Page 3 - Rotary DIN Apr 2016
P. 3
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW him giving a thumbs-up for the camera. Ben got a
standing ovation for being “the boy next door”
Inspiration by the sea enthused with living life to the full and believing in
yourself.
By Bruce de Saram
Other wonderful speakers in the morning included
The highlight for me of this year’s inaugural Medic Malawi, a Rotarian who made the bricks to
conference of District 1175 in Torquay was Ben build his own hospital and kit it out, a beekeeper
McBean (picture below), an ex-Royal Marine, who who made us all realise how important to our
was the last speaker before lunch on the lives bees are, medical detection dogs, and an
Saturday. Ben, quite a character and a great artist who had made such wonderful paintings of
motivational speaker, stepped on an Improvised Africa in two different styles and had donated one
Explosive Device in Afghanistan and lost a leg and to be auctioned in aid of the District Governor’s
an arm. His life-threatening injuries are a thing of three charities.
the past, although he does still have to undergo
further surgery, but he demonstrated the two Saturday afternoon was the final of Junior Youth
prostheses he uses and he had a large bag of Speaks, which was won by a Cornish school called
examples of mechanical aids to show, all with Penpools. They had just the right mix of
different purposes or which had become obsolete seriousness and humour and deservedly won.
as technology advanced.
Sister Frances’ tales of how she set up the wold’s
His message was that we all first hospice for children – Helen House – and
needed challenges, mental since then the young people’s hospice Douglas
and physical, and although we House, were humbling. She was followed by MP
may be or feel we might be at Jeremy Le Froy, who chairs the All Party Group on
the bottom of the mountain, Tanzania, malaria and neglected tropical diseases.
we could be on the up the up
again. This positive attitude Also on Sunday were speeches from next year’s
probably save his life while he District Governor Stephen Lay, who was telling us
was waiting to be rescued with about next year’s conference in Newquay; and
other injured comrades. He showed a picture of RIBI Present Peter Davey.
the Emergency Room at Camp Bastion and all you
could see in the awfulness of that moment was More from Bruce at eltbjrdes@aol.com.