Wednesday, 8 February 2023
We had a roll up of twenty-nine (29) for this event (30 for lunch) which included one (1) visitor Andrew Reis – Welcome Andrew.
The highlight of the day for me was when our Governor (Jeannette Young) joined us halfway through our tours. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily she was able to interact with all members of our group i.e. very friendly, open & interested in chatting with us.
After our warm welcome & introduction on the front lawn by a team of volunteers we had a group photo taken at the entrance, a brief tour/walk through some of the gardens, & then moved inside & watched an introduction & welcoming video by the Governor over morning tea. Following morning tea, we broke into two groups for our tours of Government House & Garages. From my perspective I thought our guides did a wonderful job of pointing out special features & answering any questions we had as we walked around. I have no hesitation in recommending this guided tour to all members who were unable to make it on this occasion.
On completion of our tours, we travelled to the Mihi Tavern for lunch.
Following lunch, members’ birthdays falling in January & February were acknowledged & celebrated in our usual way Viz.
January: Robert Ball (80th), Gary Batts, Tom Duff, Doug Gordon, John Herzig (80th), Peter McDonald, Tony McKeon, Doug Meiklejohn, Patrick Morton, Lindsay Reis, David Robinson, Neville Sarquis, Noel Stenzel, Tim Sullivan, Alan Webb & Peter Webster.
February: Allan Bagley, Phil Cash (80th), Errol Chase, Ken Dale (80th), John Doherty, Kevin Flanagan, Tom McMahon, Robert Moore, Bernie Moran, Mark Rowland, Ray Taylor, Greg Ticehurst, Peter Tierney & Tony Wind.
If my memory serves me correctly this is the first time we have acknowledged four eightieth members birthdays during a monthly event.
Special thanks to all who contributed to making this another safe & enjoyable event for all attendees, including Peter Taylor for organizing this event; The Governor & volunteer staff at Government House for our warm welcome & informal chatting along with enthusiastic, informative & educational guided tours; Michael Bourke & Russell Mauch for looking after our finances & name badges; Peter Thompson for ensuring we were all able to get on & off the coach safely at each stop; Warwick Dingle for ensuring we were all accounted for before the coach departed again after each stop; Lindsay & Andrew Reis for looking after our hydration needs; Warwick Dingle & Russell Mauch for standing in for Bob & Tony as our first aid officers; Jan Neal for once again making our much appreciated birthday cake; The kitchen staff at the Mihi Tavern for our great lunch; & last but not least Nick Peter (our coach driver) for transporting us to & from Brisbane safely.
Dick
12 February 2023
