Memories of 2022

80 members, our largest gathering for 2022, gathered at The Fiddler for our last meeting for the year....and our Christmas raffle. The tables were set with yummy treats, thanks to Di and Judy.

The raffle prize tables were bending under the weight of all the prizes!! Many thanks to our Christmas elves, Elaine and Pam for organising, buying and wrapping all those gifts!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and looking forward to seeing everyone again at either The Vicar, in January, or at our next meeting in February.

More than 70 ladies, dressed very festively, gathered at Allegro's for our annual Christmas Luncheon. As usual, the venue was decorated beautifully, as you can see in the pictures below. A huge thank you to Lorraine, Sue and Margaret for making the beautiful Christmas cards and gifts that were at each place setting. It must take an incredible amount of time to make so many! Also another big thank you to Kim, for organising the event and also to Kim and Margaret for buying and wrapping the raffle prizes. We have totally demonstrated the words in the Probus motto of "Fun and Friendship". The Christmas fare was delicious and some members were lucky enough to walk away with a prize from the raffle.

Hunter Valley Gardens: 10-11 November

20 Probus members arrived in time outside Castle Hill High School for an early start. We met Les our driver, the owner of Nomad Coaches and boarded our coach which was very roomy and comfortable. Most of us had the luxury of a double seat to ourselves! Of course, this meant that our conversations had to be shouted across many rows, and occasionally this was hilarious!

After a quick hour's drive, we arrived at our stop for morning tea at a park, on the water at Gorokan. Les set up the urn, while we were greeted by a very brave and confident pelican. After a drink, some biscuits, or a piece of yummy slice (thank you Sue and Ange), we met another of the Gorokan locals, Sherlock a very cute, seven year old Pomeranian. 

We departed Gorokan, with our next stop being Peterson's Champagne House, where we enjoyed a glass of bubbly with our entree, main course and dessert. Petersons is situated in beautiful grounds, obviously picture perfect for weddings. They have even built a picturesque chapel. As you can see from the picture below, another wildlife resident was contemplating whether he/she should take the big step into matrimony! 
Departing Petersons, we headed down the road to The Cheese Factory, where we enjoyed a tasting plate of 6 of their cheeses. Some ladies bought cheeses or jams to take home.

Next stop......the Chocolate House with ANOTHER tasting plate! The range of chocolates to buy there was amazing. The observant reader might have picked up a recurring  theme here.... eating!!

On arriving at our accomodation for the night, The Old Maitland Inn, we were met by the owners, Kirstine and Paul, who gave us the keys to our rooms. We had an hours rest, before, you guessed it, we were eating again! After dinner, we were off to the lights. And they were beautiful! We were able to leisurely wander around as there were very few people, other than us, there. The pictures below won't really show the magnificent colours!

We very happily returned to the Old Maitland Inn for a good night's sleep after a big day!

Up early for breakfast, we then packed our bags to board the bus to head to the quaint village of Morpeth. We contributed quite generously to the local shops, had lunch at a variety of the local cafes and then settled back on the bus for a very quiet trip home. Many thanks to Les and Nomad Coaches for getting us there and back safely!

    And we are off!!!

 Morning Tea at Gorokan

Lunch at Cuvee, Petersons Champagne House

A local resident checking out the venue.

    YUM!

The Chocolate Shop

     Chocolate tasting time

The Lights at Hunter Gardens Christmas Lights Display

Can you tell who the elves are?

Shopping at Morpeth

 I guess shopping has been too much! 

Finally ready to go home!

Melbourne Cup: Tuesday 1 November

And they were off!!! to have a lovely luncheon at The Hills Club! This would have been the largest gathering for a non Probus organised event! :) It was so lovely to see everyone "frocked up". Everyone looked just beautiful!

The different groups mingled to chat, laugh and catch up. After the complimentary glass of champagne and nibblies, it was time to place your bets. The main course was delicious....prawns, oysters, calamari, a variety of salads, and hot and cold meats. And that is not mentioning the desserts! Well done to the Hills Club catering!

After the race quite a few were lucky enough to go and collect their winnings!

Queen Victoria Building Tour: Wednesday 26 October

Probus reporter: Mary

We were blessed with beautiful weather and a pleasant bus ride into the city, arriving in plenty of time to enjoy a cup of coffee at a ground floor cafe. After assembling in the central foyer, we were introduced to our tour guide, Jennifer, a local from Castle Hill. Jennifer gave us an excellent and interesting tour and provided us with the history of the building from 1820 to the last refurbishment in 2009. After the hour long tour, some of the ladies stayed in the building to enjoy a lunch at one of the many restaurants.

A good day was had by all!

I would like to add that it's wonderful to see Australian buildings being restored and preserved for future Australians.

Japanese Gardens: 28 September 

10 of our members came on our outing to the Japanese Gardens at Auburn.  The weather was on our side and we enjoyed a sunny day. 

History Walks with Pam: 23 September: Masonic School and Museum

Although it was occasionally raining, this did not stop us from walking around all the buildings, as well as Cropley House, and discovering their interesting stories. The gardens were also lovely to view. We finished off our walk with a visit to the Hills District Historical Society Museum, which brought back many childhood memories for us, in some of the rooms.

For those who would like to visit the museum, it is Building 10 on the Balcombe Heights Estate and is opened on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month from 12-3pm.  Admission is $5. It is well worth the visit.

Lunch at Enigma: 24 August

With the promise of great food and entertaining company 15 members met at Enigma, Castle Hill. And we were not disappointed. The meal, either 2 course or 3 course event with wine included, was delicious! We were wisely seated towards the back of the restaurant so that our merry chatter would not disturb other guests!

Lunch at Doyles: 5 August

8 ladies, armed with their senior Opal cards, caught the Metro, the train and the ferry to head to Watsons Bay for a delicious lunch of seafood chowder, followed by fish and chips. All was washed down with a complimentary glass of wine.

With great company the day passed incredibly quickly, with the sun coming out to shine on us. We were all surprised by how quickly the day passed. If you are looking for something to do with grandkids, or to just get out of the house, I highly recommend a day trip to Watsons Bay!

Christmas in July: 27 July

Approximately 40 members (and soon to be members) gathered at the Fiddler to celebrate Christmas in July. After aclimatizing to hearing Christmas carols in July, it was a fun afternoon. The food was delicious, and plentiful! The entertainment was great with lots of group singing and dancing from those who felt inclined!

Sydney Zoo: 22 June

 Birthday Lunch at Springfield House: 25 May

Reported by Laurelle

On Wednesday 25 May, we celebrated our 33rd birthday with 58 ladies present. It was a beautiful day. The venue was terrific. It was fun dressing up in our good gear for the party. Margaret Dollin looked fabulous in her sparkly jacket.

We were greeted with champagne, or orange juice, and nibblies and that got the laughter and chatter going.

Our meal was delicious and the staff were spot on, for those of us with differing allergies.

Thank you to those who did SO much in the preparation - be it the amazing table decorations or all the shopping for the gifts.

We may not have solved the problems of the world during our chatter but we had lots of fun......enjoyed companionship, good food and laughter.

If you weren't able to come on this day, maybe next year is something to keep in mind.

Congratulations to L.B on receiving her 15 year Probus membership!

Congratulations to these ladies on receiving their 10 year Probus memberships!

 Our ladies obviously had a great time!

Abbotsford Rowing Club: 27 April

Member Report: Judy

We met at 10.30 at Rydalmere,

Kim marked us off to see who was there,

Of the 38 ladies on the list,

25 set off the others were missed,

A trip up the river on “Yvonne Goolagong” ferry,

All of us were talking and feeling merry,

A walk up the hill and we reached our venue,

2 long tables with spectacular views,

The day was overcast, but it didn’t matter,

We could all drink and eat and chatter,

So that’s just what we did ‘til we had to go,

And down the hill we went, ever so slow,

From the wharf we saw a big grey fish in an school,

And all of us thought that was pretty cool,

As the “Shane Gould” ferry came round the bend,

Fran waved it down and our great day came to an end.