What Was Life ACTUALLY Like as a Jester in the Middle Ages?

During the medieval period lucky jesters were the ones who were employed by nobles or royalty to perform at court. But he or she wasn’t just an entertainer, they were part of the social fabric of a region, whilst court jesters were valued with great privileges. 

Would you like to look at the life of a Medieval Jester?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iM9wQhW_-U

Applications open

Are you looking for a way to share your skills and experience with clubs and members across our region? Do you want to help Rotary and Rotaract have an even greater impact in the world?

There is a role for every Rotarian and Rotaractor to play in growing Rotary in our region  and we would love to hear from you by applying to become a Rotary Specialist or Portfolio Committee Member. 

A step forward for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion! 

The Regional Council has now appointed a skilled and passionate Rotarian to champion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Zone 8 as the first ever DEI Director: Edith Chaney, RC of Manuka City Sunrise, New Zealand. 

You can read about her, and other members of the Zone 8 Regional Council HEREhttps://creatingtomorrowrotary.org/regional-council-members

Bloody Odd!

Isn’t linguistics fun?  Or should that be “Aren’t linguistics fun?” 

Dictionary.com describes linguistics as “the scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of grammar, syntax, and phonetics”, so I suppose it is a singular word. 

So linguistics is funny: funny how we pronounce the word blood as “blud”. (Rhymes with mud)

Many years ago, I worked in a Hospital in England, where the Chief Engineer was named “Mr Blud”.  But everybody pronounced it as “Mister Blood”.  Yes, BLOOD. (Rhymes with mood) 

I still can’t work it out.

Sic transit gloria mundi.  (Gloria always gets car-sick on Mondays)

Photo: Errol Flynn in the 1935 movie, Captain Blood. Flynn's performance made him a major Hollywood star and established him as the natural successor to Douglas Fairbanks and a "symbol of an unvanquished man" during the Great Depression. - Wikipedia

 Super Photos

Today’s speaker,  Dr Graham Pratt, was most impressed by Anne Scott’s place mats. Anne had taken several photos during her trip toGallipoli some twenty years ago, and  she used them to create the place mats. They certainly brightened the room for today’s meeting.

Thanks, Anne.

Engaging with Future Leaders

It is interesting to see that Professor Patrick McGorry AO is the Keynote speaker at the forthcoming Business Leaders Breakfast, “Engaging with Future Leaders” to be hosted by RI President Gordon McInally at Cape Schanck on 3rd June. 

 Professor McGorry is an  Australian psychiatrist known world-wide for his development and scaling up of early intervention, youth mental health services, mental health innovation, advocacy, and reform. He is executive director of Orygen, Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne and founding editor of the journal “Early Intervention in Psychiatry”. 

He has just written an open letter to Anthony Albanese, as well as the ­premiers and chief ministers, warning the country’s “neglected” mental health system is “weakening our society and undermining community safety” as the “tragic events of the past week have shown”.

This should be an interesting follow-up to our recent  “What’s new in my Vocation” article.

IFCR

David McNamara notifies us: 

It is with great regret we advise of the recent passing of fellow IFCR members -Heather Mitchell and Bob Aitken.

Both were very active members of IFCR and attend many carnivals.

RIP Heather and Bob.

Members will recall Bob Aitken (right) as Executive Editor of “Rotary Down Under” for many years.

The Bookworms

This reading group will meet by Zoom on Monday 29th April at 5-45 for a 6pm start. 

They will discuss A Country of Eternal Light by Paul Dalgarno, and choose another book for analysis. 

If you’d like to join in, just ask Ian Bentley to add your name to the list.  ibentley@bigpond.net.au

Back to Reality

RI President-Elect Stephanie Urchick celebrates the magic of Rotary

Check out the 24-25 gear at RDU

https://mailchi.mp/rotarydownunder/apr24-stephanie-urchick-the-magic-of-rotary-v2?e=5673f47702

TTFN