Message from Jonesy after a great weekend
It is my sad and solemn duty to officially dissolve
"The Sydney Dream Team"
To Wendy, Miles and Gina, my heartfelt gratitude for your hard work, help and support over this amazing journey these past 13 months. I will miss our "meetings" but am sure we'll continue on with small, but lively Sydney gatherings. The smiles, unabashed laughter, hugging, kissing, dancing, cheery and sometimes raunchy banter and the tears that flowed when it all came to an end, the kind words, messages and emails of gratitude that followed. This will be our legacy.
I've been asked whether the Reunion was a success and why? Undoubtedly, For 2, simple reasons...
Having good clear thinking people around you when organising. Like Gill, with her fabulous work on the booklet, Lorie Jean for her DVD and being our eyes, ears and transaction lady for all the kiwis, Al Cooper for finding those wonderful Teachers, Jo for help with music DVD and overseeing all, Miles with his much needed, tough, but fair business acumen, Gina with her youthful, no nonsense approach to everything and of course Wendy, cool headed under pressure, knew when to smack people up around the side of the head ( usually me ) and always took the right options and decisions with the minimum amount of fuss.
YOU PEOPLE. That easy going, caring nature of the Military Brat. Nothing was a problem, and if there was a small problem, you allowed us to fix it quickly. No dramas, no worries, no hic-cups, well maybe a couple of wee ones ( like Cheeky Bloody Simmo making us miss the ferry, or Shaz and Vicky Rastus accosting the bar manager about his supposed 2 way mirror in the ladies Lou and of course Swanny having problems with his ferret, bat and parrot. ) It was this, light hearted always helpful approach, over these last 12 months, along with Miles and Wendy that allayed my fears and panic and allowed everything to flow smoothly.
On a personal note, I thank you all for taking me back to a time and place, I thought, long forgotten. And while sadly my memories of Singapore are slowly slipping away, (even the ones I made up) they are being replaced by new ones from these unforgettable reunions. Old friends, new friends, new drinking partners, uncontrollable laughter, undying respect and friendships and of course, being able to call the teachers by their first names.
All make up, for what I am eternally grateful.
We must now get behind "The Christchurch Dream Team" (please feel free to create your own identity) and focus on helping them in any way we can. There are still many brats out there to be found and corrupted. I hope to see new faces in that Dream Team photo array very soon.
Our sparkle and halos are beginning to fade.
So on behalf of Wendy, Miles, Gina and Jonesy, the Sydney Dream Team warmly thanks you all for making the Sydney Reunion exactly what it was, a disgraceful, mid life crisis driven, drunken, sleep depraved, dirty dancing wonderful memorable 3 days.
Cheers My Fellow Singapore Brats.
Just Jonesy...Sadly, but Proudly Signing Off.
