1090 Meets 5040 2009

A video of the team in the canoe appears in the next blog. The video was kindly provided by Darcy of Sunshine Coast Rotary Club.
Before expanding on today's events I must mention that, yesterday (2nd) Emily won a bottle of wine in a 'Simon says' raffle and was most upset that I didn't include the fact in the blog. Today she kindly gave the bottle to our wonderful hosts, Don and Donna. At the moment the team are in Don's cinema (stet) watching a girly film.
This morning we met Tom, President of Sechelt Rotary Club for the day of First Nation experiences that he had kindly arranged for us. We went down to Sechelt inlet and met Howard and friends and kitted up in our life jackets and took hold of our paddles. We then had a couple of hours in a 25 foot canoe and we perfomed well. Howard and friends sang some First Nation songs accompanied by their drums and we canoed away. It was quite an experience paddling as a team of 12 and we made good headway. Just after Howard had blessed the boat and it's crew we had an eagle soaring overhead which provided us with good luck for the journey. It was quite something.
Tom then treated us to lunch at the Lighthouse pub and then we went to the First Nation Reserve to take part in a 'sweat' at the sweatlodge. This is a First Nation people custom for those who need cleansing in whatever way and involves four sessions in the lodge which is an igloo shaped affair where we sat round heated rocks and prayed to 'The Creator' in something akin to a smokey sauna. It was a wonderful honour to be invited to take part in this with First Nation people and a very moving experience.

I've uploaded various photos of the day which you will find under 'authors' - wilkinson. The pictures include lots from Emily and Alison who let me put their photos in to my computer this evening.
We had a super day learning and taking part in the customs of the First Nation people, a once in a lifetime experience and a real honour to have been allowed to take part. ('First Nation' is the term preferred in Canada when talking about the indiginous indian people of whom there are a number of different tribes, many now living in reservation land negotiated with the government.)
Back to Don and Donna at 5pm with loads of dirty washing to be done and provided with a lovely meal and samples of Don's best wine. Darcy popped in to let us have her photos and videos of our canoe ride which epitomises the wonderful hospitality that is being provided by our friends on the Sunshine Coast.
Life is good.

Greg

On 2nd May we left Pender Harbour and said farewell to another set of lovely people. The evening before we had enjoyed dinner at Pender Harbour Gold Club with our hosts and other club members which had been a lovely freindly evening.
Our hosts drove us down to Sechelt and to District Assembly. District 5040 have 6 assemblies with 5 or 6 clubs at each one and for the Rotarian blog readers here are some points of interest:
Strategic Plan - they have 8 objectives, (it's on the 5040 website) and they
emphasise consolidation of existing work. They do 'live rotary' out here and there
are some amazing projects. They also know how to collect money and yesterday
auctioned a bottle of wine where if you made a bid you put your money in
irrespective of whether or not someone bid higher than you - the bottle of wine
raised $400!
They run the 'Rotary Leadership Initiative' which is a 3 stage course for
Rotarians and takes then through a programme on leadership in Rotary (it also
has a 'masters' phase). The course has full notes and paperwork and I've asked
for a full set to bring back.
They recommend that the Rotary Magazine be put in surgery waiting rooms and
similar places with a sticker with contact details - seems simple enough.
They also run 'Adventures Programmes' for young people in such as IT, arts,
media etc where youths go on a programme run in certain cities for a week which
apparently gets well supported.
We met DGE Gordon Dagleish, a scot who had lived in Finchamstead before coming over here some years ago. We also met past DG, Dean Roars (Spelling may be a bit out), a lovely lady who lives Rotary and was a superb facilitator along with Penny Offer the DGN.
An interesting morning which I found very useful.
In the afternoon Emily and I had a ride along with Ewan, the local RCMP officer, while the rest of the team had a tour of Sechelt.
We are all staying with Don and Donna Ewing which is fun. The Ewings have a big house with a cinema downstairs (the real thing and it seats around 20) and are so hospitable. Donna's home-made shortbread is delicious!
In the evening we did a presentation to the three local clubs (Sechelt, Sunshine Coast and Gibsons) at a very nice golf clubhouse. We wore our uniform suits and looked very smart and received very positive feedback. Eleanor put together a pictoral tour of Thames Valley and we have taken turns in introducing our presentation with these slides and they have been very well received. Sally took the lead on this occasion, Alison will do so next time.
It's now Sunday morning and we look forward to our 'First Nation' day with a canoe this morning and the Sweatlodge this afternoon - sounds very interesting.
(more pictures tomorrow, no wifi at the moment)
Greg

Last night I had a treat with pre-dinner smoked oysters eaten with cream cheese with a touch of Raspberry Chipolte sause on a savoury biscuit - beautiful. We then had 'beer can chicken' which was delicious and then early to bed.
This morning (!st May) I did a vocational when I took Ian's dingy on the ocean and had a row for an hour or so.
We attended Pender Harbour Rotary Club meeting at noon and gave a presentation which was well received. Eleanor and I had chowder for lunch which was superb and included lobster, crab, salmon, scallops and the rest, it was the best chowder I've ver had, delicious.
At Rotary we were shown a new booklet that the club have produced which details local walks and sells for $4. Another example of the many things done by Rotary Clubs in this area to create funds; they are really busy around here.
After lunch my vocational day was extended when Bob Allan took us on his 40 foot cruiser for a tour of Pender Harbour. We saw a boat named 'Passing Wind' which shows that the sense of humour here is similar to home. An eagle flew over and Bob threw a herring in the water and we were able to watch the eagle swoop and pick it up with it's feet and the take it to a landing to eat it. This was so fast I didn't have chance to photo it.
The cruise was really good and thoroughly enjoyed by all of us. I have learned that cruising in the sunshine coast is just as relaxing as cruising on the Thames. The team were pleased that they had joined me on my vocational experience!
I've uploaded a video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECPC7vn1rkg&feature=channel

Now resting before dinner at Pender Harbour Golf Club.
Greg

Last night was a big night for the Vancouver Ice hockey team the Canucks. they have made the play offs and have made it through the first round and are now into the second round. Last night saw the first match between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Canucks. The hosts I am staying with love the hockey so for the evening I was an honoury member of the Stewart Family and canada. I was given a drink and a flag to wave when they scored. I managed to get the gist of the rules in between players slamming against the walls and chasing the puck at enormous speeds! finally we won 5-3 and my hosts were delighted! The canucks now have to win a further 3 matches against Chicago to make the next round (it's best of 7 matches). reall looking forward to the next match.
My hosts are again, so friendly and welcoming. There are 3 girls in the family, MacKenzie Sam and Hannah. Much of last night was given to the girls perfecting their English accents which are getting really good! The house also has chicken, 2 dogs and a pond. I was this in advance and so was expecting a 6 by 4 piece of water with a tadpole or two.. it turns out to be a small lake with beavers, birds and canoes - quite different to English standards! We are off in a bit to speak at the Club here in Pendor Harbour and then off on a cruise around the bay, and with the stunning weather we are haiving today it should be great. So between the canucks and English accents yesterday was a very busy but really enjoyable day.
Emily