Saturday, February 11th .....

It was a very late night on Tuesday; the normal Rotary meeting was followed by a Board Meeting which went on until 11 o’clock. I didn’t get home to Dilston until about midnight. The Rotary meeting took the form of a Club Assembly which gives members the chance to comment or make suggestions about the running of the Club.
I raised the idea that we should, occasionally, have a poem during the meeting. I was surprised to find that at least three members write poems so it might be interesting to hear what they have to say. The president has promised to put the reading of a poem on the agenda for the next meeting so we’ll see who comes prepared. I know I will.

Next week, there’s an International Fly Fishing Championship being held here in Northern Tasmania. Apparently, there are about 150 visitors from several countries, all trying to prove how good they are. On Wednesday afternoon, there will be a Grand March down the main street of Deloraine and I have found myself nominated to help in the organisation. Following the march, the anglers will try their luck in the river before getting together for a meal in a marquee on the river bank. Our Rotary Club will be helping with the serving of food and selling drinks. It could be an interesting night.

I mentioned earlier that I’ve been picking blackberries while they are plentiful and I have frozen some, cooked some and even made blackberry jelly. Making your own jelly is a pain in the neck: it takes forever and makes an awful mess, but the result
is spectacular. For dinner tonight, Jamie produced pork steaks and the blackberry jelly was a great addition.

I stewed the berries on Thursday, put them in a strainer and left them to drip overnight and got up early to finish them off. I had promised to go down to Giant Steps but the jelly-making took longer than I thought so I was tempted not to go. However, a commitment is just that and I ended up getting there just in time for morning tea. It was just as well I went, because the staff had arranged a special morning tea to celebrate my birthday. Carol, one of the staff, is a famous cake-maker and had made a Lemon Shortcake for me. It was always a great tradition at Giant Steps to celebrate birthdays and I was tickled pink to be remembered.

There was no Friday Happy Hour at the Windermere Cafe this week; instead, there will be a Clarinet Recital on Sunday lunchtime. Marilyn is visiting her family in NSW but
Jamie and I have booked in to go. You have to make the effort to be part of the community.