Now for something completely different

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

@MMDown Under Les was concerned if you are okay. I know you were feeling poorly and had to cancel your adventure to the great white north. We were disappointed you couldn't make it. It would have been good to get together.

I was very disappointed to have to cancel my cruise to Canada/Alaska.  I was looking forward to meeting you. My daughter said she may be able to come with me next year, which would be wonderful.

[Blackduck59]

49 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I was very disappointed to have to cancel my cruise to Canada/Alaska.  I was looking forward to meeting you. My daughter said she may be able to come with me next year, which would be wonderful.

 If you make it to the area we will be happy to meet up with you.

[lyndarra]

23 hours ago, Mareblu said:

That’s hilarious.  Going with “the vibe” is good.

If I do a cruise with a "Rock" theme night I'm good to go - or have theme nights gone?

[GUT2407]

Well I have a rock theme, son just rang to say he has scored 2 tickets, one wheelchair for a little concert in Newcastle, 24 October.

[lyndarra]

5 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Well I have a rock theme, son just rang to say he has scored 2 tickets, one wheelchair for a little concert in Newcastle, 24 October.

Pick me, pick me!! Do you have a double wheelchair?😁

[GUT2407]

18 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

Pick me, pick me!! Do you have a double wheelchair?😁

It’s for him, Coming up from Melbourne, and the rest of my birthday and Christmas presents for life. Even Mrs G doesn’t get to come

[Mareblu]

My birthday wish for you at this little concert is:

“Mull of Kintyre”  with massed pipes and drums.  Still sends tingles and shivers.  

[Aussieflyer]

3 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

It’s for him, Coming up from Melbourne, and the rest of my birthday and Christmas presents for life. Even Mrs G doesn’t get to come

A fabulous gift - it will be a wonderful night. Such a special son.

[Blackduck59]

9 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Well I have a rock theme, son just rang to say he has scored 2 tickets, one wheelchair for a little concert in Newcastle, 24 October.

 

I tried to get tickets when he was close by; sold out before I had a chance. There was a radio contest as well...no joy. Enjoy the show Mr. Gut, I'm jealous.

[GUT2407]

8 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

I tried to get tickets when he was close by; sold out before I had a chance. There was a radio contest as well...no joy. Enjoy the show Mr. Gut, I'm jealous.

We expected the same, tickets don’t go on sale till next Friday to the general public, to some last Monday, but our son knew someone who had super early bird access to Melbourne tickets and asked, his friend said “Yeah I can get Newcastle ones too if that works better.”

[GUT2407]

 Been a long time coming, had everything set for 2002 but he cancelled after Bali Bombing, 2017 all set for Adelaide, health intervened, worst of all mid 90s (93 I think) a broke student doing work experience, we were in Sydney runn8ng a three day trial in the Supreme Court, stayed with a Barrister. Case didn’t finish on Wednesday, go back to barristers place, we knew he was at the Macca concert that night. Next morning “***** if only we had known you’d still be here had a mate couldn’t make it so could have taken you”.

[Blackduck59]

5 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

We expected the same, tickets don’t go on sale till next Friday to the general public, to some last Monday, but our son knew someone who had super early bird access to Melbourne tickets and asked, his friend said “Yeah I can get Newcastle ones too if that works better.”

 

You sir are a lucky man.

[Blackduck59]

So did someone kill the pie thread? Too bad if they did.

We are 1 week out from Flying to Boston, we board Zaandam on the 23rd. I will start an "observations from" thread before we leave and dropping a few lines now and then during the cruise. We may take the opportunity to book our New Zealand/OZ cruise while on board. There are some early booking specials as well as booking on board extra OBC and reduced deposits. This was how we booked the original cruise on Celebrity that was cancelled what seems so long ago. We will look at itineraries in both directions, it may turn out was start with the land adventure in OZ and finish up in NZ.

We are looking at itineraries from early January to early March of 2025. With any luck I will be retired, the house will be sold and we will be settled in our new place.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The pie thread will never die, it just has a rest every so often. 🤣

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

So did someone kill the pie thread? Too bad if they did.

We are 1 week out from Flying to Boston, we board Zaandam on the 23rd. I will start an "observations from" thread before we leave and dropping a few lines now and then during the cruise. We may take the opportunity to book our New Zealand/OZ cruise while on board. There are some early booking specials as well as booking on board extra OBC and reduced deposits. This was how we booked the original cruise on Celebrity that was cancelled what seems so long ago. We will look at itineraries in both directions, it may turn out was start with the land adventure in OZ and finish up in NZ.

We are looking at itineraries from early January to early March of 2025. With any luck I will be retired, the house will be sold and we will be settled in our new place.

Avoid January if you can as it's school holidays in Australia and NZ. Also it's best to do NZ first in Feb/March, that way you get better weather in NZ (usually) and by the time you get to Australia it will be starting to cool down a bit.

[Blackduck59]

9 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Avoid January if you can as it's school holidays in Australia and NZ. Also it's best to do NZ first in Feb/March, that way you get better weather in NZ (usually) and by the time you get to Australia it will be starting to cool down a bit.

Thanks Julie, There is a nice Auckland to Sydney itinerary that has a stop in Melbourne and Taz. Of course we would be returning to Melbourne and area during the road trip part of our adventure. We will be planning for more time in Oz for this trip and more time at some stops. Everything very much up in the air right now. We would have over a year to plan.

[NSWP]

On 8/14/2023 at 2:25 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

The pie thread will never die, it just has a rest every so often. 🤣

Allelula, 

[JJK2008]

I must confess that this has been a learning experience. I never heard of an Australian "meat pie" before. I was familiar with meat pies in England, so I assumed the Aussie version was similar. Will be in Oz for much of October & November. Looking forward to sampling the meat pies in various cities. We have a number of Aussies friends that live scattered along the east coast from Sydney up to the Sunshine Coast. We have a rental car planned and will do touring to visit with them. Through emails, they are already starting the banter about who can show us a better time in their part of Australia. I was thinking that I can stir the pot a bit by asking them where would have the best meat pies. I can pose the question and then sit back and watch the friendly feuding begin. Good entertainment🤣😇😁. Any tips or suggestions to help me fuel the fire would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

John

[Blackduck59]

1 hour ago, JJK2008 said:

I must confess that this has been a learning experience. I never heard of an Australian "meat pie" before. I was familiar with meat pies in England, so I assumed the Aussie version was similar. Will be in Oz for much of October & November. Looking forward to sampling the meat pies in various cities. We have a number of Aussies friends that live scattered along the east coast from Sydney up to the Sunshine Coast. We have a rental car planned and will do touring to visit with them. Through emails, they are already starting the banter about who can show us a better time in their part of Australia. I was thinking that I can stir the pot a bit by asking them where would have the best meat pies. I can pose the question and then sit back and watch the friendly feuding begin. Good entertainment🤣😇😁. Any tips or suggestions to help me fuel the fire would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

John

For good ideas see the pie thread, lots of banter there. 

[JJK2008]

5 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

For good ideas see the pie thread, lots of banter there. 

Thank You, will do.

[JJK2008]

10 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

Thank You, will do.

Sorry I didn't notice the Victoria, BC at first. Beautiful city, we were there pre-covid. Took the ferry across from Port Angeles. Coincidently it was Deuce Days. Perfect timing on our part. 

[Blackduck59]

So it's so close now, We fly out to Boston tomorrow. I started an "Observations" thread on the HAL board. If you're interested I'll be posting there from time to time. We may book the cruise section of our down under adventure while on this cruise, it all depends on whether HAL seems a good fit for us.

Wakey wakey is 0300 tomorrow (for us) 21 Aug 2023, it's going to be a long day.

[JJK2008]

3 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So it's so close now, We fly out to Boston tomorrow. I started an "Observations" thread on the HAL board. If you're interested I'll be posting there from time to time. We may book the cruise section of our down under adventure while on this cruise, it all depends on whether HAL seems a good fit for us.

Wakey wakey is 0300 tomorrow (for us) 21 Aug 2023, it's going to be a long day.

Safe Travels......

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So it's so close now, We fly out to Boston tomorrow. I started an "Observations" thread on the HAL board. If you're interested I'll be posting there from time to time. We may book the cruise section of our down under adventure while on this cruise, it all depends on whether HAL seems a good fit for us.

Wakey wakey is 0300 tomorrow (for us) 21 Aug 2023, it's going to be a long day.

Bon voyage, Enjoy HAL, we have enjoyed them previously, thought they were much like Princeins, but this may vary from ship to ship and also as per cruise. One thing that was the case in the older ships are that their cabins are generally larger.

[Blackduck59]

22 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

Safe Travels......

Thanks, this has been a long time coming.

It was a lucky coincidence that you came here on Deuce Days. We almost lost that festival, we had a bike friendly city council and they made for a bunch or red tape for the event. The organizer said the last one was the last one. Much has changed since then and the event has been taken over by a different younger group and there is a new council as well as a large group of usually quiet car enthusiasts that said "Hold on a minute" and Deuce Days was saved. I'm not sure when the next one is but it is always well attended. I tend to shy away from huge crowds so haven't attended for several years.