Page 166 - Friendships Through the Years

Ian Aitken, a guide from the Melbourne Cricket Club, spoke at the October
meeting about the M.C.C. and it’s first 150 years. The Club’s November outing was to
the M.C.C. and the Olympic Museum. Ian Aitken was the guide who showed our
members over the ground’s facilities.
The final speaker of Bert’s year - at the February meeting - was very interesting
and her subject brought a lot of questions. Mary Richardson, from the R.A.C.V., made
the theme for her talk “The Years Ahead”, covering the difficulties facing elderly drivers
and how to cope, also the new Australia wide road rules and the ability to react. Mary
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was the 168 . Guest speaker since the club began. There was a wide divergence of
subject matter with all these speakers, but they were all of great interest to the members
and ladies.
The first of the functions in Bert’s year was only 12 days after he was inducted as
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President. Thirty people attended the 12 Annual visit to the Yarra Glen races on
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Tuesday 23 March 1999. Lex Lillie reported at the April meeting on “an excellent day
for the 30 participants who enjoyed the picnic lunch on the lawns under the trees in
perfect weather. They also enjoyed their encounter with the Bookmakers”.
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At the May meeting, Ted Brookes gave an amusing account of the 5 annual
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urban/City walk on 14 April. The outing covered two destinations, train from Lilydale
to Canterbury where the 22 people participating ‘window shopped’ along Maling Road.
Some did more than window shop and actually opened their purses! After that train and
tram to Port Melbourne for lunch at the Beacon Cove Food Store, then a walk along the
waterfront inspecting the ‘highrise’ apartments with a view to buying. The cost was
approximately. $1 million.
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Another annual event early in Bert’s year was the 12 annual car trip, this time to
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Warrnambool from 26 to 30 April at the Gateway Motor Inn. Thirty-one attended,
utilizing 18 units. As has happened at the last six car trips, the ‘Master Chefs’, Jack and
Aileen Coffey, with a lot of assistance on the day from a number of the car trippers,
provided their usual excellent Barbecue. It was always held on the Tuesday, this time at
Lake Pertobe. They seemed to get better every year. Unfortunately, being at ‘Windy
Warrnambool’, the weather could have been kinder, however there was sufficient shelter
for most to stay dry and warm.
On the other days there was a visit to the Allansford Butter Factory. This was to
have been for ¾ of an hour but finally extended to one-and-a-half hours. We went to the
Bay of Islands and lunch at Port Campbell, then Timboon. On the Thursday there was a
trip to Tower Hill and then to the Coffey’s old stamping ground, Port Fairy. There they
again organized lunch, but this time fish and chips from the famous Port Fairy fish and
chippery. A little bit of local knowledge goes a long way.
The “happy hour”, (closer to two hours) each night in the motel convention
centre, covered a multitude of activities. For instance, the largest, smallest, prettiest and
most unusual leaf and “celebrity heads”. “The Key” was the subject of the ‘fantasy’ this
year. Lots of those there gave their thoughts from it being the key to their loved one’s
heart, to it being the key to the ‘loo’at the M.C.G. during the 1932 BodylineTest series.
Then there was Jack Coffey’s ‘alphabet quiz’ and then, on the last night as usual,
the team quiz. Doug Lewis, who hadn’t been on a car trip before, gave a report at the
May meeting on what he thought of it, and seemed very impressed. More importantly, he
and Carole paid their deposit for the Wangaratta trip in 2000. They must have liked it!