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Mitsubishi 4WD Owners Club of Qld (Inc) |
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New Members Weekend - Oct '08 |
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NEW MEMBERS WEEKEND 12-13 October 2008Participants:
Alan Hughston and Greg Dunstan on Sunday for the forestry drive We arrived at Neurum Creek Bush Retreat about 3pm on Friday and already the Club’s designated camping area was well on the way to filling and by nightfall the area resembled a small township. The rain hadn’t dampened anyone’s enthusiasm nor the traffic holdups due to a fatal accident on the highway. Everyone was in a very relaxed mood when Bill and Jen arrived and proceeded to set up their camper in their Sunday Best having come straight from a funeral. This had to be a first! Showers continued through happy hour, dinner and throughout the night but didn’t interfere with Ross’ recce of the tracks of Mt Mee State Forest for the real thing on Sunday morning. During the morning more people arrived and socialising was the name of the game. Mid morning Eric Newmann headed up the information session on the ins and outs of running and participating in trips ably assisted by John, Allan and Eric R. It was here that Allan outlined his plans for the camp oven pie-baking competition which was to take place later in the day. Everyone had previously been given Allan’s secret recipe and brought along the ingredients for their chosen pie. The rest of the day was spent socialising and discovering Neurum Creek and Michael and Leanne’s son and his mate had a great time on the Retreat’s BMX bike track. Before we knew it, it was time to test our culinary skills at pie making. Ingredients of all sorts were gathered and pots of mixture bubbled away. There were ones that had been prepared earlier, some cooked on the gas stove and some prepared fully in cast iron camp ovens over a fire. Allan Puckridge, as Chief Pie Judge and me as his assistant, tasted, examined and queried ingredients awarding points for a plethora of criteria. After the taste and visual testing of the mixture, it was time for the pastry to be added and into the ovens. Timing was of the essence here as the communal dinner had been set for 7pm and happy hour was well underway. As the time passed, one by one the pies emerged for more judging. “You can tell if it’s cooked properly when the pastry separates slightly”, Allan told me. Then, of course there was some more tasting and more points awarded – what a job! Some, like Gwen, made dessert pies as well (which of course had to be tasted!) A silence fell over the gathering as Allan announced, after much deliberation, the winner and runners up. Six Olympic-style medals were awarded to the top six participants in recognition of their great pie making abilities. They were –
Lesley was the recipient of the inaugural Best Pie Award, an engraved knife, fork and spoon beautifully displayed on a Club lanyard. Lesley was also presented with the wonderful Mitsubishi-donated fishing rod and reel which she promptly donated back to the Club as fishing just isn’t her thing (or Mike’s either). Thanks for your generosity, Lesley. More socialising followed before one by one people wandered off to bed. Sunday morning dawned fine but soon clouded over. A couple of day trippers in Alan Hughston and Greg Dunstan arrived to fall in line for the trip to Mt Mee State Forest. The rain made for some interesting driving, so I’m told. Those not wanting to partake in the forestry drive gradually packed up or gathered around Ken’s TV to watch the Bathurst race. Quite a number of the retirees stayed on for an extra day just because they could while the rest of us departed for home and the start of another week. Thanks Eric and Helga for organising a great weekend, Allan for the pie comp, Ross for the drives, those of the committee who passed on their knowledge and everyone else for the company. Despite there being more ‘old’ members than ‘new’ and a bit of rain, everyone had a fabulous time. Jan Corbett Back to Top
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