Juliet Walker our Miss Social took charge recently when we were told that the gym would be closed on a regular training night.
Juliet arranged for us to meet in Sheeps Meadow, Central Park - armed with frisbees, footballs, netballs, badminton sets - everything that could be thrown and caught. We were taught the finer points of ultimate frisbee and with that a lot of running around ensued. Some of us were very good with the frisbee and some of us were not!
We also took the opportunity to drown our sorrows by saying our final farewells to "G" affectionately known as Gillie. Karen Gillespie has decided to return home to Oz.
We had a very nice visit from Frau's Mum and Dad who came along to watch us run ourselves silly. Until a Park Official decided that he would put a stop to our "organized" gaming on the grass. Well of course that called for us having to pack up and head for the pub, Ship of Fools for a couple of bevies and some good grub. They took great care of us there and we came away full and happy campers.
It was a great evening, thank you for everyone who joined in and to Juliet for organizing such a fun night. There was mention of us doing this again, it's a great way to enjoy the summer. Next time our games will just have to look less organized.
It was a bright sunny afternoon, much more promising than last year’s rain soaked BBQ, so spirits were high as 8-Mile Creek opened their doors to the annual MINC BBQ. Ticket sales on the door started at a leisurely pace at 1pm, but picked up around 2pm when the food was put on the barbie, topping out at 4pm at over 60 attendees. There wasn’t anything left by the time everyone had filled up on sausages and delicious steak sarnies.
The highlight of the afternoon came as the raffle was drawn. Everyone had worked hard at selling tickets and there were too many raffle slips to fit in the original container so we had to improvise with a large box.
The eagerly awaited prizes included champagne, a toaster, tickets to a Melbourne Cup event, an ipod nano, a Sony digital camera and a weekend away. The tension was rising as the draw moved towards the first prize, everyone had their hopes pinned on particular prizes, the winner of the toaster seemed particularly pleased. When it got to the main prize and our President pulled out the winning ticket, how apt it was that it was her own ticket. With cries of ‘fixed’ (she’d also won first prize last year!) the prize was redrawn and went to a less contentious and lucky winner.
The afternoon wound down (for most) about 6, and people headed off with stylish t-shirts and full bellies. MINC would like to thank everyone that helped out, selling raffle ticket, donating prizes, manning the door and particularly the guys at 8-mile creek for making it a memorable afternoon and helping us raise the princely sum of $1,946. See you all there next year!
Your Social Chair, Juliet Walker
Thank you MINC members who took the time to contribute prizes, sell tickets and turn up at the event. A very special thank you to our main sponsors:
It was a gorgeous day, a day that MINC would exercise minds instead of bodies. Two O'Clock in the arvo was whistle time at The Australian Bar & Restaurant and with 11 teams registered the competition was going to be hot. The quest for a very unusual team-name also got some play:
Sexy in lycra; No worries; A really bad joke; Yankee sandgropers
Roo-dimentary knowledge; Team cougar; Jaaaak; 3 Weasels and a blonde
United nations; The kiwis; 5 non kiwi's
We were very lucky to have Richard Hart as our rocking quiz master & umpire, you see his word was final, no questions, no replays! Richard hails from England so pub quizzes run in his veins. Richard did a fabulous job and offered a great mix of questions ranging from sports to geography to music and movies. Some of the questions fried brains and others made us laugh... a sampling... "how many outs in cricket, name them?"; "what country has a single coloured flag?; "what does Manhattan mean?; "if you take one step north, one step east, oh no forget it, can't even remember how it goes! Yah we are all smart when we can Google stuff!
There were eight rounds with some spot prize giveaways and intellectual pride on the line. Rumor has it there was a bit of trash talking and some side bets going on to increase the stakes.
Sexy in lycra (I think it should be polyester!) took out first place with a whopping 127 points, earned themselves a brunch at the Australian. Second place was awarded to No worries (who were actually all worries with Team Cougar breathing down their necks) with 117 points, they took home some handy NFT guidebooks. A really bad joke walked away with a bottle of vino each after working to earn 115.5 points. Don't laugh about the half points, we worked really hard at those. Fierce competition also developed looking to place last.
The remaining teams scored in the following order;
Yankee sandgropers 107.5
Roo-dimentary knowledge 107
Team cougar102
Jaaaak 98.5
3 weasels & a blonde 97
The kiwis 94
5 non kiwis 84
A big MINC thank you to Matty and the staff at The Australian for hosting us and donating First prize, feeding us and getting us some fine beverages to aide our brains. Thank you also to Longboat Key Club, Not For Tourists (NFT) and the Australian Wine Bureau for donating prizes.
Thanks also to Juliet and our tireless MINC Committee for arranging a fabulous day!
MINC's Pub Quiz 2008
MINC's Summer BBQ 2008
The folks at 8-Mile Creek as usual, did a fantastic job with our annual BBQ, and a big thank you to Frank who toiled away at the barbie cooking up delicious secret recipe patties, chicken and shrimp. The weather was absolutely fantastic, a good afternoon for a couple of cold ones and a hamburger or two!
A big thank you to Juliet Walker and her team for organizing a great day. Thank you to MINCers for participating, selling tickets and for arranging & donating prizes. We look forward to the next one! It all goes a long way to help our fiscal health.
Rather than enjoy their usual Saturday morning sleep-ins, these hardy MINCers travelled to the Hope Gardens Community Centre in Brooklyn to paint walls, weed gardens, make line games and clean out closets. Thanks to Nicky, Matt, Dre, Drinky, Della,
Katherine, Andy, Kate, Beverley, Jenny, Ross, Diana and Ros for their hard work. To see them in action click here (and turn up the volume on your computer!)
Hands on New York Day - April 12, 2008
MINCers Volunteer
2009 Social Event at The Brass Monkey
Our first major social event of the year, while slightly damp, proved to be enormous fun. Our planned sunset sail around Manhattan was washed out by torrential rain, but we were not discouraged and gathered instead at The Brass Monkey for a few cheeky drinks. We had a tremendous turn-out and all enjoyed having the time to catch up and have a good laugh together outside of training. The pirate costumes (oh yes!) were not wasted and provided much hilarity for the non-MINCers in the bar! Huge thanks to Evonne and the social committee for organizing such a great evening, we are looking forward to the next one. In the meantime, please make sure you call the Charter Company to get your full refund for the sunset sail, ladies!!
2009 BBQ Raises $2976!
Our annual BBQ at the great Aussie bar 8 Mile Creek was a huge success. It was beautiful weather and we drew a huge number of MINCers, partners, friends, admirers…and we were even supported by the local footie, rugby and hockey teams! Thank you to all the MINCers who turned out in droves, it says a lot about the great team spirit in our club. We held a big raffle, as well as a fun lucky dip, and raised a grand total of $2976! Congrats ladies!
