EVENTS
& PICTURES
2022
GO
TO DOREEN AND
EITAN'S HOMEPAGE
Gail
Nickel זכרונה לברכה
Gail Nickel 3 May 1948 - 31 December
2022
At niece Melodie's wedding
We were saddended to hear of rhe death
of Doreen's cousin
Gail
Nickel in Johannesburg. We extend condolences to her sisters
Lucille Melamed, Wendy Nickel Ginsberg and Carmen (Nickel) Kay; and
their children. See
Nochimovitz
family tree.
clockwise: Doreen, Eitan, Lior Ron, Dani Ron and Oz, Aviv Ron, Meaghan
Coffey and Chris. Vered Ron, Jim amd Cathleen Coffey
New Year Eve 2022- We all met at the Dim Sum Palace the 30th December
and enjoyed the food and the company. We were happy to meet Megan and
her friend Chris and her parents Jim and Cathleen.
Tomorrow night we are off to Times Square to see the festivites
courtesy of Meaghan and and her parents who have access to a room
overlooing Times Square.
December
2022 - Chanuka 2022
Candle #1 - at the Rons with Aviv's family
(back) Doreen, Gal, Lior, Eli and
Shiri Ezra
(sitting, middle) Eitan, Idan Ezra,
Rina Klipstein, Dani and Oz, Ilan Ezra, Aviv
(front) Vered, Tali Ezra
Night #4 - at the Segolis with friends - candle lighting and and
delicious
latkes and
sufganiot
Night #5 - at the Segolis - candle lighting and sushi prepared by all
the family. (We also celebrated grandson' Maayan's 19th birthday (
see picture)
December 2022
- Double Celebration
We celebrated granddaugher Dani
Ron's graduation from Reichman University with a BA in Sustainability
and Government. We are very proud of her - she worked hard and it was
not easy going back to study after a long break. Last night
was also our 58th wedding anniversary and we were delighted to
celebrate
together with Dani and the Rons at a local Sushi Restaurant.
l-r: Lior and friend Gal, Doreen and
I, Vered and Aviv, Dani and friend Oz.
December
2022 - A visit to kibbutz Yizrael
This week we had a most enjoyable visit
to Kibbutz Yizrael and met up with friends from our Habonim days
in South Africa.
With Binny and Steve Blass. I shared many experiences with Steve - we
were together at a Habonim camp and we were
both at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg.
We also met up with ex-Durbanites Issy
Levitan and Keith (Akiva) )
Greenberg and his wife Stella (from Zimbabwe); and we sat on the bench
dedicated to my late cousin
Vivian Klaff.
November
2022 - Eilat girls
Doreen and Caroline met with old Eilat friend Sheila Meltzerwhom
they had not seen for some time.
November 2022
- Son Aviv explains about the sea
(sharks?) to the French Ambassador.
(See also Aviv with the US Ambassador)
November
2022 - Doreen and Moran and Lotem dive
in Sinai.
Since diving a few months ago in
Madeira and in Eilat with Aviv Doreen has
been dying to dive in Sinai for some time now,
and took the
opportunity of doing so when we were in Eilat for the bridge festival.
Son Moran and granddaughter Lotem joined her for a two day diving trip to Dahab in Sinai.
Thanks to Moran for sending an addition to the
KFC posts:
See
also: Beersheva
Israel, Wuhan
China, Brasov
Romania, Moscow
Russia, Shenzhen
China, Mongolia
and Istanbul, Berlin
Germany, Belfast
N.Ireland, Prague
Czechia,
Madeira, Wroclaw Poland, London., Nicosia
Cyprus.
November
2022 - The Red Sea Bridge Festival
Although I retired from Tournament Directing some time ago I was happy
to direct at the Red Sea Festival this week. The Festival was initiated
by the late David Birman, and is now organised by his son Alon
and
David's wife Daniella. David and I had a long and fruitful relationship
over
the years and there was a lot of cooperation between us in the Israel
Bridge Federation. I was happy to participate in the Festival in memory
of David and also to practice my directing skills after many years.
Also present for a few days was Jan Kamras, the President of the World
Bridge Federation (WBF), and we took the opportunity to discuss issues
connected with my roles in the WBF.
Me, Daniella Birman, Jan Kamras, Barry
Avnerre and Ilan Shezifi (top Israel directors)
November
2022 - Vered and Aviv Ron hiking in the Nahal Arugot area.
Old
Eilat friends
While in Eilat, Doreen visited some friends from our Eilat days many
many years ago - Aviva Dekel, Fay Morris, Mali Fishmamn and Ariella
Fridman wife of the late David Fridman who had been my close friend and
colleague when I worked for Coral World International.
Doreen and Mali Fishman; Doreen with
Aviva Dekel in front of one of her paintings.
November 2022 - dinner at the Klotnicks
With Joel and Beryl and with Joel and Viki Gilbert.
See also Archives.
November
2022 - Papayas!
Earlier this year I wrote "This
past winter with the unusual cold, winds and hail was disasterous for
our garden and in particular for our papaya trees which were
destroyed." Not quite. Although the tree were bare there were vestiges
of leaves on some of them, and slowly fresh leaves started to grow.
Gradually some trees came to life again and now from three of them we
have
papayas even more delicious than before. I had planted a few varieties
and fortunately the three trees that survived were all different
varieties giving small, medium and large fruit. A couple of other trees
have developed flowers but so far no fruit.
November
2022: Son Aviv welcomed US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides to Coral
World Eilat, and showed him around.
(See also Aviv with the French Ambassador)
1961/2 - Habonim Camp in Onrus, South
Africa
Someone posted a picture of madrichim
at a Habonim camp in South
Africa from about 1961. I hadn't seen
this photo before although I remember the camp very well.
I contacted Steve Blass (middle row
left, not in uniform, to refresh my
memory and he replied (my translation in brackets):
"..,It was Onrust the first national machaneh
(camp). .....there was a balagan
(big mess up) in the mitbach
(kitchen). We were asked to manage it instead of being madrichim (Group leaders). By coincidence we both had red
corduroy shirts which were our work clothes".
I cannot vouch that the names below
are 100% accurate.
Back: Adam Kuper, Sidney Bloch, ?
Factor, Mike Belling, Freddie Zartz,
Albert Edelstein
Middle: Steve Blass, Selwyn Opwald,
Wilson?, -?-, Viv Klaff, -?-, Me
Front 1: Bella Brom, -[?-, Alan
fisher, Colin Kessel, -?-, Justin
Passwell?; Foggy Fogelowitz.
Front 2: -?-
November
2022 - The Segolis hike
The Segolis went on a a beautiful hike in the Upper Galilee area. The
water and scenery is not too common in Israel.
By chance, a day or two later, granddaughter Dani and her friend Oz also went hiking in Nahal Kaziv
November
2022 - A
trip to Cyprus with the Klotnicks
(See also the 2022 Archives)
We drove to Paphos and saw the beautiful Paphos Mosaics then, as is our
tradition, we had lunch at the Pelican Restaurant by the harbour. (It
only
takes one previous time to make a tradition)
Good friend Fearghal O'Boyle from Dublin, who was in Larnaca as
Chief Director at the Small Federation
Bridge Games, joined us for a meal.at Hobos Restaurant for delicious
steaks.
Lefkara is a delightful village in the mountains, famous for its
Lefkara lace. Beryl and I were happy to shop in such a quaint place
where the women make the lace objects and the men do silverware.
Doreen and I also drove to Nicosia where we crossed the border into
Turkish Nicosia. Before crossing we got a view through a hole in a wall
dividing the Greek side and the Turkish side.
Nicosia itself was like any city that is the
capital of a country. We visited the big Nicosia Mall where we did some
shopping and had - of course - lunch at KFC
See
some previous
family KFC visits in
Beersheva
Israel, Wuhan
China, Brasov
Romania, Moscow
Russia, Shenzhen
China, Mongolia
and Istanbul, Berlin
Germany, Belfast
N.Ireland, Prague
Czechia,
Madeira, Wroclaw Poland, London.
October
2022 - Mikhal
on breast cancer
This month was Breast Cancer Awareness month. Daughter in law Mikhal
Segoli was on a panel answering questions about the disease.
October
2022 - The
Belmans and Maureen Fain
We invited the Belmans (in Israel for
a Habonim event) and
friend Maureen Fain to an enjoyable dinner this week reminiscing
about 'old times'.
October
2022 - The Greenbergs
We were delighted to meet ex-Durbanite Akiva (Keith) Greenberg and his
wife Stella at an Habonim evening
and even more delighted to meet them again today at
a performance of the Montreal Jazz Ballet of Leonard Cohen songs, which
was outstanding both aesthetically and technically - if it comes your
way don't miss it.
October
2022 - Shabbat dinner.
We were expecting son Moran Segoli and daughters Lotem and
Zoe to come for dinner, but at the last minute the Rons decided to join
us and bring their prepared meal to join our meal. The girls all
joined in (as usual) for the Shabbat
kiddush.
Later we were joined
by Ruth Kansky (visiting from
overseas). It was a lovely Shabbat evening.
October
2022 - Tal and Sharon's wedding.
See Chuppa picture and more on This
Week's Picture.
October
2022 - Flash flood!
It's a desert but the Negev can
experience large flash floods occasionally and Moran was held up on
the way home after such a flash flood. The sight of the rushing
waters in a desert is always impressive, and granddaughter Lotem is
fascinated.
October
2022 - Lotems birthday and Maayan's
room.
We had dinner with the Segoli grandchildren to
celebrate Lotem's birthday and Maayan moving in to his university dorm.
October 2022 -
Meeting Ian Robertson
I mentioned some time ago
that I had reconnected with Ian Robertson, an
old colleague from university days. We both went to DHS - Durban High
School - but he was a 1961 graduate and I a '57er. This week
the
class of '61 held a reunion in Israel hosted by another '61er,
ex-Durbanite Jonathan Beare and people came from all over the world to
attend. Ian allowed me to 'gatecrash' and it was great to meet up with
him again. Apart from both of us being DHS "old boys" we were both
presidents of the Student's Representative Council at Natal University,
and served as officers in NUSAS (National Union of South African
Students) with Ian being elected President. As President he invited
Senator Robert Kennedy to give the main address at the annual Day of
Affirmation of Academic Freedom, an act that the South African
government considered so serious that Ian was banned from meeting with
more than one person at a time for 5 years. Kennedy came, met
one-on-one with Ian, gave a speech that Wikipedia calls "Kennedy's
greatest speech (with an empty chair for Ian on the podium). The
incident and the aftermath are well
covered in Wikipedia. (Also see a report
in the Chicago Tribune).
In 1963 I was on the NUSAS board when we decided to implement a
previous decision to hold the annual Day of Affirmation, and I was one of
the signatories of the Affirmation. Archbishop
Dennis Hurley delived the keynote address but unlike Ian's effort
we got no more than a passing reference in the press. Ian's courageous
invitation to Kennedy and the aftermath was world news and
highlighted the apartheid policies of the South African
government.
Also present
at the '61 reunion (and also "gate
crashing") were old
friends Mike and Lorna Belman who live in California. See a previous meeting with them a number of
years ago.
Aviv stars
on TV programme
Israel TV Channel 12 showed an excellent report Diving with Sharks featuring son
Aviv
Levy, the technical director of the Underwater Observatory, who among
other topics, spoke about the problem of man's
extermination of sharks. As usual, Aviv gave an excellent and
professional performance. Click here for the report on Channel 12 . Below
is a shot taken from the TV.
October
2022 - The Segolis in London.
The Segolis, son Moran, Mikhal,
Maayan, Lotem and Zoe are enjoying themselves on a short visit to
London. They seem to be having a great time which included watching
"Hamilton".
They also went on the Colossus, a 10-loop
roller coaster:
and of course enjoyed a meal at a KFC (adding another picture to my KFC
collection)
See
some previous
family KFC visits in
Beersheva
Israel, Wuhan
China, Brasov
Romania, Moscow
Russia, Shenzhen
China, Mongolia
and Istanbul, Berlin
Germany, Belfast
N.Ireland, Prague
Czechia,
Madeira, Wroclaw Poland
October 2022 - Sukkot at the Rons
During the week-long sukkot holiday
Jews enjoy eating in a sukka,
a booth or temporary
structure from
where the stars can be seen. The tradition is a reminder of the
Israelites who needed temporary shelter when in the desert. We
enjoyed two meals in a sukka,
one with Joel and Beryl Klotnick (see Matz
family tree) and one at the Rons with cousin Jonathan Levy (see Levy and Matz
family trees and his family - see below.
From
front, clockwise: Danielle Ron, Doreen, Aviv Ron, me, Danielle's friend
Oz, Lior's friend Gal, Lior Ron, Yarden Levy with friend Aviv, Vered,
Dinah and Jonathan Levy
Some RV
pictures
Our first RV trip
- Moran helps with the garbage
Danielle and Lior (and Lopsy)
September
2022 - Brunch at the Kessels (Colin and Louise
We rounded out a busy week with brunch at the home of Louise and Colin
Kessel.
Noga Porter and Louise Kessel in
discussion - Doreen and Basil Porter explaining
something to each other while friend from Durban days Nurit
(Hadany) Reisner and Hadas Gorfil look on.
September 2022 - Dinner with the
Habermans
Shuli and Eitan Haberman (see Goldberg
Family Tree) joined us and Vered and Aviv in enjoying Doreen's
seafood paella. Apart from the food we had a really delightful evening.
Around the table, from left: Vered and Aviv Ron, Eitan and Shuli
Haberman, Doreen and me
September
2022 - TA Watergen ATP
250
For the first time in many
years
there was an official tennis
tournament in Israel. A number of international stars played, including
3
top ranked 20 players Novak Djokovic, Diego Schwatzman and Marin Cilic
and another 10 players ranked in the top 50. When we tried to get
tickets the quarter, semi and finals were sold out but we we were
fortunate to get good seats for the round of 8, where we saw 21 grand
slam winner Novak Djokovic play scintillating tennis, including an
exciting marathon 11 deuce game agaonst Pablo Andujar which Djokovic
called the 'longest game I have ever played."
Doreen and I have seen 3 Grand Slam events, the USA Open twice and the
Australian Open but this was special as the relatively small
court meant we were very close to the play and could
appreciate the amazing speed at which the ball is hit. We thoroughly
enjoyed the event and hope that it will take place every year.
Djokovic serving
- Doreen and I at the venue - As
close as Doreen will get to Djokovic
In 2002 we went to
see the Australian Open Tennis in Melbourne with
cousin Sharon's son
Josh Leibowitz,
saw Pete Sampras serving, and watched Martina Hingis (World #1 Women)
and Marat Safin (World #1 Open)
In September 2001, a week before the Twin Towers attack, Doreen and I
went
to the US open with our friend Mac McPherson. We saw a match between
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi two of the top tennis players in the
world, and also Venus Williams who later in the tournament defeated her
sister Serena in the final.
Rosh Hashana September 2022
We celebrated the Jewish New Year, Rosh
Hashana, with daughter Vered and Aviv Ron at their home. The
atmosphere was wonderful and the food delicious and plentiful.
Grandson Maayan prepared a honey cake from a recipe in Doreen's
cookbook and read what she had written about the family background
to the cake.
Of course we had out tradituional shofar blowing compwetition. For the
first time in many years granddaugher
Lior did not win - she was second to my sterling effort.
Grandaughters Zoe Segoli and Danielle Ron also tried hard but
unsuccessfully.
September
2022 - The Levys tour
Europe in a motorhome.
Welcome back to the Eilat Levys - Aviv, Limor, Itamar, Amit and Ilai -
from their motorhome trip to Europe (see This Week's Picture). We
understand they had a fantastic time and are waiting to hear all about
it. In the meantime, here are two pictures.
Septemer 2022
- Mikhal Segoli's lab in the news.
This week here were articles in both the Hebrew and the English press
about the work being done in the lab of daughter in law Mikhal Segoli
in investigating the spread of the the invasive species the brown widow
spider in Israel.
The Jerusalem Post also published an article on this. Below is an
extract from the article. The full article in English can be found
here. (if the link doesn't work, click here for the pdf version.)
.......
To
better understand invasive species, we need to figure out how traits
shift in invasive populations, aIso some individuals survive transport,
and
establish and spread to new habitats, thus expanding their range,” says
Dr.
Monica Mowery, a Zuckerman STEM (science, technology, engineering and
math)
postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Michal
Segoli’s lab at the Jacob Blaustein
Institutes for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University
of the Negev's
Sde
Boker campus. .......
.....
The
brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is an invasive species
with neurotoxic venom. It is suspected to have evolved in Africa, although it was first
described from South America, which
adds confusion as to where it might have originated. Since the 1930s,
it has
been spreading to many regions around the world, including Israel and
the US,
mainly through human-mediated transport........
A Munich
1972 Documentary by Jonathan Hock.
Haaretz has a
full page spread about a documentary on the 1972 Munich Games produced
by Jonathan Hock the well-known producer of documentaries and winner of
ten Emmy awards.
Jonathan is Doreen's second cousin on her mother's side (see Nochomovitz family tree.). Click here for our visit in New York where we
attended the premier of Jonathan's documentary about baseball, and here for a "breaking the
fast" visit with Jonathan, his mother Anita and family a few
years ago. We are going to New York at the end of the year and hope to
see them again.
Click
for the full article (in English) on Jonathan's documentary.
Once
again at the Chiang Mai Restaurant
I go to a dermatologist for a check up
every 6 months and am careful to make an appointment just before lunch
time at a dermatologist near the town of Zichron Yaakov. The visit is
followed by a visit to Chiang Mai a very good Chinese Restaurant in Zichron
Yaakov.
(The last time we visited there with friends we
all got Covid
after a few days. As none of the restaurant staff got covid we probably
got it from the crowded ice-cream shop we visited after the meal).
KFC again
At the end of our visit to Wroclaw we went for lunch at a local KFC.
(The pictire on the right below is from a later visit to Wroclaw in
2024)
KFC
is my favourite fast food restaurant, and the family looks for KFC's in
the various countries they visit and send me photos. See some previous
family KFC visits in Beersheva
Israel, Wuhan
China, Brasov
Romania, Moscow
Russia, Shenzhen
China, Mongolia
and Istanbul, Berlin
Germany, Belfast
N.Ireland, Prague
Czechia.
August-September
2020 - The Rons sail the Greek isles
Daughter Vered and Aviv Ron are on a
sailing trip to the Greek Isles. They had a wonderful time and enjoyed
the sailing and the beautiful views.
Vered the skipper, the beautiful town
Skopelos, touring the beaches of Skiathos
August 2022 - Sheenagh and Katherine Levy hike in
Tasmania.
Cousin Sheenagh Levy and daughter Katherine are in Tasmania and
Sheenagh sent us some lovely pictures of their hike in the Cradle
Mountain area,
Sheenagh's pictures brought back memories of a hike Doreen and I had
made with the Segolis when we visited Tasmania in 2013. You can see
pictures and read about our visit
there .
September
2020 - A visit to the Jewish Cemetery in Wroclaw. The cemetery is huge
and I (Doreen) saw gravestones from 1824 to 1939. Tha language engraved
on the tombstones that were readable were mainly in German, but also
some with Hebrew. The direction of the stones was not uniformly to
Jerusalem as it is today. What I liked on the stones of women, in
addition to their married name, was
GEB. = born or maiden name. Looking at the family tombs and monumental
burial places it must have been a very prosperous Jewish community
until the Nazis took over the town.
September
2020 - The Konspira Restaurant.
In Wroclaw we had a delicious and ample meal at the
Konspira Restaurant -see my spare ribs serving below.
But as good as the food was, it was nothing compared to the experience
at this restaurant which was a center of Polish
Underground Resistance against communism. The restaurant's role in
the struggle is outlined on their
site. The menu is a booklet with each of the 30 pages
depicting a menu
item or two together with something about part of the history of
that period or something interesting about the food item.
The two pictures below were taken in the 'secret room' which was
used during the resistance and which now which displays artifacts and
pictures from that time. I wonder how many of my grandchildren have
seen a typewriter?
August 2022
- Wroclaw, Poland
The Battle of Raclawice is commemorated by a huge (15m X 114m)
cycloramic painting of a Polish-Lithuanian battle with Russia in 1794.
The circular painting is housed in its own building.The peasant army
outnumbered and routed the Russians. The panorama shows each stage of
the battle, painted by Jan Styla and others in 9 months. The painting
is multi-dimensional; the upturned cart, the clumps of grass and the
trees in the forground are real, blending exquisitively with the
painting. A remarkable experience
;
There are over 600 diminutive dwarf
statues in Wroclaw. The first was
created in 2005 part an anti-communist movement and shows the dwarves
sawing a sword. In Wroclaw one has to keep looking down so as not to
miss the little statues positioned throughout the city.
The dwarf with the lock is by the Tumski Bridge with a sign saying that
it is wrong to lock up one's love in a lock that will rust in the rain.
The dwarf is there to free love. More than seventeen tonnes of corroded
locks were removed from this bridge alone.
August (20th) 2022 - The Segolis
visit
Maureen's exhibition
Our friend Maureen Fain has an
exhibition of her work at the Jerusamem Theatre.. Unfortunately we were
on our way to
Wroclaw and couldn't vist but granddaughter Lotem Segoli and family went.
Lotem amd Maureen have met before
in connection with Lotem's drawings.
August
2022 (13th)- Aviv and Doreen dive
We are in Eilat visiting the Levys and enjoying ourselves. The
highlight was Doreen's dive with Aviv. Since getting her insurance she
has been waiting for this opportunity. She was delighted and had a
wonderful dive.
August
2022 - Doreen
met with old friends from our Hofit
days at a lively tea party at the home of Ruhama. Having not met for a
long time we had so much to share!.
Ruti Michael, Atara ben Akiva, Ruhama
Plotnikov, Ruti Flemimger, Doreen, Malka Lev
August 2022 -
The reverse of
the gold bracelet.
.
This is the other side of the bracelet my sister Fern and I gave
to Naomi
(Hertz) when she left South Africa.
August
2022 - Moran and family diving in
Eilat
Son Moran and our grandchildren Lotem and Maayan Segoli went diving in
Dahab Sinai with
our granddaughters Danielle and Lior Ron. The had 6 dives, including 2
night dives and by all accounts they had a
great
time
August 2022 ( 6th)- Bowling
The children had prepared a programme which included bowling
August 2022
(6th)- Testing for Corona
All negative!
August 2022 (6th)- Family Friday night dinner
We had a busy weekend. On Thursday
daughter-in-law
Mikhal and five grandchildren Itamar, Maayan, Lotem, Ilai and Amit came
to stay with us. On Friday morning Mikhal wasn't well and tested
positive for Corona and went home. That evening we were joined by 2
more grandchildren, Daniel and Lior, and by daughter Vered and Aviv.
Then today son Moran and our 8th grandchild Zoe joined
us for lunch. All in all a very busy but enjoyable weekend with 14 of
our 16 immediate family.
August 2022
(6th)- Daughter-in-law Mikhal Segoli was at
a conference on Animal Behaviour Ecology in Sweden
July 2022
- Amsterdam
We enjoyed an Indonesian Rijsttafel with Hans Reijzer longtime friend
from our days at Ulpan Ben Yehuda in 1965. We were joined by Hans'
daughter
Jose and her husband David Keyson. We have not seen Hans
since the unveiling of his
wife Lottie's tombstone 3 years ago. He is not too
well and we were happy to see him again. Then on Friday we enjoyed a
delicious Shabbat dinner with Hans and the Keysons.
July 2022 -
Amsterdam
The
view from our hotel window was of Singelgracht. Walking along we saw
many houseboats and were interested to note that many of the houseboats
don't sit on "boats". Here a new houseboat is being constructed on a
floating concrete base.
July 2022 -
Amsterdam Museums
Amsterdam Museums are a must, but you need to book in advance. Eitan
and I
enjoyed MOCO at Museumplein where we saw these two pictures by Bansky
a former street artist with a very definite political message. There
were also a few pictures of Yayo Kusama's pumpkins
At the Rijksmuseum I saw an exhibit of Japanese Lacquer
art. The lacquer is extracted from the trunk of the lacquer tree
(below) and then filtered. After 15 years it produces the sap for only
one season, yielding a 1/4 litre of sap. Exquisite writing boxes were
made using the laquer and gold powder. A visit to the Rijksmuseum
would not be complete without seeing The Nightwatchman by Rembrandt. It
has been
re-stretched and is undergoing cleaning.
July 2022 -
herring!
Eitan's love of fresh herring is a well known family fact.
Although he said he would eat 16 herrings, he only managed 7 in three
days.
July 2022 - Veldhoven Youth Championships
I officiated at the European Youth Bridge Championships held in
Veldhoven in July. The conditions were excellent and the event went
very smoothly. Over 400 youth from 25 countries participated. Israel
received two medals: Bronze in the Under 26
category and Gold in the Under 21 category. I was happy to present the
medals to the Under 21 medalists and to hear and sing Hatikvah.
July 2022 - Doreen
goes touring in the Eindhoven area
Van Gogh lived in Nuenen for 2 years, part of the time with his
parents. He was very involved in the poor life of the farmers and it is
here that he painted his first masterpiece, The Potato Eaters. There is
a statue based on the painting in the village and a visitor is invited
to sit in the vacant chair and participate in their meagre fare.
One of the highlights of a visit to den Bosch is a boat ride along the
canals and the waterways below the houses. One can clearly see where
the sewage used to flow from the houses into the canal
Happy
80th birthday, Dave!
Happy 80th birthday to Dave Rothschild, Frankiie Klaff's husband. See Goldberg family tree.
Vered
visits in the USA
Daughter Vered Ron found time on her trip to the USA for some visits.
In Colorado she met with Rachel Moskovich (see
Matz family tree). Husband Yuval was in England with their eldest
daughter Tamar. With her is her brother-in-law Ziv Forman (sister
Leah's
husband) visiting from Israel.
In Florida she met with long-time friend, Gila Bessis and her son Tom
and his wife Thais; and grandson Liam. Gila was my secretary in Eilat
and married and went to live in Paris. When Vered was in Paris she met
up again with Gila and they became good friends. Gila now lives in USA.
We are saddened by the news of the passing in June of
Charlene Engleberg. (see Matz family tree).
Condolences to husband David and children Rachel, Rebecca, Leah and
Louis.
July 2022 -
Doreen and the Segolis in Tanzania
Our son, Moran and the Segoli family are having a great time in
Tanzania, staying at various camps and seeing lots of animals. Later
there'll be many pictures, but in the meantime here are some pictures
including a picture of a
wildebeest run. The wildebeest, also known as gnu, is a common animal
in Africa and well known for their migratory runs during the dry and
wet seasons. Click on the picture for a short video clip of the run
Doreen and the Segolis saw.
Click on the picture to see the video
clip.
Trip to
South Africa 2010
In 2010 the whole family - the Aviv Levys, the Rons, the Segolis
(except of course Zoe who wasn't yet born!) - went to South
Africa
on a
'roots' trip, during which we visited the Kruger National Park and
other parks with animals. We have visited game reserves in South
Africa, Mozambique and Namibia, so Tanzania will
be a first for our family.
Here are pictures of the family
enjoying a Saba Eitan story - I don't remember
what! - and a story about Lotem's toes - I also don't remember what!
(Note Lotems arm in plaster)
Click for many more pictures of
the South African trip, and for the picture of the 16th Family Reunion.
June 2022 - Vered's birthday
We celebrated daughter Vered' birthday at a Thai restaurant in Tel Aviv
with her daughters and their friends.
Oz, Dani, Vered, Aviv, Doreen, me, Lior, Gal
Limor in
Georgia June 2022
Limor, son Aviv's wife, has joined the Egged bus company family and
enjoyed an Egged employees' holiday in
Georgia, which was most interesting.
Madeira
June 2022 - part 3
Apart from vising new places one of the big advantages of my term on
the European Bridge Executive is meeting old friends. We have wonderful
relationships with so many people, participants, officials and fellow
executive members.
Dinner with Peter and Ingrid from Slovakia, tobagganing down a mountain
with Carine from Belgium, enjoying an outing with Paul and Maureen from
Ireland, Carine from Belgium, and Giannarigo President of the World
Bridge Federation and his wife Cippi from Italy.
It is impossible to have a dull evening with the
effervescent Mark from
England. He took us to an an Indian Restaurant "close by" - a 40 minute
walk, where we were joined by Herman and Carine from Belgium aznd Jan
from The Nethertlands. The food was delicious but that's a side issue
compared to the company.
See a picture of Doreen in
full scuba gear after a dive.
Madeira
June 2022 - part 2 - Madeira and Doreen's birthday
On Doreen's birthday we were
surprised by the hotel sending her a bottle of 'champagne' nicely
cooled in an ice bucket. They probably got the date from her passport
and it was a lovely surprise. We enjoyed sipping the wine on the
balcony of our room.
Madeira
- June 2022 - part 1
We visited the island of Madeira where I was involved with the European
Bridge Championships for about 2
weeks. Here is the view from the rooftop of the Casino Park Hotedl in
Funchal where we stayed.
June 2022 -
Vered at a conference
in Seatle, USA.
Daughter Vered Ron travelled to Seattle for a work conference. While
waiting on the plane to USA she spoke to the pilot who invited her to
sit in the cockpit of the 787 Dream Liner. Fortunately she didn't have
to pilot the plane.
Vered, one of the speakers at the
conference, spoke on Retailing from the Outside-In.
Shavuot -
With family at the house of the Habermans
See also here for another
picture and for the names.
Denise
"d'niece" Braverman (Glazer family tree)
is in Girona in Catalonia Spain at a triathlon summer camp.
May 2022 -
Screening of documentary of Reginald Morris
Doreen went to a screening of Dr. Morris' Camera, a documentary about
the late Reginald
Morris, one of the earliest and best known residents of Eilat.
Reginald was the first Director of the Eilat Hospital and later
practiced medicine in Eilat. We were very friendly with Reginald and
his wife Fay, who was also the Consul for the UK in Eilat. Our
daughter Vered and her husband Aviv are very friendly with their son
Andrew and Orli.
Doreen
was happy to meet Fay (left) and old Eilat friend Sheila Meltzer
(right) at the screening.
May 2022 -
Vered in Brazil
On a business trip to Brazil, daughter Vered Ron grabbed a
moment of relaxation.
May 2022
- Frankie Klaff and David Rothschild in San Antonio.
May 2022 -
Meeting the Levitans
Helene and Selwyn Levitan are visiting Israel and they stayed a night
with us, together with long-time friend Maureen Fain. The next day we
went to the Zichron Yaakov Pedestrian Mall where we enjoyed a good
Chinese meal.
Doreen, Helene and Maureen were at school together in Durban and Selwyn
and I were briefly at University together. The Levitans live in
South Africa and we haven't seen them for years so it was very nice
getting
together again and chatting about old times and old friends. Maureen
lives in Jerusalem and fortunately it is easy to regularly meet with
her.
Doreen, me, Maureen Fain, Helene and
Selwyn Levitan
May 22 -
finally - dive insurance
Recently Doreen set herself two short term goals: (1) Take tennis
lessons and play tennis with grandson
Maayan Segoli, and (2) obtain diving
insurance which normally is not valid after age 75. This
involves undergoing
many medical tests. This week she succeeded in both. Well done, Doreen
- your husband is proud of you!
May 2022 -
Shirley Poluck in Israel
Doreen met with our friend, Shirley Poluck. We met Shirley and her late
husband Gordon in 1965 when we all were learning Hebrew at an ulpan. We have been fiends ever
since, and although Shirley now lives in England we see each other
regularly either in London or as
below in Israel.
May 2022 -
Doreen and Limor looking at/for the flyover
While in Eilat Doreen and daughter-in-law Limor went to a vantage
point to watch (not very successfully) the air force fly-over.
Limor looking for the fly-over while Doreen photos her, both looking
for
the fly-over!
Doreen vs
Maayan Tennis Match
Recently Doreen set herself two short term
goals: (1) Take tennis
lessons and play tennis with grandson
Maayan Segoli, and (2) obtain diving
insurance which normally is not valid after age 75. This
involves undergoing
many medical tests. This week she succeeded in both. Well done, Doreen
- your husband is proud of you!
Doreen sharing some tips with grandson Maayan.
More pictures on Maayan's page.
April 2022 -
Moran and the Exodus
Moran writes:
I did an activity with Zoe's
class today <29/4/22> about Passover (we were supposed to do it
before the holiday).
I came into the class as Moses
and we
escaped slavery (school), while the Egyptians (other parents) ran after
us, I
hit the rock for water (parents sprayed water from behind the bushes),
we
prayed for food (Bamba bags were thrown from behind a hill), etc.
While walking from one part to
the other,
we were chanting what we want from god: Get us to the promised land,
give us
water, food, etc. At some point they asked for ice-cream and then
started
chanting for KFC - click on the picture..
April
2022 - The Kessels Colin and Louise Kessel, who had been on the 1990 Sinai trip with us,
came to view the clip. We were happy that Terry and Carol also joined
us.
April 2022
- The Segolis in Florida
The Segolis are in USA for a vacation and visiting Mikhal's
sister and brother-in-law. Pictures taken while boating in the
Everglades
April 2022
- Aviv in St Eustacius
Aviv Levy went on a diving trip with our friend, Morris Kahn in the
Caribbeam. St Eustacius is a small island near the Virgin Islands,
where we lived and worked for some years. It is part of the Netherlands.
April 2022 - A visit with Shlomo and Claire Recht
We spent a very
pleasant afternoon at the beautiful home of Shlomo and Claire Recht in
Jaffa viewing our newly discovered video of our trip to Sinai in 1990. We
then enjoyed a fish meal at a local restaurant. .
April
2022 - My Vegetable Garden
This
past winter with the unusual cold, winds and hail
was disasterous for our garden and in particular for our papaya trees
which were destroyed. Fortunately spring is here and
our vegetable garden is
blooming. Also the avocado, mango and lychee trees seem to have
recovered and are flowering.
. <
Our lemon tree continues to deliver a
steady supply, including an enormous
16cm (6 inches) lemon, seen below with a normal large lemon.
Who Knows
One? 2022
We had a lovely Passover seder at
the home of Vered and Aviv Ron. Great atmosphere, not too long haggadah reading and of course
plenty (too much!) delicious food. And of course the singing,
culminating in the family production of 'Who Knows One?' Click on
the picture below.
April 2022 -
Amit and Ilai spend a week with us
Amit, Ilai and Sofia enjoying
green felafel at the Carmel market; and bowling with cousin Lior.
April 2022 -
The Segolis visit Epcot.
The Segolis are in USA for a vacation and visiting Mikhal's
sister and brother-in-law who are now working in Florida. Unfortunately
Disney World was fully booked, but there is plenty to do in Orlando.
Here they are enjoying a visit to Epcot.
April 2022
- Ice cream at Golda's
After the Asian meal (see here)
we all went ice cream in Eilat at the family's
favourite glideria, Golda.
Doreen who usually has ice cream at every
opportunity forwent this time and took the picture.
The next night Aviv and Limor prepared a fantastic dinner
for
all 10 of us us
with delicious salads made by Limor and a variety of meat grilled by
Aviv.
Lunch in
Netanya with old friends.
We invited some old friends to lunch today at our house in
Netanya this afternoon. We have so many events and memories in common
from our days when we were young in South Africa that it is always a
special pleasure to meet again. Colin and Geoff were at school
together,
as were Louise and Binny, Steve and I were at university together and
we were all members of the Habonim youth movement.
Later Maureen Fain (front, picture below), also a Habonim member who
was at school with Doreen joined us.
A special surprise was a drop-in visit on their way home by son Moran
Segoli with Mikhal and Zoe below left).
The meal, home smoked chicken and baked
sea bass, was supplemented by the dips and sauces prepared by
granddaughter Lior Ron.
See
This Week's News archives.
See another picture in
the Picture of the Week Archives.
April 2022 -
A visit to the Small Dairy
We read in the Haaretz newspaper about a small dairy (aptly called The
Small dairy המחלבה הקטנה ) on a kibbutz near
us where two young persons who studied cheese making in Italy prepare
cheeses . We visited, were impressed, and of course bought some
cheeses.
March 2022 -
The Rons go
skiing
See picture of granddaughter Lior and friend
Gal
March 2022 - Aviv Ron celebrates his birthday.
March
2022 - A
vacation in Cyprus
We spent 5 days in Cyprus at the Cyprus Bridge Festival (see
picture) and touring.
We enjoyed playing in the festival (despite our so-so results). The
hotel was good and we were warmly received by Phillipos Frangos and
Frosso Tillyris (respectively President and
Secretary of the Cyprus Bridge Federation), whom I know from previous
visits to Cyprus. We enjoyed a fish dinner with them.
There was an Indian Restaurant near the hotel. Both Doreen and I
grew up in Durban, which has the largest concentration of Indians
outside India, and we love Indian food. So of course we decided to
lunch there and discovered that it was Holi Festival time, and there
was big Holi Celebration there. We enjoyed the dancing and facial and
other decorations and even had delicious curry, so we went back a few
days later and had another meal there.
The day after the bridge pairs competition we hired a car and drove to
Paphos, enjoying a stop at Aphrodites rock.
Access to the beach adjacent to the rock is either to cross a road and
then jump over accident railings, or through a narrow pedestrian tunnel
running under the road. Doreen of course want to jump the railings but
in the end we used the tunnel, which is interesting of itself.
In Paphos we spent some time walking through the Archeological Museum
with
the Mosaic houses and then had a delicious lunch at the aptly named
Pelican Restaurant. I like calamari and the calamari at the restaurant
was
the best I have ever tasted. And no, there is no pelican on the menu -
on the contrary Doreen fed the pelican.
We then drove to the Tombs of the Kings archeological site.
The next day we decided to drive to the Cyprus Mountains. We enjoyed a
stop in the village of Omodos and were fascinated by the unusually
shaped trees. After visiting the Timios Stavros Monastery there we
continued up to the village of Troodos.
On the way to Troodos we saw snow, first in the distance, then closer
and then at the side of the road (see picture in the Archives).
There
were fallen rocks on the road so we had to drive carefully. On reaching
Troodos it was snowing a little so we stopped for lunch. It started to
snow heavily and as we both have lived in warm (or hot) places we were
delighted with the snow even though we had to travel slowly.
We thorougly enjoyed our short stay in Cyprus and hope to visit there
again.
March 2022 -
Rafael Braverman Dvir with granddad Melly Braverman
Thank you sister Louise for sending us a lovely picture of your
grandchild
Rafael Dvir with grandfather Melly Braverman.
Purim 2022
Some
pictures of family members in costume
as befits traditional Purim activities.
Lotem giving away home-baked Oznei
Haman (Homentashen) - Moran - Aviv
March 2022
- Lunch at shuk Machaneh
Yehuda
Adloyada
2022
Traditionally
the Purim festival is
celebrated by everyone dressing up in costume and a carnival-like adloyada with a parade of floats,
accompanied by music, dancers and costumed participants. And shlah manot, exchange of gifts, of
course.
The adloyada has gradually
died out but
some towns still have one.
The
High School for Environmental Studies, in Sde Boqer, puts on a
fantastic adloyada every
year prepared entirely by the pupils. In addition to the parade
there are stalls selling food, trinkets, jewelry, toys etc. The adloyada is very popular and a
large crowd attends and a good time is had by all. We again joined the
Segolis for this year's adloyada.
See Maayan's float on the Archives page here.
March
2022 - A visit to cousin Shirley and Nathan Kansky
I wonder how many of the younger readers, and even the oldar ones, know
what a Grandfather clock is. And I guess that very few have ever seen
one.
Clocksandchimes.co.uk says that a traditional Grandfather clock
is
"a statement item of furniture that invokes a sense of history,
nostalgia and substance." Certainly for me on seeing the Grandfather
clock when visiting cousin Shirley Kansky invoked history and
especially
nostalgia.
The clock belonged to Shirley's grandparents Wolf and Rosie Solomon in
their house in Port Elizabeth. When young I visited, holidayed and
stayed with Bertie and Ruth Solomon and often visited their
parents Rosie and Wolf and the clock with its chimes every hour
was always part of the visit.
Seeing the same clock - which still works and keeps time - in
Shirley and Nathan's apartment brought back fond - very
fond - memories.
If you're interested in how the clock works see
here.
Grandfather clocks are coming back into fashion, and modern clocks in
various designs, mainly as decorative furniture, sell for very high
prices.
March 2022
- Alma breaks a leg -
again
First she broke her left leg (see
here) and now she has broken her right leg. The betting is open:
which back leg will be the next broken leg.
March
2022: Friday night with the family
After too long a time, we
were delighted to have most of the family over for an 'Italian'
dinner prepared by Doreen, Maayan and Vered, with Chianti brought by
Aviv L. It was moving to see how they were excited to see other
and how they all got along so well.
February
2022: About a month ago I was honoured to receive the European
Bridge League Gold Medal for service to bridge. (Click here and also here.). I was delighted to
receive this month's copy of the Israel Bridge
Federation Bulletin. Apart from the cover there are some nice words in
an article.
February 2022: We went to kibbutz Tzora for
an evening
honouring Mike Levine after 30 years as one of the founders and the
director and visionary of the Israel Stage Orchestra. We remember how
how some years ago we enjoyed their production of their original
Fantasy for Monkey and Orchestra. We have known Mike since our South
African days and Doreen was his madricha in the Habonim youth movement.
At the reception before the ceremony we were delighted to again meet
many old friends from our Durban days.
On the right below, long time Knesset member and former Minister, Uzi
Baram (on right)
congratulates Mike.
February
2022 - Lotem and team build a robot.
We went to see granddaughter Lotem with some of her
Fata Morgana team preparing to build a new robot. As the winner of the
regional Robotic Contest they will participate in the Israel Robotic
Contest. If they win this they will be invited to USA to take part in
a contest there. We were very impressed by their work - they work to a
plan and each prepares a part and then they put everything together.
We spent
the weekend at Midreshet Ben
Gurion with the Segolis. Aviv and family were going to join us but had
to cancel at the last minute. Grandson Maayan outdid himsel by smoking
spare ribs which were delicious.
February 2022
- Eight for
dinner.
Fortunately we (=Doreen) didn't have to cook dinner on our return from
Warsaw as daughter Vered Ron invited us to dinner with a full
complement - daughters Danielle and Lior with their friends Oz and Gal.
February
2022 - The Monument
to the Ghetto Heroes situated in the grounds of the Polin Museum on the
site of the destroed Warsaw Ghetto.
Click here for another
picture and more about the Polin Museum.
February 2022 -
Eating in Warsaw
On our visit to Warsaw (see above) Doreen and I found two interesting
and completely different styled restaurants. (and didn't find the
Michelin Restaurant where we had booked!)
Then next night we decided to eat at a Michelin Star Restaurant
situated in the Old City
The taxi took us to an entrance to the Old City and informed us that
public transport was not allowed there. All we had to do was enter,
walk to the left and again to the left, and of course ignore the rain!
So off we started in the rain, going left, returning, trying different
lefts and asking directions but hardly any establishments were open or
seemed to know where the restaurant was except for a pub-like
restaurant where we got completely confusing directions. Still wet, we
passed a restaurant that was open and decided that enough is enough and
that we would eat there. It was a good choice! The Stolica Restaurant
is
an elegant Polish restaurant in an old style now more or less out of
fashion. We were the only guests and well looked after by the sole
waiter (who was probably the owner) and again we enjoyed a delicious
meal.
February 2022
- A Retrospective - Yayoi Kusama
Just before leaving for Warsaw Doreen, friend Caroline and
granddaughter
Danielle and her friend Oz visited an exhibition by artist Yayoi Kusana.
February
2022 - The Segolis
sky dive.
Maayan and Lotem have been planning to sky dive for some
time but bad weather had repeatedly postponed the experience. This week
the
weather cleared enough for them to go to
Sdei Taiman airfield just outside Beersheva and finally sky dive,
together with many of their Segoli relatives.
Here are some pictures of grandchildren Maayan and Lotem having a great
experience.
February 2022 - Tea tasting
party
Those who know Doreen well know that
she is a great lover of tea - the loose leaf kind. On our overseas
trips she is always on the lookout for tea coming close to her
favourite, Irish Breakfast Tea from Fortnum and Masons in London.
Recently she has obtained some very good teas and today invited friends
Caroline and Rutie to taste some of them.
February
2022 - Lotem's Robotics Team win first place.
Congratulations to granddaughter
Lotem Segoli and her team for their accomplishment in winning the
Israel robotics qualifier competition. They will take part in the
Finals of the Israel National Robotics Championships next month. The
team Fata Morgana
is from the Ramat Hanegev High School situated in the Negev Desert.
Lotem is the Coach, Mechanics leader and CAD (Computer aided Design)
leader of the team. She and her team have spent months of hard work in
all their spare time in preparation for this event and their victory is
amazing and well deserved.
We are all very proud of you, Lotem. Now go and rest a little!
See also the Archives for
another picture.
Granny Doreen visited to cheer for
Lotem's team; Lotem discussing tactics with her team; and making some
last-minute adjustments and repairs to the robot.
Tel Aviv
Pop-UP Museum
Doreen and friend Maureen Fain went to a most unusual art exhibition in
Tel Aviv. Two 4 floor joined buildings with 24 rooms have been
condemned to be demolished and replaced by a high rise
building. More than 150 artists from different fields turned the
building into a temporary museum and took it upon themselves to
illustrate the walls of the buildings in graffiti or abstract designs.
Each of the artists took one area of a room (eg the kitchen of Flat 11)
and drew or painted on the walls.Some of the
painted walls can be seen here.
For a fuller decription and 12 more paintings click here.
February
2022 - A day hike
Moran. Mikhal, and Lotem Segoli went on a day hike in the Ramon Crater
with Vered and Aviv
Ron
February
2022 - Meeting
Denise Israel
We were happy to renew contact with Denise Israel.
Denise's ex-husband Giora worked at Coral World in St Thomas and
Nassau Bahamas during the period he and I both managed these
attractions. Our
paths crossed many times and it was lovely to meet Denise again after
so many years and to discuss old times.
January
2022 - Trash Art in
Larnaca, Cyprus
On our visit to Larnaca Cyprus, Doreen was facinated by an outdoor
exhibition of 'trash art' - sculptues made from trash by Abdul Gany
Bande, a refugee from the Ivory Coast.
January 2022
- Gold medal for distinguished services to European Bridge
At the European Bridge League seminar in Cyprus I was presented with
the Gold
Medal for "distinguished services to European Bridge". I was very proud
to receive this, especially as the last Gold Medal awarded was ten
years ago.
(More pictures in a few days)
With the Israelis: Doreen, Jan Kamras (EBL President), Oriya Meir, me,
Reuven Baswitz, Gilad Ofir; and Doreen and I with Gianarrigo
Rona, President of the
World Bridge Federation.
January 2022
- The wives
Doreen with Ingrid Belcak and Maureen Porteous on a walk in Cyprus
during a short visit to Cyprus for the EBL seminar,
January 2022 -
Snow in Israel
We have had very cold weather in Istrael during the last week or so,
with lots of snow in parts of the country. The Segolis took a
trip to
see the snow.
January 2022 -
The Segolis hike to Gev Zarchan
The Segolis (Moran, Mikhal, Lotem and Zoe) took advantage
of the
temporary break in the rainy
weather to go hiking to the Gev Zarchan area. Apart from the desert
scenery there is a 'gev', a water hole, in the rock base that
fills
with water in the rainy season.
Click for some pictures of Zoe 'exercising'
on the rocks. See also
Archives for picture of Moran and Mikhal at the waterhole Gev Darogh.
January
2022 - Vered in New York
Vered spent a few days in cold and snowy New York on a business trip.
Aviv on TV
Son Aviv Levy was interviewed on TV Channel 13 about the
problem of plastic pollution in the sea, and showed seahorses entrapped
in plastic waste. Aviv is a regular on television talking about various
sea and fish subjects ((See for example here
(skip the asdverts) and here).
He speaks extremely well and confidently.
January 2022 - Bridge with the Cartoons
We were happy to have Lennie and Selma Cartoon over for lunch,
followed by an enjoyable game of bridge.
Lennie is related to my cousin Jonathan Levy on his mother's (Malia
nee Weinronk) side, and although we don't see them too often we are
always happy to see them.. See Levy and
Matz family trees.
