Adelaide from the mid 1800s and were made possible by the good burgers of Adelaide pursuing civic duty and creation of lasting legacies with large dollops of cash. Dr Richard Schomburgk, a botanist, was the second director and unstintingly splashed out on imported plants from around the globe; he commissioned Palm House (see John opposite in front of it).
