The President’s column
I am greatly looking forward to a real, in-person, meeting on Thursday, 4 November. By then most of us should have had a haircut, visited Bunnings, put seedlings in the garden and generally gambolled about like lambs in Spring sunshine. Well, perhaps some of us are past gambolling.
Zoom meetings have been a lifeline of connectedness but not all people feel comfortable with either the technology or the format of talking heads. The buzz of many conversations round a table acts like a charge of adrenaline in itself whereas attempting many conversations on Zoom brings chaos to the collective. The usual Zoom suspects should be augmented at The Plough this week. I suspect that Zoom will not disappear from our lives, and some Board meetings may find them beneficial, but I’d like to think that our regular club meetings will be, living, breathing, laughing, munching events.
We will happen to share the day with Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, which celebrates Rama’s victory over the King of Lanka. It’s food, fireworks and full-blast music all round in India but we’ll just make do with fishnchips or chicken parma. Curiously, Guy Fawkes night is the following day, so more fireworks and bonfires all over Britain. Talking of pyrotechnics, COP 26 in Glasgow will have produced a few more by Thursday night.
You may know that Rotary International has added Environment and Sustainability as an Avenue of Service. We have plans to upgrade and add trees to Doug Mills Reserve and also to assist with the improvement and management at some other spots along the Maribyrnong River. Actually, Scomo has asked me to include our projects as part of his “The Australian Way”, as he said to me, without Footscray Rotary, we haven’t a hope in hell of reaching our targets. To extend our usefulness, I’m asking you all to ride bikes to all our meetings; we can’t leave all the heavy lifting to Wilson Leung.
Saving the planet, and burning calories, what a win/win situation!
Back in serious mode, I’d really like to see a full house this Thursday at what is more or less a restart of the Rotary Year. It’s been frustrating and we need to regain momentum for projects old and new. Come and bring your own heat and light to the occasion; it can be our version of Diwali.
Warmly yours
Jamie
