There's not a lot of variety in our lives at the moment. It was a break from routine to move from Dilston to Longford but, now that the first rush is out of the way, we fall back into the normal day-to-day activities which rule our existence.
Except, yesterday we received an invitation to attend the Annual Induction Ceremony of the Rotary Club of Calamba, Philippines. It's a bit hard to fly there at the moment but we were able to be present through the magic of Zoom. The whole Ceremony enterprise was taken very seriously; we even had a dress code. No sitting around in tracky pants for us. I was expected to wear a traditional Barong Tagalog and Marilyn a short, formal dress.
A friend reminded me that it didn't matter what I wore from the waist down because it wouldn't be seen on the screen; like the old joke about newsreaders wearing pyjama bottoms with their suit jacket and tie. It might have been fun to play that game, maybe wear a kilt, for example, but I did the right thing: black formal pants, appropriate shoes, and barong. I had had my hair cut on Monday so I thought I looked pretty sharp.
Marilyn took it seriously too and wore a very pretty summer dress she last wore to a wedding in January 2019. We didn't anticipate that we would both experience an odd problem. Our 'formal' shoes have not been worn for months; instead we have been wearing flat-soled casual shoes everywhere. As soon as I tried to walk, I couldn't get my balance. The tiny heel on the shoes was enough to throw me off-kilter. Marilyn was fine until today when she complained of pains in her calf muscles. Is this all part of getting older or are our bodies evolving to accommodate our new, less-formal lives?
Most of those involved in the Induction Ceremony were gathered in a hall in Calamba but there was a handful, like us, who were involved through Zoom. Our faces were displayed down the side of the screen and we could be heard if we chose to speak up. The ceremony was in three parts: the first part was a welcome to the Rotary District Governor and the Club's reporting to him on what had happened in the previous year and plans for the next.
The third part was the Club's reflection on the year's work and recognition of what had been achieved.
The second part was what interested us, when new officers were sworn in and we might see our friends parading around or talking. In fact, the small speakers in my computer, together with the mixture of English and Tagalog being spoken made it quite difficult to follow what was going on. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful experience and we need to look at ways of doing it again.
I had to log out a few minutes before the end because I had a 'phone call from the hospital to tell me my knee replacement surgery has been scheduled for next Wednesday, 16th September. Oh, joy!
No comments:
Post a Comment