On rare occasions

[Doc Vernon]

An additional Thread to the one named "Lou"

http://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/m...23226-lou.html

On rare occasions

Only on rare occasions these days do special things happen to us at some stage,i have
been fortunate to have one of these times over the past Week!

As you all know one of our Senior Members namely Lou Barron,had taken up my offer
to come over from New Zealand to visit myself and my dear Wife Irene!

Of course only knowing Lou from the site,it was for me and i know him as well to be a wee bit apprehensive of this Visit,as really we were just strangers knowing each other by correspondence.

Well it turned out that all those apprehensions were of no concern at all,and when meeting Lou at the Airport,i knew at once that all was going to be just great!

We had some good time on the Train journey from Sydney,taking some 2 hrs 50min to get to Blackheath,a time well spent with him .

His Flight was late coming in,which made us later getting home here and we only arrived at 10.30pm,which was a pity as it was of course Dark and he could not see the lovely Landscapes of going through the Blue Mountains.

However on arriving at home by Taxi from the Station here,Irene was of course waiting
to welcome Lou at the front door! Another good meet!

The time Lou spent with us was one of sheer intrigue on all his stories,both of those days at Sea,and his time in the POW Camps,some that shook me to the core!

As the Header says though it was a very rare occasion,and we were very fortunate to have Lou with us ,he is one hell of a Guy! His good sense of Humor too is fantastic,and he is still so young at heart!

Unfortunately during his stay here the Weather wasn't at all that good to us, having only two days that one could call any good to take Lou out and around!
However i did try and make the most of what we had!
I know that Lou will fill you all in on what we did!

On the last day (Saturday) with us i arranged a BBQ for Lou with both Richard his dear Wife Margaret ,Roger and his dear Wife Pauline,myself and Irene
It was a lovely day with all, and there was lots of stories going back and forth as you can imagine!
We all got on so well and had a great day!

After the BBQ Roger and myself had arranged that Lou depart with him to spend the night at his House,as it was a lot closer to the Airport,which made good sense,so it was a sad departure for me and Irene ,but for the best as ironically the Trains were having Track work done and Lou and i would have had to catch a Train less than halfway from here and then a bus to the Airport,what a trip that would have been,as i cannot Drive at Night ! Oh dear Old Age i think its called LOL!

Anyway all worked out well and Lou was taken on Sunday to catch his Flight back Home! Roger was so helpful on that and i thank him for his part in what he did!

So thats it now all over and back to the normal days of being alone during the days when Irene is at work,it was so nice to have Lou as company for the short but delightful stay!

To end
Thank you Lou for coming all that way mate,we have at last met,and made good Friends with each other, you are as said one of a kind,and also one of the old School, a real Scholar and a Gentleman!
Thank you too my friend for the things you did for us whilst here,we will never forget you!

Cheers
Vernon and Irene

PS Hope all went well on your Flights !

More to follow on the other thread Tomorrow!

[Richard Quartermaine]

Vernon, mate you and Irene were absolutely magnificent in your hospitality and Lou, we couldn't have knocked the grin off your face with a stick. Just a short note here for now but just to say that the day was indeed one of great pleasure for Margaret and me; the excellent arrangements, the pleasure of meeting with you, Lou and of course meeting you, Roger along with your lovely lady Pauline for the first time. Thank you so much, all of you.

I'm sure you will have some photos to attach Vernon, meanwhile, here are those I took.

Cheers,
Richard

001 Lou, Margaret left and Pauline
003 Roger, Vernon, Richard and Lou

[Doc Vernon]

Just some additional Pics for now!
Cheers

DSCN0278.jpg

DSCN0280.jpg

DSCN0284.jpg

DSCN0288.jpg

[Doc Vernon]

A few more Pics

DSCN0260.jpg

DSCN0261.jpg

DSCN0262.jpg

DSCN0277.jpg

DSCN0291.jpg Looks good as new Roger!

[Captain Kong]

Thanks for that Vernon and Richard,
I have had the pleasure of meeting all four, Vernon, Richard, Lou and Roger, over there, and always a wonderful pleasure to do so. So I am sure our Lou would have had a good time there.
I would like to thank Roger again for driving Anne and me all the way down to Lake Illawarra, 2-300 mile round trip.
You men always make us feel so welcome every time I go there,.
Thanks again gentlemen.
Cheers
Brian.

[Doc Vernon]

Awaiting your next trip here Capt!
Lets hope the Weather will be better than we had for Lou!
Yes Roger is indeed a fine Chap ,as is Richard!
Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

Still no mention of Kings cross but I see from the photos that Lou knows how to handle a tinnie!! Roger looked a little lost as his beer was on the table.
But never mind, from your comments Vernon and photos it would appear all had a great time and I am sure seeing Lou was a real bonus. Good to see so many of you together and enjoying the company.

[Doc Vernon]

Just to let all know that Lou arrived Home in Dunedin Yesterday,a bit tired but AOK otherwise!
Will await his Posts!
Cheers

[Doc Vernon]

Was about to tell about Lou and the Porridge on last post but forgot!
Well anyway whilst he was here I introduced Lou to a Porridge from South Africa,called in our term 'Mealie Meal" Protea (Maize Meal")
After the first Bowl he seemed to take to it ,and we had several morning Breakfasts of the Porridge!
Its a lovely white Creamy porridge and only takes a few minutes to cook!
Add a wee bit of Sugar and Yummy!
Wonder if he can get it in NZ!??
Oh well just thought I would tell about it!
Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

What's up Doc, no Maltabella????

5Kg, that is one heck of a big bag, reminds me of the Middlin meal we used to feed to the Turkeys back on the farm.