ROUND TABLE DAY

HONOURING BY HELPING OTHERS

Celebrating Round Table Day

By Mr DANIELE CUSI,Round Table International C.S.O 2022-2023

As we know, Round Table day is the 14th of March. Do you know why wecelebrate Round Table day on that day? Then is the 14th of March famous for something else?

OUR FOUNDER Erminio William Louis marchesi, at Suckling House in Norwich on the 14th of March 1927, formed the “Round Table”. That’s why the 14th of March is Round Table Day!

Let’s go deeper into our amazing association: why did mr marchesi name it Round Table? He took inspiration from a speech of The Prince of Wales: “The young business and professional men of this country must get together round the table, ADoPT methods that have proved so sound in the past, ADAPT them to the changing needs of the times and wherever possible, ImPRoVE them.”

The same speech inspired our motto of: “Adopt, Adapt, Improve”.

Reading that, you would start thinking that we have nothing to do with the Arthurian Legend, so the next question would be: where does our emblem come from?

MARCHESI CHOSE OUR SYMBOL, adapting the table that hangs in the Great Hall in Winchester. (Because it is considered to be the Round Table of the mythical court of King Arthur, the table has been revered by generations of tourists for centuries as the mysterious table of the once and Future King Arthur. Around the table the names of the 24 knights are written around the edge.)

Now that we know better about our association, you should know that the 14th of march is famous all over the world for a few more things: it’s Pi - Day and on the 14th of march Albert Einstein was born. one of the people that literally changed the 20th Century was born the same as the Round Table. I don’t believe in destiny, but I think that as Tablers, we can make a diff erence in our future!

As last year, we want to dedicate the month of march to creating awareness on the global blood shortage. Every 2 seconds, one person around the world needs blood.

ONE OF THE LATEST research by the WHO says that 119 out of 195 countries don’t have enough blood in their banks to meet hospital needs. many countries also don’t have proper blood screenings: 20 countries worldwide don’t have 100% screening for HIV, 24 don’t have 100% screening for Hepatitis B, 37 for Hepatitis C, and 24 do not screen for Syphilis. Suppose you also consider that around the world, annually. In that case, over 100 million units of blood are donated. Still, 42% of that is collected by high-income countries representing only 16% of the world’s population.

That’s why we should celebrate the 14th of march in a Tabler’s way!

Let’s go together with your family and friends donating blood to celebrate Round Table Day!

TABLING THROUGH GAMING

An Update From Round Table Verdansk

By Mr DAVID JOE WILLIAMS,Round Table Great Britain & Ireland

OCTOBER THIS YEAR, Studio Infinity Ward and publisher Activision released the latest game in the call of duty franchise. modern warfare II is a reboot of the original Modern Warfare 2, released in 2009 with the same beloved characters from the original with a new story. The campaign Takes you all over the world, from the mexico and US border

To the streets of Amsterdam. The campaign also tries to recreate the iconic missions from past games.

WITH THE RELEASE OFmodern Warfare also came the Release of Warzone 2. Like the last Warzone, it’s a free-to-play experience, so you don’t need to buy modern Warfare 2 to play it. However, I would recommend it as it gives you some advantages.

Warzone 2 is on a new map called Al mazrah with new gameplay mechanics to spice up the battle royale experience, like teaming up with someone in the Gulag, and the circles split into 3. The most popular new feature is proximity chat, so players can now communicate better what’s leading to some hilarious moments. You can also invite people you meet in-game to join your squad. Warzone 2 has a new game mode called DmZ, an extraction-style mode based on Escape From Tarkov, a viral PC game. In DmZ. players have the freedom to complete missions in Al mazrah, or engage with enemy operators and AI. The AI is a lot easier to deal with than actual people. You can also search for loot, with the ultimate goal of surviving until exfiltration.

GAMESPOT GIVES THE GAME an 8/10 praising the new map and new changes for mixing up the warzone gameplay. I asked members of Verdansk Round Table what they thought, and they said this. “ok, I gave DmZ another run, and I have to admit I love it.” “It’s pissed off the bunny-hopping slide-cancelling movement champions.” “I mean, they have got something’s right. I would say the glitches are worse. DmZ is my favourite game mode at the moment.” “DmZ is brilliant. Crashes are happening too often. Unlocking the attachments is a chore, but the game has improved generally.

Would be great to have more vehicles, though.”

I WOULD RECOMMEND people give Warzone 2 a try, especially since it’s free, so if you don’t like it, you won’t be out of pocket. Activision is keeping. The original Warzone servers are online, so you can return to that. I recommend Buying modern Warfare 2, as it’s good for a Call of Duty game. However, I don’t think it lives up to the standards of the original modern warfare. It has a good campaign with a good story and very impressive graphics. The multiplayer Is also good, and you can get many hours of enjoyment and raging at the monitor when someone No scopes you from across the map.

MEMBERS OF VERDANSK ROUND TABLE are looking forward to the future of Warzone. We can’t wait to welcome you into our games, so if you get this game, make sure you Join Verdansk Round Table.

STORIES OF CHANGE

My Journey With the Round Table Family

By Mrs RUTH CURRY

My name is Ruth Curry, and I am originally from Zimbabwe. My journey with the Round Table Family started 52 years ago.

BOTH MY PARENTS were dedicated and active Round Table Family members, Dad holding several Chairmanship roles back in the 1970s whilst in Maputo, Cape Town and Johannesburg. my mum was a dedicated Circler known as a ’leg’, the fond term for ladies. Without them, Table wouldn’t have been able to operate, so the ladies were the legs holding up their Table. my sister Jane and I were taken to all the ARTCA and

ARSTA events as children. We made lifelong friends, had the best Table holidays and travelled extensively around Southern Africa with our ’Table Family’.

I JOINED LADIES CIRCLE in 1993; however, there was a small matter I had to be married to a Tabler before I could do so. my husband Wayne was an active Tabler, so as soon as Wayne and I returned from our honeymoon, I was inducted into marondera Ladies Circle. my circling career covered 25 years, but we will come to my Circling journey through my story.

WAYNE AND I HAD the opportunity to move to mutare, on the mozambique border, and we very soon settled into a great life and amazing friends. most importantly, we were part of the Mutare No 4 Table. Life was good; we had a little growing family and three fabulous children. We were actively involved in our community. We had a thriving business and managed to buy our own land. All our dreams were coming true; we had to work hard, don’t get me wrong, but it was ours.THEN THE FARM INVASIONS started in earnest. In 1999 the first farm sanctions were given with compulsory acquisition of the farms with no compensation, and by 2002 we felt the impact of this. We went from a thriving business supporting our local community to realising we were about to lose everything we knew, loved and owned.

Wayne was taken away with an AK47 to his head on three occasions. We thankfully had the most incredible lawyer I phoned at all sorts of crazy hours of the morning. Somehow he found Wayne and brought him home. However, each time Wayne came home, he was battered and bruised. He didn’t fight back because those that didn’t come back. The toughest part was explaining to the children as they witnessed much of what went on.

WE EVENTUALLY RECEIVED notification that our journey was coming to an end and we faced now walking away from everything. We walked out with three children and three suitcases, having lost everything, financially, physically, emotionally and mentally.

THIS IS WHERE THE ROUND TABLE FAMILY came to the rescue. We were looked after, supported, accommodated and held together by our Table. With our Table’s support, we were taken to the British Embassy in Harare (about a three-hour drive) to apply for British Passports. Wayne’s Dad was born in Wales, and my Dad was born in manchester, so we had the right to a British Passport to at least an out of what looked like a desperate position. We arrived at the embassy first thing in the morning and explained our position. The embassy couldn’t have been more accommodating. We were told to go and grab a meal and come back around lunchtime. We returned, and two passports were waiting for us on our arrival. I cannot tell you how relieved I was we had travel documents, but one issue was that we didn’t have any for the children as they were not entitled to a British passports.

WE RETURNED TO MUTARE, where an emergency meeting was held as we had no financial means to buy tickets to the UK at this stage. After some deliberation, our amazing Table agreed to pay for our flights. We had our final goodbyes with friends we knew we may never see again. Friends that stood by us when we needed it the most, friends that gave unconditionally with no ties or expectations and ten days later, we were on a plane to London. The children didn’t have the necessary paperwork, so they entered as refugees. We attended the Home Office the day after we arrived. The children

We were looked after, supported, accommodated and held together by our Table.

were issued permanent leave to remain. Five years later, we were able to apply for British Citizenship.

I didn’t know at the time that Wayne had been given £300 by one of the Tablers as a start when we got to the UK. I don’t know where this foreign currency came from, but at the time, it was near impossible to get any forex. This ensured we could put a roof over our heads when we arrived, and Wayne managed to secure work within 48 hours of landing. Thank goodness for his Engineering background.

WE STARTED OUR LIVES in the UK in Dagenham, Essex, as this is where Wayne had found work, and we needed to be close enough to walk to work without having any transport. This was a big reality check for me. Coming from a third-world country, I had no support network and no friends. I did not really understand how the first-world country worked, having never left Africa. our neighbours were not accommodating to these ’foreigners’ from Africa, and we were ignored. It was an incredibly lonely time. I struggled with the basics, like

where I could buy Jik. It works out in the UK, it is called bleach. I needed it for the children’s nappies, but I hadn’t found out about disposable nappies. I eventually made friends with an incredible lady Claire who took me in and showed me the ropes of living in the UK. But something was still missing ….

WE LASTED 18 MONTHS in Dagenham, and I was desperately unhappy. We had gone from this huge home, loads of land, to a two up, two down house. No garden and no space for the children. The neighbourhood we were in was a little rough, and I struggled not being street-wise at the time, having never been exposed to this. I had my bag snatched several times, someone in a white van tried to steal our son, and we found hypodermic needles in the park, and it clearly wasn’t the right place for us. I still cannot understand why I didn’t think to look up Ladies Circle or Round Table. I can only assume it was that I was absolutely broken at this point.

Wayne then managed to secure a job in Lincolnshire to provide a more secure place for the family in an environment we knew and understood and moved to a beautiful countryside town called Sleaford.

I FOUND A JOB at the local accountancy firm to work around the children’s school hours and worked for a lovely guy called Keith. one day Keith came in wearing a tie with the Round Table Rondel. I was gobsmacked! Soon the 100 questions started - Are you in Table? Where is your Table? Do you have a Circle? The next night, Wayne went to their business meeting, and the following week, I went to the Circle Social, picked up by Dawn and Rachel. WOW …. Suddenly, 15 new friends; it was like we had known each other for years, I was amazed I had moved continents and started a new life, but Circle was EXACTLY the same. Friendship was strong, and local community support as part of their core. We soon settled into our Round Table Family life, and our lives started settling again. I felt like I belonged; I felt like I had been saved.

WAYNE THEN SECURED a great role in Staffordshire, and we relocated. This time I didn’t hang around, and I made contact with Ladies Circle in Lichfield, which was our local area. Wayne and I joined the Lichfield Round Table Family, and again, instant friendship and unbelievable support from my Circle Chair Viv (now a lifelong friend). She helped me find a great school for the children, register with doctors and vets and found a good hairdresser (you know these things are essential to a lady, and only a Circler could sort everything out like this in a nanosecond). This is where my Circle career took off. I later became the Lichfield Chair and then went on to represent Ladies Circle GB&I as the National Executive Officer 2011 – 2012, National President 2013 – 2014 and LCI Secretary 2014 – 2016. None of this would have happened without the support of the Lichfield Round Table Family. They were my greatest Cheerleaders. Why did I do this? I needed to give back a tiny part of what the Round

We soon settled into Table Family had given our family. our Round Table Family Without Round Table, I dread to life, and our lives think what would have happened to us. We would have become started settling again. homeless and needy. I will forever

I felt like I belonged; be grateful for what Round Table

I felt like I had did for us as a family. been saved. IN CLOSING, PLEASE MAKE an effort to tell someone about Round Table. Be proud of being a Tabler because you never know that one little conversation could lead to your next best Tabler joining. This Tabler could be someone that really needs Round Table more than you will ever appreciate. You can make a difference, you are ordinary community members doing extraordinary things, but most of all, you are Stronger Together. Your friendship and support of your local community could help people like our family. You can provide the emotional, physical and mental support network that could be a life-changing experience. From me to you, thank you for all your do, thank you for all you are and more importantly, thank you for all you have given us as a family; we will be forever grateful. Yours in Continued Friendship Ruth Curry