Jessaholics Luncheon #4 - The Best Yet !

L to R : Greg, Annie, Clint, Brian, Jonathan, Chris,

Max, Faye, Sally, Pete and Collette

Collette and Miley !

Miley mingling with us mere mortals !

Miley belting out an impromptu tune !

Chatting with our friends and fellow Jessaholics

from across the pond

Clint having a grand old chat with "The Lady

from Across the Border"

Jess' personal video message to all of us !

Greg and Annie

Collette with her Jess-a-cupcakes

Hello fellow Jessaholics around the world,

The fourth Victorian Jessaholics luncheon was held last Saturday 27 Nov 2010 at Fishermans Pier restaurant, right on the waterfront in the city of Geelong (for our friends overseas, pronounced je-long) .

My word ! We all agreed that it was the best ever ! Now before I go any further, this is no longer just a Victorian event. We actually had our wonderful friends Annie, Greg and Brian travel in from Queensland and Tasmania respectively adding to all the usual suspects. We did miss Ailsa and Tony.

Collette did all the planning for the luncheon including picking the venue which was just perfect. This little collaborative gem by Clint, Max and Annie encapsulates our very special Collette :

There was once a girl from Geelong
Collette was her name for so long

Though blond may she be
Just between you and me

To organize, she can do no wrong !!!

She followed Jess every step of the way,

Through high seas and gales, Collette never missed a day.

As a loyal Jessaholic she really is a wonder,

(Although packing her suitcase she really made a blunder!)

That’s our Collette, our blond bombshell from Down Under!

and then this one from Brian :

There was a lady named Collette

who to Queensland was all set to jet,

But her plans soon came asunder

. . . it was only ONE small blunder!

That brought her on to fret.

So what was the cause

that made her there to pause,

When the friendly staff at check in

refused some extra mass in,

And stopped her at the doors.

In packing at her home,

somewhat more than just a comb,

Twelve pairs of shoes

…it’s oh so difficult to choose!!

Too late now to bemoan......................(truncated as the rest could not pass by the censors scissors !!)

........however, there were darker forces at work hatching and scheming a big surprise at the luncheon..........

A plan was afoot to smuggle all sorts of technological contraptions into the Pier without attracting any suspicion. Clandestine and coded communications were burning the airwaves and as the afternoon unfolded, we first had an unexpected and surprise whirlwind visit from another vivacious blonde......yes ! Miley Cyrus graced our Jessaholics luncheon with her presence, if not for a few minutes.

Next thing we hear behind us is a very familiar voice greeting all of us and telling us to enjoy our luncheon. We all jumped as we collectively recognised young Jess' voice and there she was on Max's widescreen monitor in a video shot especially for us. What a thrill ! Between Max and Frase (Andrew Fraser) and a tight schedule, this was pulled off in the nick of time !

The story does not end there..........the screen comes alive again and this time we have Bill (Georgia Guy) on Skype all the way from America ! The gods of bandwidth were taking a catnap because we lost audio with Bill but with the help of a notepad and pencil, we muddled on.

Then, it was such a pleasure to chat with Janell from Oklahoma and then Mark (Salty Dog) from the Pacific North West.

After that, the secret was out and it all came together for the rest of us when we connected with Soldiers Mum, the last link in the chain of the Sorcerers Apprentices who were the masterminds behind this scheme.

What an afternoon ! Once again, the best yet ! Just like everyone else, I can't wait for the 5th !

A very special "Sally by the Bay" trophy was presented to Max.......

quote

To Max especially....I believe he has a trophy owing to him for ......not 1, not 2 but 3 firsts on the blog!!!!!!!

So drum roll please for.......Marvellous,Methodical,Memorable and Meritorious ...Max.

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......\AAAA/......

.......\XXX/.......

..........V..........

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....../STAR\......

...../XX3XXX\....

.......................

unquote

......and it still did not end there.....

Brian had quite an adventure getting home to Tassie...here's an excerpt ...

A delayed departure from Tullamarine (1 hr), a fog-bound Burnie/Wynyard airport, a diversion to Launceston, a tedious wait for a bus, a long and nearly disastrous (that’s another story!) trip back to B/W airport with diversions to debus various passengers. Then to double back from the airport, now in my own car, I pulled into my driveway at 1:05am!!

....and picture Annie and Greg looking for the seventh floor of the parking lot in Brisbane when it only had four ! To their defense it was 1 am.

Cheers

Jonathan