Golden News
Volume 17, Number 3 - Monday 21 July 2003
The official bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile is published
most Mondays and is distributed to all club members, District officials and
other "friends of KGM".


Winner "Best English Language Bulletin" in District 3450, 2001/2002

This Week's Meeting:
 

Our guest speaker this week is KGM Old Boy Alex "Legal Eagle" Lau, and the topic of his presentation is "Life as an Academic in Hong Kong".
 
For the benefit of those of you who don't know, our old mate Alex is qualified as a lawyer in 143 different jurisdictions and he's a lecturer at the Hong Kong Baptist University. He's also a keen Taekwando practitioner and, as soon as he can win a match against his charming wife Gabrielle, they might give him a Black Belt to stop his trousers falling down.

This week's lunch is Chinese food, capably organised by Vincent "Bone Bender" Lam. The sumptuous menu includes #7, #12, #23, #34, #38, #45 and #52.


Milestones:


Happy Anniversary to Liam "Daffy" Drake who, having been inducted into KGM on 24 July 1991, this week celebrates 12 years of service to Rotary.
 

++++++++++++++++++++

 
Birthday greetings on 21 July for PDG Dipo "Mini Me" Sani who celebrates his birthday with American comedian Robin Williams.

Birthday greetings on 26 July for PP Joseph "Klu Klux" Kwan who celebrates his birthday with British rocker Mick Jagger.
 
 
++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
It is with regret we advise that KGM Charter Member Don Sakhrani has tendered his resignation from KGM due to business pressures. We wish Don the very best for the future.
 
 

Semi-Annual Dues:
 
Yes folks, it's time once again to pay your dues of $1,500 for the period 1 July to 31 December 2003, and you have three payment options:

1) By cash handed directly to KGM Treasurer Rajiv "Show Me The Money" Makhija;
 
2) By cheque payable to "Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile" mailed to P.O. Box 98129, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon.
 
3) By credit card through "PayPal" (where you can arrange for automatic re-billing every 6 months, if you so choose).

If you elect to pay by cheque, remember to clearly write your name on the back of the cheque, because our overworked and unpaid Treasurer doesn't always know which company name belongs to which member.



Fellowship News:


Our old mate KGM Fellowship Director "Butch" Cassidy Lam announces that the next fellowship will be a Japanese Night to be held on Saturday 30 August with our friends from the RC Peninsula Sunrise at a venue to be advised.
 
Costs are forecast to be HK$300 or less per head for food, drink and entertainment, which is rumoured to be a Sumo wrestling demonstration between IPP Nanu "Kawabunga" Lachman and former KGM member Hans "The Hun" Peter.

Bring a raincoat.
 
 

Rotaract News:


Our young friends from the Rotaract Club of Kowloon Golden Mile will be holding their installation meeting at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday 23 August 2003 at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile.
 
KGM members interested in attending should contact KGM Rotaract Coordinator PP Cassidy Lam by telephone on 9031 2883.
 
 
 

District 3450 News:
 

Regular Golden News reader and District Advisor on Mongolia, PP Herbert Lau announces he is assisting to organise a delegation to visit Mongolia from 13 to 19 August 2003.
 
The major purpose of the trip is to accompany and assist DG Jones Wong on his official visit to the various Rotary Clubs and related organisations in Mongolia. However there will be ample opportunity to explore business opportunities and/or engage in sightseeing tours or various other diversions including hunting, bird shooting, deep fresh water lake fishing, 4WD jeep cross-desert venturing, aerial sightseeing by helicopter, cultural tours and so on.
 
KGM members interested in joining the group should contact PP Herbert on telephone 9310 4873 or by email.
 
++++++++++++++++++++

The District Rotary Information Seminar will be held on Saturday 30 August 2003 at a venue to be announced.
 
 
++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
District Governor Jones Wong will be making his Official Visit to KGM on Wednesday 24 September 2003. Mark your diaries now.
 

++++++++++++++++++++
 
The District Swimming Gala will be held Sunday 28 September 2003 at a venue to be confirmed, but presumably at Ma On Shan Swimming Complex. 

Once again KGM, ably lead by our award winning body beautiful PP Cassidy "My What Big Pecks You Have" Lam, are organising the event. Of course given the fact that the rest of us look like 2 kilo sausages jammed into 1 kilo sausage skins, poor old PP Cassidy is usually all alone at the swimming gala.
 
 
++++++++++++++++++++

The 2003/2004 District Conference will be held on Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 November 2003 at the HKCEC.

 

Rotary International News:
 
 
The Editors of the monthly "The Rotarian" magazine are always interested to hear from Rotary Clubs, especially Club Directors, on the various worthwhile activities undertaken. If you have a story to tell, send your submission to Deputy Editor Mr. Wayne Hearn by email.

 

Rotary Information: 
 
Non-Attendance Rules: The Rotary Club Constitution specifies three conditions under which a Rotarian's membership will automatically be terminated for non- attendance.

These circumstances are: failure to attend or make up four consecutive club meetings, failure to attend or make up 60 percent of club meetings each six months and failure to attend at least 30 percent of the meetings of one's own club in each six-month period.
Under any of these three cases, a member will lose Rotary membership unless the club board of directors has previously consented to excuse such failure for good and sufficient reason.

To some individuals, these rules may seem unusually rigid. However, being present at club meetings is one of the basic obligations a member accepts upon joining a Rotary club. The constitutional rules merely emphasize that Rotary is a participatory organization which highly values regular attendance. When a member is absent the entire club loses the personal association with that member. Being present at a club meeting is considered a vital part of the operation and success of every Rotary club.

For any Rotarian to miss four consecutive meetings, or disregard the other attendance requirements, should be considered tantamount to the submission of one's resignation from the club. When a club terminates a member for non-attendance, it is simply an acceptance of a resignation and not a punitive action by the club officers. All Rotarians know the consequences of non-attendance, so it clearly becomes a conscious decision by a Rotarian to withdraw from the club when he fails to fulfill the attendance requirements.
 
++++++++++++++++++++


New KGM Attendance Director "Princess" Diana Yeung advises KGM members to send details of their local and overseas Make-Ups to her either by email or by completing the on-line form on the KGM website.

 

Ask The Geek:
 

The Geek finally got together with the Web Monster and they spent many hours over the weekend updating the KGM Website. Although their work is not 100% complete, as the least the primary pages are done. Trust me, it's a huge job in July each year when we need to change all the Club Officers, Directors and other rogues!
 
 

Grumpy grumbles:
 

Don't you just hate
the way some people scream down their cellular telephones as if they were trying to talk to the other party using two empty tin cans joined by string? 
 


Who Am I?
 
What is the more common name of 60's British singer Marie MacDonald McLaughlin Lawrie?

Clue: She was briefly married to Bee Gee Maurice Gibb.
 
The answer appears at the bottom of this issue.
 
 

Golden Smile: 
 
The kindergarten class was given a homework assignment to find out about "something exciting" in their homes, which they would relate to the whole class the following day. When the time came for the little kids to give their reports, the teacher called on them one at a time to come to the front of the class and tell their story.
 
As usual, she was reluctant to call upon little Johnny, knowing that he could sometimes be a bit crude.
 
However when little Johnny's turn eventually arrived, he simply walked up to the front of the class and, with a piece of chalk, drew a small white dot on the blackboard, after which he returned to his seat.
 
As the teacher couldn't understand what Johnny had in mind for his report on something exciting, she asked him to explain.
 
"It's a period," reported Johnny.
 
"Well, I can see that" said the teacher. "But can you explain what is so exciting about a period ?".
 
"Damned if I know," said Johnny "but this morning, after my sister said she missed one, Mommy fainted, Daddy had a heart attack and the milkman shot himself".

 

Quotable Quotes:

 
"......whenever any form of government becomes destructive ...... it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it... ".

 
Thomas Jefferson
American Declaration of Independence, 1776
 
The Phantom
Who Am I answer: Lulu.

If you no longer wish to receive this bulletin each week, click here. For previous issues of the bulletin (or to view them in their full HTML glory), visit our archives. © 2003 Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author (who is under heavy medication), and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of any other member of the club.