Posted by Franz Huber on Oct 28, 2018
The presumption to this story: You are a man and your partner is a woman. Hold it! Don't shoot just yet! Yes, I acknowledge, in these enlightened days it may well be illegal for me to even mention - sorry, I mean ignore to mention all the other possible relationship options. But I'll persist.  And let me state it clearly: the opinions of the editor do not necessarily represent those of the management.☺  So, onwards...
 
Let us assume that you pass away before your wife does (statistically proven to be a distinct possiblity, and no snide jokes please!): would your wife still enjoy a regular circle of friendship? I mean, a circle of friendship that is still there some 3 or 6 months after your funeral?  If so, that's great!  If in doubt (or if you are indeed female and this has sort of triggered your interest), keep reading.
 
In the 'olden days' (not sure if I'd want to call them 'good olden days though), Rotary clubs (at that time the exclusive domain of the male of the species) had Ladies' Auxilliaries, commonly called 'Rotaryannes'. With the advent of (a) Rotary clubs becoming mixed and (b) women more and more accepting paid employment, the Rotaryannes just about vanished.

Enter Innerwheel. This organization is, as far as I know, exclusively for women. And no, you don’t need to be a widow to join, of course.  Just a requirement of good character, a desire to enjoy
friendship and good companionship, to serve the community. And men are quite welcome to tag along to their social functions.  The organization is not new: Innerwheel was founded way back in 1924 in Manchester, England and first appeared in Australia in 1931, in Ballarat VIC of all places. Today, they boast over 100,000 members in 108 countries. In our region, we have two clubs on the Gold Coast, as well as several clubs in the Boonah, Ballina, Lismore and Grafton area.  They generally meet once a month and support a major research project.  At present, Cordblood (Stem Cell) research, carried out by Prof Michael Doran (QUT) is one of their major projects.
 
Friendship? Over the past 20 years or so, I have accompanied my wife to dozens of conferences. Friendship is the very item that pervades the atmosphere. And if you think these generally elderly ladies are just taking it easy: wait till you see them dancing the jig – see above photo from the National Innerwheel Conference just a couple of weeks ago in Canberra! Sorry about being blurry – they simply moved too fast!
 
For more information, click here and here, or contact the editor who will gladly forward your enquiry to the nearest club!