CollinsPlus
E-news
Edition 1. January-February 2007
Editor:
Barbara Collins 
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send news at any time. 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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Collins Family News
Go to Collins Family in CollinsPlus Website
Next Family Get Together
Diary Dates for 2007
Make sure you put these
dates in your 2007 diary this year’s family get togethers?
§ March 25 (Sophie and Andrew have offered to host this family get together at a park close to their house in Prahran)
§ October 14 tba
CollinsPlus Family and Friends Christmas
This year,
each family member spent Christmas lunch with their immediate families and we
all came together in the evening at Cathy’s home in Oak Park. Here is a picture
of everybody who was there – except for Rick’s Mum and Dad. It was a bit of a
tight squeeze – the people in the back row are sitting on the kitchen bench!
Front row from left: Jessica Zoch, Jessica’s friend, Samantha, Rhys Watkins, Pierce Watkins (Rick’s sons), Graham Collins
2nd row from left: Darcy Collins, Alannah Aldington (Rick’s daughter), Carly Collins, Elise Zoch, Alex Gough, Maddison Watkins (Rick’s daughter), Con Collins, Paul Teres
3rd row from left: Wade Collins, Max Gough, Zac Gough, Brenton Collins, Judy Cabrera, Renato Cabrera, Rick Watkins (Mary’s friend)
Last row from left: Cathy Zoch, Mary Gough, Barbara Collins, John Zoch
Tyson was the only one not in the picture this year – he was away globetrotting. Here are some more pictures of Christmas night at Cathy’s – with the younger members getting ready for a Karaoke session.
Con Collins
Con Collins is the Ground Zero man for this website.
Bridget contributes to brain research
Bridget was an organ donor. Unfortunately, at the time of her passing, her organs were not able to be used. During her many times in hospital, she was highly sought after by teaching doctors due to her unusual heart rhythm. The doctors would bring their students to Bridget’s bedside and ask them to listen to her heart and suggest what may have caused the unusual rhythm. She loved telling about her experiences and the fact that she was helping the medical profession. So when Con suggested that we donate of the brain instead of her organs, we knew straight away that mum would have wanted this. Who knows – Bridget’s brain might be the one that makes the difference in making progress against the ravaging disease. Click here to see the letter of thanks from the Victorian Brain Bank Network to the family.
Collins Family lunch – click here for more pictures.
Bridget’s final resting place
Bridget’s ashes
are to be laid to rest in a garden setting at Fawkner Cemetery. We found a
lovely spot that Bridget would have loved. It’s close to a creek, a walking
track, a grassed area just right for remembrance gatherings and with a view of
an older section of the cemetery AND not far from where Wasyl (Paul’s Dad) was
buried earlier in the year. Here is a picture of the site and click here for more pictures.
Con
Con had a nice smorgasbord lunch at the Templestowe Hotel with other ‘geriatrics’ (sic) to celebrate his friend Bill Sibbinson's 80th Birthday.
He also said to add to this water saving advice:
If it's yellow
Let it mellow
If it's brown
Flush it down.
(Only thing he says it sometimes it gets a bit on the nose.)
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)
Brenton
Brenton says, “After a few months in bed,
I've made the brave decision to start working again. I've just been employed by
the Leader Newspaper as an Advertising Sales Representative. I'm looking
forward to
having money again!!”
Tyson
Not much news, been keeping really busy, applied for heaps of jobs, had a couple of interviews already, got to the last 2 on one really good job actually and just missed it, but I have a couple of other things lined up. Not too fussed at the minute as I'm off to Noosa on Friday for a week with Kate, her parents, and her cousin and wife who have come down from England (first time in Australia). You may remember Matt and Zara that I mentioned in a lot of my emails, well it's them coming to Aus so we want to show them a really good time as they were so good to us over in England. Really looking forward to Noosa.
Welcome home Tyson BBQ
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.
Christmas lunch was at Paul and Michaela’s
home on a rather chilly day and how welcome was the gift of rain.
Michael’s family came and
Matthew, who is 16, had a most enjoyable 2
½ weeks in
Michaela’s Dad (79) is trialing a
medication for 5 months with a view to arresting the Alzheimer’s disease which
is in the early stage. He travels regularly into the city and Port
Melbourne and still does the ironing.
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 on an unsuccessful
fishing expedition with her Dad at Merrimbula
Jessica says, “Well I have
started year 12 and already the heat is on! I have a persuasive oral that I
have to present in the upcoming days and Sacs and tasks are being set. I had my
last school photos and it’s sad to think I'll never have another embarrassing
'school' photo to fret over. Ha ha. I received my year 12 drama raw score late
last year, a 34, which will contribute to my ENTER this year.... being the
eager school goer I am, I went to a summer camp over the holidays and spent two
days (4 hours each day) sitting through some psychology lectures giving myself
a head start.
UNFORTUNATELY I am jobless,,,,,,,,,,, yet again and the prospect of a job soon
is bleak which is a downer because I have a car and schoolies to save for!
Apart from that it seems my days will be filled with school work, and my new
fitness regime of jogging every day after school.
My book on Pa has come to a bit of a grinding halt but never fear, I am
committed - so it will be finished by the end of this year or early next
year!!!!!!!”
(Late breaking news:
I did my oral today and it went REALLY well. I was a bit nervous and bumbling
in the introduction BUT the teachers laughed and it kind of broke the ice and
made me more relaxed and confident! Most likely find out our grades this
week!!!!)
The Cabrera Family
Judith
Collins is the second girl in the Con and Bridget Collins Family. She is
married to Renato Cabrera ( Cabrera
Family 
).
Sorry there was no news from us in the last newsletter. December was all too overwhelming and there was not much more on our minds other than mum's passing. Over the past 2 months we have been spending a lot of time, fixing and tidying up things like cupboards and the garden that did not get done properly for the last 4 years as mum consumed most of our time each day.
In November we went to my Goddaughter Elise's fashion parade that completed the course she did with Susan Johnston. We were so proud of her and she was terrific.
We had a nice day at Cathy and John's on
Melbourne Cup 
Day and watching the big
race on their very big TV screen made you feel as though we were right there -
only thing was we did not back the winner. As usual we spent Xmas Eve with
Renato's family as is tradition in Chile to eat, drink and be merry then open
up the prezzies at midnight. We had a great time.
Christmas Day we had a nice lunch. Renato made his famous Chilean Pork Belly and we had plum pud for dessert. We set a place at the table with a picture of mum and one of her crafty Pine Cone Xmas Trees and burnt a candle in her memory. We spent the evening as usual with all the family at Cathy and John's- that was a great night.
New Years Eve we went to a Vietnamese Restaurant with Cathy and John and then went back to their house for some good music, wine and a few laughs. We took it pretty quiet as we saw in the New Year.
New Year’s Day was spent with Renato's sister and family as it is a tradition to celebrate New Year’s Day with all the family. It was a great Traditional Chilean feast.
Barb, Dad, Renato and I took Joan and Maria out for dinner to thank them for all they did to help us on the day of mum's funeral. They have been very loyal friends and they offered to help - we did not even have to ask. It so happened that the day after we took them out for dinner, it was Joan's birthday so we got a cake and sung Happy Birthday to her (see photo below). Thanks Joan and Maria.
We had a bit of disturbing
news in regard to our house that we have been renting while living with Dad. I
was called by the Agent 3 weeks before Christmas, to inspect the house as the
tenant reported major cracking and she was worried about her safety. To cut a
long story short, there is a drainage problem that has been occurring over some
time, and the house is rising up and all the walls are leaning out. The
building inspection says it’s quite a large sum of money to fix the problem and
once that is done, we have to wait 3 years for the house to settle back down
before we can repair cracks etc. Bit of a dilemma, however I have found
out that the Real Estate Agent did not inspect the property for 3 and a half
years. I have written to them asking for answers to my questions in
regard to their failure of duty of care. I meet with them the day the
tenant vacates and I feel confident that there will be a solution to this
problem. Will let you know in the next newsletter.
We had Jessica and my god-daughters Alex and Elise come and stay on the Australia Day weekend. We went shopping and to a groovy place called The Comfortable Chair, to eat and be comfortable (see photos of how comfortable you can be there). We also went to the movies (Happy Feet – it’s great), caught a train (see Alex and Judy photo) to Federation Square in particular the amazing and free ACMI building.
Oh and Jessica showed me all
the great basement clothing shops along Swanston Street -
very fashionable and cheap. We watched a DVD and had a lot of
fun. The weekend came to a close after all the family gathered at Graham's
for a BBQ to welcome Tyson home - it was great to see him home again and to
catch up with the family.
Throughout the last couple of months we have been going out to dinner and the movies- our usual entertainment- and I can highly recommend "The Pursuit of Happyness" & "Blood Diamond”.
We went to the 1st birthday of Renato's niece, Vivien’s son, Lucas at a park with children's playground. It was a great idea - the children had a ball. (see photo Judi and Lucas)
Renato and Dad have installed
a home made rain water saving device, which involves a large pipe fitting into
an outlet in the guttering, which you only need to put up when you know its
going to rain. It even has a smaller pipe to add on when the 1st bin if
full. Believe it or not on the weekend that we last had a good downpour, they
collected over 600 litres of water, and if they had more containers to fill
they would have collected even more. Good onya Renato and Con. To add to
that we have connected up to recycle our greywater.
Well we are going away to Yarrawonga for a restful and relaxing week staying at the Murray Valley Resort and I already know we won't venture far from there.
Last of all, for anyone who is reading this that attended mum’s rosary or funeral, that I did not get to personally acknowledge (as there was a lot of people there that I made eye contact with or spoke to briefly but never got the chance to thank them for being there), I would like to say it was very comforting to know you were there. Thank you for you care and support.
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.
Due to weird things happening with Barb’s computer at
the end of last year, some of you may have missed Alex’s excellent report on
the Gough family. In case you read the newsletter before the problem was fixed,
click here to read it now
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
Judy and Peter travelled to
The food was delicious, the people were
very friendly, accommodation is cheap, and the local beer tastes good. However,
the noise and pollution were horrendous. For instance, 3 million people own a
motorbike in
Mark finished Year 12 on a high note by
obtaining an OP 4 and celebrating at Schoolies on the Gold Coast. Next week he
is moving to
The Teres Family
Paul Teres is husband of Barbara Collins,
daughter of Con Collins. Go to Teres Family
page.
This Christmas, Barb and Paul spent Christmas lunch with Andrew and Sophie’s family at Andrew’s place. Sophie and her Mum, Kate, and sister, Emma, prepared a fabulous traditional Christmas lunch which was enjoyed by us all – including Andrew’s mum, Barbara, Paul’s mum, Pauline and young Josh. Here is a picture of Grandpa Paul and Josh. Click here for more pictures of the Teres (and Lloyd) Family Christmas Lunch.
Check out Josh’s blog at http://seretja.blogspot.com/
In early February, Pauline, Paul, Lisa and Barb had very pleasant afternoon tea at the Sofitel to celebrate Lisa’s return to Melbourne and to thank Lisa and Paul for the tremendous effort they put in to clearing and selling Pauline’s home in Brisbane. Pauline may not look very happy but we have a really hard time getting her to smile in photos – maybe we should resort to some tickling!
Paul’s Last Trip
to Brisbane (except for holidays)
I left Melbourne by car early on Saturday 6th January with the intention of traveling the whole day – taking regular breaks. The weather was warm, traffic light and I was well supplied with food and CDs so kept driving to finally stop at 11.30pm for a good sleep at Goondiwindi.
I continued the trip early the next morning and arrived in Brisbane well before schedule. Lisa was out at the gym so she was surprised to find me sleeping on a mattress in the lounge when she got back. It was good to catch up with her. She had been looking after the house and negotiating the sale of remaining household furniture.
The following week was very busy with the final cleanup, solicitor’s appointments, phone calls and visits to friends. By the weekend, the work was done so Lisa and I celebrated with a BBQ. After a rubbish removalist took away the last unwanted items, Lisa and I waved goodbye to my parents’ house and left for Melbourne in two FULLY laden cars on Monday 15th January.
We reached Moree late afternoon and checked into a cabin for an overnight stay. Next morning, we started off refreshed for a planned long leg to West Wyalong. However, 90km down the road, just before Narrabri, Lisa’s car broke down. Four hours were lost waiting for a pick up truck and repairs but we still made West Wyalong by 9.30pm. We completed the last 560km of the trip with ease next day and were relieved to have made it back safely.
I’ve vowed that’s the last long distance move I’ll be involved with – getting too old!!
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Barbara Collins and Paul Teres in January or February:
Click
here for your birthday card.
If your birthday
falls in January or February and you are not on this list, email the editor and send in your birth date.
Keeping an eye out for each other
Click here for some food for thought!
Credit Card Scam
This credit card scam has been checked on the Urban Legends website and is classed as “true”.
How hot was it?
The Porch
A blonde,
wanting to earn some extra money, decided to hire herself out as a
"handy-woman" and started canvassing a nearby well-to-do
neighborhood. She went to the front door of the first house, and asked the
owner if he had any odd jobs for her to do. "Well, I guess I could use
somebody to paint my porch," he said. "How much will you charge me?"
The blonde quickly responded, "How about $50?" The man quickly agreed
and told her that the paint and everything she would need was in the garage.
The man's wife, hearing the conversation, said to her husband, "Does she
realize that our porch goes all the way around the house?" He said "That's a bit cynical, isn't
it?" The
wife replied, "You're right. I guess I'm starting to believe all those
dumb blonde jokes we've been getting by e-mail lately."
A short time later, the blonde came to the
door to collect her money... "You're finished already?" the husband
asked. "Yes," the blonde replied, "and I had paint left over, so
I gave it two coats."
Impressed, the man reached into his pocket for the $50.00 and handed it to her.
"And by the way," the blonde added, "it's not a Porch, it's a
Lexus.
.
Congratulations this month to ….
ü Tyson on arriving home in Australia after
his year overseas
ü Mark Deacon on finishing Year 12 on a high note by obtaining an OP 4
ü Jessica Zoch on being such a
committed student
ü Brenton Collins on his new job
ü Matthew Collins on funding his own overseas trip at 16
ü Elise Zoch on completing her Susan Johnston modeling course
ü Lisa and Paul Teres on finally
making it back to Melbourne
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!