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Deacon Family Newsletter Diary  
Deacon Family

                                      Judy and Peter Deacon

Entries start at the most recent and go back to the first edition in July 2004. To read the diary in chronological order, jump to the first entry and read backwards.
Peter Deacon is the son of Mary (Molly) Deacon (nee Lennon) who is the youngest sister of  Bridget Collins (nee Lennon) who  is married to Con Collins.

2005     2006   2007  2008

July/August 2008
I know everyone thinks how wonderful it must be to live on the Sunshine Coast. However, I can tell you it’s been a very cold winter on the Coast this year, with overnight temperatures falling to a chilly 4 degrees. The Spring cannot come fast enough!

I guess my main news is that I’ve changed jobs. Resigned from the University and now working for an aged care facility in Nambour as a systems developer.

Sundale has about 500 staff, including 14 people in IT. It is a rapidly growing organisation in South East Queensland and owns retirement villages, aged care hostels, a hospital and child minding centres. They have 81 separate applications including finance, HR, payroll, CRM, data warehouse, clinical, roster, etc. My challenge is to assist with management reporting, data migration, and systems integration. Best of all, I get to play with all the latest software.

The other piece of news relates to my online tutoring business. With the success of www.tutorfinder.com.au I decided to launch a new web site designed specifically for the USA market. The site is called Tutor Alive, and if anyone is interested in taking a look the url is www.tutoralive.com  Only a handful of tutors have registered, so I need to get busy promoting the site on the internet.

January/February 2008
Judy and I recently spent two weeks in China visiting her family and touring the country.

We commenced our journey with a two night stopover in Hong Kong. I’ve been to HK before and knew it would not disappoint with its bustling night markets and linked shopping malls. One of the interesting facets of HK culture is that many people employ a Filipino nanny to look after their children and clean their apartment. There are thousands of low paid Filipino’s working in HK. Every Sunday they gather in small groups along the city streets, walkways and parklands. Together they prepare food, share experiences, dance and sing, and practice their Catholic faith. It’s quite a colourful spectacle.

From HK we flew to Beijing and stayed with Judy’s brother. His family has just moved into their new apartment. It’s a very nice and modern apartment on the 11th floor of a 20 storey complex. Practically everyone lives in high-rise apartments - there are no lawns to mow in China. Beijing is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 15 million people. Despite the one-child per family policy, the population in China is still increasing and will soon reach 1.4 billion people. Hard for us Australian’s to comprehend those numbers.

Anyway we had a wonderful time in Beijing. Some of the highlights included: celebrating Chinese New Year, a karaoke night, visiting the national museum, seeing the venues for the 2008 Olympics, attending the ballet (Russian performance of Swan Lake), shopping, eating, sampling Chinese beer, and buying DVDs. We even went skiing on the last day. It cost only 70 Yuan (about $12 AUS) to hire the gear and ski all day. I haven’t skied for 25 years so I was a bit wobbly at the start with a couple of spectacular spills. But by the end of the day I was getting into the groove.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was a 3 day visit to the ancient city of Xi’an. This is an amazing city of 8 million people with 3,100 years of history. Xi’an was one of the major trading capitals during the ancient world. It is the eastern terminal for the famous Silk Road, which linked the Roman Empire in the West with the imperial court of China in the East. Xi’an is also the location of the Terracotta Army made during the Qin Dynasty in 3rd century BC .

Fortunately many of the ancient ruins remain and the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum houses thousands of national treasures from the past.

In Xi’an we were hosted by Judy’s uncle. He has lived in Xi’an all his life with his wife and 3 sons – who are all married with one child. Although no one could speak a word of English, we managed to communicate through hand gestures and a great deal of head nodding. Judy’s uncle and cousins were very friendly and welcomed me as part of their family. Being a Westerner in this part of China is still a bit of a novelty. I went for several days without seeing another Westerner, let alone an Aussie.

This is my third trip to China and has rekindled my determination to learn Mandarin.

July/August 2007

Judy is currently visiting her family in Beijing . She decided to give her parents a nice surprise by not telling them that she was coming to visit. Judy’s sister invited their parents, and a few other family members, to a restaurant for what they thought was going to be just a simple meal. Low and behold, they discovered Judy sitting at the table waiting to greet them as they walked into the restaurant.

Judy and I are planning to attend the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which is now only 12 months away. It should be very exciting!

Meanwhile, I’m keeping busy on the Sunshine Coast trying to walk 10,000 steps each day. Several of my work colleagues at the University of the Sunshine Coast have registered with www.10000steps.com.au to take our fitness to the next level, and in my case that is about one step removed from being a regular couch potato. We have organised ourselves into two teams of twelve, and have taken on the challenge of walking from Perth to Broom. We should arrive at our virtual destination by the end of August. The 10000 steps per day initiative has really taken hold here in South East Queensland. I only wish that I had shares in the company that manufactures these little pedometers.

Well that’s all my news. Take care and give my warm regards to everyone.

May/June 2007

The Deacon news this month comes from Peter’s wife, Judy:

“I was born in Beijing , the capital city of China. In recent years I have been back to Beijing to visit my parents and siblings every year. The changes in Beijing are truly phenomenal. I can no longer recognize the place of my birth and the suburbs where I lived for some 20 odd years. Even though I go back every year, the rate of change is so great that things become less and less familiar. Entire sections of the landscape are being redeveloped, new buildings sprout from the ground, and a network of roads are quickly replacing the old walkways.

Another impressive site that I discovered on my recent visit was the tulip garden that covers a massive area of land containing all sorts of colourful tulips. 

China has been a backward country for hundreds of years, but is now undergoing monumental changes: improving living standards, challenge to the natural environment, the political atmosphere and the unprecedented economic boom.

So everyone please pack up your bag and go visit China . Have a good look around and feel the vibrant life in this amazing part of the world. Your life experience will be different.”

You’re seeing a strong emphasis on Asia , including both Japan and China that I think makes a lot of sense. The kind of innovation we have here is really phenomenal.

-- Bill Gates

January/February 2007
Judy and Peter travelled to Vietnam in late December. Peter said the food was delicious, the people were very friendly, accommodation is cheap, and the local beer tastes good. However, the noise and pollution were horrendous. For instance, 3 million people own a motorbike in Saigon , and walking across any road is a real challenge as you have to weave your way through 6 lanes of swerving motorbikes honking their horns. It was such a joy to arrive back in Australia and breathe the clean air and gaze up at the blue sky. Anyway, it was a great experience and I would recommend the trip.

Mark finished Year 12 on a high note by obtaining an OP 4 and celebrating at Schoolies on the Gold Coast. Next week he is moving to Brisbane to begin a 5-year Bachelor of Architecture course at the University of Queensland . (OP is an acronym only used in the Queensland Education System. OP stands for Overall Position. Every student who completes Year 12 in Queensland is ranked from OP1, the highest, to OP25, the lowest. So Mark’s OP4 was a pretty good effort!)

August/September 2006
Peter and Judy
Judy and I have just returned from the Gold Coast where we stayed overnight at a lovely eco-resort island called Corean Cove http://www.couran-cove.com.au/ . Although it rained nearly the entire weekend, it was nice to have a mini-break in such a peaceful and exotic location.

James
Hi, my name is James Anthony Deacon. I was born in Geelong, Victoria in 1987. I lived there for 5 years before moving to Sunnybank in Queensland because of the weather and also severe eczema I used to suffer from in Victoria. I now live in Noosa with my Mum and step father. My parents divorced 7 years ago and my Dad, Peter, lives in Buderim with Judy. I also have one brother, Mark, who is in year 12 and he spends most of his time at Dad’s.

I also have a job at Woolworths working 32 hours a week doing produce packing. In my spare time I like to go to the gym 4 times a week where I train for golf. I also practice golf 4 times a week and play regular competition. I like to also spend time at the villa near my place were I put some money on Keno. Besides those hobbies I also enjoy music, watching videos and I can talk about sport all day. My favourite band at the moment is Snow Patrol and I barrack for the Broncos and Lions.

I am kind of shy and can come across as a very serious person but once I get to know people I enjoy their company. As I do have aspergers syndrome, I find simple things harder to do but as I grow older I am coming to terms with my problem a lot better. 2005 wasn’t a great year for me as I lost 80% sight in one eye making golf and other things more difficult to do. This was devastating as my golf career was on a high having reached a 5 handicap.

Anyway I am about to move to a new Woolworths store which is due to open in October. My Boss begged me to go there because he knows I am a good worker. I hope starting in a new store will be exciting. Last year most of my high school friends went in different directions – some went to university and others moved interstate. I have had to make friends again from work and golf. This is frustrating as I had to do the same when I moved from Brisbane to Noosa.

To wrap up, I will mention more about myself. Well, I have an Asian complexion as my Mum is from Malaysia and my Dad was born in Victoria. I am 185cm tall and 71 kg - I am a slender build. I passed year 12 but didn’t get the best results. Well I hope you know a bit about me now and next time I write a short auto biography. My dream is to one day become a golf professional.

May/June 2006

Mark, and his lovely date for the night, Penny, had a wonderful time at the school formal

Mark’s sailing team recently came second in the Queensland Schools Yachting competition. At the end of this month they will be heading to Melbourne to compete in the Australian School Boys Teams Racing Sailing Championships. The event is being held at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, which I believe is in Williamstown. I’m sure it’s going to be absolutely freezing on the water at this time of the year.

James is happy to be back playing competitive golf again after his serious eye disease last year. On the weekend he was runner-up in a team event and was so excited to win a pair of Oakley sunglasses. Watch out Tiger Woods!

Judy is flying back to Beijing in a few days to visit her family. Her father has been very ill and last year had triple bypass surgery. Judy wants to speak with the medical staff at the hospital and check on his medication.

I’m doing great for an old bloke. My job at the University of the Sunshine Coast keeps me very busy indeed. One of the motivators for taking on this role was to ease my way into semi-retirement (oh I wish), however I find myself taking on more responsibility and loving the challenge. The University is growing very rapidly and student numbers are expected to swell to 15,000 over the next few years.”

March 2006
Peter’s Tutor Finder website is going along nicely. Over 400 tutors have now registered and the site has received 10,000 visitors since it launched in December.

Mark is grappling with two major issues: He has a Chemistry exam looming and is trying to understand the fundamentals of nuclear energy; but his real concern is deciding which girl to invite to the school formal.

January/February 2006
Peter reports, “Judy’s sister and family have been staying with us for the last few weeks. We have been busy driving them around all the sights on the Sunshine Coast . When they headed back to China , it was minus10 degrees in Beijing - so they will really feel the cold after basking in Queensland ’s sweltering summer. 

My main news is that over the last few weeks I have been burning the midnight oil on developing a new website. The website is in celebration of Australian tutors. It provides an extensive collection of tutors who offer tuition in a wide range of subjects – Maths, English, science, musical instruments, singing, dancing, foreign languages, and so on. It’s now live at www.tutorfinder.com.au

I’m very exciting about this development. The site is already attracting over 180 visitors per day, and tutors have been receiving inquiries from interested students. Of course, it’s a work in progress and I’m still adding more pages.”

Peter said the idea of developing a Tutor website came to him midway through last year when he was searching for a Maths and Physics tutor to help Mark. At that point, he realised there was a great demand for this type of service. Currently there are 247 tutors who have registered since it went live in December. Peter says, “So I never have to worry about what to do in my spare time”.

November/December 2005
Peter emailed with this great news: “Recently, my youngest son Mark was able to meet our cousin Kevin McManus and gain an invaluable insight into working as an architect.

For some time now, Mark has set his heart on becoming an architect. As part of his year 11 assessment, Mark was required to undertake one week of work experience with an architectural firm. Unfortunately, his school couldn’t find him a placement on the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane , so I decided this might be a good opportunity to contact Kevin and see if he could assist Mark.

Kevin is an architect and runs his own successful business in Melbourne .

This story is quite remarkable, particularly since Kevin and I had lost touch over the years, and in fact we had not seen each other for over 30 years.

As soon as I sent my email out to Kevin, he replied with a very warm welcoming phone call and offered to take Mark under his wing for a week and show him what it is like being an architect. So Mark, who only just turned 16 the day before, flew down to Melbourne on the 20 November and stayed with Kevin and his lovely wife Beate for the whole week. Kevin’s family treated Mark with great kindness and a warm generosity of spirit. Kevin collected Mark from the airport, showed him around Melbourne , took Mark to his office every day to learn about architecture, and even treated him to a sailing adventure around Hobson’s Bay on Port Phillip. Mark was so happy and had a marvelous experience that he will always treasure.”

Peter says that the CollinsPlus website helped this contact to take place – which is really terrific!

October 2005
Peter and Judy are having a short break in New Zealand.

September 2005
It was great to hear from Mark Deacon. He has sent this introduction. Mark and James are second cousins to the Collins, Gough and Zoch kids and yet you have never met each other! Mark has also got his own website and if you would like to see his site and make contact with him, email admin@collinsplus.com and I will send it to you. Thanks for the contribution Mark – we would love to hear more from you!

“Hey, I am Mark Deacon, although all my friends call me Jimmy. I am attending Matthew Flinders Anglican College and I am in grade 11 this year. I am going pretty good at school at the moment. I have been spending most of my spare time wakeboarding at ski n skurf down at Bli Bli near my house. I also play tennis with my dad quite a lot. I am hoping to graduate year 12 with a good enough O.P. to be able to do an Architectural course in university."

July 2005
Here's an update on what's been happening in the 'Queensland Branch' of the extended Collins Family tree! 

Mark (aged 15) is doing quite well in Year 11 at his new school - Matthew Flinders Anglican College. He has a keen interest in technical design and graphics, and would like to pursue a career in either Architecture or Engineering.

During the recent school holidays, Mark went on an exciting 5-day ski trip organised through the school. He successfully mastered the exhilarating sport of snow boarding, and, thankfully, he returned to the nest without breaking any bones - just a few bumps and bruises.

As you can imagine with 36 active teenage boys and girls, there were plenty of laughs and practical pranks, especially at night when the dorms were turned into an entertainment extravaganza. As our dear Irish grandmother on the Lennon’s side of the family ('Nan') would say - 'sounds like a lot of shenanigans [innocent fun] going on '.

May 2005
Peter has been very busy shifting onto a new house in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast. In late January he took up a new job with the University of the Sunshine Coast. He manages the student information system and resolves IT problems. He has also been attending a conference in Las Vegas. Peter has his 50th birthday in April!

February 2005
Mark and Peter had a wonderful trip to China and Hong Kong. They really discovered a brave new world, especially in some of the booming industrial areas of Southern China where 5 million people is considered a relatively small town. He will be putting together a short article and a few photos for the next newsletter. 

Peter has accepted an IT position with the University of the Sunshine Coast. This means a relocation from their home in Brisbane to their new house in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast. Peter says their home at New Farm has been turned upside down as they frantically decide what is worth keeping from the layers of miscellaneous junk they have managed to collect over the past few years. As they will be leasing out the townhouse in New Farm, Peter is doing copious amounts of painting and cleaning to make the place look presentable - all those odd jobs he’s been putting off for so long and probably would have never done otherwise.

Peter is thrilled about getting this job because Mark will be living with Judy and Peter and attending a private school just down the road from the University.

This website has been made possible by the patronage and sponsorship of the late Cornelius Charles Collins.