Gough
Family Newsletter Diary
Gough Family
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Mary, Zac, Alex and Max in Sydney |
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.
Mary
Gough (nee Collins) is the third daughter of Con and Bridget Collins
September/October
2008
Haven’t written something for the
newsletter in ages – its coz ive been doing so much
study……(*cough*)…….lol.
Well I’m not sure if you guys knew but our school was in the rock eisteddfod grand final and you’ll never guess who was in it – yours truly, Alex G – that’s right the girl who cant dance for shiz was actually in a rock eisteddfod. We were actually in the raw division which means no sets just props and enthusiasm. So it’s no surprise that we actually won the raw division for the state. Woohoo partay. We were all very excited because it’s the first time we had actually won the rock eisteddfod. Our story was about a cat and mouse that fell in love but there love was looked down upon and caused a war between the cats and mice. Obviously I was a mouse coz I’m cute and all I really had to do was scamper around the stage – except for the awesome dance break we did in perfect unison lol. I had an awesome time doing the rock eisteddfod and I’m so happy I did it.
I’ve
been made a senior at work (bakers delight) – sort of like a promotion –
firstly because ive been there long enough to know the ropes and secondly
because I’m too old to be a junior any more lol. It’s a slight pay rise but
nothing to brag about and now when something goes wrong – like someone’s
finger gets chopped off by the slicer (thank you work safe) – ill be the one
who gets blamed. So much pressure lol. I’m pretty happy about it though, gets
me that much closer to the much needed car so I won’t be borrowing mums all
the time – although she gets a free taxi in exchange for car privileges. Lol
Before
the holidays I had to complete my textiles folio and garment. Some of you may
not know that since the start of the year I have been working on a garment of my
own design that Jess was kind enough to let me model it on her. I was initially
going to do a masquerade themed dress but after I asked jess to model it for me
I decided to go with my cousin’s obsession of Egypt. We had to do a photo
shoot for the folio so there are some photos of the dress that I will send with
the email.
I
knitted the snake out of gold wire and hand sewed all the embroidery and beading
on the collar, headpiece and belt. I entered my garment and folio into top
designs which are a display for the top folios and garments in the state.
Hopefully mine is good enough to get in. They were marked over the holidays and
I have been told that I got an A+ for the two but because it’s an art subject
my score will be scaled down. I’m very happy with the A+ and so is mum with
all the effort we put into it – mum was my assistant (she glued lol). So
hopefully it will get into top designs and then we can all take a trip to
Melbourne museum so I can bask in my glory. Lol
Exams
are starting soon. Its gonna be stress city at our house. I think the only ones
I need to worry about are methods and physics. Basically what I need to do is
get rid of my social life and make friends with a text book. I think ill be
right though. The courses ive applied for don’t require an enter score anyway
– just interviews and a flawless portfolio. Lol. I’m hoping to get into
bachelor of production at Melbourne Uni or costuming at Swinburne. I’ve also
applied for fashion and design courses at RMIT in Brunswick and Kangan Batman
College in Richmond and they all require an interview so hopefully I do well in
that.
I’ve
got my drama solo performance examination on the 24th October so
that’s pretty exciting and scary at the same time. I’ve also got a
graduation dinner at Caulfield racecourse on the 22nd October so that
should be good. School’s almost over and I’m so happy but on the other hand
I don’t want to leave. on the night before the last day of term 3, as a
special treat the year 12s, we had a sleep over at school. sounds weird i know
but we actually slept in the school. we were able to roam the corridors at night
and go up into the tower (at school we have this cool tower that looks over the
whole landscape) it was freezing up there but it was beautiful with all the
lights. we took many photos and had loads of fun. it was a great way to end our
time at school before exam study got in the way. definitely a highlight
this year.
When
I asked the rest of the my family if they had done anything interesting to
report Zac replied with “No. Why?” max replied with “I burnt my hand”
and mum consulted her calendar which showed a dentist appointment. Obviously my
family is not as exciting as me – it’s all about me in our household and
I’m loving it. Lol
Mum
has also been looking for work but apparently she’s doesn’t even have the
qualifications to clean a house. Lol
Well that’s my news. I’ve you’ve gotten to this point in the writing I congratulate you – I would’ve given up in the middle somewhere. It’s so much easier to write than to read. lol.
May/June
2008
The Gough report this
month is from Alex, “I’m about to condense half a year of events into one
email. Alex - a girl of few words! (yer right).
At the start of February me, mum, Jess and Cathy all went and treated ourselves
to a night at the theatre. Yes, us hip, wild things went and saw Priscilla Queen
of the Desert - the musical. It was a fabulous night filled with singing,
dancing, beautiful costumes and ping-pong balls. Now Jess and I have a new thing
where we can quote every funny line from the show, like 'That’s just what
Australia needs - a c--- in a frock on a rock'. It would be a musical
to recommend, and definitely one to c again.
I got a job. Yay. Yes Alex Gough, who vowed to become rich without having to lift
a finger, has actually gone out and got herself a job. I am now an employee at a
shop close to home. I’ve been working there since the end of November and will
hopefully continue to work there until I get a better offer or I get fired.
I also got into raw rock eisteddfod at school which is like the rock eisteddfod
but not as expensive.
I had my year 12 Ball in February. So totally awesome, I had a fabulous time. It
was a night where I was different and actually dressed up like a girl. lol.
iIhad my fake tan done a couple of days b4 and my make-up and hair done on
the night. I was wearing a fabulous dress I got in Queensland and the most gorgeous
shoes I’ve ever owned that make me look a at least 3 inches taller. We could
take partners but I didn’t coz I didn’t want to have to sit there and
entertain them the whole night and I wanted to enjoy myself with my
friends. Everyone came to my house for pre-drinks and nibbles. Rick was our
photographer.
We took a limo from my house, it was a silver stretch limo - woohoo. We were lucky enough to play our own CD, which I had made, so we were listening to girls just wanna have fun, love shack, eye of the tiger and many other fantastic songs - turned up really loud. When we got to the ball, held at Brighton International, there was a photographer there who took our photo and stuff and then there was time to mingle b4 we went inside and had dinner and stuff. After dinner the DJ played some music, it was house music which I wasn’t too impressed with but naturally I danced. lol. Then after dessert they started playing all the good music, 80's all the way, and we danced some more. So by the end of the night my feet were absolutely killing me, my voice was kinda croaky and I was exhausted but I had the best night. It will most definitely be one to remember.
From the 5th till the 7th
of March I went on my year 12 retreat. The sessions were a little boring but we
were given heaps of free time and the place we were staying was so beautiful.
Our cabin/room was one of the biggest there and it had an upstairs and
everything – it even had a cupboard under the stairs which we called our Harry
Potter cupboard - much time was spent in this cupboard. The meals where pretty
good and the fact that we were with friends made it even better. It was an
awesome time away from school to reflect on the coming year. So much fun.
Max has a car. Yippee. Max bought himself a car late last year. It is a 1997 BMW 319is, black of course. Although black is very classy, it is also very hard to keep clean. He likes his car as it is reliable and good on fuel economy, and makes traveling to part time work in Port Melbourne much easier.
After 8 seasons of junior
football Zac has finally played his 100th game. On 27th April he proudly led his
team through the banner. The banner that took Mary hours to make and seconds for
it to be destroyed. Unfortunately the team lost but Zac got two medals – one
for 100th game and one for Lion of the Week.
On the 22nd May Mary and
Rick climbed the
On the 31st May I had my
18th birthday party – as many of you may know. The birthday celebration
started at 7.30 and proceeded through the night with much success. I’m pretty
sure that everyone danced at least once as there was much success with the Nut
Bush getting people to boogie down. I share my birthday with two other friends
– who were also there (Anna and Daniel). About 6 friends stayed and half my
family. People finally started to go to sleep round 3.30ish so I’m gonna say
that it was a successful party. I had a ball which was the main thing. We were
even lucky enough to have Jess’s famous French Toast in the morning which was
a bonus. We danced, we sang, we laughed, we talked. I drank legally and I woke
with nothing worse than a bit of a croaky voice and a sore neck - all in
all it was an awesome night. Can’t wait till my 21st (but I’m sure mum can).
Now that im 18 I have
booked in for my license – I’m not going to tell u when it is but I will
tell u when I get it (and u know I will lol). I’m more concerned about mid
year exams at the moment but I’m sure they will be fine as well.
September
2007
Mary and Rick recently
spent a holiday in Vietnam. Mary said, “On our first day in HCMC we
spent on cyclos exploring the city. A cyclo is a large tricycle ridden by your
guide with a seat where you sit at the front. It was scary but exciting all at
the same time as we were in traffic with not only motorbikes, but cars, taxis,
trucks and buses." Read
Mary's story about Vietnam and see pictures (including Mary on a cyclo) here.
Alex
Well
as you may know (or may not know) I went to Central
Our next stop was Coober
Pedy (my favourite). We had an opal mine tour and then our tour guide
took us to the opal gift shop (big mistake). 38 girls in a jewellery store! I
could have spent so much in there but unfortunately my bank account isn’t
bottomless (I had a limit) so I settled with two necklaces, one for me and one
for mum (they had our star signs on it). At Coober Pedy, we slept underground
which was fun and the wake up call was better then the previous morning, still
not good, but better. An hour better, they woke us up at 5 this time. Lol.
The King’s
Canyon resort thingo was next. We had a camp fire (with marshmallows),
camels, and that’s where we saw the sexy cowboy. A hot guy with a cowboy hat
on a quad bike kept riding past our camp site. The first time he did, everyone
just stopped talking and looked at him. The second time a couple of people
cheered. Then one of the teachers suggested that the next time he comes past be
should do the Mexican wave. And we did twice. lol. That was one of the best
parts of that night.
The next day we
climbed King’s Canyon. I can’t remember if it was 5km or 9km (I’m sure it
was 9km lol). What a work out. After you pass the steep incline at the start
it’s a breeze. Lol.
That night we arrived at Yulara and went and watched the sunset at Ularu. The majority of my pictures were taken at the sunset. It was beautiful.
The next day we
walked around Ularu. It
was about 9km and I was the only one on the trip that could say “I’ve been
here before” and “I’ve climbed that big thing next to us”. lol. This
lady talked to us about the rock before we walked around it. And she said
“There’s no point climbing it. You don’t get anything for it and there’s
nothing up there” - which is total and utter crap. I’ve climbed the rock and
I’ve got bragging rights - and the fulfilment of the climb. And as for
“there is nothing up there”, that’s the kind of thing someone who hasn’t
climbed it would say. It is the best and most beautiful view you have ever seen
(even better than the one from my bedroom lol). Anywho, that same day we went
and saw the Olgas.
Talk about big. Whoooooo I was impressed.
We spent 2 nights in
Yulara. Our next campsite was meant to be in the middle of nowhere but we
couldn’t find a spot we liked and the bus’s suspension went haywire coz we
were on a dirt road with lots of pot holes. And let me tell you that when the
suspension broke it was the bumpiest ride but so much fun. Me and my friends
were sitting in the back of the bus so it was almost like we had to hold on to
our heads so they didn’t hit the roof. Lol. We ended up staying in
They had their hair
straighteners and curlers, a bag full of make-up and the sort of clothes that
you just want to turn around and yell “OMG! YOU’RE CAMPING”. They thought
we came from a rich school because we were all girls (they were co-ed). We
weren’t going to correct them by saying “no we go to a catholic school”
and then when we told them we were taking a plane home it just confirmed their
suspicions.
Before heading back
home we saw the MacDonald
Ranges, and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Then it was on to our 2 hour
and 10 minute plane trip back. All in all it would have to be the best school
 | Souvenir t-shirt
- $30.00 |
| Money spent on food – Too much |
| Cost of souvenirs
- $50 |
| Cost of the trip
- $1000 |
Experiencing the
best 9 days of my life – priceless.
A reminder to the older generation that Lol is an acronym
for Laugh Out Loud!
Unfortunately
the Gough's usual correspondent, Alex, is currently on school camp in
Central Australia. That means I will do our report so without Alex's writing
flair our lives may seem a bit boring to some.
Since our last news Max has started at Swinburne Tafe in Hawthorn and is studying International Business. He has settled in well and has made some interesting new friends. He has also started working part time at his dad's work ATA Distributors, in the warehouse. While he is on a roll he is finally putting some effort into getting his licence, so beware when you are out on the roads.
Alex is doing VCE Theatre Studies, and the production they are working on as part of their assessment is McBeth. Alex has two minor parts, but has also put in for costume designer. This is quite a big task which needs to be finished in a short amount of time and a small budget. She also auditioned for the school musical Beauty and The Beast, even though I think Alex has a nice singing voice it was not good enough for her to get a part. Alex left for Central Aust this morning (27/3) with school and returns on 4 April. They are camping and going to Cooper Pedy, Kings Canyon, Uluru and Alice Springs. I'll leave it up to her to tell you all about it in the next newsletter
Zac has settled back into school and selected to swim for the school. He swam well in the 50mt Freestyle and Breastroke and their relay team came second. He has already been on a couple of excursions the last one to Rod Laver Pool to watch the swimmers practice for the FINA Championships. As we went to the Australian Open in January, it was good for him to see the Arena being used in a different manner. He recently attended the Grand Prix and Airshow with his dad. He didn't give us a lot of information except that it was loud, but COOL.
My exciting news is I'm having golf lessons, I am enjoying them and hope to have a game with Max in the school holidays.
Rick's little girl Maddison is again on a hospital waiting list. You may remember she had heart surgery in May2005 and a hip operation last Oct. When she went for her check up after the hip op, they found that her other hip is now also affected. (Perthes disease) So sometime in the next three months she'll be back in hospital and again six weeks in a wheelchair. She certainly is a little trooper.
We will all be off camping to Saltwater Creek (near Eden NSW) for the school holidays (7/4 to14/4). So with Alex back, our next newsletter should be full of lots of detail and photos.
A report by Alexandra Gough
What's
been happening with the Goughs since the last time I wrote something for the
newsletter might you ask? Well surprisingly, a lot has happened!
The last time I wrote, I was preparing for my drama solo at school. I was the
character of the player, like a court jester, in the times of Queen Elizabeth.
I had to research Queen Elizabeth and the strategies she used against her
enemies. I also had to write my own script which was tiresome at times. There
would be parts were I would spend an hour writing and it would only take a
minute to perform. Our solos were to go for a minimum of five minutes and a
maximum of seven to eight minutes. I had to cut my script down so many times
it's just not funny and I had to re-write so many scenes, but it's finished
now. I was so nervous before I performed. Normally my mouth gets really dry at
the end of my performance but this time it was dry at the start. I stumbled
a bit on a couple of lines and I had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction but I
pulled it off and was able to get an A for my work. Yay!! I also got an A for
my written response and an A+ for my research so I was really happy with that -
even more because it's a year 11 subject and I'm only in year 10. Yay!!!
Zac went on camp and had a fabulous time. He went to Lord Summers and the only
information we got of the trip were a bunch of.........umm..........interesting
photos.
The highlight of November for me was going to the Coke Live Concert with my
rocken cuzins, Jess and Elise, and our friends, Aaron and Mikey. We also met
two of Mikey's friends there, Glenn and Nathan; I was the organised one that
obtained the tickets. I got them off the coke labels. 50 points per ticket and
each coke label had 10 points on them. I was drinking a lot of coke for a
while. But it was worth it. We saw The Veronicas, Evermore and a whole bunch of
bands we didn't know but they were good. We sang, we danced, we had an
excellent time. The concert was on Jess's birthday so it was sort of like a
birthday prezzie. Jess had told us all the actual time of her birth so when
that time came around we were going to yell out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JESS". Unfortunately, it was in the middle of a song, so no-one would hear
us if we did it then. We decided to wait till after the song when it was a bit
quieter. When everyone had quietened down a bit we jumped up and said it. Jess
was so surprised and I think we nearly gave her a heart attack. lol!!! When I
got home my feet were killing me and my ears were ringing like mad and in the
morning I had a sore throat and a splitting headache but despite all that it
was the best concert I've ever been to.
The day after the Coke Live Concert, I went with Rick and his kids to Mathoura.
Mum had to wait for Zac to come home from camp before they could come and Max
stayed with dad so he could study. lol!!!! Like he would study! We went with
Rick's friend and his kids. I love kids so that was a bonus for me. Rick's
friend's brother came as well - and his kids. And one of his kids happens to be
Aaron, my friend, so that was fun that I had someone there my own age. We were
only there for cup weekend but that was 5 days. I missed out on school on
Friday and we had Monday and Tuesday off so that's how we got the 5 days. We
fished, we swam and we had a fabulous time. The weather was lovely and hot most
of the time. Me and Alannah had a whole tent to ourselves because Maddison
couldn't come as she was in the wheel chair and it would have been too
difficult for her and for us so she stayed with her mum. Aaron brought his boat
so we went in that a lot. I didn't catch any fish for some reason but Aaron
hooked a carp but while trying to get it into the boat the line snapped and it
got away so when we got back to camp no-one believed us. We went canoeing and
in the back of Mark's trailer for trailer rides. We were never short of things
to do. Rick's friend, Dale, brought his trail bike and we all had rides on
that. It was so much fun that it has encouraged me to get my bike licence when
I'm older much to the dismay of mum and dad.
Max, being the adventurous boy he is, went on Schoolies Week on November 28th
with his mates and came home on the 5th of December. They drove to Torquay and
stayed in a rented house. They entertained themselves by going to the beach,
pub and by staying home and having many BBQs and getting very drunk by having
drinking games to the TV series Scrubs (eg. every time J.D had an inner thought
or when him and Turk did the same dance move). They had to allow a 30 second
time limit between each drink because they were running out of vodka - they
only had one bottle between the 10 of them. Much to mum's relief, Max did not
come home with anything worse (eg tattoos or piercings) than a sore head and a
bag of dirty clothes. And we were thankful that we did not see him on the front
cover of the paper or on the news.
On the 30th of December mum and Rick decided to use up Rick's voucher for a
balloon ride that he got from mum last Christmas. They departed from the Hyatt
Hotel at 4.30 in the morning. They took a mini bus with 8 other people out to
Barling Park, Bundoora. There they helped set up the balloon. Eventually the
balloon was up and they were airborne at approximately 6.00am. They were in the
air for about an hour. The highest they got was about 2,000 feet and the lowest
was just above tree level. They had a beautiful view of the city and all its
splendour. It was a very smooth and peaceful journey. They landed at Fawkner
Park, South Yarra, where they helped pack up the balloon before heading back to
the Hyatt Hotel for a very yummy champagne breakfast at about 8.30am.
Me, Max and Zac have all broken up from school and we couldn't be happier. I got my report the day we broke up, mum and I were very happy with it, Zac hasn't gotten his report yet but we think it will be good as well. Max got his exam results on Monday, they weren't as good as he hoped but he passes so that's the main thing.
Zac has been having trouble with an ingrown toenail and had to get it operated on recently. He is in recovery now and will be fine. lol!! He's not allowed to get his toe wet so he has to have baths till the bandages come off. Poor Zac. But he is a very brave boy.
October 2006
A report by Alexandra Gough
The last news we had was at the
end of 1st term were I was at Canberra and we were going to Queensland. Well
Canberra was great and was nice and hot. So was Queensland. But the second week
we were in Queensland was very windy due to the cyclone. Luckily we didn’t get
the full brunt of it so I won’t say anymore on that coz it’s old news. Not
much happened after that. In term two I had a small production at school for
drama. We performed our ensemble pieces. They were funny sad and confronting all
at the same time. But most importantly we had loads of fun.
Max had his year 12 formal (or
ball whatever you wanna call it) in June just before the school holidays. He
wasn’t gonna go but came home one day after school saying that his friends
wanted him to go. He hired a suit and that’s all he did to prepare (well
that’s because he’s not a girl). Him and his friends met at one of their
houses and had some champagne before getting into the limo that took them to
their formal. He had a fabulous time and was glad he went.
I went on work experience for two
weeks in July. My first week I was at a digital photography place. I didn’t
get to do much there. Mostly watch so it was a bit boring. I spent my second
week at dad’s work. I did a heap more there like packing boxes, doing
invoices, making bookings and other stuff. Unfortunately I didn’t get much out
of the work experience coz those fields of work don’t interest me much. I
really wanted to do my work experience at Moorabbin airport but I left it too
late (I want to be a pilot for anyone who doesn’t already know).
Maddison (Rick’s daughter) was
supposed to have an operation on her hip (due to Perthes disease) a while ago
but unfortunately it had to be cancelled due to her having a cold and an ear
infection. She had been put back on the waiting list and had her operation
Monday 16th October. (See Rick’s report on Maddison’s operation further
down). She is currently in recovery and will be in a wheelchair for 6 weeks.
My netball team got into the
finals but we bombed out at the preliminary finals. But don’t worry we’ll
get them next time. I’ve started Thursday night netball now instead of
training and so far we have only won 3 games. Two because of technicalities (the
other teams forfeited) and 1 was because only 2 people from out team could play
so our coach got fill ins for us from her team. Zac’s footy team made it to
the finals. And unfortunately bombed out in the semi but he had fun and is now
getting psyched for next season. Yay. Max will soon be starting exams. His first
one is English was on the 27th October and his last one is on the 9th November.
He is in the process of studying. lol. At least that’s what he calls it. But
who ever hear of studying whilst playing the PS2.
For the skool holidays we went
camping with Rick and the kids. I went up early with Rick and his kids on the
Thursday night arriving at 2 o’clock on Friday morning. We set up in the dark
in a temporary camping spot, and by setting up I mean we blew up 3 mattresses
and set up Rick’s 30sec tents without pegs. We were lucky there wasn’t much
wind or we would have blown away. We had a girls’ tent and a boys’ tent. We
woke with the sun and found a camping spot that was 10 metres away and set up
our tents again. Rick set up his closest to the trailer and me and the girls
went and found a spot furthest away from him (due to his snoring). The boys set
up next to us. With the three tents we took up 2 camping spots.
Mum and the boys arrived the
following Monday bringing with them some city folk who knew nothing about
roughing it. Aka Cathy, John and Elise. There were few facilities so we needed
to bring everything including water. The toilets were pit toilets, a whole in
the ground for those who do not know. Cathy unfortunately broke the first rule
of pit toilets – i.e. DON’T LOOK DOWN. After disobeying this rule she
proceeded to tell us how it looked until her saviour John set up their own
portable toilet and she was happy. We saw many animals, kangaroos with joeys;
goannas, possums, whales, crabs, stingrays, dolphins and we caught an abundance
of fish. Naturally I caught the biggest fish.
No-one could beat my 59cm salmon.
But believe me, they tried. Almost everyone had a go at fishing - me, Rick,
Rhys, John and even Pierce, Alannah and Zac had a go. We caught about 50 between
us. Elise and I explored the waters of the creek in the canoe and decided to
turn back only when we got scared of the rocks. On our way back we picked up
Maddison and Alannah from the shore and took them for a ride. This ride came
with its own radio that could only be heard by us. We sang to our imaginary
radio for all to hear. And when I say all, I mean all. We could be heard all the
way back to our camping spot. We thought we were pretty good. Tone deaf more
like it. Lol. One of the highlights was watching Cathy sitting on her chair in
the dark looking up at the sky. What’s so great about that you might say? Well
we soon found out that she didn’t have her eyes open. We stood around for a
while discussing what we should do, draw on her face was a popular one, but she
woke up in a daze claming that she just put her head back to look at the stars
and fell asleep. Life of the party that one is. Lol.
I have a drama solo (VCE unit 2)
on Tues 30th. Stressed and scared. But I’ve finished my script and I’ll be
able to tell you more about it next newsletter.
Maddison’s operation (Maddison is the
daughter of Mary’s friend, Rick)
Maddison’s Dad, Rick, said, “On
Sunday 15th October, Maddison was admitted to the Royal Children’s
Hospital for a hip operation. She had contracted Perthes disease which is where
the ball of the hip collapses due to a lack of blood flow. Due to the ball
collapsing, Maddison’s leg was not correctly in her hip socket. The operation
involved cutting the top of the femur bone, inserting a pin into the top piece
and rotating it back into the socket. The top piece was then attached back to
the main bone with a bracket and three screws.
At 9.15a.m. on Monday 16th
October, Maddison went in for her surgery. The operation was expected to take 1
hour. We went to the “Parent’s waiting room” and soon after the hour the
surgeon came out to let us know the operation had gone well and all looked good.
We would be called to the “recovery” room shortly. Another hour and we
hadn’t been called into the recovery room - we were starting to become
worried. Eventually we were called in – only to find Maddison still out to the
world. She had shown signs of life but was still very much out of it. Without
really coming to, she was taken up to her ward. She had had two anaethaesists
which probably explains why she really did not wake up till Tuesday. A good
thing – because it meant she was in no pain.
Tuesday - Maddison although still on
a lot of pain relief was now starting to come to (our little space cadet).
By the afternoon she was quite with it and the Physio came around and got her
into a wheel chair for half an hour. Maddison was happy to be sitting up and
took advantage of the fact she was sitting up to do her favourite past time –
colouring – although she did complain the lines were all fuzzy. The physio was
impressed – some children aren’t that mobile for another two days.
Wednesday – Maddison was quite with
us now, sitting up in bed and playing “Barbie UNO”. The in-house television
show – “Macadamia” came around to the ward and pre-recorded some footage
of Maddison for the following day’s TV program. Maddison had the first of her
two intravenous pain relief stopped today.
Thursday – The “Macadamia”
people must have been taken by Maddison, as they invited her down to appear in
the “Live” taping of the show. (Only three children each week appear live on
the show). Maddison had the last of her intravenous pain relief stopped today.
Maddison slowly and painfully removed her own dressing this afternoon. She was
very brave. Nurse Lauren was very patient.
Friday – Ready to leave –
Check-out day goes really slow - you are ready to leave but need to wait for
doctors to give the all clear and arrange prescriptions etc. not enough
doctor’s, too many patients. Maddison could not wait to get to the Starlight
room (For the uneducated – the Starlight room is a large indoor play area for
the kid’s at RCH. It has heaps of video games, a large movie screen playing
current dvds, stage for singing and dancing, arts and crafts area, face
painting, air hockey – a kid’s paradise). She had been looking forward to
the Starlight Room from the day she arrived. Mum and Maddison went down to the
Starlight room while Dad chose to stay up in the ward waiting for all the red
tape to be cleared. Home time.
It really is amazing how quickly kids
turn it around - From being on two intravenous pain relief drips and other oral
pain relief medications to being checked out with a simple prescription for
codeine and panadol within four days. You are very brave Maddison.
Maddison is home now but is not allowed to put any weight on her leg for six weeks. (I guess it is like having a broken leg – but with no plaster). She will be in a wheel chair for six weeks. It is getting to the end of week one at home and Maddison will be returning to school next week.
May/June 2006
Mary’s friend, Rick, recently
celebrated his 40th birthday. The Collins Family enjoyed his hospitality
immensely and danced and sang into the early morning. The kids helped out behind
the bar or passed around finger food. Most stayed over at Mary’s place instead
of driving home from Patterson Lakes and some were apparently a little worse for
wear the next day!
March 2006
The Gough family are off to
Queensland for the school holidays so our Gough correspondent, Alex, is not able
to put in a report. She is currently in Canberra with her school. Mary says that
Zac is going well at his new school, and is having no problems travelling on the
train by himself, apart from being a bit more tired. He leaves at 7.30am and
gets home at 5pm.
January/February
2006
Alex reports, “On the holidays, Max worked, I partied, Zac watched telly and
mum was our slave. After Christmas, we went with dad to Phillip Island and
bummed around there until New Years Eve. Dad took us to play golf and squash and
I went to the market with him and Maggie. On 'New Years Eve' day, dad dropped us
back home at mum’s.
For New Years Eve, mum
took us to the movie to go see ‘Fun with Dick and Jane’. It was cold in the
cinema but as soon as we stepped outside the heat hit us. When we got home we
went to one of the neighbour’s houses and had a few drinks and left about
3a.m.
Max did some work for dad
for about a week. It was much more peaceful without him there. We went with Rick
and his kids to mini golf. We put ourselves in groups and I was with the girls
(I won). We went bowling and I was with Rick and Maddison (I won). And we went
rollerblading (I fell over 3 times). The rest of the holidays were uneventful.
Pretty much everything happened in the last 2 weeks.
It was getting hotter in
the last weeks of the holidays so I invited five of my friends
to come over and have a swim. They also stayed the night. We had loads of fun
playing Buzz, Singstar and perving on all the boys. Two of my friends had to
work the next morning and one of them looked like she had a really bad hangover.
From what I'll never know.
On the last weekend Elise
and I went to Judi and Renato’s place. We had a ball. We went to the pictures,
twice, La Porchetta and Time Zone. We went to see grandma at Gregory Lodge
Nursing Home and take her for a walk. Elise introduced me to some people there
– residents Bill, Arthur, and one of the carers, Mercy. We went to the
Victoria Market and Elise and I bought a cute ring each. We also went to the
pool and Elise and I were admiring the boyish view. The least expensive
thing we did was drive. That may not seem very fun to some of you but put me and
Elise together, and we can make anything fun. While Judi drove, Elise and I
stuck our heads out the window and went crazy. I think we also made one guy’s
day as we yelled out "spunky" as we passed. While we were waiting for
the movie to start, we found a lonely shopping trolley and played in it. Pushing
each other around. We had so much energy. We were on such a high.
I think that our stay with Judi and Renato was a time we will never forget. Judi also let us watch "Misery". We were supposed to stop half way and go shopping but it kept us in such suspense we had to watch the end. Well, that’s all from the Gough family. Happy new year to all and I hope to see you all soon.”
November/December 2005
Alex reports, “Well Max and I had
glandular fever but we tackled it early so it wasn’t to bad. I wasn’t
allowed to play any sports. Not even netball.
For netball, my team and I got into the grand
final and we won. At the start
of the finals, we were third on the ladder and in the grand
final we played the team that was first so we were all pretty exited. In
November I also went on camp at Wilson’s Promontory. Everything we took we had
to carry on our hikes except on the first night when we had to climb a mountain
to watch the sun set. If I had to take my pack up there I wouldn’t be here
today. It was hard enough without them. We also had to carry all our food. We
were on camp for two nights. The longest hike was on the second day but the
climb on the first night was the hardest.
On Saturday 10 December,
Zac and I have our drama productions. Zac’s is about Pirates and mine is about
a soapie. Mum’s still doing belly dancing but at the moment it still looks
like bum wobble. On the December 15th, Zac has his grade 6 graduation mass
and ceremony. Next year Zac will not be going to school with Max at St Bedes -
instead he will be attending Rossbourne School in Hawthorn."
October 2005
Alex writes: “When I last wrote, it was the
start of the holidays. For the holidays, on the first Monday, dad took us to
Marfield Sheep Station in NSW. The
person who owns it is my Dad’s cousin (my 2nd cousin). So we stayed with them.
Their names are Allan and Jill. They have two sons, Ben and Rick, who came home
on the Tuesday from boarding school. We had loads of fun. On the Wednesday we
herded the sheep into the pens so we could check them. It wasn’t that hard to
get them in because as soon as you start walking towards them they ran away from
you. On the Thursday and Friday we helped put up fences. It was fun but during
the day the flies were all over us and when the sun went down the mozzies were
all over me. I was eaten alive but the worst everyone else got were only 2 or 3
bites.
Anyhow, we left on the
Friday for home where we watched the Grand Final at Rick’s. Then we went to
Philip Island with mum. It was so relaxing. Mum’s friend, Rick, and his kids
came with us too. We went out for tea a lot and we also went shopping.
Our first week back to school, Max didn’t go because he was sick. The doctor thinks he has glandular fever. The doctor also thinks I have glandular fever but I only had one day off school even though it is so obvious that I am much worse. Max is such a wooz. I am not supposed to play netball but I can’t just sit around doing nothing and letting my team down so I am going to play my first game since the start of the holidays on Tuesday night but I won’t be able to play a full game.
Mum is going to start her first belly dancing lesson on Tuesday. (Mum says don’t expect any photos!
September 2005
Alex reports, “Lots has been
happening here in the Gough house. I have finished my dance lessons and have had
the social. It was loads of fun. First we did the dances that we learnt (Cha
Cha, Pride of Erin, Waltz, Strip the Willow, and many more). They had awards for
the best dancers - bronze silver and gold. I won the gold. When I told mum,
she went on about how I had inherited my good moves from her and when I told
dad, he said the same thing. We won our school netball grand finals and we all
got a blue ribbon.
We’ve all started holidays. In the first week, dad is taking us to Marfield Sheep Station because he has family living there. In the second, week mum is taking us to Phillip Island.
Zac’s school got in to the Wakka grand final even though they did not win they all preformed well and had loads of fun. Zac had his last musical performance on Thursday. The grade 5&6s performed a story about a band. One of the band members was having a birthday and was turning 40. We saw flash backs on how the band tried to become famous. We saw many 70s-80s rock legends such as Kiss, ABBA, Rolling Stones, Sky Hooks, Kylie, Spice Girls, AND MANY MORE. Zac did 3 performances. He was the father of someone who was trying out for the band.
August 2005
Alex has provided the
Gough Family report for this newsletter. Alex is proving to be a talented
writer and has contributed two of her poems for this newsletter. Alex – have a
look here for a surprise! Your own poetry page on the website
– so keep those poems coming and I will put more on this page.
So, what’s been happening in the Gough Family?
Zac’s football semi final is on this weekend and his Wakakirri performance got into the finals so he will be performing on the 8th of September at the Vodafone Arena. Here is a photo of Zac in his costume.
Alex is the youngest member of the Open Age division of the Paterson Lakes Netball Team. They were runnersup in the Grand Final on 14th June. They all played well but were beaten by a team that have been playing together for some time.
Max has
finished his mid year exams. He surprised us all in receiving an Academic Award
in VCE General Maths. We all wonder what a genius we would have on our
hands if he actually studied!!
Zac's
Wakakiri performance is on July 19 and we will have pictures of this for the
next newsletter.
Mary has
no time to do anything – she’s too busy going to netball, sewing for the
Wakakiri and trying to get Max to study.
June 2005
Alex is playing in the Open Age division of the Paterson
Lakes Netball Team. She is the youngest member of her team. They are in the
Grand Final on 14th June. Good luck Alex!
Max has finished his mid year exams.
May 2005
What have the Goughs been up to? Mary reports:
”When last in the newsletter, Alex was training for the swimming team at
Kilbrida (her school). Alex competed very well and came home with a blue ribbon,
and the school won the overall carnival.
Zac has started rehearsals for this year’s Wakakirri. This year’s theme is
"Milestones of Life", Zac will be in the scene titled "First
Date". Footy season has also started and Zac is playing in the U13 for
Carrum/Patterson lakes.
Both Zac and Alex have been on camp. Zac went to Sovereign Hill and Alex went
hiking (with a full pack) to Cape Schanck. Both survived and had a great time.
Max has been very busy getting high scores on all his computer games!!!!!!!!!
Every now and then he does some schoolwork - hopefully a little bit more with
exams starting on 26 May. Winter season of tennis has also started, so at least
Max gets out on Saturday mornings.
I’m giving the gym a break at the moment, but still plenty of walking
and basketball twice a week. At the moment I’m busy sewing for Zac's Wakakirri.
My friend Rick’s 5 year old daughter Maddison had open heart surgery on 28
April. What could have been a 2-6 week stay in hospital ended up being only 10
days, which means all went very well and she should be back at school in a
couple of weeks.”
March 2005
Mary is finally on broadband!
Alex is busy. She is swimming for her school and is
training two mornings a week – as well as playing netball. Zac is in grade six
this year also going to drama school. He has been in the W…. for the last
three years and has signed up again for 2005. And Max is in Year 11!!!!
Mary’s friend, Rick’s little girl, Madison, is due for
open heart surgery soon and the whole CollinsPlus family will be thinking of her
and sending prayers and well wishes for a speedy recovery.
September 2004
Zac’s school competed in the Wakakiri and Zac was an ant
in The Hungry Caterpillar. Zac’s school came second in division two this year.
August 2004
Last month, Zac’s school competed in the Wakakiri and Zac
was an ant in The Hungry Caterpillar. That performance made it to finals where
Zac will be up to his finals “antics” at the Vodafone Arena on 10 September.
Good luck Zac!
Zac also made his confirmation on Sunday 8 August. His
confirmation name is Felix and Renato was his sponsor.
What a busy fellow Zac has been. He plays in the Under
11 for Carrum/Patterson Lakes Football Team.
They played in the Grand Final on Sunday 29 August and although they didn’t
win, what a great effort to get that far in the competition.
Zac Gough
(Youngest
son of Mary Gough nee Collins)
On
Monday 26/7/04, Zac performed in the 2004 Wakakirra (which is like a Rock
Eisteddfod). There are 500 schools all over Australia who compete. This is
Zac’s 3rd year and he loves it. His performance this year was based
on the story of The Hungry Caterpillar. Zac was a soldier ant. His school did
really well but we won’t know if they made the finals until all the heats are
finished.
Max Gough
(Eldest son of Mary Gough nee Collins)
Max has
just had his sixteenth birthday and has also been doing some work experience
which he has enjoyed very much.
Alex
Gough
(Only daughter of Mary Gough nee Collins)
Alex is
off to camp shortly and hopefully will have some pictures of camp life for the
next newsletter.
Mary Gough
(Third daughter of Bridget and Con Collins)
Mary has FINALLY been connected to the internet and has an email address.
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