EVENTS
& PICTURES
2018
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HERE FOR AN INDEX OF 'SPECIAL EVENTS AND PICTURES 2018'
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EITAN'S HOMEPAGE
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December
2018 - Lunch with cousin Yaffa Loew
Braving stormy weather Caroline Livneh, Yaffa Loew, Ruthie Erez and
Doreen
met at Shtsupak Restaurant in Tel Aviv for a delicious fish lunch.
December
2018 - The Sergeants' Forest
One of the many advantages of living in Kiryat Hasharon, a suburb
of Netanya, is the proximity of the "Sergeants' Forest." Despite
its
infamous role in the years leading up to Israel's independence, the
forest - really a large park - a few hundred metres from where we live,
is a wonderful place to go for a stroll or to take the dog for a walk,
and hope for a glimpse of one of the foxes that have made it it's home.
In Summer it's dry but shady, in spring alive with a kaleidescope of
colourful flowers including some very rare ones, in winter beautifully
green like Switzerland, and in winter, following the winter rains, it
hosts an ephemeral pond with its seasonal small wildlife.
December
2018 - The Nussbaums visit
Ex-Durbanite friends John and Ethne Nussbaum (nee Miller) visited
Israel from Canada and we were delighted to see them again. We were
joined for dinner at home by Naomi (nee Hertz) and Eli Vinocour, and
Maureen (nee Konigsfest) Fain. It was lovely talking about our youth
and our memories and our shared past.
John and Ethne Nussbaum, Maureen Fain, Naomi and Eli Vinocour, Doreen
and Eitan
Winnie Levy
2022 - 2018
My dear Aunt Winnie passed away at the
beginning December, aged 96. Aunt Winnie was very much part of my life.
See Archives
of This Week's Picture,
I have often written about Aunt Winnie on this site. Here are just some
of
the links:
2005, 2009,
2010, 2012, 2013, 2016(1), 2016(2)
Some pictures below -
Top pictures: With children Cecile, Sharon and Charles; colourful Winnie
Middle: At the Laboratory Dedication to Fern; aged 35 with
husband Eric; with us on holiday in Durban
Bottom: Winnie and Eric's Wedding Invitation
December 2018 - The
Nathans celebrate Gabriella's batmitzvah
Mark, Gabi and Melodie Nathan, grandmother Lucille (nee Nickel) Melamed
We celebrated Channukah by
lighting candles and singing the Channukah
songs, at home and also at the home of daughter Vered. It was
lovely having 5 of our grandchildren with us: Lior Ron, Lotem Segoli,
and Itamat, Amit and Ilai Levy.
During the Channukah
holidays
Itamar, Amit, Ilai and Lotem stayed with us for a few days, and we
visited the Yad Le'Yeled
Museum at Kibbuz Lohamei Ha'Getaot. We found the museum which
included a special exhibit on Janus Korchak very interesting, were
fascinated by a play about a child who was hidden in a monastery during
the Holocaust (an amazing actress played all the parts), and while
those interested prepared
artwork in the form of stained glass windows on the Channukah theme, others joined a
tour of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum.
.
And no Channukah is complete without
taking part in the celebration at the home of Eitan and Shuli Haberman
December
2018 - Aviv and Limor Levy at a demonstration protesting Violence
against Women
November
2018 - While in
Eilat for a bridge meeting and event we spent some time with the
Segolis and the Eilat Levys. We enjoyed an excellent shabbat dinner at the King Solomon
Hotel.
On the left, front to back:
Itamar L, Maayan S, Amit L, Limor L, Aviv L
On the right, front to back:
Granny Doreen, Moran S, Mikhal S, Zoe S (not quite visible), Lotem S,
Ilai L
In front: Saba Eitan
November
2018 - Aviv and
Limor visit the trulli in
Italy.
Son Aviv Levy and Limor are touring in Italy and having a grand time.
They have sent us pictures and we particularly like this picture of the
trulli ("gnome" houses) around Alberobello, a place we have never
visited but will
certainly do so in the future.
November 2018
- Jafet and
Hildur visit Tel Aviv
We were happy to meet up with Jafet and Hildur Olafsson who are
visiting Israel. Jafet is also a member
of the European Bridge League
(EBL) Executive Committee and we see each other 2 or 3 times every
year
at meetings.
On our trip to Iceland Jafet entertained us and showed us the area around Akureyri
.
In the beginning of November the European Champions' Cup in Bridge
will be held in Eilat and there will
be a meeting of the EBL. We spent a
lovely day with them with Doreen showing them around Tel Aviv.
October
2018 - Visit to Tel Aviv Natural History Museum
The Segolis Moran, Mikhal, Lotem and Zoe and Doreen visited the new Tel
Aviv University Natural History
Museum. They found it fascinating and strongly recommend visiting.
October 2018
- Tarryn (Klotnick) Marcus and family
I enjoyed a lunch at the home of Beryl and Joel Klotnick where I met
Tarryn (nee Klotnick) and Stephen
Marcus with baby Joseph (see Matz family
tree) who are visiting from London. We
met Tarryn 4 years ago while in
London with cousin Charles Levy.
October
2018 - Cousins
We took advantage the visit of cousin Sharon and Joe to Israel
(see Levy/Hershovitz and Matz family trees) to have a cousin
mini-reunion.
The sons and daughters of the four
Levy brothers:
Shirley Kansky (Joe Levy), Jonathan Levy (Abe Levy), Eitan/Anthony Levy
(Hayman Levy), Sharon Leibovitz (Eric Levy)
Extended cousins:
Eitan, Shirley, Jonathan, Joe Leibowitz, Sharon, Beryl and Joel
Klotnick (2nd cousins), Doreen, Louise Braverman (Doreen's sister)
October
2018 - Patisa and family visit
Visiting Israel are Patisa and Jens
Rasmussen and daughter Sophia. Patisa and daughter
Vered went to school together when we lived in St Thomas in the US
Virgin Islands about 35 years ago. They were best friends and Patisa
spent lots of time at our house - she was virtually a second daughter.
Vered and Patisa have closely maintained their friendship and see each
other fairly often. Patissa married Jens and they live in Denmark with
their lovely daughter Sofia. Doreen and I last saw them when we visited Denmark about 6
years ago.
We were happy to see them again when we met them at dinner at Vered's
house. Also happy to meet them was Joanie who was absolutely spoilt by
Sophia.
Aviv with
a fish
Two different views of Aviv with a fish: On the left imitating a fish
skull, and on the right diving and finding wonderfully camouflaged
stone fish waiting patiently for prey. If you look closely you can
clearly see a fish on the left of the picture.
September
2018 - Some old friends
Our visit to Orlando for the bridge meeting gave us an opportunity to
renew acquaintances with some old friends:
Rui Marques and Connie Goldberg who had hosted us in Portugal.
Nina Schafer, a dear friend from our days in St Thomas and after,
flew from Philadelphia to be with us for a few days. We have visited
each other on many occasions (for
example, see here) and it is always wonderful to see her again.
Doreen and Nina visited the Morse Museum in Winterpark which displays
many Tiffany lampshades and other even more impressive glass creations
.
Of course they left time for shopping and talking about poetry - Nina's
passion. (See The
Unexpected Poetry Project)
Doreen undertook the long drive to Sarasota to visit Judy Pirkey,
another long time friend who had recently undergone major surgery. Here
she is showing Doreen her studio where she produces dramatic ceramics
and ceramic installations.
Last year while on a Mediterranean cruise she
and her husband Fernando visited us.
September
2018 - welcome to Galya Leshem
Congratulations to Yori and Michal Leshem (see Gordon/Glasser family
tree) on the birth earlier this month of their first child, daughter
Galya. Note the Magen
David (Star of David) necklace.
About a year ago I received an email from Glenda Cleaver (nee Galgut),
a relative of
Doreen's on the Gordon/Glasser
side, who
possessed a Magen David necklace
that had belonged to her
grandmother Hinde Glasser. She wanted to pass on the necklace to
a
descendant of Hinde and asked whether I had the address of her cousin
Leon Glasser.
I
didn't have any contact details for him but suggested she might instead
get in
touch with Yori Leshem, (son of Yaakov (Julian) Leshem, Leon's brother)
who had just
been married. She was happy with this and I gave her address to
Yori who contacted her.
The result of this is that this family heirloom
is now in the possession of Hinde's great great granddaughter, Galya
Leshem.
September 2018
- A short visit to New York
We were rather disappointed to realize that we had arranged our
New York visit over Yom Kippur.
It turned out to be serendipitous.
Cousin Florence Levine had time to meet us for lunch at Eataly in
Manhattan.
We were thrilled to be present at the screening of 14 Back
near the World Trade Memorial, always a moving site to visit.
After
the Grand Slam Tennis tournaments were over and the cycling events were
finished Doreen became fascinated by snooker and the incredible skill
of the
players. So we were delighted to see The
Nap,
a play concerning snooker and one of the few
non-musical plays on Broadway.
And especially, we got to break the fast
with the Hock Family. (see This Week's Home Page) and renew our
aquaintance with Anita Hock, a
lovely
lady, always
impeccabily dressed, consistently positive who does not let her
age faze her.
Premiere of 14
Back
Jonathan Hock is an award-winning
documentary film maker, mainly on sport. During the 2010 FIFA
World Cup he made a fascinating documentary on the African musician
Hugh Masekela. To quote Wikipedia: Masekela was
featured, with his son Selema
Masekela,
in a series of videos on ESPN.
The series, called Umlando
– Through My Father's Eyes,
was aired in 10 parts during ESPN's coverage of the FIFA
World Cup in
South Africa.
On the 40th Anniversary of the legendary 1978 baseball season,
Sports Illustrated commissioned Jonathan to produce a full length
documentary, 14 Back . Fortunately
we were in New York and together with hundreds of other invitees saw
the premiere screening of the excellent and interesting documentary.
After the screening, there was a panel
discussion including two players who featured in the final game.
Jonathan (2nd from right), is answering a question. Two days
later we saw that the latest edition of Sports Illustrated depicted the
documentary on the front cover.
Doreen joined a walking tour of the Upper West Side and enjoyed views
of
Central Park. Broadway Avenue cuts diagonally through Manhattan. One
lane has been closed off and the sidewalk enlarged to make Broadways a
broad way cutting a swathe through the city, with benches, greenery and
stalls all along the way; also statues.
Doreen talks to policemen after
a blaze with dozens of fire engines and rescue vehicles closed off 7th
Avenue.
Starbucks are like the bus stops in New York - one on every second
street. This picture on Broadway is for our granddaughters who love
Starbucks.
For our grandson Itamar we tried the ghost pepper hot sauce with our
wings, much to his admiration. It was very hot.
September
2018 - The Rons in South America
Vered and family continue their adventures through South
America
through primeval Patagonia right down to Terra del Fuego. What an
amazing journey.
At the Spagazzini Glacier
They also visited the Base Del Cerro Tronado park,
only one of their many snowy adventures on their way to Patagonia and
Terra del Fuego, and pose by a river where they saw wild salmon
swimming upstream.
I
September
2018 - The Rons join
Danielle in Argentina
Daughter Vered and Aviv and Lior
flew to Argentina to meet up with Daniele on her South American trip.
Looks like a very very happy reunion! They will continue touring with
strenuous hikes before
returning to Israel.
September 2018
- Rosh Hashanah
1st night celebration with the Bravermans: Mellie, Yahel, Rafael, Doni,
Denise, Louise and Helen a friend of Louise. Denise presented
Louise with a fabulous cake in the shape of 80 to celebrate her recent
birthday
2nd night celebration with the Segolis: Moran, Mikhal, Maayan, Doreen,
me. Zoe is not in the picture - she's probably petting our dog Joanie
somewhere.
September 2018 - A short trip to
Montenegro
Go to separate page.
August
2018 - A visit to my mother's cousin Sara Olkienitski
August
2018 - Skipper Vered sails the seas
Daughter Vered and Aviv Ron went sailing off the coast of Croatia, with
Vered skippering the yacht. They enjoyed the sailing and also the shore
visits.
August 2018 -
Aviv Levy sailing off the coast of Spain with friends.
August 2018
- The Segolis visit Madagascar part IV
Michal and Lotem admire a chameleon. Vered and her husband Aviv who
stopped in Vienna on their way to sailing remarked that the colours
reminded them of the multi-coloured tiled cathedral roof there, which
is quite true.
Click here, here, and here for previous pictures.
August
2018
- The Segolis visit Madagascar III
The
Segolis voluntered for 2 days at the Reniala Lemur Rescue Center.
Moran writes:
Injured lemurs and lemurs that are
confiscated from private people/smugglers are brought to the Center..
The rehabilitation stages include:
healing them, getting them used to lemur company, getting them
used to
natural food, releasing them in a semi-natural environment, releasing
them to a large enclosure without humans and only then back into
nature. The procces is similar to what is done at the Hai-Bar Center
near Eilat..
Our job included mostly
cleaning their cages, preparing and collecting food.
Some of the lemurs are still
too tame (and might not be able to be released into nature), while
others are quite aggresive (probably were abused by people).
See pictures of the children working at the center on the pages of Maayan, Lotem and Zoe.
August
2018 - The Eilat Levys spend a week with us
Our 3 Eilati grandchildren, Itamar, Amit
and Ilai stayed with us in Netanya for a week . We enjoyed having them
and we hope they enjoyed being with us.
Enjoying Humous in Abu Ghosh
It was an opportunity to visit Vered and Aviv Ron's new house in
Raanana - renovations not yet finished but the children stayed over one
night and were very impressed with the house.
For another picture, at the Circus, click here.
August 2018
- The Segolis visit Madagascar II
The Segolis are having a great time on their visit to Madagascar. Maayan went diving, Zoe ate chocolate and Lotem went swimming. As can be seen here,
life there is not easy especially for Moran.
The Segoli's hotel room
See previous pictures
August
2018 - Demonstration against "Nation State" Law.
Doreen and I are very much opposed to the new "Nation State" law passed
by the Knesset.
Together
with about 100,000 others we attended a mass demonstration organised by
the Druze minority in Rabin
Square against this law.
The following week we attended another large demonstration agaist the
law, organised by the Arab population.
Doreen and I with daughter Vered, Cousin Jonathan and friend from South
African days, Geoff.
The signs read (in Hebrew and Arabic): "Repeal the Nation State Law"
and "Justice"
August
2018 - Old friends visit
Although we have much in common we don't often see old friends Steve
and Binny Blass (from Kibbutz Yizrael) so we were delighted when
they came for lunch and we could get together with them and Frankie
Klaff ( see Goldberg family tree)
and David Rothschild (who are on a visit to Israel).
me, Dave, Doreen, Frankie, Binny, Steve
August 2018
- The Segolis visit Madagascar
The Segolis are continuing their trip to Madagascar and seem to having
a fabulous time. It looks like a perfect place for the nature-loving
(and coconut sipping) Segolis. See picture here and on the pages of Maayan, Lotem
and Zoe.
July 2018
- Sharon and Joe Leibowitz celebrate 50th Wedding Anniversary
The Leibowitz clan in Australia celebrate Sharon and Joe's
50th
Anniversary
See the Matz and Hershovitz/Levy family trees.
July 2018 -
Opatija bridge visit
We spent a week in Opatija at the Executive Meeting of the European
Bridge League. I had a double job as I was in charge of the Junior
Championships which consisted of Championships for Under 21, Under 16,
Under 13 and Under 21 Women.
Left:: The Executive Committee (members from Germany, Netherlands,
Poland, Turkey, France, Sweden, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, Belgium,
Slovakia and Israel (2).
Centre: Doreen and I enjoy a walk along the coast\Right: At the
presentation of the prizes for the Mixed Pairs Championships (winners -
Norway)
Two views from our room
July
2018 - Segoli Wedding Anniversary
Moran and Mikhal celebrate their Wedding Anniversary. Their daughter
Lotem prepared this amazing birthday "card" for her parents!
July 2018 -
Doreen's Cooking Class
During some of the time that grandson Itamar was in hospital our
grandchildren Maayan
and Lotem Segoli, and Amit and Ilai Levy stayed with us in
Netanya.
Doreen took
the opportunity of showing them how to cook. They each made something
different, and as Doreen says " It was
a challenge having three children doing different things
in our
tiny kitchen. But all the food was delicious."
,
A perfect stack of pancakes prepared by Lotem
gravlax salmon in a beetroot cure (Lotem) ,
spatchcock chicken, (Ilai), chicken
marbella (
see recipe)
June
2018 - Vered's 52nd birthday
We celebrated with Daughter Vered her and husband Aviv and daughter
Lior at their
favourite Vietnamese restaurant. (see This Week's Picture)
The three generations of beautiful
women - granddaughter Lior, daughter Vered, and grannie Doreen
The brothers sent greetings in their own way
Aviv on the left, in his sea territory, displays signs with Mazal Tov
and a rose, a land symbol
(Vered in Hebrew means rose). Moran (on the right) got his
revenge by using a sea symbol in his land territory, in front of
bed of roses.
Aviv's reaction was expected: "Copy cat!"
June 20198
- Friends at the Tel Aviv Bridge Festival
We invited three friends who are in Israel for the Tel Aviv
Bridge Festival, Yves Aubry (outgoing President of the European Bridge
League) and his wife Claude, and Ton Kooijman (Chairman of the World
Bridge Federation Laws Committee). The Rons joined us.
Ton Kooijman, Eitan Levy, Yves Aubry, Vered Ron, Doreen, Aviv Ron,
Claude Aubry. (not in picture: Lior Ron)
Old friends
Colin Gorfil, Errol Hackner, me,
Colin
Kessel
Hadas Gorfil, Jewel Hackner, Tamara Rabinowitz,
Louise Kessel, Doreen
We had dinner at Colin and Louise Kessel to say hi to Errol Hackner, a
schoolmate from kindergarten to matriculation, who is visiting from
USA. We see Errol and his wife Jewel very occasionally and it's always
good to reminisce about the old days. Wives Doreen, Louise and Hadas
and Tamara Rabinowitz rounded out the nostalgic and extremely pleasant
evening.
Aviv
Levy's 50th birthday
Congratulations to son Aviv Levy on reaching 50!
His place of work, Coral World Eilat, gave him a suprise party which
was quite an amazing event - food, burning letter ceremony,
lanterns etc etc.
June 2018 -
Denise: Iron Woman
Our niece Denise continues to surprise. (see previous "surprise" here!).
She looks as fit as ever, and this time took part in an Ironman Contest
in Luxembourg: 1.9Km swim - 90Km cycle - 21Km run, all in 6 hrs 43
mins. She wore a T-shirt in memory of her brother Rael. All the family
is proud of you, well done!
June 2018
- Ostend Belgium (2)
At the Gala Dinner the night before
the elections - still time to canvas more votes - helped by my lovely
wife.
Enjoying my favourite snack - Herring
The old and the new: Doreen and I,
Paul (also re-elected) and Maureen Porteus (Ireland) with outgoing
president Yves Aubrey (France) and his wife Claude (in red);
and the new
president, Jan Kamras (Sweden) and I in deep discussion (gossiping?!).
Doreen
is recovering well from her
operation. She took the opportunity while we were in Ostend to travel a
little, visiting nearby Brugge and taking a train to Amsterdam where
she overnighted with long-time friends Hans and Lottie
Reizer.Sightseeing is one of the perks for the wives of the bridge
officials; here Maureen with her sister Norma, Hulda and Doreen pose
before they plunge into chocolate shops and Belgium waffles.
Doreen: The long train trip to Amsterdam was well worth it to see Hans
and Lottie Reijzer. They are close friends from our first days in
Israel at Hebrew Ulpan in Netanya, over 50 years ago. Lottie who has
for decades battled serious illnesses was my role model to be healthy
and optimistic and active after an operation.
June 2018
- Ostend, Belgium
We are in Ostend, Belgium, at
the European Bridge Teams Championships.
Doreen enjoying a large bowl of delicious mussels
and the street art of Ostend. She was reminded of street art and
graffiti in London, and the murals we
had seen in
Tasmania at Springfield
and Sheffield.
June
2018 - A
post-operation meal
On the Saturday morning after Doreen's operation, our good friend
Morris Kahn visited and later the Segolis from Sde Boqer, Aviv from
Eilat and Vered and Aviv from Raanana came over.
The Segolis brought lunch, delicious sushi prepared by grandson Maayan
with help from granddaughter Lotem. This is only part of what they
prepared!
June
2018 - Raanana Bowling Club Ladies Singles Champion - Louise Braverman
A huge "WELL DONE" to Doreen's sister, Louise Braverman, who yesterday
won her match in the final and is now Raanana Bowling Club Ladies
Singles Champion. We're proud of you, Louise!
May 2018
- The Levys in Midreshet Ben Gurion
The Eilat levys went up to Midreshet Ben Gurion to spend the weekend
with the Segolis.
Aviv repaired the trampolione and the
cousins went swimming
See another picture (of Ilai levy) here.
May 2018 -
Shavuot at the Midreshet Ben Gurion School
There is a modern tradition at the
school attended by gradchildren
Maayan and Lotem Segoli. Each grade prepares a typical dance of a
different decade. It is good fun and the children enjoy it very much.
May
2018 - Yael Segoli's 70th birthday
The Segolis celebrated Yaael Segoli's 70th birthday and
sent us this picture.
May 2018 -
Italian Giro
The big news in Israel in the beginning of May - apart from the usual
political
shenanigans - was the opening 3 stages of the Giro d'Italia, the famous
Italian Bicycle road race. We watched the 2nd stage as it passed us. We
thoroughly enjoyed watching, especially as it brought back memories of
the Tour de France race which we saw in
Corsica.
Click
on the picture below
The riders will finish the Israel stages
of the race in Eilat and then
head for Italy for the last 18 stages before finishing the 23 day race
in Rome.
Not to be outdone and getting into the swing of things, Coral World,
where our son Aviv is the curator, had their own underwater "giro". The
sign reads "Giro d'Italia - Welcome to Eilat"
May 2018 -
Swim in aid of Tzalul
Tzalul is a non-profit
organization dedicated to the clean-up of Israel's water - seas and
lakes. It was started by Benjamin Kahn the owner of Coral world and a
friend of ours for many years. This week they organized a 6km sea swim
in aid of a clear and clean sea, and our son Aviv was one of the
swimmers.
April 2018
- The desert wadis fill with water.
The heavy rains and resulting flash floods
(see an example here) which
tragically drowned 10 teenagers at the end of April filled up the
usually dry wadi river beds and provided an opportunity for the
Segolis, after the danger had passed, to visit rare water pools in the
desert.
April 2018 -
Welcome Yaara Shavit
Congratulations to Vered (nee Loew) and Yoav Shavit on the birth of
Yaara on 1st April. Congratulations too to brothers Dotan and Eyal and
sister Maayan. And a special mazal
tov to grandmother Yaffa Loew (Schank
Family Tree).
On the left, Grandmother Yaffa with 2 day old Yaara; on the right
Yaara with a her delighted big sister Maayan.
April 2018
- double celebration
I celebrated my birthday together with granddaughter Zoe's birthday
birthweek
birthfortnight in Netanya. See below and also click for more pictures of Zoe's fortnight.
April
2018 - Yom Ha-azmaut
(Independence Day)
The Segolis visited their Segoli cousins in Mevasseret Zion where 4
days early Zoe celebrated her birthday
birthweek,
and then drove to Eilat to enjoy some time with the Levy cousins.
April 2018
- The Rons go skiing
The Rons, daughter Vered, Aviv and Lior went skiing in St Anton in
Austria. Vered prepared a great video of their trip but here is a
picture of the three of them.
April
2018 - With granddaughters Lotem and Amit in The Netherlands
We spent 5 enjoyable days in and near Amsterdam with granddaughters
Lotem Segoli and Amit Levy. We came, we saw and we ate!
We stayed at a very comfortable apartment, The Guestroom, in a lovely
neighborhood with good tram connections to the centre and other places
of interest. We ate breakfast out one morning but enjoyed the
croissants and cheeses available at the nearby supermarket.
On our first day we got to know Amsterdam by taking a boat ride on the
canals. The girls loved the picturesque houses. It was very interesting
and amazing to see how many bicycles (without motors!) there were.
There was even a multi-level parking garage and a floating parking
garage for bicycles next to the Central Station.
We went on a walking tour of the old Jewish Quarter and heard how the
Jews fared during the period of the 2nd World War. There are plaques in
the pavements and on the canal banks commemorating the Jews who lived
in the houses opposite and who were murdered in the German
Concentration Camps. We also visited Anne Frank House and saw where she
and her family and others were hidden and where she wrote her famous
diary.
We were told that because of the cold weather there would not be many
tulips at the Keukenhof Botanical Park but we decided to go
anyway, a journey that entailed a tram, ferry and bus. Wow! The colours
and variety of flowers, especially tulips,but also crocuses and
daffodils was amazing and it was a wonderful experience. We were very
very glad we went. The girls couldn't stop taking photos of each and
every different tulip.
After the visit to Keukenhof we visited the Amsterdam LookOut Tower
with a lovely view of Amsterdam. Lotem decided to try the special
attraction - the swings which swung out from the top of the tower, over
the edge of the building about 100 metres above the town below. Doreen,
brave Granny, was forced to accompany her granddaughter. Lotem was
exhilarated while Doreen was thankful she didn't fall out to the ground
far below.
Click
on the picture for a short video of the experience
On our way back, walking through the
Central Station, the girls spied a Starbucks and excitedly made a
beeline straight to the counter. They enjoyed their favourite Amsterdam
drink - hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream, and even bought
Starbucks cups to take back home.
We had Rijsttafel dinner with old friends Hans
and Lottie Reijzer and
their son Esra and wife Rivka. On Friday
night we had a shabbat meal with them and their daughter Jose and
David and Nadav and Naftali. Jose put on a magnificent spread. We
found that touring with girls is very different to touring with boys.
The Albert Cuyp open-air market was fun despite the extremely cold
weather. Shopping and window shopping was an important part of the
trip. Doreen and the girls made a quick visit to the van Gogh Museum
and enjoyed the large Museum Plein square .
We hired a car on our last day and visted Zaanse Schans village. We saw
the windmills there and visited some of the attractions which show
traditional Dutch artisan activities, such as weaving and making wood
clogs.
We ended the day with a visit to the fishing village of Vollendam where
we saw how the dykes keep the sea from flooding the low-lying country
and of course enjoyed a final taste of poffetjes and stroopwafels (and
herring for Saba). The girls decided that they would buy Doreen a
poffertjie pan for her birthday.
The girls got along wonderfully and were
appreciative of most of the things we had arranged. We thoroughly
enjoyed being with them. We all had a wonderful time.
There are some more pictures on the pages of
Amit and
Lotem.
March 2018
- Pesach seder
We celebrated Pesach (Passover)
with a family seder at our
home in Netanya.
Doreen prepared the traditional passover foods supplemented by a
delicious turkey, and the children played their part by helping.The
children helped
Our seder was more or
less traditional. We prepared the seder plate and foods and read the
haggadah (though we "passed over" some parts), and sang some of the
traditional songs. Zoe's rendereing of ma nishtanah was outstanding and
the food was plenty and delicious. We usually add something to our
seders and this year we watched clips of some entertaining animations
of the Egypt exodus and saw some cartoons depicting the exodus with
modern touches.
March
2018 - The Eilat Levys enjoy a bonfire and picnic
Spring is around the corner and the warmer weather activities are
starting. The Eilat Levys went up in the mountains to enjoy
a bonfire and a Friday evening picnic.
March 2018
- Moran skiing holiday
Moran and his friend Ran Kagan enjoyed the end of winter with
a short skiing break in Val d'Isere in France.
March 2018 -
3rd time lucky?
Perhaps we finally have a dog? After two disappointments we hope that
two year old Joanie and we will get on together. We got this nameless
dog from Pets for Life. She likes sleeping but is also a great walker
and we enjoyed our first
walk with her. We wanted to name her Johnny Walker
but because of her gender so we decided on Joanie Walker - Joanie
for short.
We took advantage of Joanie's love of walking to visit the ephemeral
lake in the Eucalyptus forest next to our building.
March 2018
- Purim
We celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim
that
commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, who was
planning to kill all the Jews. This took place in the ancient Persian
Empire and the story is recorded in the biblical Book of Ester.
The celebration is a joyous one and the schools and streets are filled
with people in fancy dress or costume, and parties are commonly held.
See also the Archives
for a stunning picture of son and daughter-in-law Aviv and Limor
Levy.
Granddaughters Zoe, Lotem and Amit
Granddaughter Lior with her fellow volunteers at the institute for
disturbed and problematic youth.
In addition many places hold an
Adloyada, a
kind of carnival procession. Midreshet Ben Gurion in Sde Boqer, where
the Segolis live, organise a very popolar
adloyada every year.
Lotem, Zoe (in group picture in front with rabbit ears, and son Moran
strikingly made up by the talented Lotem.
(
see another example of Lotem's make-up
artistry)
February -
Maayan and Doreen prepare Makluba
One of the highlights of the babysitting the Segoli grandchildren was
the
middle eastern dish Makluba (that
is cooked and flipped over) that Maayan prepared under the
direction of Doreen. It came out perfectly and was delicious. Click on
the picture below to see the successful "flipping over"
The makluba,
about to be flipped. Click on the picture to see the
successful "flipping"
Click here to read Doreen's makluba
recipes (with variations for meat eaters or for vegans)
February 2018
- Moran and Mikhal Segoli visit Kenya
They did a four day trek (and an additional day traveling
in each direction) up to the second highest peak of Mt Kenya (Lenena
peak 4985 m). They went with a guide and helpers. For most of the hike
they saw beautiful and interesting flora but not many animals.
They took the less-travelled path so their group was mostly
alone. After the hike/climb they went on a safari.
They are due to go for a boat ride on the highest lake in the rift
valley -Lake Naivasa. (Last month they visited the lowest rift valley
lake.)
on
safari
February
2018
We babysat the Segolis, Maayan,
Lotem and Zoe, in Midreshet Ben Gurion (Sde Boqer) while parents Moran
and Mikhal were climbing Mt Kenya. On the first weekend we took the 3
children to Eilat
to enjoy the weekend with their Eilat cousins
Itamar, Amit and Ilai.
The boys do their thing
--- --- The girls do theirs
...... but we also do things together.
February
2018 - TD Workshop in
Larnaca, Cyprus
I organized a Tournament
Directors' Workshop for the European Bridge League in Larnaca, Cyprus.
There were 59 participants and the workshop was very successful.
(l -r): A participant dealing with the situation in a simulation of a
problem during play; the Israel participants; the five participants
receiving their certificates for Grade A+ (I am on the left, Yves Aubry
(EBL President) on the right.)
February
10, 2018 - A special happy 96th birthday to Aunt Winnie Levy, so
excited to have her family around to help celebrate with her in
Seapoint.
February
2017 - Cyprus
While in Cyprus Doreen hired a car together with Oryah Meir (the GM of
the Israel Bridge
Federation who was assisting in the organization, see picture) and Yves
Aubry, the
President of the EBL. They drove up torturously windy roads to the top
of Mount Olympus and then down to Kykkos, an amazing Greek Orthodox
Monastery. Every available surface is covered with either mosaics on a
biblical motif or with wall paintings, all in wonderful condition. The
most precious posssession of the Greek Orthodox monastery is an icon of
Mother and Child, purported to have been painted by Saint Luke.
The following day Doreen also did the long drive to Paphos where, near
the harbour, there is a UNESCO Heritage site recognizing important and
beautiful mosaics from the Hellenistic and Roman era. In the mosaic on
the left note what appears to be a Star of David, but it is a geometric
design as the Magen David only became a Jewish symbol in Medieval
times. Above it to the left there is a design that looks like a
swastika, but the swastika arms turn the other way and it is far too
early for its present day associations. Below is a mosaic of an Amazon.
It is unusual as Amazons are usually depicted on horses. The other
thing is that we see her bared right breast. Amazons, who are mythical
figures, were said to cut off their right breasts the better to wield
their spears. If you go to Zippori another breasted Amazon is depicted
there in the Nile House.
Tombs of
Kings is further afield. Although the many tombs cut into the stone are
varied and impressive they were rather of rich or important people and
not kings. The green grass and wild flowers of spring make it an ideal
place to spending a morning exploring the many tombs
February
2018 - A short visit to London
On the way back from a stay in Belfast we spent a day and as half in
|London - enough time for some shopping, a delicious Chinese lunch and
an excellent fish dinner.
February
2018 - Joel Klotnik goes sky diving
Joel and Beryl Klotnik (see Matz family tree)
are in South Africa and Joel took the opportunity of the holiday spirit
to go sky diving! Hope you weren't too nervous, Joel.
February
2018 - Enjoying a visit to Belfast
Dinner with Maureen Porteus and 4 bottles of wine at dinner, and
enjoying fresh oysters at
St George's Market. No record of her shopping, but our suitcases are
now much heavier.
January
2018 - Doreen at the Knesset
Last week, as part of the activities of the Women Make Peace
organization, 150 women (Doreen among them) attended a special meeting
of the Women's Lobby at the Knesset (the
Israel Parliament.)
Doreen (right) with fellow participants Wedad Zaid (left)
and Ruth Erez middlet)
January 2018
Andy Loew passed away this month. See This Week's Archives.
Our son Moran sent us this picture, taken in the late 1980's, of
happier times, with Andy, Yaffa and their two children Vered and the
late Guy ז"ל in the Timna area in southern Israel.
January
2018 - How to walk your dog in the rain
January 2018 -
Midreshet Sde Boqer
It's always exciting to see the wild ibexes in the centre of the
village.
It was a lot of
hard work, but the paella prepared by Doreen and grandson Maayan was
delicious. See a close-up of the
paella
on Maayan's page.
January 2018
Belinda Levy who was married to my late cousin David (see Hershovitz and Matz family trees) is
visiting Israel with her companion Peter Mintz and we were happy to
meet up with her again and to meet Peter. They met son Aviv when
they were in Eilat (see picture) .
They spent the day with us during which Doreen took them on a
tour of Caesarea, and then slept over.
INDEX
OF SPECIAL EVENTS AND PICTURES 2018
INDEX
OF EVENTS in DOREEN'S COLUMN 2018
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