July 27, 2022 Breakfast Meeting Notes

Steve announced that it is just 1 week until the Fisher Cats game to raise money for Ukrainian relief. He has ordered 48 tickets, 10 of which are going to the Bridge House and 10 to Tana’s Tees. He asked those of us who have not responded to his email to be there. The meeting time is 4:30 and the game starts at 7. We will arrange for carpooling at next Wednesday morning’s meeting.
Tony presented his NH Trivia which focused on Rotary trivia. The 50/50 was won by Mike, who donated it back to the club. Renee got to pull the card for the card game but did not select the ace of spades so we will hold the next drawing next week.

Our speaker for this morning was Braden, who talked about his recent trips to Spain and Ireland.

SPAIN: Braden and Charlene went there in February. Spain is a country that could fit into the state of Texas and it is an affordable travel destination. The population of 47 million speak 10 different dialects as well as standard Spanish, and all students learn English as well as Spanish and their own family/regional dialect.

Their trip started in Barcelona, the heart of the Catalan district. This is the center of bullfighting in Spain and it is still practiced there, though many areas have banned it. It also has a soccer club. It is also home to famous architect Antonio Gaudi who designed the dramatic Sagrada Familia church. The church’s concrete arches echo natural forms. Construction began in 1882 and is ongoing. The structure is massive, over 170 meters tall, and towers over the city’s skyline.

They next took a train to Valencia, but Braden had little to report about this town. Their final stop was the capitol, Madrid, in the center of the country. He shared pictures of the Plaza Mayor and the royal palace (now a museum). He was also fortunate to see a game played by Real Madrid, the current world champs of soccer.

IRELAND: This trip was in June of this year. Ireland is about the size of Maine. They landed in Shannon Airport in Galway before driving to Dublin, down to Adair, and back to Galway. They found It challenging to drive on the left, particularly at the roundabouts. They visited a number of castles and abbeys, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin and the Rock of Cashel. Braden’s plans to surprise Charlene with a proposal at the Cliffs of Moher were thwarted by the infamous Irish fog, so he regrouped and made the proposal later in a sheep pasture! They also drove the Connemara Loop on the west coast. Many pubs were visited, including Shaun’s Bar, the oldest in Europe (1120 years old).

Announcements: Ben will take over as chairman of our team for the Pemi Baker Spelling Bee which is to be held on or around October 29. There will be 3 people on the team plus an alternate. Word lists will be provided in advance.

Mike reported back that the Pinkham Notch cleanup went well although it was a very hot day We had good visibility and signage and a great lunch was provided by Doug. Not too many “weird” items were found.

The Family Fun Fair will be held this Saturday. Volunteers needed!

Penny sale: Tony will do marketing but will need a co-chair.. We will see if Interact can entertain children at the event. Braden will contact people about the last few unfilled positions.

Respectfully submitted,

Lora Miller, secretary