E-mails & Letters 2005
Stewart Douglas - November
----- Original Message -----
From: stewart douglas
To:
Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2005 1:34 PM
Subject: New Pad
Alright my b-boys and fly girls,
This be da address of my latest crib:
144 Lee View
Ballencollig
County Cork
Republic of Ireland.
It ain't the ritz, but it ain't the pits.
So come one, come all. Everyone's welcome.
If anyone fancies a trip to Ireland but isn't sure where to begin, then here is the perfect place.
Or if you fancy a bit of verbal pleasure - 0035862001769 will float you into aural bliss.
No landline at the moment. But might sort something out soon. A couple of cans and some string should do it.
Anyone got any goss? Any news? How are things around the club?
I tried to join a rugby club called Douglas.
They said "You're a foreigner. We already have a foreigner. We are only allowed to have one".
But it's got my name on it.
"You can play in friendlies, and you can keep training with us".
Friendlies? Never played a friendly game in my life.
So now i have no idea how to get a game of rugby. There must be loads of foreigners in Ireland.
Using up all the allotted positions. Bastards.
Allright my peeps, time to ride into the sunset.
Word up and peace out
Stewart
---- Original Message -----
From: Paul
To: stewart douglas
Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2005 2:16 PM
Subject: Re: New Pad
Tried your number Stu but just a hum.
You're a fair bastard ... I want to be in Ireland. I keep applying for jobs there, and they submit my cv, but .........
And as for your playing rugby yourself, you have to tell them you're not a foreigner, just come from Kilcummin where they talk all different. You look the part, just use the word 'yourself' for 'you' and curse the English.
Candice
----- Original Message -----
From: Candice Daniel
To: collegians
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2005 1:27 AM
Subject: Hello
Hi All
Just thought I would let you know that Christian and I got engaged on the weekend, so will have a BBQ or something to celebrate in a few weeks, so keep that in mind. Also let you know that we are having another baby which is due 1st June, so I will be out for another season of rugby.
I think that's all the news I have for today!
XX C
Ben Allgrove
Dear All,
Just to let you know that I have put some updated news on my website athttp://homepage.mac.com/allgrove/Menu3.html.
Nothing too ground breaking, but if you are looking for a distraction for a few minutes, please feel free to browse.
Hope you are all well.
Ben
Ben Allgrove
21 Red Lion St
Bloomsbury WC1R 4PS
Update 11 Nov 2005
Hello All,
Alright, so, yet again, I have been delinquent in keeping this site updated. It is amazing how much more time I had to do this when I was a student. Anyway, having been reminded of my slackness by an old friend, and motivated by receiving a couple of lovely long emails from other old friends, I thought I should spread a bit of news.
Since I last wrote, I have graduated (and finally officially left) Oxford. It was a great day and Mum and Dad came across for it which was really special. Also special was the fact that my brother, Marc, was able to rearrange a business trip so that he was here as well. It is a bit wierd, but at least I have my bits of paper - which say BCL , MPhil by the way!
Have been trying to get bits of my masters thesis published, but not to much avail. Been more successful with other stuff. Have two articles coming out early next year in the Oxford Journal for Intellectual Law and Practice - both on various aspects of passing off and trade mark infringement - and I am currently co-authoring the chapter on breach of confidence for a publication called "Law and Media". Other academic folly is that I am teaching "Copyright and Designs" as part of the undergraduate law course at Kings College London. Only one class a week, but really enjoying it and work is supportive.
My brother and his family have recently moved to London. It is great having them here and, especially, getting to know my nephew, Charlie (approaching 1 year old!).
Not much travelling lately. As I mentioned in my last update, spent a few days in the US in July (friend of Heather's wedding) and, apart from that, the only travelling has been a weekend in Paris in September for work - before all the rioting, though! Off to Warsaw in a couple of weeks for work again and then the big trip is Xmas. H and I are off to her place in Connecticut for Xmas day and then we are hopping on a plane to Oz for NYs in Coffs Harbour, where my grandmother lives. Unfortunately, no trip to Adelaide this time (only have 7 days in Oz), but anyone who is on or near the north coast of NSW between 29 Dec and 6 Jan, get in touch!
H and I are off to see both England v Australia and England v Samoa at Twickenham in the next couple of weeks, so my yearly rugby fix is coming. Am missing be regularly involved at club level here in London though. It is just a bit too hard to do with work. Still thinking about how I can get involved here, though.
Not much else to report here. I really hope that you are all well and I look forward to hearing from you/talking to you/seeing you all soon.
All the very best
Ben
Owen Clark
-----Original Message-----
From: Owen Clark [mailTo:Owen.Clark@retireinvest.com.au]
Sent: Tuesday, 13 September 2005 12:32 PM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: RE: Old Colls - GRAND FINALS
Kim,
It may be 22 seasons since I last pulled on an Old Colls jersey but I still remember with pride my time at the Collegians. The spirit and enthusiasm of Tregenza shows in the newsletter, on the website and obviously flows onto the field as you make your bid for more Grand Finals.
I would like to wish all Colls teams a very successful day on Saturday and an enjoyable recovery on Sunday!
Your club is clearly professionally run by people passionate about the place and this will hold Old Collegians at the top of SA Rugby for many years to come.
Every good wish to all involved.
Owen Clark
VP Terrigal Trojans Rugby
Secretary Terrigal Trojans Junior Rugby
CENTRAL COAST NSW
PS. The Trojans will field teams in 6 of the 7 Age Group Grand Finals at Central Coast Stadium this Saturday, and we play in the same colours - I look forward to success both here and in SA
-----Original Message-----
From: Kim Evans [mailTo:KEvans@ARTC.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 21,September, 2005 3:51 PM
To: Owen Clark
Subject: RE: Old Colls - GRAND FINALS
You probably haven't heard - we lost all three finals! I am heart broken.
The point of this email, however, is that I am just doing up the list of awards for this year and I have realised that YOU must be the Owen Clarke of the "Owen Clarke Points Scoring Award". I have found an old newsletter than tells me you scored 22 points in 1981, being more than anyone else in the club.
We are casting a new trophy this year for a player who was killed the day after his 21st birthday last year, only a week after 2004 presentation dinner. I think the time is right to remind the lads about the people who the other trophies are named for.
Can you tell me what years you played for Old Colls, in what positions, why you left and (to satisfy my curiosity) how the trophy came to be named for you? To be blunt, most of the Trophies are named after people who have died. Did we decide that moving East amounted to much the same thing?
Kim
-----Original Message-----
From: Owen Clark [mailTo:Owen.Clark@retireinvest.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 21 September 2005 4:00 PM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: RE: Old Colls - GRAND FINALS
Kim,
So sorry to hear the news of your Grand Finals, I wondered why I had not heard any news from SA on Monday morning! Congratulations however on winning Club of the Year for 5th year straight.
Our Terrigal juniors competed in 6 of the 7 age group Grand Finals on Saturday but won only 3, while Avoca Beach, the Brighton of the Central Coast, won 1st, 2nd & 3rd grade.
Well there is always 2006!
I joined Old Collegians in 1979 and played in all grades, but largely 2nd Grade over the next 5 years. I left in early 1984 after being transferred back to Sydney with my job. I played mainly Flanker, No. 8, however when short also played in Front & Second Row, all 78kg.
I played in the 2nd Grade premiership side of 1981, and then captained the wooden spoon 2nd Grade side of 1982.
In 1983 after nearly retiring I was honoured to be Club Captain, that year 2nds were beaten by Brighton 9-3 in the Preliminary Final, my last game for the club. I played with Richard Waddicor among others I still see involved with your club. Many of the players I played with now have their sons playing grade as I read your newsletter with interest.
Our last visit to Adelaide was 7 years ago when we took our eldest son now 22 (who was born in Adelaide) to visit his birthplace. He supports SA during the Cricket season!
Where did the award come from? When I left the Club I felt there was little recognition or encouragement for Goal Kickers in any grade and as I loved Goal Kicking felt an annual award for goalkicking/pointscoring was warranted and donated a trophy which later became a perpetual trophy. I am not dead yet but have had my moments!
Enjoy your Presentation Night regardless of outcome
Owen
Grand Final emails
From: McDougall, Andrew (Australia) [mailTo:AnMcDougall@husky.ca]
Sent: Thursday, 15 September 2005 2:23 PM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: RE:
Am pretty nervous for Old Colls on Saturday. I will be making several phone calls during the day for match updates!
Best of luck
Andrew
From: erikthompson@canada.com [mailTo:erikthompson@canada.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 14 September 2005 8:41 AM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: Message to 1st Graders
You bastards! Wait until I leave and then you start playing well. Congrats on making the Big Game!!
Totally wish I could be there with you. (Mostly for the celebrations afterwards!!)
Hope everyone is well and enjoying the mild Adelaide winter. I am heading up to Auckland presently.
Haven't played rugby for a few weeks now and I'm in serious withdrawal. Maybe find some trouble up in Auks. Anywayz I'm late for my lunch date, don't take any guff from those swine on Saturday and do the red and blue proud. I'll order some Bundy on Sat night in your honour. All the best,
ERIK
5 out of 5 Kiwis agree... Aussie Rules Football is for fags.
Amazing result for Old Colls on weekend. Wish all the best of luck for the Big One. Cheza & Boofy, where do you get the energy at your ages, and Hamish Cranna at last a good reason for a piss-up. Good luck fellas.
... Nick Walsh
-----Original Message-----
From: david pack [mailTo:packygurkha@yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: Sunday, 11 September 2005 1:05 PM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: Good luck
Dear Kim, Glad to see we're having another great season. Please pass on my best wishes and good luck to all the teams that have made the Grand Final - especially the 1st Grade (any left from '98 still playing?).
I'm out in Iraq at the minute, all's well so far, haven't got in the way of any bullets/bombs as yet. I've got 2 months left to push out here and then (with luck) I'll be over for Jim Denley's wedding.
All the best,
Packy
All the best Collegians on Saturday. I was hoping to fly out for a weekend, but no, and I'll regret missing a great weekend. It'll be a good one.
Paul Horne
From: Owen Clark [mailTo:Owen.Clark@retireinvest.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 7 September 2005 7:30 AM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: RE: Old Collegians
Kim, Have monitored the Club performance this year and it was great to see the 1sts win over Brighton in the majors.
Congratulations to Old Cols 1sts and 14s and every good wish for your Grand Finals.
Owen Clark
Club Captain 1983
Player 1979-1983
Now Secretary Terrigal Trojans Junior Rugby
From: Tim Austin [mailTo:taustin@internationalcleaning.com]
Sent: Friday, 9 September 2005 12:15 AM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: News - MRUFC
Kim
I hear the first are in the GF - Great news !!
Sadler would have to be the most successful coach in Old Cols history - a great achievement !!!
I heard Sandy Taylor was in Adelaide and Gobbing off to all and sundry about his skills at Harlequins.
Melbourne and Quinn's played off in the preliminary final last week ( Quinns being the Minor premiers ).
Sandy assured me we were going to get a lesson in rugby...as he would.
We ( Melbourne Rugby club ) beat Quinn's 18-10 to advance to the Grand Final against Moorabin.
Sandy had to leave the field after our second rower " hugged" him during play.
It's somewhat bizarre and satisfying to play against an Old Cols in Melbourne.
He is off to the UK next week for his Transfer with the army.
I hope we can continue the success in 2 days.
The club really supports finals and we are expecting a pretty big crowd on Saturday.
I look forward to our "RAWPT" ( Rowzy awesome white pointer tour - which is the same as the "CROC" ethos ) tour to Adelaide.
I hope you guys are putting on a show for these fellas...it would be good to have the numbers on the day.
The only thing is, is that they want me to play for Old Cols so they can "line me up".
Send my regards to everyone and see you soon.
Cheers
Tim Austin
Well done for the Final winners. What a great result. Sydney is going well and I am enjoying the Rugby here, I have been reffing a number of games mainly the schoolboy stuff. Take care and anyone who comes to Sydney drop me a line if you feel like a beer.
Chris Pearl.
Lee Atkins
----- Original Message -----
From: Lee Atkins
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 11:52 AM
Subject: Posting
I would like to get a message to me old mate Nick Porter please.I am now living near Bundaberg and my phone number is 07 4166 2015,Would love to here from you ORCA. If you could pass this on to Nick it would be greatly appreciated
Yours sincerely.
Lee Atkins
----- Original Message -----
From: Lee
To: horne.paul@ukonline.co.uk
Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2005 8:55 AM
Subject: thanks
Dear Paul.
Thank you for your reply. Yes I did play for Collegians for about four years in 4th & 3rd grades and I carry many fond memories from that time. Nick and I also went to school together in Sydney. We haven't spoken for 9 or 10 years.
I'm sure he will get the message eventually.
Once again thanks for your reply and I hope all grades are successful this weekend.
Yours sincerely
Lee Atkins
Ben Allgrove
----- Original Message -----
From: Allgrove, Ben
To: Allgrove, Ben
Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 7:44 AM
Subject: Greetings from London
Dear Friends,
Thank you to all of you who have emailed, called or texted in the last 24 hours. Sorry I haven't replied individually, but the phone system was in chaos yesterday and, to be honest, there's not all that much to say except that it was a horrible day for London yesterday (those of you who are in London will know what I mean). It was actually quite unnerving not knowing what was going on for the first few hours and when it became clear that it was a terrorist attack, the city took on an eerie calm. The English handled it unbelieveably well though. No panic. No rush. The people who needed to, did the job of cleaning up the mess and the rest just seemed to soldier on with their lives. Luckily, I walk to work, so the greatest disruption it caused to me is the fact that I cannot find a Latte anywhere this morning because there were no milk deliveries last night and that finding a pub open last night for a nerve settling-ale was a little bit of a challenge!
Anyway, so I am alive and well and did not know anyone directly affected by the attack. I hope that you are all well too. While it was written before yesterday, for those that want a little more news (and some photos), I have updated my website at homepage.mac.com/allgrove. Enjoy.
All the very best to you all,
Ben
Hamish Cranna & Nick Walsh & Richard Waddicor
----- Original Message -----
From: Hamish Cranna
To:nick74walsh@hotmail.co.uk
Cc:paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2005 6:46 AM
Subject: Re your last e-mail.
Dear Nick,
Have read your message to the club site, which is a long and hard read, as you do not seem to be free in using full stops, Capital letters and any other punctuation. You must have been playing "Wag" from school for 5 years whilst English lessons were taking place. Be that as it may, I thought I would reply to your comment "Who the f??k put Hamish in charge" as it seemed to imply I may not be suitably qualified for the job of 1st XV Team Manager. How can I put this delicately. A rabid gorilla would be suitably qualified for the job of looking after our first team. Let us have a look at some of the tasks I have to do on a match by match basis.
1. Hand out jerseys before the game and collect them afterwards. - This job arises from the fact the players cannot select their own jersey before the game (Numbers confuse them) and are physically incapable of returning said jersey to the bag in the dressing room (They get lost between the pitch and the dressing rooms).
2. Maintain Valuables Bag - This is to safeguard the Players Pocket Money, given to them by Mumsie-Wumsie, as well as their Mobile Phones and Car Keys. Every week I am left with a wallet left over because some player has forgotten they had money and where it was.
3. Complete Match form for SA Rugby Union - This entails getting the signature of the match referee. The players would have no idea who that was, let alone remember their 6 digit player's code.
4. Timekeeping - letting Ben Suttell know it is 9.30pm on Saturday night and he should be home in bed and letting Cheza know it is 11pm on Saturday night and they will not let him in the Casino.
5. Game plan - Acting as intermediary between the Coach and Players after the game. In other words, I tell the players, after the game has finished, what Rob Sadler's Game Plan was and why they failed to carry out 100% of that game plan.
Nick, as you can see, the job of Team Manager only arises from the players' incompetence to look after themselves. People of my age will always tell you that when they were your age and still playing, the team never had, or required, a Manager. I hope I have explained my role. If the above explanation does not suffice to your question "Who the f??k put Hamish in charge" try this one. Get F???ed !!!!!!
Yours in Rugby
Hamish
In 2004 Variety SA made available 191 grants totalling $2.4m to directly benefit the children of South Australia
Hamish Cranna
Office Manager Variety - The Children's Charity
08 8293 8744 f)
08 8293 8725 e)
mailTo:hamish@varietysa.asn.au w)
www.varietysa.asn.au
----- Original Message -----
From:rnw@ihug.com.au
To:hamish@varietysa.asn.au
Cc: paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au ;nick74walsh@hotmail.co.uk
Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2005 4:31 AM
Subject: Dummies Guide to being a 1st 1XV manager
Hamish
What can I say...
In all those years have I taught you nothing?
What about the creating all the time honoured problems with mis-entered team sheets?
entering names that are indecipherable - even to yourself after a tonic or two
entering incorrect registration numbers - perhaps we'll just swap the last 2 digits nominating players that didn't play (I'm told that this has happened many moons ago - at other clubs of course)
not nominating players that did play - see above
seeing how many times you can enter "form unknown" on one team sheet
creating the wet look effect so that all the letters run into each other
then finally looking to misplace the sheet when it is needed to be collected and forwarded to the SARU
you mention none of this... have you've resolved this by not even considering that as part of your job spec?
do you now delegate this important task to your 2IC (Harry C) or are you in fact his?
do you realise that membership of the 100, 200 and 300 club rely soley (well almost) in your hands - what power!!
yours in Rugby
Richard the Registrar
----- Original Message -----
From: Hamish Cranna
To:rnw@ihug.com.au
Cc: paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au ;nick74walsh@hotmail.co.uk
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 8:19 AM
Subject: RE: Dummies Guide to being a 1st 1XV manager
Dear Richard,
The reason I do not mention any of the common mistakes made whilst filling out the SARU Match report, is quite simple.
I do NOT, repeat NOT, make any mistakes on this form, my handwriting is legible, and all the players numbers are correct. You must be confusing me with someone else.
By the way, Harry Clarke is my assistant, and since his operation, I never give him the task involving forms and paperwork, as it would only confuse. His duties involve blowing hot air into deflated rugby balls and jersey collection.
I'm so pleased I was able to put you right regarding this matter.
Hamish
-----Original Message-----
From: nick walsh [mailTo:nick74walsh@hotmail.co.uk]
Sent: Monday, 4 July 2005 6:41 AM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: This and that
i have given myself one last chance of coming over and winning a grand final winners medal so i hope its next year or i will be too old.by the way i feel more at home in the old collegians club than i do at the club i play for in wales,youve so many nice friendly warm hearted people around you it must be a pleasure being chairman even if you do have to put up with harrish.
nw
Tony Collett & Troy Warfield
----- Original Message -----
From: Pearl, Chris
To:paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 11:56 PM
Subject: Contact details for Tony Collett
Paul,
Tony has moved to Gosford and his family will be joining him at the end of the year. He can be contacted on TCollett@jamieson-group.com
Kindest regards,
ChrisP
Chris Pearl
Asia Netcom
Account Manager
Level 2, 20 Bond Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel + 61 2 8233 1213
Fax + 61 2 8233 5366
Mobile + 61 0417390803
chris.pearl@asianetcom.com
----- Original Message -----
From: collegians [mailTo:paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au]
Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2005 7:31 PM
To: Pearl, Chris
Subject: Re: Contact details for Tony Collett
Stuff me stupid Chris but I've no idea why I wanted his contact details ... help me out here mate, we can do it together. Is this just a bit of general contact info or had I asked around because someone was chasing him?
Paul
I'm thinking about the following for the club, it's open source software and we have a humungous amount of web-space, so I could easily set one up. It can be an alternative to these group emails. Ben Allgrove uses something similar.
What do you think? I'm not entirely convinced myself.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/not_from_where/
----- Original Message -----
From: Pearl, Chris
To: collegians
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 2:06 AM
Subject: RE: Contact details for Tony Collett
Paul,
Hope you are well. I was just updating the records for you.
I run into Troy Warfield every now and then who played at the club and as Tony is moving back to Sydney I thought it is worth letting the club know. I like the live journal and if it is very user friendly it will fly,
Any Old Cols going to Bris for the French test ? or let me know if they are coming to Sydney for either of the Blacks or Bok's.
Cheers
Chris P
Ben Hamer
----- Original Message -----
From: Ben Hamer
To:
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 9:22 AM
Alright All
Thanks to those who came to my birthday dinner last night and thanks for the card and pressie. I am sure I will be using it wisely. Thanks also to those who sent me a txt from abroad and even from the same town.
Thanks to those who were too wasted to get there as they had gotten off work early and been in the pub. Anyways this is my last two days in the U.K as a resident and will be soon heading off with Cat on a two month trek around Europe.
Will keep you all up to date with our progress and will be posting photos on bebo.
Keep on truckin'
B.H
Arc de Triomphe, June 2005, Ben & Cat.
----- Original Message -----
From: Ben Hamer
To:
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2005 5:41 PM
Subject: Paris 2005
How is ya all?
Our journey has started and we are one week into it. Things are going well and all going to plan thus far. We are currently in Berlin and are coming to grips with the bus trips.
Our first stop along the way was London. Thanks to Dave and Dave for your hospitality and for warming us to open air showering. Interesting but by now this is becoming the norm for us. Our first trip was over the Channel to Paris. Easy. We arrived in Paris the optimistic travellers that we were. We had booked our own hostel turning down the one the bus company offered for a cheaper option. We hopped off the bus, Grabbed our packs, strapped our lives for the next 2 months to our backs and marched off.
The sun was shining and we were slowly making our way around the Parisian streets. We were also starting to wear fewer and fewer clothes as with the sun shining, both of us coming form Scotland and our packs on, we started to sweat. Ahh this is what we have missed. Sticky backs and burnt noses. We walked for about 45 minutes before the decision was made that this was beyond a joke and that the map showed it being just around the corner. Feck that. French Metro here we come. With Cat's five years of French at high school under our belt we managed to purchase our selves two tickets down the line to a stop not that far from our hostel. I hate those maps. Especially the ones that show that we could've caught that same metro about 40 minutes walk back up the road we came from and it still would've cost the same price. Welcome to Paris kids.
Our hostel was a nice one to start in. Nice showers and toilets. A nice meal area and a bed. But who cares - it's a hostel and we are backpacking around Europe. It's not meant to be like this. Where are the fleas. Where are the stray dogs out the front of the hostel trying to bite us as we enter. Who knows. If we were our parents, it wouldn't have been this good when they were kids.
Our first night was spent eating bagguettes from the restaurant de Cat and Ben. This was complemented by our two-euro bottle of wine. Ah the French you have turned it on for us. We watched the sun set from the steps in front of the Bastille Monument, this being an interesting form of entertainment. We were perched high on the steps but not too high to be associated with the bad kids up the back but to be far enough away from the homeless at the bottom. Hmm. Telling Cat all night that Kosta Tszyu was fighting tomorrow night and that we would have to find a place to watch the 2am fight was not needed at all. All that talking gone to waste. As the Freak from the blue corner tied his dog to the hand rail and stepped up to the plate the defending champ for the bad boys boxing school, fighting out of the red corner took his stance. The talk up was short as the boy from the red corner connected with a right hook to the jaw of the freak. The crowed moved, and move they did, most of them got up from the steps and left. We did not. The fight was a one sided event and the Freak ended up being Tszyu and throwing in the towel as the other boy gathered his troops together. The next day we made our way around Paris by foot. Already conquering the public transport system for this town, we were sorted. We took in the Notre Dame, The Louvre and the Concorde monument where our plans to walk the town came unstuck. We being the still optimistic tourists ventured out into the French spring wearing shorts and singlets. Yeah learnt our lesson quickly. As the rain started to fall the hungry kids being us, were now cold and wet. Not good, we found a supermarket and a big tree made our lunch, ate and went home. That night we made our way up to the top of the hill to see Sacre Couer. The sun was now back out and we ate our dinner from the same restaurant as last night - only on the steps of the Sacre Couer. Looking out over the city of Paris from its highest point. Sorry, its highest point that is free to get into. That same night we took in a market place full of artists and the Moulin Rouge which was harder to find than a needle in a hay stack.
That night back at the hostel we encountered our first hostel mate. Sebastian was his name, Germany is where he came. He started up with a, 'So how was Paris?' Not meaning to be rude but not knowing this guy and knowing that we were still here and the question 'So how do you like Paris?' was more grammatically correct, I did the right thing. Put my head down, went into single answer and let Cat do the talking for the both of us. I sensed that Cat didn't want to be in this conversation. I don't know what gave it away. Her face she gets when she is trying to hide a laugh or the constant kicking I was getting from under the table. Either that or the fact that this guy was boring the shit out of us and with two bottles of cheap French wine under my belt(not a seat-belt, though ...)and a game of cards on the table waiting to be played I piped up with my first sentence with more than three words in it. Don't know exactly how it went but let's say that we were back playing card and he was off to his next victim.
The next day we saw the rest of the sites Paris has to offer. We started off at the Concorde Monument where things had come unstuck the previous day and walked the rest. We saw the three main sites of Paris that day. The Eiffel tower, The Arc De Triomphe and the Champs Elysees. We even, for Euro 4.50, got to climb the stairs of the Arc de Triomphe. Not the best thing to be doing after you have been walking for two days straight. That night we slept well.
Will Keep you all up to date slowly but for now zat waz my Paris.
B.H
Ben Hamer
----- Original Message -----
From: Ben Hamer
To:
Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 2:33 PM
Subject: Europe 2005 Part 2
How are you all?
Things on this trip have been pretty hectic and we have taken in a few more countries, let alone cities since I last wrote about Paris. So I will try and fit them all in with hopefully not to much boredom to those reading.
After Paris we moved on to a small place in Belgium called Brugge, or Bruges. It was nice, the kind of place your mum would take you. We rocked into town on a Sunday and found that Brugge closes on a Sunday. Only one thing to do then. We headed back to the hostel and moved ourselves down to the pub downstairs. Brilliant, there were 600 different beers brewed in the town and we were thinking about giving it a shot in the few days that we were there. Doing this though would've meant that I could've told most of you this story in person as I would've been broke and back home. We spent the rest of the evening in the pub and made friends with some of the other travellers. The next day we walked around Brugge and took in the sights. Mum you would've loved this place, actually any mum would've loved this place. We stumbled across a church with drops of blood that were meant to be from Jesus, but it looked like the 57 varieties to me.
From Brugge we moved on to Amsterdam. Hmmm. Sex Drugs and a Bank Roll, These are the three things that I found you needed in Amsterdam, The sex was everywhere as were the drugs but to afford anything in this town you needed to be rolling in it. Everything cost a fortune. Not the best place for someone who didn't need a hooker and had stopped smoking pot about 7 years ago. Anyways that wasn't stopping me from taking it all in again. We were staying in a not so nice hostel in a room with 16 other people, one street away from the red-light district. To top this off we were situated above an Irish pub. Cheapest place in town besides the two squats marked out on our map. Couldn't convince myself to stay there let alone Cat. We ventured in to the Sex museum which consisted of 3 stories of porn from all eras and only cost 2.50 euros, bargain. We also went into the Anne Frank house and had a look around. Other than that can't really remember much about Amsterdamage.
Next town we hit was Berlin. 10 hours on the bus from Amsterdamage and we were there. Well of sorts. Cat and I had found a great place on the internet called Backpackers Paradise. 5 euros a night and you didn't need to book. Sweet as. Had cheapo travellers written all over it. We were dropped off at the hostel with everyone else, said our good-byes and made arrangement to meet up tomorrow. We were off. One of our mates took us to the metro station and pointed us in the right direction. We managed to get on the correct train and were headed in the direction of Alt Tegel. We were on this metro for about five stops and were getting comfortable knowing that we were the last stop when the train stopped, an announcement was made in German and everyone got off. Popular stop I said to Cat as we looked around and realised that we were the only ones on the train. It was only when people got back on that we we asked one of them "Alt Tegel" Nien nien the guy said and pointed up muttering something about a bus. Sure. We got off and headed up the stairs. We made our way out into not the nicest neighbourhood to find out that the metro line was getting work done on it and that we had to get a bus. Sweet .. didn't have to pay just jumped on. Well that is after we spent 10 minutes trying to find it. Once again we were on the move and starting to get comfortable. What the feck. The bus then pulled the same move on us that the train had pulled. It stopped but this time with no announcement and everyone got off, everyone but Cat and I. We got off when the bus driver yelled at us in German and turned the lights off on us. Yeah feck you too mate. This was still not our stop. Right, 11 hours after we had left Amsterdam we still didn't have a bed to sleep in. With some help from a local we were back on the metro. This time making it to the right stop. We arose to find that it was Friday night and everyone was heading out to get on it. We got a bus from the metro station and made our way down to the place. We were dropped of in a not so nice part of town and still didn't know were we were going. The instructions were behind the red brick guest house. Right that's great. Well after a little scare with walking down a dead-end road and thinking we were going to get done-over we finally made it. Backpackers Paradise. Anything was paradise after 11.5 hours on buses and trains with your life strapped to your back. As we approached the front gate, opened it and headed for the reception a voice came from behind us. I turned to find a man with his dog. English I said, Yes Yes he replied, "What do you want" Backpacker Paradise" I said "We are going to stay for 3 night" "Ohh Ahh" motioned the guy scratching his chin "We open next week"
SHIT.
We made the 1 and a half hour journey back to the hostel we had been dropped off at 3 hours before. Still with no bed .. hoping to find a place to stay.
We got a bed in the hostel and smacked down the biggest beer we could. Crashed and awoke in the morning to do a walking tour of Berlin. That place is crazy. Filled with history and cool-looking buildings. The next day we cruised around by our selves as I was determined to get a piece of the Berlin wall without paying for it. 30 minutes of wriggling the same bit later and having Cat on cop-watch I finally got some.
Any ways that's me up to Berlin. From there we have been to Prague, Vienna, Budapest Salzburg, Venice, Rome and are now in Florence. Will fill you in on these in a few days.
Anyways I am out Statue of David need to be showing up.
Craigy how's the little girly doin?
Macca Good work on getting a Job in Sydney.
Mum I will look at your photo just now (will let you know what I think)
Bro I will be back in Scotland about the 16th, 17th of July, see you then.
To all those from BT, Bastards, getting a pay-rise after I leave.
And Natt, go work on finally getting out of Edinburgh.
Fudali when are you going to be at the running of the bulls?
Packs can you see if you can get any footage of the Cat walk night.
----- Original Message -----
From: Ben Hamer
To:
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2005 8:16 AM
Alright all I have made it back into my country of birth. I have no phone number or address as of yet. Those bastards at Orange UK have locked me into their network and no one over here will get me out of it. Just great seeing as the only Orange shops in Australia are in Sydney and Melbourne.
Anyways just a quick note to let you all know that I made it safely home. Not that you would care or anything like that but just because I can't be there to annoy you so I thought I would do it via email.
Up the bum no babies
B.H
---- Original Message -----
From: PaulTo: Ben Hamer
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2005 5:24 PM
Subject: Re:
That's it .... no more news than that?
A bit too much info about your preference in birth control ....
Emma D., not C
----- Original Message -----
From:tdalitzroofing@optusnet.com.au
To: Paul
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 1:56 AM
Subject: Re: Re: Wedding pics
Hi Paul,
Yes it was i that was meant to marry Hamish- that was until i saw him in just his underwear and without teeth... very scary and i have not been the same since, therefore making sure i married a man with olive skin and his very own and original set of chompers.
As for the mooning shots, i have none, though i do have a photo taken down the pants of Boofy- however i think that everyone has seen his weener often enough and that it is certainly not worth the time and effort to scan, let alone post on the internet. As for the stripping on table, i obviously forgot to send through the attached!
----- Original Message -----
From: tdalitzroofing@optusnet.com.au
To: zog @ 1066ad . com
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 2:17 AM
Subject: Wedding pics
Hi Paul,
Hope all is well with you.
Well it has been a long time between EC mass photo opportunities, but none better i thought than my wedding day.
So here i sit, having madly scanned and ready to clog up your inbox better than the email problem of the other week!
A great time was had by all, and i can say that with absolute confidence as I was completely and disgustingly sober for the entire event.....due solely to a mild case of pregnancy which the doctors are predicting will be cured some time around the end of September. (Or if going on the rugby calendar, that translates to grand final weekend....good one Em!)
So despite the 39 degree weather and a groom that looked like he would faint any second, it was a fantastic day with all the expected shenanigans of a good rugby wedding - MC Hammer was just brilliant, a chorus of Robbie's angels was loudly sung and the obligatory pants-dropping-on-table occurred (see picture attached).
And as for Muzza's speech, well I can gladly claim no relationship to the man anymore as I no longer share his surname!
Hope to see you soon
x
Em D
(Oh, and i can also confirm a new addition to the 2011 under 8's side with an ultrasound reporting that we are to have a boy!)
----- Original Message -----
From: Paul
To: tdalitzroofing@optusnet.com.au
Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 8:38 AM
Subject: Re: Wedding pics
Em,
It's Sunday morning, I'm up early because my mobile was making a monotonous racket throughout the night from a series of text messages from someone who was drunk to start with and eventually sober, I flick on the laptop to see if something is feeling more alive than me, I see an email that looks, from it's address, like more spam and wondered why my spam killer hadn't zapped it, I quickly check the name at the end of the email, Em D - the only Em D I know doesn't have a computer - I'm just about to delete it and I see a photo of something vaguely familiar with no shirt on and so my day starts involuntarily with a frightening picture of Muzza half-naked.
Congratulations, however, for getting married and getting pregnant. I'm assuming from the news in the email that the two events are related in some way. I always thought you were going to marry Hamish, or was that Em S? It's all too confusing.
The photos look good. Kim's wearing lipstick so something serious is definitely going on. But everyone seems to be sitting down a lot. There's no dancing/stripping on the tables, so a tame affair. And with your Irish background, you'd think there'd be more bad behaviour than there seems to have been. Still Chez trying to sing may have made up for that. And the speeches of course, they're usually terrible. If Hammer was good once again with the microphone - I suspect he keeps one at home in his bedroom - he must have once again stayed sober for it, so a great tribute to you. I can understand the groom wanting to flake out, but equally I can understand his not wanting to as you'd have no idea when you wake up what the guests may have done to you.
At least you didn't have a Northern English wedding where they seem to get together solely for the groom's family and the bride's family to have a public brawl and end up in gaol and/or hospital. It is a common social custom up this way but as they all seem to thoroughly enjoy themselves then there's little harm to be had from it and it does keep them off the streets and away from old ladies cashing in their Giro cheques.
Love to all,
Paul
Tim Austin
From: Paul [mailTo:horne.paul@ukonline.co.uk]
Sent: Thursday, 12 May 2005 7:08 AM
To: Tim Austin
Subject: Re: Old faces
I'm fine. I'm living in Leeds, in Yorkshire. But restless again ... or still, perhaps. How's Melbourne?
Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: Tim Austin
To: 'Paul'
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 10:20 PM
Subject: RE: Old faces
Loving it.
Am travelling all over Australia just about every week.
Will move to Sydney in over 12 months to give it a greater kick start
Tim
Dan Shillington, Logan Edwards & Tim Austin
Paul
I recently was in Canberra and bumped into Dan Shillington, who played with us in the early 90's (along with Joe Suttel, myself, Rob Sadler, and the rest ). He's a lawyer.
I bumped into him in a lift as I was off to an appointment.
He hasn't changed at all.
People at the club would remember him.
I have his details for those who are interested in contacting him.
Additionally I had a call from Logan Edwards ( Kiwi fella who was ex league Warriors, Rams ) who seems well and is living back in New Zealand. He called me out of the blue after having had a few beers.
He sends his regards to all.
Tim Austin
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mobile : 0419 849 261
International Cleaning Services( Australia ) Pty Ltd
ADELAIDE : MELBOURNE : CANBERRA : SYDNEY : PERTH
Kevin "Froggy Freeman"
Dear Froggy,
Read your last e-mail on the web site and Harry and I take umbrage at the implication that we encourage
the first team to drink. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, it is the performance of the first team
that drives Harry and I to drink, and as you know, we take everything in moderation. You will be pleased to know we
have won our last 2 games (23-10 against Souths) (31-30 against Burnside) and are now 4th on the table.
Our last victory was without our state players, 5 of them, and Buffy who was in New Zealand seeing his
grandfather for the very first time. Apparently he is 88 years old and Buffy thought he had better get in the will before it is
too late. Congrats on Wales winning the Grand Slam. Good job you did not hold your breath between Grand Slams.
I hope the Lions do well against the All Blacks as I have some very large bets placed with Murray Curran and,
should I lose, he will be drinking free for the rest of his natural life.
Keep well Froggy, I remember you with affection and a smile for all the laughs we had together.
We should have cloned you before you left us, as you made the perfect Clubman.
Kindest Regards
Harrish Crarke (This is my new name. In order to avoid confusion Harry Clark and Hamish Cranna have combined
their names in the hope the rest of the rugby club do not get confused about our identities)
Harrish,
So glad to hear that you both are setting such a good example to your team! Can you believe that it was ten years ago almost to the day that we met on that fateful Thursday pre-season night and I drunkenly got home about 3am in the morning after a night at the bar with you and Mossey. I sadly came home, returned to college and obtained a degree in construction currently working as a Contracts Manager. I'm married to Samantha and have two boys, Lloyd 3years and Dewi 2 years old. Is Boofy really 88 years old, I know I put a few years on him when he came over to stay but that has really shocked all the boys in the club. I would like to thank you personally, and everyone I met for the welcome and generosity I received during my time at your fantastic club. I'm not mentioned in your hall of fame for representing the State but perhaps you've got to keep that under wraps!!! I'll keep an eye on the scores and always raise a glass to the unforgettable times and friends at Old Colls. Keep in touch and maybe one day Froggy will return to grace the bar and buy you a pint!!!!
Always in your Debt,
Froggy.
Simon 'scampi" Camp
----- Original Message -----
From: Simon Camp
To: paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au
Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2005 8:45 AM
Subject: A Rugby Fan
Hi Paul
My name is Simon 'scampi" Camp and I am moving to Adelaide with my Family. We arrive on the 12th August and are hoping to live in the Belair area as that is where we are sending the children to school. I am an aging Rugby player who is looking for a club where I can socialize with like minded people. Not sure if you run an old boys team but would love to come down and have a look. I am fast approaching my 39th birthday so maybe the bar will be the best place for me! I have an 11 year old son who is keen to start up his rugby again as well.
If you want to see the club that I have just left then go towww.wyvernrfc.co.uk
There are a few pics of me at the end of season bash.
Look forward to hearing from you
Scampi
----- Original Message -----
From: Paul
To: Simon Camp
Cc: Kim - home
Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2005 9:09 AM
Subject: Re: A Rugby Fan
Simon,
You sound like the sort of person we like ... right age, likes to drink and another generation included.
You'll fit in well, not only because of the more obvious qualifications, but because we are a club that traditionally takes a lot of people coming in to Adelaide .. as well as having so many of our guys travelling and living elsewhere. Most of our travellers come back and a lot of the visitors go back as well so we have Old Collegians' everywhere.
I'm living in Leeds, there's a former Collegians' player in Otley, three of our guys are in Edinburgh (but on their way across Europe shortly).
I checked out your club website. In Somerset. Looks good. We've two Collegians living in Devon but they're both heading back soon to Adelaide (to get married).
And in August when you get there it'll be mid-season, so don't waste time.
Paul
Sandy Taylor
----- Original Message -----
From: Taylor, Alexander CAPT - ARMY
To: 'paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au'
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 6:01 AM
Subject: SEC:UNCLASS: OCRUFC Returned from Active Service List
Hi Paul, how's it going?
Came across this [the active service page] page and thought I would give you some more up to date details:
Captain Sandy Taylor
Corps Royal Australian Artillery
Units served in: 16th Air Defence Regiment, Land Systems Division, HMAS Kanimbla
Operational Service: Iraq 2003
I hope this enough.
How are College looking this year? I am in my second
year here in Melbourne, playing for the Melbourne Harlequins.
Sandy Taylor
A.E. TAYLOR
Captain
Assistant Project Manager / OPSO
Project Land 19 Phase 6 SHORAD
Armaments Systems Program Office
LCCSB, LSD, DMO
Telephone: (03) 9282 6616
Facsimile: (03) 9282 5701
Mobile: 0409 514 492
Phil Howell
----- Original Message -----
From: Phil Howell [Phil.Howell@sense.org.uk]
To: paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 12:13 PM
Subject: hello there from sunny(?) northern england
Hi, was just reading through all the emails and news on the website, first time i've been on for a long time, still it's really good to know how the club and everyone there is getting on.
Just wanted to say congratulations three times over to Jim, Em & John and to Em Curran. Good luck all of you guys and hope you all have fantastic wedding days.
Jim if you can get in touch mate it'd be good - a long time since you were here and leading me down the slippery road to alcoholism!! all that long distance calling looks like its paid off. Johny Collins, i cant believe it fella! good luck though, i think it's England's loss but Old Colls' huge gain, just remember to take a full sized pint glass over with you, you might get withdrawals otherwise!
Anyway just thought i'd say hi to everyone that made me feel so welcome over there when i played the season 2002, just been looking at the finals pics from back then, i continue to play over here for first division side Otley Rufc, although i've been out for five months recently with a shattered ankle but hey as benny suttell use to say, i'm nothing but cotton wool!
Good luck in the new season - i'm planning to visit in the not too distant future. I hope the season is still ongoing when i do and i can come down to the oval and enjoy it like i used to,
cheers now
Phil Howell
P.S has anyone ever heard from Nick and Flydd? are those two still alive? i've often wondered this!
Phil
Emma & Jon
----- Original Message -----
From: Emma Suttell
To: paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 2:52 PM
Subject: WELL HELLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOO THERE!
It's been ages - hasn't it???? I decided to jump on the old colls website (which the best rugby website ever!) to have a bit of a gawp at all of the goings on and was compelled to write in to say G'day and best of luck for the forthcoming season.
Dunno if you'd heard - but Jon went and proposed to me, bless his heart! Oh - I said yes (sorry Hamish)! The vague plan at the moment is to have the wedding on 4 February 2006 but we have to go through a fair whack of visa crap first - and Jon's ban (lest we forget the Crocs 2002 Victor Harbor EOS shenanigans!) haven't actually helped matters! But, we're assured that our application will be thoughtfully processed when we get it in at the end of October 2005 - then it will hopefully be a matter of a month or two before we get the nod! All being well, we'll be back home at the end of this year!!!
One thing we both wanted to say particularly to James (Jimbo) Denley and Kylie is - CONGRATULATIONS!!! It seems like a lifetime ago that Jim stayed with us for a bit while we were living in Swindon, the main reason being to attend the wedding that we inadvertently missed (!!!) - ahhhh memories! But if you could pass on to him our hearty congratulations, we'd be v.v. grateful!
Anyway - I thought I'd send over Jon's new email address (from 1 Feb 05)
joncollins@conceptstaffing.co.uk
We may need to call on a couple of chaps at OC for a statement (a nice one!) to say how bloody lovely Jon is and how he was of good value (?) to the Club and that although he did in fact overstay his visa (3-days!!) he hadn't on the two previous occasions he played for Old Colls/Black Falcons and that he really didn't mean it! This will form part of the visa application!
Anyway - BEST OF LUCK for the first game of the season. We look forward to seeing/speaking/emailing v. soon!
With love,
Em. xxxx
Sean Doyle looking for Greg Gantley
----- Original Message -----
From: Seanvdoyle@aol.com
To: paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 11:21 AM
Subject: (no subject)
Paul,
I am trying to restablish contact with Greg Gantley. Does anyone in the club know what he is up to now. Or how I can get a hold of him?
Cheers from Scotland
Sean Doyle
Neil Bradley
-----Original Message-----
From: Neil Bradley [mailTo:nbradley@bradleygroup.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 23 February 2005 9:23 AM
To: Kim Evans
Subject: Updating Web Info
Kim,
I was glancing through the web page and noticed that the junior info was wrong and incomplete. Could you please send the attached to whoever does the pages and have the info included as an update. The titles are those used in the constitutional annex.
Neil Bradley
Managing Director
Bradley Elms Consultants
http://www.bradleygroup.com.au
----- Original Message -----
From: Kim Evans
To: Neil Bradley
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2005 11:29 PM
Subject: RE: Updating Web Info
It's still Paul who does the website, and I have forwarded the info to him. The details on the website would be out of date because no-one had told him otherwise. Paul is very quick to update the site as soon as he is given any information. But, like the Tregenza Times, he can only publish the information he is actually given!
Thanks for spotting it.
K
Bruce Ward
----- Original Message -----
From: Bruce Ward
To: paul@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 1:18 AM
Paul,
I've just come across the website for O.C's and think it's terrific.
I played in 78,79, and 80 at fullback while doing my specialist training at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I then went to the U.K. for 6 years and then back to Brisbane where I grew up.
I think the rugby I played in Adelaide was the most enjoyable of my life - due to the collegiality of the Club and the competition generally. I was in Adelaide last year and went to a match at Tregenza and still knew a dozen of those who were there. There are not many places where a referee! would come up and say hello after 24 years but Ted Apted remembered me and did.
I wonder if you are interested in putting details of the Cricket Club on the website? We had a terrific bunch of blokes playing then with David Harford our Captain and won a premiership in 1979. In 1999 we got all of the team together for a most enjoyable reunion. Our side even survived an armed robbery at the Annual Dinner!
I'd be keen to correspond with any interested Old Collegians and still wear my Club Ties with pride.
All the best,
Bruce Ward
Stewart Douglas
----- Original Message -----
From: stewart douglas
To:
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 5:29 PM
Subject: Re: HI
Evening all,
Things here are still the same, only slightly warmer. I mean, less cold.
I've managed to catch up with a certain Simon Griffiths here. Turns out he lives only a 2 minute walk from the bar I'm working in. Unbelievable. We've had a couple of chats and he's doing quite well. Nearly finished his Mechanical Engineering course and looks set for a good job up in Aberdeen. (Industrial town about 1 hour drive north of Edinburgh)
Nick Malone came up from London for the Easter weekend, which was good. We went out on Saturday night, which was a gift from God to have off. We drank in every pub down the Grass Market, which is a lot of pubs. Then we hit Rose street and did the same. Rose street is a bit like Rundle Mall, except it's 300 years old and has a shirtload of old pubs down it.
One of the last pubs we stopped in at was exceptionally dodgy. Think Rio's crossed with an Elizabeth Downs bottle shop. But we thought we can't look a challenge in lino flooring and plastic chairs and walk away. We focused on our courage and swallowed our pride and went in. It took about 2 minutes to realize that we would be going as quickly as we could drink a pint of the average but cheap Carlsberg Lager.
Halfway down that average pint a not so average fight broke out near the black-light lit red pool table. Pints, cues, pool balls, and 'Fook orf ye bastud!'s were flying all over the place. The girl behind the bar panicked and hit the panic button. As one does. The panic button brought on the house lights, cut the music and brought security from EVERYWHERE.
Nick and I assumed the safety position, i.e. BOTH hands on the pint to prevent spillage, as blood soaked people scurried all over the place till security got hold of them and bundled them out the front door. As the commotion died down, we sloshed down the second half of our pints and made a break for the next stop - my work.
The plan was to hopefully get a few wee freebies from the staff. Unfortunately all three of the bosses were present, and therefore, no wee freebies. At least the crowd was well behaved and also very attractive. Nick chased a Cuban girl, unsuccessfully, and I tried to warm up the Scottish girl who works there, also unsuccessfully. No surprises there. I'm still gutted that she is moving to near my home side of the globe, NZ.
But we did get to stay in after the doors were locked, where we then got a few wee freebies, and some verbal fire for the state we had got ourselves into. Luckily (for me) Nick fell asleep in his chair and unselfishly soaked up a lot of their vocal ammunition. I managed to defend myself by throwing some wet paper napkins about.
Eventually we slumped home where a bizarre French girl had somehow gotten into the building and was knocking on the front door of the flat. She said 'I have red wine!' and triumphantly held up a bottle of Sommerfields' (Scotland's Bi-Lo) Worst. Not wanting to wake up robbed, stabbed, infected or all of the above, I only mumbled that I couldn't speak French. I closed the door and then realised that she could, and was, speaking English.
We crashed out and awoke to only very mild hangovers the next day. Amazing.
Anyway, time to get back to work. Best of luck and everything else.
Stewart.
----- Original Message -----
From: 'stewart douglas" <disco_at_large@hotmail.com>
To:
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 5:44 PM
Subject: Breaking news
Good evening Down Under!
News just to hand: I have a home.
My new address is as follows:
Unit 9
26 Caledonian Place
Edinburgh
Scotland
UK
EH11 2AP.
Home phone: 0131 346 8060. (Drop first 0 and add 0044, if calling from Aust) Mobile: 077 867 154 36.
It's quite a nice place. Very close to the centre of the city. On the top floor of an old apartment block, so it gets plenty of sunlight (very rare here). I share the apartment with the owner who seems to be a reasonable sort.
There is quite a bit of room and everyone is welcome to come and visit, but not all at once. We have a fold out bed/couch that sleeps 2-5 depending on your luck and open mindedness.
More on the situation as it develops.
Over and out.
The S.
----- Original Message -----
From: 'stewart douglas" <disco_at_large@hotmail.com>
To: <zog@1066ad.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 1:39 PM
Subject: Re: BT
I'm back in Edinburgh now, after missing my flight from strasbourg due to being there only 30 mins before take off instead of 40.
All i could do was watch as the people in the next room sat and waited 15mins to get on the plane that i was yearning for too. Pricks.
Spoke to Nick M. He has set up shop in Clapham, which is a nice area. I don't think he has permanent work yet.
Until next time...
S
----- Original Message -----
From: 'stewart douglas"
To:
Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2005 6:44 PM
Subject: Lately...
Good evening gentle readers, welcome to the latest installment in the thrilling series on...stuff.
I mean, me. well you know. I am currently in Strasbourg and re(?)-learning to type on a french keyboard. I found a little place that sells an hour of internet for the low price of 2 euros an hour. Trying to find each letter after typing the wrong one through hard earned habit means that this e-mail may be a costly one. Where should i start? How about Edinburgh?
I Arrived on a Sunday night and got a job in a wicked cool bar on the Monday. Nice Bar, cool people, exotic cocktails, crazy french kitchen staff. Perfect.
Cruised along for a bit while staying at Louisa's house. Then overstayed my welcome and moved into a backpackers hostel. So far so good;
Crazy, Freaky, Unwanted Roomates #2: (#1 being the devil obsessed, nunchucha wielding downs-syndrome kid). Simon is a fairly young guy (about 22-23) who has just been done over by the system. He is Ukranian and did a brief stint in the Ukranian army before joining the meandering US juggernought in Iraq. The first night in the dorm at about the appropriate time of 3am i am abruptly awoken by terrified screams and a violent thrashing chaos coming from Simon's bed. Naturally i assumed that a bear had somehow gotten into the hostel and was now supping on Simon as a lean appetizer before moving onto the exotic feast of a main course that was me; so i did the right thing that any man with balls of steel would do. I panicked.
I lept from my bed and fumbled blindly for a weapon. After securing a thunderous can of deodarent, i flipped on the light. There was no Bear, and Simon went still and then looked at me. 'sorry, i hev badt treems and i screm sometime. i got to war end dey shoot hols in me. See?' He lifted his shirt and showed me the scars all over his back and kidneys. 'Dey says i yam no goot to dem now. So i leavt'
So every night he screamed and every night i freaked out.
Bugger, out of time. To Be Continued..................
Stew.
PS any bites on the bike richie?
----- Original Message -----
From: 'stewart douglas"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 6:22 PM
Subject: Part 2.
Allrighty then,
I'm now back in Strasbourg after a 3 day trip to check out Munich. More of that later. Now where was i? Ah yes, the chronicles.
So, the bear that kept infiltrating the hostel and trying to eat Simon continued to elude me. Can't blame him really, I'd be scared of a skinny pale guy, ungainly wielding a half empty can of Rexona
Eventually the date came to rest on the 13th of December, when i was due to head of to Strasbourg for a family holiday through the south of France (Languedoc), north of Italy (Lake Como) and Venice. I bid farewell to cannon fodder Simon, picked my watch up from reception (which had been stolen and then returned after someone had found it had mysteriously 'fallen' into their bag) and took off for the train station.
I then returned to the hostel, got my passport from their safe, and left again. I arrived in London after being early for the 'just in time' cut off for boarding at Edinburgh airport. That evening i enjoyed a few snifters of sherry and sat around a roaring open fire talking about art, politics and philosophy. OK, OK. I got slaughtered on tequila and guinness with the lads in the footy club and woke up a paler shade of zombie. Happy?
After 3 hours of oblivion in which time did not exist, i got up and went back to the airport and flew to Strasbourg. An horrendous flight on which i'm sure the pilot was practising his rollercoaster impersonation, just for the benefit of me and rotting, poisoned stomach. A few days later, Mum touched down in Paris. And after a refreshing 26hr flight she drove 8hrs to Strasbourg. Maniac. We stayed in Stras for a few days before heading off to Caunes, near Caucasonne, in the south of France. We stayed for 4 days, including christmas day.
Caunes was very small but picturesque and our apartment was very 'rustic', i think the marketing term would be. We visited a few neighbouring towns including the world heritage listed castle in Caucasonne, which was quite interesting, despite the glaring lack of a moat and ravenous crocodiles.
From Caunes we drove to Venice. Ah, Venice. It flooded the first day we were there, and that made it stink. Then the water departed and it was suddenly the perfect combination of reality and fantasy.
We visited St. Mark's square where the pigeons are in a permanent feeding frenzy due to vendors selling pigeon food to the tourists, so they can do their impression of a bird seed bell. It was quite a laugh when a young American nearly died after his mates filled the hood of his jumper with bird food. We also went to an exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci's engineering design works. Some bright spark had actually made a lot of the machines that Leo had designed back in the day. Turns out the spark didn't burn so brightly, as none of the machines had been made well enough to actually work. Eventually it was time to return to reality and leave Venice. So we headed off to Lake Como in the north of Italy. We (mum) decided that it would be a nice scenic drive if we went via Cortina, the mountain ski resort. So 14hrs of winding snowy passes later, i'm sure the others were wishing for Colin Mcrae, and his world rally championship car, to cruise by and offer to give us a lift, just as i was. Colin didn't show and our diesel puegeot eventually delivered us to the apartment, just before new year's eve was over.
After missing all celebrations for new years, Varenna (on Lake Como) turned out to be absolutely stunning in the daylight. There was a postcard around every corner. The background of snow-capped mountains reflected beautifully in the lake in front of them. We went for lots of walks through tiny, quaint local villages and ate tremendously. After 5 days it was time to head back to Strasbourg.
Upon returning we went and saw 'Ocean's Twelve', because it had scenes shot in Lake Como. We only recognised the water. And even then we were still uncertain. Georgia had to return to work and so mum and i made a quick trip to Munich. Munich was very nice. Huge beer halls with massive steins. Funky churches with lame glochenspiel antics, and excellent meat and sausage everywhere.
Now i'm back in the Stras and i return to Edinburgh on the 13th, where i've got to try and save up a bit of cash so i can eat. I like eating. I'll try and get a few photos to you all soon. I just need to get a few memory sticks burnt onto disk. So untill next time dear readers, Seasons greetings to all and best wishes of peace and prosperity.
From the dancing man, DISCO.
PS write back you bastards! I wanna hear about getting sunburnt, bbq's and stuff.
And of course the usual 'forward to anyone who's address is beyond my technical capability'
Ta.
----- Original Message -----
From: stewart douglas
To:
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 12:02 AM
Subject: how to fight large dutch waiters.
Alrighty then, Where do i begin? At the beginning i guess. If i can find it.
The first obstacle was to get out of Britain and into Holland. Sounds simple enough, but most of you will know that simple and sensible is not really my planning style. I had a train booked from Edinburgh to Liverpool, where i was to meet Nick Malone. Problem no.1: I woke up late, without having packed the night before, having chosen to get on the juice with some lovely Irish folk instead. (The hangover was well worth it). So, using all my ball skills i threw a few random things into my backpack, bid farewells, and sprinted down the street. You'd think that one of Edinburgh's overwhelming number of taxis would have been along shortly, but no. I continued to sprint, fuelled by panic about missing the very first leg of the tour. Eventually i flagged down a Joe and we were on the way. I explained my time frame and the driver kindly drove accordingly. I arrived at the train station feeling rather seasick, but in time to collect tickets from the 'fast collect machines', which is what you get when you click 'Please send the tickets to my home address' on their booking page. One last sprint to the platform and i was on my way to Liverpool.
Liverpool is a funny place. You can sense its identity as soon as you leave the station. It has some pretty areas that are jammed next to areas that are, well, less pretty. As for their accent, the dulcet tones of the local scouses remind me of trying to talk with a blocked nose. I had a couple of hours to kill before meeting Nick, so i checked my bag into a lock-up and went for a wander. After declining a challenge to fight by a couple of charming 12 year old girls, i went down to the docks which is apparently Liverpool's tourist highlight, if you are sick of the Beatles. It was nice and there was an exhibition of psychaedelic art in the gallery but i was out of time. There would be plenty of time for mind-altering colours and sights in Amsterdam. I went back to the train station to meet Nick.
Problem no.2: The luggage lock-up had decided to close 4 hours early, with my pack inside. After staring in stunned amazement at the shutters, i mopped my cold, sweating brow and went in search of the station manager. 10 minutes later they had the place open, i had my pack, and we were in a taxi on our way to the airport. With 15 mins to check-in closing we asked the taxi driver how much further. 'About 20 mins' he said. We explained our time-frame and driver gave me a look that mum sometimes uses, and kindly drove accordingly. So once again i was feeling seasick, and sprinting for the check-in. We found the desk, and presented our documents. After the pleasantries, and a look that my mum and my taxi drivers use, the check-in chick told us that we had made it with 3 mins to spare. Bang on time for 'just in time', i thought. After a quick beer, we were on the plane and on our way.
After the train ride from Amsterdam Schiphol to the central station we contacted Steve and left the station to meet at De Koe Cafe. 15 steps out of the station we were met by the usual barrage of 'u need cheap hotel?', 'cocaine, acid, ecstacy all good stuff', mumbled by shady looking figures. Nothing changes. We walked to De Koe and met Stevie. We were expecting to meet the two London lads, Danny and Danny, but they had arrived early and were already out sampling some local produce. Nick and i decided that sorting out a place to sleep was our top priority. We were lucky to find a reasonable hotel at a good price nearby. 15 seconds after signing the bill, Stevie sent us a message saying that we could stay at his friend's place. After crushing the phone into a fine, satisfying powder and cursing Stevie's timing, we dropped our now very heavy packs and headed back to the cafe. With a big weekend (lasting 10 days) ahead we settled for quite a few quiet beers and some of Stevie's hash.
Thursday morning and it was time to head out to the festival grounds. A quick stop at a coffee shop for the bare essentials and we were on our way to meet dannyanddanny at the train station. We had wagered the night before that they would have overdone it and wouldn't make it on time. As it turns out, they were there well before us. In our faces. Getting into the Lowlands site is an epic journey. The line usually last about 5 hours. But at least you can lounge around on the ground and soak up the atmosphere. It was also a cracking day, and we lay on the grass and looked at the nearby lake, with its sail boats and lines of birch trees like a Van Gogh masterpiece. What a way to queue! Eventually we were inside, setting up our tents, changing cash for tokens (they call them Munten), and meeting various other music lovers.
Lowlands day 1. Wake up and queue for a shower. Coffee and a chat to find out who's seeing what. First beer. At around 1pm the concert grounds open. People flood in to eat at the myriad of food stalls (Indian, Thai, Dutch specialties, Chinese, massive pancakes, you name it, it's there), and also to get to the Grolsch bar. We explore the showgrounds fully. It's got everything. You can get t-shirts, tattoos, haircuts, massages even try the new portable playstation. There is a huge rocket that has a carrot for a fuselage, ( i dunno, something about a Bugs Bunny prop), massive towers covered with mirrors to reflect spotlights, huge artworks, the lot. More beers. The concerts for the day were Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and The Prodigy. There were many more. The Kaiser Chiefs were really good. Better than i was expecting, having gotten sick of them while listening to the radio at work. Franz Ferdinand were OK, but i'm still not a fan. More beers. Then it was time for the big one. The Prodigy. Rumour has it that they were here a few years back but everything went wrong with their equipment, and now they had a point to prove. For the next hour we were blown away by a power-packed show that dispelled any myth that they weren't up to it. We bounced and screamed ourselves hoarse. After the show we made a visit to a few DJ tents for a bit of a boogie and a laugh. Eventually Danny and i wandered back to the tent for a few beers. Nick and the other Danny hit the silent disco and a few other tents. What is a Silent Disco? Everyone entering is given a set of headphones. Each set has two frequencies. The result is that everyone watching from the outside can laugh at people dancing out of synchronisation on the inside, and everything is strangely quiet. It's great.
Day 2. Wake up and queue for a shower. Coffee and a chat about how good The Prodigy were. A beer. 1pm arrives and its back into the show grounds for breakfast and another day. Today is day of Marilyn Manson, the act i have been waiting for most. There isn't much else on for the day and we spend it in the Grolsch bar, sampling all the foods (Rookwurst, a Dutch sausage, is highly addictive). We watch Maximo Park, who performed open air and were quite good. Eventually it's 9.30 and time for Marilyn Manson. We queue up for a long time to get into the front section and get a really good spot near the front. What i like most about Manson is that it's not just a concert, it's a full rock n roll show. Theatre almost. With costumes, smoke, lights and even stilts. The show kicks off and the crowd is hyped to breaking point. At one stage Manson is stalking around the stage on stilts and wearing extended crutches on his arms, like some giant four legged, gothic spider. Great stuff. The mosh is rough and frantic but i love it. By the time they close with 'The Beautiful People' the crowd is in a heaving frenzy and jumping all over each other. The show is suddenly over and the crowd is drained and wondering what the real world is doing tonight.
From there it's off to the DJ tents, silent disco and food stalls. Then onto the beer tents.
Day 3. Wake up and queue for a shower. Coffee and a chat about what a show Manson puts on, and what on earth goes on in his world. What a night! Beer. 1pm and we're back in for more. There's a movie theatre in the grounds and we decide that it would be good to get a bit of culture in. So we decide to go and see 'The House of Flying Daggers'. An interesting choice for two reasons; a) Its in Chinese, and b) the subtitles were in Dutch. I still really liked it, even though i couldn't quite tell who was double crossing who.
From the movie theatre it's time for beer. It's a big day line-up wise. Korn, Queens of the Stone Age, Morcheeba, Dropkick Murphys, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Foo Fighters. Highlight of the day had to be The Foo Fighters who were awesome. Surprise package of the day was Nick Cave. I didn't know any of his songs but i couldn't drag myself away. The Dropkick Murphys were their usual energetic Celtic selves. Love it! After the music has gone we decide to watch Star Wars III, lie on the grass, drinking beer just for a change. Then onto the DJ tents for a bit more boogying. Eventually, utterly knackered, we slump back to the tents and crash out. Monday is pack up and reflect day.
Monday night and we are back in Amsterdam. You can't go to Amsterdam without seeing a sex show, it's part of the cultural experience. So we reluctantly cough the cash and get ready to feel uncomfortable. It was hilarious. People are having sex on stage and a bloke walks down the aisle and casually yells out "who ordered the gin and tonic?!"
From there it's a casual stroll through the red light district, avoiding large toothless women who try to drag you into their lair. Tuesday arrives and it's time to see V. Van Gogh's finest. So we stop at a cafe on the way for some breakfast. The food is OK but Nick gets a bad coffee and sends it back, only to have it replaced by another bad coffee. When the bill arrives we pay for everything but the coffee. The waiter is ticked off. Really ticked off. He insists that we pay for the coffee because it's not up to us to decide what we do and don't pay for. We refuse because it was crap and undrinkable. The waiter pushes Nick back in the cafe and makes a few aggressive threats. Then another guy shows up and tries to take Nick's wallet from his pocket and then grabs the sunglasses of his head and tries to take off. Nick crash tackles the guy through a few tables making a fantastic noise. The original waiter tries to punch Nick but doesn't connect properly. So i grab him and try to restrain him. The next thing i know he's trying to whack me. Somehow i manage to grab the index finger on each of his hands. Rule 1 of fighting large Dutch waiters: Once you have hold of their fingers, don't let go. Ever. Because you'll get whacked. Probably hard. Eventually they realize that this is getting them nowhere, and a lot of people are staring. The say they are calling the police and we say that would be great. When the police arrive we tell them our story and they say they can't do anything. What a load of bollocks. Nick's glasses are destroyed and we are assaulted and nothing happens. Bloody Dutch. So we leave the cafe and go see some artwork. At least we didn't pay for the coffee. That night we had a great meal in a nearby restaurant and we forgot all about the pushy waiters. The next day we left Amsterdam and went to Brussels to get onto a plane to Spain, for another festival.
But that's a story i'll tell another time. I'll try and get some photo's through as well.
Until next time we speak, Love to all.
Stew
Kevin Freeman
-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Freeman [mailTo:kfreeman@rpmshopfronts.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 22 December 2004 7:44 PM
To: Kim Evans
Subject:
Re: Merry Christmas.
Kim,
Just a short note, to wish everyone at the club a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
I played 10 years ago for the Old Colls with Ben Suttell, Chezza, Hoppo etc. Wish the all the best from me to Hamish and Oli Porter, I'm sure they'll have a drink or two.
I still live in Wales (God's country) with my wife and two boy's Dewi and Lloyd.
Please forward my address to any of the above as I'd love to hear from them. Please forward the match reports and all the best to all the team for the forthcoming season.
All the Best,
Kevin Freeman. (Froggy
Chris Pearl
Amazing that I have been in Sydney now for 20 months and my wife and kids have finally arrived.
I hold very fond memories of the club and of refereeing.
Do you know of any OC's running around in Sydney, We could get together for a beer.
I do see Troy from time to time up at Colleagues.
Cheers and happy Chrissie to all,
Chris P
Chris Pearl
Asia Netcom
Account Manager
Enterprise Sales
Australia, New Zealand & Strategic Markets
Mobile + 61 0417 390803
chris.pearl@asianetcom.com
Chris Gow
----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher Gow
To: kim@oldcollegiansrugby.org.au
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 9:16 PM
Subject: Re:
Hi Kim,
Sadly won't be able to join you for Christmas drinks... stuck in Cambodia.
I have tried to email Hamish who was coaching the 4ths when I was in Adelaide 15 years ago!
No response. Any ideas?
In fact I wonder if there is anyone still with the OC's who were there during my season in 89/90. Would love to make contact. Is James Bradshaw still playing?
CHRIS GOW
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