President Janet was away AGAIN. This time sunning herself on a beach somewhere!
The lead up to the meeting did not go well. I had sent out a reminder to the club that we were to meet at the WFC but guess who went to the RSL? David, John B and yours truly! The three of us were sitting smugly at the RSL commenting on the tardiness of the latecomers when a cold feeling went down my back. It’s surprising how quick you can get from the RSL to the WFC (without breaking the speed limit of course); but the meeting did start on time.
Apart from President Janet, no apologies were received.
I gave the members a brief update on the Beama Village fiasco. The story has matured somewhat as more information has become available but the reality of it remains the same. 237 confirmed households have had their lives turned upside down. Their homes burnt to the ground, all their possessions gone and now hiding in the bush with no shelter, food or water.
Member’s announcements included:
John H advised the club that he will be away for 5 weeks enjoying Stockholm, Copenhagen and the Baltic Sea. We wish you well John. Enjoy!
David advised that the FOTY was going well with 1000 entries received. The next phase, the processing of the entries, is to take place at 4:00pm next Tuesday (before our meeting). Assistance is required. If you can be available, it would be appreciated.
Anne advised that the garden show organisation is also going well with 2 gardens promised and 2 more possibles. Anne asked if anyone knew of any other possibilities in the north areas of Warrnambool.
Brooke spoke of relatives of George coming out from England during November. I have no doubt we will make them welcome and, if it works out, include them in any of our activities at the time.
Brooke advised us that the Science and Engineering Challenge was also coming together well. Unfortunately, Timboon has withdrawn but there is still an excellent commitment from the other schools in the area. Incredibly, Brooke has managed to secure $10,000 in funding for the event. An amazing effort! Well done Brooke.
John Hunt chaired one of his famous “on the couch” events. Through John’s interrogation, Ann and Andrew Body were well and truly put under the magnifying glass. Actually, now I think about it, John was almost insignificant in the event (sorry John). Ann and Andrew did a remarkable job of “taking the reins” and providing us with a very detailed chronology of their separate and together lives including their formative years through to now, their schooling, work experiences, interests, hobbies, achievements and skills.
To the pleasant surprise of all of us Ann has offered to work with some of our “gifted” singers to form a trio, quartet, choir or maybe (I don’t know what comes next!). The upshot of this is our club, under the tutelage of Ann is going to form a mass volunteer choir. The best part is the club promised that I will be welcomed back from PNG to a, yet to be decided, musical extravaganza. I’m looking forward to it.
Hope you all have a wonderful week and, all going well, I’ll see you in a bit over 4 weeks (malaria free I hope).
Tony Austin
Vice President
