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Six Companies are known to offer travel insurance without age restrictions, though travelling against medical advice, or having received a terminal prognosis, or being in the late stages of pregnancy, would be grounds for refusal:
Insurance from all of these Companies is likely to cover:
Insurance can be for a single trip or you can buy an annual policy for as many trips as you undertake. You can be insured even if partaking of winter sports, which raises the question of wheelchairs and the like: is this before or after you ski? All this will cost a sum based, no doubt, on the Company's experience in offering cover to those who are past their prime. It could be three times as much for you if you are over 80, though your accompanying (younger) family and friends included on the policy will pay normal rates. Bon voyage et bon chance. Take a five-foot high black bear, so closely related to mankind that almost uniquely in mammals other than us, it walks on two flat feet - heel and all. Then lock it up in a cage slightly larger than itself, open its thorax, stick a tube in there and milk it for bile, all the time thinking of the money you can get for it from Chinese herbal medical men. Then realise mat you have stolen the 25-year life - yes, it is for life - of an animal that is intelligent only to a lesser degree than we are, so that people who are losing their sexual drive can, if they believe, prolong it by taking herbal medicines. Could this bear be the infamous Yeti? It, too is nearly extinct, if it ever existed and it, too shows no wish to be near humanity. There are only 17,000 Bile bears left, thanks to Russian, Chinese and Thai hunters. Such was the tale told us last month by Claire Spaggs, of the AnimalsAsia charity. They were set up to do what they could about this dreadful trade, having first to get the support of the Chinese Government who now control their use. The charity buys the bears from the farmers and put them into their own sanctuaries. There is no point in releasing them to the wild, they are far too ill or maimed to survive. Indeed, only too often the alternative is, having bought the bear, to put it down humanely.If this step need not be taken, the bear is fed its favourite food - bananas for preference - and looked after with love for as long as it lives. There were other details of this horrible trade Claire told us about and just for once your Editor and, I suspect, most members listening were quietly glad when the slide projector broke down and we were relieved of watching the plight of these animals, losing their limbs from non-use in their tiny cages and eventually being allowed to die when their juices dried up. What to do about it all? AnimalsAsia have not only set up sanctuaries (but they need many more), they have started to teach the children in schools in those countries, stressing me awfulness of it all and the children respond with horror, so the word is getting around. Of course they lack the money to do what they would want and we were encouraged to donate. Claire was an excellent speaker who held our attention with her terrible tale.
We welcome Col. Douglas McLelland, CBE, TD, DL as our guest today, a return by him to our Club which he helped to start on April 4th., 1968, when he was Vice-President of Coulsdon Rotary Club and chaired that first meeting. Our own Chairman this year, Jim Mulvey thought it was about time Colonel Mac was shown what he started all those years ago. Our first 'proper' meeting in the following month was attended by 58 members, more than we can ever expect these days, so maybe we should be doing something practical about raising our numbers. Our Club had a splendid Stand at the Coulsdon Fair in July, raising £166 towards our current charity, the Coulsdon Centre for the Retired. It was well supported with helpers from our membership, but the attraction to the public lay in its professional appearance and this was due to Jim Mulvey and his son Steve, the latter being in the graphics and exhibition business. He deserves to be doing well. Another mention of Jim Mulvey: No doubt you will all have received a letter from him about a River Thames Murder Tour on Friday September 9th. It's short notice but sounds like something very interesting. If you are thinking of going, do give Jim a ring on 01737 555974. Mind you, taking the wife along might be a dodgy thought, giving her ideas best kept out of the family. Many of us have reached an age when we find major, or even minor DIY jobs about the house to be beyond our abilities and even, in this day of Health and Safety rules, discover that it is against the law to undertake work still within our capabilities. It goes against the grain, too, to hire the expert attentions of plumbers, electricians, builders and such at what seems to be vast financial cost, when we could get out our spanners, pliers, hammers and paint brushes and have me job done in a shorter time than even just joining the professional's waiting list. So what to do? We have, most of us, hired help in the past and will have to do so again in the future. Likewise, we have all made mistakes in our hirings and sworn never to do so again. What your Editor never does is to hire a bloke who knocks on the door saying he is doing work in my road and have I anything he could do? The best answer to this problem is to take on a chap recommended by a friend and at least we shall have the satisfaction of moaning to someone we know if the work doesn*t come up to expectations. But that, we feel is an unlikely event. Phil Munson has come up with the idea of setting up a Recommended Tradesmen's Scheme and you will each have seen his paper on the subject at lunch today, whereby we offer tile names and contacts for a good operative whom we know from personal experience. That must reduce our chances of disappointment, though in this day and age of Sexual Equality, Phil would have to do something about that word Tradesmen'. There are one or two other things he has suggested mat need careful consideration, but as an idea, it sounds like a Good Thing. Should we as a Club be involved? Whatever is decided, the Newsletter will support. No doubt we shall discuss it further. At the Ladies Lunch on October 20th, perhaps? In the early 1900s there were few restaurants in Moscow that provided very good food, and these were extremely expensive. Top management of the Russian oil companies with whom we did business expected to be entertained at these places. For the lower ranks, the kind of people who actually got things done, who made sure that oil was shipped from refineries, liased with Russian railroads, Customs and the like, they much preferred to be invited to Tallinn for so-called "operational meetings and discussions." They were quite happy to take the train between Moscow and Tallinn, leaving Moscow at 1800 and arriving Tallinn at about 0900 the next morning. The service had a sleeping car with bunks and the restaurant car served a limited menu until about 2300, or until the food ran out - the latter occurring most times. This car also doubled as a drinking area and it was always possible to meet a mixed bunch of travellers who would philosophise deep into and through the night until alcohol had its effect. Arriving there with a bottle or two of whatever always ensured a warm welcome. The train stopped at a couple of stations en route and twice at the border for the Russian and Estonian immigration, customs and (in those days) very strict currency controls. Those invited to Tallinn would often bring their wives as a weekend treat, since shopping in Tallinn was good by comparison and prices were about 40% of those in Moscow for good clothes, houseware and textiles. The "meetings and discussions" were, by mutual agreement, normally arranged for the weekend so that the invitees didn't upset their working time, or bosses, too much if they left Moscow on Friday and arrived back on Monday morning; it also suited us in Tallinn as we provided hotel rooms for one night only, though any savings on hotels were mostly lost on entertaining the group. It was not uncommon for 15/20 people to sit down for dinner on Saturday night when a group and their wives were in Tallinn. Pre-dinner drinks seemed to last forever until eventually menus were passed round. The guests would take ages to read through an extensive listing of dishes, consulting with each other, advising their wives (whether or not they needed it), making toasts, drinking more vodka. Eventually orders were placed, the waiters nodding they understood and smiling as they calculated that this was going to be a big bill with probably a big tip, enough justification to endure a noisy group or the evening, even their singing. Food started to arrive: it was normal for starters to be an assortment of salads, cold meats, fish and the like, set down the middle of the table for all to consume. When these had been sufficiently diminished (but left on the table), main courses were brought. Waiters would call out the dishes: "who has the sturgeon, salmon or beef...?" Hands would be raised and dishes put down. However when it came to the last dishes, confusion reigned as to who had ordered them, or perhaps something was missing. When I tried to sort out the confusion by asking one of the guests if he was sure he'd ordered what he was eating, I was told to relax as it didnt make any difference to him or his friends. "Roger", he said "I must tell you that in Russia we order what we want, but we eat what we're given."
Produced and edited monthly by Ian Scales (01737 553704)
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