Attendance: Nooka noted we had 29 in the footy tipping, 22 members in attendance and three guests. Our three guests were Maria, Garry Askew and Ian Coulson. It was great to see both Garry and Ian again.
Nooka does not want the Central Spoke to take his photo,
so we bring you an artist’s rendition of his attendance report.
Meal: Roast with vegies, gravy and a bread roll with butter.
To get an appraisal of the meal we went straight to roast connoisseur Lindsay Bullivant. Lindsay thought the meal was just ‘average’ but, on the positive side, ‘not too big’. ‘Not too big’ is the praise given by people who haven’t realised you can stop eating before you finish the whole meal.
Lindsay also thought the vegetable choice of pumpkin and carrot was ‘too orange’ and he would have liked to see some peas included. The chef did include some pea tendrils as a garnish. As an avid vegetable gardener I understand that a novice’s error is not knowing what part of the plant you are supposed to eat.
Pip reflected on the effort undertaken by the chef to prepare a roast for Lindsay and noted that ‘some people will whinge if you hang them with a new rope’.
Make of all that what you will.
Sgt Jon stepped up to the podium and began with a bus joke before introducing our stand in president, Bono. With Matt away there seemed no point turning the TV on.
Brendan reported that the Neil Porter Legacy careers day was very successful ‘except for the car parking’. He thanked Surf and himself for manning the door and Bim and Haysey for handling the car parking. Bono noted that Matt Porter was very grateful.
In reports;
- Paul noted that we have banked another $2,000 (i.e. 20,000 containers) since June.
- Greg announced that Maria will deliver her country presentation next Wednesday at our lunch meeting.
- Hayessey was making connections at the careers day and is looking to organise a vocational visit to the Origin Energy gas works in Port Campbell soon. Stay tuned.
- Hutto brought us some more details of the April 28th Thoroughbred Luncheon. The event is more or less sold out. Simon will be donating a share in a horse for auction. Sandy Robers will be one of the guest speakers. Hutto also suggested we donate wine for a wine auction to raise money for our club.
- Hutto is also looking to organise a meeting at the racing club to plan for the May Races. If you have any suggestions to improve our can collection talk to John.
- Bob handed everyone present two raffle books for the Golden Community Raffle. You can buy of sell these books to cover the costs of buying the prizes and printing the tickets. You can pay for the books electronically through Nooka or in cash to Bob. Raffle books are available to community and sporting groups through Northeast Stockdale and Leggo Real Estate.
- Bono announced he is going back to work after a long break. Your correspondent has only just returned to work after three months away, so I feel qualified to offer Brendan some advice. People have been asking me, ‘after three months off, how did you find work?’. I used the satnav in my car.
- Trevor gave us an account of the 50-year reunion of his original band, which was attended by 500 people.
- Nooka gave us a footy tipping update. Nooka had originally suggested we start tipping in round 1, rather than the first round. After some strong feedback, Nooka relented and agreed to start the tipping at the start of the season. Cyclone Alfred has now caused two games from the opening round to be cancelled, with at least one of them possibly deferred until round 3, which is of course the fourth round. Jon asked Nooka for clarification on how we should tip under these circumstances and Nooka advised Jon that the ‘footy tipping is a total stuff up’, the AFL is ‘absolutely stupid’ and Jon should do ‘whatever he liked’. Your correspondent’s advice to members would be to tip the second round after round 1, the third round after round 2 and so on.
Ian Coulson, former member of Warrnambool Central and Men’s Shed Koroit treasurer, talked to us about the struggle to establish a Men’s Shed in Koroit. Ian noted how important Men’s Sheds can be to assisting older men to improve their mental health. He also explained that Men’s Sheds need to be local because often older people have trouble travelling large distances.
The efforts to establish a Men’s Shed in Koroit have been difficult. They were originally granted a space in the old art deco hospital in Koroit. Members who remember the building will attest to its beauty. Sadly, the structure was subsequently condemned and demolished. They were then offered a site at the Koroit Footy oval, but the ground is apparently zoned wrong, and a planning permit was denied. The Koroit Lions Club have now offered to share their facility with the Men’s Shed. Ian and the Men’s Shed are now looking for some financial support to progress the project.
Maria kindly gave us some sweet Brazilian treats and then the barrel was drawn. Nooka, who never eats lunch, won the voucher for a free lunch. He will now be able to pick a week when he can not get served lunch for free.
With The Pope and Bishop Lowrey away, Father O'Reilly stepped in.
The meeting concluded with the Hunter S Thompson-esque psychedelic scene of Pip in a gaudy shirt smoking a pipe. Nobody seemed even slightly surprised by the turn of events as they sauntered out into the day to resume their normal lives.
Pip has been cast in the Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas sequel,
Fear and Loathing in Derrinallum.
