President’s Report

WITH THE END OF 2020 ONLY WEEKS AWAY A LOT OF US WILL BE HOPING FOR A MUCH BETTER YEAR IN 2021. WELL IT COULDN’T BE MUCH WORSE FOR MANY PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY THE POOR FELLOW WHO WAS RECENTLY TRANSFERRED TO REHAB AFTER 75 DAYS INTENSIVE CARE. THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE WITH A TUBE STUCK DOWN YOUR THROAT FOR ALL THAT TIME. AT LEAST HE SURVIVED AND HOPEFULLY WITHOUT TOO MANY ONGOING ISSUES. SADLY A MANY HAVE NOT SURVIVED WHICH OF COURSE IS VERY SAD.

One of the other sad things to come from the pandemic is the division of our country between states. We are one big beautiful country and to hear it said that QLD hospitals are for QLD people and NSW hospitals are for NSW people is very sad. It makes me angry because hospitals are for sick people regardless of where they hail from.

Borders are just lines on a map to define the separation of two states of this great nation that our parents and grandparents fought for.

I have heard of instances where Victorian grey nomads were being told to go home and stop using their precious resources (toilet paper maybe) in various parts of the country, when for a lot of them their home is on the back of their vehicle. This is disgusting behaviour which I am sure would have been totally the opposite two years ago when they were loving the money being spent in their towns by the Grey Nomads.

I have a retired cousin from country NSW who used to be a plumber and they often get together with other caravaners who have trades, and they travel to towns that have been affected by drought or any other disaster to assist with rebuilding or repairing houses and farm buildings in Australia. Not one particular state but anywhere with some of these so far being in Qld and north west NSW. This is the sort of comradeship we should be fostering.

Fortunately that comradeship exists in the VJMC with our spread of wonderful people right across this country. One of the big losses this year for me was the cancellation of our National Rally with the promise of it being a beauty too. Our annual rallies are a chance to meet up with our fellow members from all states of the country each year. I love this and I really enjoy reading what members are doing in these areas in our club magazine, website or Facebook pages. It would actually be good to see a bit more in the mag and on the website even if it’s only a few lines and a photo or two.

Our Area Rep Coordinator Wayne does a great job communicating with our area reps throughout the country and I would ask those area reps to send in a few lines with a photo maybe on some club events happening in your area. It doesn’t have to be a novel, even a paragraph will do.

Our National Committee (Natcom) is a good way for me to see what’s happening with interstate members in our monthly phone hook up meetings from Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania. I look forward to our next National Rally whenever that maybe but it’s looking like Bendigo Victoria but delayed to September or October 2021.

In the meantime I hope all our members stay safe and healthy and get out and enjoy those bikes as soon as they can.

John McNair President