Bulletin - May 2020 - Rotary RIBI
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Bulletin – May 2020 Club of Hove
Introduction from our President, Ken Jones:
Greetings fellow Rotarians,
Several weeks have now slipped by since we had a face-to-face Rotary meeting at
The Hove Club
Peter Reeve is to be congratulated for arranging the Zoom meetings which have
been a great help in maintaining contact with fellow Rotarians.
We are hopeful that Covid-19 in the UK has passed its peak and we look forward
to meeting again, even if we don’t know exactly when, in the words of Dame Vera
Lynn, as recently echoed by Her Majesty. Especially poignant at the time we are
marking the 75th Anniversary of VE Day.
Finally, we have had the very sad news of the death of Past President Michael
Barley on 18th April. I have sent a card and message of condolence to Michael’s
family on behalf of the club. He will be greatly missed.
Venue: The Hove Club, 28 Fourth Avenue, Hove BN3 2PJ
Introduction
WE continue in our new format this month, reflecting the quite different world in which
we are currently living. Our club meetings have continued online since 17th March
and have proved very popular, with attendances around the 22-24 mark, comparing
very favourably with our conventional face-to-face meetings in the preceding period
Like the BBC, the Bulletin continues with its dual mission to inform and to entertain,
and hope that our readers find something of interest.
We spotlight this month Past President Michael Barley, whose death we record in this
bulletin. Several club members provide memories and other insights into the man
and his life and we finish the tribute with a short selection of Michael’s own words
gleaned from his President’s Introductions to the Bulletins of 2006-07.
Contents:
• As I See It (Editorial)
• Club Council held on 28/04/2020
• Look ahead
• Michael Barley – as we remember him
• Window on the World
o Chris Shergold
• Alison’s Party
o Alison Soliman
• The Hermitage, St Petersburg
o Edith Sadek
2
As I see it
(All views expressed are those of the author and are not official Rotary or Club policy)
Since the publication of the April Bulletin, ‘Lockdown’ has become a way of life,
especially for us seniors. We have become familiar with, but not inured to, the daily
announcements of the numbers who have died and those who have become
infected, both in the UK and worldwide. It’s extremely difficult at this stage to make
any balanced judgement about the way the Covid-19 Pandemic has been handled,
both here and abroad. No doubt one of the aspects which will be examined by the
historians will be how national culture has played a part. In the UK for example, our
senior politicians, by and large do not have a strong scientific or technological
background and are particularly dependent on the advice of scientists, hoping to hear
from them ‘what the science tells us’. What has steadily emerged is that when it
comes to Covid-19 there is an awful lot that the scientists do not know, or agree on,
although we have to hope that they are making up ground fast. A particularly worrying
aspect of the handling of the crisis is the lack of a strong global approach to what is
undoubtedly a global problem. As long as passenger aircraft are allowed to fly and
airport checks do not significantly improve, it will be impossible for individual
countries to exert full control on outbreaks of Covid-19. While the World Health
Organisation (WHO) is far from perfect, it’s the best hope we’ve got for co-ordinating
a global strategy and its denigration for political reasons is to be deeply regretted.
Another aspect much closer to home is that of risk to the individual. Thinking back to
the Risk Management techniques used in managing IT projects, we remember that
the size of any risk was a function of two main components: the probability of it
occurring and the level of impact if/when it did occur. The problem with Covid-19 for
the over 70s is that the impact is extremely high, and even if the probability of being
infected drops to a very low level, that impact is potentially catastrophic. That’s why I
believe that we in our club, and Rotary at large, have to plan for the current social
distancing regime continuing for a considerable time into the future. The only things
which could radically change that would be the development of an effective and safe
vaccine or major advances in the therapies available for treatment of infected
individuals. Meanwhile, our challenge is to continue to operate as a Rotary Club
seeking to serve the community, within the constraints under which we are currently
operating, while looking to use creatively the technological and social innovations
spawned by the Covid-19 crisis.
Peter Reeve
5th May 2020
3
Club Council held on 28/04/2020
• Donations to be made to the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership and the Hangleton
and West Blatchington Food Bank which was started by the St George’s Roman
Catholic Church and the Parish Church, St Peters, both in Hangleton
• Draft budget presented by the Hon Treasurer; Council agreed it should be
tabled as is at the AGM
• Website: Brian Hague had included coverage of our current activities during
‘lockdown’
• Bulletin: May issue to include a piece on Michael Barley
• Speakers: PG experiencing problems with speakers at present. It was agreed
our new members, Gerry Crawshaw and David Forman would tell us about
their lives. Chris Shergold had a number of presentations in preparation. Edith
Sadek would be happy to give us more talks on her travels.
• RYLA. MN reported it was hoped to hold it in the Autumn half term
• International: IC reported all this year’s proposed trips by Pforzheim and
Evreux had been cancelled. He was considering setting up a joint Zoom
meeting to introduce the 3 new Presidents for 2020-21. Our hosting for 2021
still to be decided
• Rotary Foundation: Bob Hinton reported that both recipients of funding,
Hangleton and Knoll and Food for Friendship had switched to food delivery in
the current crisis.
Look ahead
o 12th May - Club AGM
o District 1145:
▪ Service Team Seminars (online)
▪ 20th, 22nd May Secretaries’ training (online)
▪ PEPS2
o 9 June - Club Assembly
th
4
Michael Barley (1940 – 2020)
It is with great sadness that we have to record the death of one of our members, Past
President Michael Barley. Michael was found dead at his home on Saturday 18th April
and was believed to have suffered a heart attack. A number of members had spoken
to Michael earlier in the week and although he had admitted to feeling a little below
par, he had seemed to be in good spirits.
Although Michael was generally thought to be a very private man, he was held in
respect and affection by many club members. Below are a few of their thoughts.
Professor Douglas Chamberlain:
I did not know him well but we had certainly been acquainted for many years.
Michael was a very kind man who looked after his wife, Lavinia, when she became
an invalid, with great care and affection. When he attended functions, it would have
been easiest to leave her at home but instead he would bring her with him, often with
great difficulty. I recall offering help but he preferred to do the task himself.
He loved music and was for some years Vice President of the Brighton Orpheus
Choir and attended many rehearsals and all concerts. He played piano and organ
and was organist at St George’s Church in Hove (and I think in one other church).
Many will miss him…
Adrian Ball:
I met Mike in 1996 when he took over the new surgery attached to the new United
Reformed Church in Lewes Road Brighton on the old Preston Barracks site. I had
project managed the building of the church until it was completed in 1996. Mike was
the only GP at the surgery but he soon had a pretty full list of patients. As the surgery
was rented from the church I seemed to be the one he got in touch with if there was
5
something that needed attention. It was a coincidence that the Lewes Road Surgery
and the one in Hertford Road Brighton which I am registered with, were linked and
supported each other. So we knew each other quite well prior to him joining Rotary in
2002. When he finally retired Hilary and I were invited to his retirement celebration.
I may have been the last Rotarian to have spoken to him just a few days before he
passed away as I was on the ring round rota with Mike being my assigned member.
Little did I think that that would be the last time I would be in contact as he seemed to
be coping well, with the help of neighbours and his son. He was a very accomplished
church organist, but I am not sure if he had given that up in recent times.
Michael Nettell (a near neighbour):
Michael (Barley) was a Roman Catholic and was a member of the congregation of St
George’s in Court Farm Road Hangleton, where he played the organ for many years.
Interestingly, Michael’s wife, Lavinia, was C of E, and attended St Peter’s, in Holmes
Avenue, just up the road from St George’s. The service at St Peter’s normally started
and finished before St George’s, so afterwards Lavinia walked along the road to join
him.
Michael served in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) and Lavinia was a Wren. They
had a son Paul and a grandson and were a close family.
Ian Collington:
Michael was a regular and enthusiastic letter writer both to the Daily Telegraph and
locally to the Argus, and the following selection gives an insight into his robust and
often dryly humorous outlook on life.
To The Telegraph:
Diet scaremongers
SIR – When will those who try to scare the living daylights out of us about our diets
and lifestyles realise that the more they preach that things are bad for us, the less
notice anybody will take?
Dr Michael Barley
Hove, East Sussex
SIR – Why hasn’t John Rutter been knighted? (composer and conductor)
Dr Michael Barley
Hove, East Sussex
The Daily Telegraph
28 Oct 2016
Dr Michael Barley
6
SIR – I assumed it was the doctor’s duty to know best (“End of doctor knows best”,
report, October 27). If I were a patient with a doctor who didn’t know best, I’d want to
know why. Hove, East Sussex
Letter to The Argus:
3rd November 2012
Doctor’s orders
Grateful thanks
I have just come out of the Princess Royal Hospital after an operation on my throat. I
cannot praise the consultant and his firm or the nursing staff on the Ansty Unit too
highly for their care and attention – nothing was too much trouble for them. Very
many thanks to all concerned.
(Dr) Michael Barley, Queen Alexandra Avenue, Hove
Michael In His Own Words
Thanks to some Rotarians with well-developed hoarding instincts we are fortunate in
having access to the Club Bulletins for 2006-2007, the year in which Michael served
as President of the Club. A few brief extracts from Michael’s introductions to the
Bulletins give us an insight into the man and his life:
Sep 2006:
I must say I enjoyed Sean Clark's address about the underwater filming of the West
Pier. Having been a diving MO in the Royal. Naval Reserve myself - although I never
actually did any diving - I have enormous admiration for people who carry out this
sort of work, as I have a certain knowledge of the dangers faced by any diver.
Nov 2006:
We have had two excellent speakers. First, as a keen music-lover (and a very rusty
AB Grade VII amateur pianist) I was particularly interested to hear Ivan Rockey,
general manager of the Brighton and Hove Philharmonic Society for the last four
years, at the meeting on 10th October, and he addressed us on the history of the
Society and the Brighton and Hove Philharmonic Orchestra. I didn't realise how many
names the Orchestra had had until the present time; whatever its names in the past,
it is a first-class orchestra which I have heard many times and it is good to learn that
its activities are expanding and that it has now made it onto BBC Radio 3.
Dec 2006:
7On 14th November Isobel Robinson, from the charity Spinal Research, based in
Surrey, addressed the Club on the subject of spinal injuries, the paralysis they cause,
and the struggle to overcome it. This was a most interesting talk, not least for me
personally: my son has just passed the appropriate driving test and become a biker,
on a 600cc Suzuki Bandit formerly owned by one of his friends. So far, he is intact. I
proposed the vote of thanks.
Jun 2007:
As I write, my year as your President has only five weeks to run, and I am starting to
get the sort of feelings of regret that one gets during the last two or three days of a
summer holiday. I took up the Presidency with some trepidation; the whole Rotary
"thing" (to use the disgusting modem vernacular- I think the Latin res is much better)
is immense and complex and fine and noble, and it was already clear to me that
presidency of a Rotary club was a great privilege and honour - I have never
experienced this and never shall, but I suspect that it must be rather similar to being
captain of a warship. And with that honour, of course, goes responsibility. As the
months have gone by, and everything seems to have gone all right, it has gradually
all become rather fun.
8Window on the World – Chris Shergold
The Titan Airways flight
coming in to land at St
Helena
St Helena Airport – All scheduled flights to and from South Africa are currently
suspended which means there is at present no way of getting on or off the island. This
is not necessarily a bad thing because St Helena is completely free of the coronavirus.
However, the UK Government chartered a plane to fly direct from the UK to St Helena,
with a refuelling stop in Accra, Ghana, on Sunday 19th April. The aircraft was an Airbus
A318 of Stansted-based Titan Airways and the main purpose of the flight was to bring
coronavirus testing material to St Helena although it did also carry about 10
passengers. The A318 is the smallest of the Airbus A320 series of aircraft and this was
the first time any Airbus aircraft had landed at the airport. On Monday the aircraft
carried out several take offs and landings to gain experience of the peculiar
circumstances of the airport. The aircraft flew back to the UK, again via Accra, on
Tuesday.
Details of the flight, including a video, can be found at
https://whatthesaintsdidnext.com/titan-airways-airbus-a318-delivers-covid-19-test-
kits-st-helena-island/ .
Local Webcams – Unfortunately, due to the present restriction, there has been little
activity on most of the webcams I listed last month. The Solent is normally very busy
but it’s currently rather quiet although you may be lucky and see a cruise ship passing
through as well as occasional Portsmouth – IOW ferries. On the plus side the
organisers have introduced a few additional webcams showing other parts of the Isle
of Wight. https://isleofwightwebcams.co.uk/solent-webcam/
Earth.nullschool.net – This website provides interesting information. For example,
the Trade Winds so loved by sailors over the centuries are clearly visible. These are
the consistent winds that blow from east to west at an angle in towards the Equator.
Between them the ‘Doldrums’, an area of calm or minimal winds, can also be seen. In
the days of sail prior to the opening of the Suez Canal shipping routes to South Africa,
India, Australia and so on all had to go via the Cape of Good Hope. The regular route
from Britain was by way of the Canary Islands, Brazil and across the south Atlantic.
9The winds show clearly why this was necessary. It also shows very clearly that the
direction of winds around low-pressure depressions and high-pressure anti-cyclones
is reversed in the southern hemisphere compared to north of the Equator
https://earth.nullschool.net/
Heavens Above – The International Space Station (ISS) is not visible over England at
the present time but there are some really interesting alternatives. The Starlink
satellites, for example, may be visible to the naked eye most evenings although you
will need to be away from other light sources such as street lamps as they are not as
bright as the ISS. These satellites are in a low orbit and have recently been launched
by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. 60 satellites are released from each rocket launch
and they appear in ‘trains’ of shiny objects crossing the sky. There will eventually be
1,500 of them and they will be used to provide satellite internet access. Please note
that the ‘brightness’ figure shown in the list is a calculated factor and the lower the
figure the more brilliant the satellite will appear. https://www.heavens-
above.com/AllSats.aspx?lat=50.8011&lng=-0.0419&loc=Saltdean&alt=0&tz=GMT .
Wildlife webcams – There hasn’t much activity at the Voi Lodge waterhole but I have
seen elephants on four separate occasions. If you do see elephants you will find that
Tsavo elephants appear with a reddish hue! This is because they ‘spray’ themselves
with the red dust to protect their skin. Over the past month I’ve also seen water buck
(with a white circle around their backside) and impala.
https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/kenya/taita-taveta-county/voi/tsavo-
east-national-park.html .
NEW SUGGESTIONS – It’s the time of year when Osprey are returning on their
summer migration north. You can expect to see activity on any of the following
webcams:
https://www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/osprey/osprey-webcams/ - Poole Harbour is
the most southerly point in the UK where Osprey nesting can be observed. At the time
of writing, 25th April, only the hen bird had arrived. By selecting ‘News’ then Osprey
Diary current details can be viewed.
https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/osprey-cam – Located at
Foulshaw Moss, near Witherslack in the southeast of the Lake District.
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam/ - Located at
Loch Arkaig just north of Fort William in the Scottish Highlands.
https://camstreamer.com/live/stream/5955-osprey-cam-in-nova-scotia-canada – One
of the many Osprey nest sites in Nova Scotia, Canada.
https://hawkandowltrust.org/web-cam-live/norwich-cathedral-side – Peregrine Falcon
nest on Norwich Cathedral.
Chris Shergold
25th April 2020
PS Chris promises a return to his allotment next month!
10Alison’s Party (with apologies to Mike Leigh)
What a difference a year makes!
I hope you all had 29th April down in your diaries as a red letter day ... my birthday!
Given the present social distancing restrictions, and the fact that I live alone, I
decided to hold a virtual birthday party via Zoom. Feeling relatively at ease with being
a member of a zoom meeting, after several Rotary Club on line meetings, I decided
to take a leap in the dark and host an event.
There were eleven of us: from the north of Scotland, to London via Goring and Hove
and my Egyptian family in Sharm el Sheikh, including fellow Rotarians Bob Bennett
and Edith and Salah Sadek. There were two actual birthday cakes and my own
virtual one and several rounds of a cacophonous “Happy Birthday to You”, which is
now inextricably linked in my mind with how to wash your hands for at least 20
seconds. (Where are you Gareth Malone when we need you?)
The star of the show was probably my 5 year old grandson in Egypt who had plenty
to say and said it very confidently. Minor technical glitches included certain people
trying to join an old meeting, another invitee getting the time wrong, and me being
unable to share a video, although I did manage to share photos.
It goes without saying that it was the highlight of my day and I enjoyed decorating the
room, preparing my virtual cake and wearing something a bit smarter than everyday
slouching around the house clothes, but I do hope that next year we can have a real
celebration.
Guess Who? 29th April 2019 at Riddle and Finn
My favourite card this
Year, from Ralph and
Eileen
11The Hermitage, St Petersburg
On 21st April, Edith Sadek gave us a guided tour illustrated by some superb pictures
all via the wonders of Zoom. She and Salah visited St Petersburg as part of their
Baltic Cruise with Cunard. It’s not possible to do full justice to the pictures here, so
you can find them online via this link
(https://1drv.ms/u/s!Amt0YXPwTnBHvXIi5Ll6NmjsxHJQ?e=MvcQJb ). To whet your
appetite, thumbnails are reproduced below, together with Edith’s accompanying
notes.
ST. Petersburg: Is an important port and the 4th largest city in Europe, after Istanbul,
Moscow and London. It was the Imperial Capital twice, from 1713 - 1728, again 1732
- 1918 and the historic centre is a UNESCO world heritage site.
The pictures record our visit to 'The State Hermitage Museum', which is now a
federal state property and the second-largest art museum in the world. To manage
the 4.5 million visitors per annum, both groups and individuals are expected to move
through at a timely pace. As an organised tour group from a cruise ship, we entered
the museum at our timed slot, via the Ambassadors entrance.
Peter the great (1672 to 1725), founded St Petersburg in 1703, inspired by his travels
through Europe especially by Amsterdam and its waterways. He was a modest man,
despite being Tsar and lived in a simple house, but for his wife he built a palace, 'the
Hermitage', which grew into the Hermitage of today. Additions and embellishment, at
first by his daughter Elizabeth l, Empress of Russia nicknamed the great spender,
known for wearing each dress only once and then later further developed by
Catherine the Great.
Situated along the Palace Embankment on the Neva river, the collections occupy a
large complex of six historic buildings, including the Winter Palace, a former
residence of Russian emperors, also the Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New
Hermitage, and Hermitage Theatre, of which five are open to the public.
Besides the six buildings in the main museum complex, the museum also has
several exhibition centres abroad. Its collections, of which only a small part is on
permanent display, comprise over three million items, including the largest collection
of paintings in the world.
The Museum was founded in 1764 when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an
impressive collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky
and has been open to the public since 1852.
• The Western European Art collection ranges widely, including European
sculpture, applied art from the 13th to the 20th centuries and paintings.
• The Classical antiquities collection occupies most of the ground floor of the
Old and New Hermitage buildings; Greek artefacts from the third millennium to
12fifth century BC, including engraved gems and cameos, such as the famous
Gonzaga Cameo.
• Egyptian antiquities in the Egyptian Hall, exhibition dating back to 1852,
including the former Castiglione Collection.
• The exhibition of Classical Antiquities is a modest collection of the culture of
Ancient Mesopotamia, including a number of Assyrian reliefs from Babylon,
Dur-Sharrukin and Nimrud.
• Italic art from the 9th to second century BC, Roman marble and bronze
sculpture and applied art from the first century BC to fourth century AD,
including copies of Classical and Hellenistic Greek sculptures.
• One of the highlights of the collection is the Tauride Venus, which, according to
latest research, is an original Hellenistic Greek sculpture rather than a Roman
copy as was thought before.
13Comments on the pictures:
1. The Hermitage
2. The Ambassador's staircase / entrance
3. Throne Room
4. One of the beautiful Parquet floors
5. Room of the Peacock Clock
6. The Peacock clock is a large automaton of three life-sized birds. James Cox
(1723 - 1800) a British jeweller and goldsmith, manufactured it in the second
half of the 18th century and it was acquired by Catherine the Great in 1781.
On the appointed hour, all the birds move and scream, an amazing sound and
automated movement display.
7. Mosaic table, at first sight it looks like a painting, as the mosaic stones ar e
too small to be seen by the naked eye.
8. Portraits of the Generals participating in the Napoleonic war. This is only one
side of the room and nearly only 1/4 of its length. All the generals participating
in the fight against Napoleon and the siege of Moscow are portrayed. Except
those who fell in the battles and a few who were too far away to return for the
sittings.
9. Picture gallery with glass roof.
10. Room (1) of the Western European Art collection.
11. Room (2) of the Western European Art collection.
12. Our tour guide of group 16 explaining the picture - unfortunately I missed the
explanation and as everything was labelled in Russian, I now do not know.
(Later confirmed to be 'Battle Between the Lapiths and Centaurs' by Luca
Giordano.)
13. The room of the Great Vase in the western wing features the 2.57m (8.4 ft)
high Kolyvan Vase, weighing 42,000 lb (19 tonnes), made of Jasper in 1843
and installed before the walls were built.
14. The columns, in the Egyptian hall, are inspired by the columns in Karnak /
Upper Egypt.
15. Egyptian stone carving
16. Sculpture of Jupiter
17. The Hermitage from across the Neva river.
ES 21/04/2020
14You can also read
