Monday 21 April 2014

Week 42 On the influence of Social Media (and other matters)



Rotary Engagements since July 1                              285

Been a fairly busy week really – nothing spectacular on Monday, but on Tuesday I went to RC Reading for lunch – plan was to hear our Peace Scholar, Amardeep Kainth, speak – she’s back from studies in Japan for a brief trip – she’s having a very exciting time and learning lots.  Also delighted to be there for Rotarian Peter Warner’s 90th birthday celebration – I commented that I’d be very pleased to be looking that good if I get to 90 – thanks to Peter Webb for pointing out that I don’t look that good now!!

Tuesday evening off out to Oxford – to the University Club for Assistant Governor Katy Goodey’s meeting with the Presidents and Presidents-Elect in the Maroon Area (the seven clubs based in and around Oxford.  Useful time with talking about what they’ve achieved and what their successors are hoping to do.

At our regular club meeting on Wednesday our speaker was unable to come along so I stepped in with my suitably biased take on the previous weekend’s conference – seemed to do down quite well.

Thursday and a pleasant outing to the other end of the District and the home of my successor, District Governor-Elect Tim Cowling and his wife Linda.  We spent most of the day running through things we both have to get done before the end of the Rotary year and then some time with the things I’ve found most helpful during this year to date.

Worked out on Friday that one of the tweets I sent out last weekend was seen by 1.4 million people!  Helps to have been picked up by Sarah Brown (wife of former Prime Minister) who in turn is followed by Sex & the City’s Kim Cattrall (me, name-dropper?).  Between the two of them accounted for 1.37 million people – oh the potential influence of social media!

Saturday morning with grandson Edward to RC Maidenhead Bridge’s Easter Fun Day – we enjoyed it anyway, but just full of admiration for this exciting new-style Rotary club – getting loads of people from their target demographic to the event – just so nice to go to a Rotary event and be the oldest person there by more than 20 years.  Well done to Lisa and the team – keep it up!

In non-Rotary news (is there such a thing?) had a splendid afternoon at Vicarage Road for the defeat of Ipswich 3-1 – still a faint possibility of a play-off place – all depends on how we perform against QPR Monday afternoon really.

Oh, and before I forget, our brilliant Vocational Team who went out to Uganda to train midwives (that’s Gillian, Jide, Jacqui and Aisha) have been busy putting some of their thoughts down on their blog since they got back (connectivity issues in Uganda were problematic).  Check it out at http://rotaryd1090vtt.co.uk/ for a flavour!

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