Peters' Mokopunas

A couple of recent photos of the grand kids ... all are coming along fine.

Poke lads living in Darwin, NT

Brothers - Kai and Vance

Vance is filling out and shooting up these days. He has been learning martial arts in 2015 and this year both he and Kai are taking part in Ju Jitsu.

Green belter!

Angel Peters living in Perth, WA

Angel competing in the Aust/Vietnamese pageant

Angel entered a type of 'talent quest' amongst the Vietnamese community celebrating the Vietnamese New Year.  Entrants had to perform a song/dance routine with a segment of speaking Vietnamese.  She impressed the judges to be awarded 3rd place.  According to her father she has a natural stage presence and she should have won!

Dragonboating State Titles 2016

This year the State Titles were held in Bucca on the Kolan River, just west of Bundaberg. (the home of QLD Rowing)  Conditions were just about perfect for racing - no wind, tide.

As per our Coach's report to the newspaper -  Day 2 Standard Boat Racing (500 metres)…. And how we all looked forward to paddling together as one big happy crew! …..20 paddlers; a drummer and a sweep - That is the essence of Dragon Boat Racing!

Well, we didn’t quite have 20 paddlers but we were good to go with 19 and were once again entered in the Senior B age division. Still only 4 paddlers under 60, but we were up for the challenge. We paddled a personal best in our Heat, bettering our previous record by 3 seconds and so were already feeling fairly pleased with ourselves, for that was what we had hoped to achieve. In reality, first and second places in this one were a foregone conclusion, for two of our opposition crews (Manly Dragons & Brisbane River Dragons) are currently ranked numbers 1 & 2 Nationally… a good 10 seconds ahead of the rest, but third place was there to be taken… we were only beaten to third place by 2 tenths of a second in the heat, so we had to be in with a big chance! No repercharge or semis needed, so we were nice and fresh for the Grand Final an hour later…. Once again, another very exciting race, firstly for the gold & silver medals… BRD only pipping Manly by 1.21secs…. But who cares about them??? …. We were slogging it out for third place and once again we had to await announcement of the official times before we could celebrate…. WAHOO! We did it… by just 0.71 of a second…. BRONZE! BRONZE! BRONZE! FOR COOLOOLA!...and then we got very loud!!! …..(Note-we slashed another 6 seconds off our time in the heats, giving further cause for celebration….aaaaawesome!!)

Our hard won Bronze!

Winners are grinners!!

 On Day 1 our Senior B Womens 10's crew made the semi finals for the 250 metre course race and below shows the close photo finish!

It was a great weekend away.  Lovely weather, great paddling and amongst fabulous folks.

GO COOLOOLA DRAGONS!

Grand daughter - 5 1/2 years

Angel is playing dress-ups, adorned in a 'traditional' Maori costume she really looks the part.

I guess if she wore her mother's traditional dress then she would probably look like a demure Vietnamese girl.

Angel - trainee Maori princess

We think she's a pretty good Aussie sheila too! (today being Australia Day)

Our time in NZ

20 December 2015 - 4 January 2016

Dave, Jodes and I ventured over to kiwiland to visit family over Xmas/New Year.  It was a real treat for Jodes as she hadn't travelled to NZ for 15 years but unfortunate in that she wasn't able to take her boys along.

We hired a rental car from the aiport, drove up North and stayed 4 nights on Bev and Richard's farm in Otaua.  We then drove up to Tokerau Beach on the Karikari Peninsula and stayed with Nor and Don and others over Xmas and New Year.  Mum joined us for some of the time which was great because she was on the top of our list to see. She was in pretty good shape and spirits, alas prone to memory lapses at times.

Our main intention was to catch up with family members and it was a bonus to meet any new extended family.

Noreen and Don are pretty much the same, very accommodating folks and really laid back - it was a pleasure to be with them and stay at the bach.  At the same time we got to spend time with Clinton, his friend Tess and kids, Max and Sophie. Kerrie, Kevin and Kydon also got out to the beach with us.  Kydon is an absolute sweetie - I expect great things where he is concerned!

A lot of time was spent doing things out on the water-  Jodes, Dave and Don on fishing trips, others collected tuatuas, and some dived for mussels.  We ate a lot of seafood at the beach.  Jodi hauled in a couple of good-sized King fish so it was a real buzz for her.

It was lovely seeing Bev and Richard again.  We enjoyed the time on their farm as well.  Jodi now knows a bit more about electric fences!

We caught up with Jack and Rimu's mob for a short time also.  Trevor and some of his family were up at the farm as well so it was even more of an occasion.

Last but not least of the family members - Jovy and Lorna-Jen Crallan.  We had a meal with them on the last night in Auckland.  Lovely to see some wonderful whanau.

At a very popular Vietnamese restaurant in Otahuhu - Dave, Lorna-Jen, Jean, Jovy and Jodi

We had brilliant weather for the first 10 days of our visit, but thereafter it was rain and wind.  The country badly needed the water so the locals were rejoicing.

We had a day to spare in Auckland before flying out so Jodes and I went into the city for some sightseeing.  During the day we organised an upward vertical bungy ride, or slingshot- locally known as the Auckland City Screamer. Talk about a thrill!  Admittedly I had a bit of gentle coercion from Jodes to board but I truly enjoyed the buzz.

THE REVERSE BUNGY/SLINGSHOT

....too late for second thoughts

wow!

OMG

think we're upside down???

SCREAM

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

phew!

oh the relief!

I made sure I had visited the toilet before I got on the machine!

______________________________________________________________________

Some miscellaneous photos of folks and places over the hols ....

the skipper and deckie - Don and Jodes (Da Neice)

On the deck - three ladies

The family road at Mangamuka

Same old Jack - my brother

In the shed-at the bach-up the beach

Richard my brother-in-law sitting, My sister Nor  standing

Bev, my baby sister

Visiting Norm at the cemetery

Tuatua pickers enjoying a beer

Ladies at Carrington's winery

Trevor Crallan and Tarewa

Rangiputa - a pretty bay down the road from the bach

Mum, daughter and Aunt

Sophie, Jodes and Tess sharing a joke

Young Max and Sophie Jordan

Grandmother, grand daughter and daughter

Jodes with a couple of good-sized Kingies.  Fish were being elusive over the period we were there

Golf wind-up for the year

Gympie  Lady Golfers celebrated the end of the season on a  trip down to a place called Boreen Point.  It's a short way from Gympie on the shores of Lake Cootharaba.   We were chauffeured down by one of the girl's hubby who drove the bus.

 Most of the girls got into the swing of Xmas and dressed  in varying Xmas stuff adorned in tinsel and blingy stuff.  Some people went to more trouble than others!

On the way we were treated to drinks and nibbles by Cindy, the hostess 'with the mostess'.  The banter, the songs and the energy were all good light-hearted fun.

Drinks and many giggles were the order of the day.

The Girls

Our first pit stop was at Pomona where more drinks and eats were laden upon us.  At the village green we made some fun with a chipping comp which was rigged! (cause I didn't win it)

Yoey( Johanna) our extroverted exhibitionist with the cool bag!

We paraded around for the "best outfit".  Yoey won with the snuggest get-up and the judge was a fella!  Robyn came runner-up but disappeared for a photo.

Down at Boreen Point shaking some booty!

We had a lovely meal and a great band was in residence resulting in a fabulous atmosphere.  Later on we went to a quieter area whereby the awards for the year were announced.   Cakes and  sweets was a nice note to finish the day on - a great day out.  Well done committee and ladies!

Golden Wedding anniversary!

Some couples are pretty amazing, and living proof is Judy and Gordon Tong. 

Judy is my first cousin and her and her family now live in Australia.  Originally she was from Howick which is where she and Gordon got married in 1965.

Judy and Gordon, couple extraordinaires.

21 November 2015 marked 50 years of marriage for Judy and Gordon - through thick and thin, they weathered it all!  Wow -  tremendous tolerance and obviously a great love for each other.


They were treated along with about 30 guests to a wonderful evening at their son and daughter-in-laws residence in the Brisbane suburb of Ormiston.  Adrian and Leanne provided a fabulous venue, meal, entertainment  and an extremely well stocked bar.

Judy with her son Adrian

 Some of the Tong family -  Adrian and Leanne and sons Josh and Matthew went missing when the camera appeared ...

Leanne with her son Josh

Apart from family and friends, two of the bridesmaids from the wedding were able to attend so it was an extraordinary feat in having bridal party members present.  As Judy and Gordon were married in NZ some people made some long trips to be there for the evening.

On the technology front we were shown a video reproduction of the wedding ceremony and party in 1965 so it was particularly good seeing Gordon's Mum and Dad and also Judy's Dad, Uncle Jim.

Some of the crowd.  Dave is getting an earful of the wonderful All Black team!

Some of the bridal party

Shirley on the left is Leanne's Mum.  Larissa is a friend from Tamworth

The deadly triple chocolate mud cake - it was heavenly

Gordon attacking Judy?
Nah real kissing!

The evening was filled with a lot of remember whens...and a bit of a trip down memory lane.  It was a happy event celebrating a tremendous achievement.  Well done Judy and Gordon.  Thanks to Adrian and Leanne for their hospitality.

Springtime in the garden

A kalaeidoscope of colour in the garden, some plants flowering for the first time, some showier than others, some more fragrant but there's ablaze around the yard.  It's certainly a time of year when your efforts seem to be rewarded.

Red Hot Pokers in the front garden

These plants require absolutely no attention at all, drought tolerant and frost hardy and they just keep on flowering, they are a joy to view each spring.





Alana gave me these cuttings and they were unceremoniously shoved in the mulch and lo and behold some stunning blooms ...
.

Walking lillies?

The kangaroo paws are a delight to the driveway, just lovely and colourful to greet all comers ... the flowers last and last for ages.

Kangaroo Paws

Lantana

Common old lantana, it has no prickles and very easy to maintain so it's a winner in my garden.  My neighbour gave me a cutting and I have several patches of it in the garden beds.  I love the mass of yellow.

Feijoa-in-flower

I am really excited about the prospect of having fruit off the Feijoa.  I've applied potash to ensure the flowers hold on the tree etc.  but if the flowers all come to fruition there will be a feast cause the tree is covered!

Cat's Eyes or Blue Sapphire

A nice little filler or ground cover, this plant seems to flower on and off most times of the year - very easy to maintain.