Something to Celebrate

Something to Celebrate

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Something to Celebrate By Peter Beyfus for The Times of Israel ABOUT THE AUTHOR Peter John Beyfus is an historian, published author, poet, and a person who prides himself on “thinking outside the box”. I have written many essays on Jewish themes, published in various journals, including ‘Wessex Jewish News’ and ‘Westminster Quarterly’, the magazine of Westminster Synagogue, London. з днем незалежності україно! Today, albeit in a restrained way, the people of the Ukraine celebrate their independence day, and I am sure the Free World shares, vicariously, the spirit of  a proud people who have so courageously defied Russian imperialism, and, despite some setbacks, continue to vigorously oppose the aggressor.  The British prime minister has shown steadfast solidarity with the people of the Ukraine, and proudly walked with President Zelensky in the streets of Kyiv. It is fitting Johnson’s unequivocal support for the Ukraine should be recognized by being awarded the country’s highest honour for foreign nationals, The Order of Liberty. It is Britain’s support in...
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One Shabbat – Invitation to Dine on 9th/10th September

One Shabbat – Invitation to Dine on 9th/10th September

By Glen BerdNo Comments
We invite all our members and visitors to a 3 course *Friday Night Dinner* on 9th September,  AND a Special Kiddush after the service on Shabbat 10th September, in the Daniel Rose Hall, Orchard Road, St. Annes FY8 1PJ The events are kindly sponsored by The Lee Dribben Family Charity in honour of the late David Cohen. The Jewish Small Communities Network and St. Anne's Synagogue have joined together to unite small communities all across the UK in the One Shabbat Initiative over the weekend of 9th/10th September. FRIDAY EVENING 9th September Doors Close at 6.30pm Registration is essential (for catering purposes) and MUST BE BY Tuesday 30th August. Spaces are limited, so please don't delay in registering to avoid disappointment) (Note : there is NO CHARGE for this event). Vegetarian options available - please advise when registering. Email to  glenberd@gmail.com to register or phone to Sandra 01253 574467 SHABBAT 10th September. Service 9.30am with Kiddush immediately after the service.  ...
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The Next Exciting Event !

The Next Exciting Event !

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Our next event is coming - on the 4th September in the afternoon Starting at 1pm, The Ladies Circle is serving a sumptuous lunch followed by a Murder Mystery play by the North Cheshire B'Nei Brith Players. Each 8 player table will form a team, and the winning table will be suitably rewarded ! Please register for your place as soon as possible, for both catering purposes, and because when we're full, we wont be able to accommodate any further bookings ! Registration and payment details are on the flyer below : ...
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Tea M’Lady ?

By Glen BerdNo Comments
The local branch of the League of Jewish Women (Fylde Group) held their Annual Summer Afternoon Tea on Wednesday 17th August. The event was hosted in the Daniel Rose Hall of the St. Anne's Synagogue and catered by the Ladies Circle The Summer Afternoon Teas are very popular with visitors from out of town using the opportunity to take in the sights, our sea air and a bit of shopping. This year (the first event post Covid) was no exception and upwards of 70 people attended for sandwiches, scones jam and cream, mini trifles, and an assortment of cakes - all handmade by the Ladies Circle. Along with the Chairman's speech, the entertainment, a table fun quiz and a raffle - it seemed everyone had a jolly good time ! ...
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Hedy Lamarr – not only one of the great actresses of all time

By Glen Berd1 Comment
Hedy Lamarr, often proclaimed “the most beautiful woman in the world.”   Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who pioneered the technology that would one day form the basis for today's WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems. Hedy Lamarr born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; (November 9, 1914– January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor,  She has been described as one of the great movie actresses of all time The 26-yr-old Lamarr was thriving in Hollywood when, in September 1940, Nazi U-boats hunted down & sank a cruise ship trying to evacuate 90 British schoolchildren to Canada. 77 drowned in the bleak north Atlantic.     Lamarr, a Jewish immigrant from Nazi-occupied Austria, who had been making America her home since 1938, was outraged. She fought back by applying her engineering skills to development of a sonar sub-locator used in the Atlantic for the benefit of the Allies. At the beginning of World War II, she and avant-garde composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance...
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Families of Sir Nicholas Winton’s kinder invited to recreate TV history

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Families of Sir Nicholas Winton’s kinder invited to recreate TV history Makers of a film about the Holocaust hero are set to recreate the BBC1 scene where he came face to face with those he helped rescue – inviting their relatives to take part. Courtesy Jewish News February 1988: This was the audience that cheated death. This was the audience who as infants were marked for Auschwitz or Theresienstadt or Belsen. These were the mothers, fathers and grandparents of more than 6,000 people alive today thanks to the unassuming man in the front row of a television studio, looking slightly embarrassed by all the fuss.     The makers of a film about Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton are set to recreate the television scene where he came face to face with dozens of children he helped to rescue – and are inviting their relatives to take part. The 1988 episode of That’s Life! in which Esther Rantzen asked anyone in the audience who was among the...
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I don’t know why God spared my life that day

By Glen BerdNo Comments
I came across this post on social media ...   21 years ago today, I was in Israel on a work trip and decided to meet a friend for lunch in Jerusalem. I had grown up with non-kosher @sbarro_in at home and going to Israel and eating the kosher versions of my non-kosher favourite foods from my youth was always fun. We must have met at the restaurant around 1:50. We walked up to the counter, perused what was fresh, and for whatever reason decided the food that day there didn’t seem appealing. Thank God, the food didn’t seem appealing that day. So instead of our original plan of having a Sbarro’s lunch, we left the restaurant and headed down Jaffa road to find another place to eat. That decision saved our lives. For as we were walking down the road, we heard a loud “boom!” When you hear a “boom” in Jerusalem, you immediately know what it is. What we didn’t know was if there...
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Napoleon Bonaparte was once travelling through a small Jewish town in Europe.

By Glen BerdNo Comments
Napoleon Bonaparte was once traveling through a small Jewish town in Europe. He entered a synagogue. There he saw an incredible sight. Men and women weeping. They were sitting on the floor on small stools holding candles while reading from books. The synagogue had an elaborate chandelier but only a few candles were lit. If not for the small candle lights the magnificent synagogue would have been in complete darkness. It was a gloomy and sad sight to behold. Napoleon asked why the people were weeping and wanted to know what misfortune had happened here. An enlightened Jewish French officer told him that nothing new and terrible had happened. The Jewish people had a custom to gather once a year on a day called the ninth day of Av, the day that marks the destruction of the Jewish people's Temple. Twice they built a magnificent Temple in Jerusalem and both were destroyed. After their second Temple was destroyed the people were scattered all...
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A Whale’s Tale by Rebbetzen Anna Bergson

A Whale’s Tale by Rebbetzen Anna Bergson

By Glen Berd3 Comments
A Whale's Tale  Recently I was taking a much needed coffee break when I came across a beautiful video that brought me to tears. A marine biologist (named Nan) was doing whale research in the South Pacific Ocean and had got into the water to film two humpback whales that were nearby. Although she had been swimming with whales for over 30 years, she knew to keep her distance as it is their 'back yard'. Suddenly the larger whale pulled her under his fin, escorting her along with him. Surprised by this unexpected free ride, Nan knew in the back of her mind the whale was trying to tell her something. But the sharp barnacles under his fin were starting to cut into her torso and she wriggled to try and get free. In that brief moment Nan turned around and saw, behind the second whale, a third beast in the water, however this one's fins were shaped differently and Nan realised it was a huge tiger...
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