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

Last Stop

All packed up and ready to move again we are on our way to the Adelaide suburb of Mitcham but there is a lot to get in first. Still in the lush green area that is peculiar to this small corner of Australia we headed past the Urimba Wildlife Park to the Alexandrina Cheese factory where they have their own heard of Guernsey cows and make a splendid selection of cheeses including Gouda, Edam and Cheddar type cheeses as well as Italian and Feta (the marinated version is excellent). Having been given the full tour had our picture taken with Bluebell and tasted the different cheese types we again hit the road heading for McLaren Vale yes I know we have been here before but as I said we are not complaining about visits to wineries. Mary Silver, who with Phil is also my host, with her team from Mitcham Club was there to greet us with an amazing picnic spread, cheese, chocolate and wine Cheryl was in heaven, well, we all were. Group pictures and farewells to a great bunch from Encounter Bay especially Phil who had done us proud and we were on our way but not very far. I think our reputation had preceded us and en route we took in three more wineries. This is a particularly pretty area and some of the wineries are quite stunning and the wines not half bad either. Arriving at Mitcham and dropping of our car load it was apparent that the other car driven by Bob had gone missing well it was a BMW and in the event the electrics were giving major grief but we had to be off to arrange tonight’s BBQ, its going to be fast and furious here but with Mary in charge we have no shortage of direction! I dumped my bags in my room and it was all hands to the pump putting out chairs and tables, setting up the drinks table, lights, etc, etc. All was however ready and the BMW crew turned up although this was not to be the last breakdown, poor Bob all style and no go. Meeting our new hosts has now become something we really look forward to and this is no exception. Bob produced his talking stick and we all said a piece trying hard not to duplicate our presentation, Cheryl had some fascinating facts. And so to bed, the view from my bedroom window over the Adelaide plan is breathtaking. - Ray

Bird Watching

This morning was scheduled as personal choice with a hint of exercise but with Phil Hollow of Encounter Bay leading us personal choice didn’t really come into it! The morning started with a very heavy sea mist which burnt off very quickly I had opted, with Andy and Richard to go cycling along with three members of Encounter Bay. Once we had adjusted out bikes and helmets, compulsory in Australia we headed off east for the first mountain section, I managed to stay with the leading pack with Andy behind me wheezing encouragement. Most of the route along the coast to Port Elliot, our destination, was either cycle track or quiet roads and it’s a good many years since I rode a bike. One of my main interests in Australia has been the incredible bird life and Phil soon got into pointing anything unusual to me. Approaching Port Elliot Phil got quite excited and pointed out some Cookcoo Shrikes which unfortunately flew straight overhead and following them I lost balance and gracefully fell off. There was a little blood but nothing to serious and my host Andrew a doctor was immediately behind me however he said he was on a 3 week waiting list and I couldn’t lay there that long, so I gamely limped on to our destination. It was another great morning and an excellent way to see the coast. We then headed back to Victor harbour past Fish and met up at the Whale Tail to take a ride on the horse tram over to Granit Island these were used to transport wool to the ships that docked at Screwpile Quay on the island after the initial jetty in the non existent Victor Harbor proved far too hazardous. We then walked all round the island with Tom climbing every bolder in sight. Back over the causeway which has retained in its original wooden trestle construction with the tram tracks and rubber mats for the horses, who where nappies to prevent fowling of the jetty. Phil and Sue kindly provided lunch for Cheryl, Andy and me before we all set off to visit Cape Jervis moving away form Encounter Bay the land turned brown again reminding us of the drought. We looked down on Kangaroo Island before heading home. I had only seen kangaroos once and was therefore surprised to see several small mobs of them but Phil soon got fed up with our constant requests to stop for photos, how many pictures of kangaroos do you need? Back to Encounter Bay via Yankalilla, great name, to left over curry and a night looking at one another’s photos fantastic. Thanks Andy and Ali I have really enjoyed my stay here. - Ray

Fish

Ray taking picture of Fish!

Coorong

A beautiful morning and the view form my hosts Ali and Andy’s house is stunning they even have roses due to the immense rain water storage facility they have. We again met up at the Whale tail for a day out at the Coorong National park this is a unique eco system at the mouth of the Murray River. We crossed the curved bridge to High Marsh Island, built curved to accommodate the ferry that was kept running during the bridge construction and picked up our boats on the Mundoo Chanel heading first for the Murray mouth. The devastating effect on the river has been obvious all down through the state but none more so than here the flow of water out of the Murray mouth over the last three years has been precisely zero. The consequence is that this fresh water lagoon is rapidly becoming saline with catastrophic results on the wild life. The birds are largely gone apparently once huge flocks of migratory birds. The tortoises that became overwhelmed with worm casts have been collected up cleaned off and taken to a new environment and we saw direct evidence of this on the crabs which simply cannot survive. In an almost hopeless attempt to stop this huge lagoon turning into a stinking basin continual dredging is taking place in the Murray Mouth trying to keep it open to, at the very least, give some tidal flushing. We had a picnic lunch on the dunes and then trekked off to the ocean, where we all swam. It was great to get some silly relief. We tried our hand at cockling, well feet actually; I found two not exactly a meal. Very wet we headed back sad at the state of the area, but we did enjoy the beach and the sea. Encounter Bay club had generously arranged for us to have a Thai meal by ourselves in the evening. It was a great day which had a very serious element. Ray

Volunteering Australian Style

Today is our vocational day at Encounter Bay. If you are confused so I am we are in Victor Harbor (spelling correct) but the club is Encounter Bay, the bay is of course Encounter Bay and there is no place of Encounter Bay well there is/was a sort of suburb; so I hope that has cleared that up. Anyway I joined Tom in the morning with Ian the harbour master, although there is no harbour, we drove over the causeway to Granit Island which is now a reserve. The Glacial boulders are awesome and the view form the top along the coast was spectacular. We could see a seal frolicking along the outside of the breakwater and apparently a southern right whale had been seen a couple of days ago although it is a bit early for them. We did however get to see the Fairy Penguins they have a centre on the island run by a Lancashire couple (like everyone else we have met here they are free settlers!) We had a run down on the work of a harbour master with no harbour; Tom has put in an application! Ian then took us onto the Sea Rescue Squadron another voluntary recue service akin to our RNLI but restricted to inshore and with volunteers using their own boats although they do have a rather magnificent boat of their own. I then left Tom and went onto the Council offices where I met two of the managers who manage volunteers these include the Information centre, the library, the Whale Centre plus a number of social programmes the fact that the council has managers to manage volunteers is in itself very impressive but the training they provide is also excellent . Then I went onto the “Encounter Centre” where I was given the full tour of the wide range of facilities that are provided for a diverse group of people including mentally handicapped, elderly and the unemployed. In Australia if you receive the dole you are expected to do voluntary work after a period of time 2 days a week if you are over 55 and 4 days a week if you are under. The funding for this excellent centre is made up of 33% State funding, 33% donations and 33% self funding which they achieve through their toy shop which they make themselves their garden centre and other enterprises. I came here wondering if Australian volunteered in South Australia it is a culture. Later in the day we all met up for a walk over to Granit Island which was great to stretch our legs and then in the evening another super BBQ meeting our new host club.

Strathalbyn

We are on our way again and I recall Trevor saying to me last night that I cannot leave without seeing the Barossa so at the crack of dawn I am packed and we are off heading in completely the opposite direction to what we have to go to see this stunning valley with wall to wall vines including probably the best known name for Australian Wines, Jacobs Creek. We however headed to Yalumba and were wine tasting at 10.10 am; does that make me an alcoholic? I was really glad we made the trip it was without doubt the best Shiraz I have tasted so Trevor and Beverly kindly bought me a bottle, for later of course! We then headed in the general direction of Strathalbyn for the change over to Encounter Bay and were only marginally late having stopped off at the Herbig family tree on route. These trees have grossly deformed trunks where the Herbig family apparently lived, I was unable to ascertain if this is as a result of Aboriginal bark canoes being cut or a natural deformity. Entering Strath, as it is referred to, we spotted the Rotary trailer parked up and found the rest of the crew in the restaurant. Strath is a beautiful little oasis with a central green which is in a creek. The Encounter Bay guys were Phil and Phil might be inbreeding! President Phil is a welsh man but no one here seems to think he has an accent, I have a feeling that this club is going to be somewhat different! Sad farewells yet again and on our way to Encounter bay but they laid on two mayoral meetings for us the first at Goolwa where we met mayor Kym McHugh who with his CEO and full team gave us a very impressive presentation of their area with of course their take on the water situation. We then went on to meet to the mayor of Victor Harbour by this time Andy was feeling that on the Mayoral front enough was enough that was until he met mayor Marylou when he suddenly became very interested in council matters! The council offices were very impressive and housed a good deal of art form the Victor Harbour Rotary Art show. Marylou a very imposing lady and member of the Rotary Club of Victor Harbor need no support and gave us the full info on the town and environs. Our hosts collected us and we just had time to do a lightning change before we were down to the golf club to deliver our presentation this time to six clubs Victor Harbour, High Marsh Island, Goolwa, Yankalilla (no joke) McLaren Vale and of course our host club of Encounter Bay. It was a packed house, perhaps we should go on a full Australia tour; a great night with lots of bon homey! Phew that was some day.