This Months President’s Message    

As I write this message ( Sat.24 October ) the prospects of our being able to proceed further into Spring in a more normal i.e. ,  pre-Covid , lifestyle, are looking much brighter. Already some restrictions have been eased as the Covid case numbers have continued to decline , and I believe we have good reason to expect some further loosening of restrictions in the near future.

Each of us will have a story , or stories , about what we did and how we managed through this strange, even surreal at times, lock-down period – what we did (or did not do} to enable us to cope with what life had thrown at us. In my case I will come out of it with a much tidier , and slightly rearranged, garden with two additional and quite large vegetable garden beds in an area which once formed part of my back lawn. The vegetables I have planted, which include two varieties of potatoes, pumpkins , beans ( three varieties), lettuce, zucchinis, carrots, tomatoes and some herbs are coming along rather nicely. My eldest son - himself a keen and capable gardener in Hobart – said “Dad there’s only one of you now”.  Of course I know that , but I’m sure I won’t  have any difficulty in finding good homes for any vegies  which are surplus to my requirements. How I dispose of nature’s bounty in due course is a relatively unimportant part of the equation to my mind. I have gained a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from the whole process, together with some good healthy outdoor activity and I will enjoy being able to share with friends , particularly those who have been generous in providing food for me from time-to -time.

So now the season has changed, the gardens are relishing the sun and the rain and, at last the bowlers and golfers are permitted to get out and enjoy those activities again with fellow devotees. I was pleased to receive a call from Gary Jackson to say that he was organising the Probus golfers to get going again and they will be teeing off next Monday.  I also had a call from past-president Frank Hawkins , one of our enthusiastic group of horse racing “connections, to say that the group will be unable to organise a Melbourne Cup sweep for the club this year owing to practical difficulties in doing it “virtually” . I guess if Melbourne can survive a season with no finals game at the “G”, we can manage with no Probus Melbourne Cup sweep. Yet another Covid casualty, unfortunately.

I hope you are able to tune in to our November meeting . Our speaker, member Kate Miller, has had an extremely interesting and varied life, and I , for one , am really looking forward to hearing her talk and to be in the company again of a goodly number of Probus friends

Tony Smythe

President