WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!

[MR]

Hi Pam. I notice your separate conversation with Lee about avatars so won't interrupt ("too many cooks..."). And mostly tied up with last-minute "goodbyes" and shopping for gifts now anyway (Linh and Sunny nearly gave me a heart-attack yesterday when they happily told me they'd spent $500 on gifts for family - gifting is a major VN cultural thing so I can't complain, even though my own expenditure yesterday was a tiny $4.40 for coffee!).
Our good news is that the migration lawyer we met on Thursday is confident she can get Sunny downunder on a student visa and then switch to a family sponsored child visa that will give her permanent residency (because her step-mum is already in Australia, having divorced her dad a few years before he died). And I bought a new tablet to replace the aging Samsung Tab 3 I've been using for the past half dozen or so years because now even the replacement battery won't hold a charge so it's time to move on... And of course we met Lee down in Adelaide, so all in all it's been a very successful/worthwhile and enjoyable visit downunder for all of us, despite the freezing cold weather (but back to VN and mid-30 temps in a coupla days - yeehaaaa!!!).

[PamMcD]

I would like to thank Lee for his expertise and also Martin for his organisational skills in getting us back to where we used to be.  Would be super if everyone rallied round like they did with the old MB, that was a really busy one with some interesting topics.

Lee or Martin, I still can't fathom out how to get my avatar on here,  any ideas or Apps you know about.  Anybody?

We used to have people from different outfits joining in our riveting conversations, but most have deserted us. This one looks easy so I might join in if there are some good subjects.  I will try and think of some.

Bye for now

Pam

[MR]

Lucky you, Terry! We're downunder for one more week of (relatively) freezing midwinter weather (16-20C) before heading back to a nice, comfortable 36C in VN!
Big appointment tomorrow with migration lawyers to see if we can get (our 10yo niece) Sunny down here a bit more permanently - at least until she's ready for uni or the workforce so her poor old mum can have a break from chopping dead pigs all night in the markets!
Got together with Lee down in Adelaide last week and we (and Pam) agreed that I'll have a go at creating a facebook page or group that Lee can link to this website - because hardly any of the former regulars have found their way back to this MB and one reason that's been quoted to me is that the registration process is rather confusing to some of our older colleagues - and although I'm very much a former facebook atheist I had to use it to communicate with the VNs in our hash house harriers group and now realise that registration is ultra-straightforward and it's also very easy to block the idiots who just want to see their name in print - which then leaves the pages open for the more sensible folk amongst us!
I'll see how things go when we get back to VN mid next week (I've already tee'd up an information exchange session with the local IT gurus at our watering hole, so that'll be a good start!). Say Hi to Fran for us!

[Terry W]

Lets hope we can attract our old comrades back ! Weather down here in Cornwall has been warm and sunny, sometimes hot, we are on a hosepipe ban, been on one for nearly 9 months so a couple days of rain would be welcome. hope to hear from more on this site.

[PamMcD]

I have found me way on to the MB and I now have the same login details as I always have had.  Nice to be back and I will go with the flow regarding the future!

[MR]

Just thought I'd share the news that most former MB regulars have already heard by email, ie that thanks to several years of amazing perseverance against often quite intimidating odds, Lynn "Lee" Burgess has rebuilt the 208 (Comwel) Sig Sqn website, now kindly hosted by Steve Mason's son Poul in Denmark (208 was nothing if not global!). Pam's still the site owner, of course, with Lee as Admin and Scouse (MR), Pam and "Outback Traveller" Ken helping out as moderators. So here we are - back to something close to normal once more, with Covid and other obstacles firmly behind us - all ready to continue chatting as though the past 2-3 years simply never happened. I'll drink to that - yeehaaa!