Sunday 29th June 2008

This has been one busy week one way or another. Since getting back from Moree the weather has fined up and we have had largely beautiful weather. Nice sunny days with bright blue skies. The only really uncomfortable day way was last Thursday when I had to play golf in absolutely freezing relentless wind all day. The wind has dried out the golf course and today it was quite good.

I have been especially carefull this week around steps and ladders. Kay rang me last week & said she had fallen down her back steps & bruised herself badly. A few days later she was back on the phone to tell me that Lyn had a fall at work & had to be taken by ambulance to hospital.

Lyn had to go up a ladder to the loft where she works to get some invoice information, thought she had put her foot on the sound landing, and then found herseld at the bottom of the ladder unable to move. Fortunately she has not suffered any serious breaks but is badly bruised - may have a broken rib. We all know that things come in threes - so I am being extra careful.

Sunday 22nd June we played golf with Mary Beard & Terry Bowditch. The course was still really wet from the previous week's rain & made it hard going out on the fairways. The golf wasn't wonderful but the company was. We had a good day & stayed for dinner at the club.

Monday 23rd June was a mornings work at the Golf club gardens & in the afternoon caught up with some paperwork for our China Trip.

Tuesday 24th June I played golf with Shirley Daly & Yvonne Cumming in a team event & we had a fun day.

The course was still wet & it was hard work.

Wednesday 25th June I started the pruning of my roses & had the green bin filled before I had a chance to finish the front gardens. I still have some climbing Lorraine Lee roses in late bloom (photos attached)

Thursday 26th June we had a very cold wind spoiling an otherwise lovely sunny day. It was the last of the ladies golf days in this financial year so we had a BBQ lunch after golf (photo attached)

Some of the ladies were retiring & I had a lovely time chatting with them about their golf over the years. Wyn Hogan is 85 years old & had her last game of golf today (in all that cold wind). She is such an inspiring person & I can only hope that I am still at golf at 85 years of age and regretting that I have to pack away my golf clubs. Pat Wilkinson is another & she had me in stiches telling me stories of how she used to practice at home all the time. Her husband put up a "please fill your divots" sign on their lawn. I came in 3rd place in the golf which made me happy as I have not won a voucher for quite a while.

Friday 27th June I finally got around to getting the kids wedding photos to the point of getting framed so I can put them up on the wall. It has only taken me almost 10 months to achieve this.

After that it was another stint at the gardens at the golf club & I planted some new plants out for the greenkeeper.

Saturday 28th June we went to Turramurra to Graham & Anne's. Graham invited us to the Rugby match, Australia vs France at the ANZ Stadium. We decided it was best to stay the night & then come home early in the morning in time to play golf on Sunday. We caught the bus to the stadium which by far the better way to get there. The match as rather dissapointing with Australia not playing at their best even though they defeated a much weaker French side. Australia's ball handling especially in the first half left room for much improvement. There were some highlights in the game with a good intercept & I always enjoy the atmosphere at the games. There were heaps of yellow & green & just a small contingent of Red/white & Blue.

Peter was not feeling all that well on Friday afternoon & by the end of the footy match he decided that he would not be up to playing golf on Sunday. Graham offered to come to Gosford & fill in for him on Sunday which was good for me as it meant I did not miss out on a game & we did not have to let down our playing partners.

Sunday 29th June was the most perfect day for golf. Sunny & warm & the course was starting to dry out well. Peter was confined to bed with the flu so Graham dutifully came to fill in.

We had a really good day. Our playing partners were Jan & Neville Walker. Jan & I had an exceptionally good day as we won the womens mixed event with a plus 8 score. Graham & I did not combine all that well as a team as we both got a plus score or a square both at the same hole. We still finished with respectable scores & I was beaten in the individual event on a countback with a plus 3 score. All in all I had a good golf week with $40 in vouchers and two golf balls - how good can it get!

Images attached: The golf course path on Sunday after all the rain; with our playing partners Mary Beard & Terry Bowditch Sunday of last week; With Yvonne Cumming & Shirley Daly at Tuesday's golf; the golf club gardens on Monday; getting my 3rd place voucher at Thursday's golf; At the BBQ after golf on Thursday; With Cheryl Davison, Allison Guthrie & Jenny Bourne at golf on Thursday; getting my runner up trophy tonight from the club patron; Jan Walker & I getting our winners trophy tonight; with Graham, Jan Walker & Neville Walker at golf today;

Various photos at the rugby match on Saturday night; with Grahm, Anne, Heather & Anna at Graham's place before the match; new golf club garden work on Friday; Lorraine Lee climbing rose still in late bloom at home.

Friday 20th June 2008

Saturday 14th June was windy & cold but not too wet so I managed to get some washing dry & caught up with things around the house.

Sunday 15th June started out wet and miserable with a cold wind. It did not rain enough to make us uncomfortable at golf but the cold wind & wet puddles from overnight rain and mud underfoot did. Thank heavens we had some good company in Doon Jansen & Bob Knox who made the day worthwhile.

Monday 16th June was wet and miserable so my plans to do gardening at the golf club were shelved & I spent the day on the computer preparing for the "Golf China" meeting at Moree.

Tuesday 17th June was the big hike to Moree. It was not pleasant when we left here & remained that way until we got to Murrurundi where we stopped for a break. The other side of Murrurundi was like going through a glass wall to another world. The sky turned blue & we had bright sunshine and arrived in Narrabri & had a break there about 3.00pm to a beautiful 25 degree day. We arrived at Moree about 5 o'clock - just in time for "Happy Hour" with Lorraine. Phil arrived home from work shortly after and we had an enjoyable evening at the "Smith Tavern" doing some damage to the red wine supply.

Wednesday 18th June we all felt a little worse for wear. A late night was not on the agenda but always a danger when we stay with Phil & Lorraine. I went to the Golf Club & organised what we required for the meeting that night & checked out the video equipment. Unfortunately we had to run with our own laptops as the club did not have the stand alone projector that we needed to get our presentation up on the screen. Not all was lost as I was able to secure our own area for that night for our group - so I was happy with that.

I met up with Ros Rowland at her office in the main Street & we had a nice lunch at the coffee shop downstairs- catching up on all the news. I don't often get a chance to see Ros other than at school reunions so it was good to have a chat. Moree shops had not changed a lot since I was there last however there seemed to be a lot of vacant shops. I find it incredible that there are only three hotels left in town & there did not seem to be a lot of people around for a lunchtime (see photos attached).

In the afternoon Phil, Pete and I had nine holes of golf to fill in the rest of the day & to chase off the hung over feeling before the evening.

After golf we went home & changed & regrouped at the Golf Club to have dinner before the meeting commenced. The Thai Restaurant at the Golf Club was handy & by the time we finished everyone was there ready to start. I was very happy that all of the Moree group managed to find the time to make the meeting - even Bev & Kevin King who I thought were still away caravaning around Australia. We also had another interested couple so we had a good sized group for our information night. Bill Elliott (manager of Golf China) arrived safely in Moree and joined us for dinner before the meeting. It was a very successful night giving everyone a chance to ask questions about the tour and Bill a chance to inform them of the tour and the Golf China company. I was very slack and forgot to take a photo for the blog of all the people attending our meeting. (Too busy chatting).

Thursday 19th June we played 18 holes of golf. Lorraine & I played in the ladies competition & Phil & Peter played in the vets event. We really enjoyed being out on the course. I found it very challenging especially as the course does not have any bunkers there were plenty of other hazards and tricky greens. Lorraine & I did manage to make some pars even though our overall scores were not wonderful. Phil managed to win a ball . I got my drive on the green on one of the three pars but was not close enough to the pin to win a nearest the pin trophy.

I managed to drop my "Mission Hills" ball marker on the 18th green & I was so lucky that Wally McDonald - (playing behind us) - found it & recognised that it would most likely belong to me. Thanks Wally!

We decided to stay at the club for dinner that night as I needed to catch up with some of the people going on the China tour to fix up some paperwork. Kerry & Dean and family joined us for dinner which was lovely as we do not get many chances to catch up with them. I did also catch up with some other Moree people that I have not seen for a while including my cousins Trevor & Gerald Humphries and Trevor's wife Maureen. Trevor is coming on our China tour with us. We managed to pick up another five people for the China tour - making it about 17 people coming from Moree which is great. I will be putting more details about our China tour on my travel blog in the near future. It was a big day & I was feeling rather tired at the end of the day.

Friday 20th June - today - we made our way back home leaving Moree about 1/4 to nine.

It was an overcast chilly day and very foggy. The fog remained very thick until we got to Scone.

It reminded me of the smoggy day that we had in Beijing last year where we could barely see across the road. We got some nice sunny weather at Scone where we stopped for a break. The weather deteriorated about the Hunter Valley area & we went through some showers which then cleared by the time we made the Central Coast but then ran into the traffic from Cessnock to home.

It was a very worthwhile week and I really enjoyed my few days at Moree. The meeting was an outstanding success & the fact that we picked up another five people for our tour was fantastic.

Images attached: On the road at Murrurundi ( looking nice and green) & a little heritage house next to a roadside coffee shop where we stopped for a break; on the long straight road outside of Narrabri; Pete & Lorraine later that night at the Smith Tavern; the new wood fire at Phil & Lorraine's (very cosy on these chilly nights); Phil showing off his sporting achievements when he was at school ( I am not the only family hoarder); the cosy corner at the golf club where we held our meeting (nice view); the main street of Moree at lunch time; Phil & Lorraine after golf on Thursday; view of the golf course Thursday afternoon (I forgot to take my camera when we were playing); with cousin Trevor Humphries at the Golf Club Thursday night; Kerry's family at the club having dinner with us - Brent, Luke, Dean, Kerry & Brianna; the old house - 140 Heber Street; photos of the highway under fog, fog still around at Gunnedah; weather breaking at Scone; coming into familiar territory at the Hunter Valley; start of the traffic hold ups at Cessnock; with our playing partners last Sunday - Bob Knox and Doon Jansen.

Video of Pelicans at Woy Woy

This is a short video taken Friday 13th June 2008 at Fisherman's wharf, Woy Woy just prior to the pelicans being fed.

Friday 13th June 2008

Wednesday was a quite day. I managed to catch up with my China travel paperwork & some housework. It was my day for some "me" time so I enjoyed a facial at my local beautician where Nicole had the challenge of rejuvinating me to 10 years younger. Unfortunately I don't think she reached that goal, that was a big ask but she did her best & it was a very relaxing way of spending a couple of hours. Des & Yvonne called in for a cup of tea in the afternoon to discuss our plans for a ferry ride to Davistown on Friday.

Thursday was a weeding day in the garden here at home. All the rain we have had in the last couple of weeks has brought on a mass of incredibly healthy weeds and I managed to fill up two green bins & the gardens look much improved although there is much work yet to do.

I am hoping to get all the gardens finished tomorrow so that I can come home from Moree next week and get all my rose pruning done in one go. I am looking forward to my trip to Moree next Tuesday to see Phil & Lorraine & family for a few days & catch up with all the people coming to China in October.

Today, Friday, was a very enjoyable day. We (Des & Yvonne Wilson, Pete & I) caught the ferry to Davistown via Empire Bay, had lunch at the Davistown RSL Club & then returned to Woy Woy for a quick "bailey's" for the road before returning home. In spite of all the doom & gloom weather forecasts the day was lovely - bit of brisk breeze at times - but overall a very nice day to be out on the water. We had a nice lunch & a wine or two at the RSL Club. The RSL Club run a courtesy bus which picked us up at the wharf & ran us back when it was time to catch the ferry home - what a good service. We stopped off at Fisherman's Wharf to see the pelicans that were waiting in great anticipation to be fed & got some great photos.

I have been wanting to do this trip for years and it was worth waiting for.

Images attached: Woy Woy wharf; along the water; on the ferry; Saratoga; Empire Bay; Davistown; Fisherman's Wharf; Pelicans at Woy Woy ; Woy Woy Hotel.