4th May 2010
This Day Tonight
This Day Tonight
- Helen Trigg was acclaimed District Governor- Elect for 2012/13 in last week’s bully at 9.45pm, and published on the internet at 9.58. At 3.59am on Wednesday, my inbox recorded a message of congratulations for Helen from an ADG in English Rotary district 1090– Rotarian Robin Stevens. Bloggy marvellous!
- Amongst a myriad of visitors at tonight’s meeting, were two visiting Rotarians, from Highton and St Ives [the latter not, to the best of my information, having seven wives].
- We also had representatives from the Portarlington Market, Collendina Caravan Park, Bendigo Bank, Barwon Coast, Ocean Grove Voice and Club Grove, representing six of the 17 sponsors which have provided tangible support for various club activities during this Rotary year. The meeting, chaired by Phil Edwards, expressed warm thanks for their continuing support of our community service efforts.
- A list of our community service donations totalling $36,272 for the ten months of this year was distributed, and Phil also referred to the many ‘hands-on’ efforts which involved effort rather than money. Our two major fund-raisings of the Car Raffle [$20K], and the market [$18K] accounted for a total in net receipts of more than the above donations, but there were other fund raisers, too numerous to mention, clearly denoting a very active club.
- It’s the 35th anniversary of the Rotary club of Drysdale this month, our mother club.
- Our Highton RC visitor came for the express purpose of promoting the ‘Powercor Star Search 2010’ concert, due at the Costa Hall on Saturday 29th May, at 7.30 PM. It is the Grand Final of the search for Geelong vocalists, instrumentalists and groups who don’t earn their primary income from entertainment or teaching music, but who live in the Greater Geelong or Werribee regions. It’s $20 for adults or $55 for families.
- President-Elect Noel Emselle again appealed for members, particularly incoming board members, to accompany him to the district assembly in Stawell at the Secondary School in Patrick Street, on Sunday 16th May.
- The chookhouse at the primary school is about to host its first tenants and head rooster Bill Walton also advised the first working bee for the lookout reserve in about two weeks time.
- If you didn’t know about the CPR night at Bellarine Memories this Thursday or the details of the Davidsons dinner next Tuesday, you obviously have not been reading my bulletins for several weeks!. If that trend continues, your subscription will be in jeopody, which geographically at least, will be bloody inconvenient!
- Next years District Conference in Ballarat is the reason for President Rod inviting you to register for accommodation by giving him $50.
Three fascinating, but otherwise quite useless pieces of information.
- The total combined weight of the world’s ant population is heavier than the weight of the human population.
- Both male and female octopuses die shortly after mating. A deadly activity!
- Dalmatians are genetically disposed towards deafness. Until this was discovered, they were thought to be plain stupid.
Our Footy Tipping Competition [weekly report from Gary Golding]
Bill Walton [35 points] has regained the lead, but only on a count-back from Noel Emselle, also on 35. If you have scored 30 or better, you are one of 13 participants in RCOG who have!
Editorial – The Queenscliff Seafoodfest
I critically referred to the running of this years event in my bulletin no. 40, but concluded by suggesting that our withdrawal may do us harm in the community. Having read, in last Tuesday’s Addy, that the net donation to the Childrens Hospital was down by more than 50% on the 2009 result, I now believe we should reconsider our involvement.
In all fairness to the organisers, perhaps the huge success of the 2009 event was their undoing! For motorists to be delayed in exiting the town by up to five hours may have deterred many from returning, and anyway, the Addy article of 27th April reports the Festival Chairman as admitting that this years traffic management plan had failed to relieve the problem. Perhaps, staging a large festival in a town on an isthmus with only one road access, is an insurmountable problem.
And what if there had been an emergency – traffic accident, food poisoning, riotous behaviour? How long would it take for emergency services to arrive?
Food poisoning!!? How could that happen, do I hear you ask? It could happen because we were forced to wash all utensils in cold water. It could happen because when we realised there was only fish and chips to serve, our girls resorted to piling the plates high with chips, and that caused the carriers to use ever larger [and unwashable] containers to carry the chips from the deep-fryers. It could happen because the organisers quite rightly arranged for us to register at the entrance to the cooking and serving compound, and then left the extreme ends of the serving area open to the public, and unattended!
24 serving counters, 6 tonnes of donated fish, about 150 unpaid volunteers, and no rent, and all they could raise was a miserable $50,000? And then I ponder on the excellence of the pre-event reception at the end of the old pier. As a briefing, it was a non-event, but the food and liquid supplies were excellent. But was all that donated? Because if it wasn’t, the Childrens Hospital effectively were the losers, and that really does disturb me. We never expected to be ‘feted’, and we didn’t need to be.
The Seafoodfest was a badly managed event and we should walk away from it. We have worked hard to build up a first class reputation for reliability, efficiency and professionalism in our participating activities, and we should guard that reputation jealously. Perhaps we should debate our involvement, at this months club assembly. John Fox
Gentlemen, please read this philosophically.
Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement village were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turned to the other and said: “Bob, I’m 83 years old now and I’m just full of aches and pains. I know you’re about my age. How do you feel?”
Bob said, “I feel just like a newborn baby.”
“Fair dinkum? Like a newborn baby?”
“Yeah. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants”
Notice for the meeting at Davidsons Restaurant, Tuesday 11th May, 6.00 for 6.30
Subject A night of fun and good company in comfortable and historic premises, whilst enjoying a gourmet meal at the ridiculously inexpensive price of $30 per person and drinks at competitive bar prices. Bookings are currently about 70, and the capacity is 80. The venue is on the corner of Fenwick street and Gordon Avenue, Geelong. Parking is available in the adjoining streets and is limited, so don’t be late!
Chairman Heather Wallace Assistant Cashiers To be pressed into service on the night by Norm.
Birthdays & Anniversaries 11th Ann Magee, James & Kerrie Richini 12th Geoff & Jan Brentnall,
Gary & Marje Golding 13th Jan Fox
Notice for the meeting at the Ocean Grove Hotel, Tuesday 18th May, 6.00 for 6.30
Subject DIABETES Speaker Adele Ryan, Diabetes Australia facilitator. Chairman John Flett
Assistant Cashier & Thanker Marion Walton Greeter & Assistant Sergeant Trevor McArdle
Birthdays 22nd Joan Steains, Phil Edwards 24th Anne Geerings
On etiquette
It is considered frightfully bad taste to discuss two subjects at nudist camps. One, is politics. The other is
tape measures.
On conscription
Is there anything wrong with getting into the habit of kissing a lot of people?
Charlie Weaver replied, “Well, it got me out of the army!”
John Fox, 2110, 04/05/2010
