The PLC Sixties Chicks Reunion March 2013

The PLC Sixties Chicks Reunion March 2013 The Sixties Chicks (ie. women of a certain age who were schooled at PLC in the 1960s) met for their second annual reunion at the same place in Katoomba on the same weekend in March for a weekend of friendship and music (optional). The weekend began with a light snack at The Clarendon on Friday evening whilst studying the music program and decision making for weekend entertainment. Sue Hudson (Barnett, right) travelled from Armidale not only to reunite with friends but specifically to see Arlo Guthrie in concert….. imagine her surprise to find Arlo sitting outside our dinner venue and delight to chat and be photographed with him! The weekend was off to a good start! Pictured on Friday evening are ( left to right) Pauline Meers (Wykes) Gail Berkman (Naylor) Kathy Young (Gray) Sue Hudson (Barnett) Janelle Newberry (Wykes) Pam Dellow (Mills) and Pam’s work colleague, Rosealie. After Friday night music in the mist, the group met for coffee at The Clarendon on Saturday morning….. we were joined by Kerry Cole (Murray), Lesley McLean (Edwards) and Louise Nicholas (Gordon). Kerry was accompanied by her delightful daughter Kathryn who took this happy snap which shows the mood of the weekend….relaxed, with lots of laughs. This photo shows (back, left to right) Kerry, Pam, Pauline and Louise; (front) Janelle, Gail and Lesley. Libby West (Smith) joined us on Sunday morning…. her family arrived from Sydney to meet with her and to see Zoe Keating in concert. It was a treat to meet the partners, ‘children’ and grandchildren of friends. The group photo shows Pauline, Libby, Kerry, Kathy, Janelle and Sue; (Below) mother/daughter Kathryn and Kerry; (right) Libby and Kathy planning their day.

Pauline Meers (Wykes) and Libby West (Smith)

Gail Berkman (Naylor) and Lesley McLean (Edwards)

Kerry Cole (Murray), Pam Dellow (Mills), Pauline Meers (Wykes), Louise Nicholas (Gordon) Janelle Newberry (Wykes), Gail Berkman (Naylor), Lesley McLean (Edwards)

Back: Kerry Cole (Murray), Janelle Newberry (Wykes) Front: Pauline Meers (Wykes), Libby West (Smith), Kathy Young (Gray), Sue Hudson (Barnett) We would love more ‘women of a certain age’ and their families to join us next March…….addresses of contact people can be found at the end of this report. After our reunion, participants were invited to provide feedback to determine whether we should continue with the annual reunion plan - we received both positive and negative thoughts upon which to act to improve the plan. The following responses were received: I loved seeing everyone at Katoomba in March and definitely think it should be an annual event. The Festival is definitely a place and date each year that we know we will find some dear PLC friends - doesn’t matter what year they are from as we were a pretty tight little bunch of borders and day bugs! What a great night and day!! It was so nice to walk into the Clarendon on Friday night and see all your lovely familiar faces and be swept up into the mood of the Festival. It was soooo good to see you Nell, Millsie, Kathy, Pauline, Lezel, Kerry and Louise and of course meet your hubbies. I loved walking around on Friday night (in the mist) and especially loved the Spooky Men!! I just cannot believe it is 50 years this year since we all started in First Form....unbelievable isn’t it!! Nobody actually changes at all and I would have loved more time in a relaxed situation to just sit and chat with you all. Maybe we can think of some way we can do that next year. Hopefully we'll have lots and lots of gals next year and maybe an extra day to talk non-stop. Lots of love, Goog xxx (Gail Naylor … Berkman) Kathryn and I had a good time at the reunion--enjoyed the music and the get-together. It's a great venue as you can be as involved (or not) as you would like to be. There has been a suggestion about having the reunion this side of the mountains, maybe alternating every second year with Katoomba??? Anyway, something to think about. Thanks to everyone for the great weekend, Love, Kerry (Kerry Murray….Cole) As a ‘first timer’ at the music festival I enjoyed the occasion. I was REALLY taken with having my photo taken with Arlo Guthrie –I enjoyed the weekend and may participate in another one in the future. Lovely seeing you all again and it was great to catch up and it was a pity there were so few there. Regards, Sue. (Sue Barnett …Hudson)

This was my first introduction to the BMMF & I was very impressed. Having a 1 day ticket for the Sunday allowed my daughter & family (& me) to see some classy performers including Zoe Keating & Gurrumul .......we all loved it. Catching up for coffee was brief but great to see everyone........& then seeing some of you at different shows made it fun..... I really think it is a perfect time & location to have a reunion where accommodation is good, access from most areas is relatively easy & we have in house entertainment all weekend with food & drinks on tap, what more could you want? The festival provides an environment for meeting up casually which seems to be what we all prefer & to see each other as much or little as we want! I say let’s continue to support this idea of a reunion at the BMMF & hope that many more will make an effort to come, the ground work has been done & I can only imagine that it will grow from strength to strength. I will plan on coming again next year if possible & try & stay for at least 1 night. Thanks to everyone involved in the planning. I think to change the venue now would be too hard!!!!!To quote Nell "a fixed date to allow for minimal organisation & flexible arrangements" is the way to go....Cheers Libby xx (Libby Smith…West) Good to hear all the impressions. I agree that the festival is still a great place to meet and the drinks and coffee are still a good idea too. Hard for me to get there for both coffee times when staying with people out of town so felt bad about missing Sunday coffee this time with you all. Maybe even a suggestion to stay on and have breakfast on the Monday at the Carrington? I did like the idea of the classes above and below tapping into our idea. Love to all, Lezel. (Lesley Edwards… McLean) I loved the music festival, but probably more to catch up and the music was second! I have only been to two of the festivals, so don’t have much to compare. Love Pam xx (Pam Mills…Dellow) I think the top end of the concert lacked a couple of big names but as usual a few gems to delight. I would do it all again to experience a Gurrumul concert, it was highlight for me. I think reunions fail because of too much structure. ….just gathering us up in a common place will let something evolve naturally. (Pauline Wykes…Meers) (in relation to the music festival component of the weekend)… maybe it was because we were so blown away last year that we had our expectations bar set too high! Having said that – we did enjoy the weekend – just not as much. I am inclined to agree with Lezel. I did like seeing some of the girls from other years as well as our own. I felt frustrated by not having enough time to chat and catch up with people that I haven’t seen for so long. One moment that blew me away this year was when Louise Gordon returned a white lace edged hanky (a little worse for wear but with my nametag still firmly in place) that was found in her sister, Heather’s, possessions. How on earth did Heather get one of my hankies and how amazing that it was still there all these years later. Who still has their handkerchief sachet? Believe it or not, I do! Love, Kathy xx (Kathy Gray…Young) The beautiful thing about our evolving annual reunion is that friends are gaining the confidence to reconnect after forty plus years, not only at the festival but throughout the year. I'm sure that there are other Chicks like me who struggle to be comfortable in social settings and for whom the lightness of the festival and focus on something other than self could be an aid to participation. Maybe we need to add a meeting time for lunch in Leura on the Friday for those able to get away earlier in the day.....??? I enjoyed the time spent together over the weekend. I think that having something in common (eg. festival) can help people re-establish relationships over a weekend but this is, for some, the root of our problem re time for chatting! If we want to encourage other long lost friends from the 60's to attend we need to provide a safety net that allows for dipping in and out of a reunion over the weekend if need be (i.e. to accommodate partners, family and friends, time out etc). (Janelle Newberry ….Wykes)

I have read all the comments and have to agree with some and disagree with others. We all come to the weekend from our own particular places and spaces, and for me I find the location and the occasion pretty well perfect. I think having some music as the honey / glue to attract us and keep us is great, and there are enough styles to appeal to almost all comers. I personally enjoyed this year more than most others – the weather was way better for one thing! I don’t know a huge amount about blues and folk but I really enjoyed the musicianship of the artists and the presentation – mostly out of doors/under canvas. This year got a big thumbs up from me music wise even though we attended for just the Saturday. There is a choice of full on or modified music and the Blue Mts sure have a lot of other attractions / walks to keep one happy over a weekend. Our roll up was pretty disappointing I must say but you can’t do much about that and it would have been good to spend a little more time mixing but I had obligations to our hosts (not to mention husband). I will next time encourage Sal Gordon’s years to get their act together – they have a pretty active email network I believe so if I give her a prod they might get enthused. What I like best is that there are no complicated bookings or reservations or compulsive attendance, just an invitation to come if you can. Love to all, Louise xo (Louise Gordon…Nicholas)

Interested in joining us? The following people may be able to help you with information: [email protected] Lesley McLean (Edwards) [email protected] Peggy Griffiths (Miller) [email protected] Gail Berkman (Naylor) [email protected] Jane Avery (Stewart) [email protected] Louise Nicholas (Gordon)

[email protected] Kathy Young (Gray) [email protected] Pam Dellow (Mills) [email protected] Wendy Reid (Scanlan) [email protected] Dianne Parsonage (Suttor) [email protected] Pauline Meers (Wykes)

[email protected] Jill Wilson (Harmer) [email protected] Kerry Cole (Murray) [email protected] Libby West (Smith) [email protected] Janelle Newberry (Wykes) [email protected] Sue Hudson (Barnett)