CollinsPlus
E-news
Edition 1. January - February 2006
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 Tyson Collins |
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Website news
Blogging
Family Moment has gone!
The CollinsPlus Blog is in! (no longer available)
What's a Blog?
According to Blogger, that’s the site CollinsPlus is using, "a blog is usually
a personal diary but it can be whatever you want it to be. There are millions
of them on the internet, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules”.
In simple terms, a blog is a web site,
where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so
your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or
email you. Or not.
Since Blogger was launched, almost five
years ago, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up
journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with
others.
I’ve put the address of the Blogger site in
Cool Links if you want to explore blogs a bit more. Here are two blog sites you
can look at already. And we are hoping to have a ‘Tyson’s Travels’ website up
and running by next newsletter.
If you want to add a comment to any of the posts, just click at the bottom
of that post where it says ‘comments’, and follow the prompts.
Collins Family News
Go to Collins Family in CollinsPlus
Website
Social Events
Carols
at Gregory Lodge
Each year, Gregory Lodge has a Christmas Carols evening with a terrific
supper. Last year, the staff put Bridget to bed before the Carols started so
this year, we decided to have a private Carols singalong in Bridget’s room at
Gregory Lodge. Bridget does not cope well with large crowds and can be a bit
cranky by the end of the day. So Con, Judy and Renato, and Barb and Paul, and
Bridget’s friends, Joan and Maria, assembled in her room. We lit candles and
Judy had organised carols books and a CD with appropriate music. We sang along
quite happily - at times singing better without the accompanying music. Bridget
did not sing. In fact, we couldn’t get any smiles out of her at all but she did
yawn a lot (No, we weren’t that bad! Or maybe we were?!?) Unfortunately, we got
into trouble about the candles and their potential to set off fire alarms. And we missed out on most of the supper –
but I think we had a good time. Click here to see more
pictures.
Christmas Day
As usual, the Collins Family spent
Christmas Lunch with their inlaws and/or other loved ones. Con, Judy and Renato
joined Bridget at Gregory Lodge for a Christmas BBQ lunch. And in the evening, all
gathered at Mary’s spacious home at Patterson Lakes for a simpler meal and to
share Christmas wishes and exchange presents.
This is always a special time for me as I
love my family and am so proud of each one of them. It makes me feel warm and
happy to be surrounded by such a good and special family. I think we are very
fortunate to be able to gather together on Christmas Day.
Just after the present giving and before
the meal, we squeezed in together for the traditional Christmas photo. This
requires quite a few takes as everyone sets up their cameras to auto shoot.
So here is who’s who in this photo:
Back row from left: Rick Watkins (Mary’s
friend), Cathy and John Zoch, Wade Collins, Jessica Zoch, Darcy Collins, Max
Gough and Tyson Collins.
Middle row from left: Rhys Watkins, Pierce
Watkins, Brenton Collins, Elise Zoch,
Maddison Watkins, Alex Gough, Carly
Collins, Alannah Aldington (Rick’s daughter), Graham Collins.
Front row from left: Con Collins – just
behind Barbara Collins, Paul Teres, Judy and Renato Cabrera, Mary and Zac
Gough.
Next Family Get Together
Diary Dates for next year
Have you put these dates in your 2006 diary
yet for the family get togethers?
April 2
July 9
October 8
Con Collins
Con Collins is the Ground Zero man for this website.
Con was made Skipper at Bowls and it was
the first time in 5 years. The team won 34 to 11 and no, they were not playing
against a kindergarten.
Con’s cataract surgery has now all been completed
in both eyes and he has new glasses - transition at that, and after all that
can't tell any difference.
Colonoscopy was successful with no polyps
in sight and no need to return for another two years.
And a long time mate, Harold Cox,
passed away last week, but it has a happy release. And he ‘stole’ Con's
departing song "I did it my way".
Graham Collins
(Graham Collins is the first and only son of Con Collins who is the
Ground Zero man for this website. Graham
Collins Family)
Carly
As reported last newsletter, Carly has been accepted to perform at
the opening and closing ceremonies at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next
month. She is flat out at the moment but handling her hectic life with the
enthusiasm and energy of youth.
She reports, “I’m working both my jobs at the moment, starting at
5-6ish most mornings and then again until 10 most nights AND rehearsing (for
the Commonwealth Games) in Laverton 3 to 4 times a week. It’s killing me! I
feel like I have no time for anything! Been very tired. But I really want to
save money at the moment so I’ll keep it up! Games rehearsals are going good!
They are very long rehearsals and can be pretty boring at times, especially the
Sunday mornings when I wish I were still in bed!! Such a long drive to Laverton
too. But we are getting there, everything looks good, and
I know on the night it will all be worthwhile. I can’t say too much about it as
we have signed a confidentiality agreement, which they are being so strict
about! Like we can’t have our phones out at all in case someone hears the music
in the background or we might take a picture of something. But I can briefly
tell you my role. My group is called the "Sweetheart Girls" because
we will be dancing a few songs with big hearts that have sayings on them
devoted to Melbourne. Also we don’t know our costume yet. All they've told us
is that it will be along the lines of what Kylie Minogue wears - so we're thinking
probably hot pants, or something like that!! We are on the field for the
longest amount of time out of all the dancers! Our group is also in the finale,
which is dedicated to Dame Edna, but there is like 1000 people in this part,
and we will all have purple wigs on and pink Dame Edna glasses, so it may be a
little hard to spot me in all that! Anyway, I won’t spoil anything else for
you, but it should look really good on the night!! Will keep updating you.
Don't really think I have any more news!! All work and dancing at the moment!!”
Hopefully, we will have some pictures in the upcoming newsletters if
you don’t see her on TV!
Tyson
Here is a picture of Tyson with his
Aunty/Godmother Barb (me) on Christmas Day.
Tyson is going overseas to see the world this
month. He intends to see all of the UK, Europe, Egypt, America and Canada
before arriving back in Melbourne in February 2007.
Tyson is also very excited that he was able
to secure, via internet draw, tickets to the World Cup next year. He is going
to all the Aussie games. The one on the June 12th is in Kaiserslautern against
Japan, the 18th in Munich against Brazil, and the 22nd in Stuttgart against
Croatia. He says, “All accommodation is
already booked out, we tried hostels, hotels, everything, and nothing
available, so we have booked a campsite not in any of the cities, but central
to all three. About an hour and a half from Stuttgart and Munich, but two
and a half from Kaiserslautern. It's a 5 star campsite with state of the art
tents that sleep six. Kate and I are in, and we've booked, and now we're
working on a few others to come with us so it's cheaper and will be more fun.
It's relatively cheap, and I'm excited about camping now, it's going to be so
fun. We'll go into the major cities between games sightseeing. Kate and I
are spending two days in Berlin, before going to the campsite for 11 nights.”
Tyson is having a Farewell BBQ on 26/2 if
anyone wants to join in, let me know. Later in the day, his family is taking
him to the airport and he will be on his way on a fantastic adventure.
He has had to leave his job but he got a
call from the General Manager telling him that they've been really impressed
with him over the last 12 months, and not to hesitate in calling them when he
returns and they'll see what they can do for him.
Read Tyson’s biography in All About
Tyson.
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.
Aunty Kath says Christmas Day was pleasant
at Paul's with everyone there this time. Damien picked her up and Michael
and Marg took me back home about 6 p.m.
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.
Elise gives us another great article on the
Zoch Family over the Christmas Holidays. She says, “From the 27 December
until the 3 January, we went to Tocumwal. We stayed in a caravan park and
camped. It was hot every day so we had to spend all day down at the river. Our
friends came up and they’ve got a boat and donut. So all the kids went on that.
There’s about 10 of us, so it’s always fun and never gets boring. Everyday it
was about 450C and it was so hot in the tent that when we woke up,
we just had to get out! Once of the days, all the kids had to get out of the
heat, so we went into town and watched ‘Harry Potter’. Jessica took a friend
up, Megg, and we all got sick.”
“I went away for five days with a friend to
Anglesea and that was good. We had pretty good weather down there and a nice
beach.”
“Our bathroom renovation is nearly finished
– we have all had a spa already.”
“Jess was on the radio in the17th and 24th
January – on SYN 90.7FM. She got invited on by a friend. We taped one session,
but I stuffed up and pressed ‘rewind’ instead of ‘record’. So I told Brenton
Collins (1st cousin) about it, lol* and he
listened to a bit of it at work. He said all he heard was a girl say “OMG, OMG,
OMG” about 10 times and he got to a point where he switched it off!”
“Our parents went back to work so Jess and
I get more sleep-ins. I saw ‘King Kong’, ‘Cheaper By The Dozen 2’, and ‘Harry
Potter’ on these school holidays. They were all good. Megg said I fell asleep a
few times in ‘Harry Potter’. I’ve also gone to the pool, the beach and shopping
these holidays.”
“On the last weekend of the holidays, I’m
going over to Judi and Renato’s house for two nights with Alexandra Gough
(another first cousin) which will be fun”. (See Alex
Gough’s report for what she and Elise got up to while visiting Judi and
Renato)
“One last thing, I’ve got a picture of my
netball team last year. It’s after the Grand Final, so and my face is so red!
It’s not my copy so maybe I’ll look not so red on my own copy when my photos
are developed”. (Maybe we can have the picture for the next newsletter Elise)
Written by Elise
Jayde Zoch 25th January 2006
The Cabrera Family
Judith
Collins is the second girl in the Con and Bridget Collins Family. She is
married to Renato Cabrera. Go to the Cabrera
Family page.
Judi and Renato
Judi reports, “We had a
great Christmas. It started on Christmas Eve with Mass, and then the
traditional Chilean way with Renato's sister and family. We did not get to bed
until 3.00am.
Christmas Day lunch with Mum at Gregory
Lodge, was really special. She seemed to have a great time. We invited Mercy
and Joseph (2 of Bridget’s special carers) to come and eat with us. Bear found
a few good hiding spots.
Later in the day we had a great time with
all the family down at Mary's house, so much so that we did not get to bed
until 5.00am in the morning.
New Years Eve was a great night too at a
Chilean Club reception with lots of Latin music and dancing. This night
saw us crawl into bed at 4am. Lucky Christmas and New Year only come
around once a year. See all Judi and
Renato’s Christmas pictures here!
Between now and then we have just been
doing all the usual stuff like work, going out for tea and to the movies.
We caught up with a few of our old St. Vincent de Paul friends. Renato's niece here in Australia had
her 2nd child, a little boy, Lucas. Went to my best girlfriend, Angela
Powell’s (nee Romanin) 50th birthday celebration. We had Alex and
Elise (Judi's two God daughters) come to stay for the weekend. We did
movies, went out for dinner, lots of visits to grandma, went to Vic Market, and
the Brunswick Baths.We had a really good time together. If they ever come
to stay again, we now know the secret of keeping them entertained on the
cheap.
We have been planning our holiday which we
take towards the end of February. We are staying for one week at Nepean Country
Club Resort and are looking forward to doing nothing but veging out. (Photos
next newsletter).
Mum (Bridget) has been having a few falls
lately. There is not very much we can do about it, medication has been looked
at and we just have to put it down to her becoming more frail and not so steady
on her feet. Her vision is not the best either so we just have to thank God
that she has not had any really bad injuries with the falls.
Bear is going more frequently to see Mum at
Gregory Lodge. Aside from that he is just kept busy all day minding Grandpa and
the house. Judi and Renato have got themselves into a bad habit. They now have
to take Bear for a walk after tea as well as his walk earlier in the day. Bear
thought all his Christmas' came at once when Alex and Elise came for the
weekend. Each night, Bear slept on
Elise's bed all night long. Oh it's a dog's life isn't it!”
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.
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. lol*. 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. lol*.
I think that our stay with Judi and Renato
was a time we will never forget. lol*. 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.”
The McManus Family
Helen McManus, nee Lennon, was Bridget Collins’ (nee Lennon) eldest sister. She married Patrick McManus and they had four children – Margaret, Kevin, Brian, Patricia and Gerard. Click here for more information on the McManus Family.
Margaret
The Friends of the Grey Crowned Babbler completed a
large planning project on the Martin property in September 2003. About 30
people planted 1500 trees between 10am and 1pm on a Sunday morning. Here is a
picture of Terry during the planting!
The Grey Crown Babbler is a tiny bird that lives in dormitories with its family. They like
to forage on the ground and in the bark of trees. They also prefer
trees that are not too tall to nest in but they need the big
trees nearby to get their food. It's a lovely little bird.
Kevin
Barb and Paul
visited Kevin and Beate one very hot Saturday night in January. Barb said, “ It
was great to meet up in person seeing how we live in the same suburb! Beate
cooked up a terrific meal which was quite a feat as the temperature was in the forties. Their house, that Kevin
designed, is high on a hill overlooking the Maribyrnong River with the city of
Melbourne is the background. It was a pleasure to meet their son, Anthony, and
his friend when they popped in for a quick visit. We were also treated to a
terrific fireworks display before a great storm blew in and obliterated the
view. Catching up on family memories and family members’ was great and we left
promising them a return invitation within the NEXT 30 years!”
The Deacon Family
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
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
My main
news is that over the last few weeks I have been burning the
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”.
The Teres Family
Paul Teres is partner to Barbara Collins,
daughter of Con Collins. Go to Teres Family
page.
Paul became a
grandfather on December 21st 2005. Here he is with Joshua Andrew
Teres, the first baby to be added to the tree since the beginning of the
CollinsPlus project, and Paul’s son, Andrew. Click
here for more pictures of little Joshua who was only 6lbs 9oz when he
arrived. Joshua is the first of the CollinsPlus family to have his own blog.
Check it out here: Joshua's
Blog
On Christmas Day,
Lisa hosted lunch at her home in Kew. This was her first time to host Christmas
Lunch and she and her Mum, Barbara, created a very festive atmosphere. The meal
was delicious and VERY filling – but who can resist Christmas fare? Here are
some pictures of the Teres Christmas Lunch:
Lisa, Paul, Barb Collins, Barbara Teres Lisa, Barbara Teres, Barb Collins, Paul
Paul’s golf is really
improving (since he got his new clubs from Ebay). In January, he played in an
RACV Victorian 4B Championship Qualifier at the Northern Club with his mate,
Jeff. They came second with a score of 46 Stableford points!!! In March, they
will play final rounds at Sorrento and National Golf Clubs.
We have recently
acquired a copy of Pauline, Paul and Wasyl’s immigration records from the
National Archives. It’s wonderful to have a copy of such historical records.
Here’s a picture of Pauline and Paul arriving by train to met Wasyl at
Bonegilla.
The Squires Family
Leo Squires is 2nd cousin on
paternal side to Con Collins (Jnr)
Leo had been sending through information and answering questions about Con’s
ancestors. He and his contacts have put a huge amount of work into the family
tree covering mainly the Coffey’s. Con’s Mother was Coffey. She had a sister,
Kathleen Marcella and a brother William (Billy). William is a real mystery. We
don’t know what happened to him after his mother (Kitty O’Brien) died. Leo was
able to send us a picture of William and as the only known photo, it is quite
precious. William is in the middle. Do you see the family likeness to
Con’s family? On the left is James Hogan and on the right, John Hogan –
William’s cousins.
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13 June
1981
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Happy birthday to
Barb Collins and Paul Teres in February 2006: Click here for your
birthday card Paul.
If your birthday
falls in January or February and you are not on this list, email the editor and send in your birth date.
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George Carlin's
Views on Ageing
One for the dogs
Click here to view an adjustable Irish dog
carrier – suitable for all sizes.
All websites featured in this newsletter are archived on the Links Page of the CollinsPlus site for future reference.
Blogger
Visit the Blogger site and
see how you can set up your blog in 3 easy steps! http://www.blogger.com/start
What is Wikipedia???
It’s a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit and worth a look around. The English version been going since 2001 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
What was the number one song
the day you were born??
http://www.everyhit.com/dates/
Are you aged 60 years or older?
Do you want to become more physically active and help
maintain your independence? There is now a website approved by the Australian
Association for Exercise and Sport Science designed specifically for you. For
up-to date information on physical activity, motivational tips, and useful
links, visit http://www.stayactive.qut.edu.au.
This site
can help you develop walking and strength programs, with an emphasis on safety.
Also highlighted are the benefits gained from everyday physical activity such
as housework and gardening.
Congratulations this month to ….
ü Sophie and Andrew Teres on the birth of
their first baby, Joshua Andrew
ü Joshua Andrew Teres on his successful arrival
on Planet Earth and for being the youngest member of the CollinsPlus project
ü Grandpa Paul, Grandma Barbara (Teres) and
Aunty Lisa on the new edition to the Teres Family.
ü Paul Teres for qualifying to play in the
finals of the RACV Victorian 4B Championship at
Sorrento and National Golf Clubs in March
ü Elise and Alex for
having such a fun School Holidays
üTyson
for setting of on a great adventure
üCon
for being made Skipper at Bowls and leading his team to win 34 to 11
Passing on
this newsletter
Pass this newsletter on to people in your family who have not seen it yet. They
might like to become involved as well. All they need to do is email the editor and
say they would like to be on the site, and they will be sent information. If
you want to send this newsletter to an extended family member, this is how you
can do it.
- Go to File in the Toolbar
- Go to Send to
- Go to Send – link by email (or similar wording)
An email will come up with the link in it and you just have to put in the email
address of the person you want to send it to!
*lol For those or you who do not know
(probably the over fifties), lol means ‘laugh out loud’ in internet slang.
The Free
Dictionary says: LOL (also spelled lol) is an acronym,
the abbreviation for "laughing out loud" or less commonly
"lots of laughs" or the backronym "lots of love". LOL is a
common element of Internet slang used historically
on Usenet and in bulletin board systems; and
continuing to the present day in nearly all Internet and wireless venues (e.g IRC and instant messaging). It is used for
expressing general amusement, or wide variety of subtle emotions depending on subcultural context. As well as being a state of
action, some use the word as a verb, such as "I'm going to lol." Many
similar acronyms for expressing laughter exist.
To find out more
about LOL, go to http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/LOL+(Internet+slang)