CollinsPlus
E-news
Edition 2. March 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 Wade Collins |
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Website news
We have 3 blogs up and running now
(reference to them is in various parts of this newsletter). If you want to
start your own blog and don’t know how, ask the editor. The CollinsPlus Blog
can be viewed here. Anyone can
add ‘posts’ to it as Judi has been doing for the last two posts.
Collins Family News
Go to Collins Family in CollinsPlus
Website
Social Events
Next
Family Get together is Sunday April 2nd.
We are having a sausage sizzle at Gregory
Lodge. As so many family members will be away at Easter, this is a good
opportunity to have the family together, including Bridget. It’s bring your own
everything for a sausage sizzle, or picnic if you prefer. Meet at the Lodge at
12 noon. As many of the residents go down for an afternoon nap straight after
lunch, we will have to be quiet – but if we want to be noisy, we can go back to
Barb and Paul’s place.
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.
Bridget
Bridget is going along fine at the moment -
she has been very relaxed and quite alert. She has lost her upper dentures
so now she has no teeth. We have asked for her food to be pureed until the
denture shows up - if it does. It would not be the first denture to go missing
in her unit. She is having 3 Panadol 3 times a day now, to keep her pain free
from those horrible shingles attacks.
Dad says his holiday was also over when
Judy and Renato came home from theirs!!
Con says there is still a bit of life in
the old boy - he has won two games (of Bowls) and was runner up in his
last social game and won $30.00 worth in prize money.
Dad saw his Bladder Specialist last week
and is all clear for four months - but may need another ‘rebore’ then.
As he writes this news he is off to the
Bowling Club with Judy and Renato to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (see CollinsPlus Blog).
Bear really missed his mum and dad when
they went away, but thanks to Barbara he got a few walks in and he was spoilt
rotten by his grandpa. He got lots of visits to Grandma at the nursing home
while Judy and Renato were on leave.
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)
Graham
Graham says that Tyson has started a two week training period for
his new job in London. Twelve hour days are a bit of a shock to him, especially
where his last job (in Aussie) was starting and finishing at home. Tys says
that during this period he hasn't much time to respond to emails (but will) or
post his pictures (but will).
Carly
Don't forget to look for Carly in the closing ceremony of the Games
next Sunday night. She'll be in a group called the Sweet Hearts (Large group
dressed in pink outfits).
Wade
Wade has a job at the Grand Prix and will be working all 4 days. He
was hoping to work in the corporate marquees showing the VIPs (famous people)
around but these jobs all went to girls! So he will be a grandstand attendant
and so hopefully just get paid to stand up there and watch the race!
Tyson
There’s lots of news on Tyson’s overseas
adventure on Tyson’s blog but
briefly, after a few farewell parties, he finally left Australia with Kate and
he has arrived in London. And he has a job already! Good going Tys.
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, “We went to Michael's at
Narre Warren the Sunday before to celebrate Luke's 11th
birthday. The long week end he and Michael went camping at Phillip Island
- minus Marg and Daniel who are not too fussed on camping!
Daniel is in plaster at the moment as he broke his radius whilst on school
camp. Diane is a volunteer for the Commonwealth Games and hopes to enjoy this
little venture.”
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.
Jessica
Jessica is a dedicated student and a budding
actress. She is on school holidays at the moment and says, “I have spent today
and yesterday at school rehearsing for my drama class ensemble and it is coming
along nicely. We have to do a piece of surrealism/non-naturalism with many
different aspects like conflict, symbol, contrast, music, over-exaggeration,
transition, repetition and many other elements and conventions. We have to
perform it in mid-May in front of approximately 12 other drama classes from
other schools. We're working hard and hope to get a high mark from the judges.
Not only am I back at school for drama class rehearsals in
the last week of school holidays, I have to go back to school for another three
days for production rehearsals. Opening night is around 11 weeks away and next
Wednesday will be our second rehearsal of the year.
Also, I have started working again after a long drought of unemployment. HOORAY
I work once more. If anyone needs toys for family and friends, you can shop at
my work, Toy Kingdom in Melbourne Central. If you want me to serve you, please
come by on a Saturday between 10 and 5. I love working at a toystore. Apart
from being called "the lady" by mothers and fathers, I feel very young
around toys and lollies and games. But no luxuries are to come of my hard
earned money. Half is going into an untouchable account for my first car, the
other half will be stored away for spending money when I go to Queensland in
September with my school.”
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.
Judy has written another letter to the new
Minister for Aged, Santo Santoro, outlining her concerns on staff ratios in
Dementia Wards. She was not happy with the response from the previous Minister,
so she's hoping that this new broom may sweep clean. She has
not heard back as yet, so maybe she'll have a response she can share in the
next newsletter.
Judy says, “We had a wonderful three week holiday. In the first week, we
caught up on all the things that you let go and they mount up to become
big clean up job. We adjusted to late nights, watching movies and unwinding
from the normal routine.
Because we were away when the family farewell do was on for Tyson, we
got the opportunity to farewell him and wish him all the best at the Glenferrie
Hotel, with all the young ones. We had a great night with all the gang
until the early hours of the morning and were so glad we had the
opportunity to bid Tyson Bon Voyage.
The second week of our holiday, we went to the Nepean Country Club. See pictures and read more about our holiday
here!
The 3rd week of our holiday was spent going to the pictures, out for tea
and winding ourselves back up to getting in the work mode.
The last weekend of our holiday we spent a lovely Sunday with
Barbara and Paul. For our birthdays, they took us on an adventure that started
off early in the morning. We went to the Melbourne Observation Deck at the top
of Rialto Building and were amazed at the magnificent views. It was
breathtaking. We really enjoyed it. We had a cuppa and a muffin then went on
our merry way to take a river cruise from Southbank to Williamstown where we
strolled around, had some lunch and wine, then took the cruise back to
Southgate. Then we walked along the Yarra to have a look at the fish and flags
that were to be used in the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. We
walked back on the Flinders Street side of the river and over the Sandhurst
Bridge that had only been opened to the public that morning. As the day drew to an end, we wandered back
to the car and collapsed. Thanks Barb and Paul for a great day - we slept
well that night.
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.
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.
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’s
Tutor Finder website is going along nicely. Over 400 tutors have now registered
and the site has received 10,000 visitors since it launched in December.
Mark is
grappling with two major issues: He has a Chemistry exam looming and is trying
to understand the fundamentals of nuclear energy; but his real concern is
deciding which girl to invite to the school formal.
The Teres Family
Paul Teres is partner to Barbara Collins,
daughter of Con Collins. Go to Teres Family
page.
Poor little baby
Joshua has been in hospital. Not 3 months old, Josh was diagnosed with pyloric
stenosis when he was having consistent problems
with feeding. However, this is quite common and the medical staff at the Royal
Children’s Hospital reassured Sophie and Andrew and fixed up problem for Josh
with a little operation. Sophie and Andrew had quite a few sleepless nights
(especially Sophie who stayed at the hospital with Josh in a 6 bed ward full of
sick children and their parents). But things are now getting back on track with
Josh looking like his own little self again! Here is a picture of him home
again and happy. Read All About Joshua
on his blog!
Since the last
newsletter – Paul has proposed to Barb. After 14 years together, he finally
popped the question and the wedding will be in August this year. Paul was in
favour of eloping or being married at sea, but Barb suggested a very small and
simple wedding so close family could help celebrate the event!
Lisa is off on a
holiday in New Zealand. After a week of exploring the North Island solo, she is
being joined by a girlfriend on a Contiki tour of the South Island, including
an overnight cruise on Milford Sound.
Paul is on his
monthly visit to his Mum in Brisbane.
Extended
Extended Family News Wendy and Gary Edwards. Friends of the Graham Collins Family.
Congratulations Gary!
Gary was nominated by Telstra to carry the Queen’s
(Commonwealth Games) Baton, and was lucky enough to be selected. He ran two
legs, total of about 800ms, through the suburbs of Cranbourne. Graham took
these shots and you can see more at this site:
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My name is Wade Adam Collins and I was
born on the 4th October 1986 at the Mercy Hospital in East
Melbourne. Mum and Dad raised my three brothers (Brenton,
Tyson,
Darcy),
my sister (Carly),
and I in our current house in Wantirna South, where I have lived my entire
life. The name of our dog is Whoopi and she is 8 years old now. |
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When I was 4 years old I began school at St.
Judes Primary School in Scoresby. After completing 7 years there, I moved on
to Aquinas College in Ringwood. I completed my VCE there in 2004 with an
ENTER rank of 95.15. In 2005 I was enrolled into Bachelor of Commerce-Sport
Management at Deakin University in Burwood. I was lucky enough to be accepted
into the Dean’s Scholar Program, which was great, and I am currently into my
second year of that course. I have been working as a casual employee at
Target in Knox City since September 2001. I am a customer service assistant
and mainly work in the refunds department dealing with unsatisfied customers,
which I actually really enjoy. I also work temporary jobs here and there for
some extra cash. |
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My main interests include sports, TV,
music, take away foods, going out, and spending time/having beers with
friends. I love sports in general, whether it be
watching or competing in, but my most favourite is
football. I played football for Knox Falcons for 12 years and have now moved
on to play at Aquinas in the Under 19s for the past 2 years with the
schoolboys. The last 2 or 3 years I have had dislocation problems with my
shoulders but hope they can stay strong and give me the chance to finally win
a premiership! Other sports I really enjoy are cricket and golf. I had a
short stint in cricket with Boronia Hawks, actually played basketball with
Wantirna Jetbacks for 9 years, and I always look forward to having a round of
golf with dad and my brothers. |
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I also love to play pool at home,
especially with Brenton, as he is a challenge for me. Some of my greatest
sporting achievements include: Best and Fairest awards in basketball in ’95,
’96, and ’97. Best and Fairest awards in football in ’97, and, ’98 (I was
also awarded “Club Champion” in that year). Reaching my 100 game milestone
for the Knox Junior Football club in ‘98, and receiving the bowling award for
cricket in ’03. The furthest I’ve ever travelled would either be to
Queensland on our family holidays in 1991, and 1998, or my trip to Central
Australia with the school last year, which were both memorable experiences. I
would, however, love to travel overseas and see the world one day. Every
year, our holiday to Phillip Island is always an awesome time because I get
to play golf, go to the beach and just enjoy the good times with my family. |
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I can’t say what the future will hold for
me but at the moment I am absolutely loving what I’m doing and just hope I
can keep achieving my goals. |
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Last update by Wade Collins 16th March 2006
Happy birthday to
Sophie Teres, Judi AND Renato Cabrera, Elise Zoch and Tasha Mayer (Tasha is daughter of Josie and Fred. Josie is sister to Joelle who
married Graham Collins) Click here for your
birthday card.
If your birthday
falls in March and you are not on this list, email the editor and send in your birth date.
Interesting
Credit Card Scam
Email received:
“There is another big credit card scam going on. I managed to find out that one
of or solicitors was called and below is the full story and how it works. He
was smart enough to follow it up. Be wary of this. You may want to pass this
onto staff.” I checked the story on the Urban Legends page and it came up TRUE.
The story on how this scam works (in USA) is on the site – here’s the direct
link http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp
Purple Hats!
This is women's history
month. To celebrate that and in memory of Joelle Collins and Erma Bombeck
who lost their fight with cancer read “If I had my life to live over again…”.
Frog Joke
A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He
can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.
"Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take
a holiday."
Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name.
The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's
okay, he knows the bank manager.
Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with
some collateral.
The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and
produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and
perfectly formed.
Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to
consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.
She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog
called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow
$30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral."
She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what
in the world is this?"
(wait for it)
The bank manager looks at her and says...
"It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a
loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."
(You're singing it, aren't you? Yeah, I know you are........)
All websites featured in this newsletter are archived on the Links Page of the CollinsPlus site for future reference.
Mailwasher
This is the blurb
from the Mailwasher site. The software was recommended by a reputable and
trusted site and Paul and Barb have been using it and really like it.
”This a leader in anti spam software, the easiest way to check and manage your
e-mails before you download them. MailWasher is free to use and won't ever
expire. Use this powerful anti spam software, a reliable spam blocker, that
will effectively stop email spam. Discover the safe way to stop unwanted
e-mails before they get to your computer. No gimmicks here, it is so easy to
set up and use that you'll be managing your email like a pro in seconds. It can
even be used as an effective privacy tool. I think you will find this to be the
easiest, most effective way to manage your incoming e-mails. You will be amazed
at how quickly you will like using MailWasher.”
Picture Tray
PictureTray is a
freeware tool for resizing and rotating pictures quickly and simply. You choose
how you want your pictures resized, then drag your picture files into the
"In" tray. A resized copy of each picture is made and put in the
"Out" tray. You then drag the resized pictures from the Out tray.
It’s only 300kbs and can be saved to your desktop for easy reference. Really good for resizing pics for PP Presentations so you don’t end up with a HUGE file or for emailing or putting on the web. For example, this caricature of Pal and Barb was originally 1.2MB. In a split second, I reduced it to the 32kb picture you see here by choosing the quarter size option. It wouldn’t be much good for printing out but presents no problems for online viewing.
Congratulations
this month to ….
ü Barb and Paul on their engagement
ü Andrew and Sophie on their first
anniversary
ü Tyson for finding a job in London so
quickly
ü Wade on getting a job at the Grand Prix
ü Joshua on recovering so well from his
operation
ü Gary on being selected to carry the Queen’s
baton
ü Tasha on turning 18
ü Jessica for getting a job at Toyworld
ü Diane for volunteering at the Commonwealth
Games
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!