(if you have any comments or questions, please contact Denis 
 
  
________________________________________________________________________

 
Rotary Club of Patong Beach
Phuket Thailand 
 
 
 
Bulletin 603 Volume 14  - No. 15 - 19th November 2019
 
 
        

 

         

                    

                           

 

International President        District Governor 3330          Rotary Club of Patong Beach              Mark Daniel Maloney              Sakon  Uengsroithong         President Jonathan Russell         

Meeting Information

 
Meetings Weekly 
 
 ALL YEAR Dinner Out 1st Tuesday of each month 7 pm at a restaurant

Meetings Tuesday  19.00 - 21.00 @ Millennium Hotel in Jungceylon
Rat-U-Thit Road Patong Beach
 
Dress code  
Members shall be dressed appropriately in a manner
                         that shows their respect for the club and its members  
 
 
Visitors Welcome
registration mandatory
 
    Click for map
 
 
 
Upcoming Events 
 
All meetings (Except Dinner Outs) @ - Millennium Hotel 
 
 
November & organiser 
Tuesday 19th Mathew Barclay Consul General Australia
Tuesday 26th Larry Demco  
 
December & Organiser 
Tuesday 3rd - Dinner Out - PP Andy Becker
Tuesday 10th Annual General Meeting - P Jonathan Russell
Saturday 21st - Christmas Party - PP Karen Eidvik Moody 
 
No meetings for Tuesday 24th & 31st 
 
 
 
 
 
No one this week  
 
 
 
 
 
 ***********************************************************
 
 
 
Tuesday 19th November 
organised by PP Walter Wheeler
 

 

Matthew Barclay, the new Consul General to Australia 

‘Phuket’s place in 21st-century diplomacy’

Matthew shall talk about his own pathway to a diplomatic career (via Rotary’s Youth Exchange Program) and the changing nature of modern diplomacy.  Smaller - more dynamic - diplomatic missions, deployment in high-threat environments, increased social media engagement and the growing role of soft-power - these are some of the trends that are leading the shift in today’s foreign services. 

 
 

 

 
 
 
Tuesday 12th November 
 
 
It was a busy night, with many visitors ready to hear the guest speaker our own PP OB Wetzell.
 OB has a great way of presenting a talk in an engaging & engrossing manner.    
 Phuket is now at the beginning of the high season. 
 A lot more tourists in town.  Weather is nice.
 
  Visiting Rotarians: 
   There were two Rotarians who joined the meeting from seeing the notice at the entrance in           Jungceylon.  (It certainly pays to advertise -ed)   
 
   
 
Rotarian Ewald Restle from the RC of Pfullendorf Germany.
 
    
 Ewald said a few words & exchanged his club banner with P Jonathan
 
  
 
 
 
 
 A Rotarian couple from Sweden also received a banner from P Jonathan. 
 They will send a banner back to us. 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Several visitors came to hear PP OB & enjoy fellowship & the excellent meal provided by   the Millennium Hotel, Jungceylon Patong.   
 
 PP OB brother-in-law’s Mervin brought 4 bottles of red for all of us to have a sip.  THANK YOU!!
 
 Great fellowship was evident.  A few visitors showed interest in joining the club. 
 J  Will get the process started.  Club shirts were given to Michael (OB’s friend) for telling a joke,   Vincent (potential new member) for a birthday, and Rtn Ewald as a souvenir back to Pfullendorf,   Germany.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Happy hundred bowl was happy to receive lots of 100 baht bills from everyone in the room.
 
 
 
    Dr Johan for Community Services provided an update.
  • The very successful swimming program is being expanded, & the RC of Andaman will join. The program will be ongoing.  We are trying to get as many clubs involved as possible.  The fund is available.  All club members are encouraged to assist Dr. Johan monitor and work with other clubs.
  • Another new Community Service Program is the resuscitation units for premature babies.  This will be at the Vachira hospital in Phuket. The cost of a unit is $65,000 & will be a great addition at the hospital.  Once successful, we will try to expand the program to supply one unit to our local Patong Hospital as well.  Not only the resuscitation equipment, we are also looking into equipping local, smaller health offices with some basic equipment.            These smaller health offices serve local residents and tourists alike.  RCOPB would like to work with Rotary clubs from abroad that has interest in this project.  Contact us. 
 Pres Jonathan announced that the board and subsequently the club have approved a new   member Mr. Dieter Dratwa.  He will be installed at our AGM in December. 
 
 
 PP OB commenced his talk 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The key thing about the test and the emphasis of my talk is that “things are not as bad as we project”
 We all have perceptions, predispositions & other distortions that deny us believing in the truth about the past, the present & the future. Note, the average score on the test was 32% which we   should have achieved if we just closed our eyes & made a mark… the fact is that most of us believe, wrongly, that the world is both worse than yesterday and headed downhill in the future in most things human. So, we marked negative answers by & large.
 
 
 
 
 My hope was to highlight a few of the many items of improvement   in the human condition over the last 20 years or so.
 I wanted to admonish all of us to see where the glass is half full &   not to diminish the positive strides, we have made in life   expectancy, health, equality, Children’s survival rates etc….
 
 We should neither romanticize the past nor be woeful or cavalier   about the future.
 
 Questionnaires were used and attached here for your information.   How many have you got right?
 
 
  A word of thanks by Pres Jonathan to PP OB for an interesting & thought-provoking talk.   
 
 
Night report: Pres Jonathan R. Photos: PP Walter W. SAA: PP Best W.
 
 E&OE    
Thank you - ed Denis
                                                                        
************************************************************************
 
   

 

 
 
 
 

Artists unite to help The Bahamas rebuild

 
Julien Believe

 

Julien Believe, singer, songwriter and Rotarian, performs at the Rotary International Convention in Hamburg. Julien is collaborating with other artists and Past RI President Barry Rassin on recovery efforts in The Bahamas.

 

 

 

 

By Julien Believe, singer, songwriter, entertainer, and member of the Rotary Club of East Nassau

 

 

 

Three years ago, I penned “I Believe in You,” along with my amazing team, with one purpose in mind – to inspire and motivate. It is a timeless song for anyone that needs a moral boost or just a little nudge to say, “you matter.” After the devastation of Hurricane Dorian in both Abaco and Grand Bahama, it was only fitting that I release ”I Believe in You” with a few tweaks. My fellow country mates needed help but most importantly they needed HOPE. This song is designed to create a sense of hope, strength and assurance in knowing that we, as a nation, will live up to being strong.

My team and I got on the phone with some of the Caribbean’s top artists and created the “We Are the World” of the Caribbean. “I Believe in You” represents solidarity and unity amongst each artist and their willingness to band together to help a brother or sister in need. This song declares not only love of country but the Caribbean at large. Almost every island has experienced the powerful force of mother nature and witnessed firsthand the sheer destruction of natural disasters, but we haven’t seen anything of this magnitude in a while, if ever.

Some lost their homes, their loved ones and some lost their lives. Spirits were broken. I did what I do best – I used my voice to spread love, hope and belief in the fact that “this too shall pass.” I sang words that I knew would help ease the blow, if only for a minute. Music has a way of getting you through, a way of hugging you when arms just won’t do, a way of capturing the essence of your emotion when words cannot.

“I Believe in You” drives awareness to the devastation and tugs at your heart for a call for action to help, assist and give to those in need. Many organizations, including Rotary clubs, donated their time, efforts, money, and energy. I figured I must do my part to spread love, hope and inspiration through my voice. This song is a tribute to the resilience of the Caribbean Spirit in the face of insurmountable odds.

I stand hand in hand, side by side, with my brothers and sisters affected by this storm directly or indirectly and I’m asking my fellow Rotarians to do the same. I’m also grateful for Aliv, which has been a major contributor to this effort by donating time, effort, and energy to ensure the Bahamian people understand we are all supporting them. I pray that this song touches the heart and soul of each person. I hope that my message is heard around the world to drive awareness not only to the devastation of Hurricane Dorian but that the lyrics to “I Believe in You” touches anyone going through anything they feel is too hard to bear.

 

*************************************************************************
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A.A.A.D.D.- KNOW THE SYMPTOMS!
Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.  

 
Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.  
This is how it manifests:
 

I decide to water my garden.  
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,  
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.
As I start toward the garage,  
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mailbox earlier.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.  
 
I lay my car keys on the table,  
Put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
And notice that the can is full.
So, I decided to put the bills back  
On the table and take out the garbage first...
But then I think,  
Since I'm going to be near the mailbox
When I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.
 
I take my chequebook off the table,  
And see that there is only one check left.  
My extra checks are in my desk in the study,  
So I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.  
I'm going to look for my checks,  
But first I need to push the Pepsi aside  
So that I don't accidentally knock it over.  
The Pepsi is getting warm,  
And I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.  
 
As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,  
A vase of flowers on the counter  
Catches my eye--they need water.  
I put the Pepsi on the counter and  
Discover my reading glasses that   
I've been searching for all morning.  
I decide I better put them back on my desk,  
But first I'm going to water the flowers.  
 
I set the glasses back down on the counter,  
Fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
But I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
So I decided to put it back in the den where it belongs,
But first I'll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers,  
But quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back on the table,  
Get some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then, I head down the hall trying to  
Remember what I was planning to do.  

 
At the end of the day:  
The car isn't washed, 
The bills aren't paid, 
There is a warm can of 
Pepsi sitting on the counter, 
The flowers don't have enough water, 
There is still only 1 check in my chequebook, 
I can't find the remote, 
I can't find my glasses, 
And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.  
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,  
I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day,
And I'm really tired.
 
**********************************************************
 
True story
Off Newfoundland, Canada

 US Ship:
  “Please divert your course 0.5 of a degree to the south to avoid a collision”
 Coastguard:
 “We recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision”
 
 US Ship:
 “This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I repeat, divert YOUR course”
 Coastguard:
 No. I repeat, you divert YOUR course!

 US Ship:
 THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA.
 WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOU COURSE NOW!!

Coastguard:
 This is a lighthouse. It's your call.
 
"Borrowed" from the RC Kwinana Western Australia - Thank you 
 
 
The Joke bank is 10
 
Please Note:  
As Bulletin editor, I reserve the right to not publish anything considered inappropriate in the Joke section or elsewhere in the Bulletin -    Ed Denis