June 2023 - An
evening with Morris Kahn
Friend Morris Kahn's sister Leonie is visiting from England and we had
coffee, drinks and a light supper at his house.

May
2023 -English
Speaking Residents Association (ESRA) Project.
The English Speaking Residents Association Building a Community
Project in Netanya is a project where Ethiopian students in
disadvantaged communities live rent free and mentor local
mainly Ethiopian school children towards their
batmitzah. Last year Doreen donated
a birthday cake for the
batmitzvah ceremony
(read details here) and this year did
the same.

May 2023
- Aviv visits Petra
Son Aviv went diving in Sinai with the Kahn clan, and then joined
his fellow employees on a trip to Petra in Jordan.

May
2023 -
Vegan Shrimps
We celebrated the festival
of Shavuot and were happy to
welcome the Segolis and Rons to a typical multi-course DDD (Delicious
Doreen Dinner). The highlight of the dinner were the vegan
shrimps
prepared by Maayan with help from Doreen.
May 2023 -
Myra Simon ז"ל
Our good friend Myra Simon has passed away. We have very fond memories
of her and her late husband
Smokey
one of the founders of the Israel Air Force.
We were with them on our trip to the Galapagos Islands and also with
Myra on our China visit, where amongst other activities we went riding
with her and Morris Kahn in Beijing.
See also
here for another
picture of Myra playing bridge with Doreen.
May 2023
- Sheenagh visits Indonesia
We received some lovely pictures from cousin Charles and Sheenagh Levy (
see family tree) who are enjoying a
visit to Indonesia with thewir daughter Katherine.
May
2023 -
Visit to Steve Blass
After visiting Susan, see below, we went to Kibbutz Yizrael to see our
friend Steve Blass, whose wife
Bini
passed away a few months ago.
May 2023 - A
visit to Susan Nathan
We visited relative Susan Nathan at the Bet Ha-Emek Retirement
Home in Nof Hagalil. She is recovering nicely
from her operation.
May 2023 -
Dinner
After our
holiday in Italy we decided to enjoy with some family and friends the bottle of Brunello di
Montalcino we had bought there.
Doreen went out of her way and as usual prepared a great meal. She
included
Italian bread sticks (grissini - see
recipe), cannelloni and
lasagna.
nd also a delicious onion soup (note the flame -in blue- melting the
cheese topping) and a very
successful savory tarte tatin with beetroot and ricotta cheese.

May 2023 -
On the
way from Rome to Montepulciano
On
the way we visited Lake
Bolsena (a first for us), enjoyed lunch there and then drove on to
Pitigliano.
We last visited
with granddaughter Dani a few years ago. A visit there is always
moving, especially for Limor and Aviv on their first visit there.
The
centuries old Jewish community in Pitigliano was well integrated in the
town, and was often a haven from persecution. During
WWII the Catholic residents help hide their Jewish neighbours.
We
visited the underground remains of the kosher abattoir, a complex to
dye material and a kitchen with a dough kneader, table and oven where
they made matzot. The synagogue, built in 1598 was recently beautifully
restored.
May 2023 - A
short
visit
to Rome
On our way to Villa Poliziana we stopped off in Rome for a few days.
We've all been a few times to Rome. (See here for a
previous visit with our three children to
celebrate Aviv's 50th birthday). But a visit there, even to sites
we've already visited, is always very enjoyable.
We enjoyed the food - pizzas, Japanese
at the Luffy Restaurant, oysters at Baccano and a few other places. (
see also AL34 Restaurant)
April 2023
- Dan
and Tanya in Israel
We were delighted to meet relatives on our Levy side. Dan Nathan and
his sister Tanya (Nathan) Wood came on a short visit to Israel to visit
their mother Susan (my second cousin) who is recuperating after a heart
operation. We were glad they managed to meet some of our children and
grandchildren who were staying with us. We wish Susan a
speedy recovery.
See
Hershovitz/Levy
tree.

Meeting the Nathans
Amit, Itamar, Lotem, Zoe, me, Aviv, Doreen, Dan Nathan, Tanya Wood
April
2023 - Daughter-in-law Mikhal Segoli is in USA doing some research at
the University of Minnesota.
April 2023 -
My 83rd birthday
This week was my 83rd birthday. The dates of Jewish festivals are in
accordance with a lunar calendar. I was born during Passover but this
year year my birthday corresponded to Israel's Independence Day
(actually a day later). On my birthay eve Doreen prepared a fantastic
delicious meal and the next day daughter
Vered Ron organised a dinner for me, and granddaughter
Zoe decorated a cake. The family surprised
me by also
showing up and we had a virtual one night family reunion.


April
2023 -
Yom Ha-atzmaut -
Israel's 75th birthday
This week was Israel's 75th Independence Day and we celebrated as
always at the home of Terry and Carol Kessel. Once again it was lovely
to see old friends again and of course to enjoy the food and the
special Kessel
hospitality.
April
2023 - Doreen dives with the sharks.
Doreen's diving insurance expires soon and as she is not sure whether
it will be renewed she decided that her (perhaps) last dive should be a
dive with the sharks (and of course with son Aviv).
Preparation with the help of Aviv

The dive.

See also Archives of This
Week's Picture..
April 2023
-
Removing sea debris
Son Aviv was one of the organisers for a sea "clean-up" in Eilat today
when divers removed nearly a ton of debris from the sea floor.
Aviv explaining the details and route
of
the dive to the volunteer divers.

April 2023 -
A family meal.
With the Eilat Levys for a meal at the (disappointing) Greco
restaurant.
April
2023 -
Off to Houston
Good luck to granddaughter Lotem Segoli and her robotic group
Fata Morgana. They are off to Houston, USA to take part in the FIRST
World Robotics Championship. (
see also here about their win in
the Israel Championships.).
April 2023
- Uri Buri
After reading in Haaretz about
Uri
Jeremias
and his unwavering belief in co-existence even though his restaurant
was burnt
down,
Doreen and I went to Uri Buri, his rebuilt restaurant in Acre, and
enjoyed a meal there.
April 2023 - The Segolis go on a hiking trip
to Sinai.
From
Moran's
facebook page
(There are more pictures and the itinerary there)
"We
went down to Sinai for a week (Mickal, Zoe and I) - a day and a half at
Nuweba Beach and then a five-day trip to East Sinai, with friends.
It was
amazing. I did the first day's trip four years ago - and still the
colours, beauty and size surprised me all over again.
The
children got along excellently.
The
only problem with the trip was the weather - we had both a heat wave
and rain."






Celia Lugasi preparing mofletta for the Mimouna celebration at her home. (see here).

April 2023 - Fillet Mignon
We were given a large quantity of fillet
steak and we're not sure what to do with all of it. We invited friends
Dani and Ruti Erez and Doreen's sister Louise
to lunch. Doreen did some google research and prepared absolutely
delicious and tender Fillet Mignon steaks in pepper sauce. With roast
potatoes ,carrots, sweet potatoes and garlic and a few salads
(including
ingredients from our garden) it was a meal fit for a king.

Pesach blessing
A Moroccan pesach tradition
- the seder plate (with
matzah, zeroa shankbone,
egg, bitter herbs, charoset and
karpas) is held above each
person while reciting a blessing.

Aviel Amar encourages while Limor and Bar Amar bless Maayan
and Itamar.
March 2023 - Eleanor (Gamsy) Pines in Israel.
Eleanor (Gamsy) Pines, Doreen's close friend from school days, is
visiting Israel with her companion Dennis Feinberg
and we met twice for lunch. Doreen and Eleanor were close friends in
South Africa and my first memories od Doreen are of her being always
with Eleanor. Eleanor lives in South Africa but we have met a few
times, in Israel and South Africa and once even in
London.
Dennis
Feinberg and Eleanor, and Doreen and Eleanor in their younger days, and
today.
March 2023 - Borough Market, London Bridge
We've
visited London many times but this was the first time we went to the
Borough Market, in London Bridge. We've seen many markets in
various places in the world, and this one is on a par with the best of
them. The variety at the market is amazing and I recommend anyone going
to London to take a morning to visit.
Doreen is severely allergic to eggplant (aubergine, brinjal) so the
Purple Stick,
Round Graffiti and Thai Green eggplants we only of curiousity interest.
The Mango, Passion Fruit, Cacao Gin was of more practical interest, as
were the various curries.
London
March 2023: Meeting
with Peter Hassenson
Peter Hassenson and I periodically meet for interesting chats about
the bridge world, in London, Israel and whenever we are at a bridge
competition. Peter is a collector of bridge memorabilia and has an
amazing collection which I saw on a previous trip.
This time Doreen joined us for lunch at the curiously named Doggett
Coat and
Badge Pub on the Thames. The setting was delightful, the food good, the
location 5 minutes from our hotel convenient and the conversation
interesting as always.

London March
2023: Business at he Bank of England
On our London trip we had reason to conduct business at the venerable
Bank of England in Threadneedle Street. We were not concerned with
setting interest rates or any global financial matters. We simply had
the grand sum of £40 in notes from our last trip, which
unfortunaltely were no longer valid. We had to exchange them for
new notes. It didn't take too long, and we then went and used some of
our new sparkling notes to buy 2 cups of coffee at a nearby cafe.
.
The way of dealing with queues, first come first served, was different
from that we are used to. In Israel, you either wait in line in a long
queue or you take a number and people are served in numerical order. At
the Bank as you arrive you are seated (on a concrete ledge which I am
sure was not meant for this purpose) next to those who came before you.
As these earlier ones are called in everyone moves a seat up until
their turn. It remided us of a game of musical chairs.
March 2023
- Van Gogh and us
Instead
of finding or arranging special costumes for Purim this year, we took
the easy way by utilizing the "Time Machine" app of My Heritage
to show how we might have been and might have looked in the past.
And while we
were about it we asked the app to show how we might have looked if van
Gogh had painted us.
March 2023 - Demonstrating
February
2023 - Meeting Hilary
Doreen was thrilled to meet up with Hilary (Diner) Kahn, one of her
best friends from school days who now lives in Australia. We were
joined by Maureen (Konigsfest) Fain, also a school mate, and Doreen's
sister Louise who had gone out for a while with Hilary's brother. I
also knew Hilary and her sister Sandra. Our parents, especially
Doreen's mother Gertie, were friendly with Hilary's mother Fay.
There was plenty to talk about - shared experiences, what have you been
doing, where is so and so - and it was a really delightful meeting.
Moran
is 50 - Lunch for his parents'
friends
Son Moran turned 50 last month and he decided to celebrate not only on
his birthday but the whole year.
He spent a weekend with friends in
Amsterdam,
then with wife Mikhal
in
Norway to
see the Northern Lights.
Next was a luncheon for all his parents' friends who during his growing
up in Hofit, Eilat and St Thomas "played a part in who he is today".
Louise Braverman, Yael Paperna, Vered
Ron, Caroline Livneh, Maureen Fain, Doreen, Moran, Lotem and Mikhal
Segoli, Varda Rosbruch, me, Ziona Glassman and son Dudi.
Lotem's
team win Israel Robotics Championship
We were in Ashdod to support
granddaughter Lotem Segoli at the Israel Robotics championships and
were thrilled by their victory. Lotem and her team will go to
Houston, Texas in April to compete in the
FIRST International Robotics Championships.
3rs set of the finals after a long days work about to start
Red wins!!!
Proud Granny and Saba
More pictures
here and
here.
February
2023 - Jeff Geffen
I was very sad to hear of the passing of my second cousin Jeffrey
Geffen. Jeff stayed in our home while studying as a pharmacist in
Durban. He was about 13 years older than me and I looked upon him as a
big brother. I have many fond memories of him and his keen sense of
humnour. He was a keen sportsman
until tubercolosis curtailed most of his
sport activities. Jeff and his wife Doreen (Altshuler) made aliyah to
Israel and lived in Ashdod. He founded and developed the
sport of Badminton in
Israel. Here is a picture of him
in badminton outfit.
Heartfelt condolences to his children Yehudit Akuka and Joel and to his
grand- and great grand children.
See Levy family tree.

Jeffery Gefen 1927 - 2023
February 2023
We were saddened by the passing of Bini Blass, a friend from
our South Africa days. Condolences to husband Steve and family. See
also
a
visit to them on Kibbutz Yizrael
earlier this year and more links.
January
2023 - Lunch with Maureen and Maxine
We had lunch
with Maxine (Konigsfest) Freed, sister of good friend Maureen Faine. We
have not seen Maxine for about 60 years (!) but we see Maureen regulary
(
for example) and she has
kept us
updated. By chance Maxine mentored daughter Vered and husband Aviv
during their
orientation period at Columbus University.
January 2023
- Lunch with Archie Ogden
We had lunch this week with Archie Ogden, a friend from our days in St
Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Archie and his wife Ella were close
friends of ours, and we shared many happy hours with them, sometimes
with Archie entertaining us on his guitar. Read what Doreen wrote about
the
Ogdens in her recipe book.
Meeting Archie for lunch in
2023
Archie with guitar (about 30-40 years ago)
January 2023
- Tirza Naor ז"ל
We were saddened this week by the passing of Tirza Naor whom Doreen had
befriended for a number of years.
See
previous post.
Paintings by
Tiina Drui
Tiina Drui is a very talented artist. Her painting of her husband
Heini acurately depicts him. Here is some more of
Tiina's artwork.
Heini Drui (see
Schank family tree)
was for many years a "lost" relative but we now have fairly regular
contact. We have seen him and his charming wife both in Israel and in
Estonia.
Click here for a
picture and more links and information.
Like Father
like Son
About 50 years ago the Chief Rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef visited Coral
World and I showed him around the site.
This year his son, Chief Rabbi Yitschak Yosef visited Coral World and
my son showed him around the site.
(Son Aviv is amazing - where does he find all these old photos??!!)
T-Shirt -
Northern Lights
We were very impressed with the Segolis visit to Tromso Norway to view
the
Northern Lights. It looks like an
amazing sight. That's something
we've never experienced or even come
close to. Our visits to the far north were all in summer. At least we
did see
the
midnight sun in Tromso and had
lunch and bought a tee shirt at the Northern Lights Inn in
Labrador!
January 2023
- Moran and Mikhal in Tromso, Norway
(
See also This Week's Picture)
Moran and Mikhal enjoying a drink
served in a glass made entirely of ice
They went on a snow-shoe
hike with a sledge dog puppy
and warmed up with a fire on the ice.
January
2023 - The Nussbaums

We spent a happy and delicious time in Toronto at the Nussbaums, John
and Ethne, old friends from our days in Durban, South Africa. (
see last visit in 2016)
January
2023 -
Meeting the Glogauers in Toronto


On our way home we stopped over in Toronto, Canada to visit Doreen's
cousin Eileen Glogauer and Isaac. We enjoyed a Friday night dinner and
brunch the next morning. Doreen and Eileen were very close when they
were younger but unforunately we don't see them often enough.
Our last visit was in 2016.
see Nochimovitz tree.
January
2023 - Ice Skating in Toronto.


The temperature was -2C. There was no wind so it wasn't so bad. From
our hotel window we saw
ice skating
below.
January
2023 -
Lunch with Florence, Jussie and Dov Levin

We had a long lunch reminiscing with Florence and Jussie Levin and
their son Dov. Dov is on sabbatical from his post as Assistant
Professor in political science in Hong Kong. We enjoy our meetings with
the Levins. Florence is very 'family orientated' and keeps me up to
date on the branch of
the
Gordon/Glazer family tree.
January 2023 -
A visit to Nina Shafer

Doreen went to Philadelphia to meet Nina Schafer, a close friend from
our days in St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Doreen was happy that
Nina's daughter, Hannah, was also there.
Click for our
last visit to Nina in
2018.
January
2023 - The Rons visit Cuba



Daughter Vered Ron with Aviv, Danielle, Lior and Danielle's friend Oz
are spending and enjoying a few days in Havana, Cuba.
January 2023 -
Brunch with the Hocks

Eddie Hock, Anita Hock, Lynne Hock, Eloise Feinstein, Jonathan Hock,
Doreen, me.
We were delighted to again meet Anita Hock and family. The brunch was
delicious and the company terrific. See
here and
here for two previous
celebrations with them.
See
Nochimovitz tree.
We
had two
‘free’ hours in the middle of the day – so we
went to eat lunch at a water hole. Quality time together in the desert
with a swim – can’t get
better than that. Unfortunately - I got stuck in the mud on the way
back and
Mikhal had to have her Zoom meeting in the field.. Luckily I have
friends with 4X4 that came and got us out.