Last week we met at the Brighton Beach Bowls Club for the first time
and we welcomed back President Donna Wright. There were 32 people attending which was an improvement on the two previous meetings with
22 and 26 respectively. Hopefully we continue to improve on this. The atmosphere was good and the food was also tasty. Our two speakers Rob Pinchbeck and Damien Louis were very entertaining and Sgt Alan Pinkus
did an original Sergeant's Session by introducing our newest members
and asking them to say a few things about themselves. All in all a great night.
Meeting Highlights Thursday 1 August
Secretaries Announcements
Secretary Anthony Langley presented his segment.
There were no announcements. He welcomed
everyone including partners and several guests of members.
Apologies were:
PP Julie Avery, PP Keith Cameron, Pres Donna Wright, John Schmoll,
PP Keiran Cromie, PP Alan Pinkus, Jo Kwok, Wendy Davis, Eric Barr,
PP Des Thomas.
.
RCB Dinner at Fazio's
Monday 19 August 2024
The club has organised a great Fellowship dinner at the
renowned Fazio Restaurant and you are invited to attend.
Details are below and the trybooking link is at the bottom.
Please contact Wendy Davis for any enquiries.
RCB Club & Board Meetings August - November 2024
Last Week's Raffle Results
Last week the raffle was run by David Finney with the help of Stuart McIntyre. The winners were: PP Des Thomas & Rob Pinchbeck.
"I have lived in Brighton for almost 20 years and I’ve lived in various places in Australia, including Adelaide, Hobart, Alice Springs and North Queensland. I’ve also worked in Oxford UK for a year. I’m an ophthalmologist and these days work in private practice in Cheltenham and Frankston. I used to work at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service in Fitzroy and until COVID lockdowns I was travelling every few months to manage diabetic eye disease at the Aboriginal Health Service in Robinvale, 100km from Mildura, in a van that has been fitted out with specialized eye equipment. It was then known as the IDEAS van. It was grounded during COVID in central Queensland and management changed to St John’s in 2022. The van no longer comes to Victoria but I have maintained an interest in Indigenous health and eye care.
I am on a committee that looks at medical fitness to drive. This is a group of specialists, GPs and allied health workers that consult with VicRoads on issues to do with safety in driving.
One question I have been often asked is why I want to join Rotary. There are a few reasons but most of all I have been made to feel very welcome by everyone in Rotary Brighton. In the months before I joined I learned more about how Rotary works and I am especially grateful to Anthony, Arthur, Colleen and Keiran for their support. I can see that Rotarians care about the community beyond Brighton and everyone I speaks to instantly recognises the great contribution made by Rotary.
Another question I am often asked is how I got my name. My parents were from a small town in North Queensland called Gordonvale and they knew a girl called Damien. This girl was named after Father Damien of Molokai.
So in fact now Damien is a girl’s name!
Alan has asked me to talk about my hobbies. I have had a go at painting and pottery but I haven’t produced anything very memorable."
“My first thought:
This must be the most BS boring topic of aIl times.
On second thoughts: Maybe NOT, and hopefully NOT.
In 2022 there were 10 major players in the retail space - 6656 locations.
Making up 85% of them were:
Ampol 28%, BP 21%, Shell & Liberty 20%, 7-Eleven 8% & United 8%
There are some universally asked questions about petrol....
Where does it come from?
Australia produces some crude oiI IocaIIy.......... About 350 barrels a day.
The majority is exported.There are now only 2 refineries in Australia -
Geelong and Brisbane.
About half of our fuel comes from Asia. 25% from Singapore, also from
S. Korea, Malaysia, China, America, Japan and Thailand.
How is it priced?
The wholesale price is known as the Terminat Date Price TGP.
Singapore fuel prices are the relevant benchmark for Australian imports
The landed cost of fuel is made up of....
1. Benchmark price from Singapore 2. A ‘’quality premium’’ for Australia
3. Freight. 4. Exchange rate. 5. Wharfage, insurance, and loss.
Add to this government excise (43c) and gst (10%)
So the price, out of the terminal gate for 172 cents, unchanged for last 5 days
Landed cost 66% 113.40 - Excise 25% 43.00 - gst 10% 15.60
RETAIL PRICING: Anyone can buy fuel from the terminal at TGP
In the 5 days up to today the TGP in ALL states has been 172c.p.i.
Retail prices vary widely.
Melb was 197, Echuca 180 - 17 cents cheaper.
Octane ratings are measures of fuel stability.
Octane Ratings
They are based on the pressure at white a fuel will spontaneously combust.
i.e. the prelude at which it will ignite in a test engine, without the use of a spark plug.This point of combustion needs to be controlled for engine efficiency.
The higher the octane number, the more controlled Is the combustion
of the fuel. 91 95 98 10 percent."
Editors note: Rob gave us some more down to earth stuff about petrol retailing and said he was a small fish and barely visible in the big pond. He also spoke about the sort of bad things that can happen at a service station including lots of hold ups, drive offs without paying, knife attacks, sauce on the ceiling, zucchini microwaves, chicken down their clothes and even a naked lady. Very entertaining Rob.
Sergeant's Session - with Sgt Alan 'Pinky' Pinkus
Sgt Alan did a session with a difference. He decided to ask the newer members of the club to stand up and introduce themselves
and say a little bit about what they do. He also fined some of the tables.
Top line: Sgt Alan, Pres Donna Wright with Rob Pinchbeck and Di Alan.
Bottom line: David Frauman, Malcom James & Damien Louis.
Reminder: Donations In Kind Open Day 10 August
On the Open Day there will be 12 very special bottles of wine packaged up with glasses for lucky visitors to purchase. For just $40 you can buy a lovely bottle of very good red or bubbles and help with store costs.
Do you have any stationery you can donate to the education aisle?
We are very short of items for the student/teacher packs. Bring items along and drop into the tub marked for this near the door.
Remember to RSVP for catering purposes.
Lesley McCarthy
Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington Inc
Mob: 0417 532 259
e: Lilico2009@gmail.com
A Message from Angie Biggin
The next Lunch at the White Rabbit,
Church St Brighton,
will be on Wednesday 14 August at 12:30pm.
Initially, this lunch was organised for Partners of Members but is now open to include “Friends of Rotary” or passed Members Partners who would care to come along for an enjoyable lunch and catch up. Also, if you are a new Members Partner and would like to meet other Partners please come along to a most enjoyable informal lunch. (We pay for our own food and drinks
on the day). All are most welcome!
Please let me know if you would like to join us as I will make a booking in advance. Hope to see you there.
Angie Biggin
0418 520 545
angiematron@hotmail.com
SPEAKERS WANTED
Please if anyone has ideas on getting some great speakers for our meetings we would love to hear from you.
