"Actions speak louder than words".
Lions - affirmative, Rotary - Negative.
Katy led off with a little active ice-bucket help from her teammates. She set the scene for a lighthearted and laughter-filled evening. Mellifluous Melissa dazzled us all with quotes from Churchill and mathematical proofs from who-knows-where. Ray tried desperately to steer us all back to a life of activity but was thwarted at the next turn with some heavy-hitting rebuttal from loquacious Leeanne. Stuart did his best to swing the judge in his favour but made the mistake of quoting Shakespeare. Sadly for him it was not to be as Morwenna poetically wrapped up the evening for the negative. MC Judi declared Rotary the verbose victors and that was that!!!
In case you missed it, some of the highlights:
MATHEMATICAL DISPROOF OF ACTION > WORDS (By Melissa Pascoe)
Lions’ hypothesis: ACTION > WORDS
In other words: SWORD > PEN
When combined: ACTION + SWORD > WORDS + PEN
Cancel the anagrams: ACTION + SWORD > WORDS + PEN
Leaving: ACTION > PEN
6 parts:3 parts unbalanced so: ACT > PEN
Apply alphanumerical values: 1 + 3 + 20 > 16 + 5 + 14
Clearly untrue: 24 > 35
HYPOTHESIS DISPROVEN – ACTION < WORDS
Lions’ hypothesis: ACTION > WORDS
In other words: SWORD > PEN
When combined: ACTION + SWORD > WORDS + PEN
Cancel the anagrams: ACTION + SWORD > WORDS + PEN
Leaving: ACTION > PEN
6 parts:3 parts unbalanced so: ACT > PEN
Apply alphanumerical values: 1 + 3 + 20 > 16 + 5 + 14
Clearly untrue: 24 > 35
HYPOTHESIS DISPROVEN – ACTION < WORDS
Leeanne Gangemi told a beautiful story of the Power of Words
Morwenna Harslett summed up the evening with a poem...
Lions set out tonight to argue that an action speaks louder than a word.
It is such a shame therefore, that actions cannot be heard
The mere notion of this is simply absurd
Clearly their thoughts are muddled and blurred.
Their arguments are weak and a just a tad loose
On occasion you might even call them obtuse
In closing and at the risk of sounding a goose
I channel the wisdom of the great Dr Zeuss.
While there’s been biting, and besting, and baiting,
it’s all very civil, with no hint of hating.
The audience loves the fact we’re debating
and at the end of it all, must come a rating.
Sure they can mime it, and act it and cling
to the idea that action, not words, have a louder ring
but words are wisdom and wit is the king.
Words are the winners not doing a “thing”
Action is doing, the word merely a verb
Words have more power to uplift or disturb.
Rotary’s left Lions sitting still at the kerb.
Just look at my team, aren’t they superb!
We came here tonight in order to tell
the truth of the question right up to the bell,
your attention was wrapped, clearly under the spell
of loquacious Leeanne and silver-tongued Mel.
It’s time to decide now so what will it be?
The words that you hear or the things that you see.
Actions are distractions, words are the key.
You might be looking at them but you’ve been listening to me!
Lions have argued for actions with words that they said
But actions don’t last, not after we’re dead.
Actions are fleeting but words live on when we’re gone
It’s obvious to all, that Rotary has won!