Peaky Striders Incorporated (www.peakystriders.org.au) Newsletter - October 2013

THE QUARTER IN REVIEW FREE WALKS

Congratulations to our lucky winners of the monthly free walks, which are drawn on the last walk of each month: July August September

Elizabeth Whitcombe Shirley Carr Gail Brown

GOLD COAST WEEKEND 5 - 8 July

Twelve Peakies ventured to the Gold Coast this year to enter the 10km run/walk for the Gold Coast Airport Marathon. We all arrived on the Friday ready for the race on the Saturday. Due to injuries and illness only 10 Peakies entered the race, (hoping Shirley and Patsy are on the mend). All Peakies had a great walk with many of us completing the walk in a better time than we expected. We then celebrated the event with a swim, shopping at the markets and a Turkish banquet for dinner that night. On Sunday we enjoyed watching the marathon runners going past our accommodation at Broadbeach. Hats off to all the Marathon Runners for completing the 42km. Sunday night we had a BBQ with the Peakies playing Celebrity Heads at drinks followed by Trivial Pursuit that night after dinner organised by Robyn Sullivan. What a great night with plenty of laughs. Thanks Robyn for organising this we all had a great time. On Monday 10 Peakies ventured to Byron Bay on a bus tour visiting the Crystal Castle, Byron Bay Lighthouse and lunch at the beach in Byron Bay. A good day was had by all with us getting the Peakies back to the Airport just in time to catch their flights home. Thanks to all that came on the weekend and enjoying themselves and thanks to Glenn & Patsy for organising it.

SUTHERLAND TO SURF – 21 JULY

We had a good number of Peakies walk this year, so congratulations to Anne W, Brian, Di, Carol H, Denice, Judi Mealey, Lynne B, Glenn, Patsy, Liz B, Liz W, Jen H, Julie Hawkins, Gail, Tom. The weather forecast during the week was quite bleak, but we were lucky on the day with blue skies and pleasant conditions. It was just windy on the last leg after the left turn at Northies and up to Wanda. As always, it’s wonderful to have our support crew near the finish line giving us a big cheer & encouragement – Anne M, Cheryl and Jennie Davie. We enjoyed a cuppa and cake and were once again spoilt by Cheryl with her divine biscuits – thank you very much Cheryl. Elizabeth W kindly invited us back to her place for our traditional “soup lunch” & it was great to be together, have a lot of laughs and enjoy good food. Maureen, Shirley & Sue were on the sick/injured list, but joined in for lunch. Thank you Liz for a lovely afternoon.

JULY – OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY MONTH

Because it was our 10th anniversary, we had a few draws involving 10. On the first walk we had 10 free walks for the month of July – this was one by Anne Wilson, who then got sick & didn’t get to use them all.

We also had a random draw on Thursday 25th, where 10 lucky walkers each won a packet of Orange M&M’s. Also every time you walked in July your name was put on a raffle ticket, which was drawn on the last walking day of the month & there were 10 prizes – 4 x $10 notes, 3 x $10 Woolies vouchers, 3 x $10 Bistro vouchers. Thanks to Maureen for organising this bit of fun.

CITY TO SURF – 11 AUGUST

A glorious day to show off our beautiful city! We followed our usual routine of meeting at Oatley Pub to get our bus into the city and onto Bondi Beach. Well done Anne W, Brian, Denice, Carol H, Jen H, Liz B, Elizabeth W, Jan, Lynne B, Glenn, Patsy, Maureen, Tom & Sue and special congratulations to Judi Mealey on her first City2Surf. Jen’s friends Jerry & Margaret joined us, Jerry ran the race & Margaret was a supporter. It’s a well organised & enjoyable race and it just flows really well. The music and crowds along the way make it a party atmosphere. The Golden Sheaf Hotel at Double Bay had a cover band of “Kiss” playing and again at Rose Bay Police Station the Police Band entertained with a fantastic female singer – shame we don’t have time to stop and listen to them – but there is still a number of hills waiting for us! A special thanks to our support crew – Terrie, Anne M, Barb, Di, Cheryl, Shane & Janine. We did miss Lindy & Mal from Melbourne this year, as they always come up for this event and it’s great to catch up with them. The City to Surf is always full of stories & strange sights, but we had a first this year, we lost someone - Where’s Jerry? We were all finished, but Jerry hadn’t arrived. He was running in a later group but was still expected in plenty of time. Margaret was anxiously scanning the crowds holding her mobile, but she couldn’t ring him as he didn’t have his phone with him. When it got to our time to leave at 12.30pm, still no sign of Jerry. As you can imagine Margaret was getting a bit anxious. So we left Margaret there with one of the bib numbers, so they could both go on public transport & get back to Oatley. Oh and by the way, Margaret had the car keys. When we were enjoying a well earned pizza & tipple, guess who walked in – and it wasn’t Margaret, she was still scanning the crowds at Bondi, while Jerry hopped in a cab & then had to ask Jen to pay for it as he had no money on him. After a lot of phone calls to Margaret, it was decided that she would come back by public transport. Gerry had finished at 11.45am but couldn’t find us on the hill, maybe our uniform is not bright enough, or we need a BIGGER banner!! There were 2 quotes of the day worth mentioning:Jen said that she was glad she wasn’t married. Anne W gave Jerry a peck on the cheek when she was going & wished him luck. We all agreed that we didn’t want to be in their household that night. The rest of the day was terrific and we all enjoyed being together.

10th ANNIVERSARY COCKTAIL PARTY – 24 AUGUST

To celebrate this milestone, we had “A Touch of Orange” cocktail party at the Anchorage Room, St George Motor Boat Club and Peakies always get into the spirit of things and used imagination for their favourite colour. Congratulations to Henry as the winner with his orange cap and hankie displayed in his shirt. Our President outdid herself with her orange & black tights and wonderful mask! We reminisced with photos of various walks and social events and enjoyed great finger food. A good night was had by all and thanks to Glenn & Patsy for organising the celebration.

BLACKMORE’S BRIDGE RUN – 22 SEPTEMBER

On a lovely warm Sunday, 7 Peakies did this walk - Anne W, Jen Howard, Gail, Barbara, Tom, Shirley & Maureen The walk is really quite nice going over the Harbour Bridge, joining the Cahill Expressway, up past St Marys Cathedral to William St, where we do a double back & enter the Domain where we do a loop & return to St Marys. We then go down Macquarie St & enter the Botantical Gardens at the Conservatorium of Music. Gail & Shirley were both carrying injuries. It is a shame that the bag restrictions are getting so hard now, as we had to put it in the week before when the bib number was picked up and then carry a jumper in case we needed it on the way home, but it was such a lovely day & we were all happy with our efforts.

SOCIAL DINNER – 28 SEPTEMBER

Glenn & Patsy suggested we pretend we are in Greece and enjoy a Greek banquet at the Orexi Greek & Mediterranean Restaurant in Padstow and I bet this was another enjoyable night. We all know that Peakies enjoy our food, a glass or two of wine and a good chat!

A TEASER FOR YOUR BRAIN

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Which car company produces the Yaris and the Echo? In which year was Sir Winston Churchill born? Who wrote the 2006 novel “The Secret River”? Established in 1817, which Bank was the first bank in Australia? Which doctor and soldier is also the only Australian rugby union player to be named Australian of the Year? Which actress won four successive Gold Logies between 1997 and 2000? Who is the only Australian woman to hold the world no. 1 ranking in tennis? Which governor of NSW was removed from office in 1808 in the Rum Rebellion? Who played the role of the single mother in the film Mamma Mia? Who was the First USA Lady to appear on the cover of Vogue?

(Check your answers at the end of this newsletter)

A FEW FAQ’s Each quarter a few of our FAQ’s will be highlighted in the newsletter for the benefit of all members as Peaky Striders is a club run by members for our members: Do you walk with other groups or at community events? Peaky Striders is not affiliated with any other groups. We do participate in large community events such as the City to Surf and the Sutherland to Surf. Our quarterly walk program has the official Peaky Strider events on the calendar. Each member is responsible for entering the event themselves. The club also participates in the Canberra Walk weekend and Gold Coast Marathon weekend. Participation is voluntary and at your own expense. What’s the 100 Club? Each member can earn a reward for every 25 walks completed during the calendar year. The rewards are presented to members at our annual presentation night which is held after the walk on the last Thursday of the program for the year. Members earn rewards by filling up their card and once you achieve 100 walks in the year, there is a bonus reward. These rewards are an encouragement to walk regularly and frequently throughout the year. We also have member awards which recognise members’ participation on an ongoing basis from year to year. Every walk counts towards your award. At the end of the year members who have achieved significant number of walks are presented with their award. Every

member can achieve these awards as they are based on your participation and not performance (you don’t have to be the fastest walker).

WHAT’S COMING UP Diary Dates  Welcome to Daylight Saving Get Together – Thursday 10 October

We all know how nice it is to walk when it is lighter and to celebrate daylight saving, we are having our yearly get together upstairs at the Masonic Club after walking on Thursday 10 October.

We will supply & pay for the food, you just have to pay for your drinks. If you have been a bit uninspired over the dark winter months with your walking, this is a good way to get back on track. It doesn't matter if we haven't seen you for a while, you are welcome. Please advise Glenn or one of the Committee at walking if you wish to join us.

 Seven Bridges Walk – Sunday 27 October

Seven Bridges walk is on again and we will start the walk from Milsons Point to enjoy a walk across the Harbour Bridge, regardless of whether you walk part or the full 26kms walk. The course will be open from 7.30am to 4.30pm and Peakies will catch the train from Mortdale Station which departs at 7.00am and change at Town Hall for Milsons Point. For full details and online registration, visit www.7bridgeswalk.com.au and registration is $25.00. Please wear Peaky uniform & you might want to carry a backpack with water, sunscreen, sunhat and snacks/lunch.

 Peaky Christmas Function – Saturday 7 December

Keep this day & night free – details to follow regarding our Christmas plans.

 End of Year Presentation – Thursday 19 December

The last walk for this year is on Thursday 19 December, followed by our Presentation to celebrate our efforts during the year. This will be held upstairs in the Bistro of the Masonic Club – we hope to see you there

GOOD NEWS

If you are anxiously counting & recounting your stamps & looking over the shoulder of your fellow walkers to see how many stamps they are ahead of you - not that we are competitive, well here is some good news! In October, November & December we will have 1 walk each month where you will get double stamps - yes, that is right, DOUBLE. We won't tell you in advance and the keeper of the stamp won't know either, and it could be any day (so you might have to come every walk), after all you don't want to miss one & then be told on the next walk that that was THE ONE. That 1 stamp might make all the difference to finishing your card, are you game to risk not coming?

WALK TALK Recommended Reading

The Innocent – David Baldacci

"Freelance hitman, Will Robie, has a mission which takes him first to Edinburgh and then to Tangier. His task is to eliminate suspected enemies of the US government. But back in DC, when government employee and mother of two, Denise Tamaron, is detailed as his next target, Robie fails to pull the trigger. She's an unlikely victim, and why does she pose a threat to national security? Having failed in his mission, Robie needs to leave the scene fast. But it seems that he is not the only one who is on the run and in danger. On his escape from the city, he saves a young teenage girl from an unknown killer. She's too scared to reveal her true identity and why, if indeed she knows, there are those who want her dead. The police investigating the deaths start to take an interest in Robie. And he's particularly attracting the attention of a tenacious female investigator who believes the two cases may be connected. Robie finds himself a fugitive in a dangerous position. Does he need to change sides to save lives - including his own?"

Free Tip From Gail:

7 days without coffee …… makes one weak

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Toyota 1874 Kate Grenville Bank of NSW, now Westpac Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop Lisa McCune Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976 Captain William Bligh Meryl Streep Hillary Clinton (December 1998)

Visit us at: www.peakystriders.org.au