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Gnomeranger
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 9:48 am |
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Div. Officer |
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Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2017 2:15 pm Posts: 93
City or Town: Black Head
State: NSW
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Hippy Chippy wrote: Whilst it's apparent that Cockle Bay/ Darling Harbour is undergoing massive renovations at the moment, it's still a pretty place to visit, particularly at night, as evidenced by this gaggle of silver ibis (a pest, known locally as bin chickens, or ducks, ) dancing around a lovely illuminated fountain, just outside our restaurant... ........ Rick, a heads up, re: your incorrect reference to those (sculptured) silver 'ibis'... ...... They're actually cranes/ brolgas... ........................................... They're not these filthy, scavenging, white Ibis/ bin chickens/ ducks..!
_________________ Greg Eade R43098 Ex-CPOMTH4 19th MOBI Intake July 65-July 85 Nirimba, Sydney, Perth, Stalwart, Harman(Navy Office), Melbourne, Harman, Torrens, Nirimba, Harman.
Life is so much funnier when you have a dirty mind...
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Graeme Rhodes
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 10:28 am |
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Div. Officer |
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Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:51 pm Posts: 508
City or Town: Waikiki
State: WA
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A damn fine 'gang' of ladies and gents above.
_________________ Graeme 'Smiley' Rhodes R94714 Ex-CPOMTP(D)5 Jan'65 Leeuwin Intake (10th) - Jan'66 Nirimba Intake (20th) Jan'65 to Mar '88 Leeuwin, Nirimba, Stalwart, Samarai, Lae, Penguin, Curlew, Buccaneer, Navy Office, Barbette, Cairns, RANTTU (based in Port Moresby), Stirling, Bunbury.
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Hippy Chippy
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 12:44 pm |
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Site Admin |
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Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 8:09 am Posts: 4564
City or Town: Lake Munmorah
State: NSW
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Gnomeranger wrote: Hippy Chippy wrote: Whilst it's apparent that Cockle Bay/ Darling Harbour is undergoing massive renovations at the moment, it's still a pretty place to visit, particularly at night, as evidenced by this gaggle of silver ibis (a pest, known locally as bin chickens, or ducks, ) dancing around a lovely illuminated fountain, just outside our restaurant... ........ Rick, a heads up, re: your incorrect reference to those (sculptured) silver 'ibis'... ...... They're actually cranes/ brolgas... ........................................... They're not these filthy, scavenging, white Ibis/ bin chickens/ ducks..! Thanks, Greg, I stand corrected, hopefully you'll forgive my creative license, but you should know by now, I never let the facts get in the way of a good yarn...!!!
_________________ Rick Pengilly WEBMASTER Ex-CPOMTH3 R42630 13th MOBI Intake July'62 to July'74 HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Melbourne - HMAS Cerberus - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Lonsdale - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Brisbane
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Hippy Chippy
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 12:51 pm |
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Site Admin |
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Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 8:09 am Posts: 4564
City or Town: Lake Munmorah
State: NSW
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Having hosted Annual RAN Skilled Hands Sydney Rocks Xmas Pub Crawl Smokeys since launching http://www.RAN-SkilledHands.org 20 years ago, in Nov., 2003, (plus sundry additional impromptu RAN SH themed ‘piss-ups’ in Canberra, the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, even a ‘Xmas in July’ pub crawl in Balmain,) it was with a twinge of regret when I arrived with Tafmo and Fraddy at the City Extra 24-hr. Restaurant in Circular Quay to kick off our FINAL event… At this stage our numbers had whittled down to 8, having just learned that Charlie Staples had succumbed to Covid-19 and was forced to opt out, and Howie Henderson, (running late) had missed the cut for breakfast… You should recognise the usual suspects by now, L to R: Tafmo, Fraddy, Polly, Ellen, SeeJay, Shep, Ned and Tricky, getting stuck into Eggs Benedict, Eggs Florentine, etc...I guess the 'important' people made it, most importantly, was this cheeky Cairns cassowary, somewhat overdressed in a winter hoodie to protect against the cold of our Sydney Summer...And we're off..! Howie arrived as we were leaving City Extra, so he grabbed a muffin to fill a hole as we hit the Fortune of War, arguably Sydney's oldest pub, (although not the only one to claim it..!) As this was the first pub on our last run, it was appropriate that we raised our glasses in a respectful toast to remember our friend, 17th MOBI Intake Tiffy CMDR Dave Maxwell, an active participant in every Rocks Run since 2011. Dave succumbed to liver cancer quite suddenly, earlier this year. R.I.P. Dave... BTW, Shep and Neddley, nice polo shirts, is that the much-exalted MTH three-bladed prop with the 'H' underneath on the pockets..? Hope you put something appropriate on the back..!................................. Oh, and you did...!!! Enough to make this old Chippy proud...!!! I feel a strange stiffness coming on..!!! BZ, Well done, fellas...!!!
_________________ Rick Pengilly WEBMASTER Ex-CPOMTH3 R42630 13th MOBI Intake July'62 to July'74 HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Melbourne - HMAS Cerberus - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Lonsdale - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Brisbane
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Hippy Chippy
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Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2023 5:50 pm |
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Site Admin |
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Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 8:09 am Posts: 4564
City or Town: Lake Munmorah
State: NSW
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On the footpath outside the Harbour View Hotel, (now bolstered to a respectable 9 by the addition of Howie Henderson,) we 'dedicated few' posed for what would be our very last traditional Group Photo, taken by 'friendly' hotel staff, featuring the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge as back-drop, and here we go again... L to R: Ellen Kelly, propping up Robin 'Tafmo' King, backed by Gary 'Fraddy' Fradd, then Howard 'Howie' Henderson, in front of John 'Chippy Ned' Kelly, next is Polly Shepherd, blocking moi, Rick 'Hippy Chippy' Pengilly, with Chris 'SeeJay' O'Keefe, hiding behind his buddy, Steve 'Shep' Shepherd... (BTW, in keeping with Melbourne Cup Day note the 'fascinators' adorning the heads of Ellen and Polly...) Still on the Harbour View's footpath, a reminder that it was indeed Melbourne Cup Day... . Then it was on to the Hero of Waterloo, (which holds some mysterious significance for Neddley...) Arriving at The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, our group swelled to 12, with 3 new 'ring-ins'... (although not entirely strangers, as they'd attended our 2021 RAN SH Rocks Run... anybody pick 'em..?) I refer to the Pirates of the Central Coast: ...thought my pirate shirt gave it away...! Still confused..? Well I'm sure another 'roll call' will sort everything out... L to R: Polly Shepherd, Ring-In #1: 13th MOBI Intake Greenie, Pete 'Red' Williamson, Ellen Kelly, John 'Chippy Ned' Kelly, Gary 'Fraddy' Fradd, Howard 'Howie' Henderson, Steve 'Shep' Shepherd, (obscured behind my right ear,) Chris 'SeeJay' O'Keefe, moi, Rick 'Tricky' Pengilly, Ring-In #2: Helen Williamson, (then behind 'Tafmo',) Ring-In #3: Denise Cocks, (widow of 13th MOBI Intake Chippy, Bruce Cocks,) finally, Robin 'Tafmo' King...! (Whew, surely you guys know 'who's who' by now after all these 'roll calls'..!)Personally, I like The Lord Nelson, not the least because, as organiser of all past Rocks Runs, I ran foul of their newly introduced booking policy many years ago, and following my complaint, was taken under the 'shield' of the Manager, Martin Longhurst, granting me by-pass rights (thereby avoiding the 'Dragon Lady',) enabling me to make bookings without hassles/ pre-payments/ pre-ordering... On booking this year, I was saddened to learn that Martin had passed away from lung cancer a few weeks before. To honour his memory, I invited everyone to once again raise their glasses and toast a worthy gentleman who had our interest at heart... .......... (And no, it had nothing to do with the occasional free meals drinks Marty gave me for organising the event..!) After some bargaining, I was able to navigate past the without a booking deposit, but because of huge Melbourne Cup bookings, we couldn't avoid pre-booking our choice of meals in advance, due to the special menus being offered the Cup patrons, while we were allowed to order from their 'normal' menu. This seemed to work out well for everybody except Ned, who (with no description on the menu to guide his choice,) ordered 'Surf and Turf', eagerly anticipating any one of the accepted versions of the dish, steak 'n' scallops, steak 'n' prawns or steak 'n' lobster... What he actually ended up with was so exotic, I couldn't even find a photo of it after an hour's search on Google Images, a bog-standard meat pie with a couple of bits of battered fish perched on top...! You were truly spoiled on the day, Neddley, I bet you couldn't get something even vaguely like that (well, maybe the battered fish,) at the Hero of Waterloo...!!! I enjoyed eating outside in the shadow of The Lord Nelson for a change, almost as much as I enjoyed being waited on by the absolutely delightful 'Gigi' my first 'naturally blonde' Asian waitress... After The Lord Nelson, most of the crew ambled down to The Palisade, but were somewhat thwarted in their exploration of it by the hotel booking out individual floors/ levels and barring casual drinkers from the roof... After everybody skipped the dreary old Captain Cook hotel, everyone made their way back down to the mid-level of the Rocks Pubs, the Australian and the Glenmore to replenish their bevvy intake... ......................................................................... Yes, Polly's 'fascinator' is definitely spinning at the Glenmore, clearly got a spark on...
_________________ Rick Pengilly WEBMASTER Ex-CPOMTH3 R42630 13th MOBI Intake July'62 to July'74 HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Melbourne - HMAS Cerberus - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Lonsdale - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Brisbane
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Stroppy Chippie
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 2:46 pm |
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Div. Officer |
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Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2004 8:24 am Posts: 526
City or Town: Schofields
State: NSW
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Hippy Chippy wrote: This seemed to work out well for everybody except Ned, who (with no description on the menu to guide his choice,) ordered 'Surf and Turf', eagerly anticipating any one of the accepted versions of the dish, steak 'n' scallops, steak 'n' prawns or steak 'n' lobster... What he actually ended up with was so exotic, I couldn't even find a photo of it after an hour's search on Google Images, a bog-standard meat pie with a couple of bits of battered fish perched on top...! You were truly spoiled on the day, Neddley, I bet you couldn't get something even vaguely like that (well, maybe the battered fish,) at the Hero of Waterloo...! Could have warned Ned on that version (had it on one of the earlier Runs). Strangest "Surf and Turf" ever had....
_________________ Brian Mackenzie
ex-Shipwright Instructor
Oct '88 to Dec '93 (NIRIMBA) before and beyond
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Hippy Chippy
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 3:42 pm |
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Site Admin |
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Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 8:09 am Posts: 4564
City or Town: Lake Munmorah
State: NSW
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Meanwhile, also topping up at the Glenmore, nobody spins a 'warrie' like our indominable 'Green Steamie', Tafmo, keeping this pair of proud Chippies, Gary and Ned greatly amused... A brotherly hug between fellow 'Crow Eaters', 'Fraddy' and 'Tafmo' just goes to prove that, whilst we're all fiercely loyal to our respective branch callings, RANATE unites us in a common bond... With just 2 more pubs to go, we arrive at the München Bauhaus, delighted to find the new owners have given in to popular demand and returned Butterscotch Schnapps and Baileys to their shots list... So with (some) eyes looking like 'piss-holes in the snow', we ordered our overpriced 'Slippery Nipples' and 'Cock-sucking Cowboys' and let 'em slide effortlessly down our throats... By the time we reached our final destination, the Orient Hotel, we must have all forgotten how to press the shutter button on our mobiles/ cameras, as the pic below is the only one I've found..!!! O.K., that brings us to the final post of our FINAL Annual RAN Skilled Hands Sydney Rocks Xmas Pub Crawl Smoky, bringing a sad end to a very successful 20-year era... A special thanks to Gary 'Fraddy' Fradd (from Port Pirie,) and Robin 'Tafmo' King for making the efforts to fly in from Adelaide, and especially to our co-webmaster, Chris 'SeeJay' O'Keefe, a delightful surprise, flying in from Cairns, determined not to miss out on our 'last hoorah'... I'd also like to thank the push from the NSW South Coast, John 'Chippy Ned' Kelly, Ellen Kelly, Steve 'Shep' Shepherd, Polly Shepherd, Howard 'Howie' Henderson for their efforts to come up for the historic event, along with NSW Central Coast crew Pete 'Red' Williamson, Helen Williamson and Denice Cocks, joining us for lunch, thereby bolstering our numbers to 12 (with me, of course...)...................................................................................... ---------------------------------------- # ---------------------------------------- .................................................................. (BTW, I'd like to thank Ellen for half the pics used in my report, which I pinched from Facebook...!) (Interesting stat observed in the 2 sentences above: Those celebrating our FINAL Annual RAN Skilled Hands Sydney Rocks Xmas Pub Crawl Smoky are comprised ENTIRELY of those OUTSIDE the greater Sydney metro area..!)
_________________ Rick Pengilly WEBMASTER Ex-CPOMTH3 R42630 13th MOBI Intake July'62 to July'74 HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Melbourne - HMAS Cerberus - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Lonsdale - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Brisbane
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Hippy Chippy
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 5:43 pm |
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Site Admin |
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Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 8:09 am Posts: 4564
City or Town: Lake Munmorah
State: NSW
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topjars wrote: Well done mate - some great memories have just been realized with them photos I couldnt believe how much the city had changed...wall to wall high rise EGADS The other noticeble quirk was how quick the bar persons were at shoving the EFTPOS thing in your face....excuse me love dont you take cash? I was so glad I attended and put some names to faces. Sorry I had to axe your last post Gary, but I needed to 'sequence' my final post (below...) Nearly finished, Folks... Bear with me... Just one more post to add...!
_________________ Rick Pengilly WEBMASTER Ex-CPOMTH3 R42630 13th MOBI Intake July'62 to July'74 HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Melbourne - HMAS Cerberus - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Lonsdale - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Brisbane
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Hippy Chippy
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2023 5:46 pm |
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Site Admin |
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Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2003 8:09 am Posts: 4564
City or Town: Lake Munmorah
State: NSW
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........ PLEASE NOTE: If you've just clicked on the link to bring you to THIS post, expecting to view my complete/d report, you can either scroll back up NUMEROUS (9) posts to the Start... ................................................. ...or you can simply click HERE to be immediately taken to the START of my Special 5-Post OFFICIAL Report... .......................................................................................................... ...EPILOGUE... Post Script: Having just concluded my Special OFFICIAL Report on our FINAL Annual RAN Skilled Hands Sydney Rocks Xmas Pub Crawl Smokey I find nostalgia tugging at my sleeve... I find myself looking back on the various Annual RAN Skilled Hands Sydney Rocks Xmas Pub Crawl Smokeys over the past 20 years, (plus those NOT held in The Rocks,) recalling those regulars who made them all possible, Col Kelson, Dave Warren, Charlie Staples, Mark Mobley, Brian McKenzie, et al... those dedicated participants who could afford the expense and who made the effort to fly in from interstate, like Tafmo and Rhonda King, Steve Johns, Smiley Rhodes, Pony Moore, and in two cases, even flying in from overseas, like Fred and Anne Russell and Steve Wilson, just to experience our unique 'cultural' event...I fondly remember those who only experienced one, like Roger Fidler, Ron Preddy, Gary Kitt, Simone Morris, Viv McLeod, Pete Cottam, Fritz Hansen, Buck Rogers, Doug Green, Watson and Bill Ohl or perhaps two or more, like Rob Hall, Gordon and Sandy Robertson, Henry Schubert, and those no longer with us, like Dino Gedling and Dave Maxwell, and finally acknowledging those who always 'promised' to make it, but left their run too late, sorry Charlie Britt... sadly, one eventually shuffling off this mortal coil, Bruce Sloper... Now I know there'll be someone diligently scanning the preceding list of names, who'll complain I've missed them... If you're that person, I humbly apologise, but 20 years is a long time...! I thank you all for making all our past events a success... ....................................................................................... MERRY CHRISTMAS...!
_________________ Rick Pengilly WEBMASTER Ex-CPOMTH3 R42630 13th MOBI Intake July'62 to July'74 HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Melbourne - HMAS Cerberus - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Lonsdale - HMAS Tarangau - HMAS Nirimba - HMAS Brisbane
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BC
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2023 6:05 am |
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Div. Officer |
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Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2003 6:52 am Posts: 1064
City or Town: Tinonee
State: NSW
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Wow, what an excellent presentation and a fitting finale. You done well. BZ
_________________ Brian Carney R43371 Ex-WOMTP5 22nd Mobi Intake Jan 67 - Jan 89 RANATE, Sydney, Swan, Creswell, Stalwart (FMU), Cerberus, Derwent, Nirimba, Parramatta, Nirimba, FHQ (FMMO).
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