On 15 October our Rotary Club of Beijing had its weekly lunch, this time we were honored with the presence of three ambassadors: H.E. Manuel Valencia (Spain), H.E. Stefán Skjaldarson (Iceland – a Rotarian) and H.E. Sèdozan jean-Claude Apithy (Benin, member of our club). That guaranteed a pretty full house for once.

Also, a group of Rotarians from Iceland visited our club, exchanging banners and introducing their clubs. As Sergeant-at-Arms I had a hard time reading their names but one of the Iceland ladies graciously volunteered to help me pronounce at least the first names.

The speaker of today was the Spanish ambassador who gave a rather optimistic picture on how Spain is economically improving and could regain its glamor. We certainly need some optimism in Europe…