A couple of weekends ago I married my friends Ben and Michaela. I was more nervous than the groom. I gave a short speech and then into the wedding. It was fantastic. I then MC’d the reception and sang with the band. Lydia also did the make-up so we are fast becoming the wedding one stop shop in Adelaide.Everyone loved the wedding and we partied into the night!

So now I ain’t a wedding virgin -I have cut my teeth finally as a real Reverend.

Raph

Born into this World on 3rd June, 1907: Passed to God on 6th April, 2007

In December 2001, the Prime Minister, The Hon John Howard MP announced the creation of a Centenary Medal to honour living persons who have made a contribution to Australian society or government, including those who have lived during the last hundred years. Anne Segal, our family Matriarch (God Bless Her) was nominated to receive a Centenary Medal ‘for services to the community, in particular for service to Lithgow Meals on Wheels’.

The whole Segal Clan say to Nanna: “Well Done, Nanna! You are an inspiration to the younger Segal’s and a great role model for the older Segal’s. We all send you our congratulations and best wishes with lots of love and we trust you will keep batting on for a few more years yet”.

Nanna will be 97 years young in June. She enjoys reasonably good health although, in her own words, she suffers with the usual aches and pains that all 96 year-olds seem to get from time to time.

I am pleased to announce the list of awardees for the Centenary Medal has been finalised and recipients will shortly receive their medals. Their names can be found on the website http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/. The Centenary Medal was created to recognise the achievements of a cross-section of the Australian community at the time of the centenary of federation and to prepare for the challenges of the new century by honouring persons who have contributed to Australian society or government. This is an important medal and it is desirable that contributions made during the centenary year especially by those who helped make it a memorable time in the life of the nation be recognised.
Continue reading “Nanna in the News! Another SSS (Segal Success Story)”

Last evening, 2 April 2002, proud parents Khairon and Graham, and proud wife and daughter Julie and Sabella, attended the Queensland Performing Arts Centre to witness Rohan receive the Degree of Bachelor of Education from the Chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology. Rohan had worked exceptionally hard with extreme dedication and focus over the past three years to achieve this milestone in his career.

The night was not without a major surprise. Let Rohan tell the story in his own (modest) way …

“I arrived at the QPAC about 5.45 pm. After milling about with the other graduates for a while, we were shepherded into the auditorium, where we took our places on the stage in designated seats. On each seat was a copy the Graduation Ceremony program which contained the list of graduates and the degrees they were to receive that night.

“I quickly checked to see that my name was there. Shock! Horror! My name was missing from the B. Ed list! Nearly Panic Stations! What to do!? I did what any self-respecting graduate would do (I’m a graduate now, remember - I can do anything!), I turned the page.

“AND THERE IT WAS (and I had absolutely no knowledge of this, because no-one from QUT gave me any forewarning). The entry in the Graduation Ceremony program read

AWARD OF
BACHELOR OF EDUCATION
(Adult & Workplace Education)
FIRST CLASS HONOURS
SEGAL, Rohan Khalid

I was very chuffed.”

So were we, Rohan, so were we. So speaking on behalf of the whole Segal Clan, Rohan, we are all thrilled with you and proud of you. We know the effort you put into this achievement. It’s not easy going back into an academic study environment after many years in the workforce and with a young family. You have every right to bask in the glory of this award, and we Segals all give you our heartiest congratulations and wish you well in what is now evolving as a whole new career.

On Tuesday, January 17, at 5:46 a.m. local time, an earthquake of magnitude 7.2 struck the region of Kobe and Osaka in south-central Japan. This region is Japan’s second-most populated and industrialized area, after Tokyo, with a total population of about 10 million.

The shock occurred at a shallow depth on a fault running from Awaji Island through the city of Kobe, which in itself has a population of about 1.5 million. Strong ground shaking lasted for about 20 seconds and caused severe damage over a large area.

Nearly 5,500 deaths have been confirmed, with the number of injured people reaching about 35,000. Nearly 180,000 buildings were badly damaged or destroyed, and officials estimate that more than 300,000 people were homeless on the night of the earthquake.

Damien and Ane were there …

The life loss caused by the earthquake was the worst in Japan since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, when about 140,000 people were killed, mostly by the post-earthquake conflagration. The economic loss from the 1995 earthquake may be the largest ever caused by a natural disaster in modern times. The direct damage caused by the shaking is estimated at over Â¥13 trillion (about U.S.$147 billion). This does not include indirect economic effects from loss of life, business interruption, and loss of production. Continue reading “The Great Hanshin – Kobe Earthquake – a Segal Perspective”