Oh what a week! So much to share from this
week so I decided to do one post and to share all the photos and I still did
not get as many photos as I should have!
Wednesday - IP25 at HMAS Watson
My week started with a trip to HMAS Watson on
Wednesday. I had to leave home at 615am to arrive at HMAS Watson at 8am.
The first job was to set up several quilts on quilt frames and then more were
draped over a dining table and chairs. Of course I forget to take photos!
I know the official photographer took some photos but I don't have any of those
yet so we will have to make do with what we have.
Whilst lots of visiting Chiefs of Navy and
other VIPs were gathered at the International Convention Centre for the main
business of the Indo Pacific 2025 Conference, their VIP partners were gathering
at HMAS Watson. An under appreciated aspect of service life is the role of the
spouse. Relationships and connections are so important. Building connections
between the leaders is, of course, important, but building connections between
the partners is also important.
There were a number of wonderful speakers who
shared at this event. We heard from some Aussie Navy personnel : Rear
Admiral Letitia Van Stralen AM, CSC, RAN, Head of Military Personnel, and CAPT
Tina Brown, CSM RAN. We also heard from some of the overseas visitors
from Germany, Singapore and the USA.
I was also delighted to listen to three
fabulous Aussie women who shared their stories and the stories of the amazing
organisations they have created.
Hayley Boswell - Defence Kidz
Defence Kidz empowers Defence and Veteran children through education,
advocacy and creating Australian Defence Force specific resources that aims to
foster a deeper connection within their families, schools and community.
You can find out more about their great
organisation here and you should also check out their
awesome books. Very cool.
Beck Rayner - Military Life
Beck has created a place to connect other Military Spouses. A place to
tell their stories. A place she STILL needs while she continues living a Military
Life. She wanted a place where she and all of you could feel like you belonged,
a community. Connection, that is such an important word and such an important
concept when it comes to fighting loneliness and isolation.
You can find out more about the amazing
Podcast Beck has called "Military Life" and so much more about all
that Military Life offers here.
Claire Harris - Human Quotient
Claire is co-founder of a social enterprise that creates career pathways
for Defence partners, veterans and women into projects with Defence, government
and industry clients.
Another amazing organisation and you can find out more about it here.
I was also honoured to tell the Aussie Hero
Quilts story to the audience. After my presentation we broke for morning
tea and guests were invited to wander around and look at the several quilts and
bags we had on display.
Thank you to Hayley for the photos I am sharing.
Almost as soon as we broke for morning tea I met the lovely Sonia who is
one of our recipients. Sonia wanted to say a personal thank you for the
wonderful quilt she received from Sue N. She searched through her phone
to find the photo of her quilt and she said she loves it today as much as she
did when she received it.
Sonia was there as a translator for a couple of the ladies, one of whom
was from Chile. She was thrilled to see that we had a quilt on display with a
Chilean theme and she was very happy to have a photo with it.
A huge thank you to Mrs Jodi Hammond for inviting me to tell the story
of Aussie Hero Quilts to this very special international audience.
Friday - Laundry Bags collected
On Friday, three members from HMAS Stalwart dropped in to collect 160
laundry bags. They are headed off to sea soon so you know those bags will soon
be full of dirty washing.
Saturday - The Poppy Ball on HMAS Canberra
Off to the Poppy Ball - a grand event to raise funds for RSL Lifecare.
My date for the night was the lovely Cath Harvey who many of you know from our
Annual Thank You Weekends. Cath is not only a recipient but is also a
volunteer. Now that she is retired it makes it easier for us to get together a
little more often. Initially my husband David and I were BOTH going along with
Cath but as often happens, my husband scored a last minute work trip so he
missed the Ball.
The venue for the Ball was the very special HMAS Canberra. This was
not really an AHQ outing for me as I bought my own ticket, but you can bet that
whenever there is a function with military folk Aussie Hero Quilts is bound to
come up.
We were pretty lucky with the weather. There were a few drops of
rain but not enough to worry anyone. Drinks and and the most beautiful
cheese platters were served on the flight deck. I really can't believe I did
not take any photos!
Don't you love Cath's anchor T shirt?
After drinks and nibblies we went inside for the rest of the evening. As
it got darker the fairy lights hanging down glowed more and more. The crew did
a wonderful job setting the mood.
In the breaks between the formalities I got around to catch up with a
few folk. At first I forgot to take photos but then I went back with Cath as
the photographer and my catch cry became, "if there is no photo it did not
happen".
I managed to catch up with the Vice Chief of Defence Force and his
lovely wife, Alyce...
And the Chief of Navy and his gorgeous wife, Jodi.
It was lovely to meet the Premier of NSW, The Honourable Chris
Minns, MP and he did not mind in the least having a photo taken, in fact he
said he had a good selfie hand and I reckon he is right, I certainly don't!
I also caught up with the lovely Tamara, a friend I served with, an
amazing lady with the biggest heart for service and the Vice President of the
RSL Sub-Branch I belong to.
As many of you will remember, we sent off some random laundry bags to
HMAS Canberra earlier in the year and they really appreciated the support.
The crew did a wonderful job looking after all the guests at the Ball.
From helping people come on board (me included, those ramps can be brutal), to
serving the drinks and meals and clearing the plates away. HMAS Canberra had
had a function of some sort every day last week and they were set to sail off
for a short deployment this week, but everyone was really cheerful and
welcoming.
Nigel, below, is one of the people I have been communicating with in the
lead up to our Annual Dinner and in the lead up to the Ball and nothing was too
much trouble. Such a lovely gentleman.
All credit must go to the Commanding Officer and his wonderful crew for
the wonderful event on Saturday night.
The Ball was not set to finish until 11pm but Cath and I decided that we
would leave around 10pm. It seemed a good idea to try and miss the rush
as there were 500 people at the ball and all of them would have to make their
way back to the pass office and try and find a cab, uber or some other sort of
transport. I was also conscious that I had another big day the next
day.
The only problem was that Cath was really disappointed because we had to
leave without desert... trust me, she was not happy! Eventually she cheered up
(a little) when I promised her an ice-cream cone when she got home.
Cath headed home on Sunday morning and I got ready for the next
event.
Sunday - The Centenary Parade and Garden Party for the Royal Australian
Corps of Signals
Philomena and I were invited to attend the Centenary Parade and Garden
Party recognising the Royal Australian Corps of Signals
in the presence of
HRH the Princess Royal!
Princess Anne is the Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Australian Corps of
Signals
and The Royal Patron of the Certa Cito Foundation.
I invited Philomena to join me as she and I had collaborated on the
Centenary Quilt. We arrived around 11am and were shown to our seats for the
parade. Once we knew where we were sitting we could have gone for a wander
around but our seats were comfortable and thankfully were in the shade. Also
more people eventually joined up so it was nice to sit and chat. The photo
above shows part of the preparation for the actual parade.
I had to share this picture. Let's just say that I don't think these
socks are part of the normal Air Force uniform but I was not going to call out
the fellow wearing them. I bet he did not even know I spotted them.
This is the first time that a member of the Royal Family has ever worn
the uniform of the Australian Army, just something else making this a special
event.
I took my hat off to those on parade. Thank goodness it was not a
heatwave, but it was hot enough to be standing out there in the sun for an hour
or so, but they all did a great job.
After the parade it was time for the Garden Party at the Officers
Mess. The first thing we saw when we walked into the Garden was a
white marquee with the quilt hanging off it, you could not miss it.
The quilt features the Centenary Badge of the RASIGs, surrounded by
photos in chronological order.
Of course Philomena and I had to have a a photo taken with it.
I was so delighted to catch up with the lovely James (above). For those
of you who remember, ten years ago we created a quilt, called the Centenary of
ANZAC Quilt. Lots of people contributed to the quilt and when it was completed
it was sent to the Commander in the Middle East. He tasked James with the job
of travelling with the quilt around the Middle East Area of Operations. The
quilt had all sorts of adventures, you can check them out here.
In the middle of the travelling with the quilt, James received his own
quilt, which gave new meaning to the task he had been given.
Philomena and I also caught up with Ben, Aide de Camp (ADC) to LTGEN
Susan Coyle and also a very happy Aussie Hero Laundry Bag and Quilt recipient.
Ben has even visited AHQ Head Quarters. I am betting his laundry bag gets a lot
of use. The ADCs travel with their bosses A LOT>
Another old friend we caught up with was Michelle, yesterday the Deputy
Parade Commander (if I have that right!)
I introduced Michelle to Philomena and low and behold, Michelle
remembered that Philomena made her quilt. In 2022 we surprised Michelle
(someone who REALLY DOES NOT LIKE SURPRISES) with a quilt. A mutual friend was
brave enough to present it in person for us.
I do love a good surprise but perhaps it was just as well Michelle was
in Darwin and far too far away from me to tell me off... :-D
LTGEN Susan Coyle is also a great friend of Aussie Hero Quilts and she
had the privilege of escorting HRH around to talk to people. I believe
Susan is the first female RASIGs officer to progress all the way to Lieutenant
General.
The formalities over I was on my way out of the Officer's Mess when I
bumped into one last friend.
This lovely lady is Kim, Regimental Sergeant Major of the Australian
Regular Army. Kim told me she and the Chief of Army were so sorry to miss our
Annual Dinner. Kim is a wonderful woman and I have known her for around 9 years
now.
Warmest congratulations to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals for
your Centenary but also for the wonderful event yesterday. Thank you very much
for the invitation.
I wish I could have grabbed photos of a few more of the old friends and
new friends from the last few days. My photography game has slipped as I am
often too busy enjoying the moment.
Below you can check out the photos from the RASIGs quilt if you would
like to.
The following are the photos included in the quilt. Personally, I am so
pleased we could include the pigeons. The story of pigeons being used
in WWI and WWII can be found here
and I encourage you to read it.
Don't you love the hair style?
Amazing to see the developments in technology through the years.
Now it is time to catch up after a few busy days. I have a couple more
blog posts I want to put up about our Annual Thank You Weekend and lots more
jobs on my To Do List as well.
Til next time, keep spreading the word!
Happy stitching!
Jan-Maree xx
