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August 2010
Another month has flown by. They say time flies when you’re having fun. Not too sure of this, we are getting older and I think that’s why time is flying! We have had projects at BergridgePark, assisted our local Mormon community and marshaled at Blisters for Bread. Some of our members have been a bit under the weather lately and I hope they will all recover fully and soon be back in the Bergvliet fold. We miss you!
From the President……
Well, here we are in the second month of our fiscal year and it certainly has been another busy month for myself and for many of our Lions.
We had a very successful Book Sale last month and are hoping to be as fortunate on Saturday the 28th of August 2010. This fundraiser is absolutely vital to our coffers and I want to again thank Mike and Sandy particularly for their hard work in putting this fundraiser together for us, month after month. The importance of this fundraiser cannot be stressed enough due to the fact that we unfortunately had to cancel our planned fundraising Spring Tea on the 4th of September , due to lack of support. So please everyone, again the call goes out to you all to come up with some fundraising ideas which could swell our coffers. Without money coming in we are going to find it more and more difficult to continue with our projects. Any fundraising ideas you may have will be most welcome and will be given due consideration.
We have had a successful Soup and Bingo evening at BergridgePark for Seniors, and I would like to thank all those who helped me with this project.
Despite my worries that we would not
have enough soup for the large crowd of seniors, we had more than enough. We even had Muriel confessing and giving away the fact that her marvellous mushroom soup was most definitely not homemade!
On Saturday the 21st August 2010 6 Lions joined forces with the local congregation of the Church of the Latter Day Saints in Meadowridge as part of their International Outreach Day with Lions International. We were taught how to make durable, waterproof sleeping bags out of newspaper and plastic for the Adonis Musati Refugee Project, which we as Lions have been supporting for quite a while. We were also told that these sleeping bags are highly prized and sought after, particularly with the homeless in our cold and bitter winters. It was a humbling experience, working as part of a team, making these sleeping bags, and certainly counting our blessings for our own soft, dry and warm beds. The work was very tiring as well, but we managed to have fun as well. It certainly made me proud to be a Lion, knowing that the service we were giving was going to make a very real difference in the life of a poor, cold, and homeless refugee somewhere on the streets of Cape Town. I do hope that you all, if you are online and received the pledge information passed on from International by Sandy, pledged your allegiance again, to the work of Lions International. It’s good for us from time to time, to ponder afresh why we are Lions and to recommit ourselves to the service of others – that after all is why we are Lions, and why we do what we do. I would like to end with a quote from Leo Rosten:
“I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honourable, to be compassionate. It is, after all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.”(Sheila) BIRTHDAYS:
Yvonne Raizenberg 9 September
Tony Schwartz 12 September
Livinia Conradie 14 September
Rose Saville 23 September
Best wishes to all of you from the Bergvliet Family!
ANNIVERSARIES:
Gladys Klopper September 2006
Jean Knaggs September 2006
May your troubles be less, may your blessings be more, and may nothing but happiness come through your door.
Service Commitment Pledge Campaign
Declare your commitment to Lions ideal of service and invite fellow Lions to do the same! Join President Scruggs in pledging to "support and participate in your Lions club's service activities and to make a difference in someone's life this year." Add your name to the growing list of members who know that their personal efforts can bring light where there is darkness and despair, and that by working together, Lions can have a huge impact on the entire world.
For those members who do not have access to the Internet, give your names to Sandy and she will gladly add your names to the list!
LP Sheila at Helping Hands
Blisters for Bread:
This annual event took place on the 29th August, on a beautiful sunny Cape Town morning. LP Sheila, Lions Mike, Sandy, Sharon and Muriel did duty at Maidens Cove in CampsBay. This is on the 20km route. I have never seen so many walkers on the long route before! This stretch is very easy to marshal, as the walkers and motorists alike are very co-operative.
Before the walk started, Mike made bacon and egg rolls for us. Shortly after the first batch of walkers came past, a Law Enforcement Officer asked Mike to pack his skottel away, as we should never have used it in the first place! Oh dear… Must remember this for next year, we can’t be seen to be breaking the law!
Environment:
LEOPARD TOAD ALERT
Leopard Toad Annual Migration
Leopard Toad Annual Migration
The annual migration of the Leopard Toads to Die Oog has started. The Toads are highly endangered and the numbers managing to get to Die Oog has decreased considerably in recent years. The decrease is due to various factors; the reduction of the habitat around Die Oog, obstruction by walls, kerbs and fences, getting run over and killed on the roads. A campaign has been launched, with the help of BKM Watch, to alert motorists, particularly in the evenings between 6.30 and 9.30 pm and especially on wet, moonlit nights. Toads look like stones in the road. If found they should be picked up and moved to the verge on the side of the road in the direction in which they are heading. A squashed toad is a sorry sight. If you would like more information about Leopard Toads please see the website www.dieoog.org.za.
Activities at Die Oog Conservation Area
Projects: A number of important projects at Die Oog, including removal of the aquatic weeds, rehabilitation of the island and repair of the dam wall, are on hold In order not to interfere with the migration and breeding of the Leopard Toads,. The tadpoles and toadlets take 3 to 4 months to develop and all the toadlets may not have left Die Oog until after Christmas. The projects have all been approved and funded but regretfully cannot be started until early 2011.
The Gripper entrance gate has been repainted by Brian Gripper and the automatic locking system of the gate at night is now fully operational. This is now on a time switch: open from 7am to 7pm.
The flocks of guinea fowl at Die Oog remain hyperactive and are causing a major problems scratching and digging up plants and bulbs in the fynbos and other areas. The Biodiversity Management Committee are looking at ways of re-locating the flock to allow the re-establishment of the rare granitic fynbos at Die Oog.
The Gripper entrance gate has been repainted by Brian Gripper and the automatic locking system of the gate at night is now fully operational. This is now on a time switch: open from 7am to 7pm.
The flocks of guinea fowl at Die Oog remain hyperactive and are causing a major problems scratching and digging up plants and bulbs in the fynbos and other areas. The Biodiversity Management Committee are looking at ways of re-locating the flock to allow the re-establishment of the rare granitic fynbos at Die Oog.
Water birds: Nine yellowbill ducklings hatched out in July but were all taken by predators. The culprits seem to be a night heron and a purple heron that were seen at Die Oog while the ducklings were on the water. A new family of Coot chicks have hatched and several other pairs are nesting with intent!
