Barbara Collins
18 February 1949 -
|
|
My name is Barbara Collins and I am the
first born daughter of Cornelius
Charles Collins and Bridget
Collins (nee Lennon). My brother Graham and my sisters Judith,
Mary
and Cathy
were all raised lovingly in West Brunswick, Melbourne and went to St Joseph’s
Primary School in the same suburb. I went on to St. Philomena’s in Moonee Ponds
for a year, and after winning a scholarship, went on to St Columba’s College
in Essendon. I left in Leaving (Yr 5) after I was accepted into Mercy
Teachers College where I completed a two year Diploma of Teaching degree. I
taught at St Brendan’s, Flemington; St Joseph’s, West Brunswick; St Peter
Julian’s Mooroolbark and at Eymard Hill Mooroolbark where I ended my teaching
career as a non teaching Vice Principal. |
|
|
In my early teaching days, I met and
married a great guy called Ernest deVlieger in 1972. We were together for 13
years. We did not have children but I am the proud godmother of Tyson
Collins and Catherine
Zoch. We also had an eccentric Cocker Spaniel, Stumpy and a cat without a
tail, Snugglepuss. Ernie and I divorced amicably in 1985 and remain friends. With a touch of burnout after escaping
from teaching, I wondered what else I could do after 20 years of teaching and
soon found out I could do practically anything. After a stretch on the dole,
I worked as a receptionist to a child psychiatrist, as a weight loss counsellor,
an adult literacy coordinator, a community centre manager and an
administrator with Quit. I still work there and have gone to part time this
year (2004) – which gives me time to do things like building this website. |
|
|
|
Among the things I did along the way was
to start a couple of social clubs – the Maribyrnong Social Singles and
The Happiness Connection. I also ran a course called The Happiness
Within and how to get it out. I obtained a grant to introduce the concept
of Random Acts of Kindness to Australia and ran a small business
called Wellness Unlimited where I gave healthy cooking lessons in
people’s homes and talked about Maximising Metabolism to weight loss
clubs throughout Victoria. I have overcome the need to be overly happy, well
and kind and am now just normal in these areas. |
||
|
|
In 1992 I met my lifetime partner, Paul
Teres. We live in Maribyrnong, Melbourne and really love being together.
We have travelled together to New Zealand and Hawaii as well as quite a few
Australian destinations and intend to do a lot more travelling in the future.
I love walking, working out at the gym, cycling, gardening, reading, movies,
eating, getting together with the family, staying fit and healthy, eating
chocolate and veging out in front of the TV at the end of the day. My current
projects are maintaining the CollinsPlus website and newsletters, working on
the family tree up and saving for a Mediterranean cruise! |
|
|
. |
After 14 years together, Paul asked me to marry
him on my 57th birthday in February 2006. We married on 27th
August, 2006, at the Registry Office in the Old Treasury Buildings in
Melbourne. Here is a picture of our family and friends who helped us
celebrate our marriage. We went for a cruise on our honeymoon – no, not the
Mediterranean cruise – yet. On this cruise, we visited a few ‘exotic, hidden
treasures’ on the Pacific Sun. Click here for a
story about our wedding and honeymoon. |
|
|
|
After being semi-retired for 4 years, I
have decided to fully retire at the end of 2007. To celebrate, we are going
on a cruise in January 2008 (no, still not the Mediterranean Cruise). This
cruise will be circumnavigating New Zealand. |
|
Last updated by Barbara in June 2007