ROTARY CLUB OF WYNBERG
Vol. 66 No. 2
ss
PRESIDENT
Jacqueline James 072 673 0545 [email protected]
SECRETARY Robert Murphy 083 7267060 [email protected]
TREASURER Mike Schreiber (021) 689 4466
EDITORIAL BOARD Barry Cleveland (021) 788 6781 Biffy Danckwerts (081) 3259570 Mervyn Wetmore (084) 5856055
17 July, 2014
EDITORIAL
CONFESSIONS OF AN AVID APOSTROPHILE Submitted by Bev Bird
At the risk of appearing distinctly odd, I have a public confession to make: I am an unflinching lobbyist for the rights of punctuation marks. Well, not just any old punctuation mark but one in particular: the apostrophe. Of all the punctuation marks in my general acquaintance, the one about which I feel the most strongly is the apostrophe. ‘The apostrophe?’, I hear you gasp in shocked disbelief. ‘That horrid little punctuation mark that causes us so much hassle and is so hard to understand?’ Yes, that one. And no, it’s really not half as irritating and offensive as its unfair reputation would have us all believe. It can actually be quite a helpful and obliging little mark if we will just take the time to pay it some decent attention. Some Wynberg members may recall my even giving a talk on the subject a few years ago in the vain hope of spreading this stirring message. Just shows what a devoted fan I am of this neglected little squiggly mark. I accept that in fighting for the rights of the apostrophe I represent something of a minority opinion; as evidence, my standard iPad keyboard does not even contain an apostrophe key, which, frankly, is nothing short of scandalous. I am therefore obliged to switch to a different keyboard setting every time I need to use one, which - as you will have gathered by now - is quite often. Despite my sternest resolutions to myself when typing a quick note to some arbitrary person, I am simply unable to actually dispatch the note until I have switched keyboards and carefully filled in all the missing apostrophes, a task that consumes at least as much time as the original message itself. Heart-wrenching stuff, isn’t it? So I guess it would be fair to label me an out-and-out apostrophile. Don’t fret if you’ve never come across the word before - I just made it up - but I mean it to sound like francophile or bibliophile, only with reference to being mad about the apostrophe rather than about Frenchmen or books (which, I must admit, I also quite fancy in their own right.) And being an apostrophile, I have through the years naturally collected various articles of interest about apostrophes. ‘I just can’t believe it’, you say again (not referring to the fact that any such articles may exist that would be of the slightest interest to anyone in the world but rather to the fact that anyone, anywhere, would actually go about collecting them.) So, whether you are appreciative or not, I am now going to share some of these fascinating facts with you. Here goes. Did you know that: Apostrophes originally made their way into our script as a way of making our writing process EASIER (not more complicated, as it now appears to
have become), that is, by replacing various missing letters along the way. So, if we always only use them where other letters have obviously fallen away, we won’t keep putting them in the wrong place. In Britain there is actually an Apostrophe Protection Society, formed in 2001, which nowadays has quite a large following? Even I find that somewhat amazing. One has to wonder what they talk about at their meetings: ‘The Positive Influence of Apostrophes on the Disadvantaged Youth of Birmingham’ or maybe ‘The Effect of Misplaced Apostrophes on the impending Economic Cliff threatening the USA’? Kinky stuff indeed. Somewhere in the world (okay, the USA - where else would this happen?) they actually celebrate National Punctuation Day each year. It’s on September 24 every year, just in case you want to diarise it. When some local councils in Britain (amongst them Birmingham and Cambridge) recently voted to ban the use of apostrophes in any of their road-signs it led to uproarious protests, prompting Cambridge City Council to later revoke its decision. Quite right, too, I say. The director of the Cambridgeshire-based Good Grammar Company (yes, it actually exists) told the ‘Cambridge News’: ‘Dropping apostrophes is pandering to the lowest denominator and while eradicating them anywhere is dreadful, it is particularly bad to do it in Cambridge.’ Quite right again, I say: not in Cambridge, for goodness’ sake! An English pet-owner chose to name his rescued cat Apostrophe (or Stroffie, for short.) He decided on the name because he said she was small and black and always missing or in the wrong place. That’s a true story. If we were to submit to the newly-formed Devils Peak Renaming Association, a local group lobbying for the iconic peak to be renamed, that the only valid debate is really whether the name is more correctly rendered as ‘Devil’s Peak’ or as ‘Devils’ Peak’, it could cause a religious outcry. (If you find yourself unable to discern the difference between these two names, and the consequential subtle shift in religious implications, you obviously missed my talk to the Club those years ago. What a pity.) So there you are, then: a whole lot of things you would never have known if it weren’t for the fact that you happen to hang out with an incurable apostrophile. Anyone pining for some easy lessons on the proper and respectful use of the apostrophe is welcome to apply: all it will cost is a glass of cheap champagne. Please queue from the left.
MEETING OF 10 JULY 2014
ATTENDANCE Membership: Present: Make Ups: Apologies: Attendance:
29 20 5 0 75%
Attendance & ‘make-ups’ to Ann O’Driscoll 082 664 6453 or [email protected] Visitors: Keith Poole – Breede River RC, Ruth Dessington – Kyalami RC, Wynberg Rotarators: Lee, Jess, Brent, Chrisleen, Raihaanah, Steve & Nicky Lay, Sarah Lay and Alina Topp, Wenke Hovstad, Kolleen Brain (I hope, due to computer collapse I have lost my emails I can’t check up on this - Biffy).
Please your Rotary Club on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Wynberg/ 115903425126783 to keep up to date with our events and happenings.
SLOTS President Jackie:
- Reminder that the Business Meeting will take place on Thursday 24th July - all members are encouraged to attend.
- Reminder that membership fees are due.
- Jackie circulated a schedule of members names against the various club committees, members to check and correct where necessary.
- There will be no meeting on 31st July, instead we will be raiding RC Sea Point - for details. An attendance list was circulated.
- There is a suggestion for a combined Rotary meeting on fifth Thursday of October - RC Sea Point will invite Cyril Karabus to address the meeting. There is an opportunity for this to be a mini fundraiser.
- Jackie announced that Ann O’Driscoll would be the Attendance Officer for this year and that Dirk du Plessis would be the Liaison Officer with The Palms. If members are expecting a number of guests or have specific requirements for guest speakers they should let Dirk know.
- Nico Germishuizen of LifeStraws would be the guest speaker at next meeting.
- Jackie announced that she would be doing her 67 minutes at Mdzananda Veterinary Clinic in Khayelitsha on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th July - anyone interested should chat to her after the meeting. Biffy: Spoke about the Karmoy Global Grant MINUTES We were very fortunate on two accounts in this particular meeting to host our Wynberg Rotaractors with their newly inducted President, President Lee, but also our Wynberg Rotary Short Term Exchange Student (STEP) Alina Topp, newly arrived from Germany out and her host Parents, Steve & Nicky Lay and host Sister Sarah Lay.
All three were dragooned into addressing the Club, Steve to give some background and context to their wonderful and talented family, Sarah to give a little about herself and then Alina to tell us all about herself and all did us proud adding to the enjoyment of the evening (a number of our Members remarked at the confident ease with which Sarah [Grade 11 at Westerford and apart from her academic studies with a strong interest English is Chairperson of the Westerford Interact Club] & Alina [speaking in English nogal ] addressed us all!) Alina arrived from Germany via Joburg on Saturday 5 July 2014 to a warm welcome from the Lays to be whisked off a day or two later for a few days in Barrydale. Alina hails from Gronau in North-RhineWestphalia, Germany, is 16 and has had a lifelong (well, since the age of 10/11) interest in South Africa and so coming to Cape Town completes a circle for her. Alina gave us a wonderful presentation of her life (she is passionate about dancing), family (apart from her parents, she has a brother, Luca aged 12), home, school (Grade 10 at the Werner-von-Siemens Gymnasium in Gronau), city and country, Germany. At the end of her address to us she presented President Jackie with a Rotary banner from her host Rotary Club, Gronau-Euregio.
Apart from all the opportunities the Lay family are and will be affording her here in Cape Town Alina will be joining a tour to Mpumalanga on 20 July 2014 with over 25 other STEP & Long Term Rotary Exchange students before returning to the Lays on 2 August 2014. The Tour will range over a breakfast at the Wimpy in Howick on the first day to The Cradle of Life, Kruger National Park, Shakaland, Caving by Candlelight, Sabie, Mac Mac Falls, a Tribal Culture & Dancing Experience and a number of other interesting places and experiences. Alina departs from Cape Town on 12 August 2014 to arrive home on Wednesday 13 August 2014. Thank you very much for joining Rotary Wynberg and for all you did to make our meeting so enjoyable and interesting. Thank you Steve, Sarah and Alina for your wonderful talks! We hope and feel sure that you’ll have a great time with us Alina! Thank you for coming and to Steve & Nicky Lay and your South African sister for hosting you!
DUTY ROSTER
DUTY
17 July
24 July
30 July
7 August
Gowdy
Van Wyk
Barnard
Attendance Officer
A O’Driscoll
A O’Driscoll
Wynpress Editorial
Bird
Bredenkamp
Minutes for Wynpress
Wetmore
Danckwerts
Raid n Sea Point. Guest Speaker, Marcus Coetzee: “Projects, using social enterprise”.
Compilation of Wynpress
Wetmore
Wetmore
Danckwerts
Door Duty
Gavin
Gowdy
Howard
Grace
Jackson
Klotz-Gleave
Loyal Toast
Lidgley
Michalowsky
International Toast
Murphy
O’Driscoll
Speaker Introduction
James
Jackson
Overbosch
Schonegevel
Sergeant
Speaker Thanks
Venue: President Hotel, Sea Point, Time: 1900 for 1930 & Cost: R100pp, dinner included. Cash bar.
A O’Driscoll Gavin Wetmore
Michalowsky Murphy Schrieber TBA Schrieber
PROGRAMME July 2014
Committee: van Wyk, Gowdy, Overbosch, Todd, Murphy, Klotz-Gleave, van Niekerk
16 July
Retreat Rotaract meeting
17 July
Normal Meeting – Guest Speaker: Nico Germishuizen of LifeStraw
18 July
Mandela Day
21 July
School starts
21 July
Wynberg Rotaract meeting
24 July
Business Meeting – NB a carry-over from our meeting of 3 July 2014
24 July
Retreat Rotaract meeting
30 July
Raid on Sea Point where their Guest Speaker, Marcus Coetzee will talk on “Projects, using social enterprise”. Venue: President Hotel, Sea Point, Time: 1900 for 1930 & Cost: R100pp, dinner included. Cash bar.
31 July
NO MEETING, the Sea Point meeting above took its place.
August 2014
Committee: Bredenkamp, Cleveland, Munday, Howard, van Eeden, Du Plessis
4 August
Wynberg Rotaract meeting
7 August
Dave Holtzhausen on RYLA & Zeenit Brown & Keela about her IRYLA experience
14 August
Normal meeting – speaker required
14 August
Retreat Rotaract meeting
18 August
Wynberg Rotaract meeting
21 August
Normal meeting – speaker required
28 August
Normal meeting – speaker required
28 August
Retreat Rotaract meeting
September 2014
Committee: James, Danckwerts, Schreiber, Smith, Williams, Lidgley,Gavin
1 September
Wynberg Rotaract meeting
4 September
Business meeting
11 September
Normal meeting – speaker required
11 September
Retreat Rotaract meeting
15 September
Wynberg Rotaract meeting
18 September
Normal meeting – speaker required
24 September
Heritage Day (Braai day)
25 September
Normal meeting – speaker required
25 September
Retreat Rotaract meeting
PRESIDENT’S QUOTES President Jackie, testing our general knowledge and offering a Port to the person who got it right, requested us to name the author of the following quote:
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
- Nelson Mandela Sadly, she drank her Port alone! JACKPOT: The prospective member, Colleen?, drew Lina’s name but she failed (10 spades) and Dennis in turn received the attendance prize of R15. The amount in the jackpot increased from R1130 to R1185. TAIL PIECE: FACT OF THE DAY: If the tea on your next flight tastes attendant – blame science. Tea made with water that’s nearly at a fraction under 100 degrees pressure, the lower the boiling kept at the equivalent pressure of it’s impossible to heat water more – and consequently impossible to
terrible, don’t blame the cabin experts agree that the best tea is boiling point (in other words, just Celsius). But the lower the point, and airplane cabins are 8,000 feet above sea level. So than 90 degrees Celsius in-flight pour a good cup of tea.
(Submitted by Barry Cleveland)
Gavin Schachat., Rotary District 9350 Youth Exchange Chairman (far right) and newly arrived Rotary Exchange students, including our own Alina Topp from Gronau, Germany, with their host families and Rotary Counsellors, Saturday 5 July 2014