CollinsPlus
E-news
Edition 4. May
2005.
Editor:
Barbara Collins
You can
send news at any time to The Editor. A reminder email will be sent out
a little while before each edition is due. So please keep the newsletter in
mind whenever anything happens in your family that you would like to tell
everyone about!
Index
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All about ……. Mary Gough |
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Collins Family News
Go to Collins Family in CollinsPlus
Website
Social Events
Mother’s Day at Gregory Lodge
Bridget celebrated Mother’s Day this year
in her new ‘backyard’ at Gregory Lodge Nursing Home. Graham, Brenton and Wade
made the trip out to Flemington to join in the Mother’s Day fun with Con, Judi
and Renato, Bear and Barb and Paul. It
was really great that Brenton and Wade were able to join in this year. Click here to see more pictures.
Next Family Lunch
Sunday
26th June. Pop the date in your diary now and suggestions for a
venue are very welcome!
Con Collins
Con Collins is the Ground Zero man for this website.
Good
news for Con. He received the all clear from the melanoma taken from his back.
A voice
from the old S.P. bookie days of 35 years ago was a telephone call from Kevin
Timms. Con and Kevin had an enjoyable five hour counter lunch talking about old
times. They are going to repeat the adventure in the near future!
Bridget Collins
Bridget (nee Lennon) is wife of Con Collins.
Bridget continues to enjoy excellent care at
Gregory Lodge Nursing home. Some days are better than others and if you pop in
for a visit you never know if you are going to be greeted by a little smile or
grabbed by the hand to be taken for a brisk walk around the home. The carers at
the Lodge are mindful of each resident’s needs and idiosyncrasies, and treat
them with respect and special touches that help them feel comfortable.
Here are two of the special carers who help make
Gregory Lodge ‘home’ for Bridget!
Graham Collins
(Graham is the only son of Con Collins)
Graham’s 53rd birthday occurred
this year on the day before Mother’s Day. Georgette and Josie put on a Mother’s
Day/Graham’s birthday special breakfast on the Sunday morning of Mother’s Day.
Carly Collins
(Carly is the only
daughter of Graham Collins who is first born son of Con Collins)
Carly got her car back a little while ago and it was in okay
condition. A safety check found about $1500 worth of damage but nothing was
stolen. It’s been fixed and detailed and it’s going well.
Carly was recently invited to the Logies after party. She says, “The
Logies After Party was great!!! None of the really big stars were there, as I’m
sure they had more exclusive parties to go to. I did meet a fair few people. I
met about five Melbourne Storm Rugby players, a few AFL players, some Big
Brother and Australian Idol people, and a singer from the group "IL
DEVO". In fact, he gave my friends and I money for a cab home when our
driver decided to stay in the city!! He was a really nice guy! I had pretty
long chats with Larry Emdur and Molly Meldrum!!! It was really exciting! I had
heaps of fun!!”
Wade Collins
(Wade is the third son of
Graham Collins who is first son of Con Collins)
Wade’s university* exams in Economics, Information Systems, Business Law
and Sport Organisation start mid-June so he is very busy studying. As well, he
is working 10-15 hours a week at Target and playing football for Aquinas in the
Under 19s. His team are undefeated on top of the ladder.
*Wade is doing a Batchelor of Commerce, majoring in Sports Management,
at Deakin.
Tyson Collins
(Tyson is the second son of Graham Collins who is first son of Con
Collins)
Tyson plays for Seniors Division One for Mitcham. If you would like to
access ladders and fixtures for Mitcham, go to this website:http://www.sportingpulse.com.au/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=722&pID=1
Tyson’s long time and special friend, Kate, leaves for London in late
May. Tys has been spending a lot of time with her before she goes.
Brenton Collins
(Brenton is the first son of Graham Collins who is first son of Con
Collins)
Brenton says, “I entered the Anzac weekend pool tournament at The Pool
Room (my home club). The qualifying stage was on the Saturday. Three hundred
and twenty people entered. The format was 32 tables with 10 players on each
table. You had to play everyone on your table once, and the top 4 went through
to the knockout stage on the Sunday. I made it through. At this point there was
128 players left. The knockout stage began with best of 5 matches. I won my
first match 3-0 which took me to the last 64. I won my next game 3-0 also -
down to the last 32. I was getting a bit excited at this point, as 1st prize
was $2,500. Unfortunately I randomly drew the top seed for my next match, and
was comprehensively beaten 4-0. I still won $80 prize money - which helped chip
away at beer tab!!”
Ed.
Note: I asked Brenton if he had any pictures of the tournament. He said, “No
pictures. Last tournament I played in, (Aunt) Josie came
down and took photos. The flash disturbed most players and she almost got
evicted from the venue. This was on top of her coming down (to the pub) with
her thermos and rice crackers and setting herself up as if she was at a picnic.
So there is a blanket rule now - no immediate or extended family are told that
I'm playing pool until after the event!!”
The Bill Collins
Family
Bill Collins was the only brother of Con Collins. Kath is Bill’s wife. Go to Bill Collins page for more information on this family.
“Damien’s son, Joshua, has had some arm/shoulder
trouble. He loves footy and plays for his school. A lad much bigger
came crashing down on him so he had a pin placed in the area of the 'growth
plate'. This will have to be removed in 6 weeks. Joshua and Damien are
Richmond fans so he, Josh, was delighted to have a Mr. Salmon, orthopaedic
surgeon, who attends to AFL fellows, attend to him. The assisting doctor
was the Richmond doctor! There was a long wait for surgery. They were
told to be at the Mercy by 11a.m. but did not go to theatre until 6p.m.
Rebecca flies out on 6th June, but does not yet
know if she has a pub. Seems this is the way they do
things. She has been told she may not know until 10-12 days before
the flight. In the circumstance of not being placed in a pub, she will still go
to U.K. and stay a short time and return home.
Paul, Michaela and family should be in their new
40 square home in Balwyn in the 2nd week of June. This home has got the
works. It has taken more than a year to build and has every up-to-date
item one can think of. Mind you, I have not been inside as yet but from
what I have been told it sounds quite something.
Following up on Marg, who had a fall at her
kinder and did shoulder damage, she was operated on pre-Easter. She looks
great as being away from kinder she has tanned up and, as done often, has lost
about 8 kilos. She just cuts out certain food items. The deal was that
Michael, who is really skinny, was to put it on. This we are waiting to
see!
Mothers' Day they all called in for a few hours
and we did the afternoon tea bit. Michael had requested apple pie which
all seemed to enjoy. I did the rolled pavlova that I had not previously
done and it sure has them wondering 'what is this'! My sister Rose, on being
told that Michael is so thin, suggested he eat three of these!!! We were able
to sit out the back yard as the sun was so warm. Damien remarked that the yard
looks more like a Summer yard as it is just so dry.”
The Zoch Family
Catherine Zoch is the 4th girl in the Con and Bridget
Collins Family. She is married to John Zoch. Go to Zoch Family
page.
Cathy’s Achilles is healing well but still
needs work on it before it’s back to normal. She has gone back to work and
reports that this was a relatively stress free exercise.
The Gough Family
Mary Gough is the 3rd girl in the Con and
Bridget Collins Family. She is married to Chris Gough. Go to Gough Family
page.
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What have the Goughs been up to? Mary reports: 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.
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.” |
The Cabrera Family
Judith
(nee Collins) is married to Renato Cabrera. Go to Cabrera
Family page.
Poor Bear!!!
“I was out for a walk with my mum one sunny
Saturday morning and just before we got home a huge Malamute Dog came rushing
out from his front gate and attacked me. I was defenseless as my mum had me in
the harness and all she could do was stand there and scream. She didn't even
kick the dog you-know-where. If my dad had of been there he would have and
maybe my injuries would not have been so bad. I was rushed to the Lort
Smith Animal hospital emergency department and they said I was lucky to be
alive as Malamute dogs can and intend to cause a lot of injury to small dogs
like me.
I stayed in hospital overnight and when I
came home the next day, I looked a sight. For a whole
two weeks I was on antibiotics and pain killers. Half of my hair was shaved
off and for a week I had these horrible drainage tubes hanging out of my
back. I had lots of stitches because the dog bit me in three places, trying to
attack the three places they go for (the organs, the muscle and the bone). I
had to wear this hideous buster collar, which I did not like.
But I'm well and truly on the mend now and
I'm back to my normal self. I'm not scared to go for a walk, but my
mum is. She still takes me, but she's very wary. They only good thing about
this whole ordeal was I got terribly spoiled and my medications were chocolate
coated!!”
See Bear’s
bio in the CollinsPlus Pet’s Album (Do you have a pet who would like to be
in this album??)
Judi and Renato's News
“Having had a bit of a traumatic time with
Bear, we are a bit worn out with the worry that it caused us and we did not
venture too far away or go out much so we could hang around to look after him.
However, we have been out to dinner and
to see a few good movies. We managed to enjoy a couple of celebrations
with Renato's sister, Patricia, which is always filled with good food and
music.
We will be off to an Anniversary
Celebration at the Chilean Club late in May and will tell you about that one in
the next newsletter. We had Father Casey over for dinner - he always
enjoys that as he can't cook for himself and he always gets to take home
leftovers.
Renato still loves his new job as caretaker
and maintenance man looking after two buildings containing several
apartments in Melbourne's elite suburbs. He says he has never changed so many
light bulbs in his life.
I have been getting quite a bit of work at
Bi-Lo but not in my favourite department - the Deli. I applied for a Citizen's
Service Officer part time position with the Moreland city Council. My
application got me into the last 25 people out of 171 applications. That was
good but the next step was a two hour computer, numeracy and literacy test
which I thought was grueling. I had to work out fractions of time (what the….).
Well I flunked. Apparently I went well with all that I answered, but it was the
ones I didn't answer or finish that I lost the points
on. Oh well - Moreland City Council’s loss.”
Ed. Note: That’s the spirit Judi! It
really is their loss.
The McManus Family
Ellen (Helen) McManus nee Lennon was Bridget’s eldest sister. Margaret
Martin is the eldest daughter of Ellen and Pat McManus. Go to McManus
Family Page.
Margaret Martin (nee McManus)
Margaret turned 60 this month and she and Terry celebrated 30 of years of happy marriage.
The Deacon Family
Peter Deacon is the son of Bridget’s sister, Molly. Go to the Deacon
Family page.
Judi has found Peter! Judi received a
letter from Peter who 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! Judi is hoping to get his new email address so we
can re-establish contact.
The Teres Family
Paul Teres is partner to Barbara Collins, daughter of Con Collins. Go to
Teres Family
page.
Paul is back in Brisbane for 10 days this
month to attend to his mother’s needs. Pauline lives alone in Brisbane as her
husband, Wasyl, is in a nursing home. Paul and his children are all keen for
Pauline and Wasyl to relocate to Melbourne, and hopefully this will be possible
in the near future.
Paul has received a Megastar Plasma Donor
lapel pin from the Australian Red Cross Blood Service to acknowledge his
participation in the Apheresis Pledge Program.
Andrew and Sophie Teres are settling into
married life and there should be a few more wedding photos in the next
newsletter.
Lisa has settled into her new home in Kew.
Mary Gough 7 April 1961 –
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My name is Mary
Gough (Collins) and I am the fourth born child to Con
& Bridget
Collins. I was born at Moreland Hospital (now John Fawkner) on 7 April 1961,
raised at Whitby Street, West Brunswick, spent 7 years at St Joseph’s Primary
School in West Brunswick, 6 years at Santa Maria College Northcote. I enjoyed
school, but was not a great scholar, and after passing my HSC in 1978 was not
to sure what career path to take. I deferred a course at RMIT in accounting
and got a job in the Victorian Public Service. I worked as a clerk in the
Police Department at Dawson St Brunswick. |
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After 6 long, long
months, I changed jobs and started work with the Commonwealth Bank. My first
branch was at Melbourne University. I think this was one of the last branches
to go on line, or join the computer age. Everything was done by hand, even
adding up. While there, I was involved in an armed robbery. Four men stormed
into the small premises and had all staff and customers lie on the floor. As
we were responsible for the pays of all university staff, they got away with
what was at the time one of the largest hauls on record. Other branches I
worked in over 11 years service were Cheltenham and Chelsea. My preferred
occupation these days is looking after my family. |
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I met Chris
Gough in 1978 and we were married on 20 May 1982. We bought a house in Mentone
where we lived for six years. While planning and building a house in
Patterson Lakes (2½ years) we were blessed with two children. Max
was born on 28 July 1988 and Alexandra
20 May 1990. We moved into Patterson Lakes when Alex was 5 weeks old. The
house is on the water and has a sandy beach, it’s like being on holiday all
year round (except for cooking, cleaning, washing………). After another 2 years
we were once again blessed and Zachary
was born on 3 Nov 1992. However, Zac was in a little bit of a hurry and was
born on the ensuite floor. He hasn’t stopped since. Chris and I
separated in 2002 and the children and I have remained at Patterson Lakes. |
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I love to
travel. I have seen much of Victoria, been to Tasmania three times, numerous times
to the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, driven to Perth and Darwin, Kakadu
National Park, climbed Ayers Rock three times, been to Adelaide, Sydney,
Brisbane and Canberra. A road trip taking three months saw me going up the
East Coast of Australia to Cooktown, across to Mt Isa, then to Tennant Creek
and back down the centre to Adelaide. I hope one day to travel all around
Australia and not be restricted by time. I have also been to New Zealand
three times and the West Coast of the USA. I also hope to do more travelling
overseas. |
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Recently I have
realised that I enjoy bush camping as well. I’ve been to such places as
Saltwater Creek and Wanganella (NSW) and Bear Gully and the High Country (Vic). It’s very relaxing and carefree. I enjoy sport
and being active. Over the years I have played netball, tennis, squash,
indoor cricket, swimming and currently play basketball twice a week. I was
once an aerobics junkie, but am happy now to just do a work out at the gym. I
also enjoy walking. Other interests
are reading, going to the movies, at times my garden, listening to bands and
my most important thing - my children. I enjoy helping out at school and
their sporting interests. |
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Carly Collins
Only
daughter of Graham Collins who is only son of Con Collins.
Carly
is doing a Personal Training course at Box Hill Institute of TAFE.
CARLY'S MAY HEALTH
TIP
This month, I'm going to talk about pedometers. A pedometer (step
counter), is a motivational tool that counts your steps throughout the day.
Research shows that 10,000 steps per day of accumulated walking can lead to
significant health benefits. Even if you are not reaching 10,000 steps a day,
you may be surprised at how many steps you already do, and how easy it is to
add more.
We bought Dad one for his birthday, and he
loves using it! The particular model we bought for dad not only records his
steps, but also shows the amount of calories he burns throughout the day, and
the distance he has walked! It’s really interesting to compare the steps you
walk each day so you know how active you’ve been and how many steps you need to
maintain or improve your health.
I recommend you log on to www.10000steps.org.au, to read more
about it. It really is quite interesting!
See
all Carly’s Health Tips in the CollinsPlus newsletter. http://www.collinsplus.com/sharinglifestyle/health/health.htm
Happy birthday to: Graham Collins, Alex
Gough, Pauline Teres and a special Happy Birthday to Margaret Martin on her 60th
birthday.
Click here for your a birthday card -
Read
this if you feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have
enhanced our lives.
At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates
reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated,
"If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we
would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon." Click here to read General Motors amusing response
to Bill's comments.
Come and fix the
printer jam please?
This was an actual printer jam!!!!! He's not dead
but he's sure stuck. We did end up getting him out and letting him loose. How'd
you like to get to work and find this problem?
Money
Even though there has been a lot of talk about
saving money in this newsletter, money isn’t everything! Read
this – right to the end – for a bit of a laugh.
Is seeing believing?
This is the bathroom floor at an artist's house. He
thought it would be cool to freak out his friends when they came over.
Imagine you are at a party.... have a few to drink .... and then have to visit
THIS bathroom!
All websites featured in this newsletter are archived on the Links Page of the CollinsPlus site for future reference.
On line dictionary - English, Medical, Legal, and Computer Dictionaries, Thesaurus,
Encyclopedia, a Literature Reference Library, and a Search Engine all in one!
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
Good news for lovers of
dark Chocolate
Recently came across this article in American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition 
2005:
Good news for people who love chocolate. Dark, rather than white,
chocolate seems to have a blood pressure lowering effect. Some 15 happy,
healthy volunteers who were randomly assigned to receive dark or white
chocolate bars on 15 consecutive days showed that the dark variety produced a
significant drop in systolic blood pressure, and also improved insulin
resistance as measured by glucose tolerance testing, compared with white
chocolate.
This is backed up by a number of studies.
Dark chocolate may be healthier
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3185363.stm
A Dark Chocolate a Day
Keeps the Doctor Away
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/88/99702.htm
However, all articles mention that while a little dark chocolate is
good, a lot is not better. Chocolate still is loaded with calories. If you're
going to eat more chocolate, you'll have to cut back somewhere else. A balanced
diet -- and plenty of exercise -- is still the key to heart health.”
Congratulations
this month to ….
ü Margaret Martin on turning 60!
ü Con Collins for getting the all clear on
his melanoma removal
ü Paul,
Michaela and family on moving into their new home
ü Madison
(daughter of Mary’s friend, Rick) on such a good recovery after her heart
surgery
ü Bear
on surviving the Malamute attack
ü Alex
on winning a blue ribbon in swimming
ü Peter
on turning 50 in April (Belated happy birthday wishes to Peter!!)
ü Brenton
on ‘fighting the good fight’ and winning a prize at the Anzac weekend pool tournament at The Pool Room
ü Josie
for being such a brave aunt (See Brenton Collins –
Ed. Note)
Passing on
this newsletter
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