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.