THE MARRIAGE

Had to include this great shot taken by Mark Gunter of the happy couple. Peta went through school with Mark the photographer. Check out his beautiful galleries by clicking on his name above.
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Peta said, "We're not having a wedding cake, Mum!" Fay had other ideas which turned out to be spot on. Ice cream cake complete with their 2 dogs, all their cars and the happy couple as well!!! All specially colour co-ordinated! The cake was a hit and didn't last long at all.

The event was a beauty!

It was a privilege to be able to witness the marriage of our daughter Peta to Jon Eke on Friday 22 February 2008. It took place quietly, solemnly but without incident in downtown Newcastle. Jon's parents - Chris and Rhonda - were also there to witness the happening.

Afterwards, Jon and Peta joined about 30 close relatives for a feed at The Brewery down by the water in Newcastle. What a beaut spot. All Jon's and Peta's siblings were there, with their families. I was pleased my sister and 2 brothers were present. They come from Sydney, Narrabri (NSW country) and Canada.

The next day, Peta and Jon had invited a bunch of their friends to celebrate the marriage in their backyard. A pool party! People came from Sydney, Cooma, Dubbo, Cairns and Canada. It was beaut to catch up with quite a few of their friends from different eras.

Do you like the shot of Peta with her cousins (minus Jemma) and of course her Canadian Uncle Bill! Think Alan took that one. From left: Deb, Nathan, Peta, Jeremy, Stuart. Other photos are by Alan and Bill. Thanks guys.

Sunday was relax, recover, tidy up and relax some more. Jon was thrown into the pool at one stage. Peta laughed and was then selected to join her husband in the pool.

Fay and I said farewell and headed to Taree to spend a few days with Bill and Alan (and Nathan briefly) at a resort Seashells at Hallidays Point. Very easy. It's 2 hours north of Newcastle. My Dad used to live in Hallidays Point till he died in 1992.

We expect to be back in Dubbo on Thursday 28 Feb to relax ourselves. Guess church camp is on this weekend! Hope you like the photos. Did you check out Gunter's photo site? Absolutely great. Thanks Mark.

LOGAN JACK'S BIG MOUTH

So, who does he get his big mouth from?

He loves bikkies (cookies), Weet Bix, baked beans, grapes, nectarine, cherries, peaches, spag bol and even sultanas that his father has rejected from the Just Right packet! And, as the above photo shows, he likes Arrowroot biscuits too. We haven't tried him on Iced Vovos as yet.

LJ is now 16 months old. This guy just makes so many people's lives richer. You've just gotta wonder about his future eh?

Sorry about the carry on; he is my only grandchild!

Next post will tell you about the marriage between Peta (our #2 daughter) and Jon Eke. It happens 22 and 23 Feb. Stay posted. (Or come back later!)

UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

Bob Pritchard played for University of Calgary during late sixties.

Grahame and Bill, with Tris Chivers (centre) - U of C cricket captain.

Wendy, Mike, Marjorrie and Fay check out Sydney town,

Deb, Mike, Grahame and Bill about to head to SCG.

Beautiful Seacliff Bridge south of Sydney. This replaced the previous roadway that was wiped out by a landslide.
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The University of Calgary cricket team was a formidable force back in the late sixties! Chivers, Boorman, Pritchard, Keast etc.

Yes, cricket was alive and well in Canada in places like Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto etc. They even had an event like "Country Week" when cricket teams from California, Hawaii and elsewhere came to do battle. I played for Burrard while in Vancouver (69-70) and the University of Calgary (71-72) while studying at the uni in Alberta. It was the only time in my checkered cricketing career that I actually kept wickets even if our captain thought I'd done that all my life! Somehow I played for California against Hawaii in Vancouver's beautiful Stanley Park! I also played once on Vancouver Island.

There was a mini reunion here in Oz this week as Mike Boorman, his wife Marjorrie (from Calgary), myself and wife Fay and our good friend Wendy Pritchard (from Perth) got together. Wendy's husband Bob who died in 2006 (picture above), was a valuable member of the team, so it was great that she was able to put a brief halt to house building and come and join us for the week. She's not a bad cricketer herself. I have her on film "having a net session" with her 2 sons, Geoff and Jim in Calgary.

We five did the Sydney stuff, crossed the Blue Mountains, visited Wyuna Merino stud west of Gilgandra (thanks Stuart), swam down the south coast, saw heaps of roos there, travelled on the new Seacliff Bridge south of Stanwell Tops, found a couple of emus, enjoyed Sydney Harbour with Matilda Cruises, did the monorail, explored Paddy's Markets, enjoyed the Maritime Museum and the Rocks markets and shops. We were so lucky to be able to see a full game of one day cricket at the SCG when Oz defeated Sri Lanka on Fri 8 Feb. This was capped off with a Keast Chinese feed - held at Deb and Bren's place in Mortdale, Sydney. (Good tucker there from Lin's Garden.) Thanks Marg. All in all a most successful "reunion". Don't you wish you were here?