This Week - Professor Steven Friedman on Things Political.

 

That is one thing about Steven Friedman;  you don't really know what he is going to talk about until he opens his mouth.  The one thing you can be sure of is that ii will be interesting and probably controversial.

Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.

Against the Tide is an emailed column commenting on current South African politics and, occasionally, on events elsewhere in the world.  It aims to offer a different perspective from mainstream news and commentary by looking beneath the surface and, where necessary,  challenging much of the thinking in South Africa’s public debate.

Last Week

It was a last minute cancellation followed by a no show, by the advertised speaker and a stopgap one.  The shortest meeting we have had this year 

Saturday saw a very pleasant Breakfast/Brunch at The Red Door Cafe. Click on the link to our Facebook Page to see the pictures.  President Luawrence presented Andrea Dawn for her hard work on our Facebook Page and our Website.  Many thanks, Andrea.

Next Week

It's the last Business Meeting of the year preceded by a Board Meeting of the Old Board Members and the New Board Members.  It should be interesting.

International - Australia

Family violence is a major health and social issue in Australia, according to the national Institute of Health and Welfare. Rotary Safe Families focuses on reducing the stigma around recognising the problem. This year the project, which was founded in 2018 and has a presence in 48 countries, is preparing to enlist Rotary clubs to sponsor a local school through a programme called Towards Respectful Relationships. It fosters “safe spaces for kids to talk about family violence and respect,” says programme founder Dorothy Gilmour, a member of the Rotary Club of Hawthorn. “It has been a long, bumpy road to get Australians to discuss the taboo topic of family violence.” More recently, though, “I have noticed that family violence is becoming less taboo.”

This Week Tony Giles talk to us about Maths with a Welsh Accent.

 I know very little about Tony Giles except that he privately tutors students in mathematics and he grew up Welsh speaking and only learnt English when he was at school.  I am sure this will result in a fascinating talk.  I just bumped into him at a restaurant that we both frequent.

I don't have  a photograph of him so you will have to have a cartoon instead.

Don't forget our Social Brunch from 9:30 on Saturday 23rd May at The Red Door Cafe 26 5th Avenue, Edenvale.... there is off street parking up an alleyway on the opposite side of the road to the Cafe.  I will put a poll on the Club WhatsApp Group 

Last Week

Claudette Medefindt gave a very interesting talk on hereditary eye diseases and how they are recognised, medically and some instances can be treated or certainly their affects ameliorated.

She spoke at some length on how sufferers can be assisted with the various aspects of deteriorating eye sight and how we should all be aware.

Next Week

I am trying to arrange a speaker at the moment.

My time is taken up with the move, and when is it going to happen, packing ....all of those things which is turning into a nightmare.  That's a bit of an exaggeration but it takes up all my time so I will have to be absent from Rotary Meetings and Secretarial Duties for a while and Knight & Day, of course.

International - Tunisia

When Yassine Harzallah was alerted to overcrowding in a primary school, he paid a visit and witnessed children studying on the floor and in corridors, with their notebooks on their knees. He snapped a photo, and “that image alone was enough to convince every member of our club that we had a responsibility to act,” says Harzallah, president of the Rotary Club of Ruspina Monastir. In December, the entire contingent visited the school, an hour drive from the club’s base in Monastir city. Members brought supplies, including hygiene products, cleaning items, a printer, a wheelbarrow, shovels, and hoes. A member architect drafted blueprints and watched over a local contractor who assembled a modular room off-site at a reduced cost. In January the structure, a new reading room, was delivered.

 

This week our old friend, Claudette Medefindt of Retina SA talks about Retinal Genetics

 

It's an interesting topic and sure many of us no someone or have a relative who has suffered from one of the hereditary diseases that eventually destroy sight completely.  I cannot think of anything more depressing than knowing that you will one day, become totally blind if you live a long life.

My godmother saw her mother's sight decline into total blindness knowing that she would share the same fate.....and she lived till 105!

Last Week

It was a Business Meeting but unfortunately many board members were unable to attend the previous board meeting owing to various factors so the main discussion was on fund raising resulting in a decision to use Back-A-Buddy for our Comrades Marathon run by Rotarian Terence Baker.  It was also decided to have our May Social Brunch on Saturday 23rd.

Next Week

Tony Giles will be talking about maths with the accent on Welsh..

International - Costa Rica

Lush rainforests and world-renowned birding help draw hundreds of thousands of travellers to Costa Rica every year. That backdrop belies many needs, including for children in the country. Stéphane Dähler, a Swiss expatriate who works in the tourism industry, reports his Rotary Club of Belén, northwest of the capital of San José, is committed to improving education and health outcomes. In February, members worked at the Español School to assemble, sand, and paint 112 desks funded by the club, District 4240 in Costa Rica, and Rotarians from District 5280 in California. The following month, Belén Rotarians visited the Santiago Alpízar School to drop off books. To help fill gaps in health care, the club held a medical camp in rural Puriscal in December to offer blood screenings and a toy distribution. The club “has become a bridge that unites Costa Rican industry with the common good, showing that the private sector and volunteers can generate a positive and sustainable effect,” Dähler says.

This Week It's a Business Meeting

 We have a cartoon.

Last Week

It was our Social Evening at Fahrenheit Seafood and Grill.  9 members and partners attended and it was a very good evening.  

There was a 15% discount for pensioners and

some of our younger members must have looked older than I thought as we all received the discount.

Thanks to Andrea Pearson for the photographs.

Next Week

Claudette Medefindt of Retina SA on Retinal Genetics.

Hereditary eye diseases are genetic conditions causing vision impairment, ranging from childhood blindness to age-related vision loss. Key disorders include retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, inherited glaucoma and congenital cataracts often diagnosed via genetic testing. Treatments include gene therapy, such as for Leber congenital amaurosis.

International - India

The city of Thane, northeast of Mumbai, is recognised for its arts and culture scene. It’s
home to drama troupes, an art expo, international film festivals, and comedy venues. What it was lacking, says Atul Bhide, of the Rotary Club of Thane Hills, was a large showcase for aficionados of the written word. To amend that, the club (which also sponsors a book-reading initiative for youth) launched the Thane Literature Festival. Over two days in November, bibliophiles toasted 22 authors and poets who read from their work and participated in panel discussions. The event honoured journalist and writing coach Bachi Karkaria with the Thane Literature Festival lifetime achievement award, and judges critiqued entries in a short-story contest. “Encouraging reading habits and love for literature for Gen-Next is also our motive behind this literature festival,” says Bhide.