The Gellibabies were at the District conference this weekend just look how good some of us looked!!
Post District Conference the Gellibabies were on the move again due to catering problems at the Royal Victorian Motor Yacht Club.
We decamped this week to Breeze Restaurant in Nelson Place for a night of great Italian tucker and an in house presentation from Ross the Boss of the Cluster Bangladesh water project.
To read the full Beacon and what’s on next week click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 32
Another change to the routine this week, joing with the Rotary Club of Yarraville 
at DiK to help with the loading of a junk container and sorting of equipment for shipping overseas.
Laurie Fisher was gobsmacked by the way in which both clubs banded together to get on with the task of filling the rubbish skip. There were broken desks, pallets, bent wheelchairs old medical equipment damaged books, broken boxes and anything else that you could envisage enough to fill one of the biggest waste skips that could be delivered.
This was achieved in little over an hour of hard graft from the Gellibabies and Yarravillians whilst the ladies sorted bedding and medical fabrics before sitting down to a feast of roast chicken, spuds and salad.
A job well done which not only cleared up the site but provided adequate resources that saved more than two weeks of Laurie’s regular volunteers’ time. Sso sorry for those Gellibabies that missed out but we only talked about you for a couple of hours and then went home!! (We didn’t Really but Eh!!)
View full Beacon here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 31
Back at the RVMYC home base with glorious food well organised by The Macedonian Marvel
and his good wife Vicki (Pasta from Al Porto Vecchio and salads generously prepared by Vicki) the throng of Gellibabies and partners welcomed Pascale, Frederic and Léo Bégué. In a night filled with laughter and the Gellibabies sense of fun Léo was here to present his talk about his origins and introduce his family!
To view the full Beacon click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 30
It was Valentines Day at the Gellibabies and what did we do?
We had a Rotary meeting!!
Well sort of!
Thanks to ‘Mick the Boat’ forty odd of us took to the water with a little alcohol added here and there to enjoy each other’s company cruising up the Yarra to see our magnificant city in it’s best light and the atmosphere on such a balmy evening was just paradise!!
You have to say that Mick knows how to do these things sooooooooooo well, the food the booze and he even turned on the weather and the ambiance; I think he has a direct line to him up there!!
To read the full Beacon click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 29
In opening this week’s news file I have the pleasure to announce that 
PP Big G and Sandi are grandparents at last. The Kennedy clan now has the wonderful addition of Thomas Del, a long tall son weighing 6lbs nine and parents Michael and Katy are now getting used to parenthood before the young Kennedy takes up his position on the footy field as the ruckman for either the ‘Gulls or the Bulldogs.
Acting Sergeant Captain Chaos introduced President Ross who warmly welcomed the 21 attendees with the only guest being our exchange student Leo.
While the meeting took place at our regular venue of RVMYC, the fantastic pizza and other Italian goodies were brought in to feed the masses. And due to some forward thinking we were able to have adequate booze for everyone – magnificently kept at the correct temperature!!
Many thanks to Marlene, Vicki, Jim and Henry for all their collective efforts to make the evening such a success, – thanks guys.
To read the full Beacon click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 28
Another change of venue (No we did not go to church) but to Ragusa Restaurant in Nelson Place 
(the Back room was the Chapel of the Seafarers mission). President Ross welcomed and introduced visiting Rotarians and guests including; Sam Martin, Steve Burrows, Trudie Hunter and Léo Bégué plus Jim Markovski and his protégé Gum Mamur, from The Twentieth Man Foundation and Martin Radunz (friend of Ray Lindner). The rest of the night being taken up with sampling the fantastic food from Croatia and Faye and Mario’s update on the Big Bay swim.
As most of you are aware Leo our Exchange Student is taking part in the swim but is looking for the loan of a wetsuit – let Ray Lindner know if you can help!!
To read the full Beacon click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 27
Well the Gellibabies had another good night; a change of venue; 
inducted THREE new members!!! a guest speaker who’s cool informative style allayed the fears we normally associate with such a sensitive subject, plus the Daydreamers Spy was with us to see how a ‘Proper Rotary Club’ runs.
About forty of us enjoyed the hospitality of Alex and his crew at Santorini Restaurant since the RVMYC was not open. The excitement of new members Kay Didenkowski, Sandra Prendergast and Don Ward and seeing old friends in the form of Flo Light and Tina Beyer together with Don’s partner Trudie Hunter and guests Steve Ferry, our exchange Student Leo Begue, PE of the Rotary Club of Williamstown Judy Brown and Guest Speaker Dr Glenn Begley made for an enjoyably long night.
To view the full Beacon click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 26
Gellibabies PLEASE don’t forget to let the Olde Scribe know if you are coming to Ragusa on Tuesday 31st Jan e-Mail henry@fourleaf.com.au or ring 9399 8523
The Gellibabies are back home at RVMYC for their first meeting of the year and did we have numbers to die for!! 
Thirty seven of us enjoyed a BBQ cooked by the dynamic duo of John the Print and Pete the Roof with salads and the rest rustled up by the power behind the Pres – Marlene Ross’s Boss and her band of helpers. Not a lot to report this week but information from Leo’s first hot Christmas are in his diary and we have news about the programme for January!! And don’t forget to follow the GSE Team in India on www.facebook.com/rotaryd9800gse
To view the full Beacon click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 25
Please note that the Rotary Club of Essendon North has had to cancel their advertised meeting involving Jonathan Welch for 25th January.
Happy New Year to all and may 2012 be kind to all of us!!
The new year has taken off in a Rotary sense with the farewell dinner for the Group Study Exchange Team who visit India from the 15th January to the 14th February and we Gellibabies were well represented at the dinner with fourteen of us there to support PP Murray Verso from the Rotary Club of Williamstown and his team of Melissa Mom, Del King, Lizz Bailey and James Mepham.
To read the full Beacon click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 24
Follow the GSE Team’s progress through their blog on www.facebook.com/rotaryd9800gse
Back at the RVMYC this week for a ‘Mick the Boat’ inspired BBQ to hear from the Sea Shepherd warriers who having split from GreenPeace are going it alone to save the
oceans of the world. Even though we were light on for Gellibabies (not sure if it was lack of support or objection to the topic of the night) but this was made up for by a number of guests namely Crystal Gailbraith, our Guest speaker from the Sea Shepherd, Lilia Letsch, Australian co-ordinator of the Sea Shepherd, Melissa Meek-Jacobs, from Captain’s Retreat, Seema, a local resident, Michael Hurley, a guest from Captain’s Retreat,Tony Green, guest from Captain’s Retreat, Mary-Jane Benton, formerly of Williamstown Chamber of Commerce and our own Kathleen West, who will be our guest speaker next week. And of course Léo Bégué was with us again together with late comers Janise Brooks and Cynthia Leman.
I must also thank PP Richard McKay for booking the BBQ space and providing access to the Motor Yach Club facilities.
To read full Beacon click here Beacon Volume 26 Bulletin No 33
Next weeks Meeting is at Santorini Restaurant 1 Parker St Williamstown at the normal time: meal cost $25 per head drinks at bar prices – Partners welcome – Apologies to Jim Grouios and let him know whether your partner is attending.