Meeting Mr and Mrs Aus.

G'day all.  Just a couple of announcements before I get on to the real post tonight.  The new year has started and so it is time to ease ourselves back into things.  

I know you have all read in the press and heard on the news that all our men and women were out of Afghanistan by Christmas.  Well, that is not exactly the case.  Everyone (as far as I know) was out of Tarin Kot, in Uruzgan Province, by Christmas but we still have people elsewhere in Afghanistan.  Sadly the announcements that all are home is not exactly helping those still over there to feel appreciated and acknowledged.  Yes, there are less numbers but there are still plenty for us to look after in Afghanistan, in Dubai at Al Minhad Air Base, on board whichever ship is supporting Operation Slipper and do not forget those on peace keeping missions in South Sudan and the Sinai region in Egypt. I just thought it was worth mentioning as I have had a lot of people query what we are going to do now that everyone is "home."

So to start up the year we have a couple of sewing days planned.

Firstly we have Sunday the 19th of January at Penrith Patchwork. Their address is 97B Henry Street, Penrith.  There is plenty of parking out the back.  I will be bringing laundry bag kits this time and all you need to bring is your lunch and your sewing machine.  If you are interested can you please let me know so that I can make sure I have enough gear for everyone.

The second sewing day is at my home in the Sydney Hills district on Friday the 24th.  We will start off at 10am and will go till three-ish. once again, if you are interested in coming please let me know.  BYO lunch and sewing machine and I will provide everything else you need.  If you are interested in coming please PM me on Facebook or email me (friendsofAHQ@gmail.com)

I did promise you some photos from the visit Angela and I made to one of our recipients so here goes.  On Friday the third of January we headed south to HMAS CRESWELL, one of the Navy's training establishments just south of Nowra.    

Allow me to introduce to you Mr Aus (can't tell you why we call him that ....... it is classified you know!  LOL).  Mr Aus was deployed to South Sudan as part of the peace keeping mission over there this time last year.  When he received his quilt from Angela he wrote a beautiful thank you email to both of us and that was the start of a really lovely friendship.   The three of us have stayed in touch and have been dying to actually meet in person but events like  the International Fleet Review, courses, the dinner in Brisbane and family commitments conspired against us.  Finally however, we managed to arrange it during the relative quiet of the Christmas/January period.   I am not so practiced at "selfies" so please excuse the finger but this was us just after we met, after the obligatory group hug!  Just in case you don't know, that is Angela on the left, me on the right and Mr Aus in the middle.

And now meet the lovely Mrs Aus, a wonderful hostess who spoilt us rotten throughout our stay and would not let us lift a finger.

A reunion for Angela with the quilt she made for Mr Aus.  

Of course you can't forget the other very important members of the family - Angela and I can't anyway as we are very much dog lovers.  This is the very cuddly and affectionate Dobby

And the much more reserved but equally lovely Jedi.

Needless to say we came bearing gifts - mini laundry bags, or you could call them Doggie bags, filled with homemade dog biscuits.

I have been to HMAS Creswell before, over twenty years ago.  I went there first when I transferred from the RAAF to the RAN as a Lieutenant and did my Intro to the Navy Course here. I can't think what the course was called and anyway the name has probably changed by now.  I then went back a few years later and did my Junior Officer Staff Course.  While some things have not changed the number of roos around certainly has.   This expanse of grass is the Quarterdeck and this is where parades are held.  I am so grateful I do not have to wipe roo poo from my parade shoes!

Listed on the National Register as a significant heritage site, a quarter of HMAS Creswell's buildings are heritage listed. The establishment is surrounded by Booderee National Park and sits on the shore of Jervis Bay Marine Park. This is the clock tower gym though the gym facilities have been relocated to a more updated building these days.  

The locals were friendly.

Some were quite shy but popped out to say hello just long enough for a photo.

The surroundings are wonderfully peaceful.  This was my sunrise view on Saturday morning.  That is the gym and the swimming pool in the foreground and in the background is Jervis Bay.

Suffice to say we had a wonderful visit.  We arrived around midday on Friday and left reluctantly around midday on Saturday.  It was lovely to talk to Mr Aus about his Aussie Hero experience and his deployment and just chat in general.  One thing he made abundantly clear was his whole-hearted support of Aussie Heroes. High impact he called it.  I guess you could say  he gave it a big thumbs up.  

 

On the way back to Sydney we had to drive through Berry, well  we could have avoided it but why would you?  Especially when it is home to Berry Patchwork.  Owner Elizabeth has sewn for us in the past and was interested to hear some of the up to date news.  If you are in the area I really recommend you pop in.  It is a lovely shop and we enjoyed our browse and may or may not have added to the our stashes.  

That is it for now.  Till next time..............keep spreading the word and happy stitching!  JMxx