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President Sue's Message

Welcome to the homepage of Melbourne Bearbrass Probus.

It’s a great honour to have been appointed President for 2022 at our recent AGM. I look forward to working with you all to ensure our club remains vibrant and fulfills its charter of ‘Fun, friendship and fellowship.’

A big part of what we do is provide events which give members a chance to socialise with like-minded people. Now that things are opening up, we have plenty planned. Check out our calendar for the list of activities coming up in April and May. There’s plenty of interest there, including a trip away to Apollo Bay in early May which promises to be memorable.

If you are an interested non-member, feel free to use the ‘contact us’ tab. Someone will then contact you to let your know more about us and to link you in to our activities as a guest.

Hope to see you soon.

Warm regards

Sue Hoile

THE SHIRAZ-GALORE WINE TASTING

Focusing on the subtle differences across a range of Shiraz/Syrah wines, the Bearbrass tasting group tasted six vintages from the Rhône Valley and Languedoc in France and Heathcote and the Barossa and Yarra Valleys in Southeast Australia.

Rising to the challenge of identifying each wine from the cryptic tasting notes, a group of 11 developing connoisseurs crashed and burned in a blind tasting in which the top score was 2 out of 6! It was a fun night and we all agreed that more practice is required. Bring on next month! -- Jill.

The Walking Group

Every city has its secret charms often hidden in plain sight. As a member of the walking group it has been a pleasure to walk through so many areas I thought I knew well only to realise I had overlooked some wonderful architecture or had not known about a fascinating piece of our civic history.

The walking group has been to numerous places around our city in the last few months. Pam Gray, provided a tour on a lovely day around Carlton noting the beautiful architecture that abounds in the area. Clive Gartner and Dawn Riddel guided us through Williamstown unearthing the area’s rich maritime past. Jan Stewart took us through the streets of Fitzroy noting its colourful characters particularly in the 1920s. Jean Houston guided us along the Yarra near Dykes Falls and Abbotsford Convent. I took a small group along the Yarra from Southgate towards Bolte Bridge. It was a fascinating experience doing the preparatory historical research on the area for the event.

The weather has not always kind on these journeys, but walking and chatting with friends, then stopping to hear interesting information about a place and finally finishing with a welcome cup of coffee has made the regular walking group events something I look forward to each month.

Terry O’Keeffe

Book Club

It’s been wonderful for book club members to meet in person after many meetings on zoom over the past two years. Our number has grown from six to twelve this year. While the group may seem large invariably some members are away so discussion functions well.

We decided to choose books that friends and reviewers suggested rather than our own favourites. This means that everyone gets to read a new book each month. We also have a regular meeting venue now at the Malthouse Kitchen and Pantry. This is a lovely space with plenty of room, a manager prepared to turn the music down so we can all hear discussions and importantly, good coffee. It’s also conveniently close to home for the majority of members. We discuss a book for about an hour and then enjoy lunch and maybe continue discussion of the novel.

Sharing opinions and reflecting on our own lives in relation to the novels has meant that over time, we get to know each other well. Surely that’s a sound basis for developing firm friendships.

Convenor: Terry OKeeffe

June monthly meeting report

June’s general meeting speaker, Ross Berner (above), is a member of the Astronomical Society of Victoria and the spouse of member Debra Berner.
Ross held his audience enthralled with his presentation “Pluto ........... Planet or Not?”, walking us through the basics of the formation our solar system, the background to the method of classifying planets and the research which lead to the questioning of Pluto’s classification as a planet.
Those of you who could not attend might well ask, what was the conclusion? Is Pluto a planet or not? Suffice to say the jury is still out. This writer concluded that getting your head around all the relevant aspects of the Pluto’s role in the planetary system can make your head spin faster than Jupiter, I for one need to hear more to make up my mind.
Thanks to Ross for a compelling presentation. We look forward to a club outing to the Astronomical Society’s Melbourne Observatory later in the year.

For those who missed Ross's talk, we've at least found a YouTube about Pluto you can enjoy below.

Nothing trivial about Bearbrass Dockers

Trivia at the Nixon Hotel on Thursday nights is well and truly up and running, attracting members (and non-members) to this fun social night.

In addition, our team entry is proving to be rather adept at the task of recalling unimportant facts, little known details and other pieces of information of little importance or value (how many different colours are in the flag of South Africa?).

The Nixon Hotel event is well attended, attracting a full house with an assortment of age ranges but the power of a full lifetime of accumulating life’s details is truly on our side. Over just the last few weeks our “Dockers” team has routinely won free beer for the table and at last Thursdays event the attending team members scaled the competitive trivia mountain to finish an impressive 3^rd place!

These nights are proving to be a ton of fun and a great social night usually commencing with a drink and a meal before the order comes down to “put your phones off the table” and things get underway. Thanks go to Cheryl Markham for organising this event and if members are interested then it is important that you make contact with Cheryl as team tables need to be organised and booked prior. Cheryl can be contacted via email at cherylmarkham2013@gmail.com

Luv-a-Duck session becomes a tasty treat

By Jan S.

What a wonderful time we had at our Luv-a-Duck cooking class on Friday. The festive focus of the recipes meant that we had about 10 varied dishes to taste. Entrée offerings were confit duck and caramelised onion tartlets and quiche containing smoked duck, feta and spinach. Both were delicious!
Many of the recipes included flavourful accompaniments such as duck breast with cherry and port sauce or with a sauce containing plums and quince paste.

We were shown how to dissect the bird and recipes were used that complemented the tenderness of each part. Even the necks of the birds were used to encase a flavourful stuffing. Legs were braised in an interesting Mauritian spice mix. Another leg dish used Vietnamese spices including a chilli kick.

The cooking was coordinated by Wendy who explained processes perfectly. It really was a thoroughly impressive operation, well organised and included a dish washing person who worked quietly in the background. Three cheers for duck fat roast potatoes!

Many of the participants are keen to return for another lesson in duck glory. If you’d like to join us, keep the following date free - Friday November 11!

Scrap metal and trevally heads --- a lad’s tropical trading

Our veteran member Clive has written another great memoir of his youth -- this time with a trader in war scrap metal north of Rabaul in 1961.

Here's en extra from Clive's story- click "Read More" to enjoy the full drama and Clive's terrific prose.

Scrap metal and trevally heads - a lad’s tropical trading

by Clive Gartner- June 1, 2022

Darren points to the still visible Japanese tunnel openings. Our engine thumps and we move out of Simpson harbor into the Bismarck Sea, next stop Kavieng. It’s a perfect day to start this leg, light breeze, flat seas. Darren sets the autopilot on the course, 30 degrees West of North and we move effortlessly through the turquoise waters on the overnight leg. The sunset puts on a big show, the golden ball of the sun disappearing slowly below the horizon and leaving a gentle glow in the low- set cumulus clouds.

Early the next afternoon, as we approach the Kavieng pier, the crew run around the deck, ready to dock and unload the cargo. “The boys" man the deck and oversee the unloading. “Stay out of their way!” Darren says, and throwing on fresh shirts we head for the Pub.

Our media tarts in action again

Our President Sure and First Gentleman Jim can't seem to keep out of the news. Here a page from the winter edition of the Moonee Valley City Council magazine. You can also read it by going to https://mvcc.vic.gov.au/play/my-experience/valley-view-magazine/ and clicking along to page 11.

How Jim jogged round Australia

The support van is right behind Jim as he jogs south from Broome WA

President Sue’s partner Jim 65, a retired Army Sergeant (pictured this week on a sunset job at Keilor), will never forget the highlight of his army days – a 15,000km run around the Australian mainland and Tasmania. “That was the big one,” says Jim, in retirement still a 30km-a-week runner.

Pics below show Jim on the Nullarbor, south of Broome and entering the Daintree near Cairns. (see Read More).

“There were 20 of us including a female lieutenant and a large back up crew. Each runner did one-twentieth of the distance round Australia. Just to be selected, we had to run a marathon in under three hours as well as ensure we had completed a 5km run in under 17.5 minutes. I was very fit at the time as I was an Army Physical Training Instructor (PTI) at 1^stRecruit Training Battalion Kapooka, Wagga Wagga. As well as my daily PTI exercise at work, I was running 100km a week for enjoyment.”

Apollo Bay: triumphing over weather forecast

Fourteen of us checked the forecast for Apollo Bay before setting off last week for our three-night expedition. The forecast was appalling – storms, thunder, cloudbursts, wind, rain bombs – whatever’s bad, we were heading into it. Undaunted but wary, we set off, and hooray! the forecast was wildly wrong. There was one sharp downpour on Wednesday but we were all in cars and unaffected, and the sun smiled and clouds lifted for the rest of our stay.

Our split accommodations ranged from villa units to caravan park, and we happily sampled all the delights of the district, especially

# The magnificent Mait’s Rest boardwalk in primeval rainforest

# The lighthouse and wartime radar station (for those who came early)

# Stevenson and Hopetoun Falls and Redwood Forest

# Wildlife Wonders conservation park and

# The bayside town and fishery harbour and the bakery’s famous “Scallop Pies”.

There was great scope for getting to know each other better over meals. They started at the highly-rated The Perch at Lavar’s Hill for lunch on Wednesday, and dinners were respectively at the Brewhouse, Casalingo Restaurant (originally a squash court but unrecognisable now), and Apollo Bay Hotel. Informals included marshmallow toasting at the caravan park and “home invasions” in quest of wine and appetisers.

Organiser Jan S. summed up: “Apart from one thing, it was a fantastic event with great atmosphere (and weather) from start to finish. The one glitch was that we’d barely arrived home before our Dear Leader Sue came down with Covid, rapidly followed by myself and three others. Three more (a family of non-members) brought the total to eight. In this contemporary world, one can only be philosophical about such things.”

How Robyn 63, gets up and down the Yarra

Melbourne Bearbrass Probus stalwart Robyn Blake at 63 thinks nothing of rowing five kilometres down the Yarra from her club in Hawthorn, before her races even start. Then Robyn (pink cap, front of boat) and her female Four – the eldest 66 – do the 3.5km race and afterwards they row home upstream for another 8km. She rows 12 hours a week, or about 30km.

She’s been rowing 14 years and hopes to keep rowing for another 20. “Some people are still rowers at 90,” she says. “They might seem creaky in the rowing shed but once in the boat they’re fine.”

She and her quad in their last two years were Masters’ gold medal winners at Rutherglen, Vic. in January, gold medallists at Barwon Heads mid-2021 and best of all, State gold medallists in the Melbourne Head Race last November.

“Sometimes we find ourselves competing against 18-year-olds,” she laughs. “We’ve really improved through togetherness. We’re more controlled and less frantic when the race starts. Our coach has drummed into us, ‘OK, you’re here to row this particular race. It doesn’t matter how well the other crews row. All that matters is how well you row today.”

She took up rowing when she was watching her daughter Florien on the river in Year 9 for MLC school. Florien went on to be Vice Captain of Boats. “ We mums envied our daughters’ fitness and decided we could emulate them,” Robyn says. “It’s a mind-body thing. It’s made me unimaginably healthier, starting with my legs, and I have to be mentally fit too –if your head is not in the right place your every stroke can be off. Good strokes come when you’re calm and in control. It’s a therapy really.”

She and Andrew, her husband of 37 years, have two daughters and one son aged from 22 to 28 and all are working or studying in England or California.

How does Andrew view it all? – “He’s driving me to the river in the car right now, he’s giving a thumbs up,” she says. “He did some rowing lessons but prefers jogging around the Botanic Gardens.”

Robyn, who is also an historical novelist, loves the knowledge-sharing and socialising in Bearbrass Probus. “We can all learn so much from each other,” she says. #

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner hits the spot

Twenty-five Bearbrass people enjoyed our first “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” on April 8. All three hosts Mel and Pam, Susan and Jan abide in Clarendon Towers in Southbank so we didn’t need to park and unpark and travel, just take a lift up to our dinners.
Guests’ names were drawn from a hat during a convivial starter with champagne in a function room on the ground floor. We got massive value from our $60 fee – champers and Hor d'oeuvres to start, then upstairs to Beef Bourguignon (or mushroom ragout), mashed potatoes and two salads, followed by petit fours and cheeses. The mains caterer was Black Truffle Catering, based at Collingwood, whom we heartily recommend. Dinner drinks were BYO and quite a lot was consumed judging by the racket and merriment in each apartment.
Mel says that it was a rare night where everything went well without a hitch. That includes the Consort of our President, i.e., our First Gentleman, being pulled over to the booze truck en route home, where he passed with flying colors thanks to his drinks discipline during the whole night.

Read More to delight in further art photos

Active Retirees monthly - Bearbrass gets 3 stories

Bearbrass did well on the publicity front this month in Active Retirees, the official magazine of the Probus movement.

The issue gave a full-page profile to our life member Tony Thomas (who also featured in the Victorian bi-monthly Probian last issue, ran an excellent poem by our author Glenys Y, and tucked in a half page story and pic about our committee member Jan S and her remarkable quilting talent (also run in the latest Probian). Our club has certainly raised our profile in Australia and let's hope this leads to new member applications.

Puffing Billy day trip

The gods smiled upon the ten participants in the club’s recent outing to Puffing Billy.
It was a beautiful warm day, all our trains ran on time to Belgrave where we were greeted by the lush greens and bush scents of the Dandenong ranges.

Puffing Billy stood ready as did the army of friendly volunteers who made sure we were comfortable. Our engine took a little while to get steamed up but we were soon on our steady climb to our destination, Lakeside.

We passed stands of monumental trees which took our breath away, crossed historic trestle bridges (over which some us dangled our legs) and waved to many locals and sightseers. On arrival, the spectacular new visitor information centre and café did not disappoint our curious minds and rumbling tummies. A short walk around Emerald Lake followed lunch and soon we back in our seats for the return trip. A great day was had by all.

Wine Tasting with Whistling Eagles

Members of the wine tasting group enjoyed sampling a collection of very tasty wines from the Whistling Eagle vineyard on Friday night. A small enterprise, the Whistling Eagle property at Colbinabbin (30 minutes’ drive from Heathcote) has been owned and worked by the Rathjen family for four generations. Ian Rathjen has been making wine since 1995. He says it’s his passion, not a business. He had to be persuaded to sell what he produces. Even so, if he doesn’t like how a wine has turned out he tips it out rather than bottling it. Life’s too short to drink bad wine! And the Bearbrass wine tasters agree. Pics: our cheery group at Haig St. Standing, sommelier Jill dR

Wonderful Walk at Williamstown

Four happy walking group members joined Clive & Dawn at Williamstown Beach station for the Williamstown Foreshore Walk on 18 March. The walk took in the Botanical gardens , Point Gellibrand Coastal Heritage Park and the historic precinct of Nelson Place. Our final experience was the visit to the Williamstown Morgue, the original morgue, built from local blue stone hewn by convict labour and built in 1859. Convivial coffee was then enjoyed prior our departure from Williamstown station.

Pictures: Our group at the Williamstown time ball tower (left) and at Williamstown Botanic Gardens