President Nathan called on Jerry Casburn to provide details of the work recently undertaken at Calperum.
From 30 August to 3 September the team of Casburns, Becketts and Bonythons set about cleaning, painting (which took over 3 days) and refurbishing the old house. Jerry showed pictures of the painting job (which looked a bit dodgy, but we were assured that it was the photographer at fault), new sun shade, curtains, plus spruced up and better furniture. Patsy and Valerie provided haute cuisine. The team have been invited back....perhaps to work their way through the town. Great Job! The expenditure was a modest $1900.
Nathan then welcomed each of the guests. Stephen Baker reported that Alex was back at Calvary Hospital.
Guest Speaker: Briony Casburn - Staging of a Mock Accident...A RC McLaren Vale Project
David Middleton introduced Briony who has spent almost all of her working life in retail, running jewelry, florist, designer and other clothing shops. She has a son and a daughter plus 4 grandchildren. Jerry and Briony got together 10 years ago and Briony has been a member of the Rotary Clubs of Unley, Seaford ( which she helped establish) and, more recently, McLaren Vale. She has been an invaluable help at lifting the turnover at the Unley Salvos Thrift Shop. Athletics wise, she still holds the State veterans' javelin throw record.....hope that Jerry's athletic avoidance capacity does not deteriorate. Coffee and non-fiction books provide relaxation.
Briony presented the mock accident program which has been run by her club for 20 years for Year 12 students from Willunga High School. In November the club gathers together all the elements of a fatal road accident......smashed cars from Aldinga Crash Repairs, accident victims drawn from the drama students, Police, MFS, CFS, ambulance, and Alfred James funerals. In front of the Willunga Community Hall, with the main street cordoned off, the drama unfolds. 2 cars have hit head on after a driver crossed the road while texting. Dead and injured drama students are put in the cars with plenty of sauce applied
At 10am the staff and year 12 students gather tp watch a passenger scramble from one of the vehicles to call 000. The jaws of life are applied by the CFS to release trapped passengers. Police and ambulance sirens are sounded. Ambos treat the injured and the funeral house carts away the dead body. The offending driver is then nabbed by Police and carted off to court in the Community Hall. This is the time when the 'judge' clearly brings home the damage wrought to the families of the victims and even more importantly/powerfully to the offender whose long term prospects have been severely affected by a prison term, the anger of the community and having to live with the consequences of the carnage he/she has caused. A Rotary BBQ for the volunteers is held to relieve all this tension.
McLaren Vale has won an SA Community Award for the excellent event.
Briony was thanked by acclamation and given a bottle of Jerry's favourite wine.
Spots
Patsy Beckett signed members up for the fabulous Redex Car Rally on 31 October
Chris Davis reported that the nominee for SA Police Officer of the Year 2021 has been notified, that the award ceremony will be held in Rundle Mall at 10.30am on Thursday 14 October, and that there will be a special presentation night here on Tuesday 19 October.
Briony Casburn provided detail of the operations of Southern Koala Rescue. Every fortnight, usually on a Wednesday, there is working bee at the farm in Onkaparinga Hills with clean ups, weeding, tree planting, other property improvements and installation of equipment from DIK. McLaren Vale, Mitcham and Unley clubs are helping......all volunteers welcome!
Briony with an inanimate Kenny Koala
Finale ....
Happy Moments
Stephen and Beverley had a great time on their recent trip to the Eyre Peninsula with many highlights, including the Ceduna Oysters and being surrounded by whales in Fowlers Bay. Ollie Wines' Brownlow Medal was richly deserved. And two of his grandchildren starred in the afl and netball arenas. Joy continued when SB deservedly won the big bucks in tonight's draw!
Jerry and Briony while working on the Drought Outreach Program spent 6 marvelous nights in Tasmania in Heather's apartment. Today the Variety Club held its annual event for kids with special needs at the Adelaide Zoo and Jerry, Briony and John Peacham helped RC Brownhill Creek with the BBQ...a brilliant event which is intended to be adopted by our club. BHC received a special award for their 15 years of service. See below
Leonie almost had a lucky break when her live-at-home son was offered a position as a Senior Chemistry Teacher at Port Pirie........but inability to have his girlfriend with him interceded....or was it Leonie's cooking?
Briony was excited that her nephew's fiancee had been offered a fabulous job with Penfolds which includes trips to Paris. And Briony cleaned up the fruchocs in tonight's draw.....should go well with the wine.
Christina wants it clearly understood that the numbers in the barrel stop at 75.....raffle tickets 76-100 are not to be sold
There will be a Board meeting following next week's meeting.
The meeting closed at 7.50 pm
ROTARY NEWS
Rotary Peace Fellow reflects on Afghanistan, helping others in crisis
By Kiran Singh Sirah, a 2011-13 Rotary Peace Fellow and president of the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee, USA
The news coming out of Afghanistan has been painful to watch. So many of these images of suffering — the cargo plane filled with refugees, and especially the image of the baby being passed over barbed wire to a soldier — reminded me of my own family’s experience as refugees. Forty-nine years ago, they were forced to flee their home in Uganda along with 50,000 others, when a murderous dictator threatened them with genocide.
My parents didn’t have much notice. With their visas, my mom and dad and brother (who was just six months old) were given 48 hours to pack up and leave. There was no time to say goodbyes or get properly organized. Worse, my parents were robbed of the few belongings they carried on their way to the airport. The thieves took everything except for the clothes on their backs and my mother’s wedding jewelry, which she had hidden in my brother’s diaper. She later used it to open her first bank account in England.
When I first moved to Jonesborough eight years ago, I met Scott Niswonger, a local businessman and philanthropist. When he asked about my background over coffee, I told him about my parents’ story. In response, he shared that at the time my parents fled, he was a cargo plane pilot who delivered food and supplies to refugees at the Ugandan border. I was stunned. Here I was, the new guy in town, shaking the hand of a man who had helped my people many years ago, thousands of miles away, before I was born.
Today, Nikki Niswonger, his wife, serves on the ISC board, and their Niswonger Foundation has become one of the International Storytelling Center’s greatest partners and supporters. It really is a small world!
Acts of kindness, however large or small, reverberate through our lives in amazing, unexpected ways. I try to bear this in mind when I see people on the news who are in great distress. Among the stories of turmoil and chaos and fear, there are also stories of love and compassion and resilience.
It’s vital to ask how we, as individuals and as organizations, can help others in these moments of crisis. I am not talking about grand gestures as much as small actions. I’ve put together this list which I hope can be a starting place for anyone seeking ideas.
Check in with folks
One lesson that I think all of us have learned during the pandemic is to check in with your people. This is of course true in our personal lives, but it’s also relevant at the institutional level. In times of crisis, it’s all too easy for work to become siloed as we scramble in isolation. By staying aware of one another’s projects, efforts, and ideas, we can lend a hand when it’s needed, avoid redundancy, find inspiration, and promote one another’s work.
Offer multiple forms of support
We often think of emotional support as lending an ear when someone needs to talk, but it can take many other forms. If you feel unsure about the best way to provide assistance, a good first step is to simply ask someone what they need.
As I have watched the crisis unfold in Afghanistan, I found myself thinking back to my dad’s experience as a refugee in England. His new employers let him use work resources and office time to contact the family in Uganda who he had been forced to leave behind, including his parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews, so he could help arrange their visas. I often think about that act of empathy and how that small gesture meant so much in my dad’s life.
Preserve and share stories
As we welcome displaced people into our communities, it’s important to hold space for their stories and their traditions. Diversity and multiculturalism are not just important values, but also cultural treasure troves. In the United States, the cross-pollination of traditions and ideas continue to be one of our greatest cultural assets.
Strengthen your community
Times of crisis can be incredible opportunities not just to help other people, but also to strengthen our existing communities. As we come together to help political refugees, victims of natural disasters, those who have been harmed by the pandemic, and people who have been displaced by the housing crisis, we enrich our own lives, our shared culture, and our personal and professional networks.
Serving a stranger can have a positive ripple effect through generations to come, and change your life as an individual in ways you can’t predict or expect. I want to challenge you to think of other ways that you can serve as a stone in the brook. Even the smallest act of kindness may be the one that helps someone who’s struggling make it to the other side.
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 1 October
Upcoming Meetings
Tuesday 28 September 2021 6 for 6.30pm Damien on Fisher
Guest Speaker: Edward Cavenough Energy Poverty Alleviation in the Solomon Islands
Set-up and Welcome.......John Peacham and Haythem Raslan
Tuesday 5 October 2021 6 for 6.30pm Damien on Fisher
Event: The Quiz of the Century Unley v Brownhill Creek
Set-up and Welcome.......John Peacham and Haythem Raslan
Early: David Middleton & Nathan White | Late: Pam Trimmer & Vera Holt
Week 4: 25 September 2021
Early: Stephen Baker & Judi Corcoran | Late: Jason Booth & Vera-Ann Stacy
Week 5:
Early: Bob Mullins & Wendy Andrews | Late: Jerry Casburn & Reno Elms
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 one Saturday 2 October
ALL the Bunnings Mile End Barbeque shifts are from 8am to 5pm
We have been allocated the last Monday of each month.....next one Monday 27 September
The Tale End.....
Things important.......top two
A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless man who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner.
The man took out his wallet, extracted ten dollars and asked, "If I give you this money, will you buy some beer with it instead of dinner?"
"No, I had to stop drinking years ago,” _the homeless man re-plied.
"Will you spend this on green fees at a golf course instead of food?” _the man asked.
"Are you NUTS?!!" replied the homeless man. I haven't played golf in 20 years!" "Well," said the man, "I'm not going to give you money. Instead, I'm going to take you home for a hot shower and a terrific dinner cooked by my wife.”
The homeless man was astounded. "Won't your wife be furious with you for doing that?"
The man replied, "That's okay. It's important for her to see what a man looks like after he has given up drinking and golf.”
David Middleton introduced Briony who has spent almost all of her working life in retail, running jewelry, florist, designer and other clothing shops. She has a son and a daughter plus 4 grandchildren. Jerry and Briony got together 10 years ago and Briony has been a member of the Rotary Clubs of Unley, Seaford ( which she helped establish) and, more recently, McLaren Vale. She has been an invaluable help at lifting the turnover at the Unley Salvos Thrift Shop. Athletics wise, she still holds the State veterans' javelin throw record.....hope that Jerry's athletic avoidance capacity does not deteriorate. Coffee and non-fiction books provide relaxation.
Chris Davis reported that the nominee for SA Police Officer of the Year 2021 has been notified, that the award ceremony will be held in Rundle Mall at 10.30am on Thursday 14 October, and that there will be a special presentation night here on Tuesday 19 October. 
The news coming out of Afghanistan has been painful to watch. So many of these images of suffering — the cargo plane filled with refugees, and especially the image of the baby being passed over barbed wire to a soldier — reminded me of my own family’s experience as refugees. Forty-nine years ago, they were forced to flee their home in Uganda along with 50,000 others, when a murderous dictator threatened them with genocide.
