Of the many T & C annual safaris over the years not one I’ve attended was boring. All were enjoyable. All were different yet all were the same. Most were fun and this year’s safari met the high standard. The reason is simple. You, the new generation of the Committee, have embraced the underpinning ethos of this rogue committee of our Rotary Club; an unwritten rule which says attendance at Committee meetings is expected.
The result! More than just fellowship developed, friendships amongst members and partners alike evolved, criss-crossed, joining us all. Each safari, we embrace the interaction with the local people. Their company we enjoy. Our self-deprecating humour we work on. That’s new. T & C were not so humble once upon a time!
15 years ago, or so, we laughed at ourselves when some precious visiting Rotary Official announced we, Rotary Club of Dunedin, were known as “the sing-song-club!” Not slighted, at all, we took it as a compliment and sang more heartily (with pity on those who refuse to learn how to sing in tune).
Last night, I read the Hokonui Herald (procured on our visit to the Hokonui Miseum –a delightful hour or so) and chuckled at the humorous excuses, most bold, all lame, as pleas-in-mitigation to the Courts. They, the defendants, were the characters in a society so hard and so unforgiving; some were those who’d fallen from grace, many not knowing where they’d sleep that night or where they’d get work or food the next day, yet they saw the funny side of life. They knew how to laugh at themselves. They didn’t blame fathers who’d beaten them or ships-crew who’d molested them in the night, or even the teacher (if any) who’d cracked them over the knuckles with a ruler merely for writing with their left hands. They didn’t blame society for not giving them a fair shake.
Oh so different today. But so is Rotary! But that’s another topic for another time.
So how did we do this safari, in the eyes of Rotary?
Did we “foster the relationships of the urban and rural peoples” T & C raison d’être?
Too damn right we did and thank you my friends for your part.
Thank you also for your compliments. It was a pleasure.
