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New presidents installed at four Rotary Clubs in Pattaya
Toy Ryser and Brendan Kelly
Elfi Seitz
Rotary Clubs Eastern Seaboard and Jomtien Pattaya installed
their new presidents during a ceremony on May 31 at the Marriott Resort
and Spa ballroom, where Dennis Stark, a former president himself, emceed
throughout the evening.
 Jan
Abbink, President of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya toasts to a most
eventful year of service.
Many members of other local Rotary Clubs also attended, and Past Rotary
governors Premprecha Dibbayawan, Jin Srikasikorn and Prasart Euprasert,
as well as the two incoming governors, Siri Eiamchamroonlarp and
Thongchai Lortrakarnon were present. Of course, Pratheep “Peter”
Malhotra, who was due to begin work at the end of the month, could not
miss this event, as he was the one to officially install the new
presidents, Toy Ryser and Brendan Kelly, by presenting them with the
presidents’ badge of offices respectively.
Toy is taking over the presidency from her husband Stefan, who
successfully led the club this past year. In her inaugural speech, Toy
thanked everyone for their trust and especially her husband, who
“conscientiously prepared me for this post”. Toy announced she would
focus on clean drinking water, medical care and education projects
around Pattaya and in Isan. “I’m happy to be working together with the
new president of the Jomtien-Pattaya Club, Brendan Kelly,” she said.
“Hand in hand, we will walk the same path that has been so meticulously
prepared by our predecessors Jan Abbink and Stefan Ryser.”
 Stefan
Ryser, President of the Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard can be proud of his
achievements.
In his valedictory, Stefan thanked everyone for their tremendous support
over the past year. He promised to continue his support for the club as
well as for the people in need.
Addressing the audience in his inaugural speech, Brendan Kelly announced
he would “give my best and live up to the presidency of such a well
organized club.” He is also looking forward to cooperating with the
Eastern Seaboard Rotarians, in order to help the underprivileged, give
them the chance for a better life and follow this year’s Rotary
International Motto “Make Dreams Real”.
“The cost of living has increased drastically,” he said. “There are
still many areas that lack clean drinking water, and poverty among the
rural population is also on the rise. Our projects for the upcoming year
will concentrate on emergency measures to help mitigate these
conditions.”
 Big
Brother Past President Dennis Stark conducted the proceedings.
Jan Abbink said in his farewell address that he would continue to assist
all projects by his club and the whole Rotary community. Having spoken
these words, he removed his club blazer and put on his working jacket.
While everyone helped themselves to the sumptuous buffet, films were
screened that showed the progress of some of the accomplished projects.
In addition, two violin artists, 15-year-old Anna Sowana-Tekada and
famous Vilmos Olah, who had recently given concerts in Pattaya,
entertained the gathering with a wonderful performance.
Pratheep Malhotra,
District Governor 2008-09 installs Toy Ryser as the President of the
Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard.
Brendan Kelly is installed
as President of the Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya
by DGE Pratheep Malhotra.
District Governors past
and future attended the joint installation ceremonies.
President Toy Ryser (2nd
right) with her new board of directors.
Bob Denzel and Bruno Wagner
Asecond installation ceremony for two Rotary
presidents took place on June 7 at Amari Orchid and Tower Resort, with
Dr Olivier Meyer as emcee, and Bob Denzel following John Botting as
president of the Rotary Club Taksin, while Bruno Wagner took over at
French-speaking Rotary Club Marina from Nic Demet.
 President
Nic Demet of the French speaking Rotary Club Pattaya Marina makes his
farewell address.
Students from the Redemptorist School for the Blind put on a stage
performance that enchanted the gathering, and 12,000 baht quickly
accumulated in a spontaneously initiated funds collection. District
Governor Peter Malhotra kindly handed over the generous donations.
Once more, it was DG Peter who performed his District Governor’s duties
by installing the new presidents. John Botting, who had just recovered
from a serious illness, bid farewell to the presidency of Rotary Club
Taksin and to Thailand, as he will be returning to his home country,
England. His successor, Bob Denzel, had been guiding the club over the
past six months as vice president.
 John
Botting President of the Rotary Club of Taksin Pattaya bids farewell to
his fellow Rotarians.
Bob greeted the attendees in four languages and said, “For the coming
year, I will focus on the extension of our club membership and on the
availability of clean drinking water. Of course, I will push ahead the
projects at the four schools in Chantaburi Province and in the South.”
Outgoing president of the Marina Club Nic Demet, who has now finished
his third term, (one year as president of the Rotary Club of
Jomtien-Pattaya and two years at the helm of the Pattaya Marina club)
expressed his pleasure at having served the club for such a long period.
He wished his successor, Bruno Wagner, all the best and thriving
success.
 Past
President Dr. Olivier Meyer acted as the Master of Ceremonies for the
evening.
He considers himself very lucky not to be hungry, handicapped, ill, or
without clean water, Bruno said in his inaugural speech. “My dream of a
fulfilling life has come true. As the new president, my dream is for all
our members to actively take part in our projects, where we can
alleviate many people’s afflictions and maybe make their dream of a
better life become reality.”
At both installation functions, DG Peter pointed out the importance of
being Rotarian by heart, not only by name. He called for all local
Rotarians to cooperate in order to help the underprivileged in this
world, especially the children. All former Rotary International
presidents knew how much one could give to perform good deeds for the
benefit of others, “May friendship and peace prevail among all
Rotarians.” said Peter. “May envy, viciousness and self-favor be
forgotten.”
The buffet at the Amari was yet another delicious treat. Even after the
official function had come to an end, many participants stayed until
late to enjoy the evening.
Pratheep Malhotra installs
and congratulates President Robert Denzel
of the Rotary Club of Taksin Pattaya.
DGE Peter Malhotra wishes
President Bruno Wagner a successful year
as leader of the Rotary Club Pattaya Marina.
Past District Governor
Premprecha Dibbayawan (2nd left) presents the five
outgoing presidents with Meritorious Service Awards on behalf of
District Governor
Dr. Arnon Chirajavala. At right is Charter President Stephan Heynert of
the German speaking Rotary Club Phoenix Pattaya.
Legion remembers the Malayan Emergency
Bert Elson
Members of the Royal British Legion in Thailand are well used to
attending Remembrance Services on November 11 every year, but it should also
be remembered that there were other smaller conflicts where young men and
women gave their lives just as they did in the First and the Second World
Wars.
 On
parade.
One of these was the Malayan Emergency, which began on 16 June 1948 when
three communist terrorists shot and killed three planters, Allison,
Christian and Walker.
This led to an intense 12-year jungle war fought by British, Commonwealth
and Malay forces against the army of the Malay Communist Party led by
fanatic Chin Peng. It cost the lives of 6,710 terrorists, 2,478 civilians
(with 810 missing), 1,346 Malay troops and 519 British, and only came to an
end when the newly formed Malaysian government declared the Emergency over
in July 1960, the Chinese Year of the Rat.
So why an Emergency and not a War? Well, that was down to the fact that had
it been a war the planters and tin miners would not have received insurance.
However, as far as those young men fighting in dense jungle were concerned
it was a war just like any other, and one that they eventually won.
This was our second visit to Malaysia but the first under the banner of the
Legion. We attended four parades, lowered our Standard four times and
listened to prayers in four faiths, Christian, Hindu, Islam and Buddhist. We
met friends old and new and even found time to visit the Cameron Highlands
for tea and scones (along with a few beers!).
I did not serve in Malaysia but my regiment did, so it was an honour for me
when the Coldstream Guards asked me to lay a wreath on their behalf. Many of
those who served are now through age, illness or costs unable to attend, so
as members of the Legion we are proud to represent them all.
The Kohima Epitaph reads: “When you go home, tell them of us and say, For
your tomorrow we gave our today”. That today in Malaysia sees a thriving,
prosperous and stable country fast becoming a prime Asian tourism
destination. We sampled this ourselves in Penang, for “Duty’s Done” and it
was now time to relax and remember those young lads as they would like to be
remembered; with a few more beers.
We had two days in Penang and were welcomed wherever we went with open arms
as indeed we were throughout Malaysia. We will return next year and maybe
add a day or two on the agenda for we must never ever forget.
Our Standard lowered for
fallen Gurkah’s.
Our welcome committee.
Off duty, Hong Kong Bar,
Penang.
Concert pays tribute to HRH Princess Galyani
(L to R) Trumpeter Nello
Salza, soprano Carmen Ferraioli,
conductor Antonio Cipriani and first violin Siripong Tiptan take a bow.
Paul Strachan
A series of concerts featuring great artists of the world is being
held in memory of Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, the latest of
which was entitled Italian Serenade and was held at the Thailand Cultural
Centre in Bangkok on Thursday June 12.
On stage was the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, and leading the orchestra was
the Venezuelan conductor Antonio Cipriana.
All the music featured on the night was of Italian origin and the first half
of the evening was devoted to highlights from famous Italian operas, where
Carmen Ferraioli joined the orchestra on stage.
Ms Ferraioli is the principal soprano with the Rome Opera in Italy, and
delighted the audience with a rendition of Verdi’s Overture from Nabucco,
Puccini’s “O mio Babbino Caro” from Gianni Schicchi and “Sola, perduta,
abbandonato” from Manon Lescaut, and then “Voi lo sapete oh mamma” from
Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.
During a break for Ms Ferraioli, the musicians eased into the melancholic
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana. This was music of true beauty and
brought back images of the movies in which this piece was used, such as
Raging Bull and The Godfather Part 3.
Then “Io son l’umile ancella” from Adriana Lecouvreur by Cilea was followed
by the dark and brooding “Suicidio” by Ponchiella from La Gioconda and then
it was back to maestro Giocomo Puccini for “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca.
Ms Ferraioli brought such presence, warmth and passion to all the roles she
had to play, a mighty stretch for any musician but one that she accepted
with ease and grace.
After the interval guests could be seen checking their programme as to what
was coming next, with a selection of famous film music that featured the
immensely talented trumpeter Nello Salza. As the orchestra started to play
the opening bars of the theme music from Life is Beautiful, everybody was
wondering where is the man with the horn? And then in perfect timing, coming
in from the wings with his trumpet soaring was Nello.
Anybody familiar with Italian cinema will have heard the unique sound that
Nello draws from his trumpet. He has played on the soundtrack to some of the
most famous Italian movies ever made - some of which he recreated for us
with the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra.
Life is Beautiful continued from the elegant beginning into the bossa nova
segment of the score, in which you could see that Nello was enjoying himself
as much as the audience. We were then treated to music from the Sergio Leone
epic Once Upon a Time in the West, which was of course penned by the
godfather of Italian cinema, Ennio Morricone.
Then another classic, this time the poignant score from Il Postino, and
again it was impossible not to rekindle the images from the movie.
Nello’s playing was so passionate and so fluid, yet he was obviously very
much at ease and almost made it look like he was busking his way through the
set - this can only come from someone who has had a wealth of experience and
an ability to identify with the music.
We then returned to Ennio Morricone. Nello has done the honours on many of
Morricone’s films including The Mission and Once Upon a Time in America, but
the theme was Italian cinema, so we stayed in Italy as Nello gave an
outstanding performance from the movie The Legend of 1900, followed by what
in my opinion is the greatest movie ever made: Guiseppe Tornatore’s Cinema
Paradiso.
Nello closed the set with a medley of older pieces by what some may call the
founder of Italian cinema, Federico Fellini, which celebrated his
partnership with Nino Rota.
The audience had been mesmerized by Nello’s performance and for the encore
Ms Ferraioli joined him on stage for an energetic duet, Nello of course
using his horn as his voice, of “O Sole Mio”.
This was a wonderful evening and a befitting remembrance of Her Royal
Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana.
Italian Serenade, the latest
in a series of concerts featuring great artists of the world, was held at
the Thailand Cultural Centre in Bangkok on Thursday June 12 in memory of Her
Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana.
OBITUARY: Farewell Fridolin Schnyder
Dr. Iain Corness
The funeral service following the sudden death of Dr. Fridolin
Schnyder, the father of local restaurateur Pascal Schnyder, was held last
week at the St Nikolaus Church on Sukhumvit Road. The church was filled as
Pascal and Kim Schnyder’s friends came to pay their last respects. The
eulogy was presented by Dr. Iain Corness.
 Dr.
Fridolin Schnyder
Dr. Fridolin Josef Schnyder was the eldest of five boys and two girls. He
was born into good circumstances, and despite the advent of WW II was
relatively insulated from the European torments of those times.
He was a person who had a great thirst for knowledge and this was evident
from his early years. After 6 years of Primary school he spent the next 8
years at the Einseideln Monastery preparing himself for his 6 years of
tertiary studies, commencing at Freiberg University and then to the
University of Berne where he graduated with his Doctorate in Pharmacy.
By 1969 he had already married another Pharmaceutical Doctor and had opened
his own pharmacy. He became president of the Pharmaceutical Society of
Lucerne and joined the board of the Red Cross. He had his civic
responsibilities and he more than met them.
 The
Buddhist ceremony and cremation was held at Wat Chaimongkol in South
Pattaya.
However, by 1970, and realizing that they were unable to conceive children,
they adopted a young child from a Korean orphanage, and the child who was
going to be their only son joined the family in Switzerland. This child was
Pascal Schnyder.
In those days, Dr. Fridolin had many other interests, not just pharmacy and
child raising. He was a very active sportsman, competing in fencing, Alpine
skiing and sailing. He was also an officer in the Swiss Army, being amongst
other positions, the gun aimer in a Centurian tank. Fortunately he never had
to fire the weapon in anger, and Pascal doubts whether his father could have
ever done it.
 The
funeral service following the sudden death of Dr. Fridolin Schnyder, the
father of local restaurateur Pascal Schnyder, was held last week at the St
Nikolaus Church.
Dr. Fridolin’s other interests were much more intellectual. He was, even
until his untimely death, a keen photographer, leaving behind some very
emotive images using the black and white medium, some of which can be seen
adorning the walls in Casa Pascal. He was interested in music and in
literature, and would spend time in art galleries. He also enjoyed travel.
Along with the fine arts, he also enjoyed his food and wines. Pascal
remembers his father saying to him the following phrase: “Vinum buvant
homines, animalia etc fontes. Do you know what that means Pascal?” When
Pascal replied that he did not, he was told “Wine is for humans, the water
is for the animals!” This love of wines Dr. Fridolin passed on to Pascal,
but sometimes that love was too much. When Pascal was in Hong Kong, his
father found Pascal’s home cellar, and it was drained by the time Pascal
returned.
 Pascal
and Kim Schnyder lead the funeral precession at St Nikolaus Church.
Probably the most apt description of Dr Fridolin was that he was a European
gentleman in the true sense. In his professional life, he was always seen in
collar and tie, but at the height of relaxed leisure time he might even take
the tie off, but the formal shirt remained.
He was a quiet man who did not believe in violence, despite his Centurian
tank. He never physically disciplined his son Pascal. He had an extremely
sensitive nature and could spontaneously burst into tears if he saw a child
crying. He was truly a gentle man.
Two years ago, he decided to retire and came to join Pascal and his wife Kim
here in Pattaya. The plan was to relax, enjoy his music and wines, his pipes
and the cognac and cigars after dinner. The bond between father and son was
extremely strong, with Dr. Fridolin saying, “Pascal, you are not only my
son, but you are also my best friend.”
So perhaps it was fitting that in his premature passing, Dr. Fridolin
Schnyder should die in the arms of his best friend, his son Pascal.
No matter what your personal philosophy, Dr. Fridolin Josef Schnyder lives
on in the minds of those who knew him. One of nature’s gentlemen and one
that we have been honored to know. May he rest in peace.
Those sentiments were shared by everyone who knew him and the condolences
have not yet stopped coming in. May he indeed, rest in peace.
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