Sunday, June 22, 2008

CANBERRA IN JUNE

The team on the bus headed for the wineries.


Will Bernie and Janice buy?

Ken Howard was on hand to call a few races. Well done mate.

Lynn, Fay and Gerd.

The Wrights, flanked by our entertainer and Gerd.

Another entertainer, Rob Hughes.

Two of the main attractions!!! Marion and Sue!

Nola (Rookie of the Year) and Janet.

Bob and Janice try the hat thing! Good in slow motion!

No comment.
Let me see… who was there at the Christmas in June in Canberra?
Sue (Upton) and Gerd King Canberra
Marion (Smith) Giddy Kenthurst (Sydney)
Lynn Ludwig Maybe Sydney
Rob & Julianne Hughes Oatley (near Hurstville)
Graham & Janet Wright Near Liverpool
Merv Helen Smith Probably Baulkham Hills
Bob & Colleen (Brophy) Cureton Sydney somewhere
Keith & Wendy (Mitchie) Lambert Albury
Jim and Jan (Ferguson) Smart Nowra (actually Bomaderry)
Dave & Lyn Giles Maybe Northern Beaches
Bernie & Janice (Kieran) Fitzpatrick Wollongong
Dino & Nola Forsythe Marks Pt (Newcastle)
Grahame & Fay (Bailey) Keast Dubbo

What a lot of fun we had!

Beautiful German tucker cooked by Sue and Co. (Don’t know who the company is!!!) Dancing, saw playing (none other than Rob Hughes), hat exchanging (you had to be there,) plenary singing, cabaret singing by introduced entertainer, entertainment by 2 people doing German dancing that looked like Mavis and Ethel (thanks Sue and Marion), bus tour, wineries visit, BBQ at a horse stud (thanks Lyn and Bob and the Knuckle group), visit by Ken Howard (thanks Dino), big brekky on Sunday morning and a great luncheon cruise on Lake Burley Griffin for those who still had some stamina left. All we needed was Jock & Russ to prance in unannounced, Dougie to swim across to the cruise boat while we were inadvertently watching the scenery or Van to roar into Kings’ back room on his motorbike and we’d have had everything! I hope the photos give some idea of the fun we had. The collambiance was excellent Bill!
For corrections, comments and other, please click on comment below and straighten me out. Did you enjoy the weekend? Would you have liked to have been there? Are you coming next time?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Our 'entertainer' was a woman just slightly younger than us ....... like about 20 years younger!!! She is a very good friend of mine, Catherine Chapman, and is involved in the horse racing scene too. Her ability to dress up as famous singers and actually sing like them is a real asset especially at our evening on Saturday. She met a guy from Wagga and married him so feels she has a very, very small connection to us as a result.
Grahame Wright, she asked me to pass on her thanks to you for making her feel so welcome at the dinner. I'm glad David didn't take a turn for the worse after being singled out by Miss Dietrich!
Lyn rang me this morning to ask after you all too. She enjoyed her visitors very much.
Thanks to all of you for your involvement and good spirits. The whole weekend depended upon that and you sure had plenty of 'spirit'!
I am at work now in body but not sure about the brain.

Anonymous said...

Huge thanks to Sue and Gerd for having us all at your place for more than just a cup of tea, spanning two nights and days. A special thanks for providing a powered site for our Avan on your leafy verge. The theatre restaurant set-up and group participation on Saturday night successfully got the adrenalin pumping, creating an atmosphere to be envied by all.
Thanks Grahame, for providing a forum, in this blog, to let the positive vibes overflow. Just one correction: Kerin, not Kieran.

Anonymous said...

We had a great time. The organisation was top shelf. Nola specially wants to thank you all for making her feel so welcome.

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic weekend! My jaw is still aching from all the talk and laughter! Once again, it was a joy to catch up with this warm and wonderful group of people. There were however, quite a few who were 'missed'. Hope to see them next time. Sue (Dynamo) King did a fabulous job of organising and catering. I can't keep up with that girl! Special highlights of the weekend were: backing placegetters at the races; the appearance of Ken Howard (loved it!!); Rob Hughes and his musical saw - and his nudity stories; seeing Jim and Jan Smart again; meeting Nola Forsythe; the German Banquet; the Marlene Dietrich appearance; visiting the Wright's climbing Rose; the arrival of the Smiths and Giles' despite recent illness; chatting with the Lamberts and Curetons; and talking about our shared primary school days with Lynn Ludwig! Thanks for being my chauffeur, Lynn!
Okay when do we meet again????????

Anonymous said...

What can we say!So much fun, laughter,lovely food, entertainment, activities and conviviality. The young certainly don't have a morgage on the good times.
Heartfelt thanks to Sue and Gerd for the amazing effort they put in for us, opening up their home [and pantry],the top class organisation,their wonderful humour and personalities. You've given us some fodder for the memory bank when we are in the nursing home.
Thank you everyone for the friendly interaction and count us in for the next gathering.

Anonymous said...

Allo! Allo! Zis is Ezzel und Marfis, ze two wunderbar dancers und cleaner upperers. Ve haf had zo much funny time wiz you, ve vant to go to ze old persons home wiz you all! Ve zink ve vill be very verboten in anozer home! Ve don't know vy ........

Marion (Smith) Giddy said...

ANONYMOUS comment was posted by me. I had trouble with passwords etc. so just used anon.

Marion (Smith) Giddy said...

I want to see a photo of Rob Hughes officiating at a Naturalist Wedding!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

The recipe for a magic weekend: wonderful hosts (Sue and Gerd), a perfect venue (Canberra) and a mix of friendly and considerate people. The qualities which existed all those years ago in Wagga are still there and it is warming to see our non-college partners so accepted.

Sue has some wonderful contacts in Canberra. I hope that Lyn breeds many more "Knuckle" winners. Catherine was a knockout and we are indebted to her for giving up her evening.

Anonymous said...

Maybe some people didn't realise it, but Sue excelled herself as a gluten-free cook last weekend. She only found out a couple of weeks before the event that there were two gluten-frees coming, who would have found plenty to eat without saying anything to the management. To have made her own spaghetti was pretty amazing, but Sue used gluten free flour as well as for several others of the dishes eg. pancake soup.
Thanks, Sue,for your research and prior trial runs on some of the dishes.

Anonymous said...

Marion, next time I do a Naturalist Wedding, I'm recommending you and Sue to come along as flower girls. What fun that would be

Anonymous said...

This comment is very late but I would like to reiterate Janice's comments re the catering for the Gluten Free foodies. Having lived with the gluten free label for many years, I am ashamed to say it took Sue to show me up. Sue made the noodles from scratch using gluten free flour to accompany the fabulous German meal on Sat night. She valiantly forced the dough through a noodle contraption and produced noodles 'to die for'. I have to say I would not have even contemplated the exercise for fear of failure but not the intrepid Sue. Thank you, Sue, you are a whiz!!!!!!The whole weekend was terrific! Helen S