Gallant Granny Nabbed for Grabbing Wine

This blog was going to be all about Winex, about how hard the work is for relatively little reward, but how much fun it is and what a good team-building exercise it is.
     A bit like the Springboks at the World Cup in Japan, then.
     It is by now common knowledge that we were unceremoniously dumped from Winex and sent home after the first night.
     Exactly the opposite of what happened to the Boks, of course, who went on to score a glorious victory over England on Saturday and united a nation in the process.

The first-night crew at Winex: Linda Vink with Graham Donet, myself, David Marshall, Julian Nagy and Adriaen Sligcher. Karlien Kruger took over Adriaen's shift later in the afternoon

     Everyone in the club knows by now why we were sent packing, as Linda spoke to everyone personally and told the members what had happened and why she decided a bottle of Ernie Els wine would be a good Golf Day prize, so the less we dwell on the matter, the better.
     From a New Dawn point of view we need to limit damage to the club, but we are a part of Rotary and it is in the best interests of Rotary that the connection that the Rotary Club of Benoni Aurora has with Winex, be protected. This also extends to four other wine shows around the country that have similar ties with Rotary clubs.

Myself, Graham Donet and David Marshall worked the full shift on Wednesday

     Benoni Aurora has promised that we will be paid for the work done on Wednesday evening which was, as expected, hard work for relatively little reward, etc!
     And in case the message didn't quite get through, this incident marks the end of the road for New Dawn as regards Winex, something that was likely to have happened in any case.
     The board is dealing with the fallout from the weekend and will see to it that all the i's are dotted and t's crossed and then it will be time to put the matter behind us, allow the dust to settle and carry on celebrating the Springboks for an outstanding performance.

Professor Robutso Murapa having his arm twisted by Mike MacDonald

     The Golf Day was discussed at the meeting last week as we are now in the final stages of the planning. Mike MacDonald, who is organising the event with Ex-member Greg Smith, reported that we already have a bigger field than in past years but still needed contributions in the form of prizes and wine and other drinks for the Barrow of Booze raffle.
     Professor Robutso Murapa, who has joined our meetings before and lives close by to the Parkview Golf Club, had his arm twisted by Mike and has agreed to play.
     Another star of the day is undoubtedly Hannes Dressler, who has already provided ten golfers.

Dianne Stewart of North Carolina with Helene Bramwell

     Another visitor was Dianne Stewart, a friend of Helene Bramwell, whose husband is a Rotarian in Charlottesville, North Carolina. Dianne says she takes part in many Rotary events and functions and passed on a few tips for fundraising.
     She is obviously interested in the Donate a Loo project that Helene is championing, but was also cornered by Ian Widdop with regards to the Meriting training scheme.
     The meeting this week will be a business meeting as the board meets tomorrow. We'll also be discussing the final touches for the Golf Day.
     NB: Remember, November is Foundation month in Rotary.
     A Thought for the Week: A life spent making mistakes is not only honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. - George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)