President: Boris M. Struk Editorial Logistics: Michael Mahoney Volume 79 Issue 14 - Tuesday 1 st October 2013 After three decades at Fredricks Function and Conference Centre Essendon, the Board of the Rotary Club of Essendon has decided to relocate to the Anglers Tavern in Maribyrnong. Falls in members attendance obligations have required the Board to make the decision last week. With a new venue and new beginnings, President Boris is hopeful members will be invigorated and attendance shall increase significantly. Anglers Tavern is located at 2 Raleigh Rd, Maribyrnong. President Boris will greet all members at the front entrance prior to next weeks meeting. A big thank-you to the Management & Staff of Frederick s for the long standing three decade relationship with the Rotary Club of Essendon.
Todays Speaker: Our Exchange Student Allis Liljia Today our lovely Rotary Exchange student, Allis Liljia presented her story to club members with much enthusiasm, confidence and the ability to have a bit of humour..which we are told is unusual for Swedes! Below is the story presented by Allis about her life, her country and her family.
- Sweden is a part of Scandinavia. Sweden is the third largest country in Western Europe, and bigger than California. - Sweden is, however, a small country in terms of population, with only 9.5 million inhabitants - The three largest cities is Stockholm (capital, 1.2 million inhabitants), Göteborg, and Malmö. In Sweden we have some special traditions. Our national day is on the 6 th of June. It started as a celebration for our flag but from the 1980 s it is the national day of Sweden.
Sweden and the north is a place where the different seasons are very different Spring goes from about February to may. We say that spring starts when it s been around 0-10 degrees Celsius for 7 days, but it has be after the 15 of February. Since all of the snow and ice have to melt before the flowers can start growing spring can feel a bit long but it is something that many people are longing for. The Swedish summer is quite short and not at all as warm as it is here in Australia. Since spring ends in may you would say that summer starts after that. But I, and many swedes with me, would say that summer starts in June and goes to August. The temperature is around 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, but we can get days that are warmer. But the thing that is special about the Swedish summer is that in the middle the sun sets around 2.00 am and rises at around 3.30am
The autumn starts in the middle or in the end of August, depending on where you in Sweden. In a town called Kiruna, which is located more or less at the top of Sweden autumn arrives around the 16 th of August. But in Malmö, which is in the other end of the country autumn usually arrives around the 12 th of October. So the difference is pretty big. In Kvicksund autumn arrives somewhere between the middle of August and the beginning of September. The temperature is somewhere between zero and teen degrees, but if we are lucky we can get some days that are a little bit warmer. November is the month that is the most boring, all the leafs have fallen from the trees and it s mostly raining and boring
I live in a town called Kvicksund, it s about an hour from Stockholm. It s a pretty old and small town. Since Kvicksund is located at the third biggest lake in Sweden I would say that my town have been around for quite a while now. Not so far from my house there s a church from the 12 th century, that s why I believe Kvicksund is pretty old. What I do know is that from the beginning of the 20 th century people have been living in Kvicksund. Today there is around 2500 people that lives in Kvicksund all year around. Since it s located right at the lake many people have their summerhouse there. The lake goes all the way from my town to Stockholm and connects to the Baltic Sea, so lots of big ships goes through my town.
ONE YEAR I have now been in Australia for a little more then two months. That means that I have only nine to teen more months here before I leave. It's a bit strange because before I left I felt like twelve months, one year was a really long time. But now that I have started my year and now that I have seen how fast it goes I have started to say that it's ONLY one year. During my first two months I have been travelling around Melbourne and a few other city's. Last week I went with my host mum, Barbara, to Warrnambool. She took me along the great ocean road, which was truly amazing, and she also took me to Mt. Gambier so I can now say that I have been to three different states. Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia! During my year I want to see as much as possible of this great country of yours. But I do not only want to travel around and see the country itself. I would like to met different people, hear different story's and see how different people live. The things that you might take for granted I might be fascinated by. Since all of this is sometimes similar to Sweden but most of the time it is all brand new to me. I would like to thank rotary, my club back at home and of course Essendon Rotary club for taking such good care of me. I truly couldn't be more happy. Thank you!
FOR YOUR DIARY Sunday 6/10/2013 @ 11.00am Visit to Cameron Gardens Mt. Macedon, a private garden. $10 per person Friday 25/10/2013 Trivia Night with Kangan Institute. Sunday 10/11/2013 Royce Abbey Luncheon Sunday 2/3/14 Car Show Essendon Fields Friday 28//3/2014 Relay for Life Friday 7/3/2014 to Sunday 9/03/2014 District Conference at Jupiter s Casino, Surfers Paradise. Anne Rogers will be putting together a package and members can choose air/accommodation or just accommodation. DG Ross would like to encourage first time attendees and there will be a discounted registration fee. More info to follow. Saturday 1/6/2014 to Tuesday 4/6/2014 International Convention, Sydney, Anne Rogers is setting up an accommodation package. Sunday 16/3/2014 Car Show Essendon Fields IMPORTANT THINGS TODAY S RAFFLE John Gorman was the lucky person, but missed out on the joker. Jackpot now $550.00 ALMONERS REPORT BIRTHDAYS Tim Anderson QUOTE FOR TODAY We must always change, renew, refresh ourselves, otherwise we stagnate
Help yourself and help the Club by banking with Strathmore Community Bank. For example, take out a home loan and the club will receive up to $500. Take out a 3 month fixed term deposit and the club will receive up to $50. For more details drop into the branch at 337 Napier St or call branch Manager Philip Stewart on 9374-2607.