CollinsPlus
E-news
Edition 4. May/June 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 Bear Cabrera-Collins |
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Website news
Help
All submitted biographies in the CollinsPlus group have all now been featured in the newsletter over the last two years! I need new biographies!!! If you are mentioned in this newsletter or on the website, I’d love to have your bio. Need help with it? Just ask me the editor.
Elise’s Blog
Elise has started her own blog. Congratulations Elise. Aunty Barb is
VERY impressed.
http://giraffestuffboutme.blogspot.com/. We now
have 4 blogs going in CollinsPlus and any of you can go in and read them, and
make comments (if you are signed up Blogger), or even start you own.
The other blogs are:
CollinsPlus
Blog (Bits pieces any CollinsPlus member can contribute to – let me know if
you want to be a contributor)
Joshua's Blog (This
is a little blog for the youngest member of CollinsPlus – Joshua Teres
21/12/05)
Tyson’s blog (Tyson is 2nd
son of Graham Collins and is first in his family to go traveling – this blog is
a compilation of the emails/pictures he sends home to Australia).
Another relative found!
Well, at least, she found us.
I got this email recently from Eloise
Jessett. Now, if you are not into family history, this might not be exciting
for you – but I was delighted to get this email:
Subject: Family
“I am Eloise Moore (nee Jessett) I am
5th generation on your family tree. I was researching my mother’s
name Annette Jessett (nee Foster) and your website came up. (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/l/Barbara-Collins-Melbourne/
Anyway I thought I would email you to give
you some updated information. My husband (Gary Moore) and I have a
child. I could also give you birth dates for the Fosters, Goodings etc. Anyway drop me an email if you are interested.”
Well, I was VERY interested so I have been
corresponding by email with Eloise – who has also has an aunt who has made
contact as a result of our correspondence.
Her aunt’s email said:
“My name is Shelley Foster and have found
you through my husband's (Peter Foster) niece, Eloise Moore (Jessett)
mentioning to my mother-in-law, Noreen Foster that she was interested in the
Family History and had contacted you. I have
Anne Lennon's side of the Lennon Tree. Have been working on for many
years, on and off.”
So who are they and
how do they fit into our tree? They belong to the maternal/Bridget Lennon side
of the tree and Eloise is MY second cousin, once removed. And Shelley is a
second cousin. Complicated, isn’t it!!!
Anyway, coincidentally, they both live quite
close to me so we will be catching up soon! Further down in the newsletter,
there is a picture of Eloise and her family and some more information about
them.
Collins Family News
Go to Collins Family in CollinsPlus Website
Social Events
Mothers Day
We had a lovely lunch at Gregory Lodge Nursing Home on Mother’s Day. The
day threatened to be cold and rainy so we decided to have an indoor meal. Judi
and Renato booked a room for us and set up with an antipasto platter with
salads and dips. We supplemented the feast with a fruit platter and a cake for
Graham’s birthday. This year, we also had Paul’s Mum, Pauline with us. See
picture in link below.
Front left: Cathy,
Bridgette, Graham Back left: Barb,
Renato, Judi
Next Family Get Together
Quarry
Hotel, 101 Lygon Street, East Brunswick – July 9th
We went to this hotel for lunch about the same time last year. Cosy, inexpensive (especially when Rick paid for EVERYONE) with big screens and a pool table. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves so I’ve made a booking for Sunday July 9th at 12.30ish. Please let me know if you are coming and how many in your party so I can ring to confirm numbers.
Next get together after that
8 October – venue
to be decided. Maybe someone’s place for a BBQ?
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
Well, I've started my new job at they gym. I'm still personal
training a few clients, mornings and nights, but now I'm doing sales as well.
I'm a full time membership consultant. It’s going pretty good but it’s very
hard though. There’s a lot of time on the phones and expectations are high for the
amount of appointments you need to make - and calls that need to be made in
order to make our commission. But I’m going to stick to it for a while - mainly
for the sales experience if nothing else.
That takes up most of my time these days, so not much else going on!
When I’m not working, I’m usually working out!
Tyson
Recent travels have taken Kate and Tys to Prague. Tys says, ”Amazing
city (Prague), full of gothic buildings, cobblestone streets, and great views.
Very picturesque and definitely a place I'd visit again. Now I couldn't leave
without knocking back 1 litre of Prague's finest beer!
See more pictures of Kate
and Tys in Prague here and on the Photobucket site:
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f205/tysoncollins/Prague%20May%202006/?start=0
Find out more about Prague, Tyson’s Itinerary over the European Summer
and all the latest Tys news here:
http://tyscollins.blogspot.com/
Don’t forget to leave some comments for Tys on his blog and/or send him
an email via is blog.
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 Zoch gave another fine performance
as a secretary to the Minister for Education in The Belles of St Trinian’s at
the Clocktower Centre. It was put on by the Pascoe Vale Girl’s College who are
reknowned for their dedication to the performing arts. Too soon for photos but
hopefully we will have some for the next newsletter. Meanwhile, Renato managed
to get one on his mobile phone of Jessica being presented with flowers after
the show.
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 says, “There was no news from me in the
last newsletter because of a naughty mouse, I was having diabolical problems, I
don't know if anyone has come across this, but my mouse was on the blink so
when I opened the computer the mouse decided that it would open all these
programs seconds between one and the other, the arrow just went berserk flying
all over the screen without my even touching it, I basically had no control
over it's actions. Anyway it took a few weeks to find that an old mouse was
causing all my computer problems.
So as you would have read in the last newsletter,
we enjoyed a nice family gathering and also Easter Sunday at Gregory Lodge with
mum. Towards the end of April we went to a Latino market held in at the Queen
Victoria market. That was full of fun, traditional costumes, singing and
dancing, as well as good food. On Anzac Day we took dad to the Northcote RSL in
High Street Northcote and had a very nice meal it happened to be $10.00 Buck
Tuesday and everything on the menu was $10.00 bucks. Those of you who remember
going there for a family get together would now be surprised by it's
transformation through an extensive renovation. It's very impressive (we should
go again for a gathering - it now makes for a good venue). Also during April we
went to a few movies - 2 that I would highly recommend are Eight Below
and The World's Fastest Indian, probably now on DVD.
In May we went to the regular 1st Friday
of the month BBQ at dad's bowling club. We enjoyed yet another lunch with mum
for mother's day and this time we held it indoors and I'm glad we planned that,
because it was cold and a bit wet. We had a lovely time. We went to watch
my favourite godson Wade play football at the old Brunswick oval. They won by a staggering 12 goals. I don't
know much about footy but through my eyes Wade played like a champion even
though he was injured and should not have really been playing (see photos) and
during half time Graham, Renato and Bear had a kick too (more photos).
We took dad out again this time for a
meal to the Pascoe Vale RSL in Cumberland Road Pascoe Vale, this has been
renovated too since we last went and it was a very nice meal. We caught up
with some old St. Vincent de Paul friends for dinner. But the absolute
highlight for the month of May (apart from watching Wade play footy) was
our outing with Cathy to Werribee. We took the girls to a birthday party and
while they were there we filled in our time as we waited for them
at The Werribee Plaza - dinner and the movies (Take the Lead, a
good movie for the younger ones). Not everyone's cup of tea for a great night
out. As it happened another mother drove the girls home so we could have spent
our night out somewhere more exciting!
At the start of June we danced and sang the night
away at Ricky's 40th birthday and had a fabulous night but suffered badly for
it the next day. And we went to see our budding Actor, Jessica, in her school
production of The Belles of St. Trinnian’s - she was fantastic as usual and is
born for the stage.
Renato's cleaning company got a new contract for a
few buildings and the Marina at Docklands, they told Renato that he
was the only person they could trust to put into the job, however the
Management of the place where Renato is now, advised Renato's cleaning company
that if they lose Renato then the may well lose all the contracts the cleaning
company have with them. So for this reason they cannot risk losing all the
contracts they have and Renato does not get to go to the Docklands. It's a bit
unfair that someone should do this, preventing a person from a great
opportunity.
Mum has been having a few falls lately and is
becoming more frail these days. Recently we had the priest from the nearby
parish of St Brendan's come to give her an Anointing of the Sick and Holy
Communion.
I sent a letter to the new Federal Minister for the
Aged about 3 months ago re staff ratios for residents in dementia wards. We
finally received a reply on Friday – unfortunately, the 3 page missive was a
whole lot of ramble and not really relevant at all to our query.”
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.
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! Maybe some pics next newsletter?
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 and Trish and their husbands were off to Canberra for a
cousins' weekend with cousins from the McManus side of the family. They were
looking forward very much to catching up with people.
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
News
from the
Peter says, “Mark had a wonderful time at the school formal. Here is a
photo of Mark and Penny (his lovely date for the night).
Mark’s
sailing team recently came second in the Queensland Schools Yachting
competition. At the end of this month they will be heading to
James is
happy to be back playing competitive golf again after his serious eye disease
last year. On the weekend he was runner-up in a team event and was so excited
to win a pair of Oakley sunglasses. Watch out Tiger Woods!
Judy is
flying back to
I’m
doing great for an old bloke. My job at the University of the
The Teres Family
Paul Teres is
partner to Barbara Collins, daughter of Con Collins. Go to Teres Family
page.
Sad
News
The oldest member of CollinsPlus has passed away. Wasyl
Teres, father of Paul and father-in-law (to be) of Barbara, slipped away
quietly, early in the morning of 6 May 2006 at his Cazna Gardens Nursing Home.
He was 97 years old and died in his sleep. You can read his biography here: http://www.collinsplus.com/collinsextend/teres/wasylbio.htm
His
funeral was attended by family and the few remaining friends in Melbourne. He
was buried at Fawkner Cemetery. This picture shows his wife of 70+ years,
Paraska (Pauline to most of us), with eldest son Paul. Second son, John, and wife Christa are on
the left of Paraska.
Rest in Peace
Wasyl.
Pauline
is coming to Melbourne - eventually!
Now that Wasyl has passed, Pauline feels free to come to
Melbourne to live. Paul has found an ideal hostel for elderly Ukrainians in
Melbourne – not TOO far from our place.
Pauline will have her
own room and ensuite. She has been to look at the facility and has given her
approval. It means that as well as being close to family and joining in family
activities, Pauline will have the company of others who will share her
experiences and memories. She already knows at least one resident and the
Pastor who conducted Wasyl’s funeral visits regularly and speaks very highly of
the facility. Pauline has been placed high on the priority list which is great
news. Pauline has been very lonely in Brisbane over the last few years while
Wasyl was a resident at Cazna Gardens Nursing Home.
The current task is to help her pack up and be ready to move
quickly when the hostel place becomes available. After the funeral, Paul and I
went to stay a few days with Pauline. During this time, it was Pauline’s 89th
birthday and we had a BBQ with a friend, Roman, at a nearby park.
Holiday on Gold Coast
After visiting Pauline, we spent a couple of days on the Gold
Coast having a much-needed rest. Two and a half days doing nothing but
sleeping, eating and walking were just right after a very hectic month! Here’s
Paul relaxing in our room and in the spa.
Holiday in Bright
Barb on bike in
Bright. See more pictures and read about Barb and Paul’s
holiday here!
Barb has walked over 3,000,000 steps!
Since Barb started wearing her pedometer about this time last year, she
has clocked up over 3 million steps! Not quite the recommended 10,000 steps a
day- she’ll just have to try HARDER in the next 12 months!
The Moore Family
Eloise Mooore is 2nd cousin (once
removed) on maternal side to Bridget Collins nee Lennon
Eloise
found our genealogical site (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/l/Barbara-Collins-Melbourne/)
by doing a Google search on her mum’s name - Annette Mary Jessett. She was
trying to get some information on her family together. Eloise has become
interested in family history because her own mother (Annette Jessett nee
Foster) died when she was 15 so she just wanted to make sure she has all the
information to give to Jordan when he is older.
Eloise
says she is a stay-at-home mum at the moment so she has a bit of time to work
on this project when Jordan is sleeping. She is going back to work in mid
July for 3 days a week. She works as a lawyer for a large organisation in
Melbourne. Gary works at the same organisation as an accountant, in a
different branch. Eloise says their relationship began as an office
romance! They married in October 2000 at St Theresa’s Church in Essendon
and had Jordan in August 2005. He was 9lbs (4.090kgs) when he was born -
he has the Foster genes (they are all tall).
Bear Cabrera-Collins
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My name is Bear
Collins and until I was three, I lived in the posh suburb of Mont Albert. I
was an indoor dog weighing 11kg. I belonged to a lady who let me sleep in her
bed and who tickled my tummy and let me eat Smarties - both of which I really
liked. There was a cat there too which is probably why I am jealous of cats!
Then a baby came along and I had to sleep at the end of the bed. So, in my
early days, there was a toddler around which is probably why I like
children and get upset if I hear them crying or screaming. My first owners
had to go overseas to work so I was adopted by Grandpa and Grandma and Judi
and Renato who are my new mum and dad.
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More about me! As soon as I
arrived at my new home in West Brunswick, I ran around sniffing and
investigating the whole place and my new owners just loved me and I was rapt.
They made me an insulated house with curtains under the house - my own
bachelor pad! |
Bear Facts
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Likes
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Dislikes
Thunder, lightening, heavy rain, ceiling fans, people
arguing, babies crying, drums, fireworks, cats and Judy and Renato kissing!
He also does not like people smacking themselves or others and does not like
people yelling or fighting with each other. |
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Happy birthday to
Graham Collins, Alex Gough and Pauline Teres in May, and Tyson Collins and Rick
in June: Click
here for your birthday card.
If your birthday
falls in May or June and you are not on this list, email the editor and send in your birth date.
Interesting
Test your eyes (an oldy but a
goody)
ARE YOU A GENIUS? How many "
Fs" in the following text:
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF
SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...
Smile
Remember?
Bill and his wife were talking to Fred.
Bill: Fred
– how was that memory clinic you went to a month or so ago?
Fred: top-rate! We learned abut
the latest psychological techniques: visualization, picture association and so
on. It was a great help to me.
Bill: Sounds good! What was
the name of the clinic?
Fred’s
face went blank. He frowned and tried to remember. Then he smiled and
responded:
What do you call the flower with the
long stem and thorns?
Bill: You mean a rose?
Fred: Yes! That’s it! (and turning to his wife ….). Rose – what was the name of that
clinic?
Finnegan the
Squirrel
This real life story, with photos, of Finnegan
the squirrel is too cute.
Congratulations this month to ….
ü Eloise Moore and Shelley Foster for making
contact with us.
ü Pauline Teres for 70 years of support and commitment to her husband,
Wasyl, who passed away on 6/5/06
ü Mark Deacon for helping his sailing team
come second in the Queensland Schools Yachting competition
ü James Deacon for getting back
into competitive golf
ü Jessica Zoch on another great performance
in The Belles of St Trinian’s
ü Tyson Collins for taking us on his overseas
trip via regular reports and photos!
ü Barb Collins for walking over 3,000,000
steps in a year
ü Rick on a terrific 40th birthday
party!
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!