In the radio drama which debuted in 1937, The Shadow was an invisible avenger who had learned, while "traveling through the Orient," "the mysterious power to cloud men's minds, so they could not see him." Thus the character was given the power to escape human sight. Voice effects were added to suggest The Shadow's seeming omnipresence.
To explain this power, The Shadow was described as a master of hypnotism, as explicitly stated in several radio episodes.
So The Shadow knows all the Club scuttlebutt.
The Shadow is a long-standing Thurber fan, which is why we have some of his drawings in “Jest for a Laugh” this week.
Although he died in 1961, his quirky humour still amuses us. Apparently, when once badgered by authorities for his full name, Thurber’s reply of “James Malfeasance Thurber” was accepted without question.
In any case, we hope none of our more “woke” readers are offended by his cartoons.
The Shadow knows that being “woke” includes the danger of not realising when your leg is being pulled.
Tony Thomas' Book Launch
While on the topic of zan
y authors, The Shadow draws your attention to Tony Thomas’ book launch on 10th March.
Tony is one of The Shadow’s old mates: you may recall some of our members getting hot under the collar when Tony addressed the Club on “Climate Change”. It certainly wasn’t the weather that raised the temperature in the room that day.
See the event advertised in “Forthcoming Events”. Shall we see you there?
This week we include an update on John Blackman’s health. John certainly made a difference to Dennis Shore’s 2013 District Conference: we left every session laughing, due to John’s jokes or video clips from his TV career. We wish John a full recovery from his debilitating illness.
Rotary District 9800 Conference 2013
Apart from having our own Dennis Shore as District Governor, the other star we remember from that Conference was the late Neil Roberts, with his “Rotary’s Got Talent” segment. How we laughed as we booed “The Dee-Gees” from the stage! We recall Neil with great fondness.
But the unsung hero of the conference was surely Conference Chairman Noel McInnes. (Our photos show Dennis Shore as District Governor, and Noel dancing with Lorraine at that conference dinner. We also show her with a friend, whose career certainly kicked on after his chat with her in Central Park, New York)
Back to the 2013 District Conference: MC to be Tony Charlton had died unexpectedly, and Noel was left with a number of loose ends. The Shadow knows that Tony had called in some favours to get speakers for the Conference, and Noel had to re-configure all the details that had been left in limbo.
A superhuman effort by Noel produced the best District Conference in years, (if not ever) partly due to Noel’s light-bulb moment to think of "Blackers" for MC.
Thanks again Noel, we dip our collective lids to you.
DIK Open Day
A nice crowd attended the open day, but no plethora of speeches. ‘Nuff said.
Paul Perrotet showed visitors around and described the workings of RAWCS and the Donations-in-Kind store, while John McCaskill had a break and enjoyed a sausage.
Your Feedback
We really love receiving your contributions and comments, rare as they are. Only one lovely reader regularly sends us quirky anecdotes and pictures, some of which are eminently suitable for inclusion in “The Bulletin”.
But last week, two readers sent us engaging and thought-provoking pics which we include for your delectation.
