July2020 Flipside 01

www.bnaibrithuk.org
Editor : Vivienne Gould

3rd LOCKDOWN EDITIOn

Message from your President

I wonder whether one of the most used words now in our

vocabulary, “virtual” will have an added description in all the

dictionaries. I would like to thank all the members who have

joined in the various Zoom sessions we have held in the last

couple of months and look forward to seeing you at this

month’s “virtual” Main Meeting. I would also like to take this

opportunity to thank those who have arranged and hosted

the various meetings. Keep well and stay safe. 

Get Well Soon
From the President & her council
to those members
who are not in the best of health at present



BB Talk Monday 13th July @ 8pm

Sue Gil: How Israel Changed My Life

Sue is a blue badge tour guide who guides in both English and Hebrew and owes most of
her professional career to two years spent in Israel. She went there on holiday in 1966 to visit
relatives who lived on Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi. Sue then decided to learn Hebrew at an ulpan so
went to another non -English speaking Kibbutz and stayed there for two years, becoming friendly
with many of the kibbutz members through her work whilst there. Sue stayed on Givat Chaim
Ichud during the six day war and for a year after.

Sue will talk about her motivation to go to Israel, life on the kibbutz ,experiences during the six day
war and the beneficial effect this had on her subsequent professional career back in UK.

THURSDAY 4TH JUNE –DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY “WALK”

The strains of the Beatles singing “Ticket to Ride” introduced our virtual
walk following the Docklands Light Railway – today we were able to use our
Freedom Pass and travel on the “virtual” DLR.

My power point presentation showed the
station chosen by a Yad B’Yad passenger,
whilst that passenger spoke of the station’s
history, its nearby places of interest, the
origin of its name – or, best of all, a personal
anecdote relating to their chosen station!
Twenty three of us “met” at Tower Gateway
where we were told about The Royal Mint at
the Tower of London and stories of coin
clipping. Our next passenger then walked us
to Shadwell passing and telling us about the
Wilton’s Music Hall and the Battle of Cable
Street.

Many of us remembered when the railway opened in 1987 with eleven single-car trains and
fifteen stations. The original network comprised two routes – Tower Gateway to Island
Gardens and Stratford to Island Gardens. The Bank extension opened in 1991 and since then
there have been a further five extensions. Today there are forty-five stations on the DLR
and one hundred and forty nine vehicles. What’s perhaps most incredible about this system,
other than the fact that sitting at the front feels like riding on a rollercoaster, ( more than
one of our passengers had asked to reserve that seat!) is that it was London’s first and only
driverless train system of its kind.

We visited lots of stations we had used or passed on Yad B’Yad walks - many with group
photos which evoked nostalgia. The Meridian line runs through the Eastbound platform at
East India, so we were able to stand on both the Western and Eastern hemispheres here.

From Canning Town -London City Island -our first Covid
cancelled walk of 15th March 2020, ( watch this space next
year) we followed the Woolwich branch, reminiscing at
Pontoon Dock and London City Airport before alighting at
Woolwich for a walk following a stretch of the Capital Ring.

To reach the
Becton branch of
the DLR we
caught the Woolwich Ferry. We followed the Capital
Ring to Royal Albert, learning various titbits about
the stations on the way such as Gallions Reach,
which is named after the fourteenth century
Gaylions family who owned property along that
stretch of the river. A new river crossing has been
proposed here.

At Cyprus, the Docks
path is blocked so we
walked through New
Beckton Park to Royal
Albert.

We then continued past
the Excel Centre with a
station at each end
(though that path is most probably now closed too since it
was converted to the Nightingale Hospital) where we posed by my favourite statue of
dockers, then again another pose at Royal Victoria when we “walked the line.”

To recover from this walk
we caught the train to
Stratford , passing
through Cody Dock ( Star
Lane) and Abbey Road –
albeit Abbey Road
E15.This station has
attracted many confused
foreign tourists, as they
turn up here expecting to
find the famous zebra
crossing! Hence this cleverly worded notice board !

At Stratford we changed to the original branch of
the DLR to Island Gardens, now extended under the
river to Lewisham, stopping on the way at Pudding
Mill Lane, now the station for the West Ham
Stadium. It was then a journey south, picking up
more titbits at Canary Wharf, Crossharbour,
Mudchute and Island Gardens- now underground.

This new tunnel brought us out to

finishing our trip for today at Greenwich, where we were told about its famous attractions
just as our Zoom time ran out!

This DL R trip was a really entertaining virtual tour. Not only was it interesting and
informative it was also very different! Thank you to everyone who took part and to Zoom for
making it possible. It was fun putting together such an enjoyable trip.

Vivienne Gould

MONDAY 15TH JUNE

We started our first virtual meeting with
Get Well messages to those of our members
who are unwell. There were 33 participants’
screens – with 46 being the actual number
of members “attending”.

Brian informed us what underlies humour and Jewish humour in
particular. This was followed by a live rendition of work by Tom
Lehrer, the most famous being the song about National
Brotherhood Week. One joke Brian told concerned the fact that it
is alright for a Jew to travel on a plane on Shabbat because the
seatbelt makes the plane an article of clothing! He then gave us
examples of different subjects for jokes: those of offices, golf
clubs, journeys, tailors, doctors, chopped liver,
marriage/families/divorces, ageism, beauty parlours, and Jewish
nymphomaniacs.

He pointed out that most Jewish comedians are American, including
the famous Groucho Marx, who demonstrated a brilliant play with
words, as was Allan Sherman’s hilarious singing of “Hello Mother,
Hello Father”. An extract from “The Student Prince by Alf Fogel, a
British comedian was also played. But some Jews do find the very
funny Jacky Mason an embarrassment!
Woody Allen did brilliant stand-up comedy early in his career, Danny
Kaye was very popular with his audience, and Bette Midler is known
for her extreme humour, as was Joan Rivers.

Maureen Lipman achieved some notoriety for her BT ads!
We heard the famous Long Island phone call from a daughter to her supposed Mum for help
while snowed under!
Many thanks to Brian for a most amusing and enjoyable evening.

Rosemary Wolfson

and for those of you who don’t like doing write-ups……….
“I read a lengthy article about Japanese sword fighters. I’ll Samurais it”

WEDNESDAY 17TH JUNE – BBUK’s invitation to join Helen Hyde's talk on CHAGALL

Tonight we were treated to an informative illustrated presentation by
the eminent speaker Helen Hyde on one of her favourite artists –
Marc Chagall.

Marc Chagall was born Moiche Zacharovitch Chagalov in Vitebsk,
Russia in 1887. He was born into an observant Chassidic family, the
eldest of 8 children and was of Russian/French heritage.
He went to various schools, but did not get on at any of them.
He had a wide range of artistic styles, including painting, drawing,
book illustrations, stained glass, stage sets, ceramics, tapestries and
fine art prints.

VILLAGE LIFE 1911

Chagall’s marriage to Bella Rosenfeld lasted 35 years until her
death. They had one son. When he went to America in 1941, he had
an affair with Virginia Higgard, with whom he also had a child. His
second wife was Catholic.
Chagall travelled between Russia, America, France and Israel. His
works signify various different worlds in an ethereal religious
fashion. Aa well as the Chagall stained glass windows in the
synagogue of the Hebrew University’s Hadassah Medical Centre in
Jerusalem, he designed the 12 windows in All Saints Church in
Tudeley, Kent.

Chagall died in 1985, aged 97

SELF PORTRAIT
WITH SEVEN FINGERS
1912-13

PARIS THROUGH THE WINDOW 1913

Gwenda Sacks

THURSDAY 25TH JUNE –ARTS & LITERATURE GROUP – TARTS IN ART

An intriguing title you thought? Well, this was our chance to identify those people who have
appeared in paintings, other visual arts or literature who could be said to be ……er ….from the
oldest profession! Fifteen of us gathered on Zoom to share what we’d found out about tarts
in art. We soon found we’d had a range of takes on quite how to interpret the topic.

Toulouse Lautrec provided good material in the form of Femme
en Corset, and other prostitutes in Rue de Moulins and Toilette.
Manet was popular too with presentations on The Bar at the
Folies Begere, Olympia and Dejeuner sur l’Herbe which shocked
the French public at the time as it shows a starkly lit naked
woman between two clothed young male dandies, sitting having a
picnic in the woods.

We heard delightful stories of the courtesan Kitty Fisher (of nursery rhyme fame), the muse
Emma Hamilton – most famous for her liaison with Horatio Nelson with whom she had a child
Horatia, and the rebellious Josephine Earp ( a Jewish lass) who lies buried
with her partner Wyatt Earp. We were introduced to the royal mistresses
Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s official chief mistress, a beautiful and
scheming lady. She commissioned various paintings of herself through her
later life, increasingly asking for the wrinkles to be painted out (wouldn’t we
all!) Next was Nell Gwyn, the famous actress who caught the eye of Charles
II.

From the bible we heard about the cunning Delilah who set out to destroy Samson’s strength,
from the world of music we found out about Violetta from La Traviata (Fallen Woman) and
from literature we were told the story of Defoe’s lady of ill repute Moll Flanders. The novel

is based partially on the life of Moll King, a London criminal whom Defoe met
while visiting Newgate Prison. The novel’s full title: The Fortunes and
Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. Who Was Born in Newgate, and
During a Life of Continu’d Variety for Threescore Years, Besides her
Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, Five Times a Wife (Whereof Once to
her Own Brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in
Virginia, at Last Grew Rich, Liv’d Honest, and Died a Penitent. Written from
Her Own Memorandums. This really sums up our evening’s entertainment!

But not without one other mention…………for why should this title apply only to women?

The seductive genius Casanova provided an interesting diversion!

Vivienne Gould

LOCKDOWN IS NOT AN ULSTER LAKE

In this time of isolation
When dread Covid stalks our Nation
We sit in lonesome contemplation
Where can we turn for consolation?

Cut off from meeting kith and kin
Most of whom are staying in

Straying outside is deemed a sin
These days it seems you just can’t win.

In this strange year of doom and gloom
One trade at least has had a boom
Computer cameras take no room

And show you seeing friends on Zoom.

Mobile phones still work on Skype
An app about which there’s much hype
Among the young, they’re more its type

But not for me, I’m over-ripe.

Microsoft compete with Teams
Is this the medium of your dreams?

It might not be quite all it seems
Excels at sharing business schemes.

And have you tried the new Starleaf?
Or others that I’ll name in brief

Do WhatsApp, Facetime give relief
From loneliness’s nagging grief?

Have you tried hugging your VDU
Some might do that when feeling blue

But kissing laptops seems taboo
And smeary screens just spoil your view.

When Covid dies down we shall meet
In shops and pubs on any old street
And cafes where we used to eat
Together, that will taste so sweet

Roger Kutchinsky
(now appointed Flipside’s Poet Laureate)

The government in Egypt has asked the city's taxi drivers to drive around Cairo
sounding their car horns.
It is hoped that the familiar sounds of the city will induce a return to tranquillity and
normality following the recent pandemic.
Operation Toot 'n Calm 'Em will last for the rest of the week.

Yad B’Yad Lodge has many interesting groups, but how about these?

The SEMAPHORE Group started well but soon their interest was flagging.
The CAMOUFLAGUE Group were nowhere to be found.
The PREVARICATION Group will meet sometime soon, but don’t want to decide when.
The SEWING Group believes their competition result was a stitch-up. It was fabricated. Sew
what??
The WALKING Group is walking five miles each day. After one week, they are 35 miles away.
The PSYCHIC Group were due to meet last Saturday, but cancelled through unforeseen
circumstances.
The PUZZLE Group hadn’t a clue, as they were very cryptic and were always having cross
words.
The SHOOTING Group gave it their best shot, but I got fired when I told them it was boring.
The STAMP COLLECTORS Group were praised by Penny Stamp who was told that ‘philately
would not get her anywhere’.
The GREEK COMEDY Group leader wore a Baklava with a great sense of Houmous. It was
constant Taramasa-laughter.
The KARATE Group caught a bad infection. I think it was kung flu! This group got the chop.
The GOURMET Group was run by an accountant which was very taxing, as his only recipe was
how to cook the books.
The DEEP SEA DIVING Group were out of their depth and couldn’t stand the pressure.
The ORIGAMI Group unfortunately folded. They were such nice ‘Japs’.
The MUSIC Group went to the Royal Albert Hall and it was full of pushchairs. It was the last
night of the prams.
The READING Group studied “Lord of the Rings” and started Tolkien in their sleep. It was a
bad Hobbit to get into.
The PASTA EATING Group only had one member. He was Cannelloni. Went home to watch a
Spaghetti Western.
THE TEN PIN Group went spare with the bowling alley staff and went on strike.

ANY IDEAS FOR NEW GROUPS WE COULD START?