HI, ANDY HERE

Always eager for a chance to show off my animation, illustration and photographic skills, I’ve posted a couple of movies I made for our GSE trip.

The first is about the history of Kent and Sussex. It’s the same presentation I made to the Rotary Clubs in Australia, although I’ve made one notable change - my speaking part is now done with text captions (I tried recording my voice, but it sounded pretty awful on the playback. I’m afraid captions will have to do...)

The second movie is my homecoming presentation. I made it to be a short tour of D9520 for those who haven’t been there. This online version is essentially the same as the presentation I make for the clubs at home, though it has a little less text and a few more photos. And once again, captions instead of speech.

I NEED YOUR HELP...

Neither movie is 100% finished. They could both use soundtracks to make them more exciting. What I’d like to have is a different tune for each section, i.e. a Julius Cesar tune, an Anglo Saxon tune, etc. And an Adelaide tune, a Murray River tune, and so on. I racked my brain and ransacked my CD collection, but I’m afraid I couldn’t come up with any music that would suit. So here’s where I could use your help - if when you watch either movie you should happen to think "aha! I know just the tune for this" then drop me a line (beamish88@hotmail.com) and I’ll see about making some updates.

And drop me a line if your business could use some animated or illustrated promotions. This is what I do for a living, after all.

All that’s left for me to say is that I thoroughly enjoyed the trip – to find out why I enjoyed it so much, take a look at the homecoming movie and see for yourself what a wonderful place District 9520 is.

Once again, many thanks to all the Rotarians who made my Group Study Exchange such a fantastic experience.

A.


History of Kent & Sussex


Tour of District 9520

Goodbye Oz

Well this is it the Exchange is over and we are on our way the Team off to the UK and Jenny and I off on the Ghan to Alice. The flight was at 10.50 from Adelaide and we agreed to meet up for a little wave off at 9.30. Andy managed to keep me on tender hooks to the last by turning up before the check in gate was due to close. The crowd that turned up to see us off was incredible not least the distance some had travelled. We then all piled through security to wave the team off. Well I actually got them here and got them off that was some achievement! Although I suspect a number of them will be back. The emotional release was incredible I have been living on adrenalin for the last month seldom sleeping more than 4 hours a night but never really feeling tired. No more 2am sessions keeping up the blog after my hosts have gone to bed but I would not have missed a minute of it, Best of all were the team Tom, Andy, Cheryl and Richard I could not have wished for a better bunch thanks guys I shall miss you.
This end we have ribbed DG Peter Ochota unmercifully over the way he and Meredith have stalked us round the district but it is impressive that a DG can attend so many disparate meetings he has warmly welcomed us at every venue and by now know our presentation better than we do. Thank you both without your original input this exchange would never have happened.
Bruce and Kathy Richardson have similarly been regular attendees’ and their original welcome and briefing was much appreciated. Bruce has been my main link man providing us with the programme and responding to queries with lightning efficiency.
The whole of the 9520 GSE team have been great and I particularly appreciated Peter and Arthur’s support it is a very impressive team and you certainly delivered the result; it must be very gratifying for you all to see a job well done.
I am heading off to Adelaide to hopefully find Jenny! - Ray

Farewell Presentation

Unbelievably today is our last day, where did that month go? We have been given time to do our packing, get some shopping and get something together for our final presentation. I spent a good part of the day doing my ironing as I am staying on when the team fly off tomorrow plus sorting all the stuff I have accumulated. This was also a big problem as there was nothing I wanted to throw away. So it really consisted of repacking to suit the travel that we will be doing over the next month. I put the finishing touches to my final presentation and made some notes for the debrief meeting which we are having before the farewell Dinner this evening. Well they promised rain and we have got it, I would love to be down at the wetlands today and see what is happening there, it’s heaving down. We have had rain everywhere we have been except Wakerie and it is starting to show; when we were first in Adelaide 4 weeks ago everything was brown now the parklands are green and the countryside is being transformed. Andy managed to crash in another vocational visit whilst the rest of the team went shopping. The debrief was at the Belair Country Club, this proved a very positive meeting all the team agreed that it had been an incredible experience and very well balanced, organised and aptly specific vocational exchanges. The team had obviously given some thought the minor issues that had occurred over the last month and would help with further exchanges in 9520 and 1120. However, these exchanges have to be compromise of what individuals want and what practically can be arranged. One comment that it would have been beneficial to have had a couple of days free time was received positively but the question was asked which two days would you have taken out – no answer! From my own viewpoint the whole programme has been quite exceptional previous team leaders who had seen the programme we had been provided were convinced we would never stand the pace but we all felt the pace and overall content was just right, thanks to everyone involved with this fantastic programme. I had been leaning on the team for the last two weeks to think about the Final Presentation, we owed it to 9520 to deliver something reasonable. In the event we never got together but each team member did their own thing and it was great presenting their own prospective, thanks and highlights. The Farewell Dinner was made up of all our own hosts on each table, what a night. - Ray

Urrbrae Wetlands

Rain has been promised but nothing has materialised – yet, but we set off to the Urrbrae Wetlands armed which a clutch of umbrellas which we disposed of before we even got there. Amazingly we headed into the city, not out, as Urrbrae is a local school that encompasses the managed wetlands, a full farm, vineyards and a fully operational winery, a sales outlet as well as the adjacent Waite arboretum. We first received a tour of the wetlands which is fed by two storm drains a much better use than simply flushing it out to sea with all its attendant pollutants of rubber, general rubbish and oil from the roads. The area is used extensively for programmes within the school but also by PHD students; we were even given the opportunity to catch and view our own “critters” from the ponds. The general management was very impressive and I was quite taken with the aquifer model. We were then given a guided tour of the farm by one of the students who was delighted that we were all old! This came as quite a shock to the rest of the team, made me feel good though to be put in the same category as them. The farm is the real thing and would put a lot of fully commercial enterprises to shame, producing prize beef, numerous pigs, sheep complete with shearing shed, alpacas which are very common here. Apparently they are very good when mixed with the sheep at keeping foxes away, another unwanted English immigrant, foxes that is. After the fishery and the indigenous collection we headed off via Urrbrae House which houses one of the first refrigeration units in Australia, I simply cannot get away from my business vocation. After lunch we were shown round Bedford Industries a work placement for people with physic al and intellectual difficulties. I have seen similar establishments in the UK but nothing on this scale. They provide short term training or long term employment. They also achieve their contracts in open tender providing work for all levels of ability. The employees are paid in respect of what they are able to achieve so to some extent compete fairly in the market place. The evening was scheduled as an evening with our host and I was delighted that Mary and Phil had invited my wife Jenny round who had flown in today to join me at the end of the exchange to take a trip round other parts of Australia. Jenny did well but had difficulty keeping her eyes open after dinner and they kindly ferried her back to her hotel. Our hosts have all been fantastic and it is typical of the kindness we have been shown. Whilst I had been out all day doing GSE things District Governor Peter his wife Meredith and grandson Max had all been back and forth to the airport and eventually picked up Jenny who had been diverted to Melbourne; that was really over and above the call of duty. I cannot say enough about the Rotarians and the families in 9520, thanks guys. Ray

I Tried!

Hi readers, I did try to update the blog but Internet connections in Alice Springs let me down. Last Sunday we set off on our holiday following the Exchange by taking the Ghan train to Alice Springs, a 24 hour journey which really gave you the true sense of the size of this country. After dark I used the time to finalise the entries for the blog as the Hotel we have booked in Alice advertised wireless broadband, however it would not let me in and we were off on a Red Centre tour at 6am the following morning and we have just got back so fingers crossed I am heading for the “hot spot” in reception if not it will have to be Cairns where we fly to tomorrow. - Ray

Vocations at Mitcham

Today is another Vocational day and as requested I have been allocated time with Andy in the morning at 5 Star Digital and Tom in the afternoon at Rodney Fox Shark experience. Bob picked us up and ran us into Adelaide to 5 Star’s premises which were very impressive. Andy was given the full tour and spent a considerable time with them understanding the design and printing process at a very high tech plant. Printing has moved on in leaps and bounds in recent years and speed of turn round which can be achieved in one day, and print run numbers, from one upwards, are now possible. However, the quality is incredible but we were all impressed with the flat bed printer that could produce large poster images and even print directly on doors and plate glass. I was fascinated by the mechanical handling and the speed of the machines all in all a very impressive and informative morning for Andy. I am not sure if he got a job offer for his design expertise! We were all to meet up for lunch in Glenelg and it was a beautiful day. We were running a little early so we stretched our legs by walking round the new marina development and back along the front to the café. In the harbour was a dolphin and her calf and we got a clear view of the speed of these animals and their skill in fishing. Lunch comprised of a couple of pizzas! The lunch meet was also to effect a change over where I was to tie up with Tom, who had a fantastic morning following an early start at the fish market. Unfortunately Rodney had been called away to a meeting so we headed up to Port Adelaide instead where we visited the Maritime Museum. Andy meanwhile headed off to “Digiwedo”. The museum had some fascinating exhibits but also some unusual takes on English History apparently Nelson was hit on the shoulder by a cannon ball and was killed by a piece of shrapnel, I can think of quite a few people who might disagree with that including the French who claimed to have shot him. Tonight’s our final presentation at the Edinburgh Hotel Mitcham and it was great to see that Kent, Charlene and Gary from the 9520 team got down to see us. The team again delivered in faultless fashion 10 out of 10 cannot be bad, no I.T. hiccups, thanks to the host clubs and great audiences. We completed the full round of banner exchanges we have quite a cache now which I am sure our host clubs will be delighted to receive. That’s the last of the 1120 presentations we are truly on the home straight now. - Ray

Parliament

Kookaburras woke me this morning, a family of four, right outside my window the view this morning is unbelievable what a place to live her up on the side of the Adelaide Hills. Downstairs I found Phil clearing up after last nights BBQ he was scrubbing away for at east an hour and a half. Off to an early start to visit Parliament House this is the home of the State government not Federal but it is run on very similar lines to our own parliament with two houses however there are significant differences both houses being able to raise and modify legislation and then pass it to the other house. We were given a full tour which further reinforced the similarities even down to the colour of the carpets, except the red of the upper house was emblazoned with the Sturt Pea South Australia’s national flower. Parliament was not sitting but the lower house was being used by a bunch of school children for a mock parliament, I bet they could sort the water issues out! Down to the art gallery for lunch via the river (lake) and the university and then onto the Central Market a spectacular array of fruit and vegetables and a fascinating Chinese section including a supermarket. We then called on Mitcham’s Rotary Book Shop as with the others we have seen you have to be impressed with all the volunteers that man it although there seems to be some fighting for the privilege! This is a major earner enabling them to support their extensive charitable programmes. Back home to dinner with our hosts and an early night. - Ray