From the President

 Chers Amis,

We did it!  Despite all of the dire warnings about the prospect of rain and cold weather at Nimmitabel for Friday, 25 March, a hardy band of some 20 of our members climbed Brown Mountain to take part in our second visit to the gardens at ‘Shirley’.  For some of us morning tea and lunch consisted of simple biscuits and healthy fresh salads from home.  For others, the temptation of driving past no less than three cake shops along the way was just too much and we arrived at Holt’s Flat with fresh coffee, chocolate eclairs, bee stings and something for lunch as well!  As usual there was a high standard of pétanque playing on display, but the tricky gravel surface of the piste made some of the most promising shots go awry and ensured that players of all levels achieved good results.  We had a relaxing walk after the game as our host, John Cottle, gave us a guided tour of the old and beautiful gardens which were established years ago by his grandfather.   I would like to say a special thanks to Sally-Ann for going ahead with the day even though she was still recovering from a badly sprained ankle and was able to move about only with the aid of a pair of crutches.   Country girls must be very tough! Our second very successful event of the month was a celebration of the food of Provence at Pividori’s restaurant on Thursday, 31 March.  All preferences were catered for with a wide variety of authentic and attractively presented dishes which we enjoyed in the stunning location right on the beach at Tathra.  The outlook from our tables was made dramatic at times by a succession of heavy squalls of rain and low cloud over the sea followed by intervals of bright sunshine.  I would like to say a special thanks to Mike Warren who organised the event and also provided a quiz which had a lot of us scratching our heads but which brought back to many of us wistful thoughts of the days when we took for granted our past visits to France.

Correction I would like to correct an error in my reporting last month of the results of the Car Rally.  First prize went to Les Espoirs (Rhonda and Michael Rix, and Davina and Barry Hewes).  Second prize went to CARally (Carmen and Ray Coutts-Smith, and Amanda Williams).  Funniest Team prize went to Rose Lily (Rose Harris and Lily Hart).  The Most Tenacious prize went to the Red-Hot Oldies (Elaine and Peter Johnson, and Donna Uren and Jennie Smith).  The Lanterne Rouge prize went to Les Navigateurs Perdus (Regine and Wolfgang Kasper, and Rob McCombie).

Meilleurs voeux  

Rob McCombie