Rotary Club of Plimmerton
Visitors
President Bill welcomed Nigel Brown (a guest of Pete's, and on his second visit), Partner Linda Sinke and Honorary Members Peter Cox and Jim Dearsly.
High Jinks ...
Members and friends celebrated St Patrick's Day with a hilarious evening of fun and laughter. President-Elect Kay with her helpers had created a splendid social evening with an Irish joke from Mike, 
singing from everybody, very ably accompanied by Graeme on the keyboard, and a very difficult Irish quiz created by Kay. Out of a possible score of 28, two tables came close 
with 16 and 15.5 respectively - so close that both tables received prizes. The table that scored 6 received the booby 
prize! There were also prizes for the best and worst dressed, judged thoughtfully and creatively by Peter, nefariously 'aided' by Jim. They decided that the worst dressed was John O'Connell (because they'd never seen an Irishman in a suit) and prizes for the best-dressed men went to John Barber with Graeme Tongs runner up, and to the best dressed women to Donna Reed with Linda Sinke coming in a close second. Kay writes, 'Irish Night! Thanks - Wow! What a wonderful group of Rotarians you are. Many thanks to everyone for entering into the spirit of our Irish night. The touches of green and the more elaborate costumes set the relaxed mood. I particularly loved the hats and wigs. Thanks to the hooters. To Graeme Tongs, Philip Whearty, Peter Sinké, Phillip Reidy, Bryan Waddle, and Mike Doig – thanks for your grand efforts in helping make the evening a success.
Viewpoint
Mike Doig gave us his Viewpoint tonight. He told us that there are 27000+ registered charities in New Zealand. He said we should aim to make a difference and make sure that the charities we support are aligned with Rotary themes.
What’s coming up in March and beyond?
Next week, our speaker will be Kevin Clark. Kevin will present a richly illustrated light-hearted, and finely balanced mix of historical and architectural content in his account of a motorcycle road trip. 'Baghdad or Bust' will appeal to all travellers, bikers, non-bikers, architects, and those with an interest in the Middle East, which is still in turmoil.
Our Changeover Night has been set. It will be on Tuesday 29 June at the Silverstream Retreat. It will be a great night with entertainment and a few surprises. There will be a complimentary bus for the first 45 people to register on our Tick Board from next Tuesday. (If you are on holiday or ill, let Kay know and she will add you to the list). Kay and Bill are hoping they get full members' support for the most important annual event in our Club Calendar. We have renegotiated costs with the Silverstream Retreat and they have altered these considerably. The price is $67.00 pp. (remember $25 of this for members has already been paid because it is a Tuesday night). The Euon-bus will still be on. The theme will be announced very soon. Our graphics expert is busy …
Our speaker for the meeting on 30 March will be Dr. Russ Ballard, Chairman of The Board at Rotary Peace, Remembrance and Community Forests Trust. He will be able to bring us up to date with the Rotary Forest Project, a New Zealand-wide project to celebrate the centenary of Rotary commencing in NZ and Australia. Members from Porirua and Tawa clubs will be joining us and it will also be a partners' night.
The second Guess Who's Coming to Dinner will be held on Saturday 10 April with the same arrangements as previously. A checklist was sent around but if you missed it, let Kay know if you'd like to be included. However, although Kay was asked for a repeat of last year’s evening, it won’t be viable according to the numbers on the check sheet. If you did not fill in the sheet last night or are away on holiday, please could you email Kay and let her know if you are attending or not. If you have already offered, or wish to offer, to be a host, also email Kay, please. She needs everything in writing as her memory is especially bad at present. Hosts will be announced on the night at the time of the draw.
Looking way into the future, here's a date for your diary. The Club Christmas Party will be held on Tuesday 14 December at Judgeford Golf Club. A special event to remember.
To see some of our future events, you can go here.
Snippets
SnippetsBill congratulated the organisers of the Bowls evening last week and thanked Bryan for arranging the evening so creatively.
Kay announced that Friday Frolics will be put on hold until the Spring so that we can hunker down in the winter evenings instead of kicking up our heels at a local bar.
This week’s happenings
The Rotary Club of Eastern Hutt is organising a walk to raise awareness for Mental Health and to raise funds for Youthline Wellington on Sunday 21 March at 11.00 am. Here are the details if you are interested in joining them.
Donna tells us why she loves Tuesdays! This week was her first visit to Glenview School, Cannons Creek, since its major playground and classroom makeover. Principal Lynda showed her around before she picked up a carload of students to take kayaking. These students were friendly, chatty, and respectful, with a wonderful warmth of manaaki. She was impressed with the way the group merged with the three other school groups. Te Ara Moana Trust offers a sea experience in kayaking at the Onepoto boat sheds, at the Sailability jetty. It also teaches confidence-building, based on being proud of the Porirua environment. As Mike pointed out in his Viewpoint, a local Trust based on the strength of volunteers. Members who can make themselves available to pick up a carload of enthusiastic students on Tuesdays at 11.15am or pick them up from Titahi Bay boat club at 2.30pm to return to school, please let Donna know. After picking up her own moko from school and delivering them home, she went to Myanmar Homework Club. This is becoming another highlight. The students are willing to do their class homework tasks on their Chromebooks. The room is quiet. It's a lovely opportunity to sit with a student to check in on how they are. Many still have grandparents and cousins back in Myanmar. Please let Donna know if you can help out on Tuesdays from 4.30pm to 5.30pm at the Gospel Hall Champion St, Cannons Creek. And then it's time for Rotary. Another reason to love Tuesdays!
Parting thought
On this special celebration of St Patrick's Day, Leigh Corner gave us his parting thought tonight. He said, 'Ireland and the Irish have been credited with many scientific discoveries and inventions: the invention of the induction coil by Nicolas Callan in 1836, the discovery in 1847 of asteroids and galaxies by William Parsons with the Great Birr 72 inch mirror telescope he built, the biggest in Europe for 100 years; and the invention of the steam turbine by Charles Parsons in 1884. But perhaps the greatest contribution to our understanding of the universe was the discovery of Murphy’s Law, although exactly which Murphy it was is not recorded. The law states “if anything can go wrong, it will, especially during the demonstration”. But the Irish also provided us with some great philosophy as well, no better illustrated than in this Irish Blessing:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sunshine be warm upon your face,
The rains fall softly upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.'
Who’s on duty for the next month?
Unable to do your duty? Please find a replacement and inform Graham Wallace.
If you're a late 'no show' please tell President Bill.
Please arrive at 5.45 pm if you're on Door duty or on Introduction duty to greet the Guest Speaker and be his/her host for the evening.
Need to apologise or bring additional guests?
Advise the Receptionist at Professionals before 10.00 am on the Monday before the meeting on 233 9955 or email paremata@dwre.co.nz if you prefer.
Please provide the name (and spelling if necessary). The same applies if you're going to be late.
