Thought I would update you all on a trip we had out to the wild, wild west! I could finally have some time off as my sister could have Mum - so off we went before she could change her mind. With our 5th wheeler and 4WD canter a 4 weeks galavant exactly from 22nd June to 23rd July, with 4600kms traveled at 5.1kms per litre with a cost of the highest price of diesel being $2.15. We started off at Charleville by meeting our daughter Kim, son-in-law Mark and 2 gorgeous grandsons 4 year old Jack and 2 year old Will. They were spread out at the free camp on the river with an array of toys, pumping river water for the washing, boat out with various lines and nets strategically placed and camp fire raging with the smell of roast lamb permeating the bush air. Of course the boys all raced around madly to see Nan and Poppy and to excitedly tell us of their many catches.
A few days later off towards Cooladdi and the lake at Wanko Station outside Quilpie with more fish and yabbies. Down to Toompine Pub, Thargominda, and then Noccundra on the river again. Good roads really but we had to take our time over the stones and corrugations. Arrived at Cameron corner on the borders - had to have a beer there of course. Camped in the desert, much to the kids delight then passed Moomba and the oil fields all lit up at night. Quite a sight at night to look out and see how much oil Australia actually producers - so where does it go? - yes overseas apparently! Innaminka, the Dig Tree, then via Walkers Crossing to Birdsville on a fair track through the sand hills. We left the kids there as they have work for a couple of months. We came back rather quickly via Cunnamulla, St George and Warwick, as Dad was deteriorating with another operation. They made them tough in those days, he's down to 39 kgs and 5 operations later is still hanging on! Anyway we're back home now and I have Mum again and will have her for another couple of months and hopefully Dad improves. We won't be attending the rally at Bingara so I wish you all the best. I reckon this thought for the day is from my dad - he just doesn't give up!
A POSITIVE attitude is a POWERFUL FORCE
Happy Traveling
Carol and Max Dahler
Hello to all Highway Wanderers wherever you happen to be wandering. I know you will find it hard to believe that I have finally got off my backside and put pen to paper or should I say finger to keyboard. It's been 5 months since the last newsletter and I can't believe that we are only 3 months away from the next rally at Bingara. I won't bore you with all my excuses suffice to say that we still haven't completed our motorhome project and together with a few other incidents and unexpected events over the last few months life has been a little chaotic. I hesitate to even mention the word Finally finished but barring any further unexpected events I reckon (whispering) we will be on the road by mid September. We will be booking into the rally at Bingara so it better be ready. It's amazing how the best laid plans can change and it seems that as you get older there are more things happening to upset those plans. I know that President Carol and Max and also Robin and Keryn have had stuff happening which has prevented them from doing many of the things that they would like to be doing but that's life. The reason I mention this is that I was disappointed to get feedback from the Broken Hill rally that seemed to suggest that the elected office bearers of HW were neglecting their duties by not being in attendance. A couple of HW members took the initiative and arranged an impromptu meeting which is great but from the record of meeting that was sent through I got the impression that they thought we should have been at the rally or at least we should have arranged for a rally coordinator to act in our absence. I should also say that members were advised in the February newsletter that none of the office bearers would be attending. With HW members spread over all parts of OZ trying to get in touch with everyone at short notice is not as easy as it might seem. The main reason nothing was organised was that it was not until the last moment that we realised none of us were able to attend and it is probably the only CMCA rally ever where none of the office bearers were attending. But you know what, I reckon it is a fantastic idea and in hindsight we should have contacted the membership prior to the rally to get someone who was attending to volunteer as HW rally organiser. It seems that two members who were at the impromptu meeting, Tom and Sandra Sargent, put up their hand to act as rally coordinators for the upcoming rally at Bingara so we look forward to working with them to ensure Bingara is more organised than Broken Hill. The idea raised at the Broken Hill rally is great and I propose moving a motion at the AGM in October that HW introduce a new official position of Rally coordinator. That person or persons would be appointed to act in that capacity prior to and at the next CMCA rally. The appointment would only be for one rally but that is not to say that they could not nominate for future rallies. The members attending the meeting would have to approve the appointment. Anyway a bit of stirring in any organisation or group is good and hopefully it will make the AGM at Bingara a lot more interesting. See you (fingers and toes crossed) at Bingara.
Chris and Barryne Wilson
It's an interesting word and I am sure everyone has a slightly different definition but to me it means amongst other things, sharing information, keeping in touch and discussion. The most important aspect though of communication is that it is a two way thing. As you know in the Highway Wanderers we have members spread all over Australia some on the road permanently and others travelling for short or long periods before settling in one place for a period of time. Many of us, when we are on the road, only get our mail once a fortnight or even once a month. The reason I am raising this matter is that communicating with the HW membership is not as easy as you might think particularly with those members who have not embraced Internet and email technology. The only way of communicating with a lot of our members is by letter - probably ends up around $2 per letter and some members may not get it until it's too late - or by phone - mostly mobiles and a lot of time for someone to ring everyone especially if you want to keep it in your free hour.
Personally I wish Mr Rudd would provide a basic computer with Internet/email tuition to every Highway Wanderer. I know that we tend to harp on about it but HW have a great website with all sorts of info, we have a chat room and there are email addresses for all of the office bearers. There are also phone numbers on the website and in the newsletter for all office bearers. The newsletter itself is our main form of communication and should be a forum for all members to communicate their views and ideas. So the bottom line is that if you want to raise an issue or something about the running of HW is not to your liking then get on the phone or write or email and preferably before the event rather than later. Maybe at Bingara we could run a little workshop for HW members who would like to have a look at the HW website and the operation of the chat room. Let us know if you are interested and we will put it to our Bingara rally coordinators Tom and Sandra Sargent.
All financial members are advised that the 2008 Annual General Meeting of Highway Wanderers will be held on Tuesday 14th October at 2pm at the Bingara Rally. The venue for the meeting can be found in the rally program, and on the notice board. There will be a happy hour each night, just look for the Highway Wanderers flag.
13th October to 19th October 2008 - 23rd National Rally, Bingara NSW
30th March to 5th April 2009 - 23rd Anniversary Rally, Whyalla SA
28th September to 4th October 2009 - 24th National Rally, Rockhampton QLD -
Levies are due on the 1st July for 2008. If you have not already posted your remittance for previous years would you please enclose it along with your 2008 remittance?
Remittance to be sent to:
Highway Wanderers Treasurer
PO Box 110
BEAUDESERT Qld 4285
Remember the Maintenance Levy covers the costs of maintaining the Chapter resources and the compilation and distribution of the Newsletter.
If you choose not to pay the levy you will no longer receive the newsletter.
Thank you to those wonderful people who support the Chapter.
Need some more book reviews so if you have read anything interesting lately email your critique to info@highwaywanderers.com
Robin & I will be at Bingara this year and will take orders for shirts, jackets & caps.
Safe Travel
Keryn Wood.
July, August, September Don & Maureen Kennedy, David Maitland
How about some contributions for story of the month. Send them in by mail or preferably email. We will publish them on the web and in the newsletter (provided there are not too many). Remember they have to be nice enough to tell your grandkids.
An elderly couple was attending church services, about halfway through she leans over and says to her husband, ' I just let out a silent fart what do you think I should do?' He replies ' Put a new battery in your hearing aid.'
In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb".
Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only. Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.
The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
Coca - Cola was originally green.
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
The cost of raising a medium - size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400
The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs - Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace
Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey
Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day
In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... "goodnight, sleep tight."
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"
Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!
Did you know that we have our own web site?
www.highwaywanderers.com
Now I know that not everyone is internet savvy but you don't have to have your own computer to get on the web. Maybe you know someone who is hooked up to the Internet or maybe ask someone in an Internet cafe to show you how to get onto the HW website. It's a great way to keep up to date when you are on the road or at home. Don't forget we now have Cheryl Moore ready and waiting to help you with the internet. Cheryl's address is cherylmoore@highwaywanderers.com.
If you have access to the Internet and want to start chatting with other HW members all you need to do is go to the HW website www.highwaywanderers.com> and click on the link "Highway Wanderers Chatroom".The chatroom is exclusive to HW members and if you want to participate you will need to contact me at cherylmoore@highwaywanderers.com. I will make sure you are a HW member and then give you the info to enable you to start chatting with other HW members in the chatroom. As well as allowing you to chat (typing chat not talking) online it is a great way let other people know what you are doing and where you are doing it. (Not sure what IT means but whatever IT is we all hope you are enjoying doing IT.) You can use the chatroom to get all sorts of info from other members, where to go, where not to go, who is travelling where and enabling people to get together if they are going to be in the same area. If you need info on stuff in general an email to the mail list will most likely get a reply from someone who can help and because everyone on the list will see the questions and answers then the rest of us will benefit as well. It's a win win really and we need as many fellow chapter members to be involved as possible. The chatroom is a closed group and only HW members can participate so don't worry about getting junk mail etc. Do yourself a favour and take a look.
Cheryl Moore
Chatroom Moderator
If you want your own email addy like [john.julie@highwaywanders.com] send an email with your requests in order of priority to mynewemail@highwaywanderers.com">
Talking about emails it would be great if members that have an email address could take a moment to
send us an email which will confirm your current e/address and let us know whether you want to receive the newsletter by email or simply be advised when it is on the website.
info@highwaywanderers.com
President - Carol Dahler 0429497553 - president@highwaywanderers.com V/President - Keryn Wood 0412511993 - vicepresident@highwaywanderers.com Secretary - Chris Wilson 0408565760 - secretary@highwaywanderers.com Treasurer - Robin Wood 0412511993 - treasurer@highwaywanderers.com
Let us know and maybe we can put details on the website or in the newsletter.
Send details by email to (preferably) info@highwaywanderers.com
or send to
Highway Wanderers
PO Box 110 BEAUDESERT Qld 4285