We are meeting this week at the Timor Street Bowls Club. Wednesday 9th of March, 12.30 for 1.00pm as usual. Parking on the city side of the club off Timor Street. It is very important that you rsvp by texting Brendan before mid-day next Tuesday.
Please rsvp to Brendan 0434 600 114
Club Calendar.
Thursday 31st March - ‘The Duke’ movie fundraiser for End Polio.
Tuesday 4th April - Board Meeting, Serendipity Drive.
Monday 2nd May - Thoroughbred Club Dinner, City Memorial Bowls Club.
Friday 24th June - Changeover Dinner, Proudfoots.
Tony’s tribulations.
Greetings fellow Rotarians.
We continue to worry about Bob McMillan, who remains quite unwell in hospital. We are still not sure what is wrong, but hopefully that can be resolved soon and Bob can be on his way to feeling better.
It looks like our coffee voucher thankyou to health care workers will be completed soon. We might even get some good publicity for Rotary out of the project. I thank Matt for organising this wonderful initiative.
The four clubs are getting together at the Capitol Cinema on Thursday night to raise money for End Polio. It should be a great night and the movie is rumoured to be very good. Talk to Boré if you haven't already got a ticket.
On a personal note, I would like to thank those members who have contributed to the Central Spoke over the past few weeks. It is great to get so many contributions; it makes our newsletter much better and makes putting it together much easier. Thank you.
I hope to see you on Wednesday, or Thursday, or both.
Kind regards
Tony
Roster.
Please keep an eye out for your name in the weeks ahead. If you are not able to be at a meeting please organise someone else to stand in for you.
The Duke.
Thursday 31st March, Capitol Cinemas Warrnambool. $20 each, price includes entry and a small gift. All proceeds to Rotary’s End Polio campaign.
Rotten returns.
History of Rotary.
We have previously written about how Melbourne Architect Walter Drummond travelled to Chicago to ask Rotary about setting up clubs in Australia. Walter’s efforts were rewarded by the establishment of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, which then refused to admit Walter as a member because they felt he was not an acceptable candidate.
Rotary established clubs in Australia by sending two special commissioners to Australia to establish clubs in Sydney and Melbourne. The two commissioners were James Davidson and Layton Ralston, both from Canada. It is lost to history as to why Rotary sent two Canadian Rotarians. Some people speculate that Rotary may have thought Australians might be more receptive to fellow British subjects rather than foreign Americans. Who knows?
Rotary Horse Racing Report.
Power of Song had her forth run today. Dean Holland climbed on board our steed to compete in the Central Victorian Livestock Exchange Maiden over 1500 meters. Dean’s mount jumped well, got a good sit around the bend and was right with the leaders all the way down the straight. She was pipped on the line in a photo finish to come home in third place. This makes it two thirds in a row now for our young filly.
It is fairly exciting to think that we have just added to the $126.84 we won for third in the last race. That is $12.68 each my fellow horse racing fans. Shout yourself and your better half a coffee each. Then drink instant for the rest of the year because the training fees are due.
Spelling test.
Your correspondent’s son is in primary school. His class spelling test this week would have warmed the heart of Robbo and David J, with ‘affidavit’ being the first word on the list. If the teacher fails any of the students, no doubt they will file an affidavit with VCAT and seek an injunction from the court.
Writing test.
Lawyers can spell complex words like ‘affidavit’ and ‘subpoena’, however doctors have trouble writing even simple words (sorry Gerald). Pip Ritchie explains.
Ten Years Ago.
Ten years ago, we had an fantastic outbound exchange student in Mitch Malady. Mitch spent his exchange year in France. One of the great things about Mitch was that he regularly sent us excellent reports during his year on exchange. This is part of what he wrote ten years ago.
'At my Rotary meeting last week I sat next to a man who used to work for the United Nations, doing exactly what I want to do in the future, so it was really cool to talk to him all about his time at the UN. It made me feel really good that I could have an intelligent conversation in French, too! To my right was a man who was recently in Sydney, so we had a little chat about Australia, half in English because he thought he was top, but I could never understand him so we changed to French… And one seat further to my right was a man whose little company here in Annecy were commissioned to design and build the kayaking facility for the Sydney Olympics Games in Penrith if I’m not mistaken? So the conversations around the dinner table were very interesting for a rotary club of 30 members!'
Titus.
Ronnie kindly sent us this report.
Fremantle (55) v St Kilda (65)
Less a game and more a competition to see who could let down their fans the most. St Kilda started strongly in this regard, relying on their strong suit, missing easy shots at goal. They finished the first half 2.7 as Saints fans threw things at their TV.
But Fremantle aren’t slouches when it comes to decimating their supporters’ morale. And it was the third quarter where the Dockers produced a masterclass, with a display of disposal so poor, it had to be seen to be believed. It was the creativity of their turnovers that I really admired.
The Saints, despite their strong effort in the first half, suddenly lost the ability to miss goals, with Max King and Jack Higgins both kicking three in the third quarter. It led to a fourth-quarter where both teams tried to lose, but found it difficult, Fremantle however, able to disappoint their fans in person, found another gear, neutral.
Western Bulldogs (90) v Carlton (102)
Are we living in a world where Carlton are a competent football side? It’s a terrifying thought and the last thing we need in these bleak times. Carlton have been bad for so long that anyone under the age of 25 can’t remember what it was like when they won regularly. But like the herpes virus lying dormant in the body for years, the threat has never really gone away. Carlton has always been lurking, threatening to spring back to life. Only decades of administrative incompetence have protected us but that’s now waning. We need a booster. The only hope we have, is this start to the season is false hope, but I struggle to think of any examples of Carlton offering false hope early in the year before falling away faster than my mate Darren when it’s his shout.
But Carlton fans should be ecstatic. Their team is so good at the moment they don’t even need to be coached. Bulldogs fans didn’t even get Bevo chewing out a journalist to distract them from the loss this week. The Doggies have had bad starts before and recovered, but like someone wanting to be a politician, there is something just off about them.
Collingwood (100) v Adelaide (58)
Another game, another interruption, with the MCG evacuated during the second quarter following a small fire in a food outlet. The damage was two pies, three chips and a burger. This being the MCG catering, that adds up to just over $1 million in damages. If the evacuation had happened in the third quarter, I’m tipping not many in the crowd would have come back, such was the quality of the second half.
The Crows looked like a team unfamiliar with a football as they fumbled, dropped marks, missed handballs and had kicks sail so far over the heads of targets that it’s possible this was a promotion for the upcoming Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It was the third quarter when things really went off the rails for the Crows, with Collingwood piling on seven goals. The Pies looked good but were certainly helped by the Crows deciding to let wave at them as they ran through the central corridor, rather than try to stop them.
Collingwood now sits second on the ladder, like we need more signs of the upcoming apocalypse.
Port Adelaide (56) v Hawthorn (120)
For a team meant to be challenging for a Premiership, Port Adelaide are doing a pretty good impression of a team in the running for the wooden spoon. To lose to Hawthorn, who are meant to be rebuilding, on Adelaide Oval, and in the way they lost, is hard to put into words. Luckily, Ken Hinkley did it for us, saying of the performance, "It's maximum disappointment.” ‘Maximum disappointment’ could be the Power’s membership slogan this year.
Worryingly for Port, they got heaps of the ball, they just didn’t know what to do with it when they got it. Hawthorn, to their credit, just did everything well, and when your opponent is shooting themselves in the foot every couple of minutes, that’s all you need to do. Up forward, Mitch Lewis booted five goals, including four goals in 28-minutes, which, when you consider Port only kicked seven goals from the game, is a big impact. Port certainly had chances up forward, and their 14 behinds were certainly on brand, if their brand is ‘Maximum disappointment’, which it is.
The result sees Hawthorn sitting top of the ladder, which, like a Clive Palmer ad on YouTube, no one asked for.
Warrnambool Central Committees for 2021-22.
Community Service (Matt).
Brendan, Tickler, Gerard, Blainey, Hicko, Lindsay M, Ian S, Bill, Mick,
Club Service (Bob).
Macca, Quincey, Gracey, Hutto, Bullant, Bruce, Paul R., Trev,
Vocation (Hayessey).
Lynchie, Clive, Paul O’B, Nooka, Sam, Bomber, Reevesy, Brad.
Youth (Greg).
Lew, Pip, Ian B., Dillo, Shane, Rowan, Francis, Peter K.
