COLE PORTER

I have always marvelled at the ability of the human brain to conjure up the great masterpieces of music and literature. To create a musical opus or a piece of literature is admirable; for one person to do both is fantastic. Cole Porter had that ability.

My appreciation of Cole Porter is focussed on his ability to match both the words and the music so that they work seamlessly together, so it was a great pleasure to share some of his work with members.

After a brief biography of the well-off family from Indiana, the influence of his mother and her father, his time at Yale and then in New York, we listened to a selection from his more than 1200 songs written between 1910 and his death in 1964.

Although his most productive years were the 20’s though to the 40’s, he composed songs and shows throughout his life. Many of the musicals and reviews with which he was associated were flops, but individual numbers became popular through sheet music and recordings by popular musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. We listened to ‘I’ve got you under my skin’ and ‘Begin the

Beguine’ sung by Frank Sinatra. I also included Billie Holliday’s covers of ‘Night and Day’ and ‘Let’s do it’ , Ethel Merman singing ‘I get a kick out of you’ and ‘You’re the Top’ . One show that was, and is still, a success was ‘Anything Goes’ I also included an unlikely number which was reportedly a favourite of the late Queen, ‘Miss Otis Regrets’ .

The latter years of his life were overshadowed by an accident with a horse, which eventually caused him to have a leg amputated and this effectively marked the end of his career. Aremarkable man whose music is still popular and frequently turns up in modern movies and on Desert Island Discs. Mike McNally

From: JOHN PHILIP

Subject: Re: Donation to IRFHP

Date: 1 February 2023 at 20:39:45 GMT

To: John Churchill

Hello John

Many thanks for this donation [£500]. Please convey my gratitude to your members. We are focussing now on 3 things.

1) Helping mums and babies

2) Mobile clinics

3) Children in need - this is a group of young people who have had mental or physical disability - and then add to that all the youngsters with post traumatic disorder and mental health problems directly due to the war. There is much to do.

I'm off to Tanzania to continue with our old project and hence it may be a few weeks before your cheque is cleared. Be assured that it would be put to good use.

Dr John Philip Chair, International Fellowship of Healthcare Professionals Past District Governor Highfield House

Red Shute Hill

Hermitage RG18 9QH, UK

Our website: https://rotaryhealthprofessionals.org/

To join the Fellowship: https://membermojo.co.uk/irfhp

REPORT TO RGBI UKRAINE TASK GROUP31st JAN 2023

Generators

Rotary in the Thames Valley (D1090 – my District) launched an appeal for funds to supply generators to hospitals in Ukraine. We have so far raised £45,000 and have supplied 2 large Generators (90kVA& 45kVA) which were installed in 2 Kharkiv hospitals a week later with the help of Ukrainian Rotarians. There is another generator destined for a different Hospital in Kharkiv. The appeal for funds is attracting more funds and we hope to buy more generators for hospitals.

KANGAROO MOTHER CARE (KMC)

We are working with Rotary in Moldova as well as Rotary in Nijmegen, Netherlands and a company to make the KMC wraps in Moldova. We’ve received good support from professionals in Ukraine and hope to have the first batch of wraps on its way within a month. We’ve already identified a group of ‘educators’in Ukraine to support the programme.

TheAmerican Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) through funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and in collaboration with the World Health Organization, other implementing organizations and several national professional societies, last week had a series of webinars promoting KMC. https://aapikmc.my.canva.site/

HATS FOR UKRAINIAN BABIES (HUB)

Hats are often knitted, especially but not exclusively by grandmothers, sometimes along with booties and mittens which are also useful. For the less experienced, instructions are available.

We are calling on Rotarians to take on this project – and start knitting or reach out to their families and friends - to knit ‘Hats for Ukrainian Babies’.

There are two collection hubs in the UK and in Germany. We are also in discussion with colleagues in Canada and in the US to see promote HUB.