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News
Brighton Rotary News Aug 17 2022
Members: 8
 
Guests: Terri Lynn Jenkins and Allison Case- Blakey
 
Correspondence:
 
1. Thank you note and card from the Happy Quilters. Will provide gift basket and quilt to those fighting cancer.
 
2. Special ask from Ukraine!
My name is Byelska Lyubov, my husband is Byelskyy Valentin and he is a member of the Rotary Club of Mykolayiv (District 2232 Rotary Club 30750).
Our son - Oleksandr Byelskyy got admitted to the George Brown College on major of Video Production and Technology in Toronto. Becoming a director is his dream which he has been pursuing persistently during recent years. He has been filming and editing videos since he was 12 years old and has created several YouTube channels, now with more than 200,000. subscribers. Here’s a link to a video where he talks about his dreams on his channel: https://youtu.be/hvjUNPZB1lo
Before the war, we were successfully developing our own furniture business, participated in Rotary Club initiatives and boldly planned our financial future. That is why we did not hesitate to support Oleksandr in his desire to study in Canada. But russian invasion has strongly affected our family: Mykolaiv is in a zone of constant attacks since the first minutes of war: https://youtu.be/fjlnc1TsEDg. We have almost completely lost our income since it’s dangerous to work and simply stay in the city. My son and I went to Europe so that he could get the necessary documents to go to college, my husband stayed in Mykolayiv, where he is actively supporting Rotary Club and supports the factory workers who remained in the city.
We know that Rotary Club members always support each other around the world in difficult situations with this letter I want to ask for support for Oleksandr from the club members. He arrives in Toronto at the end of August 2022, and we would be grateful if a host family could be found to accept Oleksandr for the period of study, if possible free of charge or for a small fee. College address: 200 King Street East, Toronto Ontario M5A 3W8 Canada. 
In addition, we would be grateful for help in finding a job for Oleksandr, so that he could provide for himself.  Hi is searching for a job in area of video-making, content creating, video editing and YouTube channel development, thumbnail\description\tags\title creation. He can work remotely and has the necessary equipment (His resume is attached to this letter). 
We know that in Canada a lot of attention is paid to the COVID situation.  And that why I want to note that Olexander is fully COVID  vaccinated.
We will be grateful for any help.
Sincerely, Lyubov Byelska
 
3. Shelter Box is looking for support particularly in the Horn of Africa.
 
4. Fourth Quarter Fishing Derby through Rotary Club of Trenton. To be a Marshal spending day in boat with fisherman, Saturday August 27.
 
5.The Rotary Club of G.O.A.L.S. is District 7070's newest club.  Our first fundraiser is the sale of official orange t-shirts, the proceeds of which will support of Indigenous charities and our own charitable account. Why not coordinate your order with other club members to get free shipping?  Please feel free to forward this to your friends, family, and coworkers, and ask them to support the cause and order a shirt, too!  The Rotary Club of G.O.A.L.S. appreciates your support!
 
 
Smile: blush
 
A ham sandwich walked into a bar and ordered a beer. The bartender said “We don’t serve food here”.
 
Announcements:
  • Next board meeting will be held at R Chris's home on Sept 13th.
  • We are looking for speakers
  • Applefest Food Booth September 24. Some surplus supplies from BBQ for Applefest.
  • District Governor schedule to speak to us September 7th.
  • HUGS has asked Rotary to look after bar at a fundraiser in May at the Air Force Museum. Rotary will not but Rotarians can volunteer to help at serving.
  • About 90 served at Interclub BBQ, and 11 clubs represented.
  • R Clay setting Elizabeth up with lawyer to help with Human Rights application.
  • R Chris paying District dues including RADAR 139
  • Jinni from Trenton Rotary asking about starting up Rotary Spelling Bee for 2023?
  • R Steve suggested we may want to schedule social to Capitol Theatre in Port Hope in December for Panto - Sleeping Beauty?
Upcoming Rotary Events:
  • Foundation Walk at Heber Downs Conservation area / Cullen Gardens - September 25th.
  • We Have A Dream - District Conference October 14 to 16 at Nottawasaga Inn.
  • World Polio Day 2022 Live from Durham College October 20 from 6pm to 8pm.
  • Go to District web site for more information on any of these events.
  • Check out the District Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and Youtube channels to see what is happening in the District. Past Tuesday Talks available for viewing.
 
Song: It's a Long Way to Tipperary
 
Sharing Pot: $21 won by R Steve S who donated it to the Rotary Foundation.
 
Happy Bucks:  Allison's stories, all Rotary BBQ, taken back to early career with huge ledgers, presentation, Jack a demon who couldn't be bought for $5, Allison still beautiful, Monday's BBQ, glad to help, small group pulled it off, thanks to all who helped, thanks for listening, 39 + tax, refreshing stories, remembers one washroom per floor in hotel.
 
Rotary Minute:
 
R Rudy shared: Rotary Friendship Exchange
 
An interesting Rotary Program of Fellowship is the Friendship Exchange. This activity, originally recommended by New Horizons Committee in 1981, is intended to encourage Rotarians and spouses to visit with other Rotarian families in other parts of the world. It may be conducted on a club to club or district to district basis.
 
The idea is for several Rotarian couples to travel to another country on the Rotary Friendship Exchange. Later the hospitality is reversed when the visit is reciprocated. After a successful pilot experiment, the Rotary Friendship Exchange has become a  permanent program of Rotary.
 
The Rotary Friendship Exchange is frequently compared to the Group Study Exchange program.of the Rotary Foundation, except that it involves Rotarian couples who personally pay for all expenses of their intercountry experience. Doors of friendship are opened in ways that are only possible through Rotary.
 
Rotarians seeking an unusual vacation and fellowship experience should learn more about the Rotary Friendship Exchange. Some unusual Rotary adventures are awaiting you.
Stories
Allison's Story - Working in London
R Steve B introduced Allison, noting Allison's experience and perspective different from his. Allison worked with locals 'Brits' whereas Steve's class was half foreign from around the world.
 
 
 
Allison was in London England from September 1985 to the summer of 1986. She worked for Westminster Council in London during that time.
 
Getting the job in London at that time was the easiest and quickest job she ever got. She didn't know until she arrived whether she would be allowed to work because she didn't have a parent or grandparent from the UK. However, no restrictions were put on her passport on arrival at Heathrow. In London she went to the Job Centre and explained her situation and was given a choice of 3 short term positions. Two in retail and one at the council. She started the next day at Westminster Council.
 
Allison worked in the Housing department. She started at the basic filing and general clerical jobs, then moved to balancing rents as a double check. Then she started collecting rents and balancing.. She sat in a booth for her area of estates 'Maryleboone'. She compared it to the image from the old 'Scrooge' movie and Bob Cratchet's station. They had huge ledgers that all collections were marked in by hand. It was going back in time. At some point in the afternoon you balanced using an very old fashioned crank calculator.
 
Her co-workers were great. One older fellow loved to joke with Allison and his wife always made her bread pudding (which is more like fruit cake which Allison loves). He would bring her a hefty slice regularly.
 
One time he came over and told Allison he had to go down her drawers. Allison was taken aback and everyone laughed and he explained he had to look in her desk drawers.
 
Once in a while Allison would have to travel in the Tube to another office with him. He said he would knock her up. She explained that that phrase had another meaning in Canada. Allison was told she has an expressive face and was often the but of a joke.
 
There had been IRA bomb threats on the Tube and Allison at times was nervous about using them but the locals thought nothing of it. They were used to the threats.
 
Allison at that time felt uncomfortable using the term 'loo'. So her boss said to use toilet and not bathroom as the two are different in England. A bathroom is separate from the toilet and bathroom is where you wash up.
 
As Christmas was getting closer she was told she would likely be let go, that Council wouldn't want to pay her for the holidays. But she was kept on.
 
Christmas was an experience. Everyone brought in bottles of alcohol on Christmas Eve and the party started at 11am. It was her co-workers ambition to have her try various drinks from all over when they found out she hadn't tried many. When she got home she said she felt like she was walking on a cloud.
 
In the new year she started to act as a witness to civil weddings. which meant she got to go up to the beautiful grand room. The building was 400 years old. She normally worked in the basement and a 2nd world war unexploded bomb had been removed. The grand room was decorated with fresco's and paintings and she felt she was in Buckingham Palace.
 
Another job she had was organizing a 100 year old birthday party for a council tenant. It was Council practice to do this. This lady was in hospital when she turned 100 so they delayed the  party until she turned 101. She was a fabulous old lady, complete with an ear trumpet. It looked like a big gramaphone she held to her ear. You had to yell into it. But if you yelled too loud she said she wasn't deaf and if you were too quiet, she would remind you she was deaf. She wanted an afternoon tea with cakes and scones and 'posh' jam and tea and lots of Sherry. The party was a great success and the lady was a wonderful story teller. while she and her guest drank lots of Sherry.
 
Then Allison started working with the CAO. The Council had major problems with squatters. Basically if you squatted in an uninhabited flat and received mail for 3 months you could prove the flat was yours. Allison's job was to police these flats and organize repairs needed to the flats to make sure they were habitable. This was a new experience for Allison at age 24. Her experience was that all apartments had their own washrooms / toilet facilities. Not the case in London where the bathroom was often shared sometimes by 4 flats and toilets were also shared. Some estates still had outside toilets in 1985.
 
Allison shared her thoughts on rent collecting and squatters with the CAO, like using computers rather than big ledgers. The CAO explained about job losses if they went to computers and  said 8 letters would be sent to squatters rather than 3 Allison had suggested.
 
Allison had to arrange contractors to fix and repair flats. In London the tradesmen never cleaned up after their work was done.
 
There was a Scotsman that Allison worked with who would refer to her as the American. She objected as she felt very patriotic in London. He would not relent saying we were all the same, until Allison referred to him as an Englishman, that they were all the same. He was a character and a big help to Allison particularly with the trades and getting flats repaired.
 
Her co-workers showed her the finer aspects of British culture like eating eels with mash and green liquor, green gravy from the eels. She couldn't make herself eat eels. Another was Guiness, served at room temperature as were most beers. She thought Guiness was like mud. She tried steak and kidney pie, but prefers heavy on the steak. She liked the ploughman's lunch and especially cream teas and hard cider.
 
She did comment on her questioning if she had made a big mistake marrying Steve but 37 years later still together. She suggested that it was her who gave in like shopping after dinner rather than on the way home because Steve didn't want to do it then. The sacrifices she made.
 
Very much appreciated.
 
 
 
 
Service Above Self